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CNN Saturday Morning News
Tornadoes Tear Through Arkansas; Oil-Spill Blame Game Begins as Slick Menaces Coast; Senators Call for Better Facebook Privacy Protections; May Day Rallies Protesting New Arizona Immigration Law
Aired May 01, 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: All right. You all didn't really think Sanjay and "AC 360" ...
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Surprise.
HOLMES: ...was coming up right now, did you? Yes. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, where we're supposed to be. First day of May. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Happy Saturday.
A lot going on, especially in Arkansas.
HOLMES: Yes it's 5 a.m. in Clifton (ph) -- Clinton, Arkansas. We'll be talking about that area a lot today. That's where a suspected tornado ripped through that city overnight.
We've got some pictures; new pictures keep in coming to us, showing us that damage. At least two dozen buildings damaged. Actually, at least one person dead, reportedly, as well. You may have seen that fire truck is tucked in under there.
But we -- we've got live reporters out. We also have our people here in the Severe Weather Center keeping an eye on still some other dangerous weather. We'll be in checking in with them here in just a moment.
BALDWIN: And we'll be checking in with Reynolds Wolf, who is down covering this massive oil spill. But guess who's been talking about? You got it. The president. Mr. Obama expected to head to the site of the oil spill sometime this weekend.
This rig is spilling more than 200,000 gallons of oil every day there into the Gulf of Mexico. It has environmental repercussions; more than 400 species of wildlife will be impacted. We will take a close look as to how close to the shore this oil is now and how much it'll cost to contain it.
HOLMES: All right. We do want to give you a look at some stories we're keeping an eye on from overnight.
One, a sheriff's deputy in Arizona recovering this morning after being shot by a suspected illegal immigrant. Now, the officer is expected to be OK; going to pull through just fine. He was on a routine patrol when he came across bales of marijuana out in the desert. Now, there was a frantic, hour-long search trying to find him after it was phoned in after he had been shot.
Now, this comes -- of course, this incident, we're talking about illegal immigrants possibly shooting this man -- after that controversial new state law that was put in place that allows police to check the residency status of suspects.
BALDWIN: Meantime, we now know President Obama will not be testifying at an upcoming corruption trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. A federal judge has now refused to issue a subpoena. But the judge says he might reconsider if evidence suggests President Obama might have something relevant to tell the jury.
Jury selection begins the 3rd of June.
HOLMES: Now, of course, we know the president said he wants to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell " policy for the military. But the Defense secretary has come out now and said that Congress should leave "don't ask, don't tell" alone.
Well, leave it alone for now -- at least until they can complete a Pentagon review. That review would help them figure out how repealing that law would affect service members.
The White House and the president support Gates' decision.
BALDWIN: Well, this time last weekend we were sitting here talking tornadoes. I think it was Texas last weekend; this weekend, severe weather happening in Arkansas. People just waking up; they'll have a chance to assess the damage this morning.
But more strong storms could be happening there today.
HOLMES: Yes, we're going to get the forecast coming up.
But right now, I want to tell you what happened in Van Buren County. You see it there; it's in the northern-central part of the state. At least one person dead. Another 10 are hurt after this suspected tornado touched down.
Deputies now saying that three power lines are down. We often see that. Twenty-five homes, at least, took some pretty serious damage. You're looking at some of the latest video we're getting in.
Storm victims are talking about it as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was crazy. I was on the phone with him, telling him that we were under a tornado warning. And I no sooner got that out of my mouth that I heard it coming. I said, 'I got to go,' and I just hung up on him, and jumped in my closet and just -- I don't know. The first thing out of my mouth was just, 'Lord, protect me.' Because that was all I could do; it was all I could say. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The noise was so loud. We couldn't hear nothing. And we was in the storm cellar -- I had to hold the door shut, and just -- we're blessed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) watch for central and eastern Arkansas, along with parts of Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas expired last hour. But still, some more serious storms could be on the way for a little later today.
BALDWIN: And when we talk about possibly more serious storms later today, what that -- might that mean, how might that translate for people in Arkansas and the rest of the Midwest area.
Let's go to Bonnie Schneider. She's been keeping here eye on some of these watches that have -- what? -- just what now -- just now expired, right, Bonnie?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Brooke and T.J., we have some very strong storms happening right now.
Thunderstorms, frequent lightning strikes hitting Tennessee at this hour, all the way up to Kentucky and into Ohio and Indiana. So the tornado watches have now been extended all the way to the noon hour, and I'm expecting them to continue even further than that.
Check it out: Tornado watches include a good portion of Kentucky, including Louisville, Bowling Green, into Richmond as well. And also, much of Tennessee, and unfortunately, the same part of Mississippi that was hit last weekend by the tornadoes is now under a tornado watch as well. So that's northwestern Mississippi, including the city of Tupelo. Memphis, Tennessee, you are under a tornado watch, as is Nashville.
This is a very serious situation. We have a powerful line of thunderstorms rolling through Tennessee right now. Frequent lightning strikes, very large-size hail and heavy downpours of rain are all part of this system.
And it's not just in the South, but the Midwest is getting hit hard as well. Heavy rain and thunderstorms across Ohio and Indiana and into Michigan at this time. You'll see some strong downpours as well into the Memphis, Tennessee area. That's where it's really teeming in terms of rain.
Also, along I-40, if you're driving towards Jackson, right between Memphis and Nashville, we're also seeing some very heavy downpours.
Now, just to let you know, today, of course we are tracking everything that's happening with the oil spill, but we are also tracking severe weather. This is going to be another big day, I think, for severe weather in terms of possibly damaging winds, maybe tornadoes, and also heavy downpours of rain.
So here's the way it shapes up: We have warm air coming up from the South, and this region right here, through the center of the country, which does include parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas -- Arkansas once again, even after tornadoes last night, and then all the way up into Tennessee and Missouri will be facing a threat for severe weather today.
So happening right now, we have multiple tornado watches. It's a serious situation. I recommend that if you don't have to travel right now, stay inside until the threat for severe weather passes, because it is going to get worse later on this morning and this afternoon.
Back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Bonnie. We will continue to check in with you. Thank you so much.
BALDWIN: Well, Bonnie mentioned this massive oil spill, and really the urgency has really ratcheted up in terms of containing it and cleaning it up. The widening of the spill out in the Gulf of Mexico continues to bleed crude petroleum, and threatens a potential ecological disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
HOLMES: Yes, four states already have declared a state of emergency. Those states -- Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
Let's give you the very latest we know now. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, an estimated 1.6 million gallons already spilled from that ruptured well, and it's spitting out oil at a rate of 210,000 thousand gallons a day.
The created slick is about 130 miles wide. To give you some perspective, that's about the distanced -- if you want to drive, from -- what? -- D.C. to Philadelphia. It's also 70 miles long. The U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has approved Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's request to mobilize 600,000 National Guard troops in response to this oil spill.
The weather -- the winds in particular, a crucial part of this unfolding situation down there.
Let's go to our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf. He has been down there covering this oil slick and this disaster.
Reynolds, let me start with what, really, is on a lot of people's minds. We were expecting possible the oil to make it to the coast yesterday at some time.
