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CNN Saturday Morning News
WikiLeaks Founder Defends Release of Classified Iraq Documents; Shoplifters Leave Everyone Else With the Tab; Words of Wisdom from Women; Amputee Redefines "Disabled"
Aired October 23, 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: Hey there, folks. From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this October 23. I'm T.J., and we once again dragged somebody out of D.C. to hang out with us for a weekend.
It's all right. It's been awhile.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to be here. It's nice to be back, T.J.
I'm Suzanne Malveaux. And thanks for starting your day with us.
We have some developing news this morning. We're going to get right to that.
Within the last hour, we heard the founder of the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks defend the release of nearly 400,000 classified military documents from the Iraq war.
HOLMES: Now, this sounds familiar to you now. WikiLeaks - you have heard that name plenty over the past several months, really. They published all of those documents - some 70,000 having to do with the Afghan war, but this time having to do with the Iraq war.
We got these just late yesterday. Several news organizations have been reviewing these documents, including "The New York Times." In their review, they say these documents provide a new look at the number of Iraqi civilians killed in the war. It also has a look at the role that Iran played in backing militants in Iraq.
Also, the documents say Iran provided Iraqi militants with the most lethal type of roadside bombs. Also included in these documents reports of abuse by Iraq's army and police.
Also, the British newspaper "The Guardian," also one of the organizations been looking through these documents, says they detail torture, summary executions, also war crimes.
The Pentagon, as you know, has not been happy with the release of these classified documents. A spokesman says the release of such documents could expose military tactics, techniques and how the military works with Iraq. He adds Iraqis who work with U.S. forces could be in danger. We'll have more on that in just a second. We have been watching, over the past hour here at CNN, a live feed of a press conference that took place from the WikiLeaks founder and editor. You see him there on the right. He might look familiar to you by now. His name is Julian Assange, and he is one who is - the Pentagon has really directed a lot of their anger and criticism at him. He is the founder of this website that's been putting out these documents that military officials have flat-out said could be putting the lives of American troops on the battlefield at risk.
Again, a news conference was just wrapping up in London in the past hour. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: In that material, the deaths of 109,000 people are documented, internally declared 66,000 civilians. Working with the Iraq Body Count, we have seen there are approximately 15,000 never-previously-documented-or-known cases of civilians who have been killed by violence in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, the Pentagon says that the documents could endanger Iraqis who are helping U.S. forces. These papers include 300 names of Iraqis. And one of the founders of Iraq Body Count Project says it is important to recognize that every Iraqi civilian death is important.
Now, a Pentagon official says that American forces have been contacted the 300 named Iraqis in an effort to protect them from retaliation by militants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: -- idea what their intentions are. But the bottom line is that there are, as I mentioned, potentially a half-million classified, secret documents now in the public domain. Not just, as you mentioned, for our enemies to use or the people we are now waging war against, but others can clearly be the beneficiaries of these secrets being out in the public.
That is not good. This information is classified for a reason. It could - its exposure could undermine our nation's security. It could imperial operations. Or it could endanger our forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SLOBODA, IRAQ BODY COUNT: The real importance of these logs is that every family who has lost a loved on this war, be it an American soldier or an Iraqi civilian, needs to have that loss publicly recognized. And if that loss is not recognized, it breeds hatred, resentment and in a sense, the war can never be fully put behind.
So it's in the interest of us all that every Iraqi civilian death is treated with the same respect and honor as every American death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: John Sloboda of the Iraq Body Count says that the classified information shows 15,000 civilian deaths that the group had not previously known about.
Now, WikiLeaks published the Afghan war diary. That was back in July, you may recall. And that release, of 70,000 classified documents, is considered to be the biggest intelligence leak in American history. Now, the diary revealed infighting, heavy drug use among Afghan soldiers, a - quite a scenario back in April. WikiLeaks posted aerial footage of an Apache helicopter gunship attack. The July 2007 attack in the Baghdad area killed a dozen civilians, including two journalists.
The U.S. military charged Private First Class Bradley Manning with leaking the video.
