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CNN Saturday Morning News
Preparing for Tropical Storm Lee; Sarah Palin's Spotlight; Alabama Football Team Returns; Italy Town Mints Own Money; Domino's To the Moon
Aired September 03, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning.
States of emergency declared and tropical storm warnings are in place along the Gulf Coast because of a slow-moving and strengthening Tropical Storm Lee. It is keeping people guessing right now about exactly what it's going to do.
Also this morning, is this really any way to teach kids about the events of 9/11? A coloring book where kids can color in pictures of the Towers burning or of a Navy SEAL shooting Osama Bin Laden?
It's real, folks, and the publisher will be here to explain why he thinks this coloring book is a good idea.
Also, an Illinois Congress member calls President Obama idiotic. This morning we'll tell you and lets you hear about his apology and what he says he really meant to say.
It's Saturday, September 3rd. I'm T.J. Holmes. This is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Glad you can be here with us.
But let's start with the storm, this tropical storm right now. It's just really whipping things up in the Gulf of Mexico. And already there are several states of emergency that are in effect. Also, Mississippi and Louisiana, both kind of getting their ducks in a row right now just in case that water starts rising.
Take a look at what's happening in Grand Isle, Louisiana, one of the Barrier Islands there. The rain is already there. People are preparing for more and maybe even a lot more. Listen to the mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DAVID CAMARDELLE, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA: You can't fight Mother Nature. And, you know, my job and the council's job and the police chief's job is to make sure we don't lose a life. We don't know what this thing will do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. Let's say good morning to Alexandra Steele now and let's find out exactly what this storm is going to do. And, right now, we're talking about this a second ago, this thing is just kind of a mess. ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's a mess. It's erratic. It's slow moving. It's kind of moving and vacillating around. It's not very well organized. Its center of circulation is kind of askew. All of the rain is on the west side of it.
So let me show you what we've got in terms of the tropical storm. Here it is once again. Here is the area of all the convection on the eastern side of the storm and the center of circulation is here is expected to move ashore later today. Really most under the gun, Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama Coast, we're talking about the potential for 10 to 20 inches of rain.
Again, it is very slow moving. And here's the look at the amount of rain we are expected to see with this, again, especially along the coast. That's really where the flash flooding will be. So, once again, remember with Irene, we talked flash flooding. The potential for flash flooding is here as well.
But what we are going to see in terms of its movement, again, here is the forecast track. Expected by later today kind of center of circulation, it is expected to intensify although it will stay a tropical storm. But maybe kind of get its act together a little bit more. Maximum sustained winds are now 50 miles per hour. Moving at seven miles per hour. It was barely moving. So it has picked up the pace a little bit.
But here's the forecasted track potentially. We're going to watch it again, the center of circulation come on shore later today. But then watch what we're going to see. By Monday morning, we're still going to see 45-mile-per-hour winds. By Tuesday morning, 40-mile-per-hour winds. And then by Wednesday, you can see where it is. Again, Alabama and Mississippi and Louisiana still going to get the brunt of this thing. But thereby Thursday, we're still watching a rainmaker with this and we're also still watching some winds.
So, again, we're going to watch this thing straight through the end of the week and again bring a lot of rain. Most notably to the Gulf Coast with potential for an awful lot of flooding and even some tornadoes are spawning up, which is kind of typical, T.J., with hurricanes. Again, they are swift moving and they're not causing a lot of damage.
HOLMES: All right. Alexandra Steele, always good to have you with us here on the weekend. Thank you. We'll be checking in with her plenty throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, a lot of people getting ready for the worst with this storm. Let's talk to Rupert Lacy now. He is the Emergency Management Director for Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi.
Sir, thank you for spending some time with us. What has you most nervous about this storm?
RUPERT LACY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR (via telephone): Good morning. Of course, one of our biggest concerns along the Mississippi Gulf Coast still is the definite track of what Lee is doing. As we have noticed over the - over the nighttime hours, we have started to see the increase of the winds with the rains. And, of course, what we had is sporadic tornado spin-off because it is starting to affect our coastline.
HOLMES: Sir, how much rain can you handle? We're talking up to 20 inches in some places. But I guess what would you think is your - is your threshold?
LACY: Well, of course, any community, you know, if you've got - if you're talking 20 inches of rain, you'd love to see it over, you know, a four or a five daytime period. Friday was - was an off and on day that we were seeing a very light amount of rain.
Over the nighttime hours, in some areas of our - our coastal communities, we have noticed some of the rain gauges getting up - up into the neighborhood of two to three inches of rain because of the heavy down falls or the feeder band activity coming in. And, of course, you know, be that we are under a tropical storm warning, we - we, of course, are under that flash flood warning. But we are starting to see that ponding, that urban-type flooding as some of these feeder bands, of course, were very large with the rainfall.
HOLMES: All right. Mr. Lacy, I know you've got a couple of days to hunker down there. But are evacuations a possibility?
