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CNN Saturday Morning News
Earl Speeds Up, Expected To Cause Destructive Waves; Powerful Earthquake Strikes New Zealand; CNN Staffer Sees 100th Aerosmith Live Concert, Has Meet And Greet With The Band
Aired September 04, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Earl is now in a bit of a hurry. The storm getting weaker. It's moving out. But it could still cause problems for your Labor Day weekend. Our Reynolds Wolf will be along in just a moment, along with our live team coverage.
Also, a state of emergency in New Zealand after a 7.0 earthquake. Major damage, as you can see in these pictures. But no deaths reported. We'll be live in New Zealand in just a moment, where it's now 10:00 in the evening.
But it s 6 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. It is 5 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this September 4. I am T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be here.
Also coming up for you in the next 90 minutes here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, a baby that was born weeks ahead of schedule and doctors declared the baby dead. But the mother treated the baby in a way that doctors couldn't. And now that baby is doing just fine some five months later.
Plus, something that had a lot of people scratching their heads, something you do not see every day: gang members holding their own news conference, criticizing the police. Are the gang members now the victims?
Also, prostitution. A big problem in one European country. Well, they couldn't clean up the problem so they decided to cover up the problem. Two words for you here: "sex boxes."
But we will begin with the weather. What used to be Hurricane Earl - still Earl, but now Earl is a tropical storm. Still dangerous, however. We're going to be going live to our reporters out there who have been covering this past the several days.
Allan Chernoff on Long Island for us. They did have to brave some hurricane conditions overnight.
Susan Candiotti as well on Cape Cod, where people are worried still about some high winds and waves.
But first, where is Earl now? Reynolds, where is Earl going? REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now, it is moving deeper into the Atlantic. The latest we have on this particular storm is it is weaker. It is winds of 70 miles per hour. It's still a very strong tropical storm, but it is really a shadow of what it was, say, some 36 hours, when it was the strongest storm on the planet. It was a major hurricane, a Category 4. Now the center of the storm moving due east at this point, and now northeast of Cape Cod. And the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center continues it on that northeast trajectory.
And this really has picked up steam, too. Yesterday it was moving around 15 to 18 miles per hour. Now, northeast at 30 miles an hour. It is located about 145 miles just to the south of Nova Scotia at this point. It is expected to move into an area where you have much cooler water ahead of it. And with that cooler water, and of course with the frontal boundary coming in from the west, it's going to be pushed a little bit more to the north, and then eventually to the northeast.
By the time we get to Sunday morning, moving well north of Baffin Island, and then of course, closer to the Arctic Circle and into history. So that is certainly some good news. It is weakening, but not before still causing a big threat on much of the Eastern Seaboard in terms of rip currents.
And T.J., on a weekend like this, where you still have so many people trying to salvage a holiday weekend by going out to the coast, that's really a big concern for a lot of folks, certainly those rip currents.
HOLMES: Travelers, much of an issue right now as far as - they - I know some winds could come. We talked about possible - some airport delays. Is that going to be a real possibility?
WOLF: Not so much.
I mean, starting things off this morning at Logan, you might have a few minor backups in Boston. But as we make our way through the midmorning hours and into the afternoon, not much of an issue. Beautiful day weather-wise around much of the continent (ph).
HOLMES: You know, sounds great. Sounds like we dodged a bit of a bullet on this storm.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: Great news. Reynolds going to keep an eye on this thing over the next several hours as this makes - makes its move.
I'm going to turn now to our Susan Candiotti. She is at Cape Cod.
Susan, you are in one of the spots that we thought that was a possibility this storm could hit. So just how much did the folks there have to brave? I - I mean, how serious were the conditions at any point?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, at this point, it looks like, according to officials, that Cape Cod escaped relatively unscathed from the effects of Tropical Storm Earl.
I mean, obviously, everyone was very worried about how they would make out. But this is the quote of the night, from emergency- management officials - quote - "We had a very quiet night."
And in fact, the breeze that you hear - you're seeing now, perhaps blowing a little bit, my jacket. And if you look over my shoulder and look at the waves, it's pretty calm. Now, this is Nantucket Sound, so we're not seeing the brunt of - of the Atlantic Ocean, of course. But it didn't get all that windy and it didn't rain all that hard in this particular spot.
However, it certainly was a lot stronger on Nantucket Island, where we have photographer/photojournalist Bob Crowley (ph) stationed all night long, and they took quite a pounding there from the tropical-storm-force wind and waves. In fact, they were pummeled by rain there. They got upwards of three to six inches, according to officials. And people there very worried about how they might make out on the island.
