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CNN Saturday Morning News
Ground Zero Islamic Center and Mosque; First Family Vacations on the Gulf; Four Dead in Buffalo Shooting; Save on School Essentials; Pakistan's "Katrina"; Spirit Airlines Carry-On Charge; Eyes on NFL Pre-Season
Aired August 14, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your "CNN Saturday Morning." It is 8:00 Eastern time in Atlanta, Georgia. It is 7:00 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 5:00 a.m. out in San Diego, California. Wherever you may be, glad you're right here. Thanks for starting your day here with us.
There is some mixed reaction coming in. President Obama's decision to support plans for an Islamic center and mosque near the site of New York's Ground Zero. He chimed in last night in support of it. We'll tell you about the fallout today.
Also, the flooding continues in Pakistan. Some 1,400 dead and now what's being called a second wave of floodwater is on the way. We'll be going live to Pakistan throughout the morning today on this Saturday morning.
Give you a look at some of the other stories we are keeping a close eye on, including an overnight shooting in Buffalo, New York. Four people are dead. Eight were shot all together. We are told this was outside of a restaurant there in downtown Buffalo.
Police say this was part of a large private party that was going on at the time. Our affiliate is reporting that this party had to do with a wedding that was going to take place today and that in fact among the dead was the groom according to our affiliate. We'll continue to follow this story.
Also, rescuers have now found two bodies deep in a Nevada mine. The miners were killed in an elevator accident on Thursday and the work had continued for the past couple of days to try to reach them. This is the Barrick Gold Corporation Mine. It is now shut down. The names have yet to be released. The company is saying they're going to do everything they can to keep this from happening again.
Also, the suspected serial killer, Elias Abuelazam, he is now moving to the next step, extradition to Michigan. He's accused of going on the slashing and killing spree that began in Michigan, but covered several states. Five people died in the attacks. He was arrested in Atlanta trying to get on a flight to Israel. He did not -- again, is not going to fight extradition. He expects to be sent back to Michigan. But, again, the big story this morning, President Obama coming out last night in support of that Islamic center and mosque that is going to be built two blocks from Ground Zero. He was speaking at a White House dinner yesterday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the president acknowledged that, yes, it is controversial this project, but he argued the American ideals and constitutional demands that this project has got to go forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ground Zero is indeed hallowed ground, but let me be clear. As a citizen and as president, I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes -- that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the president's endorsement drew praise from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying, quote, "as I said last week, this proposed mosque and community center in lower Manhattan is as important a test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetime and I applaud President Obama's clarion defense of the freedom of religion tonight."
However, Republican Congressman Peter King of New York, he took a different side of the story. He has been out front on this whole mosque controversy. He says, quote, "the right and moral thing for President Obama to have done was to urge Muslim leaders to respect the families of those who died and move their mosque away from Ground Zero. Unfortunately, the president caved in to political correctness." New Yorkers also chiming in and also split on whether the president should get involved in what some believe is a local issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politically, probably not wise to interject yourself into a local issue that's very visceral here for obvious reasons. Obviously, we all believe in freedom of religion, but it is sacred ground for New Yorkers and Americans. So it is a difficult topic for New Yorkers and Americans. I don't know how wise it was for the president to necessarily interject.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad that he's doing it. It is very civilized. It doesn't matter whether you are a Muslim or Jewish or Christian. This country stands for freedom of religion and we should be able to express our faith.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And according to a recent CNN Opinion Research poll just out this week, nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose the plan to build that mosque and Islamic center just blocks away from Ground Zero. Want to bring in now Craig Gordon. He's a White House editor for "Politico" magazine. He joins me on the line right now.
Craig, we appreciate you hopping on the phone for us. Tell me -- or remind our viewers, what has the president and the White House's stance been over the past several weeks while this controversy was going on? How had they been responding when they get questions of whether or not they support the building of this Islamic center and mosque?
CRAIG GORDON, WHITE HOUSE EDITOR, POLITICO (via telephone): I mean, you're right. There had been a little bit of time there when they were trying to say, look, it's a local issue, the president is a little reluctant to wade in. Mayor Bloomberg had been very much out in front in support of this. He was trying to leave it to the locals.
But, you know, sometimes when you're president events kind of drag you in, whether you want to be dragged in or not. In this case, however, I think the president decided, it seems from his remarks, he knelt like he needed to weigh in eventually and come out with what to our eyes was a very strong statement in support of this mosque.
