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CNN Saturday Morning News

Gaping Hole in Southwest Airlines Plane Forces Emergency Landing; Radiation Seeping Into Seawater From Fukushima; Florida Koran Burning Sparks Anti-American Protests; Debt Collectors Crossing Line With Threatening, Abusive Phone Calls; Gearing Up For NCAA Championship Weekend

Aired April 02, 2011 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's the top of the hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

We have been telling you about these updates in Japan, where a crack in the concrete in one of those damaged nuclear reactors in Japan allowing radioactive water to flow into the Pacific Ocean. The race now is underway to seal that leak.

Also, government troops are taking aim at protesters, bullets flying in Syria.

Also, in Libya, Moammar Gadhafi's government says an opposition cease-fire offer is just plain silly.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for April 2nd. Glad you could spend some time of your weekend here with us. I'm T.J. Holmes.

We do want to start, though, with that the Southwest plane. It's now has a sunroof, an unexpected sunroof. It's a three to four-foot piece that was torn away on a flight yesterday. This is above the skies of Arizona.

Share with you a few pictures here that were taken inside this particular airplane. Investigators now want to get a look at it for themselves.

Again, to give you an idea, this plane took off yesterday. It was heading from Phoenix, supposed to go to Sacramento. When they got up into the air, passengers report hearing explosions and then a hole opened up in the top of that plane and they were sitting inside, folks, and could look up and see the sky.

The plane had to be diverted. It landed at a military base in Yuma, Arizona.

I spoke to one of the passengers about this scary flight a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE DOWNEY, PASSENGER ABOARD SOUTHWEST FLIGHT 812 (via telephone): My husband looked up and said, oh my gosh, it's a blue sky. We looked at each other and thought, oh, my gosh, this is not a good sign. Immediately put our head down and looked up. The air masks fell down immediately within seconds. So, we grabbed our masks and started to kind of look out the window. And as soon as I tried to look out the window and put up the shade screen, the airport went into a complete nose dive fast.

HOLMES: Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: On their Web site, Southwest Airlines saying that they have now taken 80 similar 737s out of service this morning. They say they will undergo an aggressive inspection.

I want to turn to what's happening in Japan, a new development there and kind of a scary one here. New explanation for the rising levels of radiation detected in the seawater near that crippled power plant. Utility officials say they discovered an eight-inch crack, an eight-inch crack in a concrete basin outside the number two reactor at that Fukushima facility. It's leaking it's believed to be highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. They are uncertain exactly where this leak is coming from and all the water is coming from. They are trying to install a camera now to figure this out.

This discovery comes as Japan's prime minister makes a visit to that area. He tried to console evacuees, thank utility workers as well, and soldiers for helping during this crisis. It could be a while before people are allowed to return to their homes that are around the plant.

And here we are now three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear disaster. Take a look at this picture. A dog being rescued from the roof top of a demolished home that was found floating off Japan's Pacific coast.

Meanwhile, I can give you the updated casualty numbers now coming to us from Japan's national police agency, put the number of dead at 11,828. More than 15,000 people are still missing.

We turn now to Afghanistan where new anti-American protests are happening, the second day of demonstrations there. In Kandahar, today, provincial officials say at least eight people were killed during protests today. A school was also set on fire.

This is all comes a day after protesters attack a United Nations compound in northern Afghanistan. Twelve people died in that attack. Seven of those killed were U.N. workers. Protesters stormed the compound there.

So, what was it that sparked all this violence? A Florida pastor who says he burned a Koran. You remember him as the same guy who was going to burn the Koran last year, but then changed his mind. He was going to do it around September 11th.

Now, here's what he had to say for himself. He says, "We must hold these countries and people accountable for what they have done, as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities." We will have much more on this story coming your way in the next hour.

We turn now to Libya where opposition forces are battling government troops in several cities. Among them, Misrata, essentially what we've been watching here -- cities changing hands, going back and forth between pro-Gadhafi forces and rebel troops. Opposition leaders offered a cease-fire plan, but the Taliban -- excuse me, the Libyan government called their conditions silly and said they had no intention of pulling the military out of the cities.

Also, there had been talk about a possible political solution to the conflict. A British newspaper reports that secret negotiations are underway in Britain. But sources close to Gadhafi tells CNN that any deal to get the long-time leader out of power would have to include a transition of power to his son.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Looking at the scene and the sounds in Damascus, Syria. Protesters there are gathering just after Friday prayers. But in a nearby suburb, witnesses say seven people were killed when government forces opened fire on the crowd. The protests weren't confined just to Damascus. Thousands gathered in a number of other cities as well.

An Ivory Coast's bloody battle could be nearing an end with forces loyal to the new president taking over the state-run television station. They've also attacked the residence of the former president, Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to give up power. He hasn't been seen in public in recent days. But a U.N. spokesman says they have been in contact with both sides trying to negotiate a peaceful end to the violence.

