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CNN Saturday Morning News

Florida Koran Burning Sparks Deadly Anti-American Protests in Afghanistan; Three-Foot Hole in Southwest Airlines Flight Causes Emergency Landing; U.K. Muslim Beauty Queen Contestant Receives Death Threats; Need Help Managing an Illness or Medical Condition? There's An App For That; Radiation From Fukushima Leaking into Ocean; Florida HOA Bans Kids from Playing Outside; Suspended Over Facebook Post; Possible Criminal Charges in BP Spill

Aired April 02, 2011 - 08:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you all.

International troops are standing guard this morning as more anti-American protests are breaking out in Afghanistan and this is all over a book burning in Florida.

Also, airline passengers get a view of the sky they did not want. A three to four-foot hole in the fuselage forces a Southwest Airlines plane to make an emergency landing. Now the airline is making an aggressive move.

Also, death threats for a beauty queen? Why are so many people angry about the possibility of her wearing the crown? Well, she's Muslim. She will be my guest this hour.

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

We do want to start though with anti-American protests in Afghanistan. They have turned deadly once again today. Eight people dead in Kandahar. Dozens of others have been injured in clashes with Afghan security forces. A school also has been bombed.

This has come on the heels of yesterday's attacks on a United Nations compound in northern Afghanistan. Seven UN workers were killed in that attack. A handful of protesters also killed.

New violence was sparked by a Florida pastor. You might recognize this man. He says he burned a copy of the Koran. This is Terry Jones. He is the same guy who planned to burn the Koran last September 11th. He was eventually talked out of doing that.

But less than two weeks ago, he held, reportedly, a mock trial for the Koran. And after his so-called conviction of the book, he supposedly burned it. We want to get a little more on the anti- American protests we've been watching.

Joining me now on the phone is Nick Paton Walsh, a freelance journalist joins me on the line from Karachi. Nick, thank you for being here with us.

We didn't see a lot this time around. He didn't get a lot of press, Terry Jones this pastor here in the U.S. with this latest threat to burn the Koran. But other people, it seems, elsewhere, have been paying attention.

NICK PATON WALSH, FREELANCE JOURNALIST (via telephone): Well, absolutely. It's caused furious outrage in Afghanistan. I think we saw yesterday the attack on the U.N. building in Mazar-e Sharif directly as a result of a protest outside that building (INAUDIBLE) reported burning of the Koran and today we see a protest in the center of Kandahar. Hundreds of people there to voice their protest. And apparently they began to walk towards the governor's building there. At that point they seem to have run into the security guard of that building.

At this point it gets a little bit fuzzy. The police say they fired in the air and didn't shoot anybody. But we are left now with nine people dead according to the governor and also about over 70 injured in what appears to be a day of unpleasant violence in Kandahar where you have cars and other buildings burned.

It appears the police surrounded the demonstration as it tried to move towards the U.N. building in Kandahar. The Taliban have come forward and said, look, this has nothing to do with us. We weren't trying to foment this demonstration. This is purely the people of Afghanistan voicing their anger.

HOLMES: And Nick, any indication that the anti-American protests will continue?

WALSH: Well I think, as it stands, we're not hearing of any immediate plans for anything to continue, but really these Kandahar protests were not (INAUDIBLE) yesterday. They seemed to have spontaneously grown from nothing. And really we could see this continue on.

There's a lot of discontent amongst ordinary Afghans. It doesn't really need to be fueled by the Taliban. They're angry now almost 10 years (INAUDIBLE) campaign there. They haven't really brought any massive improvements to their lives. So I think yes, we could see this continue.

HOLMES: Nick Paton Walsh on the line for us from Karachi. We do appreciate you this morning.

And we will have more on the clash of cultures between Muslims and Americans and a CNN special that will air tonight, "TWO WORLDS, TWO TROOPS." Does freedom of religion mean freedom of suspicion? CNN's Soledad O'Brien chronicling the dramatic fight over the construction of a mosque in the heart of the Bible belt, "UNWELCOME: THE MUSLIMS NEXT DOOR." It re-airs tonight 8:00 Eastern time.

Take you over to Japan now, where the nuclear crisis continues and some interesting and disturbing developments this morning. An eight-inch crack found in a concrete basin outside the number two reactor at that troubled Fukushima nuclear plant. It's leaking what's believed to be highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.