Some tourists did stay behind, and then locals as well deciding to ride out the storm, as many people did here, too.
But right now, we're hearing from officials that they had little or no reports of damages. They have some minor road closures, and they said those are many of the same streets that flood when they have heavy rains here to begin with.
In terms of power outages, more good news. They consider it minor. They have 1,800 customers throughout Cape Cod without power right now.
And at this hour, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is on a conference call. He is hearing damage reports right now. And they are trying to decide whether they have enough damage to warrant sending out damage-assessment teams now that the sun is - is starting to come out. They might go ahead and do that anyway, and we'll be finding out about that within the next hour.
Here's the thing: They are very concerned today because they do expect the sun to come out, sunny skies, 80 degree weather. But it's going to be very windy, and they expect to have very strong rip currents as well as heavy surf.
So actually, my question, if - if Reynolds is still standing around there. You know, the breeze that we're seeing, and we're seeing some cloud cover here - how soon might we expect that to roll on by, given the strength of the wind, Reynolds? I'm just curious. And when can we the sun? I hope soon.
WOLF: Well, absolutely.
What we're waiting on is for a frontal boundary, which is one of the key things that kept this storm away from - from, say, the Outer Banks. Certainly kept the - kept the storm away from Cape Cod. As soon as that front comes through, by midmorning I think conditions are going to improve greatly. But you really nailed the very important part, and that is: Although the sun might be out, although things might look great aesthetically speaking, there's still going to be that true (ph) danger of rip currents. And that's going to be a problem all the way from Florida to Maine. And I'll tell you, that is something that people really have to keep in mind when they come go out.
It's the final big holiday weekend of summer, and certainly something to keep just in the back of their mind.
T.J., again, that's the big threat that we're going to be seeing, really, now going from the winds, the rain, to now the rip currents, possibly affecting many people.
HOLMES: And certainly, certainly dangerous, and people need to keep in mind. Something they don't often keep in mind, just because they see sunny skies.
Allan Chernoff is on Long Island for us.
Allan, I'll come to you now. And we saw you yesterday. A lot of what you saw, huge waves in some of the live shots we saw from you. It looks like they're still kicking up.
Tell me what the conditions are like there.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., the waves not too bad right now. But have a look at this massive log, because the waves brought this baby in along with three others on the (INAUDIBLE) that had not been here yesterday afternoon.
They came late in the evening. And wow, those are major logs. It gives you an idea of the power of the surf.
And, I mean, it looks pretty nice right now. But yesterday, my goodness, we had waves 10 feet high just pounding, pounding - I mean, it was absolutely incredible. The tourists were trying to flock onto the beach. And the marine patrol of the police department here had a very, very busy day just keeping people off the beach.
They were not entirely successful. There was one child that we know of that was actually stranding on a log, was knocked down by the waves, had a few stitches to the head. But as far as I know, that was the extent of the physical damage.
In terms of electricity, virtually no damage at all. The power stayed on through Long Island. Just a couple of minor, minor outages in Long Island. So really, they - they weathered this storm just fine.
This is yet another of those huge logs that was brought in by the - the current. And also, very interesting, out here - you know, this is often a surfer's paradise. Well guess what? This side of the eastern end of Long Island - and we are looking out at the - the Atlantic here - actually, it was no good for surfing yesterday, because were, as surfers would say, closing out about 150, 200 yards out. So there really wasn't - even if they had been able to get out here, there really wasn't a wave for them to ride So the surfers were not so much here. Apparently, there were some on the bay side. We were not over there.
One other thing to note - and let's have a look over here, because these are the sand dunes here. And they are critically important, if we - we talk about the ecological niche here. But have a look. If we could zoom in here, have a look at some of the erosion here. You can actually see - I don't know if we can see with a camera, but I - I'm looking right here at roots that are now exposed of this sea grass, which is so essential to holding these dunes together.
And so erosion does continue. I mean, you - when those major storms come, it does do damage. Now, we may say, OK, hardly anyone hurt. No power outages. But this is where the damage is. This is where the real damage is, the ecological damage to the topography - T.J.
HOLMES: Well, good to keep some things in perspective. We dodged a bullet in some respects. But still, storm did some damage.
We appreciate you, Allan Chernoff. We'll be checking in with our entire team of live reporters, and of course continue to get the updates from our Reynolds Wolf, who is here with us. He's keeping a very close eye on the storm. Still causing a few problems, but again, like he said as well, those rip currents could still - that they will be dangerous. But important to keep those in mind. It might look like the danger is gone just because it's not raining and it's a nice sun and good weather, it appears. But those rip currents can be dangerous. So we'll stay on top of that story.