Well, it is springtime. It is April and we got snow. Take a look at what the folks are seeing in the Northeast right now. It's gorgeous. But is this the right time for it?

It's six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Eight minutes past the hour now.

It's April and, of course, that means, Bonnie, snow. Clearly, that's what that means, does it not?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It depends on where you live.

HOLMES: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: I moved here from Boston years ago and it snowed commonly in April. A long winter in New England.

HOLMES: OK. If it will get into Atlanta, then I will be worried. But it's normal there, right?

SCHNEIDER: Right. So, you know, we are going to see some improvements in the weather. And so, let's start with Atlanta.

It's been really cold and cloudy here. But we're going to get ready for a nice weekend. I want to show you a live picture outside right now. It's a beautiful sunrise. Good morning Atlanta.

Get ready for some mild temperatures for this weekend. We should get well past 80 as early as tomorrow. Pretty sunrise out there.

All right. Now, in the Northeast, quite the contrast. We are looking at more snow falling, light snow showers. Some accumulation on Friday, we actually saw quite a bit of it in some areas in New England. So, it's really just the extreme northeast corner of New England into northern Maine where we're seeing snow. Light snow showers across western Pennsylvania from Ohio. We're also seeing a little bit of snow kind of sprinkling on in to Upstate New York.

It may be a nuisance. But overall, I don't think this is going to be a big storm. We are watching for some really big storms on Sunday and especially on Monday.

Here's the heads up. It's April now. Severe weather season is here. April doesn't see the most tornadoes per month, and when you look at the season, May does. But get ready on Monday.

We're looking at a big threat of severe weather, T.J. I'm expecting some large tornadoes, numerous thunderstorm activity all the way from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley and that will persist eastward towards Tuesday. So, this week, we'll get a really roaring start for severe weather.

HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider in for our Reynolds Wolf this weekend. Bonnie, always good to have you here with us.

SCHNEIDER: Thank you.

HOLMES: We are at nine minutes past the hour here now.

How many days away from tax time? Not too many. But have you filed those taxes yet? Hope so. But if not, need to tell you about some things you should probably avoid.

CNN Money did the research, came up with a list of some of the craziest tax deductions the IRS has received. You should probably not try to claim these.

Number five on the list was buffalo meat. A professional body builder from Wisconsin tried to claim it as a business expense. The IRS did not buy that one.

Also at number four: sponges. A pilot from Tennessee tried to pass sponges off as a business expense for his aviation activities. IRS didn't buy that either. This is a doozy. Now, who hasn't done this before? Claimed underwear as a business expense. Now, who did this? A musician playing for rocker Rod Stewart's band, once tried to claim that men's underwear were part of the stage clothes.

We got two more for you you're not going to believe. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 12 minutes past the hour now.

Clyde walked into my camera. It's not your turn yet, Clyde. But good morning. How are you doing?

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL EXPERT: Good morning.

HOLMES: Good to have you here. We'll check in with Clyde here. He's got some info you need to hear about debt collectors calling your house.

But, before the break, I was telling you. It's tax time. It's deadline time, you know, to file those taxes, April 18th this year. I have that right, Clyde?

So, if you haven't filed, there's some stuff we told you to avoid. We gave you the three or the bottom three at the top five wackiest tax deductions. Somebody tried to write off buffalo meat, sponges, underwear.

Well, check out number two: a scientology class. A self-employed meat and seafood salesman said $1,500 class he took t was necessary for his career. The IRS said you should stay at home and read the book.

The number one, though, craziest one we have seen: prostitutes. Someone tried to write-off prostitutes on their taxes. It was a lawyer from New York tried to deduct $65,000 in services as a medical expense.

I don't know what his medical problem might be, but the problem with writing it off is, of course, prostitution is illegal. You can't write it off.

Now, back to Clyde here in just a moment. These are tough times as we know for a lot of people struggling with the economy, struggling with unemployment, even though we got a decent unemployment report yesterday that just came out.

But you deal with all that, and then the phone rings. That dreaded phone call and it's a debt collector. Well, for some, it's worse than you think. It's not just a reminder that you are behind on your payments, you already know that. It's threats. It's personal attacks.

Take a listen now. And these are real phone calls from debt collectors. Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIPS)

DEBT COLLECTOR: Who do you think you are? Don't ever, ever, hang up a phone on me.

CONSUMER: What are you? Are you an attorney or what?

DEBT COLLECTOR: I'm the guy who is going to end your life. That's who I am.

DEBT COLLECTOR: Go mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED) back to Africa or some (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

DEBT COLLECTOR: Either call back within 24 hours or I'll have to issue that warrant out for your arrest.