HOLMES: Now, again, Julian Assange - the name you have been hearing a bit - he is, again, the founder of this website WikiLeaks. He came to international attention when that site posted classified documents on the war in Afghanistan. That happened back in July.
Assange describes himself as a journalist and activist. He says he grew up with parents in the theater business and says his parents were actually on the run for a cult.
Well, after the release of the Afghan war documents in July, Assange said WikiLeaks will not be suppressed.
Our Atika Shubert was at the news conference in London today. She joins us now live.
Atika, hello to you. What - what jumped out here? I guess, what did we learn from these documents that Julian Assange and others say we didn't already know?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, he says there's a wealth of information out there that has now just come out. It basically shows, in the words of one of the people at this press conference, the small but relentless deaths that mounted in Iraq, especially this civilian death toll, where they found more than 15,000 civilian casualties that had not - had been in the public eye before. And so they have added that to the death toll, which now comes to about 122,000, they say.
Now, Julian Assange himself had a few brief words to say before the press conference started. He basically says this is a - this disclosure is about revealing the truth of what went on in Iraq.
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASSANGE: In our release of these 400,000 documents about the Iraq war, the intimate detail of that war, from the U.S. perspective, we hope to correct some of that attack on the truth that occurred before the war, during the war and which has continued on since the war officially concluded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Now, when I spoke to Julian Assange - we actually did in an interview. And he told me that there was - quote - "compelling evidence of war crimes," both by coalition troops and by Iraqi government forces.
And it's interesting to note that at this press conference today, there were - there was a human-rights lawyer who said he would be bringing forward these 40 wrongful-death lawsuits as a result of the information in these documents, T.J.
HOLMES: And Atika, two quick things here.
First, are we to believe that these new documents came from the same source that it's believed the last 70,000, from the Afghan war, those documents came from, this - this private, I believe his name is Bradley Manning.
And secondly, what is going to happen to Julian Assange? Now, he only pops up here and there, usually on the run, I guess you could say. What do we - where do we think he's going to go now?
SHUBERT: Well, in terms of Bradley Manning, he, of course, is awaiting a military trial for the leak of a classified military document.
As you pointed out, however, it - he has not been linked to either the Afghan war diary or these new Iraqi war logs. We simply don't know at this point who is the source of the leak. WikiLeaks say they will not confirm or deny whether or not Manning is the leak. And they say they themselves do not know who the leak is, because, of course, WikiLeaks focuses on making sure that whistle-blowers who provide information to the site do it so anonymously. Their information is encrypted in such a way that shields their identity.
As to where - what Julian Assange will do next - who knows? This is an elusive man; he travels around the world. He's been popping up in Sweden, here in the U.K. He also spends time in Africa. He's originally from Australia.
He tries to keep his - his life private and how WikiLeaks works very private. He says it is essential to keep it confidential so that people are - so that WikiLeaks workers and staffers are kept safe, he says, because the work that they do is so important. And he fears that they could come under attack, and that's why he says it's important for people not to know how WikiLeaks works.
HOLMES: Well, Atika Shubert for us in London this morning. Atika, we appreciate you, as always. Thank you so much.
Well, at nine minutes past the hour now, we're going to turn back to midterms here in this country. We're about 10 days away now.
We've seen a lot of the big (INAUDIBLE) out there on the campaign trail, the big names - Sarah Palin, the Bill Clintons and President Obama. But why not throw in an Oscar winner as well? We'll tell you who was out there campaigning, coming out.
MALVEAUX: It's a - it's - it's very exciting. We're all looking forward to seeing who's going to come out on top.
Plus, a Halloween decoration that is more scandalous than scary. Why parents in one Texas community want it taken down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: Can I just videotape this? But I - if I video - I'm going to put this on Twitter. Can I put you all on my Twitter right now?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
FOXX: O-bam-a! O-bam-A!
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, if you didn't know who he was pulling for, this - look, he always put on a show. Jamie Foxx always fun. The Oscar winner, the comedian, the actor, the singer and also the - the politician in waiting, maybe.
No, he's out there firing up the crowd, USC in Southern California. He was up on stage before the president got up for a rally, of course. Don't know if the president was as entertaining as Jamie Foxx was, but he is clearly enjoying himself there with the kids at USC.
