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CNN Saturday Morning News

Tropical Storm Watch; Quote Controversy; Debit Card Dilemma

Aired September 03, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning. We are at the top of the hour.

We have a slow-moving tropical storm that is dumping more than a foot of water on the Gulf Coast already. States of emergency have been declared and tropical storm warnings have been in place along the Gulf Coast.

Also this morning, Dr. Maya Angelou -- well, she is not happy. She is not happy at all about the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, D.C. She wants it changed already. She thinks part of the exhibit makes Dr. King look like, and I quote, "an arrogant twit."

My conversation with her is coming up.

Also, you use your debit card at the gas station or restaurants? You shouldn't be. Coming up this hour when Clyde Anderson explains number of places that debit card should not be used.

Thanks for being with us on this Saturday, September 3rd. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Let me get you started with the tropical storm. It is churning right now in the Gulf of Mexico. We have seen several states of emergency already put into effect. Mississippi and Louisiana trying to get their ducks in a row right now, they know this water is likely going to start rising.

Look at what they are doing on Grand Isle, Louisiana. The rain is already there. They are getting rain for more. I talked to Rupert Lacy, the emergency director for Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi. I asked if people were ready to get out of there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUPERT LACY, EMERGENCY DIRECTOR FOR GULFPORT AND BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI (via telephone): Of course, they are. We are in the process of rebuilding after Katrina. One of the misfortunes is that in some of our lower lying areas of or county, people have not built back right back in paradise along the water. But we've 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 talked to us about the standing water. And if we have to, we are ready to pull the trigger and open up a shelter. But, you know, we still have a little bit of time so people can prepare their homes before we have to open up the shelter building for them to seek shelter from the wind and then, of course, higher rains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Let's say good morning again to Alexandra Steele with us this weekend watching this storm.

And our Ed Lavandera put it in good terms a little while ago. This thing is so slow moving. It's two or three miles an hour. Most people walk faster than that.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. I heard them say that.

HOLMES: That's a great way to put it.

STEELE: It is. And it really gives you a perspective. The slower it is, of course, the more unfortunate it is because the dousing and drenching rain, that really will be the calling card with this one as well.

Also, T.J., another good point is that, financially, and also kind of just how they feel in the Gulf Coast after, of course, that oil spill. This was their chance to get back financially and mentally, and this big huge holiday weekend. So, really, that is unfortunate, kind of worst timing of all.

Let's talk about this one more time. I want to show you what we are seeing in terms of where this is and the biggest problems with this. Once again, it is the flooding and flash flooding.

So, here it is. Tropical storm Lee. Here is the Gulf of Mexico. Here's the center of circulation. It's getting its mojo back a little bit. It's been really poorly organized.

One thing you'll notice here in the reds and purples, that's all the convections where the heaviest rains are, two to three inches an hour, which will fall here, maybe around I-10. It's all concentrated on the eastern side of this. Maximum sustained winds now at 50 miles an hour.

This really won't be a wind event, per se. We will have 50-mile-an- hour winds, but we are expecting 10, even to 20 inches of rain potentially.

Here's the current radar. Already right now in New Orleans, and this thing just kind of beginning to bring about 3 1/2 inches of rain right now. Again, we're expecting two to three inches an hour. We won't see the rain let up in this area until really on Monday. So, a deluge of a weekend and certainly wash out.

What this means tornado watches. The potential of tornado certainly do occur quite often with hurricanes. And we are seeing that. We've had hurricane and tornado warnings here. But, again, this tornado watch posted until 10:00 local time.

Again, they are quick. They spin up. And they're really not that dangerous, but we have seen them and we'll continue to see them.

All right. In terms of the bigger picture, what we're going to see where the rain is. Here's this white, again 10 inches potentially. And all this rain especially concentrated on the I-10 Gulf Coast. Big time difference is what's happening in the Northeast and the Midwest. T.J., we'll talk about the big picture around the country this holiday weekend, coming up.

HOLMES: All right. Alexandra, it's always good to have you here with us. We'll talk to you again here shortly.

It is the Labor Day weekend. You probably got plans with your family. But, you know, this weekend is all about politics. That way pretty much every year, the Republican presidential candidates taking advantage of this weekend. They are spread out all across the early voting states -- New Hampshire and Iowa, to name a few.

Also in Iowa today, that lady, Sarah Palin. She is speaking at a major Tea Party rally in just a few hours. We'll be talking more about her appearance and the question everybody has. Will she or won't she run? Again, that conversation is just a little later in the show.

Also overseas now, the United Nations sending a team to Libya to deliver humanitarian aide and assess the future needs of the country. They were welcomed by the new Transitional Council there. One of the biggest problems facing Libya at this moment, shortage of strong excuse me -- of clean drinking water.

Also, a travel alert in place from the federal government as the tenth 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 there are no specific threats.

And new airport scanner software being rolled out across the U.S. you're seeing video here of it from DFW. This is in Dallas. The scanners will now take a less detailed picture of you. It's just an outline of you, really, as you can see in some of these pictures. And both you and the screener will be able to see the photos.