We thought perhaps he might try to go split the baby a little bit or try to find a way to strike a middle ground. He pretty much came out and said if these folks want to build a mosque near Ground Zero, they have the right to do that. So he has weighed in very forcefully here and I think it's going to cause little problems for him.
HOLMES: And you said, we'll get to the political problem in a second. But going back to some of the things you said, you used the word "felt like maybe he needed to" or maybe felt like he got "dragged" into. Was this a matter he got forced into saying something about it so why now?
GORDON: Well, I think you have a kind of a confluence of events. You had some time had passed where reporters were asking Robert Gibbs pretty frequently, hey, where does the president come down on this?
And then you had this dinner last night, it's a dinner which, you know, marks the end of Ramadan and it was kind of a perfect kind of meeting of the moment and the issue where it gave him a venue, a very powerful venue to speak to the issue very directly with other leaders in the room.
So I think that was part of the timing of it was it was just a good spot in his calendar to come out and say, hey, I think they should be allowed to build it.
HOLMES: And like you mentioned, do you think it is going to possibly cause political problems? What do you foresee?
GORDON: Well, look, I mean, you can see the Republican reaction already. You had Peter King on there, very outspoken New York congressman. Sarah Palin weighed in last night questioning why Obama would support the "9/11 mosque" which is a phrase I have a feeling you're going to hear the Republicans trying to use a lot more. And I think there's -- by also think even from you might just say average Americans, like your own poll, CNN's own poll shows 68 percent of Americans don't really want a mosque built this close to Ground Zero. I think for a lot of Americans they kind of scratch their heads and say, you know, there are several mosques in New York, why do they have to build it so close.
So I just think there a lot of -- the Republicans are trying to make a lot of hay out of it, but as they say I think even to voters, they really don't understand why there, why now, and isn't there someplace else they could put this mosque, isn't there some other way President Obama could talk to them about maybe moving it.
So I just feel like he's weighed in, as I say, in a big way, but remember, of course, President Obama came to office saying he needed to do more outreach to the Muslim world. He gave a very heartfelt speech in Cairo last year people remember. This has actually been in some ways one the hallmarks of his presidency.
He felt and was very clear in saying he felt George W. Bush and the Bush administration kind of alienated the Muslim world. Obama himself obviously feeling a unique position to talk about these topics and decided his presidency was going to be about rebuilding those relations.
It seems like the White House has decided with such a big important local issue as a mosque near Ground Zero, if the president was going to try to make (inaudible) to the Muslim world, he could not ignore the topic any longer.
HOLMES: All right, Craig Gordon, White House editor for "Politico." We appreciate you hopping on the line for us. Thanks so much. You enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Again, the president has now chimed in saying in fact, yes, he supports in fact that mosque and Islamic center being built just blocks from Ground Zero. The president today is going to be taking what was billed as a vacation to the Gulf Coast today.
He's going to be spending the night in Panama City. He's going to be spending the night there with one of his daughters and also the first lady will be there as well. But a big question, it seems trivial, but it could be a big deal. Will the president actually get in the Gulf waters?
It could be an important symbol for everyone that things are in fact back to normal in some way or that at least it's safe. While the president's there, he's also going to be meeting with business owners in the area. But again, the president arrives in just a few hours and again he is leaving tomorrow, early afternoon.
Some criticism now of this trip because he is only spending 27 hours on the ground in Panama City Beach. Gulf Coast businesses trying to make a comeback, of course, after the oil spill in the gulf. Our Reynolds Wolf is live for us again in Gulf shores, Alabama. Reynolds, good morning to you. Again, we missed you last time we were supposed to talk to you. You got some kind of nasty weather moving into your area.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, how does that happen? I mean, the weather guy getting knocked off due to bad weather? It is kind of weird how this happens, T.J., but sure enough that was the case this morning.
Looks like we're going to be dodging raindrops a little bit throughout much of the day so we're going to keep our fingers crossed, but, you know, you were talking about how the president is going to be going to parts of the Gulf Coast. He's going to be going to, you mentioned, Panama City, Pensacola.
You know, one of the true gems of the Gulf Coast happens to be here in Gulf Shores. This morning we're lucky enough for have Robert Craft, he's the mayor of Gulf Shores. Great to have you with us this morning.
MAYOR ROBERT CRAFT, GULF SHORES, ALABAMA: Thank you. Good morning.
WOLF: We spoke about a month or so ago, and things we're a little bit different then than they are now. How has things changed? How has things been this summer from start to finish?
CRAFT: It's been a rough year. Obviously, from start to finish it was really tough, but it is getting better. Once the well was capped, confidence came back. We started seeing more people show up.