Do we know for sure whether or not that oil has made it to land?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No direct confirmation as of yet, T.J. We actually have gone out on boats on two separate occasions, looked around. There have some reports that -- that not the crude, but rather that oily sheen that they refer to -- that almost looks like it has a rainbow effect on -- on the -- on -- on the water, we really haven't -- we've heard that that made contact also with shoreline, although it really -- again, no confirmation of that happening just yet.
I'm going to pick up with something you left off and something Bonnie mentioned at home -- for our viewers at home. Hold on with me one second. We got photojournalist Steve (ph) (INAUDIBLE) -- Steve, stay put for a moment.
Guys, let me show you something. Where you happen to be at your vantage point, where the camera happens to be, you're -- you're actually towards the north. I'm towards the south. And when I let this grass grow -- or go, rather, all goes right towards the lens. What that means is, I've got a strong breeze coming in from the South. And if that wind coming in right behind me, with the Gulf of Mexico at my back -- that is going to be a transferring mechanism, which will help push that oil closer to the shoreline. That's one of the big keys.
However, in this particular area, here in Venice (ph) and in the Mississippi Delta, you also have the flow of the Mississippi River that is spreading across the continent, going from way up towards Minneapolis, past St. Louis and then rolling right through Memphis and then down through New Orleans and then right here in this area.
So you have the wind; you have the oil going in one direction. You have the mighty Mississippi going in the opposite direction. So there's a very good chance that those contrasting forces, we may see oil really spread out father along the Mississippi coast, perhaps over towards Alabama and -- and Florida.
We -- we -- we still thing it's going to affect here, but it may not be as great as we had originally had anticipated, just because the Mississippi River is so strong. However, you still have to be on your guard.
Right to my back, we've talked about the Delta National Wildlife Refuge there. That's one of -- of 10 that we have in the region. It is something that Governor Bobby Jindal is extremely concerned about, no question. And he's certainly hoping that we can get all the help that we can possibly get in this particular region (ph).
Here's what the governor had to say:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Well, it is going to have an impact on -- on our coastal ecosystems. That's going to impact our fisheries. It's going to impact our -- our bird population. It -- it potentially is going to have an impact on -- on our populated areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WOLF: Now, I don't want to give anyone the false sense of security, because, still, that oil can come very close, and some of the areas we have right along the coastline, again, very vulnerable to this.
So to combat that, what they've done is they've already put out about 217,000 feet of that protective boon (ph). They have nearly 300,000 additional feet of that protective boon that they could possibly deploy in the coming days.
And it's not just for this region, guys. We're talking about places all around the Gulf Coast: Mississippi, Alabama, into Florida. We're -- although the oil has not reached those particular places, there have been reports of people being able to actual smell -- smell the oil from these great distances.
And I can tell you, straight (ph) -- right now that Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser has been saying that to combat the spread of the oil is going to take maximum effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH PRESIDENT: As this oil comes ashore, we're going to set different crews out there, with the support of BP. We're -- we're working together with them and the Coast Guard to make sure we can get as much absorbent material to catch it as it hits the marsh, and hopefully minimize the damage to the marsh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Perhaps the biggest victim of this so far has been, of course, the wildlife. Out towards the middle of the Gulf, you've got plenty of birds there, not just on the seashore, but also out in the Gulf. You're going to see some video brought in from one of our CNN affiliates, WWL.
This is the northern gannett (ph) bird. It actually migrates from the Gulf Coast area back up to Newfoundland. It is a diving, fish- eating bird. This particular bird was actually caught by some of the -- the people working out in the Gulf trying to hamper the flow of this oil. It was actually brought in to a bird-recovery area right here in Venice, a place that was actually sponsored by BP, here sponsoring this to help -- help the bird recover.
And they say that it's going to take about seven to 10 days -- seven to 10 days before this bird may be released.
Now, one more thing to mention with the -- the -- some of the wildlife areas to our south, some of these places, especially the Delta Wildlife Refuge, that is a place that's home to some 400 different species of animals that are either endangered or protected. And of course, every concern they have is to keep that oil away from those shorelines. It's going to be a tall order, no question.
But let's send it back to you. HOLMES: Yes, and that bird you mentioned -- we saw that video. That's just the first that was picked up, and they expect possibly many, many more. Hope not. But -- but that was just the first.
Reynolds, we appreciate that report. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning. Thanks so much.
BALDWIN: We'll be talking to an environmentalist about precisely that later this morning.
Meantime, this kind of a spill, of course, generating a federal response. The president himself saying now he's considering a visit to the oil-spill site near the Louisiana coast as early as tomorrow. Now, the details still being worked out, but White House administration officials Mr. Obama will visit the area because of its national significance, and really, as we mentioned, the threat the -- in -- to the environment that it poses.
Yesterday, the president pledging the federal government's support to the victims of this oil spill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: BP is ultimately responsible under the law for paying the costs of response and cleanup operations. But we are fully prepared to meet our responsibilities to any and all affected communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, the president cannot visit the oil-spill region today because he is giving the commencement speech at the University of Michigan.
HOLMES: And from Florida to Texas, we are seeing at least 30- plus lawsuits that have been filed against BP and Transocean. That's the contractor that owns that oil rig that exploded.
Beachfront-property owners, fishermen, shrimpers, charter-boat operators have been asked to join in on these lawsuits. Legal experts say the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which was passed after the Exxon- Valdez oil spill, would hold BP responsible for the spill since it was their oil. So they are responsible for paying all of the cleanup.
BP's CEO pointing the finger at the owner of the rig.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP GROUP: The responsibility for safety on the drilling rig is with Transocean. It is their rig, their equipment, their people, their systems, their safety processes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the company that he was saying that owns the rig there is not commenting on the matter, saying they are not commenting on pending lawsuits.
Meanwhile, the costs of the Gulf oil spill is racking up. BP says cleanup costs currently running at about $6 million a day. Another estimate out says that the cleanup and lawsuits could possibly cost the company some $3 billion.
Keep this in mind though: BP reported $6 billion in profits in the first three months of this year.
BALDWIN: Check your calendars: Today, May 1, it's May Day. It's a day of significance for a lot of workers, really, across the country, because thousands of people are planning to mark it at rallies protesting Arizona's new immigration law.
Critics still not so impressed. As many as 14 cities here, including New York; Los Angeles; Atlanta; Washington, D.C., are planning these kinds of rallies today.
Now, state officials -- we need to mention here, they did make some tweaks to the bill yesterday, saying that changes should ease earlier concerns about racial profiling. So under this new bill, law- enforcement officers can only check on a suspect's immigration status if he or she stops the suspect -- they're calling it "a lawful stop" -- for that cause.
HOLMES: Of course, we all know, you're supposed to listen to the police and follow their instructions.
BALDWIN: Right. But one guy didn't exactly do that. And you could say he is feeling the effects of that decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't even mess with that. Put it back up there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Get this though: The officer says the man provoked him. Hear what he says sparked that flap.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, four Democratic senators got a lot on their plate up there in Capitol Hill, of course. But now, they're taking on Facebook. They're concerned about the privacy policies on that Web site.