Also, something happened in New Zealand right now. A state of emergency has been declared after a major earthquake that caused major damage. But looking at these pictures, you - you would think we would hear a lot of reports of injuries or even deaths. But that is not the case.
We'll be taking you live there in just a moment.
It's 10 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, climb aboard. You are invited to ride with us next week aboard the CNN Election Express bus. Yes, it's time to kick off the campaign season. The midterms are just around the corner, and Labor Day traditionally a time to kick off a lot of that campaigning.
We're going to be heading out this week, focusing on a lot of important races and issues and people.
Monday, we're starting out in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We're going to start with our live reports there. I'll be joined along with - in that bus with our John King. Also Jessica Yellin will be aboard.
But we are going to take a bit of a road trip. Like I say, starting in Pittsburgh on Monday. Then Tuesday, heading over to Columbus, Ohio. Wednesday, Covington, Kentucky. We'll stop by and say hello. And then we'll wrap up Thursday in Indianapolis.
You can tune into CNN all day for our road reports, again, aboard the CNN Election Express. All next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 14 minutes past the hour now here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We're going to turn now to New Zealand, where that has been a strong earthquake, 7.0 in magnitude. We have seen some of these pictures come out of heavy damage there. But not that many reports of serious injuries, and no reports of deaths.
Want to turn now to our Melissa Stokes, who is live for us. She's with our affiliate TVNZ.
And Melissa, are a lot of people amazed right now - certainly happy, but amazed that we didn't see more injuries, and certainly we didn't see a number of deaths?
MELISSA STOKES, TVNZ CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, some extremely close calls though around the city.
We've from people where they just managed to leap out of bed and get under a doorway before a whole pile of brick ended up on their pillow. So there were some extremely close calls in real clusters of the city.
But you - only, I think, two people with serious injuries in hospital. So there are people around here that are just so surprised that this has happened.
HOLMES: Melissa, what are some of the immediate needs right now? Are a lot of people, frankly, out of their homes or out in the streets? I guess what's the response now from the government?
STOKES: I think a lot of people will be at home.
Now, I'm being told tonight, that they need to check out the structural damage of their house. And if they think that it - that it has been damaged, they need to get into a welfare center, where I understand around 200 people may be gathering at those places at the moment.
The government has announced a state of emergency. The big problems are the water lines - they have burst in areas and they aren't able to get any water into houses. People are being told, if they can get water, they need to boil it or to conserve the water.
So you can see, a lot of the damage on the outside. About only 120 buildings so far have been confirmed as damaged. But that number is to rise considerably. And it's also the damage under the city, with the sewage systems and - and the water lines. So there will be a lot of work and a lot of cleanup to come.
But the (INAUDIBLE), which is due to turn tomorrow to gale-force winds, really won't help the problem. You know, that could push over already fragile buildings. And if that of that rainwater were to get into the water lines, then it could (INAUDIBLE) things. So things could be quite dicey here.
HOLMES: All right. Last thing here, Melissa - still dealing with aftershocks?
STOKES: Last aftershock was about 7:30. The city where I am at the moment is completely locked down, so nobody is allowed in. I got dropped on outside the cordon, just about 300 meters away. I got told by the police officer to walk down the middle of the road just in case there was another quake.
It's a very eerie feeling to be here. This is a Saturday night. The streets outside us would normally be heaving with traffic, on a Saturday, going out and - and places like that. But things are very quiet. And - and people have been warned, there could be aftershocks for some time yet. So there's still some very anxious people here.
HOLMES: Melissa Stokes for us this morning. Melissa, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.
We want to turn to Chile now, and some encouraging news for those trapped miners. You know, the ones that are going to be stuck, we're told, for the next several months.
Well, a new drill - there it is - it is arriving now. It could reduce, possibly, the time to rescue the miners. The 33 have been trapped since August 5 by a rock slide.
Now, they are drilling now. The current drilling shaft they're doing right now, we're told, could take three to four months. But this new drill that's in could do the job in possibly two months. So that could possibly reduce the time.
Now, we have seeing just some fascinating video of these guys that they've been - been sending back up to friends and family. But part of this story, some would say, some of the miners might not want to be in a hurry to get up.
Because what has happened - a bit of a phenomenon here is that, several women have been coming forward claiming to be the love inters of some of those miners - some of those married miners. Some reports say that as many as five wives of the miners have had to come face to face with mistresses and girlfriends.
Now, this has come up because the government is handing out money to the wives or significant others of the miners as they're down there - some government aid to the women to sustain them while the miners are down there. So now, a lot of women are coming forward and claiming to be the love interest of one of the miners.