TSA announced this rollout back in July.

But how is $3.66 sound to you? That is now the average you are paying for a gallon of gas as you head out for the Labor Day weekend. That's about a nickel over last week. Actually few cents less than you were paying last month.

And the high price of gas is maybe expected to keep more people at home this weekend. AAA says close to 32 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles this weekend. That number though, that's about a million less than travelled on this holiday weekend last year.

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HOLMES: We were bringing you this horrific video and story just a couple of weekends ago.

This is the stage collapse at the Indiana state fair. Well, the state attorney general's office now saying that 14 people are planning to sue over the incident. Seven people were killed and more than 40 others injured. The stage came down during a wind storm. Investigators now are trying to determine whether or not that stage was as strong as it should have been.

Well, you know, the new memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. finally opened in Washington, D.C. And some folks are criticizing it. In particular, a quotation inscribed on the side of the 30-foot sculpture of Dr. King. Well, it's supposed to be a quotation, but actually, it's paraphrased.

And Dr. Maya Angelou has a problem with that. She says it needs to be changed. Hear my conversation with her coming up, next.

It's 10 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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

The Washington Memorial that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is up already. It's being criticized. You know, it just opened few weeks ago.

But it's being criticized not just by anybody, by a respected African- American author. "The Washington Post" quoting Dr. Maya Angelou as saying an inscription on the side of the 30-foot statue makes King look like, quote, "an arrogant twit." Now, the aggravated quote, this is what it says, all right? It says, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."

Now, that's kind of paraphrasing it. This is actually -- taken from a prophetic sermon he gave at Ebenezer Baptist here in Atlanta. And He did it two months before his assassination where he was suggesting a eulogy upon his death.

Now, let me tell you what he actually said. Take a look. You can read it on the screen and listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS ICON: Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: That's my favorite MLK writing, the drum major, the sermon that he gave. Still every time you hear it, it gives you chills. And Dr. Angelou wants the inscription changed because it doesn't accurately reflect what he was saying.

Now, I spoke with her about the quote and why it is so important that it should be changed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MAYA ANGELOU (via telephone): It is said that speech is the mirror of a man's soul. And certainly it was for Martin Luther King. Each word he spoke was chosen carefully. You can read back long before the "I Have A Dream" speech and you can hear that he was very careful in his selection of the words he wanted to use to express his thought, to express his desires.

In this case, in the case of the statement on the sculpture as it stands now, that is not an apt reportage of what Dr. King said. It's an edited statement of Reverend King.

HOLMES: It sounds like I'm hearing from you that you absolutely think it should be changed no matter what. But will you never been satisfied if they let it stand the way it is?

ANGELOU: My desire to have it changed is for the honesty, the reality of the man Martin Luther King -- so that he can be seen as he really was.

I'm not expecting a great role of sentiment for everyone in the country say, "Change it. Change it." I don't expect that. If there is enough -- if there are enough people who would like to see it change, I don't know what the artist will do. He may say I have spoken. And he has the authority to say that.

HOLMES: You have been very complementary of the monument. And you say it stands for itself, this whole memorial. But any other issues you take with it after it was finally unveiled?

ANGELOU: No, I don't. I tell you what I do think is that there is a ground swell of excitement around the country. I have been traveling a lot around the country in all sorts of communities, white and black and Asian and Spanish speaking communities about the memorial. And that's exciting.

Sometimes we only come together as Americans when we have been assaulted. But the September 11th, whether we are at war, a visible war -- it's a wonderful thing to come together for a positive reason.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. So what will happen now to that inscription? Well, the folks who put that together said there was not room actually on the statue for the entire quote. They had to make a last-minute change and decided to put that inscription on that side. So, they had to do a little switching around. And when they decided to that, there wasn't enough room on the side for the whole thing. That's why it had to be paraphrased and shortened. And they say the inscription will not be changed. We're at 18 minutes past the hour now. You go to a restaurant. You go to a gas station. When you pay, there's a good chance you pull out that debit card, quick and convenient, right?

But according to creditcards.com, those are two places you should not use your debit card. Gas stations and restaurants. It's not the only thing on the list. Look at this -- if you are making a big expensive purchase, don't use the debit card. If you are a first time customer in the store, online, don't use a debit card. If you buy something that needs to be delivered, don't use the debit card. Use your credit card instead.

We are just getting started on this list. Clyde Anderson is here and I hope he's got a pocketful of cash because if we can't use the debit card, what are we supposed to do, Clyde? He'll explain all the places and why you should not be using that debit card. He is next.

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HOLMES: All right. Twenty-two minutes past the hour.

This is just the beginning of the list we were showing you here. This is the list of places you should not use your debit card. You see restaurants and gas stations on there.

Clyde Anderson, our financial analyst, is here to help me with this. We've got more to show you here in a second. But you've got to help me understand.

