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CNN Saturday Morning News
Arizona Faces Legal Hurdles Over Immigration Bill; Severe Weather Outbreak Expected; YouTube Celebrates Fifth Anniversary
Aired April 24, 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: Good morning, everybody. How are you doing? From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We're just talking about monkeys for some reason at 6 a.m..
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Monkeys and my trip to Costa Rica.
HOLMES: OK, there's that. Hey, but it's 6 a.m. here in Atlanta right now. Three a.m. out in Phoenix. Wherever you may be, glad you could be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Hey, good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Happy, happy Saturday. Hope you're luxuriating in bed, I guess, this Saturday morning. We'll give you the news.
Of course, the big story -- the big question, this new law in Arizona pertaining to immigration. And the question is, might it lead to racial profiling?
HOLMES: Well, a lot of people say yes. The governor, Jan Brewer, says no, and it will actually prevent racial profiling. But she signed this new immigration law, and already, thousands of folks are out there and outraged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started crying (ph). I started to think about my family and my friends, about everything that's going to happen, about how things are going to change from now on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She is among thousands of people who are protesting this new law. Coming up this morning, we'll hear more from those folks. Also we'll hear from people who support the bill. We'll hear from the governor.
Also, the president weighing in on this.
BALDWIN: Also, take a look at some video we want to show you. This is a tornado. This is Goodnight, Texas. Look at this thing. Storm chasers catching it on tape. A little too close for me. The threat for severe weather has been upgraded now to "high risk" for certain parts of the country. We will tell you where.
HOLMES: First, we want to give you a look at some of the stories making headlines overnight.
First, a hard decision for the Coast Guard, calling off the search for those 11 platform workers that were working at that oil platform. You see some of the video there. Been missing since Tuesday after that big explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
A hundred and fifteen workers were able to get off that platform. Some 17 of them were hurt. Also, there were four critically injured workers, and two of those have already been released from the hospital.
BALDWIN: Well, even in a country known for drug violence, this crime pretty shocking. Have you heard this story? Gunmen killed seven Mexican police officers, one a woman, in an overnight ambush in Juarez.
A 17-year-old boy simply in the wrong place at the wrong time also died. Juarez, you know, has become a war zone between two battling drug cartels -- a turf battle that's killed 5,000 people already.
HOLMES: And here is one of those stories you would say just, 'Are you kidding me?' A lot of people were wondering, how in the world could that whole financial mess take place? Well, if the people who were supposed to be policing Wall Street were looking at porn all day, that might be a problem.
You heard me right. The SEC says it is taking action now against workers who spent all day looking at porn instead of doing their jobs. This was going on all while that whole financial crisis was playing out. The Securities and Exchange Commission is the agency that serves as Wall Street's watchdog.
Some of the 33 SEC workers involved have been fired; others have been disciplined.
Well, the word is out in Arizona: It's illegal to be illegal. Arizona's governor has signed a controversial bill making it a crime to be in this country illegal. Critics say it'll lead to racial profiling. The legislation requires police to question people about their immigration status. It requires immigrants to carry their alien- registration documents at all times. Previously, police could check someone's status only if that person was a suspect in a crime.
The bill also makes it illegal to hire immigrants for day labor and to even transport an illegal immigrant.
CNN's Casey Wian has more from Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke and T.J., for several days, protesters have surrounded Arizona's state Capitol trying to convince Governor Jan Brewer not to sign this state's controversial new anti-illegal-immigration bill. The governor says she listened to their concerns, but she signed the bill anyway. GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: I will now sign Senate Bill 1070.
WIAN (voice-over): Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the nation's toughest measure aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration over the objections of hundreds of protesters who surrounded the state Capitol for several days.
BREWER: Though many people disagree, I firmly believe it represents what's best for Arizona.
WIAN: Protesters claim the bill will lead to racial profiling by police officers enforcing its most controversial provision. They will be required in many cases to check the immigration status of anyone they believe is in the United States illegally.
Some opponents were angry; others just sad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started crying. I started to think about my family and my friends, about everything that's going to happen, about how things are going to change from now on.
WIAN: Brewer says she will enforce state laws against racial profiling with as much vigor as she enforced the new law making illegal immigration a state crime.
BREWER: People across America are watching Arizona, seeing how we implement this new law, ready to jump on even the slightest misstep.
WIAN: Many opponents aren't even waiting for that. The governor says she's been warned to expect lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the bill, and to expect them soon.
(on camera): The new law is not expected to take effect until late July or early August, 90 days after the current legislative session ends. In the meantime, the governor has ordered that the state's police officers be trained in the law's specifics, namely what constitutes "reasonable suspicion" and what does not -- T.J., Brooke.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, this is considered just about the toughest immigration law in the country. There are supporters of the measure. But they were in short supply at the Arizona Capitol yesterday.
BALDWIN: Yes. Casey told us in the report, some of those protesters -- they have been at the Capitol for days and days. Many of them quite emotional, taking this very personally, this new law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cried. How could we do this to people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hopefully, this will stir up the masses to come out and get the politics of this state turned around in the right direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took a lot for me to -- to wear this. And, you know, it's just a travesty today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE: An important day in Arizona, a disappointing day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Well, President Obama is among this new law's critics. In fact, he came out yesterday calling it "misguided." Also, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona, had some even tougher criticism.
Here's what she said -- quote -- "The Arizona immigration law will likely hinder federal law enforcement from carrying out its priorities of detaining and removing dangerous criminal aliens." She goes on to say, "I vetoed several similar pieces of legislation as governor of Arizona because they would have diverted critical law- enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety and undermine the vital trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve."
HOLMES: And we know you have an opinion about this this morning, and we want to know about it. What do you think about the new immigration law?
Send your responses. You know where to find us now, on Facebook, on Twitter as well. It's tjholmescnn. We're going to read some of those later this morning.
BALDWIN: So we'll stay close to this story on Arizona, the new law about immigration.
But we're also keeping a close eye on the weather. We showed you the tornado in Goodnight, Texas. Unbelievable pictures.
HOLMES: We got several of these this morning. This is expected to pop up, quite frankly, from now until sometime this afternoon in many parts of the country. This, in particular, was in Goodnight, Texas. This was caught on tape. These are professionals, these storm chasers. This is what they do.