So some of them might not be in too much of a hurry to come up. We will stay on top of that story for you.
Nineteen minutes past the hour for you now.
We're going to get a chance this weekend here in Atlanta, have a drink with a Klingon, maybe have a conversation with Batman. Or whatever.
You have seen these pictures. This is going to be going down once again this weekend in Atlanta. Dragon Con, as it's called, kicked off last night. We have a very special invitation for you this morning.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, at 23 minutes past the hour. Take a look now at some of the stories that are making headlines.
Hurricane Earl not a hurricane anymore. Actually, Tropical Storm Earl now. It has brushed past the East Coast - many parts of the East Coast, including Long Island. It's kind of battered Cape Cod a bit. But it - it's on its move, moving at a pretty good clip north.
Some high winds, some storm surge, some damaging waves. The biggest issue right now for a lot of folks are going to be those rip currents. But we are keeping a close eye on this storm. Reynolds is here in our Weather Center. We'll be checking in with him throughout the morning.
Also, the NFL has reduced the suspension of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This was expected, however. He went from being suspended six games to now four games. This was after some allegations of sexual assault when he was suspended.
Now, no charges have ever been filed against him. Roethlisberger says that he has learned a lot over the past several months.
Also, it was, in fact, arson. That's according to the ATF. This is the result they've come up with after that fire at a Tennessee mosque construction site. This was in Murfreesboro. You've been seeing a lot about this mosque because a lot of people have been protesting the building of this mosque here.
The fire happened last week, but the ATF now determined that some accelerants were used. Construction equipment was burned. The investigation continues.
Twenty-four minutes past the hour. A quick break. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: I'm just to admit to you, I don't understand it, all right? They do this every year. Dragon Con is what it's called. And I don't get it. I really do not get it. I have tried, Josh, over the years to understand what this is all about. And I just don't get it.
But it's this fantasy, this extravaganza that happens - happening here in Atlanta. But this sci-fi thing.
And - Josh, I - I - I don't understand.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I can try to help. I mean, I understand what you're saying. It is kind of amazing that all these people want to come here and dress up here as superheroes.
It's superheroes converging. They might break some world records this year. People are very excited about this.
So we actually asked some people, 'Why do you want to dress up and take part?'
Here's what one told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ever since I was a young kid, I've always enjoyed dressing up in costume. And here, it's really fantastic because there are so many people with similar interest of mine - (INAUDIBLE), the science-fiction, fantasy, comics - (INAUDIBLE) everything. And to be able to dress up as these characters that we enjoy and have people recognize you, it's just a lot of fun. It's just something we really enjoy doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Let me give you all a sense of what's ahead today.
We have video of the parade last year. Let's show everyone that, because this year, they say it's going to be even bigger. This is a parade that takes place through the streets of Atlanta, not far from where we are here, at - at CNN headquarters.
Let's got to that video from 2009. And what they're hoping for this year is even bigger. They are saying that they - they could break records this year. They're saying last year, they managed to have a - let's see, about 1,200, I think, take part, looking for even more. They want the most superheroes ever.
They also want to have the biggest gathering ever of Star Trek - people dressed in Star Trek costumes, the current record being a little more than 500 people.
And you know what? Talk about money. There is - there's a study that says a couple years ago in Atlanta, when it was even smaller, the direct economic impact of this one convention and all of these people turning out for it, was more than $20 million. And it could be even more now. Now, another thing we're going to hear from now, is we're - we're going to hear from, actually a sci-fi star with her view on why this is so popular.
But I got to set it up right. So first of all, let's take a look at a clip from some of her work on one of my favorite sci-fi shows, "Buck Rogers":
(VIDEO CLIP, "BUCK ROGERS")
LEVS: Awesome. That was from Buck Rogers. That's Erin Gray, who joined us in the "NEWSROOM" yesterday. And I was asking her about this, what is it about sci-fi that galvanizes people like this?
Here is what she told us:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN GRAY, ACTRESS, ENTREPRENEUR: I - I think because the sci-fi lovers are people who think outside of the box. They think - they - they - they - and they really appreciate it when there is a television programs, or TV shows, that focuses on their idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: That was Erin Gray speaking with us in the newsroom yesterday. So, look, ultimately no one knows for sure what it is. There are a lot of people out there, like T.J., who are incredibly perplexed by this. But it gets bigger and bigger every year. It is worth tens of millions of dollars, tens of thousands of people are turning out. And Dragon*Con really is one of the biggest in the country. It's going on right now. T.J., you won't be able to miss it, when you leave CNN today. These super heroes will be running all around you.