LACY: Of course, they are. We are still in that process of rebuilding after Katrina. One of the misfortunes is that in some of our lower lying areas of our county, people have not built back right there in paradise along the water.
But we have had about 10 roads that have to - we've had water over because of rivers coming up the southeast flow. You know, we've had a couple of homeowners that have talked to us about that standing water. If we have to, we're ready to pull the trigger and open up a shelter. But, you know, we're still trying to - we still have a little bit of time so that people can prepare around their homes before we have to open up the shelter building for them to seek shelter from the winds and then, of course, the higher rains.
HOLMES: All right. Rupert Lacy, Emergency Management Director there in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi. Sir, thank you so much. We'll check in with you again. Good luck to you folks. All right there.
LACY: Thank you. You know, again, please call us back at anytime.
HOLMES: Thank you so much for that, sir. We will certainly check in. It's going to be a long weekend.
Again, as Alexandra Steele says this is a slow-moving storm. A really slow-moving storm so it's really going to dump and just sit there for the most part, and hang out and dump all of that rain in parts of the Gulf Coast. We'll check in plenty throughout the morning on that storm. Well, it's seven minutes past the hour now. Let's give you a look at what else we're watching. The United Nations is sending a team to Libya to deliver humanitarian aid and assess the future needs of that country. They were welcomed by the New Transitional Council. And one of the biggest problems facing Libya right now is a shortage of clean water.
And a travel alert now from the federal government as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches. The State Department issued the warning to U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad to be aware of the continuing threat posed by al Qaeda. They also stress, though, that there have been no specific threats.
And all you folks who don't like those body scanners at U.S. airports, well, some new scanner software is being rolled out in some places across the country. What you're seeing here is new video of this new software and some of these new programs. There it is. This is at the airport in Dallas.
They are now supposed to take pictures that don't show as much of your junk as they used to. It's just the outline of you that it is supposed to show now. And now also, you and the screener will be able to see it. The TSA announced this rollout out in July, so you'll be able to see it yourself, and you'll see what the TSA agent is giggling about.
Well, $3.66 that's the average you're paying for a gallon of gas right now as you head out for your Labor Day weekend. Up a nickel over last week. It's actually a few cents less, though, than you were paying last month.
And the higher price of gas is expected to keep more of us at home this weekend. AAA says close to 32 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles this weekend. But that is around a million less than last year.
You remember this horrible scene. This happened - we were showing you this video a couple of weekends ago. But this is a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. The state Attorney General's Office now says 14 people are planning to sue over this incident. Seven people were killed, 40 others were injured. The stage came down during a wind storm. An investigation is looking into whether the stage was as strong as it should have been.
Also, coming up, a small town in Italy that's got some big dreams over there. They want the town to be an independent state. First thing first, they started printing their own money. Well, there's an idea.
Also, it's a big Labor Day weekend. That means a lot of politicking going on around the country. All of the candidates are out, but one person is taking up a lot of the attention - Sarah Palin. We will tell you what she is up to this weekend.
It's 10 minutes past the hour. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: We are at 11 minutes past the hour now. And Labor Day weekend, you know the barbecues, you know the picnics, but you know the politics as well as a part of Labor Day weekend. And the Republican presidential candidates will in fact be out there making the rounds in critical early voting state for this weekend.
But as our Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser tells us the focus, though, is going to be on a non-candidate - Sarah Palin.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, T.J.
You know, for someone who's not an elected official or even an announced candidate, Sarah Palin doesn't have a hard time drawing media attention. And it seems every time the former Alaska governor falls out of the political spotlight, she grabs it right back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER (voice-over): Palin's bus tour from here in Washington up to New England was a top story over Memorial Day weekend. She played cat and mouse with reporters.
SARAH PALIN, FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: We haven't released details of where we're going.
STEINHAUSER: And she reignited speculation that she might run for the White House. She also crashed Mitt Romney's party, bringing her bus tour to New Hampshire on the very same day the former Massachusetts governor was there to announce his run for president.
PALIN: I don't believe that Governoe Romney is offended at all. We happened to have in our schedule a stop to meet different people and have a - have some good New Hampshire food.
STEINHAUSER: Fast forward to August and Palin shows up at the Iowa State Fair creating a media frenzy the day after a presidential debate in Iowa and the day before a crucial straw poll in the state.
PALIN: I don't think I'm stealing any spotlight.
STEINHAUSER: Today, Palin is back in Iowa. The main attraction of the Tea Party gathering in the state that votes first in the caucus in the primary calendar.
And Monday, she speaks at another Tea Party gathering in New Hampshire, which also a first primary.
So is Palin planning on making some big news this weekend? Maybe not. Last month, she said she doubted she would be a candidate by Labor Day.
PALIN: There's still a lot of contemplation that needs to go into such an earth-shattering, life-changing decision for a family.