The president, meanwhile, is wrapping up a four-day, five-state push for Democrats. Going to be in Minnesota this afternoon after he hit the West Coast. In Minnesota, he's going to be stumping for gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton up there. Now, he spoke at a Las Vegas rally last night for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Reid is in a pretty tough fight, as you know, with a Tea Party favorite, Sharron Angle. The president warned the crowd that if the Republicans gain control of Congress, they'd bring failed economic policies with them.
MALVEAUX: The president spoke --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've got a choice between the policies that got us into this mess and the policies that are helping to get us out of this mess. It's a choice between the past and the future, between falling backwards and moving forward, a choice between hope and fear.
I don't know about you, but I want to move forward.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: After speaking at today's rally and a fundraiser, the president returns to the White House tonight.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Sarah Palin, she's headlining a Republican National Committee rally. That's going to happen in Orlando, Florida, today. The former Alaska Governor will appear with party chair Michael Steele for the second week in a row.
MALVEAUX: Palin was a surprise guest at a Tea Party Express rally in Phoenix yesterday. Holding her son Trigg, she called on the crowd to vote for "common-sense conservatives."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Right around the corner, November 2, is the time for choosing. And it's time to put America back on the right track. November 2, we can see it from our house. Let's take America back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Tea Party Express rolls into Las Cruces, New Mexico, for a rally today.
HOLMES: And "BALLOT BOWL," we are bringing it back by popular demand. You can hear the candidates, the president, the former Alaska governor - see what they're saying about the issues.
We are counting down to these all-important, these critical midterm elections. And of course, we I got our best political team on television. "BALLOT BOWL" coming your way 3:00 to 6:00 Eastern this afternoon, right here on CNN.
Well, we got a new report to tell you about that details the billions of dollars stolen from retail stores last year.
MALVEAUX: And what are those items that are most commonly stolen, and how much could it cost the average American family? It may surprise you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The economy is already pretty tough for a lot of families. But now, a new report is showing that theft from stores across the country is costing families hundreds of dollars every year.
Our Josh Levs is here to explain - Josh. JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, guys.
You know what? I mean, we keep an eye out on this show, obviously, for what we've learned about the economy each week and the latest week and - and how it's impacting all of us around the country.
Well, this - this is kind of ugly. Take a look at this figure right here. It just came out: $39 billion. That is the cost to U.S. retailers of just theft and employee errors over the past year -- $39 billion in one year. And how much does that trickle down to?
Well, you know what? When you go to a store, you are paying for the cost of all those goods that has disappeared. And it breaks down to $423 to the average American family.
Now, I will also tell you, as we look at some pretty video of shoplifting here, that it's - it's partly about shoplifting. But it's also about other steps in the supply chain. We're talking about people who sometimes are supposed to be delivering products to stores to be sold and they magically disappear along the way there.
There also is a little bit of good news along the way. Actually, theft in our system is shrinking a little bit. It's going down a little bit - down about 7 percent from the year before. So a little bit less theft going on than in previous years.
Still, it is clearly big enough to cause a problem. One reason it's going down is that stores are spending more and more money to try to prevent shoplifting. They've got new tags, new technology - all sorts of things they're doing to try to stop people from stealing along the way, or from those errors from happening.
This whole thing out of a - a program in England that follows this, the Center for Retail Research.
Now, this, folks - this is what people are stealing. You want to know what people are stealing most in the U.S.? First of all, cosmetics and perfumes, by far, the top things being stolen. And it kind of makes sense. These are generally small; people can fit them into their pockets, purses, et cetera, get out with them.
But look at what's next on the list - check out here, and let's zoom in a little bit. Auto parts and building materials are next-most frequent-stolen item. And the reason for that is that, again, it's not always people shoplifting in the traditional way. Sometimes the items don't actually make it to the retail places where they're supposed to be.
And finally, in the U.S., fashion, especially name-brand fashion - anything with a big name on it - very ripe to be stolen, and accessories as well. Apparently, U.S. people are looking a lot for those names when deciding what to shoplift.