We could see a whole lot more of this throughout the day. Bonnie Schneider is with us this morning, is going to be guiding us through, Bonnie, what could be a really active morning and afternoon.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And it already is, T.J. and Brooke. We're monitoring severe weather across the Mississippi Valley, and I am expecting this to get explosive throughout the day. A very big day for tornadoes.
I'll have a complete look at the forecast coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It has been a week filled with severe weather across the country. This morning, as we said, and into the afternoon, we're talking severe storms, severe weather throughout the Southeast.
HOLMES: And this stuff is starting to pop already. Tornadoes -- we got snowstorms even keeping an eye on. States in the Midwest and the Northeast dealing with some intense weather.
This is the video we were just showing you. This was in Goodnight, Texas.
BALDWIN: Also, amazing video just to the north of Texas, another tornado. This is Lakin, Kansas.
HOLMES: Also snow -- check this out. Bennett, Colorado -- golf- ball-sized hail.
BALDWIN: And on the East Coast, state police say a possible tornado touched down in Beacon Falls, Connecticut. Obviously, damage there as well.
A lot going on, really, I guess, kind of almost from coast -- almost to the other coast.
We have Bonnie Schneider standing by with a look at some crazy severe weather already popping up, right, Bonnie?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: All right. Well, it's home to hundreds of millions of videos, and it has changed the way people use the Internet. Now, YouTube celebrating a milestone.
Josh Levs here with that for us. Good morning to you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Good morning to you, guys.
You know what? Just in time for a big birthday, there is a new reigning champion on YouTube.
Plus, we have an interactive tool that's going to let you decide which is the greatest YouTube video of all time today. And it's coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK, so the numbers are amazing. You know, when you talk about viral videos and you see how many hits and -- are you a YouTuber?
HOLMES: No.
BALDWIN: No. Some people are, like, hardcore, right? So what started off as a few people having a little fun turned into this worldwide phenomenon that's growing at an amazing rate.
HOLMES: Yes, Josh Levs here with a look at the birthday tube. Five years now.
And also, what -- we -- most of these videos people are going to recognize because they go viral, we put them on the air. Everybody has seen some of these things.
LEVS: Yes, because they're the creme de le creme, right? I mean, they're the ones that rise to the top.
But you got to -- you were just talking about the numbers. Look at these numbers -- I want you to see how huge YouTube is, because this is really a sign of our times, what's going on with technology. Every minute, 24 new hours of new video are being uploaded on to YouTube, every single minute. So they can't even total how incredibly many hours of video are on there right now.
More than a billion views of different individual videos every day, all over the world. Everyone's using YouTube in so many different ways.
And what we thought we would do on this birthday is take a look at some of the biggest YouTube videos of all time. And as I mentioned before the break, there's a new reigning champion, which is this right here.
You might have heard about this -- Lady GaGa. Her "Bad Romance" video -- at one site alone on YouTube is basically has 200 million views. And then there's other places where people copy it and put it on their own pages. So you're talking massive, massive number of views. And I can't show you this for too long because it gets kind of disturbing.
So let's go to the next one, which is one of the biggest of all time, which is purely funny. You guys probably remember this guy, Justin Lefley (ph), who does the evolution of dance. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEVS: This went huge. This was one of the first viral videos of all time. He's a comedian. He basically has all these different little clips of music popping in, and he does every single dance.
And this is in the early days of when the concept of the viral video was first starting. He did this to be funny in front of a crowd; didn't know he would end up getting more than 150 million views online.
All right. Next video we'll show you really quickly. It may be the shortest ever. Watch it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And we have looped it for you; just a few seconds here. It's known as the dramatic chipmunk. And that's the most-watched animal video ever on YouTube. It's actually a prairie dog, not a chipmunk. But it has had -- that animal is probably the most-watched animal in the world over the last five years, ever since YouTube started.
He looks surprised; he looks dramatic. And it's taken off.
And you know what? You can let us know what your favorite videos are of all time. We got a discussion going on on my page. We can show everyone how to do that, at joshlevscnn, Facebook, also at Twitter.
And guys, a couple hours from now on, I'm going to be along with a commercial that became the most-watched commercial in the world of the last five years, and some of what our viewers are saying are the best YouTube videos of all time.
BALDWIN: The evolution of dance -- dude that stole your moves, right?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: He didn't. I'm stealing his, actually, is what's happening there.
LEVS: You going to use that?
BALDWIN: Nice. Nice.
HOLMES: And I'm working on the dramatic turn. I've been working on that for quite some time.
BALDWIN: Yes, do you like that chipmunk?
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE). All right, Josh. Thanks for... LEVS: I love it.
BALDWIN: ...showing us the classics. I can't believe YouTube, just five years. It's amazing.
OK, so you've heard the expression, right? One person's trash is another's person treasure.
HOLMES: Yes, that's the mission statement for a thriving business in New York. So what is the trash they see? Old buildings. The treasure? Brand new ones.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, some of the stories we're keeping an eye on.
We've been seeing here a lot lately. We've seen her out there on stages, doing rallies for the "tea party." We've seen her out there actually campaigning for John McCain.
But we saw her yesterday on a witness stand. Talking about Sarah Palin. She was in Tennessee testifying in the trial of a Tennessee college student who is charged with hacking her e-mail account during the 2008 campaign.
Palin says this hurt her, and there should be consequences for this young man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anybody who thinks that this isn't disruptive or hurtful to have their mailbox broken into or an office broken into and documents stolen and disclosed for the rest of the world should put theirselves in a person's shoes who has gone through this. And -- and believe me, it's quite disruptive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She didn't go as far as saying whether or not she thinks conviction of the 22-year-old should lead to prison.
The 22-year-old, by the way, who is accused of hacking -- his name is David Kernell. Kernell faces up to 50 years in federal prison if convicted of identity theft, mail fraud and two other felony charges.
The defense says, however, this was all just a prank.
BALDWIN: A man has been killed in yet another mine accident in West Virginia. This story involves a 28-year-old who was pinned between the mine wall and a mining machinery late Thursday night. We're told he died early Friday morning during surgery at a hospital there. He was married, had children.