(END AUDIO CLIPS)

HOLMES: Those were all real, folks. Bill collector threats like those forced many consumers to file complaints to the federal government. And last year, more than 140,000 consumer complaints were filed. It's up 17 percent from 2009.

We have also even seen reports out there of people committing suicide after getting some of these harassing calls.

So, what are your rights?

Clyde Anderson joins us now, taking into the bank for us this morning.

Unbelievable. Can they do that?

ANDERSON: It's illegal. Absolutely illegal.

HOLMES: Illegal.

ANDERSON: We got rights. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives us right. And the problem is, a lot of us aren't educated enough to understand our rights and know what they can or can't do. That's totally illegal.

HOLMES: So, what are you supposed to do then? I guess you can file the complaint, but how do you suppose to protect yourself of people who are constantly calling your house?

ANDERSON: What you have to do is understand what your rights are. You got to understand when they can and can't call. You got to understand they can't call before 8:00 a.m. They can't call you after 9:0 p.m.

HOLMES: OK.

ANDERSON: They can't call and threaten you. They can't call and say that we're going to have you arrested. There are certain things that they just cannot do.

And they also can't annoy with phone calls. And I always say, what's annoying? How many calls is that? Well, recently, a U.S. district court in Tennessee said that 17 calls in a month was excessive, 17 calls. And I know several of us get probably more of the calls than that from these debt collectors because they (INAUDIBLE) sometime.

HOLMES: You know, what are you supposed to do? You said they can't call before 8:00 or after 9:00. But do they?

ANDERSON: Yes, a lot of times they do. A lot of times they do. We've seen a lot of complaints with that. We've seen a lot of complaints when people say they are threatened with violence. And just like some of the phone calls we heard. It's ridiculous.

So, we really got to go to the FTC. The FTC is what regulates these companies under the Fair Debt collection practice.

HOLMES: Are they effective though? I mean, you know, people filed the complaint, but now what?

ANDERSON: Well, we've seen people recently won lawsuits. That, you know, you can document this information. Document it when they are calling you. Do what you can to protect yourself. They are recording your calls, record their call.

HOLMES: Now, one we saw there threatened to have someone arrested.

ANDERSON: Right.

HOLMES: Does a debt collector have any right or any legal backing to make that happen?

ANDERSON: No, they can't.

HOLMES: So, if you hear that, you can totally ignore it?

ANDERSON: Totally ignore it. I mean, what you need to do is get their information. Get their name. Get the name of the company, get their phone number, their address. How do I correspond with you?

They also have to validate this debt. So, they need to send you something to say that this is your debt and how much you actually owe.

HOLMES: OK. This is maybe the most important question. Suppose you do get one of those calls. You're going to get fired up with somebody talking to you like that, are you going to get scared or you might just flat out get angry.

ANDERSON: Exactly.

HOLMES: How are you supposed to handle those calls?

ANDERSON: You got to back away. You really got to count to ten. You got to realize that they got the upper hand.

They know what they're doing. They are professionals. This is what they do and they are trying to push your buttons. You can't let them push your buttons.

So, you got to realize that what the situation is. Step back and say, wait, give me your information. If they don't do that, that's when you hang up the phone because you have the right to tell them to stop calling you, too. You can write to them and say do not call me, do not contact me anymore. It doesn't make the debt go away, but you can stop those harassing phone calls.

HOLMES: OK. You say back away here. But what are they trying to get you to do? They want the money. But what's the point of cussing somebody out, saying they're going to sending them back to Africa or get them arrested? You scare them into pain?

ANDERSON: Well, you'd be amazed at the amount of people that just get scared and want that stuff to go away and so they'll pay. And they'll say, OK, just don't call me anymore. Here, here's my money. And they want to prove something at that point. You have to something to prove that I'm not a deadbeat, that I do take care of my bills.

But instead, you know, they are doing these things to you, harassing you and it's just not right. And so, we are falling into their trap. And they set the trap for us. We can't fall into their trap.

HOLMES: OK, Clyde, it sounds like education. Just know what your rights are and you should know when somebody is doing something that's illegal. Hit them back with that and maybe they'll help you out.

Clyde, good information. Great information. Thank you so much, my man.

And Clyde, of course, is with us every weekend here on CNN, taking it to the bank for us.

Well, coming up tonight, you know the Final Four is taking place. You got two now Cinderella teams. Well, some would argue maybe just one for the NCAA championship.

NBA teams are looking at these schools' top prospects. And we're not just talking about the players actually. You got a battle of the young and the old this weekend.

It's 18 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 21 minutes past the hour now.

We got two -- two best teams playing in Monday night's college basketball championship. That will be on Monday. And it's going to be a battle of youth versus experience. Not on the floor with the players though -- with the coaches.