But the big event was a couple weekends ago when the state health department lifted the swimming advisory, people could get back in the water. That was a big deal because now it sent an all-clear signal to our visitors that it is safe to come back. That was the big concern I think people have the safety.
WOLF: What has that meant in terms of business here? I know you've got hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops. Have you seen a little bit of -- with the people coming back, does it help or is it too late --
CRAFT: It's too late. School has started back in a lot of the areas that we visit here too little, too late. We've missed the season so it is just a survival hang on right now.
It is great to have them back, in the water, and it is doing good things for retail an restaurants but from the lodging industry a lot of it is day trippers, a lot of it is people driving over from mobile.
WOLF: What's the strategy now? I mean, where do you go from here? If you've already missed the bulk of the summer and you're looking at the fall season and winter, what strategy do you have?
CRAFT: Pray for (inaudible) that we are completely dependent on BP and Feinberg to create a payment plan for businesses to let us survive until next Memorial Day. Our season won't begin again in any type of volume at all until Memorial Day. We'll have some spring break stuff and we will focus on special events that we can do.
We've got a Shrimp Festival coming up in October that we hope will be a good opportunity, we'll be cleaned up by then completely. Invite the world to come back and visit. So it is just special events and survive until we get to Memorial Day.
WOLF: So you got the special events and these are coming, but let's start with what's happening right now. How are your beaches for the time being?
CRAFT: They're clean. You just noticed we had our beach cleaning crews come through here. We had through this tropical storm that came through churned up a little bit of covered-up oil. Wasn't new stuff coming in, it was stuff covered up under the sand in the water line that we couldn't get to with our machines or by hand.
It's churned that up so Wednesday night, Thursday morning we had a little bit of weather tar ball on the beach that we cleaned up. Having seen any since then, but we will continue to have to deal with that until we get all this completely cleaned up.
WOLF: We were talking earlier about how you kind of liken this to not being a sprint, but it is kind of like a marathon.
CRAFT: It is a long distance opportunity. It really is.
WOLF: Well, you're doing a great job so far. We're so thankful you had some time with us. We're going to toss it back to the studio and hopefully we'll get you back this afternoon and chat with you again?
CRAFT: I'll be here.
WOLF: OK, thank you. There you go. Robert Craft, hard working man. T.J., certainly a busy time here, tourism a $1.8 billion industry. It's been a rough season, but it looks like they're going to try really hard to finish up strong and that certainly matters a lot. Let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: You know, it's sad to hear him say we're done essentially until next year, until next Memorial Day, that's our next chance to try to start making some money again so still a long road for them.
Reynolds, we appreciate you. I know you've got tough weather. Thanks for soldiering through that. Hopefully that signal will stay up for us. Thanks so much, buddy.
Well, coming up here, several people dead at a shooting and restaurant in Buffalo. Four dead, we're told eight were shot all together. We are going to be checking in with authorities there in Buffalo to figure out exactly what happened at this restaurant last night in Buffalo.
A tragic story here, 13 minutes past the hour. We're live there right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And again, a story we're keeping an eye on from overnight, breaking news out of Buffalo, New York where eight people have been shot and four are dead. This was after some kind after private party that was taking place in Buffalo, downtown last night.
On the line with me now, a Buffalo Police Department spokesperson, Mike Degeorge. Sir, we appreciate you hopping on the line with us. Do we have the numbers right? You have eight people shot and four killed?
MIKE DEGEORGE, BUFFALO POLICE SPOKESPERSON (via telephone): That is correct, sir. Eight shot, four dead. Of the dead, two are males and two are females. Of the four injured, all of them are males.
HOLMES: Sir, do you have any idea -- we're looking at pictures here. This was downtown I believe - this was at a restaurant and a private event? Can you tell me about what happened to make shots start ringing out?
DEGEORGE: Sure. Police were called to the 200 block of Main Street in the city, which is downtown in the business district. They were called there about 2:30 this morning for a shooting.
Police at this point believe that there was some type of large private party inside the City Grill Restaurant and they believe that there was maybe some type of incident that occurred inside the restaurant during this private party. It then spilled outside and that's when the shootings occurred.
HOLMES: Do you believe that everyone involved here was a part of that private party?
DEGEORGE: I think there is a good possibility. I don't know if that's -- I know that hasn't been totally confirmed just yet, sir, but I would think that if nothing else, a good number of the individuals involved were probably tied to the party, yes.
HOLMES: Sir, where is -- or where are the shooters?
