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CNN Saturday Morning News
BP Delays 'Static Kill' Procedure; Love Parade Memorial; Facebook Data Snatched; Eight Hundred People Killed in Pakistan Floods
Aired July 31, 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: Hello there, everybody from the CNN Center. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. This is the last day of July. Glad you could be here with us on the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kate Bolduan.
HOLMES: Good morning to you. Welcome back.
BOLDUAN: Good morning too. Thank you for joining us everyone. T.J., it's a good day for a wedding, don't you think?
HOLMES: It's always a good day for a wedding. We can say this as newlyweds. We should point out we're not married to each other, but we know what it's like to newlywed.
Chelsea Clinton will know shortly, as well. You are seeing a picture here of the proud parents. This town has been taken over. We're talking about Rhinebeck, New York.
This is the Clintons' last night after a party celebrating their daughter's nuptials that will going to take place today in a very (posh) ceremony we're told, but really don't have any idea.
BOLDUAN: Posh and private. We will be taking you up the Hudson River to Rhinebeck this hour and get you as many details as we can muster, we promise.
Also this hour, what school kids aren't learning about America's slave past?
HOLMES: We found this artist who's found a creative way to tell the stories that maybe some of the history books are leaving out. We'll have that story for you this morning.
But first, let's get a look at some of the stories that are making headlines. First, the Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, she will not get the expedited hearing that she wanted.
Arizona had been asking a federal appeals court to hear the state's appeal early. Of course, they are appealing the injunction that blocked part of the controversial immigration bill as (B-1070).
The appeal will actually be heard now the first week of November, not earlier like they wanted. You remember this injunction came down a little earlier this week. Of course, this whole fight, this court fight is expected to eventually make it to the Supreme Court.
Also, I want to give you a look at some video, amazing stuff. Look at that. This is out of Pakistan where flooding there triggered by record rainfall have now killed some 400 people across the country.
The hardest hit areas got swamped by about 12 inches of rain, waves of water washed away hundreds of mud houses, washed away businesses and schools as well. A U.N. relief agency has already started to ship in aid to some of the flood victims.
And a follow-up about that 8-year-old Russian boy that sparked an international uproar. Well, he is back at an orphanage in Russia. You will remember he was sent back to Moscow alone. Essentially just put on a plane and sent back by his American adoptive mother that was back in April.
She said the kid was mentally unstable, even said he was violent. Said she was duped when she decided to adopt him, so she sent him back. That caused all this international uproar. So now we have a new Russian-American adopting agency that's going to be formed to oversee all adoptions between the two countries from here on out.
But meanwhile, the gulf now. Yes, we are in the hundreds now, day 103, static kill, the latest effort we're told is going to be the next solution, the next step here. It's now been delayed. BP is tweaking the timeline a bit to permanently seal that damaged oil well.
BOLDUAN: But the company is going ahead with prep work leading up to the static kill procedure. Let's get straight to CNN's Reynolds Wolf in New Orleans. He's been there for us for -- I don't even know how long at this point, you dear man, you wonderful man. So tell us, Reynolds ...
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's a trip.
BOLDUAN: Yes -- don't have too much vacation time so why the delay? What is the delay going and what's the effect here?
WOLF: Well, you know, you guys mentioned that there is a very intricate timeline that they've been following, but they have run into a little bit of a snag.
The reason why, all it has to do with one of the relief wells. They were drilling two of those. The relief wells are a crucial part of this operation to put in what is preferred to as the bio kill.
But to have that in place, things had to be perfect and right now they aren't. What happen is when you had the remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie passed over the site there was silt, a little bit of sand that got into one of the relief wells.
And they say that it could take at least 12 to 24, maybe as long as 36 hours to remove that before they even try the static kill operation so it's the minor snag. Certainly something that's not going to derail the entire process, but it's going to cause a few minor delays. Now what is going to delay is the static kill operation. Static kill operation is a crucial part of this. Basically, the way that works is you have the cap itself. The cap has stopped the flow of the oil going out of the broken wellhead.
So basically, what you have with the static kill is they're going to inject a combination of both mud and cement into the top. That is really going to kill off the top part of the well.
If it works well, and it's expected to work beautifully, if it does that will ensure the success of possibly the bottom kill which of course is the whole reason for the relief well all together. Guys, back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, that was a pretty good explainer and you kind of walking us through it and talking us through it as we're looking at a graphic there.
But static kill, it sounds like it's killing the well, yes, but again, you said the ultimate solution we've got a static kill is one step, bottom kill is the next step.
When possibly are we still, what's the timeline now for that bottom kill, which we're told is the ultimate solution?
WOLF: Well, that's a little more time consuming. It looks like that is something that may be put off towards maybe the middle of August, perhaps even towards the end of August. I mean, that is going to be something that's a little more in-depth.
Think of a giant champagne bottle. At the very top of the bottle where you have the cork, you're able to go in the cork and put in some kind of a layer that would stop the cork from getting out. That's basically your static kill operation.
The relief well and the the bottom kill is basically going drilling right through the middle of the bottle -- the middle of the bottle itself then putting a layer of that concrete mud and that's basically going to stop it all together.
That is going to be the crucial thing. But again, all these things take time. I can guarantee you that here we are in the heart of hurricane season, things are really getting active out there.
The only thing that really delay this event longer could be and would be the formation of another tropical system in the Atlantic that could sweep into the Gulf or something that sweeps into the Gulf and just actually forms there itself. But so far again static kill, bottom kill, those are the two big steps we're waiting on.
BOLDUAN: We're waiting and we're watching. All right, Reynolds Wolf in the Gulf for us. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: Thank you, guys.
HOLMES: Coming up here, we're going to be remembering the victims of a tragedy. People gathering in Germany this morning to honor those killed in that stampede at the Love Parade Festival. We told you about last weekend.
BOLDUAN: They were just astonishing images. Here's a look at some of the candles, notes and flowers that mourners have placed at the site. We'll have more from the memorial coming up. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's 8 minutes past the hour here now on the "CNN Saturday Morning." We're going to be heading to Germany here now where thousands of people are expected to attend a memorial for that Love Parade celebration last week. The celebration turned into nightmare. This is now one week here we are after 21 people were trampled to death at that German music festival.
BOLDUAN: The service will be broadcast at 14 other churches and at a local soccer arena. Organizers estimate between 10 and 100,000 people may attend this memorial service. Diana Magnay joins us from Duisburg, Germany, with the details. What's the latest, Diana?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate. Well, as you said, this was going to be broadcast to 14 churches and at a football stadium. Organizers have really catered for a lot, multiple thousands to have attended.