Workers are trying to install a camera that will hopefully give them some eyes to better determine where that water is coming from. Also a little later this hour, we'll take you live to Japan for more on the nuclear troubles there.

We turn to Libya where opposition forces are continuing their battle with government troops in a number of cities. Among those cities, Misrata. The cities right now appear to just be changing hands. They've been going back and forth between Gadhafi forces and rebel troops.

The opposition leaders offered a cease-fire plan, as well. But the Libyan government called their conditions silly, said they had no intention of pulling the military out of the cities. Also, talk about a possible political solution to this conflict, a British newspaper reports that secret negotiations are underway in Britain. Sources though close to Gadhafi tell CNN that any deal to get the long-time leader out of power would have to include a transition to his son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi.

We turn now to a story you may remember. Those four "New York Times" journalists who were held by government forces in Libya, they were released about two weeks ago. And last night, they talked to our Anderson Cooper about their ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN FARRELL, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": There's just no point. If you panic, you die.

LYNSEY ADDARIO, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": I think it helped that we were together. I mean there were moments when I was -- I couldn't stop crying and I felt so weak and I tried to sort of muffle it and I was trying not to cry. And inevitably one of them was sitting next to me and would say, there are people who love you, we're going to get out of this. You just have to get - so it's very helpful to have colleagues with you. We were so lucky that we were together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Addario you saw there speaking. She says the ordeal has changed the way she sees people and prisoners.

Well, listen to this, folks, we all fly. Imagine sitting on your flight, imagine flying 30,000 feet up and all of a sudden you hear a boom and you then you look up and you can see sky in the top through the roof of that plane. That is exactly what happened to some folks on a flight from Phoenix.

They had to make an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona, yesterday. This was a Southwest Airlines flight that was headed to Sacramento.

Take a look at what we're talking about. These are some of the pictures from inside.

There was about a four-foot gash, four-foot long gash in that plane. There it is. That's the best picture we have of it right there. This caused the plane, the cabin to de-pressurize.

A lot of people as you can imagine certainly were scared at that point. You can see those masks start falling down. The NTSB now investigating, trying to figure out exactly what happened here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was texting my sister to make certain that she told my kids that I love them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was in back of me to the left and I did hear it. It sounded like a shot and a lot of air decompressing. It was quick and it was scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, passengers, most of them, I think 118 on that flight. The passengers, crew, no serious injuries to report or anything. No one had to go to the hospital. The passengers were put on other planes, were allowed to continue on to their destination of Sacramento.

And earlier this morning, I spoke to one of those passengers. Debbie Downey, she described for me what it was like on that plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE DOWNEY, PASSENGER ABOARD FLIGHT 812 (via telephone): My husband and I looked up, you could see blue sky. You could see the wiring, the cabling. We looked at each other and thought, oh my gosh, this is not a good sign. Immediately put our heads down, looked up. The air masks fell down immediately within seconds, so we grabbed our masks, started to kind of look out the window. As soon as I tried to look out the window and put up the shade screens, the aircraft went into a complete nose dive fast. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Wow. You're going to hear much more of that interview coming up in just a bit. As I mentioned, 118 people onboard, they were not hurt.

Also, Southwest, according to a press release on their website, says, in fact, they will take out of commission, take out of flight schedule right now about 80 similar planes, those Boeing 737s just to check those out.

And another emergency landing to tell you about yesterday, as well. This one happened in Little Rock, Arkansas. CNN affiliate KARK reports that the incoming commuter flight from Atlanta hit a flock of cranes on approach to the airport. Look at the damage they did, suffered frontal damage to the nose, but all 49 people onboard, they are OK. Of course a lot of people live in neighborhoods where you have homeowners' associations and they have rules about what you can and cannot do. Well, soon there could be a ban in one neighborhood on children playing outside. You heard me right. We will explain.

Also, a dog lost in the tsunami three weeks ago, not anymore. Look at that little guy. Just one of the few positive stories we can report coming out of Japan. Details on that coming up.

Also, Bonnie Schneider, good to have you here with us this weekend.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Thanks, T.J., great to be here.

Well, it may be April, but the snow is not over yet for northern New England. Plus, get ready for a big threat of severe weather including the possibility of tornadoes on Sunday and especially for Monday for a good part of the country.