DEGEORGE: Good question. You termed it correctly because it's not known just yet if there is just one shooter or more than one shooter. Police right now are talking to witnesses and asking the public to come forward if anybody has any information and, as you might expect, the search is on.
HOLMES: Sir, tell us as well how busy of an area is this. You got the call at 2:30 a.m. was it still crowded on the streets in downtown Buffalo?
DEGEORGE: In that section, sir, of the city, probably not. It was probably populated only because of the large private party. That section of the city is just a bit away from the entertainment district. So at 2:30 in the morning, it would not be heavily populated but there were a lot of people there last night and into the early morning hours because of this private party.
HOLMES: Do you know if there was an exchange of gunfire? In other words, different parties shooting back and forth at each other or does it appear there was a shooter or shooters just targeting and shooting at this crowd?
DEGEORGE: Well, I think the second possibly is more likely. But again, the initial parts of the investigation and I think police are looking at the possibility again that there was one shooter, possibly more, and those were the ones doing the shooting.
HOLMES: Sir, one more thing here. A report from our local affiliate that in fact this was some kind of a celebration, a party, formal gathering for a wedding that was supposed to take place today and also the local affiliate reporting that the groom was among the dead. What can you tell us about that?
DEGEORGE: I've heard those rumors, sir, and just can't confirm them right now other than to say that it was some type of large private party. I have heard the possibility of it being some type of reception, but police just right now have not totally confirmed that.
HOLMES: All right. Again, Mike Degeorge, again, from the Buffalo Police Department, sir, we appreciate you taking the time. Know it is a busy time for you guys. Right now again, sir, it sounds like there is a possibility you still might have a shooter or shooters on the loose?
DEGEORGE: I think that is a possibility, yes.
HOLMES: All right. Well, sir, we appreciate you taking the time out. We will stay in close contact with you and try to give you as much help as we can give. But four people dead and there is possibly a serious situation out there with the gunmen, possibly a gunman, lone gunman on the loose in Buffalo, New York. Sir, thank you so much.
We will continue to update that story and information as we get it. But the update from the police officer there is that in fact four are dead, eight shot all together after this private party and it's possible that there is a shooter or shooters still on the loose right now.
Quick break, 21 past the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 25 minutes past the hour now. It is that time of year. Kids are going back to school, you know, the elementary school, high school, college kids as well. A lot of kids need stuff when they head back to school.
Certainly the older kids, really the laptops and the Netbooks those can actually be helpful when they're doing their work, but they can be kind of expensive and do you know which one you should really get?
Our tech guru Mario Armstrong can help you figure this out and also find the best deals. Mario, good to see you this morning. This is very important. Laptops can be very expensive. Netbooks, not so expensive so we need to understand the pros and cons. Give me a general Netbook versus laptop. What's the difference between those two things?
MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: OK, so right off the bat, the first difference that you'll see is I'm going to hold up two different laptops here. One is a net book and the other one is a full-fledged laptop.
This is a Sony Vaio Netbook and a Sony Vaio laptop here, but you can see right off the bat, the size differential between these two devices. One is huge compared to the other one that's very small and lightweight. So right off the bat you see a difference in size.
One of the other things that I want you to pay attention to is the size of the keyboards. Keyboards on these devices are also different sizes. So here's the bottom line, T.J., these devices are -- Netbooks are very easy to carry, lightweight, small, like the size of a textbook so they're easy to get around campus or go from class to class. However, they're not fully featured.
So a lot of people are flocking to these Netbooks because they're very low cost. They start around $199. That's inexpensive to have a computing device in the classroom plus you can use it on a desk, things of that nature.
So it is really easy to carry with you, but as I mentioned, not fully featured. In other words, you can't run a lot of programs or big applications. You can't do any video gaming or watch extensive movies. There's no CD or DVD drive on these devices as well so definitely limited.
HOLMES: You sound like you're setting us up. Give us some of the pros and cons it sounds like, but the pro -- we're showing the cons there. While we've got those up on the screen, let's go through them. Like you said, it's not fully functional, but for the most part, just a basic computer. Can you get on the internet, write some papers and whatnot, but other than that --
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely.
HOLMES: I mean, you don't need a DVD player, you don't have to be gaming necessarily, do you?
ARMSTRONG: Well, that's a great question. I'd rather people that are going back to school that can't afford full-blown laptops to at least have a Netbook. I think it is very critical to make sure that your sons, daughters, or your kids that you're taking care of can have a computing device. Netbooks are inexpensive and are great to use in a classroom environment.