HOLMES: I understand money. Something that brings in that much money to a community, by all means, I do understand that. But I mean, just trying to understand what motivates people to do it. It's fun. They're enjoying themselves. That's great. I like science fiction but I don't go too far past "Star Wars."
Reynolds, that is as complicated as I get.
WOLF: Well, you know, it's not just "Star Wars." It crosses so many different platforms. You mention the "Buck Rogers" thing. You have "Star Trek". I mean, where can you actually go and have that kind of fun and learn a skill. You can go and learn how to speak Klingon when you go to a place like that. Personally, a little bit, I can speak Wookie, which is also a skill that is in great demand.
LEVS: Can you really? Say something.
WOLF: It's a family show.
LEVS: Just a little bit.
WOLF: It's a family show.
LEVS: Oh, OK, sorry. It's going to be nasty if someone had to translate that.
HOLMES: We need to let our viewers know, we're going to have Colin Ferguson, if you're a sci-fi watchers out there, you should know who he is. He's the star on one of the shows on Sci-Fi Network, "Eureka". He's going to be in studio here with us, coming up in the 8:00 o'clock hour, actually. So he will be here. We'll see if he gets it as well.
Josh, thank you.
LEVS: Yes, 8:00 o'clock hour.
HOLMES: Reynolds, let's turn to not science fiction necessarily, but real science here.
WOLF: Yes we are going to talk about some real science. Take a look a bit of a flashback. Take a look at this storm. This was just a mammoth system. At one time -- a little bit too big. Here we go. There we go. Are you with me? I hope so. Boy, that coffee is strong this morning.
This is a look at the storm. This is Earl at one time, a Category 4 storm. Then it began to weaken. It's a now a shadow of its former self. Take a look at it now, it is currently due east of Cape Cod. Winds are at 70, gusts are at 85 miles per hour. The latitude, longitude, see it there. Pressure still continues to actually rise a bit. The storm is weakening. You see a lot of dry air coming into the western half of the storm, but it still could provide some very heavy waves for much of the Eastern Seaboard. Rip currents will be a tremendous threat for a lot of people today. Storm expected to make its way up toward the Bay of Fundy and farther north by 2:00 a.m. Sunday. About to move up towards the Arctic Sea. That's certainly good news out of harm's way.
As it stands, still about 145 miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is going to be going, going gone soon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Coming up, Aerosmith has been at it for a long time and they are still at it after all these years. There is that legendary band. We are tagging along for a very special show. It wasn't necessarily special for the band. It was special for one of their devoted, I mean, really devoted fans. It's 34 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We are discussing some Aerosmith here. We'll explain why in a second. Welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
A stall after takeoff, that's bad, right?
WOLF: I would think so.
HOLMES: This is bad.
WOLF: This is not a good thing.
HOLMES: This is how we're going to start, looking at a couple of stories making headlines across the country.
A stall that happened near Portland, Oregon; the plane went nose first into a home near an airport. Look. That's an odd scene to see that tail sticking up like that. The pilot said he was practicing takeoffs and landings; only suffered minor injuries here.
WOLF: Probably didn't do so well. Can you imagine sitting in your house. Hey, you are not going to believe this, I forgot to wash the windows, but there's a plane that's sticking through the roof. I think we're going to need to call someone for a little bit of help. Thankfully, no major injuries.
HOLMES: No major injuries. One woman was at home. But she escaped. Did not have a single scratch. It's funny -- not necessarily funny, but to hear that he was practicing takeoff and landings. Clearly needs to keep practicing.
Also, here new video. We're seeing that oil platform fire. Check that out. This was earlier this week in the Gulf of Mexico; 13 people had to jump into the water. Nobody seriously injured here. The Houston-based company Mariner Energy says the worker shut off the wells before abandoning the platform. The federal government, a new oversight agency, is launching an investigation into this. But, again, I need to reiterate no oil, we are told. No sheen, no oil, getting into the water, leaking into the water, or ever got into the water.
Now take a listen to this for a second.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD DANCING, SINGING: You do the "Hokey Pokey" and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about.
HOLMES: Hokey pokey, do you remember that?
QUEST: It is sort of my life in song. What are you talking about? Yeah, good stuff.
HOLMES: "The Hokey Pokey", when did we do this? Did we do this in school? When do people do this stuff?
WOLF: Elementary school usually, you know, kindergarten, preschool. My daughters are totally into it.
HOLMES: A new record now has been set. It's at a festival in Coralville, Iowa. "Hokey Pokey," 7,000 people joined in to try and break a record that was set in Toronto a few years ago.
Why do people do this stuff? You can set a record for anything, "Hokey Pokey".