I'll tell you all about it coming up next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Ten minutes past the hour now on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

A surprising and pleasant discovery more than a mile off the Japanese coastline. Take a look at this. A dog floating on a damaged rooftop found now more than three weeks after that March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Rescuers from Japan's Coast Guard plucked the scared little guy from the rooftop. He was wearing a collar suggesting he's not a stray. He belongs to somebody. He was ready to eat as you could imagine. But one nice story we can bring to you out of there as people continue to try to recover and also they try to get that nuclear disaster under control.

Eleven minutes past the hour now.

This is not a joke on April fool's. Spring means snow. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider here for us instead of our Reynolds Wolf, who is taking some time off. Again I was confused when I saw your e-mail this morning. We've got snow in some places and fire danger in others.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: How many times, folks, do we have to tell you this? Be careful what you post on that Facebook page. This time a teacher gets suspended for some comments she posted. But some are saying she should actually be fired.

Also, ugly threats hurled at a beauty queen. What do some people in Great Britain have against Shanna Bukhari? She'll tell us when she joins me live from Manchester, England.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it's supposed to be a pageant highlighting beauty. That's why they call it a beauty pageant. But it has turned ugly and very frightening for a 25-year-old Muslim woman who is trying to become the first Muslim woman to represent the U.K. in the Miss Universe pageant.

Her name is Shanna Bukhari. She has been threatened with death because of her religion and her ancestral homeland. We will talk to her in just a moment, but our Nadia Bilchik joining me again to help our viewers maybe get them caught up on a story that's not the first time we've seen something like this.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN PRODUCER: No (INAUDIBLE) she's British. Her parents were born in Pakistan, but she's actually born in Britain, as you say, 25, but she is a Muslim.

Now remember, you reminded me that Miss America 2010 Rima Fakih was also a Muslim and she wasn't even born in America. She was an American citizen, but she was born in Lebanon also received threats and remember somebody outed her with all the pole dancing.

But getting back to Shanna Bukhari, she is getting threats from fundamental Muslims who are saying a Muslim woman should not appear in a bathing suit. She's getting threats from white supremacists, who are saying what is a Muslim doing representing our country and she's getting threats from feminists who are saying we hate beauty pageants altogether.

HOLMES: Her schedule now. She doesn't have the title yet to go represent the U.K.? That's still coming up.

BILCHIK: No, she has won Miss Asiana. That qualifies here to enter Miss U.K. If she wins Miss U.K., only then will she go through to Miss Universe in Brazil in September. So she still has a journey. But even at this point, she's receiving enormous criticism from all sides.

HOLMES: Well, we will ask her specifically about that criticism. Nadia, thank you but stay here with us. Shanna Bukhari will join us live. She's agreed to talk to us about it this morning. There she is from Manchester, England. But after the break, you will hear from her and we'll ask her why she's doing it and will she continue? Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Nineteen minutes past the hour now. We follow up on a story we were just telling you about before the break, a British beauty queen. Her life has been threatened because of her faith and her parents' home country.

Shanna Bukhari is joining us now from Manchester, England, again. Some of the threats coming your way because you are, in fact, a Muslim. Some people seem to have a problem with that on a couple of fronts. But thank you for being here and tell me, first of all, are the threats and some of the nastiness coming from fellow Muslims who don't agree with what you're doing or is it coming mostly from other U.K. citizens who don't like the idea of a Muslim representing the U.K. in a Miss Universe contest?

SHANNA BUKHARI, MUSLIM MISS UNIVERSE CONTESTANT: It's not just coming from the Muslims. It's coming from all communities, different people from different religions. So there's Muslims out there, a minority who are disagreeing with what I'm doing and I'm also receiving racism that I shouldn't be allowed to represent my country because my surname is a Muslim surname.

HOLMES: Yes and some of it is nastiness out there. People talk on the Internet and say things like that. But do you fear for your personal safety and has your personal safety at some point been compromised or threatened as you've been out in the public?

BUKHARI: I didn't receive any direct threats, however, I did receive links, video links which would make one believe that my life could be in danger because there were links that were showing that things could possibly happen to me. So it wasn't nice to receive. It was very threatening. I saw it as a threat.