BALDWIN: Do you have a Facebook profile?
HOLMES: I do, yes.
BALDWIN: I do, too. So what exactly are they concerned about, and how do you protect your online information on Facebook?
For that we turn now to Josh Levs in the newsroom. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In order for you to understand what these senators are upset about when it comes to Facebook, what you first need to understand is that Facebook in recent days has made a whole series of changes.
Now, one of the changes that you see is a lot of websites, including CNN.com, have this new plug-in. So if you sign into Facebook and you get to one of these websites, you will instantly see some of what your friends are up to, some of what you're up to. It's easier for you to recommend pages.
That's all over the Internet in a lot of places right now. That is not the thing that these senators are pointing to.
Instead, they're pointing to something else. Facebook hooked up with three specific websites. One is called yelp, which does shopping and restaurant reviews; another one is Microsoft docs -- doc.com; and another one is Pandora, which is online radio.
And what happens there, if you sign into Facebook, when you arrive at one of these websites, it automatically pulls some information. And as Facebook points out, they did give these partner sites instant access to some information that Facebook says is publicly available: your friends and your profile.
This is what some senators are upset about, including Senator Chuck Schumer. Here's what he said:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: We believe Facebook should reverse its policy so that users have to opt in to sharing data, rather than opt out. And this would ensure that the default setting for all users is that their information is kept private.
With the current system, the upfront disclosure of what's happening with your personal information is confusing at best. The onus here should be on Facebook, not on the user.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Now, Facebook has responded to this, and I want you to see what they said. They said, "Our highest priority is to keep and build the trust of the more 400 million people who use our service. These new products and features are designed to enhance personalization and promote social activity across the Internet, while continuing to give users unprecedented control over what information they share, when they want to share it and with whom."
Now, I know this can get complicated, so we've done something for you. We spoke with our friends at Mashable.com, which tracks all sorts of things on the Web. They have a really good explanation about how to handle these changes, and if you want to, how to basically disable these things from these certain websites when you get there. It's all at my page, Facebook.com/joshlevscnn. If you go there right now, it'll talk you through it. Also, while you're there, let us know what you think about these changes at Facebook.
And I'm going to remind, a rule of thumb that was given to me by someone at Mashable -- he says, in general, you put something online, people are going to see it. He said he would never put anything online that he wouldn't want his mom to see.
I'm Josh Levs, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, police officers dealing with suspected criminals all day, they might, from time to time, get a little irritated.
BALDWIN: Just a little bit. But it seems one officer might have reached his boiling point when talking with an inmate who wasn't exactly following directions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't even mess with that. Put it back up there.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just beat me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, some of the stories we are keeping an eye on this morning.
A federal jury in Knoxville, Tennessee is returning a guilty verdict against a former college student accused of accessing the e- mail account of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The 22-year-old, David Kernell -- he's facing up to 20 years in prison after his conviction on charges of unauthorized computer access and obstructing justice.
Kernell has -- was charged with breaking into Palin's e-mail during the 2008 presidential campaign.
BALDWIN: There is some new fallout this morning after last month's deadly mine blast. Do you remember? In southern West Virginia?
Federal law-enforcement officials telling CNN that the FBI has now interviewed nearly two dozen current and former employees of Massey Energy. Remember, they're the ones who owned the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Raleigh County, where 29 workers died last month from that massive methane explosion.
The focus here of this federal probe is to determine whether negligence was a factor in that explosion.
HOLMES: Well, you could get a knock on your door today from someone just looking to count heads in your house. Census workers supposed to be on the streets today going door to door to finish the count for those of you who did not mail in your census forms.
But there's a little bit of a problem here. The computer system that's needed to coordinate the whole door-to-door count -- it has a problem, and the system is prone to crashing. That's not good.
About 63 percent of households across the country has sent back their census forms.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right. We're going to start this story by telling you that -- the obvious: going to jail, really not a good thing.
HOLMES: Going to jail drunk not a good thing either. Again, something else that's obvious.
Take a look though.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't even mess with that. Put it back up there. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just beat me, to the ground, kick me. Picked me up and threw me into a cell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. Young man, he'll -- could have been looking at a hangover. But he's got a different kind of headache now.
This is jail in Akron, Ohio. This is what happened: Drunk guy playing with the fingerprint reader. Deputy says, 'Put it down.' He doesn't. Deputy then gets the finger from said suspect, and you saw...
BALDWIN: Wasn't the good kind of finger.
HOLMES: ...what happened after that. The deputy, though, is a veteran. Served overseas. His boss, though, didn't excuse his behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF DEPUTY GARRY MONEYPENNY, SUMMIT CO., OHIO SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: The deputy backhanded the prisoner, assaulting him, which goes completely against what our rules and regulations and policy procedures.
He did do two tours of duty, one in Afghanistan, also one in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the deputy was suspended for 10 days, agreed to get some counseling. This was the third time though he had done something like this.
The drunk guy admitted he wasn't really hurt. But he's still suing the deputy and the department.
BALDWIN: Note to self: If you're in jail, do what the deputy says.
HOLMES: Well, apparently...
BALDWIN: Apparently so.
HOLMES: ...you got a problem with authority if you end up in jail in the first place.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HOLMES: Don't you?
We're going to turn back here to Louisiana, Florida -- just two of the places right now where several governors have declared a state of emergency as they're bracing for that oil from the Gulf that at some point come ashore.
BALDWIN: Yes. Coming up, we'll take a look at the far-reaching impact this oil spill has really had and continues to have all along the coastline.
HOLMES: Also, an American soldier, born in Mexico, raised in Arizona though -- he's fought for this country. Now he's taking on his state and that new immigration law.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there, everybody. Welcome back to the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Hey, good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for starting your Saturday with us. Saturday, 1st of May.
HOLMES: May 1st. A lot of -- a lot of demonstrations happening around the country. We'll be talking about those on this May 1st as well.
But, we need to start here with a story out of Arizona where a sheriff's deputy is recovering after being shot by a suspected illegal immigrant. The officer is expected to be OK.
What happened here is he was out on patrol in the desert when he came across bales of marijuana and encountered several suspects, suspected illegal immigrants, and he was shot. Now, after an hour- long rescue in the desert, he was finally found and, again, he's expected to be OK. This incident, though, comes after last week's signing of that controversial new state law that allows police to check the residency status of suspects.
BALDWIN: Federal judge saying thanks but no thanks to President Obama. He's rejecting the subpoena for the president to testify at the Blago trial. Blago as in former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
But this judge could reconsider if any evidence during the trial actually implicates the president. The former governor is accused of trying to sell or trade the Senate seat left behind by then Senator Obama.
Jury selection of this trial begins June 3rd.
HOLMES: Now, the Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, is warning Congress not to change the rules about gays serving in the military, the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". He doesn't want them to change it at least until a Pentagon review is done.
That review is going to show what impact it would have on the Force if, in fact, they did away with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". The White House, supporting the Pentagon review, also says President Obama is committed to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".
Advocates of repealing the law say the military view is not necessary.