But we were just at the football stadium where there is a service taking place and there were far fewer numbers. I've been here for a few days. Every day there have been streams of people coming here to this site where I am, to the spot where those people lost their lives.
And today, the police have decided to close off the site, at least for the time being because, they say, they don't want a repeat of what happened last week. They don't want thousands of people pushing into this tunnel behind me and it becoming congested again.
So that is why it is shut off this time around, but that memorial service in the center of the church, which I think you at the time I think you can see pictures of it.
That is really attended just by the relatives of the 21 people killed. But if you come here, you look t the notes that have been left by people. They say 21 people killed, more than 500 people injured, and thousands more who have been affected mentally by the horror of what happened here last weekend -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: And there are reports or have we confirmed that the German chancellor will be attending, but possibly at the same time the mayor of the town will not be attending? What's going on there?
MAGNAY: The German chancellor is attending. She has cut short her holiday, as is the German President Christina Wulff who has also cut short his holiday. The mayor is not. That is because at the moment there is a huge anger in this town and across Germany about whether he was responsible for this or not. People are saying that he should never have granted permission for this city of Duisburg to host this huge techno festival. But at the Love Parade in the past, you know, as many as a million people if not more have always been in attendance and yet this festival site can only accommodate 250,000.
All of whom would be coming through this tunnel and through one single entrance. The question here is why did the mayor ever let that happen? A lot of people are saying because Duisburg needs the money and he was guided by material interest.
He has therefore said out of respect for the families and the relatives of those killed, he will not be attending the service staying away. But, you know, I spoke to someone today who said we think he is responsible, but he should be attending the ceremony. He is the mayor of this town and he should be showing his face -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: You can be sure many people are asking a lot of questions right now in the aftermath of that horrific, horrific situation. Thank you so much, Diana Magnay. We'll check back with you throughout the morning. Thanks so much.
HOLMES: Well, if you're on Facebook and 500 million of you are, you might not have realized some people are out there actually trying figure out ways to gather all kinds of information about you.
BOLDUAN: And Josh has the story of something that happened this week affecting more than 100 million people. Hey, there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is an automated program that reached into tons of Facebook accounts and collected key information from them. I'm going to show you what happened, and also how to keep your information private. Coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: In recent days, information about you may have been collected by a website you've never heard of.
HOLMES: Yes, this website gathered all kinds of data from Facebook. You've heard of that one of course. This data you might not realize though they have access to.
Josh Levs with us here now. Josh, some scary stuff. People always trying to protect their information as much as possible.
LEVS: Yes and they're really people out there finding ways to get. Let's look at the numbers. More than 500 million people on Facebook right now that's about one in 13 people on earth and it's growing fast.
So you can see why there's always people out there trying to figure out ways to gather information. Let me talk you through the basics. There's this automated program, it's actually security researcher and blogger sent out on to the web. He managed to gather the public data from 170 million profiles. This is not information people have locked away, but information people don't realize that everyone out there can simply access if you come up with a program like this.
Let me show you what kinds of information he got. Names, pictures, friends, details on you, details even on some of your friends depending on what their security settings are. Now Facebook has responded. They are saying no private data is available or has been compromised.
But the basic idea here is that most people set up their Facebook pages in a way that they keep a lot of the information public and they don't realize how much of it is private. This is the kind of issue that the head of Facebook has been talking about for months. Here's something he said in May.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: So now you can go to your privacy page and in a couple of clicks, you can set all of your information to be visible to just your friends or your family or friends of friends or whoever you want to be sharing with on the service. So we made it really simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: That is what he's been talking about, how they keep trying to change the security settings in order to make it easier and easier and easier for you to keep your information private.
Well, in the wake of this, 170 million people out there with their information grabbed by this system that you can see it's called security.org. What Facebook has been doing is talking again about the security efforts.
I want you all to know how to keep your information private. So I posted information for you on my Facebook page. I'll show it on the graphics so you can see how to reach it there. It's a step by step. It actually has 33 steps in it when I post it for you up there that will take you through how to keep your information private.
Now, while this researcher was digging into Facebook all over the web, two things happened. First of all, Facebook has now complained because you're actually not allowed they say under their rules to use automated programs to go searching through Facebook for information.
You have to actually be there doing it. He also puts together a couple a little factoids that you might find interesting. He said the most common user name among the 170 million he accessed no, shocker, J. Smith. And the most common first names on Facebook, Michael, John, and David.
But the idea here, what's concerning to so many people is that if you don't go through a bunch of steps to keep your information private, then programs like that out there will be able to get info on you, your friends, names, data, so if you're on Facebook, which so many of you are, you want to make sure you keep your information private.
So T.J., Kate, hopefully this latest situation here will get some people opening their eyes to how much information they put out there actually becomes public.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
HOLMES: Yes.
BOLDUAN: That's why I still have held off.
LEVS: I know. We still haven't roped you into Facebook yet, haven't we?
BOLDUAN: I know, you haven't. I'm sure I will cave at some point because ...
HOLMES: Don't. Don't get involved.
LEVS: We've got to work on that one.
BOLDUAN: You can work on it. Anyway, thanks, Josh.
LEVS: See you, guys. See you, guys.
HOLMES: Well, the oldest man in Japan has died. He was 111 years old. But the thing is, folks, he died maybe 30 years ago, according to police. This is a strange one here. Listen to this.
BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. What did he just say? Police found the mummified body of a man they believed to be (Sojin Kato.) Kato was supposed to be living with his daughter at this home in Tokyo, at her home in Tokyo.
Police found newspapers in his room dating back 30 years and officials had tried to check on his safety over the years, but the family kind of rebuffed them and wouldn't let them in.
Police are now investigating whether his family hid his death to get pension benefits. Kato's granddaughter said he locked himself in his room some 30 years ago saying he would become a living Buddha.
HOLMES: A hundred and eleven years old, maybe died 30 years ago.
BOLDUAN: Thirty years ago -- I don't want to be in that house.
HOLMES: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Anyway. More fun news. Depending on what you think of it.
HOLMES: This is a great story.
BOLDUAN: It's a great story. HOLMES: It's always -- it's the season for love and weddings and what not and what not.
BOLDUAN: Right. Love and marriage. Anyway, wedding mania in New York.
HOLMES: You see, those are the proud parents there and that man is going to be giving away his daughter today. Chelsea Clinton, the young girl this country was introduced to when she was 12, 13 years old, now a 30-year-old grown woman and getting married today. The details, at least the ones we think we know, are coming up. It's 18 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Getting a check of our top stories now. Hundreds of firefighters are battling three wildfires in and around Los Angeles County, California. More than 30,000 combined acres have been scorched by the flames so far.
