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CNN Saturday Morning News

Battle of Control for Libya; Emergency Landing of Southwest Airlines Flight Due to Gaping Hole in Plane; Is Wearing A Wedding Ring Optional?; Government Continues to Monitor Radiation Levels on U.S. West Coast; Is Your TV Tracking You?

Aired April 02, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

A cease-fire has been offered in Libya and that call for peace considered, quote, "silly" by Moammar Gadhafi. But is a transition to a new leader actually being planned at the same time.

Also, it was a frightening flight. Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight get a seat by the sunroof. Sunroof on a plane. They say they heard explosions, then a hole appeared in the roof, and they could see the sky from their seats. We'll tell you all about it.

Plus, turning the tables, your TV is now actually watching you, tailoring content to your viewing habits.

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

We do want to start with those developments out of Libya where calls for a cease-fire have pretty much fallen on deaf ears. Opposition leaders made the call and want certain conditions met, starting with government troops pulling out of the cities. Moammar Gadhafi's government countered calling the conditions "silly."

Sources close to Gadhafi tells CNN there has been talk in the government about a transition, Gadhafi possibly leaving power, but with this caveat. His son, Saif, would have to be included in that new leadership. That idea not necessarily sitting well with many in the opposition.

Putting all that talk behind us now, there are still fierce battles going on in several cities in central and eastern Libya. Rebel forces and government troops basically trading these cities back and forth they go with civilians in the center.

CNN's Reza Sayah live for us this morning in Benghazi, Libya.

Reza, it seems like no one can get the upper hand, and these cities continue to almost change hands.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as someone described it as an accordion, and that's how it's been going. Back and forth. But good news and bad news for the opposition forces on this Saturday.

Let's start with the good news. Opposition forces telling CNN that they've retaken the key oil town of Brega overnight, pushed back regime forces westwards. The front line now they say between Brega and the town of Akaila (ph). Opposition forces today combing the streets, making sure that town is secure.

They say the key to that progress of the offensive launch yesterday was the fact that defected army units are now leading the charge in the battle. These are army units that were with the Gadhafi forces and have switched sides. They are now leading the operation only using volunteer fighters that are strictly under their command and control.

The rebel fighters and their leaders keeping back to those amateur fighters. Those so-called weekend fighters. It used to come in the front line sometimes with machetes, knives, sometimes, no weapons. So it seems to be a more effective, more coordinated and organized operation.

Now, here's the bad news. According to the rebel spokesman, air strikes yesterday destroyed several vehicles belonging to the opposition forces. There are some reports that in those air strikes, several civilians were killed, we're working to verify those reports. The rebel spokesperson telling us he doesn't have any information about civilians being killed.

But again, he can confirm that several vehicles belonging to rebel fighters were destroyed. NATO is aware of this report, as well. They just released a statement saying they're looking into it, as well, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Our Reza Sayah with the update for us. Reza, we appreciate you, as always.

Now a lot of people may remember the story of those four "New York Times" journalists who were held for a short time by the government forces in Libya. They were released about two weeks ago, and they sat down and talked to our Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": How do you deal with the fear? I mean, how do you not overcome with fear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's just no point. If you panic, you die.

LYNSEY ADDARIO, "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, you know, inevitably, one of them was sitting next to me and would say like there are people who love you, we're going to get out of this. And so it's very helpful to have colleagues with you. I mean, we were so lucky that we were together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Lynsey Addario, you saw talking there last, she says the ordeal has changed the way she sees people and even prisoners.

We turn now to Afghanistan. A new anti-American protest turning violent this morning and they all have to do with something that happened in Florida. Nine people are dead in Kandahar, dozens of others have been injured in clashes with Afghan security forces. A school even burned. This comes on the heels of yesterday's attack at a U.N. compound in northern Afghanistan. Seven U.N. workers killed in that attack. A number of protesters killed, as well.

This new violence sparked by a Florida pastor who says he burned a copy of the Koran. You may remember the name and the face, that is Terry Jones, he is the pastor who planned to burn the Koran last September 11th. He was talked out of doing it then, but then less than two weeks ago, he held reportedly what he called a mock trial for the Koran and after his conviction of the book, he supposedly burned it.

Turning to Arizona now, scary moment over the skies of that state. And now a team of NTSB investigators are heading to Yuma, Arizona. After a Southwest Airline flight from Phoenix had to make an emergency landing at a military base there yesterday. This is why. A nearly four-foot-long gash in the plane's fuselage. Some of the pictures from inside you're seeing here.

But this hole depressurized that cabin. That's a better look at the actual gash itself. A lot of people, as you can imagine, just scared to death aboard that flight to be flying along at 30,000 feet, they heard explosions, then the hole opened up and they could literally look up and see the sky.