WOLF: Yes, well, you know, how many hot dogs can you eat in a minute? How many bon-bons can you eat. Can you do "The Hokey Pokey"? It's one of those things that we should all aspire to do. And once you're part of it it's something that stays with you until your dying day.
HOLMES: Congratulations to the folks in Iowa. Take a look at this now. We were just talking about Aerosmith.
SINGING: Baby, I go crazy
HOLMES: We're going backstage with Aerosmith now. The rock legends have been going strong for 40 years now, their fans as well. One of those fans works here, not this guy but he's been to 99 Aerosmith concerts. But our Ali Velshi now reports No. 100 was extra special.
WOLF: 99?
HOLMES: Yes, 100 now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jay Conway is a known quantity at CNN. He's a set manager on the network shows that are produced out of New York.
JAY CONWAY, FLOOR MANAGER, CNN NEW YORK: Do you need your light on, Tom?
VELSHI: His long wavy hair, T-shirt and jeans mark him as a devotee of Aerosmith, in his words, the greatest American rock 'n roll band of all time.
So all of these guys were just completely raised on Aerosmith. There are home movies that we were watching with them, and in the background, there's Aerosmith playing. It is like we're out there playing ball and stuff, it is all nice and real family oriented. The grass is green but in the background you hear Aerosmith playing.
VELSHI: So, when Jay told us he was taking his family to see his 100th show, we decided to arrange a little surprise for him.
CONWAY: Oh, my god. I can't believe I'm standing here talking to Aerosmith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what? It could have happened way before this.
CONWAY: And you guys are just like so down to earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 100th show. Come on now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since '76, is that what I heard?
CONWAY: Yeah, in 1976. Brad, how are you? Good to see you. Joe? Man. 1976. I got most of the tickets rights here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa!
CONWAY: First time I went to see you guys in The Garden in '76 I paid $5.50.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!
CONWAY: All by myself.
VELSHI: With a little help from us Jay got to see meet his favorite rock 'n roll band backstage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love it when this happens.
CONWAY: Steven (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's vortex of the -
CONWAY: This will be something I will never forget. The fact that my kids were in on this, beautiful.
VELSHI: So he can be forgiven if he thinks that gives him the right to tell them what songs they should play.
CONWAY: When you do "Saddle" it the middle of the set it throws me off. It should be like an opener.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't figure it out, we have so much material.
CONWAY: Certain songs belong in certain places.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but I like your opinion because someone has so many opinions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like this. We've got the front of our set, done.
SINGING: Back in the saddle again-
VELSHI: But the band listened to Jay and opened with the song "Back in the Saddle" and gave him the night of his life. Rock on, Jay.
Aerosmith has been playing together for some four decades now, selling more than 150 million albums. They were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: Unreal. Would you do that? Is there any group that you would travel across the country to see? HOLMES: That is a great question. We were talking about this in the break. Think of anything, folks, you would travel around that much for. Certainly not a band. We're both sports fans. I will go anywhere from the Razorbacks.
WOLF: Auburn University.
HOLMES: I would travel like that. But can you think of anything? Really, I'm asking this question, Facebook and Twitter. You all know where to find me. We're curious. What? Is it a band, what would you travel around that much to see?
WOLF: Neil Diamond, yeah.
HOLMES: Is that it?
WOLF: Absolutely, yeah.
HOLMES: You know, Prince would be the closest musician, for me, probably.
WOLF: And The Revolution, or just Prince?
HOLMES: Got to bring The Revolution.
WOLF: You have to?
HOLMES: I need The Revolution.
WOLF: He's got to have his posse with him. All right. He's got to have the time.
HOLMES: There's Jerome.
WOLF: Jerome?
HOLMES: He's the guy with the mirror. That's good stuff.
HOLMES: But again, we're asking you. Seriously, what would you travel, would it be a band, sports team? What would you travel around that much for? Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, @TJHolmescnn. Let us know. We'll trying to share some of those in a little bit.
Coming up here, another story that had us scratching our heads. They were trying to fight prostitution in a particular European country. Well, they couldn't come up with ways to necessarily fight it, so they found a way to cover it up in a box, if you will. Our editorial-editor? I love that, Nadia Bilchik, she is going to be along to help us understand what in the world is going on here. It's 43 minutes past the hour. Stay with us.