Well, severe weather roared through Arkansas last night. One person killed, but it wasn't as deadly as first thought.
Officials are revising now the casualty count from a suspected tornado that touched down in Van Buren County where officials say one person is dead, 10 more hurt. Initially they thought three people had been killed.
Deputies say besides downed power lines and trees, many homes were seriously damaged as well. Storm victims said they could see and hear this thing coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard it. We jumped in the Explorer, ran to the neighbor's house, got in their storm cellar.
Ten second after we were in there, it hit. It lasted probably 20 seconds, and come out and this is what's the ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the aftermath. A lot of cleanup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A lot of cleanup, as we say. And again, we still could possibly have more -- more of that on the way a little later -- a little later today.
Our Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on all that stuff. We'll be checking in with her here in a bit.
Also, something else today, protesters are mobilizing across the country today, marking May Day rallies in -- across the country. Demonstrations, they're going to be sparked -- at least the help (ph) will be -- will be helped with this Arizona new immigration law, maybe get more people out on the streets, demonstrating.
BALDWIN: Yes, remember the Arizona governor, Jan Brewer? She signed the thing into law last Friday, but there -- been a lot of concerns about the potentials for racial profiling.
So what did state lawmakers do yesterday? They tweaked the bill to, as they would say, ease some of those concerns about profiling, but critics are far from impressed, going ahead of rallies planned today. You could see the map, a bunch of rallies across the country.
By the way, in her first interview since signing the bill, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer explains why they drew such a contentious line in the sand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: The people of Arizona are totally frustrated and they are pushing back. Now, they want to feel safe and secure in their homes. I mean, this is our state. It is our nest. We ought to be protected, and it is the government's, the federal government's responsibility, and they're not doing it.
And we are the gateway. We are the gateway for crime into the United States. It's -- I mean, it's very, very obvious. We have a thousand illegal immigrants coming across our border a day, and we cannot tolerate it. And, out of that thousand, many who are apprehended are known criminals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the backlash continues to grow against this immigration law. A 15-year Tucson police veteran is now filing suit in federal court. He says the law really keeps him from doing his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN H. ESCOBAR, TUCSON POLICE OFFICER: I worked throughout the years to establish a -- a relationship with the community, legal or illegally. It doesn't matter. Where crimes get solved, that's what we do.
By doing this law, it puts a barrier up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Of course, the ACLU, other groups are calling the immigration law unconstitutional. The governor, as you heard from just a moment ago, she said it's certainly necessary and argues federal government has failed to do its job and secure the border.
Meanwhile, an American soldier who's born in Mexico, raised in Arizona. Now, he's torn between fighting for his adopted country and protecting the rights of his family.
BALDWIN: Yes. Imagine, as Thelma Gutierrez introduces us to an army private whose fight against Arizona's brand new immigration law is very, very personal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SINGING IN SPANISH).
PFC. JOSE MEDINA, U.S. ARMY: I'm here because this is something that's close to my heart.
I went off to protect this country and protect my family. That's what hurts.
It's my job to try and save lives.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Private First Class Jose Medina is 20 years old, an Army medic home on leave in Arizona.
MEDINA: I remember when I first joined the military, they would ask us, where are you from? And I was proud to say I'm from the great state of Arizona, because I was raised here, I grew up here.
I don't know if I can say that so proudly. I don't know if I even want to live here any more.
GUTIERREZ: For Medina, this is personal.
(on camera): You were not born in this country?
MEDINA: No, I wasn't.
GUTIERREZ: You were born in Mexico?
MEDINA: That's right. Originally.
I came here illegally when I was two.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): But now, he has his green card.
MEDINA: I thought I had a huge debt to this county that's given me so much.
When I heard of the law that passed, I couldn't believe it because the America that I know, the freedom, the liberties that we enjoy, are for everyone. It's a shame, because I loved the state. I grew up here. But a state that doesn't even want you here?
I might take this uniform off, and I'm just another Hispanic.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Why do people feel indignant about being asked to produce an I.D. that they ought to have?
MEDINA: It's an insult, almost, because the color of your skin, because you're not white.
GUTIERREZ: Is this that you resent the fact that you could be stopped and asked for your papers while you're fighting for this country? Is that what angers you?
MEDINA: It's not so much anger, it's hurt that, you know, that could happen to me, it could happen to my family, my friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
MEDINA: Come on, man. Come eat.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Hours before his flight, Jose Medina invited us to his going away dinner.
"VICTOR", CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND: You may go to Afghanistan, you may go to Iraq. After this night, man, we may not see you again.
You're offering your life for this country, for -- for all of us, but you might maybe stopped (ph) tomorrow by your (INAUDIBLE).
MEDINA: It's my duty to go and do what I have to do.
GUTIERREZ: Before Jose Medina left Arizona, he told me he was leaving with a heavy heart.
MEDINA: I worry, will my family live in peace. And what good is keeping us safe here if we lose ourselves, if we lose a part of what makes America so great? We drive fear into our own people's hearts.
GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Many of you have very strong opinions on this law. I want to throw a number at you, 51 percent. Fifty-one percent of Americans, according to this new nationwide poll, favor Arizona's new law on cracking down on illegal immigration, while 39 percent of you oppose it.
The law will take effect in 90 days.
HOLMES: Thousands of gallons of oil still pouring into the gulf, and the giant oil slick is putting four states on alert. You see them there.
The president's considering a visit to the spill area off Louisiana's coast possibly as early as tomorrow and the Pentagon's green lighting a request from Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal to bring in 6,000 National Guard troops to help out. Louisiana's already shut down some fishing grounds and oyster beds and high seas this weekend are threatening to push to oil into creeks, ponds, lakes inland.
Winds will push the oil to Alabama's coast, possibly by Monday, that state's governor declaring a state of emergency, saying the giant oil slick poses, quote, "a serious threat to our environment and economy." Experts in the state worried some wildlife could be wiped out and their habitat destroyed.
The slick could also hit Florida by some time on Monday, and that's where an expert says the disaster's a whole lot bigger than we think right now. The Coast Guard telling us 1.6 million gallons has spilled so far. A Florida state professor who's an expert on ocean biology says he believes it's at least five times that.
BALDWIN: Well, we talked about the windy weather in that neck of country this morning. How might that windy weather affect the oil spill as it continues to wash ashore?
Bonnie Schneider watching that for us. We will check in with her next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Well, we're talking about this massive oil spill this morning, Bonnie Schneider, and I know the windy weather down there and the choppy water, that cannot be helping the cleanup.
SCHNEIDER: No. Brooke and T.J., you're absolutely right. We have winds coming up from the south and they are windy. Some of the gusts are as high as 30 miles per hour, sustained winds 20 to 25 miles per hour. That only enhances the flow coming in from the gulf and the waves and, unfortunately, kicks up that oil spill and brings it into the areas along the Gulf Coast.
So here's the Louisiana coastline. Here's where the oil spill is located. Right now the winds are coming from the south, southeast. We are anticipating some changes, though, in the winds and where the oil slick will be likely headed.