I got the whole list for you up at my Facebook and Twitter pages, joshlevscnn. And it's cool because there's a story from CNNMoney that breaks down for you how it impacts you and your wallet. So, T.J., Suzanne, not the happiest piece of news for 6 a.m. on a Saturday, but at least things are getting a little better, and hopefully, if we keep going in this direction, we'll see even less theft in the next year, and families shouldering a little bit less than that.
MALVEAUX: Explains why there's all that security around all those stores all the time, you see that. But yes.
LEVS: Exactly. That's why.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Josh.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Next, an items that - well, it may not even to steal - I'm going to let T.J. talk about this.
HOLMES: Yes, this is a $2 million item that you will not be getting out of the store with, and my wife will not be getting for Christmas.
It's 22 minutes past the hour. Stay with us, on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, hello there, everybody. Welcome back. Twenty-three minutes past the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We got a story about an expensive bra. And forgive me if this is inappropriate, but in general, what is a really expensive bra for a woman? I really don't know the price range.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'd say $50 to $75 was really expensive.
MALVEAUX: Yes, I think that's pretty --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: That's true. That's reasonable.
HOLMES: So the average is 30, maybe? Twenty, 30, possibly?
SCHNEIDER: Possibly, yes.
HOLMES: All right. Here's one that's $2 mil. That's a $2 million bra you're looking at.
The reason is it's $2 million - it's not just one you're supposed to go in and - and it's not the most fantastic push-up bra or anything you've ever seen. This is one that Victoria's Secret does every year. And it's just to get attention. It's one that has diamonds - actually, $3,000 diamonds, 82 karats - 18-karat white gold. It's in Victoria's Secret Christmas Dreams & Fantasy catalog. But they do this every year. I don't believe anyone's bought these over the years. They're usually dismantled.
Why are you looking at me like that?
MALVEAUX: Just - it's funny to hear you tell the story.
HOLMES: Well, I --
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Why does this sound funny? I can hold in some journalistic integrity here as I talk about a bra. It's a legitimate story. But it's - they paraded a young lady around the streets of New York to show the bra off --
SCHNEIDER: Right.
HOLMES: -- which was a little strange.
SCHNEIDER: I would think that the whole bra weighs a lot.
HOLMES: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: It would be very uncomfortable to wear. I don't know. And also very expensive to wear, too.
MALVEAUX: I - I think it's one of those things that you get as a gift. You certainly wouldn't - wouldn't buy your own.
SCHNEIDER: No.
MALVEAUX: Don't you think, Bonnie?
SCHNEIDER: I don't think so.
MALVEAUX: You'd wait for somebody else to buy this for you.
HOLMES: Keep waiting, Mrs. Holmes.
Next story --
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: The next one here, this is out of Amarillo, Texas. We do scarecrows - it's that time of year. Do you all see anything strange about this one that jumps out immediately to you? Well, I guess that gives it away.
SCHNEIDER: Oh, I see it.
HOLMES: Yes, there is a beer can of this scarecrow. And we have it blurred out there on the left side - kind of the middle left of your screen. But he's also giving the middle finger.
SCHNEIDER: Oh my gosh. MALVEAUX: He's a politically incorrect scarecrow.
SCHNEIDER: And he's got a lot of attitude for a scarecrow.
HOLMES: It does, but at the - a lot of people found this offensive. A scarecrow is supposed to keep something away, right? Crows, right?
SCHNEIDER: Crows, right.
MALVEAUX: Well, this might scare people away as well, I would image.
HOLMES: A lot of people just --
MALVEAUX: A lot of kids and --
HOLMES: --thought this was in bad taste. Right now, they have no intentions of taking this down. But someone apparently thought this was creative, put it up. Some parents upset. Don't know how many trick-or-treaters he's going to get coming up.
SCHNEIDER: I wonder if it's a reflection of the personality of the person who put it up there, if that's his attitude.
HOLMES: More than likely. He probably sits on his porch with a beer, flipping people off as they go by.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Maybe that's what he looks like, too. I don't know.
HOLMES: Oh wow. Now we're getting - now we're really going after this guy.