But to your question, to your point, if you're doing things like programming or depending on your major, if you're going into say maybe engineering and you're developing software, or maybe you're doing graphic design and video editing, then you definitely are going to want a more full-featured larger laptop that can do multi-media, that can run faster, has a bigger hard drives so that you can install the software that you may need specifically.
HOLMES: The biggest downside in comparison would simply be the cost?
ARMSTRONG: Well cost, but not only the cost. These things can get heavy. Carrying these things around, lugging them around and the other thing is that laptops can become really key theft targets.
So they're more expensive so they're the bigger prize if you can steal one of these things obviously and they are heavy to carry. Not all of them are heavy, but you're going to pay a premium if you want a lighter weight laptop.
HOLMES: And you brought up the theft part so I'll go that direction. Besides just keeping an eye on it and keeping up with your stuff, how can you prevent theft, and even if it does get stolen, there are programs out there that can help you get it back. ARMSTRONG: That's right. So there's like the lowjack -- that he the name of the software -- Lowjack for laptops is one software that you can install on the computer. Therefore when the computer is stolen and connects to the internet it will basically send out to you the area or location or nearby location of where that computer is.
There's also low-tech ways of locking it down that people may overlook. That's buying a simple Kensington locks. Some have keys and some are combination lock. All laptops or Netbooks have a little port on the side. You slide this into the laptop or Netbook, then wrap this around a leg after table or through a hole in a desk.
You can take this with you whether it is from class or to the library or even in your dorm room and be able to lock it and we're talking 24 bucks up to about, you know, $69 for a piece of hardware. We're talking about $39 for things like the Lowjack software.
HOLMES: Or you can just keep an eye on your stuff and keep an eye on it and don't let something that cost $1,000 out of your sight. All right, Mario, good to see you, as always. I had questions because I'm us a fascinated by the Netbook, can it really do what a laptop can do. It sounds like it can if you're not doing anything too sophisticated.
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely, absolutely.
HOLMES: Mario we appreciate you --
ARMSTRONG: -- a great choice for the student on a budget.
HOLMES: Yes.
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely, it' a great choice.
HOLMES: We appreciate you as always. It's good to see you, buddy. You enjoy the rest of your weekend, all right.
ARMSTRONG: Ok, I appreciate that, man.
And no, look, I'll put some other tips up on the blog as well at MarioArmstrong.com/blog. Because I know a lot of people are still kind to confuse about a lot of these choices. So I'll put some additional tips up on the site.
HOLMES: We need to make sure we link all that up so people can get a hold of you. And Mario, we appreciate you, buddy.
Well, as you know, a whole lot of folks in this country still feeling the heat.
Reynolds Wolf not so much. He's found a way to cool off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Oh, good God almighty, oh good gosh almighty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: What in the world is Reynolds doing? Well, he's doing what a lot of athletes are doing right now. As they go through those grueling summer workouts in 100-degree heat. Reynolds Wolf, coming up live in just a bit.
We're at the bottom of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back everybody, to the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We're about 33 minutes past the hour now. And give you a look at some of the stories that we're keeping a close eye on today.
New controversy surrounding the site of a proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque that's supposed to be built just steps away from New York's Ground Zero. Last night the president chimed in saying he supports the idea. New York Republican Congressman Peter King says the president is flat-out wrong.
Also the first family taking a vacation, or it was billed as a vacation to Panama City today but they're only going to be there about 27 hours. The President is trying to show Americans the Gulf Coast oil spill shouldn't stop them from spending time at the beach.
Also in Buffalo, New York, police say a shooter or shooters could still be on the loose after two men and two women were killed in an overnight shooting at a downtown restaurant. Four other men were shot and wounded as well.
I just got off the phone with the police official who said he can't confirm that one of those killed was a groom who was in town for his wedding. Our local affiliate is reporting in fact that the gathering last night was for a wedding that was to take place today. Well, the massive flooding has brought Pakistan to a standstill and some 1,400 people are killed, you still have thousands of others who are injured.
Our Reza Sayah is in Islamabad for us this morning. Reza, hello to you once again and again we -- like I -- like I said to you last time and I heard you in your reporting. Help people understand this a bit when you're saying this is Pakistan's "Katrina".
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think the best way to drive home the scope of these floods is to compare it to Katrina and what it did to the U.S. Gulf Coast. This is Pakistan's Katrina.
The U.N. is saying one-fifth -- one-fifth of Pakistan is under water. And to put that in perspective, that's like the entire state of Florida being under water. These floods started a couple of weeks ago when you had Pakistan's notorious monsoon rains come down for 48 hours straight.