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HOLMES: Well, all aboard next week. Well, not all, just four of us. We're going to be traveling along. CNN Election Express hitting the road next week for the campaign season. As you see there, we're starting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Starting on Monday, I will be there along with, as you see, Jessica Yellin, and also our John King, Gloria Borger, going to be reporting about the people and also the races that are really going to be making a difference come this mid- term election. We're going to go from Pittsburgh, that's where we're starting. That is on Monday; Tuesday, coming to you live from Columbus; Wednesday, Covington, Kentucky; Thursday, Indianapolis. So please, by all means, cook us a meal or two, if we're coming to your town. We will see you. Tune in to CNN all day as I and the others hit the road next week.
Well, a story we've been teasing this morning a bit. Out of sight, is that really out of mind? That's the idea at least behind an official proposal on the table right now in Zurich. Fences for keeping prostitution boxed in, actually these things are called sex walls. Enclosed parking areas where prostitutes and clients can carry on their business away from the public. Nadia Bilchik, our editorial producer, is here with me. This had us scratching our heads.
Now, this is going forward, it is happening?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: It is a proposal.
HOLMES: A proposal, right.
BILCHIK: In essence what officials in Zurich are saying, we have a problem. I tell you why the problems has gotten so much worse over the last 18 months. And what's happening is they are saying it's happening anyway. And it's a particular street in Zurich and the people on the streets are complaining and saying we are seeing too much. So they are saying this is a proposal to fence it in, so you won't see what's going on.
Now, it's not saying that they are encouraging this. Over the last 18 months what has happened in Zurich is something called the Changan (ph) Agreement. It is something that has become part of it. It is an agreement that was signed in 1985. But in 2008, the Swiss authority signed it. And what it means is it creates a borderless zone. So all of a sudden you've got people come in from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, all over Europe into Switzerland. As you know, in Europe the economy has been really bad. The average salary in Switzerland, in Zurich, is twice as much as the average salary in the United States. So you've got all of these people coming in because it's a work opportunity and now prostitutes, sex workers, are flooding in to Zurich. And on this particular street it has become prolific and the neighbors are complaining.
HOLMES: Prostitutes versus sex workers?
BILCHIK: Sex workers because it's legal in Europe. One of the things that I found fascinating about this story is how we deal with prostitution here, it's criminal. There they say, look, it's happening. So far better to deal with it happening and make sure that NGOs take care of these people. That they are educated as far as sex, disease, condoms, et cetera. So right now you've got this happening. They say let's create space so that we don't need to see it happening.
HOLMES: Now, how many places are we talking about? We are talking about Switzerland here now.
BILCHIK: We are talking about a particular street, a particular street.
HOLMES: A particular street. But how many other countries do we know of?
BILCHIK: Well, look at Amsterdam, they've got a red light district. Remember 2006 the World Cup in Berlin. They took an entire hotel, 250 rooms, and said this is for sex workers. Condoms are going to be available. And you can freely have sex. It's going to happen. And also looking at the whole constitution in Switzerland, how much more liberal they are about for example, drugs. OK, so they don't promote drug trafficking but they don't prosecute drug users. They will prosecute the drug traffickers because they say the users are victims. And, then things like euthanasia in Switzerland. You know, if you-two doctors say you are very ill, you are dying, you can be euthanized. So you are looking at a much more liberal way of looking at things in general. So they are not encouraging prostitution, but they are saying it is going to happen. Let's make sure the neighbors don't have to see it.
HOLMES: Don't see it. All right, it's a proposal now. Last thing here just quickly, when will we know whether or not or not it will happen?
BILCHIK: In the next couple of months they're assuming it will go forward. The other proposal was to take the entire street and remove it, or move it somewhere else. Of course that didn't go down very well.
HOLMES: Nadia Bilchik, we always appreciate and enjoy you brining us something a little different that a lot of people might not know about but also fascinating. And tomorrow looking forward, we'll just tee it up like this. Has to do with Princess Di and Lingerie?
BILCHIK: And China, we're putting the global spotlight on China.
HOLMES: OK. Nadia, always good to have you. See you again soon. Thank you so much.
A news conference we saw in Chicago not long ago had a lot of people scratching their heads, it put crime and violence in the nation's most violent city, one of the nation's most violent cities, in the spotlight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the mayor going to be held accountable for all the corruption that happened under his watch? Is the police superintendent going to be held accountable for all the corrupt cops that go out and kill young black men?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: This press conference was held by gang members. They're now pointing the fingers back at police and city officials. It's 49 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look now at some of the stories making headlines on this Saturday morning. Heavy damage, but no deaths, that's the story we are getting out of New Zealand right now. The area was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Cracked roads, crumbled buildings, you can see in a lot of this video here. About 100 people were banged up, some bumps and bruises, there were injured. None of those called too serious. Again, amazing that after all this damage we're seeing in that earthquake, that no deaths or many serious injuries were reported.