The company, by the way, that owns this particular mine owns several other coal mines in West Virginia, including the Sago mine, where 12 men were killed in that underground explosion back in January of 2006.
HOLMES: Well, the Boy Scout -- it's "be prepared." Nowhere in there are the words "reckless and outrageous conduct." However, the Boy Scouts of America pretty much admitting to that in settling a sexual-abuse case involving a former assistant Scoutmaster.
A jury awarded Kerry Wilson (ph) of Oregon $18.5 million. That's assumed to be a record amount against the Scouts. There was money that went to this -- the victim. But still no apology from the Boy Scouts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: In today's "Green Solutions in Focus," finding value in what others might consider trash really is now the cornerstone of a thriving business in New York.
While we celebrated Earth Day just this past Thursday, it's a pretty good idea, though, to be green, really, all year round.
Deborah Brunswick takes us to meet the folks who look into every old house and building and see a new one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN GREEN, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, BUILD IT GREEN: In New York City, about 13,500 tons of construction-demolition waste are generated everyday. In New York City, about 13,500 tons of construction demolition waste are generated every day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our mission is to try to save some of that stuff and to promote the reuse of building materials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're taking this material from a house in Scarsdale that's scheduled for demolition and sending it back to BIG N-Y-C's warehouse in Astoria.
GREEN: Build It Green is a building-materials-reuse center. We take in donations of unwanted building materials and we resell them at a discount.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are Home Depot meets Salvation Army.
GREEN: We started in response to the flood of -- of building materials being land-filled. Perfectly good building materials out there that are constantly being thrown into the garbage when people renovate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the stuff come through you'd be surprised that people wanted to get rid of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just really inspiring to see how other people's remnants can actually be reinterpreted and appropriated for new things. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over 50 percent of New York City's landfill material was constructed-related. So our goal is to prove that this material has a home.
GREEN: Reused materials have a positive environmental impact. And you're keeping them out of the landfill. We don't have to cut down more trees, we don't have to mine more materials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If everybody thought like my peers here at Build it Green, then -- then the world would be a better place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: CNN's award-winning photojournalists will be taking a look at really all these people behind the global environmental movement to keep our Earth green. The positive impact they've made in their neighborhood and beyond.
You can watch this whole thing unfold. We're calling it "Green Solutions in Focus." You can watch today, 3 p.m. Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And good morning again. Welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: And I'm Brooke Baldwin. Good Saturday morning. Thanks for checking in.
Want to start with our top stories.
HOLMES: And the Coast Guard's ending that four-day search for 11 oil-platform workers who had been missing since that explosion and fire, now sinking of that oil platform. That started on Tuesday, that fire. You see some of the video; we've been watching these pictures for several days.
A hundred and fifteen workers were able to make it off that oil platform; seven of them were hurt. We do know also that there were four critically injured, but also two of those have been already released from the hospital.
BALDWIN: Got some new information for you out of Mexico this morning. You know, it's a country that's known for its drug violence. But this crime even to some pretty shocking. Gunmen killed seven Mexican police officers, including one woman in this overnight ambush in Juarez. In fact, a 17-year-old boy some say was just in the wrong place at the wrong time also died. Juarez has become a war zone between two battling drug cartels. A turf battle that's killed 5,000 people over 2 years.
HOLMES: And why did that financial crisis happen? How could it have been allowed to happen? Well maybe because the folks policing Wall Street were looking at porn all day on their computers. You heard me right. The SEC Taking action against the employees who were looking at porn on the job. This is all going on while the financial crisis was playing out. The Securities (sic) Exchange Commission is the agency, of course, that serves as the watchdog for Wall Street. Some of the 33 workers involved have now been filed or others are being disciplined.
Meanwhile, we have been telling you about this for a past week. We have been keeping an eye on it. It has happened now. It is the law of the land. Arizona's governor signed what may be the toughest immigration law in the country. Not expected to take effect until late July or August, however.
It requires police to question people about their immigration status. The way the legislation reads you have to have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally, but that's the fine line there. What does that mean? Who says whether there's a reasonable suspicion?
Immigrants also must now carry their alien registration documents at all time. Previously police could check someone's status only if that person was a suspect in a crime. The bill also makes it illegal to hire immigrations for day laborers, and to even transport an illegal immigrant. Critics say it will lead to racial profiling by the police. The governor, Jan Brewer, has ordered police training to deal with the legislation, which constitutes, again, reasonable suspicion and what does not.
The governor says she's been told to expect lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of that bill, and to expect them soon. Our legal analyst and attorney Jeffrey Toobin talked about the legislation at length last night with our Anderson Cooper.
BALDWIN: And a lot of people are asking how does the state law clash with the federal law? The president saying that the new legislation in Arizona is misguided. Here is Jeffrey Toobin to explain.
Now, the Governor Brewer says the law mirrors federal statutes on immigration enforcement. And a lot of you are reaching out and talking about your thoughts. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing for the people of Arizona. What might this mean for other states. We always want you to reach out, either on Twitter. I'm Tweeting about it right now or jump onto Facebook. And those are the best places to find us. We'll read some of your Tweets and Facebook postings throughout the morning.
HOLMES: Also, it is going to be a big deal today, a big weather day, especially in the Southeast. Now, we got some snowstorms telling you about today, as well. Really the focus of a possible outbreak of tornadoes. A lot of severe weather across the country this past week and we could be under the gun for sometime today.
BALDWIN: Bonnie Schneider is all over this, keeping an eye on the severe conditions this morning.
Good morning. SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Brook and T.J.
We are monitoring the threat for severe weather. I've been watching some very strong thunderstorms rolling across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and it is still so early in the morning but the tornado watches persist for those regions and today is a very busy day with a risk for tornadoes. I'll have more on that, plus your forecast coming up.
HOLMES: Thank you so much. We'll talk to you again here shortly.
Also, if you haven't noticed, the NFL draft is going on right now.
BALDWIN: You been watching a lot?
HOLMES: I have been. I was very interesting to see where some of the quarterbacks were going to go. Notre Dame, also of course the number one draft pick out of Oklahoma. We know about some of the big names but a name you don't know a lot about, I'm going to introduce you to a guy named Ramone Harewood this morning.