The newest blaze, the crown fire, is only 20 percent contained and has burned some 13,000 acres alone. Mandatory evacuation orders from overnight have been lifted, but a voluntary evacuation remains in effect. Already some 300 homes have been evacuated.
Human rights advocates are reading letters purported to be from the Iranian woman sentenced to be stoned to death. We've talked about this a lot over the past few weeks.
The woman, a 43-year-old mother of two, was set to be stoned to death for allegedly committing adultery. Members of the International Committee against Executions held a news conference Friday to share a letter they said was from her.
Part of the letter reads, the day I was given a stoning sentence, it was as if I fell into a deep hole and lost consciousness.
And after a nearly two-year probe, House Ethics Committee investigators have recommended that Representative Charles Rangel be reprimanded. That's a relatively light punishment compared to other possibilities of censure and expulsion from Congress.
The full committee and the House will have to approve any sanction against the New York Democrat. Rangel was being investigated over 13 ethics-related accusations including not reporting rental income or paying taxes on it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 23 minutes past the hour here on this "CNN Saturday Morning." There is a rush to try to save lives in Pakistan. The death toll from the flooding there is going way up.
BOLDUAN: And we're seeing estimates of 1 million people affected by the rising waters. Let's get straight to Reza Sayah in Pakistan en route to the flood zone. He's joining us by phone. Reza, what's the latest, the death toll is even increasing?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, the condition is bad. One government official is calling this the worst natural disaster ever in northwest Pakistan in the 63-year history of this country.
These floods have been catastrophic for many areas in northwestern Pakistan. The event will show that the latest figure we have is 800 people killed, this is according to a provincial information minister. The hardest hit region has been the Province of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, most of the victims are here. That's where we are.
Officials saying several districts in that province, hundreds of homes have been swept away. Many of these homes are made of mud, oftentimes unable to withstand heavy flood waters. Officials say scores of businesses, schools and government buildings have also been destroyed.
The goal for relief crews right now is to get to some of these areas as soon as possible. All of this, of course, is following three days of torrential record-breaking rains. One official saying Pakistan has never seen this much rain in this short of a time span, guys.
BOLDUAN: So it's been -- after three days of this record rain, where do things stand in terms of the rescue and recovery? Are they still trying to get to people to help them? Where do things stand?
SAYAH: Yes, that's the case, but the problem is many of the roads are blocked. Scores of bridges are blocked as well. That's why many of these regions are cut off. Getting to these areas have been extremely difficult for rescue and relief crews.
The Pakistani military and other government agencies are using choppers and boats to get to some of these places, but that's going to take a while. There are some reports that 400,000 people are stranded so you get an idea of what rescue and relief crews are facing.
HOLMES: We are, Reza, seeing some of these pictures as you're talking about them. Just amazing of what's happening there right now.
Reza Sayah for us on the story in Pakistan. Reza, we're going to check in with you later this morning if we can do that. We appreciate the update. Our Reza Sayah, thank you so much.
Coming up here, an update on some of the other stories making headlines this morning on this "CNN Saturday Morning." It's 25 minutes past the hour. Stay tuned.
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HOLMES: Hello there, everybody. Welcome back to this "CNN Saturday Morning." Bottom of the hour here now. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks so much for starting your day with us as we're trying to get ourselves going as well.
HOLMES: It's actually me. Everybody's giving me a hard time. I can't get comfortable on this couch.
BOLDUAN: What do you think? I think he looks comfortable.
HOLMES: I can't find a way to get ...
BOLDUAN: It's an uncomfortable couch apparently.
HOLMES: Yes, it doesn't work. It's almost a love seat and nobody is sitting with me. There's that. I got to get all kinds of issues, but I'm going to soldier through.
Just showing you the shot here. I can't figure out what's happening here. I know this is not your concern on a Saturday morning.
BOLDUAN: Share with you what we're dealing with. Anyway ...
HOLMES: Take a look now.
BOLDUAN: Good morning.
HOLMES: Some of the things, some of the stories that are making headlines this morning. Let me show them to you.
The Arizona governor is not getting what she wanted, which is an expedited hearing about that controversial immigration law the state passed. She was asking a federal appeals court to hear the state's appeal early.
That's not going to happen. The state of course is appealing the injunction that came down this week that blocks many of the controversial parts SB-1070 (ph). The most contentious part that part a lot of people of saying, show me the papers part of the law that was out.
The appeal now are going to be heard in November. Of course, this whole fight is expected by many to eventually end up at the Supreme Court.
An update on a story that caused kind of an international uproar. That 8-year-old Russian boy that was sent back to Moscow by his American adoptive mother, well, he is now back in the orphanage.
You will remember his adoptive mother out of Tennessee sent him back in April saying she was duped because the kid had some mental issues, actually was violent. The result now, there is independent adoptions now abolished and there's a new Russian-American adoption agency that is going to oversee all adoptions between the two countries.
Also today, it is really one of the biggest social events we're probably going to see this year. The former first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, can you believe it, she is all grown up and she is getting married today.
BOLDUAN: She's all grown up. And although no one is saying exactly where the wedding is taking place.
Our Susan Candiotti is able to get to scoop.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On the banks of the Hudson less than two hours from New York City, Rhinebeck is a picture postcard setting for a Chelsea Clinton summer wedding.
JIM LANGON, "HUDSON VALLEY NEWS": You can make a case this is the most significant thing to happened to Rhinebeck since Washington's army drove the British out of Rhinebeck in the 1700s.
CANDIOTTI: Yet even police aren't allowed to blurt it out.
MAJ. MICHAEL KOPY, NEW YORK STATE POLICE: There's a private event that is planned for the Rhinebeck area.
CANDIOTTI: Maybe the understatement of the year. But throw in a few lines like ...
KOPY: We're working with the Secret Service. We're providing a direct support to the United States Secret Service.
CANDIOTTI: And there's virtually no doubt Chelsea and fiance Marc Mezvinsky are getting hitched right here. Tucked into a tree- topped hill, party tents are in place at the late John Jacob Astor's sprawling estate.
(On camera): Lots of activity continues to go on outside the Astor Courts, this is where the wedding is expected be. Oh, look, there is another bus going in there. And across the street you can see what appears to be a some kind of delivery truck, might be a catering truck. And they have even blocked out the letter on it, so you can't tell who it belongs to. If we did, we would be calling them right away.
NANCY AMY, RHINEBECK AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Nobody wants information about their wedding getting out before the day of the wedding.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): "Hudson Valley News" editor Jim Landon broke Rhinebeck's biggest nuptial story weeks ago. Yes, even his best buddies won't dish about details.