STEINHAUSER: So what will she say? Today is the three-year anniversary of Palin's speech at the Republican Convention when she became her party's vice presidential nominee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER: CNN's Peter Hamby reports that Palin will highlight the themes that made her a conservative superstar and a darling of the Tea Party Movement - T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks as always to our Paul Steinhauser.
And did you catch the August jobs report that came out yesterday? Well and pretty (ph)? No new jobs were created last month. So the unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent. And it gave the Republican presidential candidates even more to talk about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obama is not working and he has disappointed the American people. And this morning, very bad news. Did you see the numbers that come out - that came out on job growth? Look, there is zero faith in Barack Obama because he's created zero jobs last month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, a couple of others to tell you about. Here is Texas Governor Rick Perry. He said our country cannot afford four more years of economic misery. And I will continue to travel the country talking about ways to get our America working again.
And this, from Michele Bachmann. She said the nation's economy is sitting at a huge stop sign. Before his vacation, the president gave us a speech about the jobs speech. The American people don't need speeches. They need jobs.
Well, it's 14 minutes past the hour now. When tornadoes ripped through Alabama in April, the university there was for the most part, spared. But the community around the university was pretty much devastated. We'll tell you how the school's football team, University of Alabama is trying to rally Tuscaloosa.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 16 minutes past the hour.
And these people don't play in the SEC, all right? What you're seeing there, this is not too far from us in Downtown Atlanta where some of the Georgia fans already set up and you can bet they are already barbecuing and partaking in a few beverages at 6:14 in the morning, because they're getting ready for the start of the football season. It's the first Saturday of the Georgia Bulldogs taking on the fifth ranked Boise State Broncos today at the Georgia Dome.
Big game today, but it's a big weekend. College football and the University of Alabama will be returning to the field today as well. This is the first major event in Tuscaloosa since that devastating tornado destroyed parts of the city. That was in April. Students and athletes hoping the return of football will help that city heal.
Our Reynolds Wolf is in Tuscaloosa.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, T.J., it is game day here at the University of Alabama. We're outside Bryant-Denny Stadium, which is really the epicenter of college football if you're a fan of the Crimson Tide.
And many people that are going to be coming here, in excess of 100,000 people in this stadium alone are going to be making the way towards the campus. You know, the campus was relatively fortunately (ph) unscathed in terms of the tornado.
But many of the ways getting to the campus, especially along McFarland Boulevard, people for the very first time since last season are going to see some of the areas of devastation. Some places that are now completely cleared out where there used to be some neighborhoods or there used to be stores. All of that is gone. But they will get here and for a few hours - just a few hours they're going to get a chance to think of something else other than the devastation that we see here really months ago.
We spoke with some of the students and certainly some of the people that call this community home recently and they can't wait to tee it up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAREY FOUNTAIN, SOPHOMORE, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: I think the game is pretty important, because, you know, the team is going to have to come out and show the community that even through the tornado and through everything that we can still come together for a good cause and a good game of football.
ERIC FERGUSON, TUSCALOOSA RESIDENT: Everybody that usually comes in for games that hasn't seen it yet is going to come back in and realize exactly what happened. So they're going to see it and everybody is going to, you know, just be together once again for what this town is basically built around, is built around (ph) football.
PATRICK FOWLER, TUSCALOOSA RESIDENT: I think it is a big deal, because it gives us something, you know, to take our mind off what we have to see every day when driving home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: One of the touching things about this contest it doesn't deal with just Alabama, but with the opponent Kent State. Kent State football players were actually in the community before the event and helped out with Crimson Tide players to help rebuild parts of the community. Certainly, good sportsmanship besides of also being good people.
Let's send it back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Reynolds Wolf. We go from that maybe our feel-good story about football to this one. This one will have you shaking your head. Take a look at the screen here. This was happening in Florida. This was on Thursday.
I want you to keep in mind this is a Youth League football game that got ugly. You can see things, people going back and forth. The coaches and players, some people didn't appreciate the call the referee made.
Now, this is when things get crazy. All right. The coach gets kicked out of the game for arguing with the referee. And then this ensues. And you see that? The referee was taking out - taken out by one of the players.
Again, folks, we're talking about a Youth League game. You see that. He goes in full pads at the referee and takes him down. I emphasize this is Youth League. These kids are not anymore than 14 years old.
Well, now, at least four people associated with the Sarasota Gators Football Team, are being charged. Two referees were attacked in this incident. Now, the one you see taken out right there, he was punched and kicked on the bottom of a pile there for a little while. But he was able to get up and run away and get out of there. But, again, at least four people charged in connection with this incident.
Let's turn now to Italy in the middle right now of a major debt crisis. So what does the mayor of one small Italian town plan to do? Starts printing his own money. That story is next on our "Morning's Passport."