HOLMES: How would you describe yourself, ma'am? Some of the fellow Muslims out there are saying this is against Islam. A woman as they put it, should not be parading around on a stage and they talk about swim suit competition. We'll get to the swim suit here in a second, but are you a religious person? And you certainly consider yourself a practicing Muslim.

BUKHARI: I follow my religion. And I believe I am a good Muslim. This competition doesn't define me as a person. I feel the minority out there who disagree with what I'm doing, they're using my religion as a tool to attack me, which is wrong Islamically (ph). Islam is about peace and living together. I've gotten a lot of support out there.

But the minority that are disagreeing with what I'm doing, they're being abusive, which Islam does not teach. So I don't understand why they brought my religion into this and saying this isn't right because there's a lot more to this.

HOLMES: One of the parts that people have decided to focus on and I'll ask you about, they say or contend that women are supposed to dress modestly. And people have come out and said she should not be on the stage wearing a bathing suit. Some people said you'd be wearing a bikini, that's not the case. Tell me what you will be wearing. But also do you think what you are doing and what you'll be wearing in any way, form, or fashion compromises the teachings of Islam?

BUKHARI: OK. Firstly, I'm not going to be wearing a bikini. I'll be wearing a one-piece swim suit with a sarong. I believe what I'm doing is right. There's nothing wrong in it. We do not live in a Muslim state.

There's a minority out there who do not adhere to their own traditional values and that's all religions. However, because these things are never highlighted, they're seen as normal and they're accepted.

But all of a sudden because a Muslim girl has come forward and she's trying to follow her dream and she wants to pursue this and wants to represent her country, she's getting attacked for it. So I don't think I'm doing anything wrong

HOLMES: Well, ma'am, do you think conversely that what you are doing and if you were able to win that it's something that should be celebrated, that other Muslim women should look at you and maybe young women of all backgrounds and religions should celebrate what you're doing?

BUKHARI: Definitely. I'm not trying to represent Islam. I would love to be -- I want to be role model for all women out there and all religions, not just Muslims, but all women out there. I feel that they should feel they can also follow their dreams and not allow someone to control them and dictate to them. And they should be able to do whatever they like as freedom of choice.

HOLMES: Last thing here, what do you think about your chances of winning?

BUKHARI: Well, I'm confident. I believe I'm a great candidate and I don't believe why I should not win.

HOLMES: All right. Shanna Bukhari, again we appreciate you taking the time out with us, the story that is certainly here in this country. We had a Muslim Miss America last year that stirred some controversy initially, but sounds like she's doing just fine, but a story that many people here in this country are familiar with, but happening there with you in the U.K.

But thank you so much for your time. Good luck to you. The competition I believe is May 1st and we'll find out whether or not you'll represent the U.K. at the Miss Universe pageant. Thank you so much.

BUKHARI: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, 25 minutes past the hour now.

We have another example of how technology can be your friend. How about a portable doctor? We'll tell you about some of the phone apps that could literally save your life. Mario Armstrong standing by for us. He's coming up next.

Also, when Prince William gets married, don't expect to see a wedding ring. This has really gotten some of you all worked up this morning on Facebook and Twitter.

The question to you: Should men have to wear wedding rings, at least here in America? You know where to find me on Facebook and also at CNN.com/T.J., also at Twitter @TJHolmes, reading some of your comments here in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 26 minutes past the hour now.

The doctors, the appointments, the medicine, it comes with having a chronic disease such as diabetes or cancer can be overwhelming. Now, of course, there's an app for that. Our lifestyle expert, Mario Armstrong, Mario, your name changes every time I talk to you.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: It's the same name.

HOLMES: You're a tech guru sometimes, other times you're --

ARMSTRONG: Digital lifestyle. It's all about the digital lifestyle.

HOLMES: Digital lifestyle, OK, that's it. Well, good morning, now that we've got that straight.

ARMSTRONG: Good morning.

HOLMES: There is a lot to keep up with here. And you always have your eye on things out there. Are these new or were you trying to get the word out there for people there's help out there that they might not know about?

ARMSTRONG: No, this is a great point because right now, some of these that I'm getting ready to mention are new. Most have been out for a little while. But the problem is, we're talking over 6,000 mobile health applications that you can run on your mobile device. So there's still a lot of confusion as to which ones are really good and which ones can really benefit me.