One of the people on board Debbie Downy, she talked to me this morning about what she went through last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBBIE DOWNEY, FLIGHT 812 PASSENGER (via telephone): My husband said when he looked up, it's immediately, oh, my gosh, it's blue sky. We looked up 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, started to kind of look out the window. And as soon as I tried to look out the window and put the screen (ph), the aircraft went into a complete nose dive.

HOLMES: Wow.

D. DOWNEY: Fast.

HOLMES: Ma'am, how were the rest of the passengers reacting during all this time?

D. DOWNEY: A lot of people were crying. There were women next to me crying. People were holding hands. I mean, everybody was terrified. It was very, very scary.

HOLMES: Now, ma'am, how much time was there between this incident when that explosion and the hole opened up until you actually get on the ground? How much -- how long did you have to go through all this?

D. DOWNEY: I'd say we were flying maybe 15 minutes. It seems like a lifetime but it was quite a long time.

HOLMES: Did the pilot walk you all through it? Was he making announcements? Were you all able to hear him?

D. DOWNEY: number Unfortunately, we couldn't hear anything because there was too much noise in the sky. Maybe after, I don't know, 10 minutes, we tried to look around to see what was going on and who we could talk to and gather information. My husband, I think, talked to a flight attendant or neighbor.

LARRY DOWNEY, PASSENGER (via telephone): I talked to the flight attendant. The crew was fantastic. They were calm. They settled everybody down.

A number of the passengers were having trouble getting their oxygen line, making sure everyone got oxygen because some of the passengers were having trouble getting that. We were at such a high altitude at the time, that they were -- some of them were passing out. So, it was scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, the 118 passengers onboard, most of them were rerouted. They were put on another flight and then headed on to Sacramento.

Meanwhile, Southwest Air says only one person was injured, and that was a flight attendant. They also say that they are taking out of their flying schedule similar Boeing 737s so they can check those out.

All right. We know that Prince William is going to be getting married to Kate Middleton at the end of this month, and now we know he is not going to be wearing a wedding ring. That has sparked a conversation among many of you viewers this morning.

So kind of two questions here we've been asking, and we've been sharing your comments. But should the prince wear a ring? But the other part, would you allow your husband or wife to go without wearing a ring? Oh, this has been fun with you guys this morning.

You know, where to find us on Facebook, also I'm @TJHolmes on Twitter. Also, our blog, CNN.com/T.J.

We have had a blast sharing some of those comments and reading some of the others that aren't fit to air this morning, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm sure they are not. Everyone has a strong opinion about that one. All right. We're going to be talking about this weekend. We've got a lot of changes in the weather. First off, it's still snowing in many places in northern New England. Plus, get ready, get set, severe weather's on the way for Monday.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

The British royal wedding, you know, it's coming up a little later this month. Guests going to be eating cake and a whole lot of other stuff, apparently. Preparations are already underway for the royal reception at Buckingham Palace. A team of 21 chefs will make nearly 10,000 bite-sized treats. The reception will be held in the elaborate state rooms. The staff of 60 will make sure no glass ever gets empty. That's my kind of party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD GRIFFINS, DEPUTY MASTER OF THE HOUSEHOLD: For any event, we're going through every single detail that we possibly can so it's planned in advance and we don't leave anything to chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. We've got another detail to give you here. The wedding rings. Everybody wants to know about her dress, what she's riding in. All kinds of stuff.

So yes, the wedding rings are getting some attention now. Kate Middleton going to wear one that's made out of Welsh gold, that's taken from the royal vault. The prince is going to wear nothing. He's not going to wear a ring he's announced he's going to keep that ring finger free.

Well, at least in public right now, Kate is saying she has no problem with that. It's not like nobody's going to know the guy's married. Come on. All right. But we asked you to weigh in on this one. And you all had a good time with this one, didn't you.

Here's what you all are saying on my Facebook page. Let's start with Lisa, she says "Men should wear rings. It's a sign of a contract that isn't to be broken except by death." Sorry we couldn't put it up for you (INAUDIBLE) what she said.

Here's another one I can tell you, and it says "From personal experience, if they are not wanting to wear the ring, their heart is truly not in it."

Also, Calvin says he shouldn't wear a ring. If a single woman doesn't know Prince William is married, she's probably too dumb to hold his interest." That's not bad, Calvin. Also one finally from our blog. This one comes from Paula. She says "My husband does not wear a ring, and I support that. If I decided to not wear my ring for some reason, I know he would support me in that also. Trust is the important word here. We do not own each other, we are a partnership."

Tell that to my wife, Paula, but thank you for the comment anyway.

We will have a special half hour about the royal couple coming your way today rings included, it's going to be 2:00 Eastern time right here on CNN.

Bonnie, what do you think? It's kind of an American thing in some ways. A lot of countries don't put as much emphasis on it as we do but in this country, ring or no ring?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I'm a woman. I think he should wear a ring.

HOLMES: OK. There it is.