A look at our satellite perspective is fascinating. You can see the slick right here, the shape of it, almost an "S" shape line down, just very close to the Louisiana coastline.
Now, we don't have people, of course, living in these areas here. We have estuaries and marshes, but a lot of wildlife certainly lives there and even though you can't see the sheen as well on this satellite picture, that is a fine, very fine coat of oil right along the surface and it does affect so many animals that are in the water, even right now.
In fact, some of the mammals affected are whales, and Dr. Gregory Bossart, the Chief Veterinary Officer from the Georgia Aquarium right here in Atlanta talks a little bit about how those animals are affected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. GREG BOSSART, CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER, GEORGIA AQUARIUM: This is a big feeding area for a lot of the larger whales. We know there are dolphins in this area.
Marine mammals breathe right at the air-water interface and this is where a lot of the volatile gases are from the -- the oil slick, so when they breathe, they actually inhale the -- the gases, which are extremely toxic to the lungs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: And it's not just the whales that are affected. You have also tiny sea creatures like shrimp, mussels, crab and even the plankton that the larger fish feed on affected by areas that could be covered with oil very soon, in fact.
Here's the -- where the slick is located, just here, right on the end of the Mississippi delta here in Louisiana. But we are anticipating, with the flow of wind, for areas a little bit further to the north and even east affected in Mississippi today. Then tomorrow, further to the east, eventually Alabama and possibly as far to the east as Pensacola, Brooke and T.J., as we monitor this oil slick and how the weather will influence it.
One thing to note, on Tuesday we are expecting a front that should push the oil a little bit further offshore. I'll have more on that coming up.
HOLMES: All right, Bonnie. We will check in with you throughout the morning. Thank you so much.
We're also going to be turning to Oprah Winfrey. You seem like you might know a whole lot about her. Her fans certainly love, love her. But does -- does everybody really know the whole story?
BALDWIN: Yes. There's this huge, controversial new book -- I'm sure you've heard about it -- flying off the store shelves, making some very surprising claims about Oprah's very private life.
I sat down, talked to this author, Kitty Kelley, about this latest unauthorized biography.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A look at some of the stories making headlines.
A federal jury in Nashville (ph), Tennessee returns a guilty verdict against the former college student accused of hacking into the e-mail account of the former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Twenty-two year old David Kernell faces up to 21 years in prison after being convicted of unauthorized computer access and obstruction of justice. Kernell was charged with breaking into Palin's e-mail during the 2008 presidential campaign. BALDWIN: You remember that massive mine blast in Southern West Virginia last month that killed 29 people? Well, there's new fallout this morning.
There's a federal law enforcement official that's telling CNN that the FBI has interviewed nearly two dozen current and former employees of Massey Energy, that's the owner of that massive coal mine, the Upper Big Branch coal mine where those workers died. The focus, they say, of this federal probe is to determine whether negligence was a factor in that disaster.
HOLMES: Well, 63 percent of you did what the government asked you to do, which was fill out your census form and send it back. The rest of you could get a knock on your door starting today.
Census workers are going to be out on the streets, trying to count the rest of you who did not send them back in, but there is a bit of a problem. The computer system that they news (ph) -- need to coordinate this whole door-to-door count has all kinds of issues and it's prone to crashing right now, and those glitches could delay the efforts to do that final head count.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: I want to take you live now to the streets of Athens, Greece. You're looking at a live picture of May Day -- some protests going on, demonstrations expected on this May Day. But also, you got another group of folks out in the streets today for a -- a different reason and all these groups are kind of getting mixed together.
But Diana Magnay is there for us. She's live on the line.
We're trying to kind of set the scene here with -- you got -- of course, some people come out, Diana, for -- for May Day anyway, but other groups, in particular workers' unions, are using this day and this opportunity as well to let their voices be heard and not necessarily all peaceful out there on the streets of Athens, Diana.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is certainly not all peaceful, T.J. That's right. We've been in amongst clouds of teargas and we've seen fires. I didn't know if they were petrol (INAUDIBLE) but there have certainly been scuffles, really, just within the last 45 minutes.
But, as you say, there are basically two groups here. There are -- I mean, it is International Labor Day so the opportunity for workers and workers' unions to come out and protest for their rights, and here in Greece that's particularly acute right now because of these new austerity measures that saves the country from defaulting on its debt, which is going to hit workers here extremely hard. They're going to basically their salaries cut and have taxes hiked so the cost of living is going to go up an enormous amount for people here.
But then, added to those, you have the kind of radical elements, the Black Bloc, who -- who have basically used this as an opportunity to scuffle with police to cause a bit of a fight. And they're the ones who are really leading the kind of ground swells of -- of bottle throwings towards the police and -- and therefore the ones who are -- who are in the frontline, effectively, when the teargas is -- is thrown back.
But, I mean, in front of us now, I'm seeing about 200 riot police who are basically monitoring the situation in the main Constitution Square as the -- as the workers go past with their banners up, basically demonstrating against those austerity measures -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, Diana, you talked about a radical element that's out there, and it sounds like they're kind of leading the charge. So is it -- would you call these isolated scuffles, isolated incidents or is this radical element, quite frankly, starting to -- to rattle everybody to the point that larger crowds seem to be getting into scuffles with police?
MAGNAY: Larger crowds do inevitably get into scuffles because these radical elements -- I mean, they're the same. They're the kind of younger, left wing blocs that you see in -- across Europe in any kind of demonstrations, or May Day in Berlin, you get them -- you get them here. And they're really just looking for an opportunity to -- to cause a fight.
But they're -- they're here in large numbers. They're the ones who -- who generally wear black. They cover their faces with black masks and they generally, whenever they see a camera, try and -- try and make you stop filming or even get rid of the camera.
So that's the group we're talking about who are really leading the charge here. But the workers are also getting inevitably involved in these clashes -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Diana Magnay on the streets of -- of Athens. Diana, thank you. We'll check in with you probably again this morning.
But, again, the live picture you're seeing here, demonstrations, for the most part peaceful in the live picture you're seeing here. But, again, two different groups out there.
And, of course, this is International Workers' -- Workers' Day, May Day. It happens every year. People go out and demonstrate. Sometimes it's just a family day. People go out for picnics and hang out and whatnot.
But also today, people there in Greece -- Greece has been in the middle of a huge financial crisis, a big debt crisis in which there are going to be forced to make some serious decisions and some tough decisions and make some serious cuts in budgets, and that's going to affect a lot of workers. And some of those workers' unions taking advantage of this day as well to, like our Diana Magnay say, start some scuffles and some clashes with police.
We'll keep an eye on this situation on the streets of Athens.
A quick break. We're right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this first day of May.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Happy Saturday. Thanks for getting up with us.
HOLMES: Yes. It's 7:00 A.M. where we sit here in Atlanta, 6:00 A.M. in Clinton, Arkansas, where they are cleaning up. A suspected tornado ripped through that city overnight.
Some of the pictures we are getting in here, at least two dozen buildings damaged or destroyed. That's a fire truck actually buried underneath all that you're seeing there.
Risk for more tornadoes and other severe weather continues today. Our Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on the weather for us.