HOLMES: Now, specifically here, are there some for a guess different diseases? But diabetes and cancer are a couple we wanted to actually take a look at.

ARMSTRONG: So absolutely, let's chuck right into that, a couple of apps that I think people should look at. One is called Epocrates and this is a free mobile app that you can get. A lot of medical professionals also use this application. But one that people may really want to jump to if they're really worried about diabetes management.

There's a company called WellDoc, w-e-l-l-d-o-c. And WellDoc last year just received FDA approval for their diabetes management system. And this diabetes management system essentially helps people with Type II diabetes to use their mobile phone to better track their blood sugar levels in real time.

And so, they capture this data, analyze it, store the information and then can tell you on your mobile device things that you need to do to maybe make some medical adjustments with your medication. Think of it like a patient coach. It gives you real time information to help better direct you and make those lifestyle changes that you may need to for your health.

HOLMES: Will most of these apps and I think you mentioned 6,000, did I hear you correctly, so many out there, but do most of them, will they cost you a little bit?

ARMSTRONG: Some are free, some will cost. For example, there's a great one by the American Heart Association that's called pocket first aid. I have it on my phone right here. You can use this on your Android and iPhone, only costs $2.99 for the app.

But as you can see, I'm going to play a little video here. You can actually have first aid videos, illustrations. If someone's choking, you need to perform Heimlich maneuver. Whatever it may be on the spot, you can have that information in the palm of your hand. And it has been used in certain emergency situations for sure.

HOLMES: Also the last thing, you go to do this for me quickly, Walgreen's, a million people with their prescriptions, they're helping a million folks here.

ARMSTRONG: They're helping people basically refill their prescriptions by using your mobile phone. So basically you can take a picture of your medicine and then send that into Walgreen's and then they will send you a text message when that prescription is filled.

So it saves time, it makes it more convenient, and better for you.

HOLMES: All right.

ARMSTRONG: And then the biggest one we should get a squeeze in real quick T.J., is the text for baby.org thing. This is a free text messaging campaign for women that are pregnant that are looking for free text messaging tips that they can get. This is something that the White House worked with the National Babies Coalition.

HOLMES: Oh wow.

ARMSTRONG: And helping mothers and I think this is great for expecting dads too.

HOLMES: That is outstanding.

ARMSTRONG: You get free text messages.

HOLMES: A lot of people will appreciate that. We're -- you know what, send me an e-mail so I can get those links out to all of our folks. Can you do that?

ARMSTRONG: Ok I will.

HOLMES: We're going to get all that stuff out.

ARMSTRONG: That would be good, man. We should get it up on the NEWSROOM blog too on CNN.

HOLMES: Absolutely will. Mario, good stuff as always and helpful stuff this morning.

ARMSTRONG: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you as always, and of course --

ARMSTRONG: All right, take care.

HOLMES: -- our Mario Armstrong our digital lifestyle expert that what it is. He joins us this time every Saturday.

ARMSTRONG: You got it.

HOLMES: Thanks so much Mario.

Also, another concern this morning coming from Japan's damaged nuclear power plant. Radioactive water seeping into the ocean; find out what that means as we take you live to Tokyo.

Also, listen to this, a lot of parents can relate to this guy. A father allegedly putting out a bounty on his daughter's boyfriend accused of trying to have the man killed. But you'll understand, a lot of parents say they understand, but maybe he shouldn't have gone that far.

Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin breaking down this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, we are at 33 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes, thank you for spending part of your day here with us.

Let me tell you about a disturbing development happening in Japan right now. Leaking water that's getting in some radioactive water getting into the Pacific Ocean.

Our Martin Savidge joining me now live from Tokyo. Martin, hello to you. Do they know, yet, where this water, this radioactive water is coming from?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.

Well, they have a clue now they have a better idea than they did say yesterday. This has been an ongoing problem for weeks, actually. But they've been noticing it's been increasing. And that is the level of radiation in the ocean immediately off the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant.

They knew it was getting into the ocean somehow, they weren't sure how. Well, today they got a very big idea. There is a cement pit; it is located between Reactor Number 2 which is thought to be heavily damaged and the ocean. And in this cement pit is a crack about eight inches wide. And in that crack, they believe, is where the water is going from onshore into the ocean.