SCHNEIDER: But a lot of people say they think it's OK. And even women said that. So it must be a personal preference -

HOLMES: It's a personal preference.

SCHNEIDER: For the groom and the husband and the wife, of course.

HOLMES: We have a preference in my house, definitely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: All right. So we are just getting started. Bonnie, we appreciate you as always. Thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HOLMES: Well, trace amounts of radiation have been found in milk from West Coast cows. We'll tell you of the fears that many people have right now are actually realistic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is stepping up its monitoring of radiation coming from Japan. Trace levels of radiation have been found in milk produced by cows on the West Coast of the U.S. but the government says the amount is too low to trigger any health concerns.

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen puts this in perspective for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You know, there's no question. The U.S. government has found radiation in milk, but in really teeny, tiny amounts. For example, we're told that you would have to drink 1,000 liters of milk to get the same amount of radiation that you get in a chest x-ray.

Here's another way to look at it, if you drink a pint of milk, you're getting less radiation than you would if you were sitting on an airplane for five hours. So these amounts are really, really small. U.S. authorities are really quite sure that this is radiation from Japan and not another source, because they can actually match up those isotopes and see that they're the same. So what happens is the radiation basically floats from Japan to the United States and then particles of radiation fall on to the grass and then cows eat that grass and then, well, the radiation ends up in the milk.

In Japan, they found radiation not just in milk, but also in beef. Now that hasn't happened yet in the United States. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right.

Well, you know all those moments you and your family spend watching television? Well, now your TV is spending all that time watching you back.

It's 22 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 24 minutes past the hour now.

Tracking your TV habits. That's what advertisers have been wanting to do for quite some time, and now it appears they may be able to do it.

Deb Feyerick now reports as you're watching your TV, your TV is watching you right back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every time you watch TV, your TV is likely watching you. Through that box which collects information on show after show after show after show. All that data sent anonymously, ultimately to advertisers, focused on reaching people likely to buy certain products or watch certain shows.

(on camera): What is the benefit to people like me? To consumers?

JON WERTHER, PRES. SIMULMEDIA, INC.: The benefit to consumers is that you get more relevant ads and you have fewer ads that are irrelevant to you that are cluttering up your TV experience.

FEYERICK (voice-over): John Werther of Simulmedia successfully pioneered targeted advertising on the Internet. Now, he's doing it with TV.

(On camera): If this is done right, how much money is this worth to advertisers?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think billions, billions of dollars.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Why? Because what you watch tells a lot about you, sometimes unexpectedly.

WERTHER: A rerun of "Saved by the Bell" at 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning has been one of the most highly effective spots in driving audiences to a crime drama several days later.

FEYERICK: It's not just set box data, but your other personal data. Collected when you ask for credit reports or use retail discount cards. Tech companies like visible world used this data like direct mail. And can now deliver different ads to different households watching the same program.

(on camera): How does the box know which of these four different ads to get to you?

SETH HABERMAN, CEO VISIBLE WORLD: So we've built a database that talks to cable vision and sends out these little messages so the set top boxes switch at the right time to show the right ads in your household.

FEYERICK (voice-over): As for privacy, AdAge writer Bryan Steinberg says it's a tradeoff.

BRYAN STEINBERG, ADVERTISING AGE: That's becoming kind of the new tipping point of how much information we want to give out there and how much will advertisers use to know where we are, where we're walking, what we like, what we don't like, what our preferences are, in exchange for more relevant and more interesting advertising.

FEYERICK: Commercial advertisers are banking you'll watch.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, a Florida pastor burns the Koran, and the repercussions are felt all the way to Afghanistan. It is one of the day's top stories. We'll have that for you in 90 seconds.

But first her we are now, maybe 40 years after the civil rights movement, a lot of course has changed. A lot, apparently has not. New census data shows America remains fairly segregated. And most of the segregated cities in this country are in the northern states. The folks that censuscope.org in the University of Michigan social science data analysis network, came up with this list, which you can find on salon.com.

At number five of the most segregated cities, Cleveland, Ohio, number four, Detroit, Michigan. Number three, Chicago, Illinois. Could you be living in one of the most segregated cities in the U.S.? The top two coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Now, do you possibly live in one of the most segregated cities in this country? Researchers came up with a list of the most segregated based on new census numbers. We showed you these three.

At five, Cleveland, number four, Detroit, number three - Chicago. But would you believe the number one most segregated city in this country? New York City.

Also the most segregated city in the country - these are according to the official census numbers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I'll give you a quick look of what we're keeping an eye on. Deadly violence in Afghanistan happening right now in protest of a Koran burning carried out by a controversial pastor in Florida. The demonstrators yesterday proceeded and an attack - an attack on the U.N. compound that left 12 people dead, six people were also killed and another 46 injured in a similar protest this morning in Kandahar province. Just one of the number of stories we're keeping an eye on.

I'm going to hand this thing over right now to "YOUR BOTTOM LINE." I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)