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CNN Saturday Morning News

NASA Satellite Hits Earth; GOP Candidates Competing; Ben & Jerry's Launches New Controversial Ice Cream Flavor; Lower Your Bills in 5 Easy Steps

Aired September 24, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's start this next hour, shall we, of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

I need all of you to look at your windows, check the backyard. You might have some space junk back there. NASA says its satellite came crashing back to earth in pieces. This happened several hours ago, but still, they're not exactly sure where it came crashing down.

Also this morning, another story you will not believe. Ben & Jerry's has come out with a new ice cream flavor. We're showing it to you but I'm trying to refrain from saying the name to you. It has a lot of people talking. You'll be talking about it this morning, as well.

And on Capitol Hill, live, gorgeous picture of the nation's capitol. Nobody is working there right now, however. Now, that's not necessarily unusual. Oftentimes, they take the weekend off. But this weekend is different because a week from today, the government is going to run out of money if Congress doesn't act. We'll tell you about the latest impasse.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Seven a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Memphis, 4:00 in Santa Monica, wherever you are, glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

And if you are with me this morning, congratulations, you were not clocked in the head last night by a piece of falling space debris. NASA's UARS satellite, it did come crashing down overnight as predicted. But also, they couldn't predict exactly where it was going to land. So, we still don't know where the stuff is.

They say it re-entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, but that's pretty much all we got right now. So, when I said check your backyard, literally you can check your backyard. It might be there.

We're trying to track it down. Here's some video from our affiliate in San Antonio. We do have pictures of it coming down.

Look at -- yes, I know. It's not that dramatic, it's a dot in the sky but we have several reports around the country and around the world people have pictures of what they think is this space junk falling down, but this could be that space junk. This could be somebody playing with the flashlight in the distance.

Reynolds, this is tricky. This is science, but it's not an exact science, in trying to figure out where this stuff is going to come down and they narrowed it down. I mean, for the past several days, they said, yes, it's going to come down somewhere, you know, on earth.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Well, one thing to consider -- when these things are re-entering the earth's atmosphere, it's not a serene, peaceful, quiet process. It's a very violent process, when these pieces of space junk coming through, you have to remember the space shuttle, or any kind spacecraft we've had that as it re-enters the earth's atmosphere, especially designed to handle the forces that will try to keep that out of the earth's atmosphere. So, as you re-enter, a lot of heat is generated, a lot of friction.

And there is always, again, just incredible warm-up of temperature on whatever thing comes through the atmosphere. That's the reason why much of this is going to break apart as it gets closer to the earth surface.

There are 26 pieces that were expected to survive. One of the reasons why they're expected to survive is some of the stuff that's made out of mainly titanium and stainless steel. Also the total impacting mass altogether is expected to be around 1,173 pounds. The original mass just over 12,000 so you see a lot of it will break up before it makes contact with the earth surface.

Now, as it comes down, the heaviest piece is expected to be around 350 pounds, nine pieces are expected to range anywhere from 55 to 130 pounds, 16 pieces less than 12 pounds. Now, where is it going to land? Again, it's anyone's guess.

They say it will re-enter right over parts of the Pacific Ocean. That really makes sense because the Pacific Ocean is the planet's largest geographical single feature. In fact, so big if you were to get all the land masses on the planet together, you would still be able to fit all of them in the space that make up the Pacific Ocean and still have lots of room left over.

So, again, very interesting to see what happens. We did have some video out of Hawaii. It was kind of interesting.

You know, T.J. showed you a speck a while ago in Hawaii, that you see a little bit of the smoking trail, almost looks like a contrail, it could be of a jet or anything. And whatever kind of video we get, it's going to be almost impossible to say for sure as to whether or not this is part of the debris from that satellite. In fact, I'll say it will be impossible to tell.

That is unless somebody makes its way on land and someone is able to recover that, and then you're able to send it to NASA. And NASA is able to determine as to whether or not it's part of the original space junk. But it still looks like for now, T.J., most of us escaped being as you said clocked in the noggin with the space debris.

HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, thank you. We'll check in with Reynolds plenty throughout this morning.

But at five minutes past the hour now -- if a piece of that satellite did somehow hit your house, your car, damage your property, you need to give NASA a call because they actually still own it. It's not some souvenir you can keep and they may want it back. It's actually against the law to sell it unless they give you the go-ahead.

Also, if something happened, just another piece of information there, if it happened to damage your home or property, NASA could owe you some money. As space.com reports the U.S. signed a pact in the '70s saying that whoever sent it up into space has to pay for it when it comes down.

Let's turn to politics now, shall we? And a week from today, the government will run out of money if Congress doesn't act. So, this weekend, they're taking the weekend off. Shutdown could come if to spending deal is reached before the end of the month.

Congress at an impasse right now. They're basically fighting over how much money to set aside for disaster relief. The Republican- controlled House approved a bill but Democrats weren't so sold on it. So, when they got over to the Democratically-controlled Senate, they voted to just set the bill aside for the time being.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

REP. MIKE SIMPSON (R), IDAHO: That's the danger to this country. It's the $14 trillion deficit and the $1.6 trillion we add to it every damn year.

REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Wake up. Wake up. You can't kill these programs. This is the solution you are killing.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HOLMES: So, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says both sides need time to cool off. That's why they're taking this week to thing on things and maybe they can come up with a compromise next week. He's scheduled a new vote for Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile in Florida, that is the spot to be this weekend if you're Republican presidential candidate.

Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has more on the events going on there in Florida's importance in 2012.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR (on camera): Hey, good morning, T.J.

You know everybody knows Florida's a crucial battleground state in presidential general elections. But the state's becoming a major player in primary politics, as well.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": And welcome to the Florida State Fairgrounds here in Tampa. The site of the first ever Tea Party Republican presidential debate.

STEINHAUSER: From our debate two weeks ago, to another showdown Thursday night in Orlando, to a major cattle call of all the candidates yesterday, Florida is front and center right now in the race for the GOP nomination.

And the fight between Texas Governor Rick Perry, the front-runner in the national poll, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is second in the surveys, over Social Security, immigration and health care, it shows no signs of letting up.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friend, Governor Perry, said that if you don't agree with his position on giving that in-state tuition to illegals, that you don't have a heart. I think if you're opposed to illegal immigration, it doesn't mean that you don't have a heart, it means that you have a heart and a brain.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The model for socialized medicine has already been tried, and it failed. Not just in western Europe, but in Massachusetts.

STEINHAUSER: This afternoon, we'll get the results of a straw poll in Florida. The contest's open to some 3,500 Republican delegates from a state that will most likely vote early in the primary caucus calendar.

Later today, both Perry and Romney also speak in person at an influential GOP conference in Michigan. Another state that's moving up its primary position in the race for the White House. Results of a straw poll there, well, they come out tomorrow morning -- T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.

And President Obama has an important night ahead of him, a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus. The caucus has been critical of the White House for the way he has handled the issue of jobs. Unemployment among African-Americans was almost 17 percent last month.

And a passionate plea from the Palestinians for their own state. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, you see him there, he personally delivered the request in paper and in person, with the speech before the United Nations General Assembly. Largely a symbolic move here, though, given that the United States has already said they would veto the move.

A short time after Abbas spoke, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a chance to fire back. Listen to both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): This is a moment of truth. Our people are waiting to hear the answer of the world. Will it allow Israel to continue the last occupation in the world? BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Behind the scenes, negotiators put together a rough time line for further peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The Security Council is expected to meet on Monday. That's when the whole statehood issue could come up for a vote.

Give you an update now on the story we were following and told you about last hour. Shots fired in Germany. This wasn't too far from where the Pope was holding a mass. This was several hundred yards away, we're told, and officials there are saying the shooting is not related to the Pope's appearance.

They say no one shot at the Pope. The mass was part of the Pope's four-day trip to him home country.

On the financial front, bad week for stocks, the worst week in three years. The Dow dropped more than 700 points. The S&P and the NASDAQ also took some pretty big losses. The drop can be blamed on Greece's financial problems and fears over a possible new global recession.

Meanwhile, Toys "R" Us is hiring in a big way this season, expected to add about 40,000 jobs for the holiday season. They're hiring people to work in their stores and in their distribution centers. Last year, 10 percent of those temporary jobs became permanent positions after the holidays.

Well, at 11 minutes past the hour, stick around for a story you quite frankly will not believe. Ben & Jerry's, yes, the ice cream makers have just come up with what some are calling the world's first R-rated ice cream.

It doesn't matter what it tastes like. Some still are saying it is in extremely poor taste. You're looking at the ice cream but I'm going to hold off on saying the name of it until we get back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Don't go anywhere. CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Quarter past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Every Saturday now, everybody is in front of the TV. Football is back. College football and weather is always a concern.

WOLF: It is the most wonderful time of the year. It actually is.

HOLMES: Your Christmas, right? WOLF: Of course, the plethora of college football today, I know got one game. And first up, let's talk about the number one team. We're talking about the Oklahoma Sooners, they're playing the Missouri Tigers, kickoff at 8:00 p.m. this evening. Kickoff, temperature around 78 degrees. Partly cloudy skies, south at five to 10.

Now, in Morgantown, West Virginia, which is an insane place to play a game of football, it's going to be an amazing game, because the number two Bayou Bengals, LSU Tigers playing West Virginia Mountaineers, kickoff. Temperature around 63, the rain is going to be out there, wind east-northeast and five. Mostly cloudy skies.

Then we've got -- take a look at this. This is where the earth stops moving. Number 14, Arkansas Razorbacks against the Crimson Tide of Alabama, it's a 3:30 kickoff. I know exactly what T.J. is going to be doing at 3:30 this afternoon.

And, of course, again, all these games are going to be phenomenal. Of course, you got Missouri and Oklahoma. We've already chatted about that one.

It should be a great day for football, T.J. Let's pitch it back to you. I know you got some interesting things to talk about. You may be munching while watching.