CLYDE ANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

HOLMES: Restaurant and gas stations -- those are the two places I use the debit card all the time. You tell me I shouldn't. Why not?

ANDERSON: Well, when I say restaurants, a lot of restaurants, they take that card away and you don't see it, you don't know where it's going. And so, they are gone. They got your number.

HOLMES: That's why you're saying.

ANDERSON: Exactly. So, you want to have some sort of control. And you lose some of that control when you give them that debit card to go ahead and go away and do what they have to do.

HOLMES: OK. But when they go away with your credit card, at least you have more protections in place and possibly challenge --

ANDERSON: Exactly.

HOLMES: Well, what about a gas station?

ANDERSON: Well, gas station, and the reason I say gas stations because a lot of gas stations have these ATMs, these convenient ATM machines that a lot of people use. Those are the ones I'm really saying stay away from. You know, don't use those. Some of them look a little suspect. You don't want to do anything. Go to the bank. You don't want to use it where it's kind of s suspect.

HOLMES: You don't throw me off. It's not a matter of buying the gas.

ANDERSON: No, not a matter of buying the gas. Yes.

Now, on the other side, definitely. Now, when you think about it, when you're talking about gas, you don't have any recourse as well. And a lot are delayed debits and that's the reason I will say take a look at you. It doesn't come out immediately.

HOLMES: Give me the other places. And these might surprise people as well. But these are places we should not use the debit cards.

ANDERSON: Yes, well, for future purchases. You know, for things though that maybe you are buying something, they're going to deliver it to your home -- furniture or appliances. Things like that, you don't want to use your debit card. You want to use the credit card because you got more at the same time.

Because those things are not going to come until later. What if they don't come? You got to dispute it. You only got so many days after you make the purchase, really, about two days to really dispute that purchase. And so, if it's coming in five days, you really lose some of that.

HOLMES: So, why get rid of your money when you're not going to get the product.

ANDERSON: Exactly.

HOLMES: All right. What else you got.

ANDERSON: ATMs. We already talked about ATMs, a little suspect.

Also, hotels. Don't use your debit card, use a credit card, you know, because again, they're going to hold that money. They're going to put it to the side. And you definitely want to make sure that if you cancel the hotel reservation, you not only have that money just gone and it takes forever for that money to come back.

HOLMES: OK. Do we have this list? Can we put it up?

And you can keep going here, but we want to be able to show it to people as well. But what else?

ANDERSON: Well, we talked about future purchases. We talked about restaurants. We talked about convenience stores. As far as those ATMs that are kind of suspect.

And then you really want to make sure that these things that you know, the first time things that you never bought before. Reoccurring payments as well. So, if you got these auto debits, that's really popular nowadays, that people are doing auto-debits. They come out of your account automatically on a monthly basis.

You don't want to use your debit care for that. You know, that gives them too much power and too much control. We talked about it before where you can have a debit card that you actually put a certain amount of money on, as reserve cards, it's like prepaid, you know, whether it'd be a Visa or MasterCard logo, you want to have more control. You don't want to that out there.

HOLMES: Is that the same as giving the company your routing number? You know that time you had, that's what you're talking about you should not, people -- this is very popular.

ANDERSON: Exactly. It's very popular. And a lot of people do it. And it's automatic that they use the debit card and it's a lot easier, just to go ahead. I got my debit card. The money is here, we should use that.

You should not use that, use a credit card. And so, a lot of people, I hear it often, that people say, well, it's similar, you know, that I'm using this. But, really, you got two days to dispute it. And they'll cover you a lot of times up to $50. So, after that, you could be liable up to $500 when you're using that credit card.

HOLMES: Last thing here and do it in 15 seconds.

ANDERSON: Yes.

HOLMES: Where can I use my debit card?

ANDERSON: There are several places. You want to go to your bank, you know? If you use an ATM, definitely go to your bank, places that you trust, places that you use all the time, or you frequent all the time.

If you are buying something, make sure it's an immediate purchase. If I'm getting something like groceries, you know, that's a great place to use your debit card. You know, you are getting it right there. It's not like you're waiting for somebody to deliver it to you later.

HOLMES: All right. Debit card, all of my money on it. I can use it in two places. Very nice.

Clyde, good to see you as always.

Folks, we're getting close to the bottom of the hour. A quick break. We are right back.

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HOLMES: Well, as we approach the bottom of the hour, this is what's on the minds of people this holiday weekend along the Gulf Coast. And it's a shame really. So many people have plans for this weekend. The Gulf Coast is certainly trying to make up money from storms in the past when they are losing money. But this is not going to be the weekend to do it.

The tropical storm Lee right now is churning in the Gulf Coast. It has several states of emergency in place, expected to drop up to 20 inches of rain in some places. It is moving so slowly, that's the issue, two-to-three miles an hour. So, it's just going to sit there and dump rain. We have Alexandra Steele here with us. She will be following this for us throughout the morning on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

But, right now, it's time for the good doctor.