Now a lot of guys grow up and their whole lives, they are playing football from the pee wee league to college. They want a chance to play pro. He has a chance to and he's only been playing football for three and a half years. We'll explain his journey and why this physics and civil engineering major stands out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHNEIDER: Good morning. I'm CNN Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at extreme weather happening right now. We have two tornado watches across parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. This is going to be an extremely dynamic and busy day when it comes to severe weather. The tornado watch issued so early in the morning and don't expire for at least two hours, meaning the cells here have the capability of producing tornadoes at any time.
Now as I open up the scope I want to show you strong thunderstorms rolling across the Gulf Coast into lower Alabama, as well as Atlanta, Georgia. We can take a live look outside right now and show you it's a stormy morning in Atlanta. For those of you that are catching a flight, or maybe connecting in Atlanta, you may have some problems because of that. It's definitely going to be a rough go of it in the Southeast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BALDWIN: Thanks, Bonnie.
HOLMES: Bonnie, we appreciate you. Thanks so much.
A lot of people out there send a lot of text messages and you assume that when you send one the only person that is going to see it is you just sent it to. BALDWIN: You are hoping. What if your work gives you a cell phone, do those rules apply or not? Supreme Court deciding that one right now. We'll look at the case in California that sparked the court hearings.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some of the stories keeping an eye on this morning. Up first, Sarah Palin on the witness stand. She was on the witness stand testifying against a young man who's on trial for hacking into her e- mail account. And she talked about the pain it caused her during the 2008 presidential campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: Anybody who thinks that this isn't disruptive or hurtful to have their mailbox broken into or an office broken into and documents stolen, and disclosed for the rest of the world, should put themselves in a person's shoes who has gone through this and believe me, it's quite disruptive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She didn't say whether or not she believes the young college student who's accused should get prison time or community service if he is convicted of identity theft and mail fraud. The defense says this was all just a prank.
BALDWIN: Another person has died inside a West Virginia coal mine. A 28-year-old man was somehow crushed between a piece of heavy equipment and a block of coal late Thursday night. It happened at International Coal Group, or ICG's Beckley mine, that is in Raleigh county, the southeastern part of the state. The 30th mine-related death in Raleigh County this year alone.
Boy Scouts of America organization admits reckless and outrageous conduct in settling a sexual abuse case involving a former assistant scout master. A jury awarded Kerry Lewis, of Oregon, $18.5 million in this case. He is a victim. It is believed to be the largest such award against the national organization.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So there's this little thing going on past couple of days just called the NFL draft. So if you're growing up playing, like you said, pee wee football this is really when the dream comes true.
HOLMES: This is it. It's under way. It has been going on since Thursday. Today's the last day of it. Last few rounds. We'll see the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds today. Pro teams are picking the potential stars of tomorrow. A lot of them coming from those big-named schools and from big-named conferences trying to fill the rosters, but there is one prospect took a different route to draft day. Pretty humble beginnings he had in Barbados. And now he's been playing at a division II school, in Atlanta for the past three and a half years. His name is Ramone Harewood. He only started playing football three and a half years ago. First time of his life playing football was three and a half years ago. I caught up with him and found a young man who certainly has the skills to make it to the NFL, but he also has the intelligence that is going to make him stand out on the next level.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMONE HAREWOOD, NFL DRAFT PICK: If I do some, I need to be the best at it.
So I always have measures in place to be, you know, as best I could be.
I'm a winner. I guess that's the way to put it.
HOLMES (voice over): At 6'7", 350 pounds, Ramone Harewood dominated his competition. The offensive lineman at Moorhouse College was named First Team All Conference for the past two years and while he may look like a typical NFL prospect, his story is anything but.
HAREWOOD: There's no American football in Barbados, so for me to aspire to do that would be ridiculous.
HOLMES: Ramone was born in Barbados, a small Caribbean island with a population of about 250,000. Growing up in Barbados, his size, speed and athleticism allowed him to excel at several sports.
HAREWOOD: Because I played volleyball for my country. I played rugby for my country, and track and field. So, I was always in sports.
HOLMES: Despite his athletic success and raw talent, he never had serious thoughts of a future as a professional athlete.
HAREWOOD: I was going to be realistic. I was planning to be an engineer.
HOLMES: But all that changed for this would-be engineer after a chance meeting with a former football coach at a college fair in Barbados.
HAREWOOD: Kept coming up to me, he was like, I can help you. Like, you're way too big and too gifted to just be over here playing sports, going to school. You can make money for your family.
HOLMES: Ramone enrolled in Morehouse in 2006 on an academic scholarship. He had never played football before in his life, but he decided to give it a shot.
HAREWOOD: I didn't immediately fall in love with it. My first year here was a little bit rough, trying to get adapted to the sport. I didn't really know too much about football. New coaching staff, you know, Coach Freeman, he came in '07, spring of '07, and first thing he did was move me to offense. HOLMES (On camera): When did you realize in the three and a half years, OK, this kid has a shot to do something special, and be a star, on the next level?
RICH FREEMAN, MOREHOUSE FOOTBALL COACH: On March 12th of 2007. That's when I was named head coach here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: KX, plus, B.
HOLMES: Despite his success on the football field, Ramone choose to keep his academic scholarship and keep his focus on the books.
FREEMAN To see him do a great job academically and to come out and excel on the football field, you know, we use that all the time. We use him as motivation to the rest of the young men.
HOLMES: Ramon has his own motivation, to strive for excellence, to make his family proud, and represent his country and if NFL fortune comes, well, so be it.
HAREWOOD: The money's not what drives me. That's the best way to put it. But of course, that is going to be great.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Love this kid. I mean, I'm here to say, I love this kid and the story and his background. And to help you understand where his mind is, some of the guys think about getting rich right now, getting paid. He already has his physics degree. He's also working toward the civil engineering degree and when he was telling his mom in back in Barbados, hey, I'm going to the draft, her concern was when are you going to finish up your civil engineering degree.
BALDWIN: Good mom.