BALDWIN: We're also taking a different look at the weather to see how it's affecting that cleanup effort down there in the Gulf of Mexico. By the way, the president is expected to head down to that area at some point this weekend.
This rig is now spilling more than 200,000 gallons of oil every day, but there's also an environmental impact. We're hearing more than 400 different kinds of wildlife will be impacted.
We will take a close look as to how close the oil now is to the shore and how much it will cost to contain it.
HOLMES: And we're going to start, we'll give you some headlines now, including one out of Arizona where a sheriff's deputy is recovering this morning after being shot by a suspected illegal immigrant. The officer is expected to be just fine. He's OK.
What was happening is that he was out on patrol in the desert when he found some bales of marijuana. And then a shootout ensued between him and some suspects. After an hour-long rescue effort out in the desert, he was finally found by his fellow officers.
This incident, of course, now comes after the signing of that controversial new state immigration law called one of the toughest in the country.
BALDWIN: A federal judge has now officially rejected the subpoena calling for President Obama to testify at the former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich trial. But we're hearing that the judge might reconsider that if there's any evidence that comes forward during the trial that could implicate the president. The former Illinois governor was accused of trying to sell or maybe trade that Illinois Senate seat by then -- left by then-Senator Barack Obama. The jury selection in this case starts the third of next month.
HOLMES: Of course, President Obama has said he wants to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. But his defense secretary, Robert Gates, says Congress should leave it alone for now, at least. They want to wait until there's a Pentagon review. That review would figure out how repealing that law would affect the service members. The White House says the president does support Gates' position.
BALDWIN: All right. I want to take you to Arkansas now where there's at least some good news if we can say that after the severe weather really just roared through that state last night. The tornado not as deadly as initially thought. Officials are revising now the casualty count from a suspected tornado that touched down last night in Van Buren County.
The latest count we have is one fatality, according to officials. But 10 more people are hurt after the suspected tornado touched down. But take a look at some of the damage with me.
Initially, casualty count-wise, they thought three people have died. Two dozen wounded -- again, not as bad. Deputies say besides downed power lines, downed trees, a lot of homes took serious damage. There's a fire truck between all that.
Severe weather, though, the threat exists today, as well.
HOLMES: Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on that threat today. Bonnie, the same area?
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
HOLMES: Kind of in the warning zone again today?
SCHNEIDER: It's really incredible, T.J. and Brooke, because Arkansas is hit hard with tornadic activity last night, and now, we're bracing for a high risk zone in Arkansas today. Meaning, we have a greater than 15 percent, possibly 30 percent chance of tornadoes within a 25-mile square radius. That is high.
Right now, we have severe weather hitting Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville. Hey, the Kentucky Derby is today. It looks like we're going to see very wet weather at Churchill Downs. Tornado watches are continuing right now, 9:00 a.m. Central Time. This one expires in Kentucky and Indiana.
And then we have a little piece of Alabama clipped in this one but it's mostly Tennessee and yes, Mississippi. Remember the tornadoes in Yazoo City, last weekend. Same places under the gun for more tornadic activity for today, and that does stretch backwards towards Arkansas. So, Arkansas's a place we've been watching very closely today for yet more severe weather.
Here's a look at the strong thunderstorms. Notice the real-time frequent lightning strikes we are tracking here on CNN. You can see them hitting Memphis and Nashville right now. And as we head to the north, lots of rain and heavy downpours. Severe weather in Detroit, Michigan, Toledo, Ohio. This is affecting the Midwest, as well.
And then further southward we go and you can see a lot of that rain is coming up from Arkansas, from Little Rock, moving on into Memphis.
So, here's our spot for severe storms today and we are talking at a very good chance this upgrade from the severe storm center from moderate to high is unusual and it is for Arkansas for today. So get the NOAA weather radio ready.
If you had the severe weather last night, you probably already have it turned on. Change the batteries. Make sure they're fresh. You're going to need it again this afternoon.
We're also tracking, of course, the weather affecting the Gulf Coast oil spill. I'll have more on that coming up.
HOLMES: All right. Bonnie, we appreciate you. We will be checking in with you again soon.
SCHNEIDER: OK.
BALDWIN: With that oil spill, as we have mentioned, you know, the choppy waters, the windy weather, that is bringing the oil a little bit closer to land and that oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to leak crude petroleum and threatens this massive potential ecological disaster right along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
HOLMES: You have four states now, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida. You see them there. They've all declared a state of emergency.
Let's give you the latest on what we know now. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, estimated 1.6 million gallons has already spilled from that ruptured well. It's coming out at about 210,000 gallons every single day. The oil slick in the Gulf is 130 miles wide, 70 miles long.
The U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates, has approved Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal's request to mobilize 6,000 National Guard troops in response to this spill.
Now, the weather, specifically the wind, is the problem right now.
Let's check in with our Reynolds Wolf, who was there.
And, Reynolds, that was a great demonstration you gave earlier with the grass. You can see the wind is coming from behind you, from that water, coming straight out and that's pushing that oil in the wrong direction.
WOLF: Absolutely. We are going to make a little bit of homemade confetti here again for you, the confetti machine right here and some of my notes. We do all of this stuff from memory anyway.
I'm going to hold it up right towards the camera. Look what happens. You see it all just going right past the (INAUDIBLE). Yes, the wind is very strong coming in out of the south and because of that wind, we actually have some flood watches that are in effect for the extreme southern part of Louisiana and it's not due to the heavy rain. In fact, rain here is only going to be about 20 percent or so. Much stronger, heavier rain fall well to the north as Bonnie has been telling you all morning long.
But in this particular area, the biggest threat we have weather- wise is due to the strong wind. As you mentioned, that wind is going to be very strong, possibly propelling some of that oil from much of the central gulf and pushing it right closer to land fall.
Now, when it gets close to land in the extreme south of Louisiana, the places that are most vulnerable will be some of those wildlife refugees. For example, just to our immediate south, we have the Delta National Wildlife Refuge which is home to some 400 different species of animal that happen to be either protected or endangered and that is one place that is really going to be under the gun. That's actually one of 10 that are scattered around parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Now, at this particular place, we happen to be in Venice, Louisiana. It's going to be very difficult for the oil to make it up right here where my feet happen to be and that's because of the strong current of the Mississippi River that's going to be working against that flow of oil.
But still, right along the coast itself, those places will likely receive some kind of oil, some kind of damage. Those are the places that are so sensitive. Places that Governor Bobby Jindal really, really is trying to protect.
In fact, part of that protection measure has been putting out 217,000 feet of protective boom. We're talking about that inflatable kind of barrier that they put into the water and then they got another 300,000 at the ready, that they plan to deploy later on today.
And it won't be just here, T.J., but in many places around the Gulf Coast, back into Mississippi, into Louisiana, into Alabama, of course, Florida. And all are trying to protect just the people. Of course, the economic aspects of who may be affected like the fishermen and also the environment.
We have a shot again of one of the birds that was actually plucked out of the Gulf of Mexico. This one happens to be a Northern Gannet. This amazing animal is actually a migratory bird, actually flies from Newfoundland and here each time, once a year. It makes the trip out.