It's 20 past the hour. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 23 minutes past the hour now. Say good morning to Nadia Bilchik for this "Morning's Passport."
And, you know, this is probably something we've all thought about a time or two, just print my own money.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, wouldn't that be nice?
HOLMES: Let's print our own money. But we can't do, can you? Especially if you're a city.
BILCHIK: Well, who knows? Because here in Filettino, Italy, which is about 65 miles from Rome, what's happening is the mayor, Luca Sellari, is desperately upset mainly because the austerity measures that are happening with the government.
So he is saying why don't we print our own money, because at the end of the day, I would like to create an independent state and a monarchy. And guess who's going to be the monarch?
HOLMES: Would it be him?
BILCHIK: It would be him. HOLMES: Of course it was.
BILCHIK: He said everybody wants to be a prince. But it's actually a more serious issue, because what the government is saying small towns like this that have under 1,000 people, the government says let's merge them so we'll have one mayor for every two towns.
Well, the small towns are up in arms. And there are about 1,963 small towns in Italy like this. So they're going to be affected by these austerity measures. Also, interesting is some of them who have under a thousand are taking in Libyan refugees -
HOLMES: Wow.
BILCHIK: -- and going let's get our numbers up so that we don't have to share mayors and share resources.
HOLMES: OK. Is this a matter of - is it a financial consideration here when not wanting to merge or they wanting to hold on to their own identities of the town?
BILCHIK: It's both.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: It's both. It's a sense of Italy is made up these little towns which is part of our history. Now, they're suggesting we merge.
So this particular mayor is going, well, let's print our own money. Let's have our own Coat of Arms and let's create something like San Marino. Because San Marino in Italy is a little town, which is the oldest surviving state and not in debt, and, in fact, independent of Italy.
HOLMES: OK. Who's this on - that's their currency? Is that - is that -
BILCHIK: That is the currency and there he is.
HOLMES: Who is this guy? Come on.
BILCHIK: This is Luca Sellari, the man. I will tell you. I spoke to him yesterday and he is very lucid and very sane. And actually quite furious about what's happening. And the mayors of these various towns on Monday are banding together and are going to protest these austerity measures. And it's having some impact.
So we may see that what's he's doing by printing his money, you're going to ask how legal is it really? Well, of course, it's questionable, but apparently some towns people are using it.
HOLMES: OK -
BILCHIK: Whether it's symbolic or real, the fact is it's happening.
HOLMES: -- you can only use it around town. Clearly, it's not good anywhere else but still is he for real here or trying to make a grander point to the government?
BILCHIK: I think he thinks he's totally real.
HOLMES: He can do this, huh?
BILCHIK: But at the end of the day, it is symbolic. What he's saying is we do not want to be at the mercy of these austerity measures.
HOLMES: All right.
BILCHIK: So one brave mayor and one narcissistic mayor, perhaps.
HOLMES: Put your face on your own money in your town. That's pretty narcissistic.
Thank you. Next, we're going to see you again in the 8:00 hour. So we look forward to that as always.
Are you a pizza fan?
BILCHIK: I am a great pizza fan, but it's got to be very thin crust.
HOLMES: Are you a Domino's or you have a special place where you eat pizza?
BILCHIK: I like to be non-denominational when it comes to my pizza, as long as it's very thin, thin crust.
HOLMES: Thin crust. All right. Well, Domino's does have thin crust. And now they have some big plans, not necessarily for what kind of pizza they're going to make, but where they're going to make it.
This is for real, folks. Look at your screen. They reportedly now want to make pizza on the moon. I know you think this is a joke, but they put a lot of money and effort and hired firms and artists to put this together.
This is the Japanese arm of the global pizza chain Domino's. And they have the plans to build a restaurant. Now, these are artist renditions you're seeing here and they are envisioning a domed-shaped building of at least two stories tall. They are made of 70 tons of concrete and other construction the builders hope to use mineral deposits from the moon to keep costs down. Staff would be required to live on the premises and the project would cost about $22 billion.
Now, a lot of people just think this is some kind of a publicity stunt and get some attention worked up, which it has. But they stand by it as, hey, we envisioned somewhere in the future that human beings will be living on the moon, we'll be traveling to the moon. And, yes, we want to put us a Domino's on the moon. It doesn't hurt to be prepared.
Now, we're at the bottom of the hour. Coming up on the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, and comedienne Katt Williams, yes, we got another comedienne who is apologizing for a controversial rant at a show. This one was in Phoenix. We'll tell you exactly who he offended and what he is saying this morning. That's coming up. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Glad you could spend time with us on this holiday weekend wherever you may be. Glad you are right here.