LANGON: One of them was in the swimming pool with me about three days ago and he was speaking Swahili rather than answer any of my pathetic attempts to get some information out of him.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): For an event planner, how big of a deal is this?
TATIANA BYRON, EVENT PLANNER: This is the wedding of the century.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): Event planner Tatiana Byron says fashionistas are dying to see what Chelsea will be wearing. Wedding guests can't even bring cell phones.
(On camera): Do you think anyone will try to sneak something in?
BYRON: I think for sure people are going to try to sneak things in, but it's going to be really difficult when you've got the local police, state police and Secret Service on your tail.
CANDIOTTI (voice over): The world has watched Chelsea grow up, even comforting her parents during rocky times, eventually campaigning for her mom, always known for protecting her privacy.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: And I do nothing that's any of your business.
This young woman has survived extraordinary, tumultuous, throw both of her parents, and has chosen to marry in a ceremony that is open to those who are invited because they're real friends, not for any other reason.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Some suggest the price tag for the wedding is anywhere from $3 to $5 million. Some suggesting 10 times that amount. But a long-time Clinton family friend tells CNN the cost is less than $1 million. Either way, the town here says we welcome the boost to the economy.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Rhinebeck, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: So Chelsea's big day is being covered by media outlets from all over the world really. Beth Croughan is one of those journalists. She is on the scene, on the big story. She's a reporter with YNN and joins us live from the Beekman Arms Inn, in Rhinebeck, New York, where a cocktail party, possibly a rehearsal dinner took place last night in honor of the young couple.
So, Beth, you were there when the guests were arriving. Tell us about last night's event, what we can gather from it.
BETH CROUGHAN, YNN REPORTER: Good morning, Kate.
About 9:00 last night guests started arriving right behind me to this side of with Beekman Arms with black trucks, limos, different things like that. Just before 11:00 actually Bill and Hillary Clinton arrived. But the security started gearing up long before 9:00, around 7:00 they started putting up barricades.
These sidewalks all surrounding the Beekman Arms Inn were closed off. And we're told that guests arriving for the cocktail party were told not to bring cameras or cell phones. And if they did, they wouldn't be allowed in. BOLDUAN: And from-of course, security is a huge priority here and would be anyway when we're talking about a former president. What do you know about the security surrounding last night's event especially?
CROUGHAN: Well, I know that during the day leading up to the 9:00 hour we saw at least a dozen Secret Service in the area, surrounding the area. We even saw a helicopter circling overhead. But there were state troopers, Secret Service, all throughout this area.
Like I said, the sidewalk surrounding the Beekman Arms was completely blocked off from pedestrian access. Everyone was standing on the village's four main corners looking to get a glimpse of the activity.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And everyone will definitely look to get a glimpse today, if it is the big day. I guess we can assume it is. Beth Croughan, thanks so much for joining us this morning. Thank you.
HOLMES: There are a lot of ifs, and we're saying if this, and maybe that, because they're not releasing anything officially. That's the thing.
BOLDUAN: A, it's a private event. We're talking about Chelsea Clinton here. She was never ...
HOLMES: She has very-always.
BOLDUAN: Been very open with the media.
HOLMES: And they have protected her privacy. She has been that way as an adult when she could do what she wanted to do. She has still kept her privacy. This is pretty in line with what she's done. We at least have that picture, where did that picture go? That we have of them. We have a picture. That's all we have.
But we were thinking about other famous first daughters and their weddings. Let's go back to Teddy Roosevelt's daughter, Alice. She married an Ohio congressman at the White House. That was back in 1906. In 1966 LBJ walked his daughter Lucy down the aisle at her Washington wedding. A lot of people remember the images still of Richard Nixon walking his daughter, Trisha, down the aisle in the White House Rose Garden in 1971.
And then in 2008, that was just a couple years ago, another very private wedding, daughter of George W. Bush, Jenna, she tied the knot. She did it at the family ranch in Crawford. And we remember this. I'm sure you do as well. That she had it in such -- you couldn't get anywhere close to where she was having her wedding. We only had a couple of pictures like at the top of the building from a distance or something.
BOLDUAN: Yes, they released like one photo afterwards. That was the beauty of Crawford, throughout his presidency, it was very remote. They have a lot of land down there. HOLMES: Got a lot of land.
BOLDUAN: Can't get very close unless you want to encounter some usually not so nice Secret Service.
HOLMES: We're not going to be seeing any pictures at least any time, at least the media, they might release something.
BOLDUAN: We hope. I'm sure she will be beautiful. Good luck. Congratulations.
HOLMES: Yes.
BOLDUAN: We're going to keep talking about it though, because it's fun.
HOLMES: If today is actually her wedding day.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Coming up here this morning as well, we're going to introduce you to a young artist that is creating a kind of a mixed media exhibit, trying to raise awareness about the trans-Atlantic slave trade. You need to see what he has decided to do. It is 37 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Checking some of our top stories now. Authorities in Oregon say former Vice President Al Gore will not face prosecution in the alleged sexual assault of a massage therapist. The masseuse claims Gore groped and fondled her years ago in a Portland Hotel. The district attorney says there is a lack of credible evidence in the case.
And in Iran, purported plea for help from a woman who faces a death sentence by stoning for her conviction on a charge of adultery. A human rights group is lobbying for her freedom as international outcry has postponed the execution. A final decision in the case is expected next week.
And in California, hundreds of firefighters are trying to put down a trio of wildfires that have already charred 30,000 acres near Los Angeles. Beyond homes and property, the fire is threatened to disrupt electricity as the flames approach nearby power lines. It is 40 minutes after the hour.
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HOLMES: All right, 41 minutes past the hour. Severe weather, this time we are talking about extreme heat. Yes, it's summertime. It's supposed to be hot. But this is a little ridiculous in some places.
BOLDUAN: Hotter than hot. We're talking about parts of the Southeastern U.S. should be baking today. Triple digit heat indexes are quite likely? Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has your Saturday forecast.
What is it, hot, hotter and hotter?
(WEATHER REPORT)
BOLDUAN: So get this, an artist builds life-size statues of slaves hoping to start a dialogue about this country's painful past.
HOLMES: We're going to hear from him. Find out what inspired him. Where he says slavery is still going on today. It is 44 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About 13 minutes to the top at hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, now.
African-Americans have of course played critical roles in U.S. history, yet black history and the issue of slavery in particular, some say are often skimmed over in our public schools. So this has compelled an artist in Atlanta to pick up where he says the textbooks leave off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice over): Faces of pain, faces of despair, faces that tell a story going back five centuries, a time when humanity was mostly forgotten.