And it is a diving. It is a fish-eating bird. Its very existence depends on that clean water, being able to get his food out of the water. And, of course, a situation like this is very detrimental to them. That particular bird is actually being treated here in Venice, Louisiana. It is at a rescue facility sponsored by B.P. and should be released in seven to 10 days.
Back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: Those are always the saddest little pictures to see an animal of any kind covered in oil and we see after some of these oil spills. Hopefully, won't see too many more pictures of that during this particular one.
Reynolds, thanks so much. We'll check in with you again throughout the morning.
BALDWIN: Well, obviously, this oil spill bad news for the environment, bad news for certain parts of economy. But as odd as this might sound, hang with me here, the spill is actually helping the local economy in some respects. Why?
Take a look at some pictures with me. This is the scene in Escambia County, Florida, yesterday -- hundreds of people lining up for cleanup-related jobs that have been created by this oil spill. In fact, a Texas-based company is looking to hire as many as 500 people for jobs paying anywhere from 10 to 18 bucks an hour.
HOLMES: Today is May Day, the day of significance for workers across the country. Across the world, it's International Workers' Day. And thousands of people are planning to mark it at rallies protesting the Arizona immigration law. You see some of the cities here. As many as 14 cities, including New York, L.A., Atlanta, D.C., are all planning rallies today.
State officials in Arizona have actually tweaked the bill. They did that on Friday. They're saying these changes should ease earlier concerns about racial profiling.
Under this new bill now -- at least the new changes -- law enforcement officials can only check an immigration status after a suspect is stopped or arrested for a specific offense or crime. Previously, the legislation was a little vague there and just said when an officer had made legal contact with a citizen.
Well, if you miss one cable bill payment or may be a few days late on rent, you assume it's not that big of a deal.
BALDWIN: You never done, right?
HOLMES: I'm late on stuff right now.
BALDWIN: Never. Me, too. You might be surprised. Financial analyst Clyde Anderson explains how the littlest, littlest things could impact your credit score.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC) BALDWIN: All right. You don't have to be some big money guru to know that your credit score kind of a big deal and you can mess yours up if you're not very careful. So, what kind of damage can you really do?
Our own money guru, financial expert Clyde Anderson has some answers. I was just confessing to Clyde that I was a little late on a certain bill.
Look, we're all guilty. It happens, OK? But there's some new information that we're getting about the number of points I guess that your credit score can drop. They're getting hypotheticals.
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL EXPERT: Exactly.
BALDWIN: To help us through.
ANDERSON: Yes, and these are things that we didn't have before and what's considered to be the black box -- that big secret that nobody knew really how it was calculated.
BALDWIN: Yes. What is credit? What is a credit score?
ANDERSON: Exactly. And the credit score is calculated, and there's three different credit scores that you have. You know, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. Now, three different companies and they all give you different scores, and a lot of companies go with the median or the median score.
BALDWIN: OK. So, what are the things to do a little bit of damage to your credit score?
ANDERSON: Yes, several things that can do it. You know, scores range from anywhere from 300 to 850 -- 300 being the low end. And so, late payments, missing a payment, that can hit you. I mean, it can hit you 25 points up to 75 points sometimes.
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: This really depends how late you are, as well. The later you are, the harder it's going to hit you.
BALDWIN: Let me just ask you briefly -- what really is considered a good credit score? Is it 850 the highest?
ANDERSON: Eight hundred fifty is the highest. So, if you're anywhere around 700 there, you're considered to have good credit. OK?
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: Most Americans fall in the mid-660 area.
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: Seven hundred is a good credit score.
BALDWIN: All right. So, we talked about a few points, doing a little bit of damage. But let's give me the bad news.
ANDERSON: Bad news.
BALDWIN: What really can do the damage?
ANDERSON: Well, I mean, I guess, you know, we are looking at a big foreclosure crisis that is going in the country.
BALDWIN: Right.
ANDERSON: Foreclosure is huge on the credit. It can hurt you up to almost 240 points. Some cases even more. So, it's a huge blow. Imagine if you had that 700 credit score. It's going to drop it significantly.
BALDWIN: So, we're looking at the points now.
ANDERSON: Yes, yes. So, we're talking about deed-in-lieu, 850 to 160. Meaning, you're just giving up the house. You're signing over the house to someone else.
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: One hundred thirty to 240 for that bankruptcy. So, that's the max on the 240 side for a bankruptcy. So, when you're filing bankruptcy, you just to keep in mind that, you know, it can hurt. It definitely can hurt.
But, again, I always tell people, you can bounce back. Credit does come back.
BALDWIN: Yes.
ANDERSON: Few things that you can do and it will build back over time.
BALDWIN: How long does it take, Clyde Anderson?
ANDERSON: You know, 12 months to 24 months, you'll start to see a big difference if you're doing the things that you need to. If you leave it alone, it will come back, but it will come back quicker if you're doing those things, like using the credit.
And a lot of people want to stop using. Don't stop using it. They want to see that you know how to use the credit. So, that's key.
BALDWIN: Final question because I have here and I love talking to you.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BALDWIN: Never pay for getting your credit score. That's a good piece of advice.
ANDERSON: I don't pay for it. You know, a lot of companies sell it online. They give you a different credit score sometimes than a consumer report that you get from a mortgage company or if you're going to apply for a car loan.
BALDWIN: OK.
ANDERSON: You can get the credit score from those people. Don't go online and pay this money to get a credit score. Get your report and you're going to get a free report from AnnualCreditReport.com, but you don't need to go and pay for that score.
BALDWIN: Note to self, never pay.
ANDERSON: Never pay.
BALDWIN: Never pay.
ANDERSON: Never pay. Just pay on time.
BALDWIN: Clyde Anderson, always a pleasure. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday. Good tips.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
BALDWIN: T.J., get that bill paid.
HOLMES: I was -- I was discouraging, Clyde. My credit score must be about four.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You know that holds up. All right. Thank you, as always. Good information.
Well, we have 7:15 now on a Saturday morning. It's never too early to exercise. I am looking at in the studio, Miss Debbie Allen herself, and the fitness guru Denise Austin who is a little too worked up for 7:15 in the morning.
But we are going to we'll talk to them both about getting you in shape. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Stories keeping an eye on right now. You're looking at pictures of protests going on, May Day protests happening on the streets of Athens right now. And, of course, this is happening every year, May Day demonstrations. But today, you have mixed in there some workers' unions who are out there protesting against some of the tough tax hikes and also some of the major cuts that the government in Greece is having to make because they're in a tough debt crisis right now.
BALDWIN: Remember that massive explosion last month on that southern West Virginia mine? Well, there's new fallout this morning in the wake of that blast. A federal law enforcement official is telling CNN that the FBI has interviewed nearly two dozen current and former employees of Massey Energy -- remember, they're the ones that owned the Upper Big Branch coal mine where the 29 workers died last month in the explosion.
Well, the focus here of this federal probe is to determine whether negligence was a factor in the explosion.