HARRIS: That was the issue. And he kept his-another thing to help you understand this kid, he kept the academic scholarship at Morehouse. He could have switched to a football scholarship. But if you stay on academic, you of course have to keep your grades at a certain level to keep the scholarship. That was his motivation, as well.
Also that physics degree, he said it helps him out there on the field. Everything he looks at is some kind of a calculation, how can I beat this guy to this spot, this move. All these scenarios that helps him understand what's going on out there. So, we'll know today what happens to the young man.
BALDWIN: Let me get this right. This is total serendipity, this-I don't want to say kid, this guy is huge.
HOLMES: Yes, big kid.
BALDWIN: Big kid gets discovered in Barbados, just kind of a fluke. HOLMES: Just kind of a fluke thing. I ran into a football coach and again, he had never played American football. Didn't have an interest in it, really. He was a soccer guy. Played volley ball, but all of that skill he learned in soccer and that footwork, agility helped him.
Again, he wasn't expected, folks, to be drafted at all, but during the interview process, going to meet with teams, they found out what kind of a person, his background, and character matters in the NFL, as well. More and more interest in the kid. And he is expected to go sometime today in the fifth, fourth, sixth, seventh round. And we are going to have him here, live, with us. The big kid, as you say. You'll get to meet him.
BALDWIN: Big Kid Ramone.
HOLMES: He'll be here with us, live, 7:00 a.m. And we'll know what will happen to him. Even if he doesn't get drafted, he'll get a chance to try out for a team. We expect him to be drafted and certainly hope to share that good news tomorrow morning.
BALDWIN: That is awesome. Fingers crossed for him. Can't wait to meet him tomorrow morning.
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: CNN SATURDAY MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So if you have a cell phone that your job gave you, this story applies. It is a brave new world you could say for the U.S. Supreme Court, which this week got a crash course in the modern- day type of communications texting.
HOLMES: So, what exactly is the issue here that has the Supreme Court involved? Exactly what is the expectation of privacy, is the question, can a public employee have when using government provided equipment. You get it?
The ramifications could prompt new e-mail and communication policies where you work. Our David Mattingly with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Instant messaging, texting, social networking, blogging, Tweeting and e-mail. More and more people refuse to leave their personal digital lives behind even when they're on the job.
NANCY FLYNN, THE ePOLICY INSTITUTE: There's definitely been a blurring of the lines between traditional 9:00 to 5:00 work days, thanks to the electronic age, and particularly now that we have mobile technology.
MATTINGLY: That doesn't stop when it's a company phone or computer. The question is, does your boss have a right to look at your personal messages? The Supreme Court's taken up the case of a California cop in 2002 he was using his police department pager for a lot of personal texting.
(On camera): Some of the text messages went to his estranged wife, some went to his girlfriend, some were sexually explicit. To his surprise his supervisors looked at the messages after noticing he was going over his pagers monthly allotted limit. So the officer sued and won, claiming that he had an expectation of privacy. And that his department's policy was unclear.
DEITER DAMMEIER, OFFICER'S ATTORNEY: Part of the argument in the court was, hey, these guys are 24/7. They should be able to have the things monitored. Well, they are 24/7, but they are also human beings. And they should also have an expectation of privacy.
MATTINGLY (voice over): Now, the City of Ontario, California, is pushing back taking it to the Supreme Court. The argument that this is about public accountability is backed by groups like the National League of Cities.
LARS ETZKORN, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES: We, in government, have fiduciary responsibilities to taxpayers, to make certain that their dollars are used as efficiently, as effectively as possible. And that's for public purpose, not for the private texting of employees.
MATTINGLY: This case focuses on employees who have public jobs and use electronic devices that is are paid for with tax dollars, but the private sector is watching closely; 83 percent of companies surveyed by the ePolicy Institute were strict personal use of e-mail; 62 percent restrict personal use of company cell phones, 43 percent restrict visits to social networking sites and 25 percent ban blogging on company time.
JENNIFER GRANICK, ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS FOUNDATION: For having rules about how to protect the privacy of our personal communications, it just has to take into account the modern reality that we are all both doing personal and professional stuff at the same time.
MATTINGLY: And in spite of restrictions, 89 percent of employees still send personal e-mail; 42 percent still send personal instant messages. And every new device, every new service provokes the same old question. Where did you draw the line between privacy and accountability? David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is 7:00 a.m., where we sit right here, 4:00 a.m. for you folks out in Scottsdale, Arizona, wherever you may be, glad you cold be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for starting you Saturday with us.
Big question, you mentioned Arizona . The governor, Jan Brewer, signing Senate bill 1070 into law yesterday, regarding immigration. Some people say this will help curb crime, others saying nope, this will lead to racial profiling.
HOLMES: But the governor says you can have it both ways here essentially. Says that this law will help cut down on racial profiling. She signed the law and already thousands of people are letting the outrage be known.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started crying. I started thinking about my family, my friends. About everything that's going to happen, about how things are going to change from now on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: One of many stories we are hearing from Arizona. Coming up this morning hearing more from them, people who support the bill, as well. Also, you'll be hearing from the governor and president, who is also weighing in.
BALDWIN: Also, take a look at this tornado. There it is. This is Goodnight, Texas . These are storm chasers, chasing this thing down and getting this tape for us. The threat for severe weather, in multiple states, not just Texas. It has been upgraded now to high risk. We'll talk to Bonnie Schneider, we'll get the latest on the weather story for you as well this morning.
HOLMES: Also another piece of video to show you, that goes along with some of the stories we have been keeping an eye on overnight. The Coast Guard now ending a four-day search for 11 oil platform workers who had been missing since that oil platform exploded and caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico. A hundred and fifteen workers were able to make it off that oil platform; 17 of them were hurt.
BALDWIN: We have been telling you stories about drug crime, drug violence in Mexico. We got a story for you even for some very shocking -- gunmen killing seven Mexican police officers, including a woman in an overnight ambush in Juarez. A 17-year-old boy some say wrong place, wrong time, also died. Juarez has become really a war zone between two battling drug cartels. This turf battle, it's killed 5,000 people already.