Also, we'll turn to Chile now where a new drill is giving some new hope that maybe those miners could be out sooner than anticipated. Those 33 miners have been trapped for a month now about half mile underground. The original estimate was that it could take up to four months to get them out. We're told now this new drill, as you see it there, could cut the time down to two months. We will stand by to see, but NASA engineers also have been said to help the miners cope.
Also, a jury has been unable to decide if a Mexican actress married for love or for U.S. citizenship. A mistrial was declared in this case of that actress; B movie and commercial actress Maria Fernanda Ramiro Martinez, is her name. She allegedly married an American, former pizza delivery guy, to get a green card. She says the marriage is real. Her husband says the marriage is real. Prosecutors say it's not. And her ex-boyfriend says it's not a real marriage, either.
Turn back to Chicago now and the problem of violence we have been seeing there for really the past several years. A lot of young people have been dying. Listen to this now. Nearly half of the city's homicides this year have been victims between the ages of 17 and 25. The city earmarked $30 million in stimulus funding last year to help 1200 at-risk students at its schools. Consider this need. There are more than 250 murders in Chicago. That's the number for this year. Of that number, at least 57 of those victims were teenagers.
Now, police trying to help with the problem of crime and trying to help with the problem of homicide, all the killings there in Chicago. They went about it by having a so-called gang summit earlier. Not too long ago. Police officials told gang members, stop the violence or else gang leaders could face a crackdown.
Then the gang leaders held a news conference of their own after that summit. Yes, they came out and spoke to the press. They say they are being unfairly blamed for a lot of the violence that's taking place in Chicago. Get the story now from Ben Bradley from our affiliate, WLS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK CARTER, VOICES OF EX-OFFENDERS: I can't control what's going on out there. People are killing for any silly thing. BEN BRADLEY, REPORTER WLS TV (voice-over): This man admits to being an influential member of the Unknown Vice Lords. And he was one of the men ordered to attend a meeting at Darfield (ph) Park of alleged gang members and law enforcement.
CARTER: Ain't no more leaders. People just doing things on their own, they have their own little crew, and people get in their way, they handle what they've got to handle.
BRADLEY: A group of self-described current and former gang members telling the media to fire back as what they see as hypocrisy.
CARTER: Is the mayor going to be held accountable for what happens under his watch? Is the police superintendent going to be held accountable for all the corrupt cops that go out and kill young black men?
BRADLEY: The group includes some who claim they have turned their gang influence into a force for good. Now they want city money to pay for their own violence prevention programs.
REGINALD AKKEEM BERRY, SR., FORMER GANG MEMBER: They're given an ultimatum. Quit it, instead of an alternatives.
ALDERMAN ANTHONY BEALE, CHICAGO POLICE & FIRE CMTE.: Why are you sitting back saying, well, we have a solution while innocent people are still being killed and shot every single day. If you've got the solution, it shouldn't be any dollar amount attached to it.
REV. MICHAEL PFLEGER, ST. SABINA PARISH: People are calling press conferences and being angry and being mad and being worried about constitutional rights, says to me sounds like it's working.
BRADLEY: As for this gang member, he left the meeting with police mad, but also having heard the message loud and clear.
I'm happy. They say I'm going to be blamed for it. I have to say no shooting, no killing, none of that, because I don't want to be blamed for something they're doing. So I got to get the word out there and let them know that we can't have this, not in my area. They're saying that I'm a gang leader. I can't be held accountable for what somebody else is doing. I've got to take the message out there and let them know. Because I'm going to be blamed for it if they do it anyway. That's what they said.
BRADLEY: So I guess the meeting worked?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it worked, for me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: There are at least 60 other cities that have actually tried these type of police gang collaborations. For most, it has been effective, many would say, in reducing violent crimes. But coming up in our 10:00 o'clock hour, going to be talking to a couple of former gang members about what they're trying to accomplish there in Chicago. If they think they should be-gangs should be working with the police. Interesting conversation you don't want to miss. That's coming your way in our 10:00 hour.
Meanwhile, in the next hour, a story you do not want to miss. A doctor telling a couple that their newborn baby son was dead, that he didn't make it. The mom, though, wants to be close to that child, essentially to say good-bye. Takes that son, holds him close to her for several minutes. The next thing you know, the baby opens its eyes. He's eating. He's clutching his parents' fingers. The baby is alive. And today the baby is five months old and doing just fine. We'll have that story for you.
Also, we're keep an eye on what is now Tropical Storm Earl. You see it there on the radar. It's breaking up a bit. It is certainly weakening, but still could cause some problems and could be a danger. We'll explain. We're just a couple minutes to the top of the hour.
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