Here is what they don't know. How is the water in that pit becoming radiated? In other words what is the source of radiation that's contaminating the water in the cement pit that is then traveling into the ocean? This pit, by the way, is usually dry. It is primarily a channel by which electric cables are run on all over the facility at this nuclear plant.

So somehow water has gotten. And that's no surprise given all the water being used. But the question is, though, how come that water's radiated and now we know it's getting into the ocean. They are still trying to track that down.

And speaking of water, by the way, I mentioned they're pouring it and pouring it, and pouring it on the reactors there and the fuel rods trying to keep those under control. The problem is its super saturated now. And there is no more space for any water to go anywhere they had. Large pits that were trapping the water they're all full.

So what do you do with all of that water? Well, now they're bringing in a barge. Not just any barge. Listen to the name of this. It is called the mega-float. And it is roughly 450 to 150 feet wide it is a park for a community that sits just of shore south of Tokyo.

They're going to bring the whole barge up here, not to Tokyo, but they're going to bring it up to Fukushima. And it can hold 18,000 tons of water. So that's where they're going to siphon off this radiated water and get it into the barge. The only question, T.J., what happens when that barge gets full?

HOLMES: Oh it's like problems on top of problems. But fascinating pictures there and a good details to bring us. There's just so much they're trying to throw at this problem.

Martin Savidge for us in Tokyo. Martin, we appreciate you as always.

Well, $100 fine. For what? Letting your kids play outside. That could actually happen in one Florida community. Its 36 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 38 minutes past the hour now.

Keeping kids safe. It's supposed to be the idea here. But to do that, they want to keep the kids from playing outside. They're going to be voting about this particular measure in Edgewater, Florida. One homeowners association wants to fine parents $100 for letting their kids play outside unsupervised.

The neighborhood has about 48 town homes surrounded by a parking lot and little room for children to play.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KIM SCOTT, HOA MEMBER: In a community that does not have a playground and is not conducive to children. And then they expect the children to play in the driveway and the parking lot. You don't see children playing in the parking lot at K-Mart or Wal-Mart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, they are also looking into the possibility of banning games, you some of the classics, you know like tag, also banning skateboarding, also banning loud or obnoxious toys. The association says though this is all a matter of safety.

Well, a teacher in New Jersey suspended over comments posted on her own Facebook page. She's accused of saying she felt like a warden to future criminals in her first grade class. The comment causing outrage among parents and in the community asking for their kids to be removed from her class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR KENNETH CLAYTON, NAACP: Shocked, sad, and disgusted that a person who teaches in public schools is part of our children' lives could think such a thing and have that perception of all of our children.

CHARLENE CONOVER, PARENT: I don't think she should ever have a job teaching nowhere ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, the teacher has not been publicly identified and is now on paid administrative leave.

Now, this was meant to be a lesson in world history. And the Trafalgar Middle School in Cape Coral, Florida invited a local imam to talk about his religion. That is until some parents threatened to pull their kids out of the class. They complain they weren't consulted about the visit before it was scheduled.

The imam says he is disappointed. He says he was ready to give a talk -- he thought would build bridges amongst students.

And only here on CNN tonight, Soledad O'Brien will talk about a documentary called "Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door" chronicles of dramatic fight over a building -- the building of a mosque in the heart of Bible Belt that ultimately ended up in court. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Well, listen to this one. A father allegedly putting out a bounty on his daughter's boyfriend; he's accused of trying to have that man killed. Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin is going to be breaking this case down for us.

But first, a big assist from the NBA to Japan. You can help out too. Al Horford from the Atlanta Hawks tells you how.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL HORFORD, ATLANTA HAWKS: I'm Al Horford of Atlanta Hawks, and you can make an impact for the people of Japan.

My agent thought it would be a good idea for a lot of us players to get involved and help with the Japan relief fund. So I was excited about it and I told them to -- to come in. It's very sad what's going on over there. And I can imagine its much worse actually being there and having to deal with everything.

I know a lot of professional athletes do things every day to impact their community and help. I'm trying to do the best I can.

Join the movement, impact your world, CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 43 minutes past the hour now.

A Connecticut man has been arrested and charged with harassing a state legislator. The suspect is 67-year-old John Matika says actually the person he called took it the wrong way. State Representative Linda Genteel said he called her about a proposed gun deal and made a direct threat against her life.