STEVEN HAYES, ARTIST: This is Cash Crop, one of the people in Cash Crop, which is me.
HOLMES: About a year ago 27-year-old Steven Hayes was looking for inspiration. He came across documents about the Brooks slave ship. The documents laid out a plan, to pack in as many slaves as possible in a ship to transport from Africa the New World. Hayes was horrified.
HAYES: I was thinking about, you know, when I was in high school and like I didn't learn anything about the trans-Atlantic slave trade. I just learned that we picked up slaves here, and we brought them to America. And then we have the civil rights and all of these wars and everything. But it didn't say anything about how the slaves got here.
HOLMES: Hayes felt he needs to tell this story. That at the height of the slave trade, documents boasted that the Brooks could pack in 482 men, women, and children. Some records show that as many as 609 slaves were jammed in elbow to elbow.
So Hayes got to work. For five months he plastered, welded, and carved until his hands literally bled. He created 15 life-size statues to represent the 15 million slaves that were brought to the U.S. between 1540 and 1850.
The process was emotional for Hayes, and even his models. Hayes says one of the models broke down. HAYES: One of the guys, he was like, yeah, I would kill myself or kill somebody for putting me through this. Just imagine like eight weeks of being cooped up in one position, being unable-feces and everything thrown about everywhere. I couldn't imagine going through it. The strength that it took for people to do this.
HOLMES: Hayes' statues stand eye to eye with their viewers. Sculpture Allan Peterson said it's a way to evoke real emotion to start a dialogue.
ALLAN PETERSON, SCULPTOR: That connection really reminds us of the people involved, that the people who were kidnapped and enslaved were living, breathing people.
HOLMES: Hayes says another reason he wanted to tell this story is because he sees slavery today.
HAYES: I thought about Third World countries. These people in the third world countries, sweatshops are packed in, just like the same way they were packed in the ships, like as much room as they need to produce as much product as they can, that's how much room they get. You open your eyes to see that this is still going on.
It's something to think about. Where do we go from there?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, Hayes felt so compelled to tell this story he paid for it, for the whole thing, on his own, with a little help from mama. You can see the exhibit, Cash Crop, in Atlanta Mason Murer Fine Arts Gallery until August 10th. Then it's going to hit the road and go on tour. Ten minutes to the top of the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, interesting week in politics this week. We spent a good part of the week talking about Congressman Charlie Rangel and all of his ethics problems on Capitol Hill.
BOLDUAN: Now one of his colleagues faces a similar situation. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California said she would rather face a House trial than accept findings of wrongdoing. The Ethics Committee found her in violation of House rules in helping to arrange a meeting between the Treasury Department and a bank in which she and her husband had financial dealings.
HOLMES: Also this week, people have been talking about this outburst. You may have seen it. Representative Anthony Weiner of New York, an explosive speech he made on the House floor. Lashing out at Republicans for defeating the bill that would have provided health care benefits to 9/11 first responders. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman from New York is recognized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker, I yield one minute to the gentleman from New York, Mr. Weiner.
REP. ANTHONY WEINER, (D) NEW YORK: Great courage to wait until all members have already spoken and stand up and wrap your arms around procedure. We see it in the United States Senate every single day where members say we want amendments, we want debate, but we're saying no.
And then we stand up, oh, if we only had a different process we'd vote yes. You vote yes if you believe yes. You vote in favor of something if you believe it's the right thing. If you believe it's the wrong thing, vote no. We are following a procedure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the gentleman yield?
WEINER: I will not yield to the gentleman, and the gentleman will observe regular order.
(CROSSTALK)
WEINER: The gentleman will observe regular order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct.
WEINER: The gentleman gets up and yells like he's going to intimidate people into believing he's right. He is wrong. The gentleman is wrong. The gentleman is providing cover for his colleagues rather than doing the right thing.
It's Republicans wrapping their arms around Republicans rather than doing the right thing on behalf of the heroes. It is a shame, a shame. If you believe this is bad idea to provide health care, then vote no but don't give me the cowardly view that, oh, if it was a different procedure.
(CROSSTALK)
WEINER: The gentleman will observe regular order and sit down! I will not. The gentleman will sit. The gentleman is correct in sitting. I will not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspend, the gentleman, will suspend.
WEINER: I will not stand here and listen to my colleagues oh, if only I had a different procedure that allows us to stall, stall, stall and then vote no. Instead of standing up and defending your colleagues and voting no on this humane bill, you should urge them to vote yes, something the gentleman has not done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Republicans called Wiener's outburst political theater.
HOLMES: That was-a lot of people point to this as really an example of what's wrong in Washington. If you can't get two sides to agree that health care should be provided for those people who ran to ground zero after 9/11. If you can't come to an agreement on that you can't come to an agreement on anything. Republicans have their reasons, for why.
BOLDUAN: They say that Democrats never even came to them about the bill, that they were just kind of trying to push it through.
HOLMES: And there was a procedure issue as well.
BOLDUAN: It is usually a procedural issue.
HOLMES: They could have had just an up or down majority vote, but no they didn't want amendments to this bill. So that is why it had to be -- it's much more difficult to get the votes needed. But if they can't agree on that, we are in trouble.
BOLDUAN: There's a lot of passion and a lot of fighting on Capitol Hill, if that surprise anyone.
So, authorities in Oregon, they say former Vice President Al Gore will not face prosecution in the alleged sexual assault of a massage therapist. The masseuse claimed Gore groped and fondled her years ago in a Portland Hotel. The district attorney says there's a lack of credible evidence in this case.
HOLMES: Hello to you all. We're getting up on the top of the hour here from the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is 7:00 o'clock here in Atlanta, where we sit, 4:00 a.m. out in San Diego, California.
Wherever you may be, glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BOLDUAN: Good morning. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: It's a big day for one young lady, former first daughter, who we talked about that this morning, her wedding day, we think. We'll explain why it's just what we think because this is a very secretive event.
BOLDUAN: Very private.
HOLMES: Very private.
BOLDUAN: We know a little bit.
HOLMES: A little bit.
BOLDUAN: We'll try to learn a little bit more. We'll be talking about that. We've got a lot of other big stories.
HOLMES: A couple of other things we're keeping an eye on this morning. First, let's tell you about it. First, out in Arizona, we've got an update and a significant one here. And that is that the Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is not going to get her way. What she wanted is for there to be an expedited hearing about her appeals. She was asking the federal appeals court to hear the state's appeal early. That's not going to happen. The state of course, now appealing that injunction that blocks the some of the most significant parts of SB-1070. Many parts went into effect this week, but a judge stepped in and kept most of the controversial parts from going into effect. Now the hearing, the appeal, is going to be heard in November. The fight is expected to eventually make it to the Supreme Court.