Take a look at this. This weekend's Final Four has two of the most experienced guys out there playing each other with Kentucky's 51- year-old Calipari going against Connecticut's 68-year-old John Calhoun. Now, in the other bracket two of the youngest coaches in Division I basketball. Butler's 34-yer-old Brad Stevens versus VCU's 33-year-old, the guy with the best name in the Final Four, Shaka Smart, sets up a clash of youth and experience on Monday night.

Terence Moore, sports analyst, is joining me here.

Good to have you in studio here with us.

It's funny. Calhoun has been coaching longer than both of the other two guys have been alive. And if you combine their two ages, they're not as old as he is. So, is this one of the biggest storylines this weekend?

TERENCE MOORE, SPORTS ANALYST: Well, let's just start with this, T.J. The NCAA blew it.

HOLMES: Blew it?

MOORE: They did. They should have put the old geezers in the first game, play the game, they go home, and have their warm milk and cookies.

HOLMES: Oh, stop that. Calhoun has talked about that before, he likes to get home and get to bed.

This tournament has been great. But to see Butler, what Butler has done certainly, VCU -- youth versus experience angle here. Is that one you're certainly keeping an eye on this weekend?

MOORE: Oh, I mean, there's no question about it. And here's something that's very interesting. When you look at the VCU coach, Shaka Smart, if he wins this game today, he will officially tie up all people, Brad Stevens for the most victories of any coach in the first two years of the NCAA. How's that for an irony?

HOLMES: That is unbelievable. These two guys are now one side, you got Calhoun and Calipari making -- I think one is making close to $4 million, the other one is making about $2.5 million. These guys are making less than half million base salary. Is their salary going to shoot up after this Final Four, getting a new job or maybe getting paid by their current school?

MOORE: Let's start with Shaka. Shaka is going to be a short timer there. You know, the first great thing that's coming -- he's out of there. He's got no ties to VCU or (INAUDIBLE) nationally.

Brad Steven, he's going to surprise you. He's a Hoosier. He's an Indiana guy. He was born and raised in the Indianapolis area with -- coached -- not only coached there but also was a CEO there at a Fortune 500 company. He'll be there for a long time. HOLMES: Were you one of the guys who didn't think VCU had the resume to be in this tournament?

MOORE: I still do. I still think VCU is one of the 40 greatest flukes in the history of sports.

HOLMES: Why?

MOORE: If you them in a situation --

HOLMES: Come on, give them credit. A fluke?

MOORE: I mean, you went to Arkansas.

HOLMES: Yes.

MOORE: Your Arkansas team was sputtering down the stretch.

HOLMES: Yes.

MOORE: And they had an opportunity to be in this tournament. They could have done the same thing. This is just a fluke. They got hot at the right time.

HOLMES: But it's a good team, underperformed, if you will. What are you expecting? Is it possible we're going to see a VCU national champion?

MOORE: No. It's going to be Butler against --

HOLMES: OK. People have been saying no every time I asked them if VCU are going to beat Kansas, going to beat Perdue, going to beat anybody, people have been saying no.

MOORE: If you look at Butler. Butler is on the magic team. Butler, this is their fourth time in the sweet 16, the last eight years. They know what they're doing. They were in the Final Four last year. They can defend the three. VCU uses the three, they can defend that. This is a very good Butler team.

HOLMES: All right. I got to get out of here on this. Reseeding, some people like the idea of reseeding once you get to the Final Four because now the eight and 11th seed, they're going to knock each other out in the higher teams. I would say the better teams have to knock each other out.

Do you think they should reseed and this is a good case for it?

MOORE: There's a good case to keep it like it is, because right now, you're guaranteed of a powerhouse playing a Cinderella. What could be better than that?

HOLMES: They want to see the two power houses go at it in the championship. They earned that right.

MOORE: Well, they are going at it in the semifinals. So, everybody is happy.

HOLMES: All right. Terence, good to see you this morning. Good stuff. Enjoy the game tonight. I sure will.

It's 25 minutes past the hour. Quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: I'll give you a look at the stories making headlines this morning.

Deadly violence in Afghanistan today in protest of the Koran burning carried out by a controversial pastor in Florida. Demonstrators yesterday in Mazar-e-Sharif preceded an attack on a U.N. compound that left 12 people dead, six more people killed and another 46 injured in a similar protest this morning in Kandahar province.

Also, a team of investigators from the National Transportation and Safety Board expected in Yuma, Arizona, after a Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at a military base last night. And they are trying to figure out why a nearly four-foot rapture was found in the plane's fuselage.

Also, another plan problem to tell you about. An Atlantic Southeast flight, a subsidiary of Delta, that was carrying 49 passengers and crew members forced to make an emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas, after the plane struck a flock of birds. You see the damage done there to the nose of that plane. No one was injured however.

Well, Shane Dronett starred for the 1998 Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl team. Eleven years later, he killed himself. Now, there's new evidence his death is connected to head injury suffered on the field. And his wife is speaking out.

She talked to our chef medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.