MALVEAUX: Well, I don't want to get personal or anything. No, that's OK.
HOLMES: All right. Twenty-six minutes past the hour.
We will right back on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, bottom of the hour here now on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Welcome back to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
MALVEAUX: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Within the past hour, we heard the founder of the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks defend the release of almost 400,000 classified military documents from the Iraq war.
HOLMES: Yes, these came out late yesterday. Now, CNN and several news outlets were offered access to the documents. Some other outlets took them up for their offer to get them before.
But CNN did decline because of the conditions that were attached to accepting the military early. But "The New York Times" did do a review. The review they did found that the documents provide a new look at the number of Iraqi civilians killed in the war, as well as the role Iran has played in backing militants there.
The documents say Iran provided Iraqi militants with the most lethal type of roadside bombs. Also includes reports of abuse by Iraq's army and police.
So the British newspaper, "The Guardian" says the documents detail torture, summary executions and war crimes. The Pentagon, of course, has been criticizing WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange for releasing documents.
A spokesman says the release of these documents could expose military tactics, techniques and how the military works with Iraqis.
Also, adding that Iraqis who worked with U.S. forces could be in danger. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange had a press conference about hour an ago. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASSANGE: In that material, the deaths of some 109,000 people are documented. Internally declared, 66,000 civilians working with the Iraq body count we have seen there are approximately 15,000 never previously documented or known cases of civilians who have been killed by violence in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Iraqis are speaking out about the WikiLeaks documents. Our CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom, he's join us live from Baghdad.
Mohammed, let's start off first, I understand that we have gotten an official reaction from Iraq. Do we know how they are responding to this, this morning?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Suzanne. Official reaction from Iraqi lawmakers is just now starting to trickle in.
Now, in the past hour, we heard from a lawmaker here. He told us that he wasn't surprised by the release of these documents. He said that what's contained in them even though he hasn't read them.
What he seen through the media is stuff that he's heard before, but looking through all this just reminds Iraqis and reminds him of the agony that Iraq is going through since the start of this war.
We also spoke just a few minutes ago to Mahmoud Othman (ph). He's a Kurdish lawmaker here. He said also that he wasn't surprised by what was being released in these documents. And he said that with regards to allegations that the U.S. turned a blind eye to abuses that happened by the Iraqi government toward detainees, he said that they have known that for quite awhile and that an investigation should ensue. Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: What about the information that there were a lot of Iraqi civilians, many more Iraqi civilians who were killed in this war than we had previously known and a lot of that happened from Iraqi militants themselves, the military.
JAMJOOM: Well, that's right, Suzanne. These allegations are coming out now. Any of the Iraqi ministries here, they have not yet put out specific numbers about this. They have not yet come out with specific response to this claim.
But we have heard for awhile now the concerns that the number of Iraqi civilians that were killed during this was were much higher than previously reported.
The Pentagon reported there were about 77,000 that were killed. Many people here put that number in much higher. The Ministry of Human Rights just last year, gave us a number that was close to about 85,000.
Now, we are hearing from WikiLeaks that it could be over 100,000 and "The New York Times" has been reporting that basically right now they're trying - "The New York Times" has been reporting that WikiLeaks is stating that most of the killing happened by other Iraqis.
So this is going to be a real bone of contention here in the next week with Iraqi politicians. How are they going to respond to this? Are they going to blame at the feet of the Americans and how are they going to rectify these numbers and try to justify to Iraqis who are upset about the numbers that are being reported. How are they going to tell them they will be secure and this will stop? Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thank you very much. Mohammed Jamjoom of Iraq.
HOLMES: We turn to Haiti now, a country still trying to recover after that deadly and powerful earthquake at the beginning of this year. Well, now, an outbreak of cholera has hit Haiti.
A hundred and fifty confirmed dead in just three days. Some 1,500 sick right now. You see some of the pictures out there. Already so many of these hospitals and aid agencies were trying to help people still dealing with the recovery from the earthquake.
But now, people are showing up at hospitals and not able to get treatment, for the most part. This is confined north of the capital, Port-Au-Prince right now. The outbreak so far, the CDC is sending health officials down.