We do have this tropical storm that is going to cause fits for some people who were hoping to have a good holiday weekend. You see it there, Tropical Storm Lee. It is a mess right now. It is headed through the Gulf of Mexico right now. It is all along the Gulf Coast, starting to cause some issues already. And our Ed Lavandera is in New Orleans for us, where they are preparing for the flooding that is expected to come with this storm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (On camera): Much of the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast are bracing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Lee. Emergency warnings have been sent out all along the Gulf Coast region here in these two states. Emergency shelters have been opened up. This is a tropical storm that will probably not bring very damaging winds, but the concern is the amount of rain that it will be bringing. Tropical Storm Lee is moving at about 2 miles per hour. This is a very slow-moving storm. Think about it, 2 miles per hour, most people walk faster than that. This is a storm that will dump a lot of rain in a short period of time.
The worst of the storm is expected to make landfall Saturday afternoon here along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Here in New Orleans, they anticipate that perhaps it could bring as much as 20 inches of rain in other parts of Mississippi and the Louisiana Gulf Coast, it could bring as much as 12 inches of rain, in some places. So, the main concern here will be flash flooding. A lot of warnings urging people to be aware of waterways and roadways that are filled with water. Obviously, after Hurricane Irene and the number of deaths that were caused by those flood waters, that will be a very big concern here as well.
This will be a slow-moving tropical storm that will be bringing much- needed rain to the area. It will certainly take up most of this Labor Day weekend. Ed Lavandera reporting from New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Let's get a look at some of the stories making headlines.
The government is suing 17 major banks for selling billions of dollars worth of mortgage back securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The federal housing finance agency that oversees the market filed a lawsuit yesterday. The agency claims numerous financial firms, including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs mislead investors about the quality of those loans. Those investments when bad when the housing market crashed. Bank of America said that Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac said they understood the risks of investing in sub-prime securities. > Also, you remember all of that talk about the super committee that was created during the debt ceiling talks last month. That 12-member bi- partisan panel starts work next Thursday on finding an extra $1.15 trillion in savings over the next decade. The group must propose cuts by November 23rd, and vote on them a month later. If Congress cannot agree, automatic cuts will be made to defense and entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
House Republican Joe Walsh is back tracking a bit, at least, after he called President Obama idiotic. Walsh made the comment earlier this week, while criticizing the president for holding a joint session of Congress for his job speech. The Illinois Congressman was on CNN's "THE SITUATION ROOM" Friday. Would you call this an apology?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE WALSH, (R) ILLINOIS: I apologize for that. That was absolutely stepping over the line. I apologized. What I meant to say, and I did not say it artfully is, the notion of him using his office to call a joint session of Congress to just repackage a few old jobs ideas -- that to me is idiotic. He is not an idiot. He is the president of the free world.
But I don't want Congress to be a pawn, again, to just be a prop in this political theater of his.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, so did you get that folks The president himself is not idiotic, but what he is doing is idiotic. Apology accepted, I'm sure, from the president. Walsh says he is skipping out on the president's speech next week. The president will outline his jobs plan to Congress on Thursday.
We have another comedian apologizing for a rant during a show. This time we are talking about Katt Williams. No stranger, really, to controversy, but he is apologizing for an anti-Mexican rant during a comedy show in Phoenix last weekend. Take a listen to some of what got him in trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATT WILLIAMS, STAND UP COMEDIAN: You think I'm dissing Mexico and I'm defending America. Are you Mexican? (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Do you know where Mexico is? This ain't Mexico.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Mexico!
WILLIAMS: No, this ain't Mexico. It used to be Mexico. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Now it's Phoenix. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(APPLAUSE)
USA! USA!
(APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Williams as you could tell there, was responding to someone in the crowd. A heckler who claimed to be Mexican, now he did not stop there. This actually went on for some 10 minutes. We are just giving you a taste of it here. Here is another bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Do you remember when white people used to say "Go back to Africa." and we had to tell them we don't want to. So if you love Mexico, get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over there. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) We were slaves (EXPLETIVE DELETED), ya'll just work like that for landscapers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, later, Williams would issue an apology. Part of it says, quote, "My remarks were not meant to be offensive. I want to apologize if my comedy act was taken out of context. I sincerely appreciate my fans within the Mexican community. I would never intentionally go out of my way to offend them."
Well, coming up this morning, 10:00 o'clock Eastern Time, you will hear from Katt Williams. Live, right here, he will be joining me. We will hear more about this incident. What he says he is apologizing for and what that heckler said that set him off. Again, that is 10:00 Eastern Time. Katt Williams joining me here, live.
Something else I want you to look at this morning. It is a page from a coloring book. A coloring book where children can color in, yes, the smoking twin towers. Would you want your children coloring this image? Is this the way you want your children to learn about the events of September 11th? One publisher who put out this coloring book out says this is the way to go. He is joining me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 40 minutes past the hour now.
We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. And, of course, it is never easy to explain to children exactly what happened that day. I want you to see now a new addition of the story line of those awful events. It is a coloring book. Take a look at your screen. It is "We Shall Never Forget 9/11." Try to get that up for you in just a second.