HOLMES: Well, they were supposed to be keeping an eye on Wall Street, but it turns out they were keeping an eye on porn. The SEC says it's taking action against those workers who spent all day looking at pornographic sites instead of doing their jobs. This was going on while the whole financial crisis was playing out. The Securities and Exchange Commission, if you didn't know, is the actual agency that serves as Wall Street's watchdog. Some of the 33 SEC workers who are involved in this case have now been either fired or disciplined in some other way.
Well, the Arizona governor has signed what may be the toughest immigration law in the nation, expected to take effect sometime in late July or August, and it requires police to question people about their immigration status. Immigrants now must carry their alien registration documents at all times. Previously, police could check status of someone's status if that person was a suspect in a crime.
The bill also makes it illegal to hire immigrants for day labor and to even transport an illegal immigrant. Critics say it will lead to racial profiling by the police, but the governor, Jan Brewer, has ordered additional police training to deal with that problem and she says they'll help them explain and understand what constitutes reasonable suspicion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: People across America are watching Arizona, seeing how we implement this law, ready to jump on even the slightest misstep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Governor Brewer says she's been told to expect lawsuits challenging the constitutional of that bill. And she's been told to expect them soon.
Of course, as you can imagine, protesters outnumbered a lot of supporters of the legislation outside the Arizona capitol.
BALDWIN: Yes, massive crowds of protesters really not in Phoenix but throughout Arizona.
And our Thelma Gutierrez was there covering that side of the story, and a lot of people she talked to really took this thing to heart. They take it personally. They talk about their disappointment with this new law.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHANTING)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The governor just signed the bill into law and if you take a look around, you can see thousands of people have gathered here in front of state capitol in Phoenix. The emotions of sadness and anger palpable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started crying. I started sticking by my family, my friends, about everything that's going to happen, about how things are going to change from now on.
GUTIERREZ: What was your first reaction when you heard that the law had been signed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, disappointed at one point to feel that you're still fighting against all this injustice going on in the state. And, of course, we're all community out there and it's better community. Of course, we got to feel a little afraid of what's going on.
GUTIERREZ: Many of the protesters here are young students and they're Latinos, but they're not alone in their indignation.
What was your first reaction?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cried. How could we do this to people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, hopefully, this will stir up the masses to come out and get the politics of this state turned around the right direction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took a lot for me to wear this and, you know, it's just a travesty today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Important day in Arizona, disappointing day.
(CHANTING)
GUTIERREZ: The protest organizers are urging calm. They're telling this crowd to fight back in the best way that they can, by registering to vote and making their political voices heard.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: As you just heard, a whole lot of protesters saying, you know what, this new law is not fair, but we want to be fair as well here at CNN, and we want to -- we want you to hear some people who say, absolutely, this will help curtail crime. Here you go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop illegal immigration. You want to immigrate? Stand in line and do it right. We'll accept you with open arms. But this way illegally, is illegal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in a celebratory nature. I'm going to go out and having a drink.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, who else, though, might be among the law's critics? We heard from a bunch of people. But would you guess President Obama? In fact, he calls this new law misguided.
We're also hearing on the federal level from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who, by the way, used to be governor of Arizona and she had some even tougher criticism. I want to read for you.
Here's what she said: "The Arizona immigration law will likely hinder federal law enforcement from carrying out its priorities of detaining and removing dangerous criminal aliens. I vetoed several similar pieces of legislation as governor of Arizona because they would have diverted critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety and undermined the vital trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve."
And we're also getting a whole lot of reaction from the law's Republican sponsor.
State Representative Russell Pierce, he says this, quote, "Illegal is illegal. The state crime will have less -- state law, we'll have less crime, lower taxes, safer neighborhoods, shorter lines in emergency rooms and smaller classrooms."
Tough words from one the sponsors of this, what was a bill, and now a law. And now, let's take a look at what you're saying, some of your responses.
HOLMES: Some already -- already we have gotten in this morning and some actually supporting this. We got one there with the star by it. You see it there, Scott?
From RLife says, "OK, let's see. Arizona passes a law that says illegal immigrants are illegal -- shocking and about time."
Another just two up from that saying -- from Knorthern Knight. He's essentially saying that people should challenge this law by saying, "You should drive the car full of legal suspicious-looking people but refuse to show papers."
And one finally at the very top just simple says, from JSpearman, "Justice."
Some are agreeing with the law. Others, of course, have an issue with it. Continue to get your comments coming in. We enjoyed reading. A lot more than we do but just a couple we're able to share with you right now.
BALDWIN: I've got a couple. Do we have more time?
HOLMES: Oh, go ahead.
BALDWIN: Go ahead. All right. Let me read you two of my tweets. And thank you for tweeting this early Saturday.
Let me read you the top one. It says, from JSK, "Immigration reform is needed everywhere but the law should be crafted in a way that doesn't target just the Hispanic population." That's an interesting way to look at it.
One more tweet. "Giving the police the go ahead to question suspected illegal immigrants for no reason other than gut feeling is a problem."
We talk about how local law enforcement, they have to have what they're calling probable cause. But a lot of questions over what exactly does probable cause mean?
HOLMES: The court challenges are coming. And they might even come before the law even goes into effect some time late this summer.
BALDWIN: Also, we could be seeing some tornado outbreaks in the southeast today, talking about severe, severe weather.
HOLMES: This video is amazing. We've seen several pictures of a couple of tornadoes at least already that have touched down this week. Our Bonnie Schneider -- this is one in Kansas.
But, Bonnie, some of these pictures are amazing, what these storm chasers go out and do. But we could see a lot more of that and a lot more storm chasing today.
SCHNEIDER: Yes. It's starting to get very active, T.J. and Brooke, this morning. We just have this in. There are two tornado warnings across parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. They're in some of the parishes in northern Louisiana and also down to the south, a little bit further to south and west of Hattiesburg.
So, we're starting to get active early out there. This is going to be a busy day for tornadoes. I'll have more -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Bonnie Schneider watching the severe weather for us.
And, Bonnie, I just want to underscore, italicize, this is a huge, huge deal.
SCHNEIDER: It is, it is because we very rarely see something that's called high risk issued by the Storm Prediction Center out of Norman, Oklahoma. And what that means is, when you see this purple circle right here, notice it covers a good portion of Louisiana and Mississippi, into Alabama, and a little tiny corner of Arkansas.