And they're alarmed it's spreading so quickly. One note here, that in fact some are saying this could be worse had it not been for the earthquake in that so many aid agencies are already on the ground there who can mobilize and help out.
So that is some good news, at least. Cholera is a severe -- it's a bacterial that gets in your intestines, the bacteria that gets in there that leads to severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.
They have temperatures in the 90-plus degrees so that doesn't help at all with the issue of dehydration. But right now, they think this thing could get worst and people are dying quickly.
This is something that can hit someone and they can just be dead in a matter of days. A lot of what we are seeing right now has to do with unclean drinking water. We'll keep you posted there. Another disaster it seems could be on the brink for Haiti.
Well, coming up here, Google announcing it has collected tons of private information, but they said they did accidentally.
MALVEAUX: Well, we're going to explain how a technical glitch may have jeopardized the personal data of computer users that could include you around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 37 minutes past the hour. Google said they screwed up. They quote, "failed badly," when they mistakenly collected private information about you, possibly, sent across wireless networks in more than 30 countries including, yes, right here in the U.S.
The information we're talking about e-mails, URLs, passwords as well. Company official say it was not collected intentionally, however.
But you know, they have those vehicles going out taking pictures for street view mapping service. That's when the stuff was collected, but they say it wasn't intentional.
Officials say they've deleted the stored information from Ireland, Austria, Denmark and Hong Kong. The information here in the U.S. though hasn't been deleted, just yet because the U.S. and other countries are investigating and haven't given the company the permission to delete the rest of that data.
MALVEAUX: We are keeping a close eye on the tropics this morning with Tropical Storm Richard down in the Caribbean. Our meteorologist Bonnie Snyder is tracking it. Good morning.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning. Suzanne and T.J., nice to see you as well. We are tracking a tropical system in the Caribbean. I know it's October, but it's still warm enough for those storms to really ignite and develop.
Let's take a look at the latest path and what we can expect with Richard. Here it is as we zoom in there and you can see the center of circulation kind of baring down on Honduras as the storm will likely make landfall in Central America. We are also watching for the storm to work its way towards Belize and parts of Mexico as well. So this is where we're going to see some very intense wind and rain possibly three to five inches of rain, maybe even seven inches in certain areas.
You can see the wind gusts right now are at 60 miles per hour. The maximum winds are at 45. So still a tropical storm, but this storm may become a hurricane before it does make land fall.
It could re-emerge in the Gulf of Mexico into the Bay of Campeche possibly, but the models really are not agreeing on what will happen with Richard. There is a good chance though it may dissipate once it does comes back over the water and that is due to strong wind shear. So that would be a good thing.
I would like to say that's what's happening on the other side of the world, but we are also tracking yet another storm and this one is bearing down on China right now. It's called Typhoon Megi.
And remember, a typhoon and hurricane is the same thing, just different names around the world. So this typhoon is bearing down on Southern China.
It's really done some damage in the Philippines and also brought flooding rains to Taiwan and now it's bearing down on mainland China as we speak. Producing wind and rain and causing some evacuations of coastal areas.
As we check things out across the U.S., we are looking at rain, heavy rain at times for the northwest, stormy for Texas. A severe thunderstorm watch is now in effect for this afternoon right here through parts of Texas.
Beautiful toward the east and a little bit wet and cool in the Midwest. Showers in Chicago. Look for a high of 68 degrees. Back to you.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Bonnie.
Well, from the White House to the runway and the board room, these women are on top of their game. Some of the most powerful women in the world share words of wisdom on all the hot topics. Their stories, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, they are the movers and shakers from the White House to the boardrooms and the cat walk. They are offering words of wisdom on all the hot topics.
"Fortune" magazine held a women's summit in Washington recently and I had the opportunity to sit down with some of the most powerful women in the world to get their opinions on business, politics, how to break through the glass ceiling, all a part of our series on women who rule the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): They are mothers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My passion is I have to see my kids.
MALVEAUX: Models.
TYRA BANKS, BANKABLE ENTERPRISES: They are like, you can never be a successful model because you are a black girl.