It is generating a lot of controversy, especially in the Muslim community. I'll give you a reason why, I'll give you one quote from the book. Again, this is a coloring book. It says, "These attacks will change the way America deals with and views Islamic and Muslim people around the world." Again, a direct quote, there. Another one I can share with you, says, "Children the truth is these terrorists acts were done by the freedom-hating, radical Islamic Muslim terrorists." Again, direct quotes I'm taking from you there. Also, parents, would you want your kids coloring the types of images the drawing of a soldier shooting Osama bin Laden? A lot of people are upset about the pictures and the messages in the coloring book. But the publisher stands by it. His name is Wayne Bell. He joins me this morning.
Mr. Bell, thank you so much.
WAYNE BELL, PUBLISHER, "WE SHALL NEVER FORGET 9/11": Good morning. How are you, T.J.?
HOLMES: I'm all right. I hope you are doing all right, as well. This has a lot of people talking. First of all, what age is this book targeted at?
BELL: This is a graphic coloring novel. It is not an actual coloring book. It is a novel. It has a lot of words in it, a lot of paragraphs. It is designed for children about 10, 11, 12 and up. It carries a PG rating. And it is a book rooted in realism. This is not a fantasy. The images and pages and the drawings you see in the actual book, itself, are all based on real photographs and real pictures from different places.
HOLMES: OK, we know we don't have a real photograph of a soldier shooting Osama bin Laden with a woman in a hijab right in front. So that image, you didn't take that from some real picture.
BELL: Well, whenever NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN, when everyone was running their graphics and their videos, they basically ran the same type of information. That is where we got that page from. Still yet, it is a graphic image we got from the national media. That is why we put that in the book as is.
HOLMES: We are showing it. I think I heard you right, kids as young as 8, correct?
BELL: Yes. It is parental guidance.
HOLMES: Parental guidance? This is up to a parent.
BELL: That's correct.
HOLMES: But why an image-
BELL: The only place-
HOLMES: Go ahead.
BELL: The only place that the book is actually for sale is at Coloringbook.com.
HOLMES: On the Web site.
BELL: You will not find this on shelves. On the Web site, Coloringbook.com. If parents want it, they will buy it. HOLMES: OK, yes, sir, but why would you think it is OK, for child, eight years old -- it is up to a parent, you are right. But to be coloring in a bullet heading toward for Osama bin Laden?
BELL: I'll tell you right now. This is a letter from a group of people at ground zero. This man who wrote the letter, his name is Wade, these are firefighters, these are paramedics. They say from someone who has lost friends and loved ones and part of himself that will never come back, thank you so much for keeping the memory of the heroes and victims who perished on 9/11 alive. Many of the children who will be using your book will be too young to remember that terrible day. I'll never forget. I lost friends that day.
HOLMES: Sir, I will give you that.
(CROSS TALK)
You probably have some thank yous. I know you do. I don't have enough time to read the comments, sir. I don't have time to read all of the comments from people saying what the hell is this guy thinking? There are different opinions.
BELL: I'm sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear you.
HOLMES: I'm saying that I don't have time to read all of the comments on the other side saying what in the world is this person thinking.
BELL: OK, gotcha. Look, T.J., it's like this.
HOLMES: Stay with me for a second, sir. I will let you speak here. The question here is one thing is about the images. Kids coloring in a smoldering towers. People have issue with that. But also some of the Muslim community say you always refer to Muslims as extremists. You don't make any distinction between the two. For an impressionable child you are trying to teach about 9/11, you are giving the wrong image.
(CROSS TALK)
(LAUGHTER)
BELL: Slow down a little bit and I'll answer your question.
HOLMES: Go ahead, go ahead, go right ahead.
BELL: What we talk about is a 12-hour period here.
HOLMES: 12 hour period, OK?
BELL: About 19 hijackers in a 12-hour period. We talk about Osama dreaming up the dream that he is going to go and bomb America. He does. We describe these events. We culminate the 19 pages with a navy SEAL shooting at Osama bin Laden. If you watched the National Geographic, the program that is on there, that is much more graphic than anything in the book. The book is very simplistic, it is in black and white. Our company is super sensitive to minorities, to the needs of minorities. We publish hundreds, like the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation book here in St. Louis. Andre Blatch's (ph) book for an even with Michelle Obama later this week. This book right here we sell right across the street from you in the Martin Luther king Center in the gift shop.
Our company-and everybody knows who this man is-I mean, our company is super sensitive when it comes to minorities. And what we make, T.J., is based in realism. This is not comic art, it is not fantasy art, it is realistic art that parents and teachers and educators will use to teach a lesson to children. If you don't like the truth, don't buy the book. That is what parents tell us.
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: Listening to you-
BELL: We did a lot of research on this with firefighters, with educators, with professors and psychiatrists-a lot of research. What people told us said do not candy coat the truth. Do not issue a politically correct piece of literature. People are sick of that. People want the absolute, unadulterated truth. And, T.J., that is what we gave them. I know it is painful and it is hard to look at.