BOLDUAN: Take a look at this video from Pakistan. Flooding triggered by a monsoon rain has now killed at least 800 people across that country. The Pakistani air force is helping with rescue operations. Waves of water, just look at the video, washed away hundreds of houses, mud houses, and businesses and schools. Hardest hit areas swamped by nearly 12 inches of rain. U.N. agency has already started to ship in aid to help the flood victims.
HOLMES: Also, it was in a Russian orphanage, he was adopted by a woman in America. She sent them back and now he is back in that orphanage. You may remember this story. This eight-year-old boy, who was adopted by a woman in Tennessee. She sent him on a plane by himself, sent him back to Moscow because she said there was an issue. She said she was duped and the kid was actually mentally unstable, even had some violent tendencies.
This caused, you may remember, an international uproar and back and forth between the U.S. and Russia. Again that young boy now back in the orphanage. Now, the result of all of this is now a new Russian-American adoption agency that is going to oversee all adoptions between the two countries.
BOLDUAN: The grim reality in Afghanistan. For the second consecutive month, U.S. troop casualties hit another record high.
HOLMES: Sixty-six U.S. service members killed, making now July the deadliest month yet for U.S. troops in the Afghan war. Since the war started in 2001, just over 1,200 U.S. service members have died there.
Our Atia Abawi is live for us in Kabul.
Atia, we were just having this same conversation at the end of June. Here we are having it again at the end of July. But once again, this is not all together unexpected, that U.S. troop casualties would be going up right now.
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, T.J. Unfortunately, this was grimly predicted last summer, in the summer of 2009, which at the time was the deadliest summer for NATO forces here in Afghanistan. But General Stanley McChrystal, the then-top NATO commander, he did implement a new strategy, a strategy that was later implemented also by President Barack Obama. And it had a tactical directive which was to protect civilian lives, which would then put more ISAF lives in danger.
But General McChrystal knew, and as did President Obama, that no war in Afghanistan has ever been won without the support of the Afghan people. So, with this new tactical directive, it has these NATO forces, these U.S. forces, going out into the population centers trying to talk to the Afghans, trying to see them face to face and show them that they are here to help. And by doing so, they are putting themselves in a lot more vulnerable situations.
And unfortunately, that's what we've been seeing in the last couple of months. June was the deadliest month for NATO forces with 103 killed, 60 of those were Americans. And yesterday, as you and Kate both mentioned, was a grim, grim reality. And it was the deadliest month for U.S. service members with 66 killed here -- primarily due to IEDs, improvised explosive devices. That is the cause for casualties in NATO forces. More than 80 percent of the casualties are because of these roadside bombs.
HOLMES: Atia, can you answer something for me? Should we make anything out of the fact that the record number of U.S. forces killed in the month of July, but there wasn't a record number of overall NATO forces, of international troops killed -- should we make of that, that, in fact, proportionally, more Americans are dying when even though the overall number of international troops are not?
ABAWI: Well, what we can look at that, T.J., is the fact that there are more American boots on the ground right now and there are more dangerous places than they were before. Right now, we're seeing the majority of the American forces that are coming in part of the surge, going towards the south. The south was once an area where it was primarily Canadian and British forces, and now, we're seeing tens of thousands of American forces there as well.
And I have to say, I was pretty shocked, too. The fact that June was more deadly for NATO forces than July, thus far. We are on the last day of July here. So, knock on wood, there won't be more casualties today.
So, that is a surprising and actually a fairly good thing right now because many expected July to be the deadliest month for NATO troops worldwide that are here in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it is the deadliest for U.S. troops. An as we mentioned, it wasn't unexpected.
And one more thing that I want to touch on, T.J. and Kate, is when we talk about this war, the Afghan war had been going on for nearly nine years now. And when people talk about it, they're like, they say, why are the forces still here?
But when you talk to the people who live here, even the expats who live here in Afghanistan, what you will hear from the diplomats, from the commanders here, is that the war didn't really start -- really didn't start until a couple years ago because it was forgotten war for so much time when the attention went to Iraq.
HOLMES: Atia, we're glad you got that in. Always great perspective from you and helping us cover this war. Our Atia Abawi in Kabul -- we're going to check in with you throughout the morning. Atia, we appreciate you, as always.
ABAWI: Thank you. BOLDUAN: And the U.S. Army analyst who could face court-martial for leaking thousands of military reports from the Afghan war has been moved from Kuwait to a military facility in Virginia.
Meanwhile, a war of words is going on in a fierce way between the founder of WikiLeaks and the Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gates blasted the Web site for publishing some 75,000 pages of U.S. military documents relating to the conflict. We've been talking about this a lot this week. The Web site's founder suggested Gates should use the information in a more constructive way instead of criticizing its release.
Yesterday on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs -- I'm sorry -- White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs took a moderate tone. Take a listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I will say that we were -- we were and still are concerned about names, operations, tactics, that are outlined in these documents that could put our soldiers at risk, and also put those that are helping the United States military and our international coalition forces in Afghanistan, Afghans that are helping, put them at danger.
The Taliban spokesman is saying just this morning that they're going through those documents and they know how to punish people that do appear there. So, that definitely puts our soldiers and those that are helping bring peace to Afghanistan at great risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went even a step further, saying the Web site was risking lives to make a political point.
HOLMES: Well, we have got a new time line in the Gulf right now. It shifted a bit.
Our Reynolds Wolf is there on the Gulf Coast for us once again.
And the time line to kill this well is moving around once again, Reynolds.
WOLF: Yes, it looks like there's going to be a brief snag. And we're going to talk about that coming up in a few moments. That's only one of the big stories we have going on in the Gulf Coast.
The other big story other than the oil spill: the intense heat. Heat advisories, heat warnings, heat really developing across 10 different states. It's going to be brutal today and possibly through the weekend. We'll tackle both of these stories coming up in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, eight minutes past the hour now.
There's a new time line in the effort to permanently seal that damaged oil well in the Gulf.
BOLDUAN: And it's not necessarily a good timeline in terms of getting it done. BP is pushing back plans to start the so-called "static kill" procedure.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf is in New Orleans.
Hey there, Reynolds. Why -- why are we pushing this back and what does this mean?
WOLF: Well, belief it or not, it may have to do with the weather. You remember, about a week ago, we were dealing with Bonnie. At the time it came through last week, it was really just the remnants of a tropical storm, but it was enough of a stir that cause a little bit of silt on the ocean floor to actually sink in to the relief well.