I have never seen that much rain in a two-day stretch ever before and the results have been catastrophic. You've had close to 1,400 people killed. Parts of the Indies River (ph), in central Pakistan that are usually about one or two miles wide, today they're about 12 miles wide.
Of course along those stretches of the river you have scores of small settlements and villages. They are under water. If they're not under water, there are shrinking islands where thousands of people still are stranded. And that's why T.J., the Pakistani Navy is still to this day launching rescue missions to -- to get some of those people out of some of these areas.
HOLMES: All right, Reza Sayah for us this morning. Reza, we appreciate you, as always.
Also coming up, travelers have to get used to a lot of fees from the airlines. Well another one just started this month. And it's a first, one airline now charging you for your carry-on bag. You're hearing me right, folks. The one that you carry on to the plane with you so you don't have to check it and pay for it? That carry-on bag, they are now charging for.
We are going to talk to our old buddy who is the president of Spirit Airlines. He's back with us this morning. It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 39 minutes past the hour. Let's go check in with our Reynolds Wolf who is in Gulf Shores for us this morning, keeping an eye on weather and all things related to the Gulf.
But weather wise, what are we looking at?
WOLF: Oh what we've been doing here is we've been dodging raindrops and other people in the southeast may be doing the same thing because the remnants of tropical depression 5. Yes, five-- we're already on five. Although five didn't do a whole lot of damage here, it did bring up a coat of oil to parts of the shore. They've cleaned that up. The water is still a little bit choppy in the time being.
You can see here on the radar we still (INAUDIBLE) the showers south of the I-10 corridor and the Gulf also of New Orleans; from anywhere from say, Grand Isle to New Orleans, as far north as Laurel and Hattiesburg are going to deal with the rain.
Also Auburn, Alabama out by Jordan-Hare Stadium, you're going to have the rain coming down; no question it's going to last in many places throughout much of the afternoon. So enjoy it in the southeast. You need a cool down you're going to get a little bit of it today due to those clouds and that rain -- rain-cooled air.
But still very hot for a good part of the country, you check out the map there. You'd have not only hot heat -- hot heat is just going to be building but also some severe storms that may develop in parts of the Central plains.
We had some tornadoes that touched down in the upper Midwest especially in Minnesota yesterday. That could happen again today. Best chance of that is going to occur in parts of Kansas.
The heat is also going to be rising in Kansas, up to 97 degrees; 111 in Phoenix; 106 in Las Vegas, 57 degrees in San Francisco. So anyone taking a walk down to the Presidio by late afternoon or maybe going by Pier 39, grab a sweatshirt with you, you're going to need it especially when the breeze kicks up into the afternoon.
Chicago, looking very good, Wrigley Field, 91 is the expected high; 84 in Washington, D.C.; and Boston and New York both in the low 80s and Tampa with 92.
Now, let's talk about the heat advisories. We've got plenty of them out there. In fact, every state you see shaded in that pinkish or orange color that's where you're going to have temperatures combined with the high humidity, where T.J. is going to feel like it's anywhere from 105 to 115.
That even includes, it even includes West Memphis, T.J., where you happen to be from; it's going to be a brutal day along the Mississippi River as far north, to say, St. Louis, unbearable heat.
Folks, it's August. It does happen this time of year. You just got to be careful out there. And if you do have to get outside or do any kind of work outside, make sure you do it earlier in the day or at least after the sun goes down and after the heat begins to subside. But I would expect the brutal heat to continue through the weekend into early next week.
All right, that's the latest in the forecast, coast to coast. So you're up to speed. Let's send it back to you -- T.J. HOLMES: A brutal weekend in some places. Always appreciate the West Memphis mention. Reynolds Wolf, we do appreciate you. Buddy, thanks so much.
WOLF: I've got to give you the shout out now.
HOLMES: It's 41 minutes past the hour. A quick break.
We're talking about carry-on bags next and you being charged for it. One airline is now doing it. We have brought back the head of Spirit Airlines to explain himself and once again and see if he's had change of heart about this whole thing. Stay with us.
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HOLMES: Well, we know how you feel about airlines. You think they charge you for every little thing. There's a fee for this, a fee for that. Well, how about a new fee for you now? For your carry-on bag, yes, it started this month. You heard about it over the past several months but it's now in place at Spirit Airlines.
You'll have to pay up to -- up to -- $45 for any bag that won't fit under your seat. So yes, the carry-on bag, the low-for-fare airline, the first carrier to start doing this, to charge passengers for carry-ons.