HOLMES: Sir, sir, It sounds like you do have -
(CROSS TALK)
BELL: It is the truth.
HOLMES: Sir, it does sound like, and I'm going to put words in your mouth. But sir, do you not think this book, to an impressionable eight-year-old child gives an impression that stops-
(CROSS TALK) -
BELL: If you are sitting with-
HOLMES: Sir, listen, come on now, I let you speak. Just listen to the question.
BELL: OK.
HOLMES: Do you not think it gives an improper impression of Muslims in this country or around the world, when all a child sees and knows of the book is extremists and Muslims killed people and burned the towers and that is all you say is Muslims, is that they are extremists? Is that not an issue for the book?
BELL: T.J., when CNN ran the story on 9/11, what do you think kids thought about that? It is the same question to you at CNN. This is the small book. That is designed for -
HOLMES: We make a distinction, sir. There is a distinction.
(CROSS TALK)
BELL: parents and educators. We do, too. We don't talk about the Muslim faith. We don't talk about Islam. We talk about nine hijackers who happened to be Muslim. That is all there is to it. It is the truth. It is factual. We cannot back away from the truth. That's all there is to it. There is nothing in this book offensive. We had hundreds of people look at this book. Now, I know there are certain organizations and groups that would like to use this as some type of an educational platform to further their goals. That's fine. I understand everybody has their own mission. T.J., there is simply nothing wrong with this book.
HOLMES: Sir, did, did you have a mission?
BELL: It simply tells the truth, as it lays.
HOLMES: Do you have a mission, sir? You don't have any issue with Muslim Americans and you certainly make the distinction between Muslim Americans in this country?
BELL: Sir, we have Muslim Americans that are selling our books right here in St. Louis today on the street.
HOLMES: I'm asking you personally. I'm just making sure because people might get the impression listening to you. I'm giving you a chance to make sure you clear it up. You make a distinction yourself personally, don't you?
BELL: T.J., I have Muslims in my family. I have Muslims in my family. I haven't exposed any of their names or anything else. I have Muslims in my family. You can't paint me as a racist or a bigot or liar or thief or anything else. It is absolutely true what we put in this book.
HOLMES: Oh, yes, sir, I'm certainly not painting you.
(CROSS TALK)
BELL: It is the truth.
HOLMES: I want to make sure you don't get the impression that I am. I'm giving you the chance to make the distinction. You may have Muslims in the family, I don't know who those folks might be.
BELL: We talk about 19 hijackers and that's it.
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: Sir, one thing. Before I let you go on this point. You do clearly and personally make the distinction between the Muslim American community and 19 hijackers, or Muslim extremists? Is that correct?
BELL: We don't talk about the Muslim-American community, T.J. That is not what this book is about.
HOLMES: No, I'm asking you a personal question, sir.
BELL: OK, ask me again, please. It is hard to hear over you yelling at me.
HOLMES: In your personal views, sir, you do make a distinction between the Muslim-American community and peaceful Muslims and Muslims who love this country and Muslim extremists who attack this country? You do make the distinction?
BELL: We get phone calls and letters from Muslims on a daily basis. About how great this book is. I got just got one 10 minutes ago from the United Kingdom. We are not talking about the Muslim-American community. There is a distinction between what is in this book and the Muslim-American community. There is no comparison. And no matter how hard you try, you cannot mix the two together. This book is about 9/11. That is all it's about.
Did I make myself clear that time?
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: Sir, I was just asking you as a person question. I was making sure, sir. Because we don't want to paint you that way.
BELL: Yes.
HOLMES: And the people watching we want to make sure that they understand, you might have put out this book. But I wanted to give you a chance to say clearly.
BELL: Oh, no we didn't kinda put it out. We did put it out. It is out there.
HOLMES: No, sir-
BELL: I looked on the Web page this morning; 143 countries have bought this book around the world.
HOLMES: Mr. Bell-Mr. Bell, I just wanted you-
BELL: This book goes to the heart of people.
HOLMES: Mr. Bell, I just wanted you the opportunity to make sure your could day your personal views that you don't think all Muslims are the way this book is and you have no problem with the Muslim-American people in this country.
BELL: I have no problem with the Muslim faith. I have no problems with Muslim people. None whatsoever, period. That is not the deal here. If anybody says that, they are being disingenuous and duplicitous, period.
HOLMES: Well, I wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to say that.
BELL: I'm a publisher that publishes coloring books for America. HOLMES: I wanted to make sure.
BELL: And Canada, and England.
HOLMES: Wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to make sure that people cleared that up. Because, you know, it has sparked some controversy and people have words for you.
BELL: T.J., there is no doubt in my mind-
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: Just wanted to give you that opportunity.