So, before they are able to proceed with what they call the "static kill" operation, they have to clean out all the silt, all the sand out of the relief well. And they say it should be a minor operation. They're not expecting it to be a real big trouble or something, but it is something that's going to cause a bit of a delay.
We do have some animations that we're going to be showing you in mere seconds.
And, I'll tell you, one thing we're going to be seeing in terms of this is once it's removed, they will proceed with the thing that they refer to as the static kill operation. You're thinking, what's a static kill operation? A static kill operation is basically where they're going to inject a combination of both mud and cement into the containment cap itself. And that's going to stop the flow of oil.
Obviously, we have the cap in place, but you need something more, and that static kill is going to stop that. If you do a great job at the static kill, then they're going to be able to proceed with they refer to as the bottom kill. And that's the purpose of the relief well, is to actually get down to that point in the oil, into the reservoir, where they're able to punch into the main well line and put in that combination of both mud and cement and actually kill the well off all together.
But that's not something that's going to happen overnight. Look like the bottom kill operation may be something, a measure they put into place possibly later this month, maybe longer than that, guys.
HOLMES: All right. And, Reynolds, just one more thing quickly, I know you're going to be covering weather for us this morning as well. But out there, is weather cooperating? Do they have a nice window right now to do this work without any issues of weather?
WOLF: To get through the first steps, they have to have perfect weather. And I'll tell you, although things on land are not going to be picture perfect for people who have to live along the Gulf Coast, certainly not great for people who like to work under the beating sun -- but in terms of the ocean conditions, it's going to be pristine. It should be picture perfect.
So, and that situation, we certainly are getting a hand of luck. And that is something that's welcome. No question about it, guys.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you, buddy. We will talk with you plenty throughout the morning.
WOLF: You bet.
BOLDUAN: So, imagine this. You have a big, wonderful wedding planned, except one minor detail is missing. You seem to not have anyone to marry.
HOLMES: Yes. Josh Levs has a woman's story this morning.
Good morning to you, Josh.
LEVS: Even I was shocked by this one. Good morning, everybody.
Listen to this: she's planning every detail of her up nuptials, but she hasn't found the love of her life yet. So, will there be a groom when she walks down the aisle? She's joining us next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA LINEHAN, "PROJECT HUSBAND" (singing): I want to get married, married, will you marry me? I want to get married, married, will you marry me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About 13 minutes past the hour now, bringing you the story of a woman who has a wedding planned, but she's got nobody to marry.
BOLDUAN: Bottom line. Crazy idea or just really optimistic?
Josh Levs is here with her story.
So, Josh, do you have any luck here?
LEVS: You know what, she's actually -- and I'm surprised by this. You're about to meet her. She's actually getting a lot of dates ever since she announced "Project Husband." And we're going to talk to her right now -- because Lisa Linehan is joining me.
Lisa, are you there?
LISA LINEHAN, "PROJECT HUSBAND": I'm here.
LEVS: All right. Great. Well, look, I got to start off asking you this because everyone is hearing about this. You have a huge wedding planned for February. You got every detail, the dress, pretty much everything, the venue, the food -- but no one to marry.
What are you thinking?
LINEHAN: Well, I just had this spontaneous idea in February at my friend's wedding in New York that if I planned my wedding a year in advance, then I would have to get married. And the more I talked about it, the more it gained steam and momentum. And I went on a mission and I'm on a mission and I have been dating quite a lot. And I'm learning a lot and I'm hoping I'll find my soul mate in time to get married on February 15th.
LEVS: Now, since you announced this, you've gone on dates with 50 different guys?
LINEHAN: That's correct.
LEVS: And talk to me, how many of them have been repeat dates?
LINEHAN: I would say about 10 of them have been repeat dates.
LEVS: Wow. Well, I got to ask you though, when you have this pressure in front of you, how can you build a relationship that's solid enough for marriage, and to make a marriage last? I mean, for marriage, you've got to get deep, you got to really connect, you got to have time and grow together and talk about kids and future.
How can you do that when there's this deadline hanging in front of you?
LINEHAN: Well, first of all, I think anything is possible -- where there's a will, there's a way. And I'm 35 years old. I'm not in my 20s anymore. I know what I want.
And I'm hoping that I'll find a guy who feels the same way. That he's ready to be married and would like to have family and our goals will align and stars will align. And I realize that it's not conventional and it's not for everyone, but I'm hopeful that it will work for me because I do have a goal and a deadline and it's an honest platform for dating.
LEVS: All right. Well, you know what? You're a singer/songwriter. You put together a little song that you put on YouTube. Let's show them a little clip of that.
LINEHAN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINEHAN (singing): I want to get married, married, will you marry me? I'm looking for that special boy, share my life and share my joy ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: You're certainly taking off online. People are watching this. Talk to me about what you are looking for. There are guys out there watching right now who are thinking, "OK, you know what, I'm looking for love, too." So, what are you looking for in a guy and what do you have to offer?
LINEHAN: Well, I'm looking for a sense of humor, confidence, someone who's intellectual and educated and motivated. And someone who can handle situations with ease, whether it's a social situation or just a life situation, you know, things happen. I prefer tall, dark and handsome guy, but I know that good things come in all packages. So, I'm pretty open-minded there.
But, you know, consistency and honesty are big things. And, you know, personality and character go a long way. So, I'm looking for someone with substance who's willing and able and ready to be in a committed relationship.
LEVS: But aren't guys scared off? I mean, you know, a lot of guys are interested in dating but they know that you only want to look at someone who's really get married very, very, very soon on a specific date. Are you finding guys running away from that?
LINEHAN: Sure, some are. But, you know, more often than not, the guys are embracing it and they'll say things like, why not, you're a cool chick. Some guys will say, when I heard about this I thought you had to be psycho, but then we had a date and actually, I'd like to hang out some more.
And then some will say, you know, I really like you but there's no way I'm going to be ready to be married in February. And that's OK, too. So, at least it's honest. I think it kind of saves time.
LEVS: It is triggering this discussion. I was looking at your Facebook page. You got a post at the top right now from someone saying you're a moron, but you've got others saying, you know what, you're really inspiring me to believe that I can still find love, that I can still find everything.
Are you finding that this project of yours is actually turning into something a lot bigger than you?
LINEHAN: Absolutely. You know, I never really dreamed that I'd be kind of worldwide talking about this story because it was something that started so close to home. But I'm finding it really resonates with people. It makes some feel furious and it makes other people extremely hopeful.
LEVS: All right.
LINEHAN: But the vast majority of people who are responding are excited.
LEVS: Yes.