HOLMES: A federal jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, returns a guilty verdict against a former college student accused of accessing the e- mail account of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Twenty-two-year-old David Kernell faces up to 20 years in prison after conviction of charges of unauthorized computer access and obstructing justice. Kernell was charged with breaking into Palin's email during the 2008 presidential campaign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: Let's -- come on. I can't even hold it in. They got these two guests. They have so much energy.
Let's go ahead and reveal here who I have with me. Of course, these two ladies are getting us fit early in the morning.
Denise, Debbie -- good to see you both. Debbie Allen, Denise Austin. Good to have you guys here with us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's great to be here.
HOLMES: Are you always like this in the morning?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, come on. That's when I squeeze in my workout.
HOLMES: You're here and let me explain a little bit here, that they're here because it's World Fitness Day.
You're going to be kicking off something major over here at the Georgia Dome just around the corner from us where you're going to get thousands of people together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HOLMES: What is your message to those thousands that are going to live there with you but also the millions that can actually follow you online?
DEBBIE ALLEN, ACTRESS, DIRECTOR: Well, my message is today is the beginning of the rest of your life. And if you haven't been exercising, it's time to start. It is about improving the quality of your life.
And being fit is a lot of things. It's not just physical. It's mental. It's spiritual. It's so many different things.
But the body follows that physical pattern that you set every day. And if everybody could find something that they could engage in, physically every day, and sweat that would get their motors and juices flowing for the rest of the week.
HOLMES: Yes. How are you going to get the juices flowing over here today? Your message --
DENISE AUSTIN, FITNESS EXPERT: It starts at 10:00 a.m.
HOLMES: OK.
AUSTIN: World Fitness Day. Jane Fonda kicks it off. She invited all of us. Richard Simmons, Billy Banks, myself and Debbie to lead a workout.
So, we each lead like a 10-minute workout. And it's a consecutive one. So, you get an hour to get really fit because you're worth it. You deserve to feel good. It's way to get energy and all the money's going for children's pregnancy program here in Atlanta which is preventing teenage pregnancy. So, it's for a great cause because you got to start young.
I've got two teenage daughters myself and it's good to take good care of your body now because it is a life style.
HOLMES: Can you please call me every morning at 6:00?
(LAUGHTER)
AUSTIN: Wake up.
HOLMES: Just to wake me up a little bit.
ALLEN: Get it going.
AUSTIN: Wake-up workout.
HOLMES: Now, do people need to be told -- I mean, everybody, it's common sense. You know, if you workout and you eat right, you're going to be in better health.
So, do people necessarily need to be told, do they need kinds of workouts? Do you need to show them the kinds of exercises to do or do you just keep reminding people, "Hey, folks, your life is on the line here, you need to work out"?
AUSTIN: Well, walking is so great for people. Just start doing something. Get off the couch. Get off the rear end and move those muscles.
We have 640 muscles from head to toe. Move them every day. Just do something for your body, for your health.
And most importantly, you'll feel better and that's what it's all about. The big day today, the World Fitness Day is today, just give everyone a chance to say, oh, my gosh, today is May 1st. It's May -- it's National Fitness Month. It's time for a jumpstart. You can do it. Come on. You know, get in that bikini soon.
HOLMES: Well, not me. I mean, I know what you're saying. But go ahead.
ALLEN: But it is important because we're all very different. We all go at it a different way. I do something called Salsa Downsize which uses Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms and moves. So, you're learning how to dance which is also working out.
Some people want to jog hard. Some people want just straight up do, you know, steps. They're -- everybody has to find their own thing. And sometimes, it's good to have different things so you can, you know, do this one day. Maybe do this two times a week.
AUSTIN: Variety.
ALLEN: Do this three times a week. And so, that's what we're offering today with all of us up there together.
HOLMES: It doesn't necessarily have to be laborious to go get a gym membership, go to the gym.
(CROSSTALK)
AUSTIN: Workout with your DVDs right in the privacy of your own home.
ALLEN: Yes.
AUSTIN: I do yoga, Pilates, you know, boot camp.
ALLEN: All those things. Yes.
HOLMES: You know, let me ask -- if you all, either one of you were the czar of fitness for the country and you had to give a state of the fitness union, if you will, you have a big state of the union address about where we are as far as fitness in the country. Where are we? What kind of shape are we in? The state of our union is what?
AUSTIN: Well, you know, we are in a sorry state right now with children obesity, as well as adult obesity, with diabetes. So this is a wake-up call. This is to tell people, you got to do something -- even if it's 10 minutes a day.
ALLEN: Yes.
AUSTIN: You've got do get up and do something for your health. And honestly, your health is the most important. God gave us one body. Take good care of it.
ALLEN: And we eat much too much in this country. We have plates that are so full. You know, I see young people all over the world starving, not having all that we have in America. And we're so, you know ... AUSTIN: Super sized.
ALLEN: Yes, supersized. But, you know, we're very fortunate and we need to just give a little thanks and eat a little less and that would be so much better for your body. You know, don't eat that whole thing, a French fries, have half of it, and a bite of hamburgers. Don't eat like that. Eat fresh vegetables.
HOLMES: So much of it is that ...
AUSTIN: Calories in, calories out.
HOLMES: So much of it is not just what you all say, that we're eating bad stuff. We're just eating too much of it.
ALLEN: Too much.
AUSTIN: Too much.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: That -- you know, some people say what happened to us, child, the spoon killed us. You know, this is terrible.
AUSTIN: Just don't overdo it. Moderation. Eat well, 80 percent of the time and have treats 20 percent of the time.
HOLMES: OK.
AUSTIN: Calories do count.
HOLMES: Now, calories do count. Also, this idea of you have to look a certain way because people -- we have this image of what fit is supposed to be and fit is supposed to be thin, a size this, a size -- but do we need to get that out of our mindset, as well? That you can be fit and necessarily, you don't belong on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit edition and you can still be fit without looking like that, but you're healthy.
AUSTIN: The goal is to be healthy, to feel good, to have energy to get through the day, to, you know, feel the best that you can.
ALLEN: Some people, it's your DNA. You are never going to be a little tiny thing. It's not who you are. You have to look in the mirror and enjoy who you are. If you're voluptuous, that's a good thing.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: They don't like you unless you got a little (INAUDIBLE). You can't even be seen. The skinny stuff is not working over there, chap (ph).
HOLMES: OK. Voluptuous (INAUDIBLE) -- that's those things we don't say a lot here.
(LAUGHTER)
AUSTIN: So you're doing a little ...
HOLMES: I appreciate you bringing that to us. Boy, I just burned calories talking to you guys this morning.
Denise, Debbie, so good to see you guys this morning.
(CROSSTALK)
AUSTIN: And you are fit, too.
HOLMES: I'm in decent shape.
AUSTIN: OK, feel my tummy.
HOLMES: Can I do this?
ALLEN: Oh, she is too much.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I would say feel my tummy but we need to -- all right. I'm going to hand this over to Dr. Sanjay Gupta right now.
AUSTIN: Oh, we love him. He'll be there, too.
HOLMES: We love Sanjay. He'll be over there today as well. But before he's there, he's right here. His show begins right now.