But she says he went on to reference the attempted murder of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Police have searched that suspect's home and confiscated several firearms, including automatic weapons and an assault rifle.

Also in Arizona yesterday, the parents of 9-year-old Christina Green helped unveil a statue in her honor. She, of course, the youngest Tucson shooting victim, she was born on 9/11. The statue made from materials from the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93.

These were -- these were joined to a steel angel statue that was made in Christina's honor. She, of course, played out there at the little league team. And that's where she was honored.

Well, a father has issued now a dead or alive bounty for his daughter's boyfriend. And many people agree with him. Find out why.

Plus, hundreds of thousands of women are suing Wal-Mart claiming they weren't promoted because they weren't men and they didn't make the same amount of money as their male counterparts.

But the first legal case we want to look at this morning is the BP oil disaster; April 20th marking one year since that spill, that explosion that led to that spill. And for months and months last year, the oil disaster played out on TV and played out in the headlines and 11 men were killed when the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up causing that spill. Now the Justice Department possibly considering manslaughter charges in those deaths. Our legal analyst and friend Sunny Hostin from "In Session", our sister network TruTV joins us this morning. Sunny good to see you as always.

Do they have a chance really? And also, give us an idea historically what we see when it comes to manslaughter charges when it comes to industrial accidents. Do these really have a chance of happening?

SUNNY HOSTIN, "IN SESSION": I think there's no question that it is very possible that this could happen, T.J. When you talk about environmental disasters, the government has a couple of options at its disposal. One option is always administrative penalties; one option is civil enforcement; and one option is criminal enforcement. There is certainly precedence for this.

Remember the Exxon Valdez spill about 20 years ago, which by many experts say was a much smaller situation, a much smaller disaster than this disaster. And criminal charges were pressed there. And so when you think about that and you think about the fact that this started with the death of 11 men, there is no question that the Justice Department will use their sort of criminal prosecutorial tools in this case.

And it really goes back about 173 years under this sort of seamen manslaughter statute that allows someone, the government to sue and to criminally prosecute sort of the keeper of a vessel if someone on that vessel dies. And we know that there was an oil rig in the middle of the ocean with this huge explosion and 11 men died.

Manslaughter charges? Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Before I let this one go, we're talking about -- they could go after the people at the very top, the executives of that company?

HOSTIN: Yes, there's no question. Because they have to go after who was negligent, who made those decisions? We heard Tony Hayward in front of Congress talk about the fact that the decisions were made at the very top. We've had experts come in that the decisions were made at the very top. Then those are the people that the Justice Department will be looking at. No question.

HOLMES: All right. Let's move quickly now to the women of Wal- Mart right now versus Wal-Mart; up to 1.5 million women suing the retailer. They're trying to get class action status, officially, is what they put before the Supreme Court. That would make a big deal. Tell me why and how likely it is, as well.

HOSTIN: Well, you're talking about all these women being able to bond together, bound together and fight Wal-Mart, one of the biggest employers in the world, in the country. And so there's a lot of power to be had when a group of people similarly situated are allowed to share lawyers, are allowed to share resources. They're saying we're birds of a feather, T.J. We all were discriminated against. Wal-Mart on the other hand, is saying that's not true, there were 3,000 stores, 170 different job descriptions, only about 90 percent of these women were not discriminated against and it was at the store level that these decisions are made.

So you are not the same; you can't bond together in a class. I have to tell you after listening to the arguments, wow. I mean it was wonderful to see the three women justices really take it to Wal-Mart and really argue this case.

But I don't know. I think that with the composition of the Supreme Court at this time, I don't know that the women will be successful in this class action suit. I don't know that that will happen.

HOLMES: And our last one here, Sunny. Give me about 30 seconds on this one. The California father accused of putting a $3,000 bounty on the boyfriend of his daughter. The boyfriend is a registered sex offender. This is the dad you're seeing here though.

He's a registered sex offender, the boyfriend. He's 33, the girl is 19, some people actually, and some parents out there relate to what the dad did. But is he going to be in trouble here?

HOSTIN: He's going to be in trouble. Solicitation for murder, certainly.

But let me take my lawyer hat off and let me put my mommy hat on. I don't want my daughter dating a sex offender. What jury is going to convict this man and put him in prison for life or something other than that? I mean it's just not going to happen.