MALVEAUX: Media moguls and movers and shakers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I rule the company.
MALVEAUX: Women who rule the world. What do you rule?
KAY KRILL, CEO, ANN TAYLOR: I rule Ann Taylor.
INDRA NOOYI, CEO PEPSICO: I rule Pepsi Co.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: I am the secretary of health and human services.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I rule BET networks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, probably just my household. My husband would probably question that.
MALVEAUX: We sat down with some of "Fortune" magazine's 50 most powerful women and their featured speakers. Many of them CEOs to get their take on the big issues starting with any words of wisdom for President Obama.
(on camera): What do you think about the Obama administration's economic policies? Is it good for big business like yours?
KRILL: The health care reform is going to be tough for a lot of big businesses. This administration needs to do more and understand business a little bit more.
And I think with Larry Summers leaving and some of the other turnover in the White House, maybe this is the opportunity to get more business leaders involved in the discussion.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Getting into the discussion has meant figuring out how to punch through the glass ceiling.
ANDREA JUNG, CEO, AVON: I think I think slightly differently, but I still got to think than other women, not just men.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Knowing your subject matter being the expert.
NOOYI: I bring a lot of emotion to work. I look at all my employees at PepsiCo as members of my family. BANKS: Defying people telling me that I couldn't do it, you know and it's been like that my entire career. It used to frustrate me and now it excites me.
MALVEAUX: The excitement comes from following their passion. For some, it was instilled early in life.
SEBELIUS: My dad's manage an office when I was 5 and I grew up thinking that's what people did, they went door-to-door and put up signs.
MELODY BARNES, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY: She sold cupcakes. I did. I was about 8 years old and my parents were always very active in the community.
MALVEAUX: For others, it was a hard-earned struggle to be on top.
BANKS: I was very strategic in figuring out how to breakthrough. I was like be yourself, also being myself had to do with gaining a little weight.
MALVEAUX: As mothers and wives balancing professional success with family lives means sacrificing.
SEBELIUS: We have been married for 35 years. We are in a commuter marriage.
KRILL: I try to leave there by 5:00 or 5:30 at night because I've really want to have dinner with my boys.
MALVEAUX: So any advice to young women today?
SEBELIUS: I think women have to be willing to take a few more risks.
BANKS: Do not be ashamed of their dreams. Do not be ashamed if you want to be the best.
MALVEAUX: One thing they all have in common, they love what they do.
NOOYI: For me, you know, they never see you. I think it's true for all females today. Work is life and life is work. We love it. I love my job.
MALVEAUX: If your job is hanging out with P. Diddy, what do you do for fun?
BARNES: That's a good question. My job is fun. I enjoy it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: T.J. that's one of the things that they all said. They love their jobs. They have -- are passionate about what they do. So it's work, but it doesn't really seem like work and they are still trying to balance having kids, coming home and a husband. They seem really happy when you get to that point because they're very confident, very secure. They have given up a lot to get there.
HOLMES: I hear people say it all the time. You can't be great at everything. Something has to be sacrificed along the way and you just have to balance that. It sounds like a lot of them are keeping a good balance.
MALVEAUX: You can't have it all at once, but they say you can have it all maybe just in different parts of your life.
But coming up at 10:00, I'm going to talk with media mogul Tyra Banks about shattering the glass ceiling, gaining some weight and being the head of a corporation.
But, in part of my interview, T.J., she turns the tables on me. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANKS: You need a better answer for why you pretty and smart and it's OK.
MALVEAUX: It is OK.
BANKS: Ask her why she is successful and pretty and smart and didn't get held back by all the pretties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Tyra Banks. More on Tyra Banks coming up at 10:00 right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Aimee Mullins is a world class athlete, model and an amputee. She credits her so-called disability for her astonishing success.
HOLMES: She tells our Sanjay Gupta her story in today's "Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Aimee Mullins wants to redefine disabled.
AIMEE MULLINS, ACTRESS, ATHLETE, AMPUTEE: What I found when looking up disabled is shocking. It's wrecked, stalled, maimed, mutilated and at first, it's was almost humorous to know. I was reading it saying you can't be serious.