LINEHAN: And everyone loves a good love story. LEVS: Yes. One more question (ph) for you, listen, I have to ask you this before we go. What if you get to the date and no one to marry? Do you still show up?
LINEHAN: Yes, I'll still show up and have a party. And I'd like to see someone get married. So, you know, I think there might be a couple out there that would step in. But I'm hopeful that it will work out.
LEVS: Whoa! Well, now, you've got some couples out there hoping it doesn't. Listen, everyone ...
LINEHAN: I'm sure.
LEVS: Yes. And I know all these sponsorships now, people have gotten excited about your project. But everyone -- at least everyone roots for love. So, I'm rooting for you. Everyone here is rooting for you.
Will you give me a call or send me a tweet or something as soon this actually happens for you?
LINEHAN: Absolutely.
LEVS: All right. Listen, Lisa Linehan, projecthusband.com -- thank you so much for joining us today.
LINEHAN: Thank you.
LEVS: So, Kate, T.J., what do you guys think? A little bit inspired? Hey, they say, anything for love, right? Maybe that's what this is all about.
BOLDUAN: You've got to love a love story.
LEVS: Got to love it.
BOLDUAN: That's all. Yes? Right, T.J.?
HOLMES: Yes, sure, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Sure, baby.
LEVS: Suspicious silence over there. I'll let it go.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right.
BOLDUAN: Yes?
HOLMES: Yes.
BOLDUAN: OK.
LEVS: See you, guys. BOLDUAN: Thanks, Josh.
HOLMES: All right. Well, managing your finances out there. Everybody can find that a bit challenging.
BOLDUAN: But a new book addresses the unique challenges and concerns of women. And we'll talk with the author, the expert, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: So, we all want to be in control of our finances, right? But for women, there are some unique challenges -- being a single mom with limited income, for instance. That's what we're going to be talking about this morning.
We're joined right now by author of the financial self-help book. I love this title, "A Purse of Your Own." I have several purses of my own. But we're talking about something different.
Deborah Owens, thank you so much for joining us.
I guess the first question everyone is asking, how is the path to financial security different for women than for men?
DEBORAH OWENS, AUTHOR, "A PURSE OF YOUR OWN": You know that's a great question. The reason it's different is because women often get started later. We take care of everyone else. And we don't put anything into our purse. And the one thing you need to be successful at financial security is time.
BOLDUAN: Time. Time.
So, now, you've got some great tips, a list of maybe the five most important things to remember, bits of advice that people -- that women need to know. What are the five most important bits of advice?
OWENS: The first thing is to get started now. What we know are many women are sitting on the sidelines. They're afraid. They've seen the financial market goes down. They've seen their retirement accounts go down.
So, they're asking me in seminars: do I -- should I even be investing in my retirement account? Yes, yes, yes. But if you haven't gotten started, do it today. And it doesn't matter what amount.
BOLDUAN: So, how little are we talking? Everyone loves to have more specifics, I'm sure it's case by case -- but how little can you start with?
OWENS: Well, I like the 10 percent rule. If you just start with 10 percent of your earnings and put that away for yourself, you know, write that check before you write a check to anyone else, put it in some kind of fund or put it in your purse, as I call it.
BOLDUAN: OK. So, what else? What other bits of advice?
OWENS: The other bits of advice are to get smart about money. You know, the major reason many women are sitting on the sidelines is they don't know what to do. So, in our Power of the Purse Tour that we're touring around the country, we have women starting purse groups where they're taking five to 10 of the closest friends -- you know, those same girlfriends you say, let's go shopping.
BOLDUAN: Yes, book clubs.
OWENS: Yes, or book clubs. We love book clubs. I'm here for the National Book Club Conference.
Take that book club one more step further and start reading one chapter of the book a month and applying those principles to our own personal finances and share with your members of the group your goals so that they can hold you accountable but also lend you support.
BOLDUAN: And getting started is often the hardest part when taking on a big project, especially when you say, financial security, that could be a big -- so, getting start is probably the hardest part and doing it as a group probably makes it a little bit easier for people.
OWENS: Absolutely. And the other thing I want women to know is: it's time to clean out your purse. What I mean by clean out your purse is make an -- take accountability, write down everything you own and everything you owe. There's either going to be a positive or a negative in number. It doesn't matter.
But what does matter is my next tip, and that is that you write down your goals, whether it's payoff debt, whether it's start a college fund for your child, whether it's start a retirement fund which is very, very important for women. Write it down. Make it happen. Share it with other people so that they can hold you accountable.
BOLDUAN: And why is writing it down important? It sounds -- it sounds simple. Why is writing it down important to achieving the end result?
OWENS: Well, writing it down is important because what goals do is they act like a map, like a GPS. You put the destination in there, and you get off track, what does that GPS system say? Recalculating.
When you write down a goal, it allows you to get back on track. It doesn't matter if you veer off, an emergency comes up. What does matter is that you get back up on the horse and continue to go forward for your goals.
BOLDUAN: And you see it. It's visible. You see it. And so, you're going to work harder to stay on that path, right?
OWENS: Absolutely.
BOLDUAN: OK. So, we take through all five. I want to make sure we've got it.
Keep a wealthy focus. What does that mean?
OWENS: What that means is, you know, you see the ups and downs of the market. Many times, it can make you fearful. What I say is to stay focused, don't matter -- don't worry about the ups and downs of the market. What matters most importantly is that at the end of the time frame, that you hit your goal.
So, it's not how much you put in. It's how long.
And often times, when we get fearful and we go through financial market distress like we have recently, people want to throw in the towel.
I'm telling women, don't throw in the towel. Fill up your purses. And I want to invite them if they want support, they can always go to my Web site. You don't have to do it alone. That's what this purse -- Power of the Purse campaign is about, is to bring other people in so you can get support and gain more knowledge.
BOLDUAN: I want to make sure -- it's "A Purse of Your Own"?
OWENS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: You've got the purse tour. I would like a new purse. I'm going to try to fill my purse as well.
OWENS: Absolutely.
BOLDUAN: Deborah Owens, expert -- thank you. I love this book, "A Purse of Your Own." Deborah, thanks so much for joining us.
OWENS: Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.
BOLDUAN: We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Coming up on the bottom of the hour here now -- Kate and I are going to be back at the top of the hour with more live news.
And, of course, we got plenty of headlines today. But one story, important to the Clinton family at least, maybe not the most important story of the day, but still, a lot of people interested in what's happening with Chelsea Clinton. Her wedding is happening today in New York. So, we'll give you --
BOLDUAN: Yes. Some calling it, what was it in the story -- the wedding of the century? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
But first, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins now.