I think this is a case that is sort of ripe for a plea deal. Any parent on that jury is not going to sentence him to jail because although what he did is -- if he did it, is certainly a crime, certainly illegal, I don't know. Would you do that, T.J.?

HOLMES: You know. Like you said, you have to take one hat off and once you put that parent hat on, that's a whole new ball game. Everybody agrees he went too far, but still, a lot of people can relate. It sounds like that sympathy is going to be the thing working for him.

Sunny, it's so good to have you here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING and we're going to have you back a lot. So we appreciate you getting up for us on this Saturday. We'll talk to you soon.

HOSTIN: All right.

HOLMES: All right. To our viewers, this has been a question we've asked you out there and we have loved some of the responses you're sending out. Prince William has said he is not going to wear a wedding ring after he gets married to Kate. Is that OK? But beyond that, some of the great responses from you guys. Would you allow your spouse to go without wearing a wedding ring? Some of your responses coming up.

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HOLMES: Ok. Beautiful state in Atlanta, our headquarters; supposed to be 70, sunny, 80 maybe even tomorrow. But we're talking snow in other places. I'm not trying to rub it in to those other places.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We had snow here. We had our fair share of winter --

HOLMES: But still, we're still talking snow in springtime.

SCHNEIDER: That's true. It's April and two inches of snow in Boston on the ground, seven inches in New Hampshire, and it hasn't stopped snowing, T.J. You have to see this. We've got snow across much of Maine. Look at this Snow showers and up towards Bangor. Some of the snow is pulling away, but the temperatures are still quite cold.

It's already into the upper 30s in New York City. Let's take a live look of New York because I have some good news for you. This cold blast of winter will not last. There's the Statue of Liberty. It's looking like a nice day. The temperatures will get warmer into the lower 50s today, and then the upper 50s getting very close to 60 for tomorrow; so nice improvements in the forecast which is great news.

We've got hot conditions across much of the country, for today in terms of the south and into Texas. And that's important to note because when you look at the forecast highs for today, look at the numbers, into the 90s. Now the threat of fire danger exists for a good portion of the southwest and the southern plains. We're watching for very dry and gusty winds.

If you zoom into Phoenix, you'll see the temperature there will be 95 degrees. And if that's not all, wait until Sunday and Monday. T.J., a widespread severe weather outbreak is anticipated for Monday, specifically, and we're talking tornadoes. It's that time of year. We'll talk more about that next hour.

HOLMES: Yes, snow, fire danger, it's April, though; weird time. Bonnie, thank you so much.

You're on a plane, all right, we all fly. But then mid flight, 30,000 feet up, all of a sudden you look up and you can see the sky. Planes aren't supposed to be convertibles; a three -foot hole ripped open in the plane's fuselage, midflight. That happened overnight. I talk to two passengers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We are driving through Hollywood, California, which is a place known for its glitz, its glamour, and its traffic. Finding a parking spot in downtown Los Angeles can be a nightmare, but one company is trying to change that.

According to this application, we may have four plus spaces to our left?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you've got one spot on the left here, another spot here.

WOLF: It's a new Smartphone app called Parker. Consider it a GPS for parking spots. It's the brain child of StreetLine, a company that began testing it in San Francisco.

ZIA YUSUF, STREETLINE: They were concerned about the amount of traffic and congestion in the city.

WOLF: But CEO, Zia Yusuf, thinks that the idea will impact more than just the way we drive.

YUSUF: This is really about changing the consumer experience. You drive less and you live more.

WOLF: It's a big idea that started with something small.

YUSUF: We moved into parking because that had the biggest return. Parking is just the first step. We want to put sensors in fire hydrants, street lamps. This is the broader concept of smart cities. That's the vision that started the company.

WOLF: All innovations that may be just around the corner.

Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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HOLMES: "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with Christine Romans just 30 minutes at the bottom of the hour. And Christine, tell us what you've got on tap for us today.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: T.J. a bold new call on housing this week that the worst is finally over. Has the housing market finally hit rock bottom? We'll continue our series also on educating America. And T.J., get this, the cost of college education is up 400 percent since the 1980s. We're going to help you beat the system.

Plus, have you ever really stopped to think about what your money is actually for and what you want it to do for you? Five simple steps to fix your finances at 9:30 a.m. Eastern -- T.J.