BELL: There are a lot of people out there that are very angry about this book. We are sensitive to that fact. We asked the Muslim community to participate in the making of this book before we made it. We got very little participation. But a couple of select individuals decided they would make this their platform. I respect them for who they are. Nobody can deny the truth. They cannot take this away from America and take out of the minds of Americans what really happened.
HOLMES: Well, Mr. Bell, we will let the-
BELL: That is all this book is about.
HOLMES: We absolutely let-
BELL: It is not about American Muslims. It is not about the Muslim faith.
HOLMES: We will let you have your take say. And certainly people will have theirs as well. We appreciate you do, we really do appreciate you taking the time this morning.
BELL: T.J., invite me back when we make our next book and we can discuss that one, too.
HOLMES: All right. I can't wait.
BELL: I might make a book on you, and Don Lemon.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Mr. Bell, you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend. We are getting close to the top of the hour.
BELL: Thank you, sir. Have a great holiday.
HOLMES: That comic book publisher you are hearing form there. That is someone who has a different approach to the 9/11 anniversary. A children's safety advocate is going to join us next. He actually put out something in response to the 9/11 coloring book. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
All right. We are getting close to the top of the hour.
Before the break, we introduced you to coloring book publisher Wayne Bell. He says he stands by his book, "We Shall Never Forget 9/11". The book has pictures of the Twin Towers burning and other controversial images for children to color.
Let me bring in Alonzo Washington. He is a long-time Kansas City child safety advocate. And in response to the "We Shall Never Forget" coloring book, Alonzo made what he says is a more appropriate poster for children on the anniversary of 9/11. You are seeing it there.
Let me bring in Mr. Washington now.
Alonzo, I don't know if you were able to hear the interview. Were you able to hear Mr. Bell a second ago?
ALONZO WASHINGTON, CHILD SAFETY ADVOCATE: Yes, I heard him.
HOLMES: Well, what do you think about his explanation?
WASHINGTON: Well, first, let me say I didn't make this poster in response to his coloring book. I made this when September 11th first took place. First I gave it away to kids and schools because I go in actually trying to help children. It was so popular, people started requesting it. So, it became a regular thing that people ordered.
In response to him, I never shy away from controversy. I don't think this guy is being 100 percent honest in his presentation. Because, you know, parental guidance. That is what "PG" means. A coloring book should never have "PG" on it. I think this guy is pretty much dealing with this issue and what he is doing is making something that is very controversial so the press will cover it. There is a certain faction of people that will buy that. That is really what I think it is.
I don't have a problem with putting that out there. However, you know, we know that 8-year-olds don't know what a Muslim is. We know most don't know what a Christian is. They just grow up hearing it. And if it is your first time being introduced to Islam and you hear radical Muslim, you are going to get the perspective that most Muslims are like that. He is pretty much aware of that.
HOLMES: All right. Sir, he called it, or he got around to the coloring book part of it, at least. He called it a graphic novel. It does have a lot of writing in it with pictures to go along for kids to color.
WASHINGTON: But you see, I'm a comic book publisher.
HOLMES: Yeah?
WASHINGTON: And graphic novels are comic books for adults to read. So pretty much he is kind of playing with words there. This is probably is the first graphic novel that you color in history. So, he pretty much just threw that on there to make it sound OK. But if it is a coloring book, you know it is for children. HOLMES: Last thing, to wrap up, you know this is the first time a child has been exposed to a faith and Muslims and they hear extremists and Islamic jihadists, and all of this, that would be bad for the children. But what other effects could it have of you pulling out the color gray and coloring in the burning twin towers? What other effect could this have on a child?
WASHINGTON: It could promote fear and negativity. That is why with my poster, I had something a little more holistic. It has all races and religions. It was multi-cultural. It was telling kids how to report terrorism, how they can give blood to help America. And to not let the terrorists win. Terrorists want to divide us. This is a nation where all people of all races and faith can come together. That is what my poster is about. If you are interested in it, you can go to omegaseven.com.
HOLMES: Omegaseven.com, Alonzo, we appreciate you this morning. This has a lot of people's attention. We are getting a lot of feedback on it. We thank you so much for your perspective. You enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.
WASHINGTON: You, too, Mr. Holmes.
HOLMES: To our viewers, here, another picture for you to look at. Can you make out what's in this picture? Is that really a shark's tail sticking out of that wave surrounded by a bunch of surfers? We're going "X Country" for this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. I want you to take a look at this picture from San Diego. Is that really a shark's tail fin right there in the surf? This shark is surrounded by surfers who may or may not have known it was there. It is believed to be a 10 to 12 foot Great White shark. Beaches in San Diego have been closed on and off this week because of shark sightings.
We are getting close to the top of the hour. We are going to reset this thing for you. Get ready for Tropical Storm Lee. They are trying to get ready right now, but nobody is exactly sure what this thing is going to do. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