GUPTA: At one year old, Mullins became a double amputee. She was born without fibula bones in her legs and doctors amputated what was left. Having never met another amputee until she turned 18, life with prosthetics was challenging.
MULLINS: As a teenager, Junior High, I would have traded prosthetics for flesh and bone legs and a heartbeat.
GUPTA: But look at what she's accomplished. As I said, Aimee is redefining the very term disabled.
MULLINS: The shift for me was going through this process of, you know, wishing I was something else to acceptance and then to celebration, having fun with it to then deciding actually I determine what my strengths and weaknesses are.
GUPTA: It's the determination that propelled Mullins to become a successful actress, a model, an athlete. She was named one of "People" magazine's 50 most beautiful people in the world. She's modeled high fashion in London. She broke world track and field records in 100, 200 meter in long jump event.
When she's not competing, she spends her free time working with the Women Sports Foundation.
MULLINS: We use this phrase a lot. We say, you know, in spite of having prosthetic legs she's been able to accomplish X, Y and Z. I was finally able to articulate why I was always frustrated with that. It's because of having prosthetic legs that I have been able to accomplish X, Y and Z.
GUPTA: To Mullins, her prosthetics are a source of strength, not disability. It's a message she wishes everyone could hear.
MULLINS: Ultimately, one day, if I could just be Aimee Mullins. It doesn't have to process with disabled athlete or whatever.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Her talents police chief was shot dead and she decided to do something about it.
HOLMES: She decided she wanted to take the job. What in the world is this 20-year-old woman thinking? It is 52 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 56 minutes past the hour now.
Praxedis Guerrero, that is a town, a U.S.- Mexico border town, one of those dangerous towns where we've seen so much drug cartel violence. Nobody wants the top job as police chief, but some 20-year- old woman by the name of Marisol Valles Garcia, for some reason, does want the job.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN PRODUCER: Rather extraordinary because as you said she's only 20. She's actually a criminology student. She's saying no more. I'm going to take the helm of a 13-people force in this municipality, as you said.
What's very interesting about where it is, Praxedis Guerrero. It's in the state of Chihuahua. Now the state of Chihuahua borders Texas and in that state the city Ciudad Juarez is the number one bloodiest city.
They say second to Baghdad in the world. So, it's in this city that the mayor and his son, last week were murdered. It's in this city that 2,500 people died last year and her municipality is not far.
So it's extraordinary when you think what she's taking on. Let's listen for a moment to why she says she's taking it on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARISOL VALLES GARCIA, POLICE CHIEF, PRAXEDIS G. GUERRERO (through translator): Because it's a position that is very interesting. I believe there's a lot that can be done. It's something I believe in. I think it's something that can be done by working with families and children. We want to help children and make their dreams come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILCHIK: Now, is that naive is the question? Critics are saying the fact that this 20-year-old, very inexperienced woman is taking the helm. You know, does that say they have finally given up? Only 13 people on the force, nine women, three rifles, one shotgun and one car.
MALVEAUX: So how do they think it's going to play out? She's 20 years old. Here in this country, she's wouldn't even be allowed to drink. She's a new mom. How do they think it's going to work?
BILCHIK: I wonder if they have thought it through. It sounds like she would be the only person prepared to do it. Maybe it's saying, look, we have tried everything else. Let's try the tact of this young woman.
But if you hear what's going on in terms of the drug cartels, the violence, the brutality, the decapitations. You would think maybe she's a deterrent. You are looking at a level of brutality that doesn't seem to exclude anyone.
She's saying I'm not going to be about being on the offensive. I am going to be about prevention. So we can only watch and wait.
But if you listen to what people are saying, the chances of a young woman against the kind of violence we have been seeing? Remember the 72 migrant workers who were murdered because they refused to comply? The decapitations, the incredible violence going on between the cartels vying for trafficking lanes. So it remains to be seen, but we can only wish her well, right?
HOLMES: Wish her well. Hope she has some success.
BILCHIK: Marisol Valles Garcia, 20 years old.
HOLMES: Nadia Bilchik, we appreciate you, as always. Talk to you, again, soon.