All right, when you have high risk, it's so unusual because it means, within a 25-mile radius of this circle area you see here, we have a 30 percent chance of a tornado breaking out. That's a high number. It may not seem like a high number. But think of it this way. Usually, we have 0 percent chance of a tornado breaking out.
A slight risk extends all way to the Midwest and a moderate risk extends well into western Tennessee, and that does include Nashville and Memphis. A moderate risk means, within a 25-mile radius that we have, a 15 percent chance of a tornado breaking out.
So, this is going to be a rough day and it's already getting very, very active there. Tornado warnings, right now, in effect for some of the northern parishes of Louisiana as well as some of the counties just on the border of Mississippi and the parishes of Louisiana.
Right here working its way into Pike County, you can see a strong cell north of New Orleans to the south and west of Hattiesburg on the move. So, these storms are not necessarily dropping tornadoes right now but we are seeing some rotation with the cells and when Doppler radar indicates rotation, it means that you could have a tornado at any time.
Another indicator that this weather is getting active so early in the morning are these two tornado watches. And you can see and it looks like just as I'm speaking and one was just extended into central Mississippi, including areas just to the north of Hattiesburg. So, it's a changing situation, updating as we're going through the morning.
All right. Let me open up the scope and you can see -- here are the tornado watch boxes and this one, the most recent, now extending, covering the city of New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. So, this is just popping up at this moment.
The risk for tornadoes now facing some of the larger cities along the gulf coast in the Southeast. Atlanta is seeing strong storms. We're not in that tornado watch just yet but we may very well be in the latter part of the day.
The dynamics for the storm system, we have the vigorous low pressure system coming out of Colorado. This is the one that brought the snow there. It's tapping into gulf moisture as well as a cold front working its way across much of the south.
That's not all we have going on. This line you see here, this is the jet stream. When those fast-moving winds are well above us and we have a storm system rolling through, it can kind of tilt the thunderstorms enough that we get the rotation and we get tornadic development. So, we're seeing that happening already where we have Doppler radar indicating rotation on those thunderstorms and that is why we have tornado warnings in place for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi as well as tornado watch boxes.
There's also the threat for winter weather back out towards Colorado. You can see the snow continues there, as well as into Nebraska and Wyoming. But once again, for your immediate safety, if you are in the vicinity of Memphis, New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, all the way down south towards Hattiesburg, Mississippi, make sure your NOAA weather radio is turned on, and ready and you have a plan if a tornado warning is issued for your parish or county today.
Right now, we're tracking some severe weather at this early hour. And, Brooke and T.J., I'm anticipating this to get more volatile throughout the day.
HOLMES: All right. We are just getting started.
All right. Bonnie Schneider, we appreciate you keeping an eye on that stuff.
We'll continue to check in with Bonnie throughout the morning. Quick break right now. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Some are calling it a plan to take over the Internet and it could change every Web page you look at.
HOLMES: Yes, Facebook made a big change this week. Josh Levs, we just heard, it's not a good thing when you hear somebody yell out, "Josh needs a camera."
BALDWIN: Just spin the camera around.
HOLMES: Josh, you want to come up?
LEVS: Hey, guys.
HOLMES: Whatever you want to do.
LEVS: What's going on?
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: It's OK. Josh, looking at this ...
LEVS: Here I am.
HOLMES: Facebook, it's taken over more than it's already taken over. Is that right?
BALDWIN: There he is.
LEVS: Just getting my morning (INAUDIBLE) chasing the camera around the newsroom here.
Yes. OK. You know, we talk about changes online, but I want everyone to understand how huge this is. What has happened with Facebook in recent days is the beginning of a huge change. It's going to affect all of us when we use the Web, which is personalization of the Web, the whole idea of the way you use it is changing. The concept of going to a home page, of going to a Web site -- all of that stuff is changing and in a way this is where it begins.
Let me show you what I'm talking about. Come in to this screen behind me here that says "Behind the Scenes." We talk to you about what's happening at CNN.com. I'm going to show you some headlines and then I'm going to talk you through this.
Look at this headline -- this is what "Newsweek" was saying: "Facebook's Play to Take Over the Entire Internet." This one here is from a writer for "Slate" magazine. "Facebook is basically going to be the Web." This is TechCrunch here: "I Think Facebook Just Seized Control of the Internet."
It's really big. So, what's going on? Let me show you.
Let's start off with statistics. I have a screen for you. You got to see these numbers because it's growing and growing at this insane rate.
More than 400 million people are active users of Facebook now and look at that number. Half of them are logging on any given day and how much time do they spend online? Five hundred billion minutes a month.
If we had a dollar for every one of those minutes, we'd pay off our national debt in two years. Facebook is becoming massive.
Now, here is the latest change that we're hearing about. I want you to see what we're talking about.
Facebook has launched this thing they're calling open graph. Any Web site you're on anywhere, you don't need to leave that Web site to go to Facebook. Instead, Facebook is there with you on that Web site. And while you're looking at it, you click buttons, you comment and everyone you're connected to on Facebook sees that you're recommending it and sees what you think about it.
Let's zoom in so you can see CNN.com, I just pulled up my page here. This is a normal home page for CNN.com, right? Look over here, while I'm there, I just signed in right here and anything I do on CNN, if this is a story I like, I just click recommend and automatically, that sends a signal to everyone I'm connected to Facebook.
Scotty, can you get way in here where my finger is? That's the recommend button.
So, it works exponentially, right? I look at a story, I recommend it. My Facebook people see it. They send it to theirs. They send it to theirs. They send it to theirs.
Pretty soon, you're using Facebook all over the Web without having to actually go there and so significant that on our news pulse page now, where we track what the most popular stories are, we're now showing you not only what's popular and what's updated, how many shares it's getting on Facebook, whether you're on Facebook or not, you're going to see these numbers every time you go to any Web site now.
That is what's going on, guys, with this new thing called open graph. The beginning of a new era in the way we use the Web, potentially, where you don't have to go to Facebook or Twitter. You just automatically have all the stuff you want coming to you no matter where you are on the Web.
BALDWIN: It's all merging. What's the word?