We had the CEO and President of Spirit Airlines, Ben Baldanza, on a few months ago when they first announced this policy. So we had to bring him back to start this conversation up again.
Sir, good to have you back with us. Really good to have you back.
So, you stood by it last time when you talk. It's in place now. And I know you all say it's been a successful launch; on August 1st is when it launched. But give me an idea of maybe some of the negative feedback and some of the negative reaction you have gotten to it from some of your customers.
BEN BALDANZA, CEO & PRESIDENT, SPIRIT AIRLINES: Well, thanks for having me back, T.J. And we know when we talked about this a few months ago we talk about the fact that carry-on bags were becoming a real problem in the fact that people were bringing more and more on- board. It was creating a safety issue, delaying airplanes and such.
So when we announced the policy, it obviously had a lot of negative attention because people saw it as another fee. But since we lowered the fare by the same amount of the fee, people aren't paying any more than they used to pay.
So since August 1st what's happened has been really terrific, actually. What we're finding is that more and more people are checking bags and carrying less on-board. The result of that is that people who are still carrying on-board now find space for their bag right above their seat. They don't have to have it taken away from them because it won't fit. More and more people are checking bags. It is a less stressful environment. We've reduced our boarding times by about 8 to almost 10 minutes. It is lightning-fast to get on and off the airplanes now and nobody is paying anymore than they used to pay before.
While I'd love to sort of give you a big negative, the reality is it's actually been quite positive for the consumers.
HOLMES: Well, positive for the consumers, but it sounds like as well, you're saying it was supposed to serve essentially as some kind of a deterrent. You're trying to discourage people for carrying so much stuff on-board.
BALDANZA: Well, to carry real large things on-board. This is a fee for large carry-ons, not for all carry-ons. People can still carry a lot of things on with them for free as long as it will fit under the seat in front of you or something you're just going to hold on your lap like a book or some food you might want to eat or things like that.
This is for the big 22-inch roller bag kind of things that could just as easily be check. When it's checked it gets better security at the airport and it's out of the way of the boarding process so it just makes it easier for everyone.
You'd be amazed if you came to a Spirit flight now and just saw how quickly people are getting on and off the airplane. It is really great to see.
HOLMES: I know you say that it's been encouraging, the feedback you've gotten from some customers. But you can't tell me that you're not having some people come up to that ticket counter and being told they'll be charged $30 or $45 for a carry-on and them not be a little perturbed by that.
BALDANZA: Well, some certainly if they're surprised by it have been perturbed when they get to the airport and didn't realize it. We have e-mailed everyone who's traveling multiple times reminding them of the policy. There's been a lot of press, thanks to you and others about this.
So some people who have said that they didn't know about it before have been surprised at the time. But in many cases they say, look, you can carry this on for $30 but I can check it for you right here for just $25. And people are saying, "Well, you take it then."
That's been really good because that's been one of the things that's help -- has created more and more checked bags on the airplane and less bags being carried on-board. Bringing fewer bags on-board is what's made it so easy and simple on-board the airplane now.
HOLMES: Now, Ben, will you guys -- are you guys going to be making any money off of this? Because people make that assumption: another fee, that means the airline's trying to get more money out of me to increase their bottom line. BALDANZA: Well, we're going to make money in two ways but not the way most people think. We're not going to make money by charging more to the end consumer because again we lowered our fares by the same amount as the fee. So people aren't paying any more for their total ticket. And of course, we all know it is the total price that matters when you fly.
We'll be making more money because we'll have fewer delays where we've seen our instances of gate delays drop dramatically and when we're not delayed we save money. We also expect because our fare is lower now that more people will fly Spirit so we'll make money because more people will fly us.
More people will fly, we'll have fewer delays but no individual will may more than they used to pay so we'll make money but in a way that's really friendly to consumers.
HOLMES: All right. And you all are leading the way on this thing. We don't know if we'll see other airlines doing this. But one other thing that got a lot of attention was the fact that you made a comment that possibly you might start charging people to speak to a human being. That's about the kiosk.
You might just move to just doing automated kiosk and people might have to start paying down the road to actually talk to a human being. Are you going to keep finding these innovative ways, Ben, to find ways to charge people?
BALDANZA: We try to find innovative ways to lower the fare on people, not just add fees.
You know, what that's all about is today the travel industry generally charges to talk to a person when you're making a reservation, when you can do it free on line. At some point down the road when all of the transactions you need at an airport could be done at a kiosk or on your iPhone or on your Blackberry, then at that point maybe talking to a human being could have a fee associated with it t but we're not anywhere near that right now.