LEVS: It's emerging.
BALDWIN: Synergy.
LEVS: It's synergistic, isn't it?
BALDWIN: Well, it's slightly synergistic.
LEVS: We got to say that word in a few months.
BALDWIN: That was a big word for 7:18 in the morning, Josh Levs.
LEVS: I know. I need some water now.
HOLMES: What? What's -- yes.
BALDWIN: Go to the tease.
HOLMES: You go all synergize if you want to.
Well, everybody out there looking for a little extra money, what about extra $8,000? How does that sound to you? Well, to get that, you're going to have to sign on the dotted line before Friday. We'll tell you where you need to sign -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some of the stories we're keeping an eye on this morning.
First, Sarah Palin on the witness stand. She testified Friday about the pain caused when her e-mail account was hacked during the 2008 presidential campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: Anybody who thinks that this isn't disruptive or hurtful to have their mailbox broken into or an office broken into and documents stolen and disclosed for the rest of the world should put themselves in the person's shoes who has gone through this. And believe me, it's quite disruptive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. So, who was the culprit? Twenty-three-year- old college student and she didn't say whether or not she think if the guy who's accused should get prison time or community service if he's actually convicted of identity theft and mail fraud. He's facing some pretty stiff penalties, including jail time up to 50 years if convicted on all these counts. The defense, though, says this was all just a prank.
BALDWIN: Another tragedy in yet another West Virginia coal mine. A 28-year-old man killed. He was crushed between a piece of heavy equipment and a block of coal late Thursday night. It happened in International Coal Group's Beckley Mine in Raleigh County.
This is the 30th mine-related death in that county this year alone.
HOLMES: Now, the Boy Scouts of America organization admitting reckless and outrageous conduct in settling a sexual abuse case involving a former assistant scout master. A jury awarded the Kerry Lewis, the victim, of Oregon, $18.5 million in the case and that is believed to be the largest such award against the national organization.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We've been telling you about the severe weather threat happening today. Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on things and things are, like you said, are going to be popping all morning and we get more watches and warnings. SCHNEIDER: That's right. We do, T.J. I want to tell you right now we just got this in.
We have more tornado warnings for the extreme northern parishes of Louisiana. This includes Bossier, Claiborne, Webster, parts of Lincoln and south central Union County. Now, that's further off to the north, as well, into areas of Arkansas. So, we're starting to see the tornadic activity continue works it way across the south.
This also just in: Tornado watches are now including some larger cities like New Orleans, Louisiana, under a tornado watch, as is Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. Now, the tornado watch that extends now into Tennessee -- this will go until 2:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time. So, we are looking at a threat of severe weather for some larger cities across the south and the gulf coast extending into the afternoon.
This is just the beginning. I'm tracking severe weather throughout the day and we'll keep you posted. But, right now, the warnings are again in extreme northern parishes of Louisiana -- T.J.
HOLMES: Bonnie, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with you. Thanks so much.
A great break right now. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The clock, it is a-ticking for potential home buyers. We're talking about the first time home buyers tax credit for $8,000 expiring next week.
Here to break it all down as he every single Saturday morning, our housing expert, Clyde Anderson.
And I think I kind of answered the first question. Who qualifies, considering it's a first time home buyer tax credit and then talk about the money. How much money can they get from the government?
CLYDE ANDERSON, HOUSING EXPERT: Well, you know what, it's interesting that you don't have to be a first time home buyer to get this.
BALDWIN: Really?
ANDERSON: You can be a repeat buyer but you only get $6,500 instead of the $8,000 that you get if you're a first time buyer.
BALDWIN: I see.
ANDERSON: Yes. So, that is true that they can qualify for it, but they got to get it by April 30th. So, next Friday is the deadline.
BALDWIN: OK. So, either you're getting the $6,500 or you're getting $8,000, and people want to know, when are they getting the money? How long does it take?
ANDERSON: Now, it's just like a tax return. So, if you filed your taxes and you're waiting at home and the clock's ticking for that tax return, it's going to come just like that. If you owe the IRS money, they're going to take the difference from that tax return.
BALDWIN: You mentioned the deadline. That was April --
ANDERSON: April 30th.
BALDWIN: April 30th.
ANDERSON: Next Friday. But, now, what happens is on April 30th, you have to have a contract signed. It has to be fully executed. All parties have to agree on this contract. At that time, you're eligible for the funds, but you have to close by June 30th.
BALDWIN: Close by June 30th. Is there an extension possible or should you just go ahead and buy the house that you're debating about?
ANDERSON: Well, I think, you really should just -- if you're already thinking about buying the house, go ahead and buy the house. I haven't heard any extensions. There's been little talk, but it doesn't look like there's going to be anything right away.
And so, again, you know, there are other things out there for the housing market for this example. And we're talking about $125,000 to qualify if you are a single individual.
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: And it's $225,000 to qualify for joint. So, if you're married, you can make up to $225,000 to qualify for the program. Now, if it runs out, there are other things out there. And I tell people don't --
BALDWIN: Meaning if you miss the deadline, yes, what do you do?
ANDERSON: Don't rush. Don't buy a house just to get the $8,000.
BALDWIN: Right.
ANDERSON: I got to get a house now. Don't rush to do it.
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: You know, there are other programs, downpayment assistance program. There's an NSP program, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, that the president made available for the foreclosure issue. There's this downpayment assistance programs where people can get up to $20,000 sometimes to buy a first time home.
BALDWIN: I got to like that. The government pays you back for spending a little money yourself.
ANDERSON: There you go. BALDWIN: Clyde Anderson, awesome job. Thank you so much.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure.
BALDWIN: T.J., over to you.
HOLMES: All right, guys.
We're going to have more top stories coming up at the top of the hour. More live news. Brooke and I will be back. We're going to hand this thing over to Sanjay Gupta.
But, again, we're keeping an eye, our Bonnie Schneider is, on the severe weather threat happening in the southeast today, several watches and warnings have been popping up. You see there a lot of places under the gun from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia will be under the gun today, as well. But watches and warnings are popping up.
If we need to, we will cut in and let you know about some immediate issues if needs be, but for now, we do want to hand it over to "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." which begins right now.