But again you already see that on the reservation side today by the industry so I don't think it is quite as controversial as some might try to make it.
HOLMES: Well, Ben. It's always good to see you. And you've launched it, you said it's going well. We appreciate that and a lot of people just scratching their heads when they hear carry-on baggage fee. But we bring you here and let you explain it to them.
Good to see you --
BALDANZA: Well, and T.J. let me say --
HOLMES: Go ahead. Yes.
BALDANZA: Listen, most of the people who scratch their heads are people who fly other airlines and are worried that their really high- fare charging airline is going to tack on a new fee. That's not what we do at Spirit. Most of our customers really get it.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Ben Baldanza, maybe some more people got it by listening to you this morning. Good to see you as always. You enjoy the rest of your weekend.
BALDANZA: Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Coming up here, Rick Horrow, after the break -- talking Tiger and all things sports related.
Quick break, we're right back.
RICK HORROW, CNN BUSINESS SPORTS ANALYST: Yes, sir.
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HOLMES: What is the point of the pre-season games? Yes, we're talking about the NFL here. A couple of big sports topics this weekend and one of them is possibly decreasing the number of pre- season games.
Last year and this year we see four pre-season football games. The commissioner's made it clear he wants to shorten the number of pre-season games and add to the number of regular season games. Of course this is a money move.
The other big topic right now: the rise, fall and maybe another rise of Tiger Woods? The last major of the year going on right now and he's at least in it.
Joining us now from West Palm Beach, Florida, our business sports analyst and friend of our show here on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING, Rick Horrow. Is this going to be the -- you know, after his last tournament, finishing 18 over, just that he is under par right now is a big deal.
HORROW: Well, this is my buddy. This is Tiger Woods' head cover. So I threw it out last week, brought it back this week. I'm not sure. He's a round and a half through but it's a 4-round tournament, we'll figure that out down the road.
The course, by the way, 7,500 yards really difficult; I was there the last two days. I found some balls I lost six years ago when I played there. It is not for the faint of heart. He birdied 3 of the first 4 holes getting started; now he's stabilized. And everybody's watching.
He draws a crowd. People love him, people hate him but obviously they watch him.
HOLMES: Ok. He's still drawing a crowd maybe out there in the court. Everybody's intrigued by it. But now you have the top two players in the game. He's still ranked number one, by the way, folks, Tiger Woods. But you got Tiger and Phil.
Phil's fallen off a little bit right now, Phil Mickelson, because he has this arthritis he's talked about. What happens to golf if you've got the two biggest names and not at the top of the leader boards?
HORROW: Well, it is a huge issue for Phil but he's recovering. They say it's in remission. So maybe this is a temporary thing. But look, golf is doing ok notwithstanding the economy; $300 million or so increase in prize money. They give $100 million to charity. Fifteen new corporate sponsors, four titles and the ad money is there but they need to keep that momentum.
If it is not Tiger and Phil, who's going to step up? Well, Americans Nick Watney, maybe; Lucas Glover, maybe; Rickie Fowler, maybe -- he's pretty colorful in his own way. Some of those young guys, they need to step up; we don't know who it is.
HOLMES: Yes. You just mentioned a bunch of names there that nobody really knows. And I think that's the point there.
HORROW: There you go.
HOLMES: No other tigers in the field.
Let's turn to the NFL for a second. Everybody complains about paying full ticket prices for this not-so-good football in the pre- season games. Commissioner, is this a good idea? Get rid of some of these pre-season games?
HORROW: Well, if you substitute it with what? The answer is they play 20 games now, 16 regular, four pre-season. If you tinker with it, made it 18 and two but that's not that simple because the regular season, everybody understands, that's when the players really earn their money. They're saying 18 games regular season, you don't make that decision automatically. You got to bargain for it.
So that is going to be a major issue in these renegotiations for the new collective bargaining agreement that's under way right now.
HOLMES: And two games can mean a lot. To two meaningful games I should say could mean a lot of dollars -- ad dollars.
HORROW: Yes. Actually, ad dollars; it is an $8 billion business. We hope this issue gets resolve, T.J. The player and owner issue. It is contentious but we've got a year to go before we have to really resolve it. So let's see what happens.
HOLMES: Rick, it's always good to see you -- seriously.
HORROW: Yes. Yes. Me, too. Me, too. Yes, me, too. All right, next week.
HOLMES: Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Quick break, I'm right back. Sir.
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