HOLMES: This is odd. This is really odd. Ice cream is supposed to be innocent. Kids eat ice cream.

This shouldn't be controversial or difficult. But Ben & Jerry's now is catching heat. Now, they've done this before with some controversial names of some of their ice creams. Maybe they just do this for attention. I don't know.

But a group of mothers now saying this is just in bad taste.

All right. We're showing it to you there on the screen but the name of this flavor is called "Schweddy Balls."

Now, a lot of you recognize that because it's a very popular "Saturday Night Live" skit. You're seeing it there. The last name is Schweddy.

Now, you don't necessarily want your kids ordering this from the grocery store or restaurant. You just don't want that to happen.

To give you a little reminder here, a refresher about the "SNL" skit, frankly one of my favorites of all time -- we'll give you a little more of that and we'll keep this a little more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: Well, there's no beating my balls. It's made from a secret Schweddy recipe. No one can resist my Schweddy balls.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: OK. The skit was hilarious. That's Alec Baldwin. He plays Pete Schweddy and goes on this radio show and he's talking about his restaurant and where he has these baked goods and these holiday baked goods and they use his name and you put balls after it and there you go. You see where this is going.

But now, women who called themselves 1 Million Moms say Ben & Jerry has turned something as simple as ice cream into something repulsive. It's hard to argue with that point. The skit was hilarious but -- that's a tough one.

WOLF: Repulsive, yes, but repulsively delicious because it's vanilla mixed in with some kind of a fudge.

HOLMES: Rum, it is rum flavor in there. That's not even the point. I'm sure it might be great ice cream, but why do you have to attach that name to it?

WOLF: Approaching the counter and having a straight face while go -- you know, you want a double scoop or single or triple.

HOLMES: Reynolds --

WOLF: No, no, I mean this in an innocent way, I really do.

HOLMES: This is why. We debated about you having a part of this story because we knew that would happen. Now --

WOLF: Purely innocent.

HOLMES: Ben & Jerry's has in the past Kama Sutra flavor. They have had hubby-hubby for gay marriage. And it's got them attention before.

This one -- let's just go ahead and take that off the screen and move on from this one. No response we have here yet from Ben & Jerry's.

Nineteen minutes past the hour. I'm going to try to get Clyde Anderson in here in just a second to bring some sanity back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. He's going to be talking to you about how to lower your monthly bills. You know you want to, but some simple things you can do. Clyde Anderson, he's up next.

Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

And a lot of folks are cringing this week after the week that the market has. Closing bell on Friday. It marked the end of just a miserable week for a lot of people, investors in particular, the worst week for the Dow in three years, plunged more than 700 points. Sharpest weekly drop since October 2008. Stocks did managed some small gains, but investors still skittish over the global economy. The U.S. Census Bureau says the amount of money most people make has decreased in three years in a row.

But, Clyde Anderson, our financial analyst here , the cost of living keeps going up. We're always looking for a way to cut. There are some simple things we can be doing right now to save us some money.

Let's start with the mortgage. We're still talking these all- time lows.

CLYDE ANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: All time lows. And everybody doesn't have that low rate. You know, still an opportunity to refinance. So, we're talking about these all-time lows annually, in a rate right now, we're talking about maybe 4.3 in a lot of places. Some places even lower. That's pretty much the average.

And so, this is a great opportunity for people who can refinance to refinance.

HOLMES: There it is, Clyde. A lot of people looking at you right now and saying, wait a minute now. I'm upside down. How am I supposed to finance?

ANDERSON: Right. And that's where it comes in. That's the catch-22.

Now, some areas haven't experienced the type of depreciation that some has. So, you still got areas around the country that you're still able to refinance. But a lot of people has been hit with depreciation and so, they can't. And so, in that type of situation where you owe more in the house than it's actually worth, you're not going to be in a situation where you can refinance.

HOLMES: All right. Well, another way you could possibly find to save some money. And we don't think about this enough, we just pay our phone bill, without ever thinking about it.

ANDERSON: Yes. Pay the phone bill and we don't think about it. And some of us have been with the same carrier and the same service provider for years. We don't see the value in that. We are the consumer. We've got value.

And there's a lot of people out there competing for our business. And so, this is an opportunity to talk to them and say what other packages do you have for me? How can I lower my bill? And if you can't lower, I've got somebody over here that can.

HOLMES: We shouldn't bundle.

ANDERSON: Do not bundle anymore. Once that contract is over, don't go automatically go into a contract. Try to do a no contract. And with those bundle services, unbundle them and you may get more for your dollar if you unbundle the services.

HOLMES: OK. Next up here, what other options around the house? ANDERSON: Fuel, saving on fuel.

HOLMES: Fuel, now -- how are you supposed to do that?

ANDERSON: You know, we pay a lot of money right now on heating, gas, whether it's heating, gas or electric, we're paying a lot of money. Sometimes, your service provider will give you discounts if you're doing certain improvements around the house.

You know, it's all about going green. So, maybe you do new windows, some heat, some -- that don't let the heat out as much of the home. So, those green improvements that can help you to save more money. Just call them up, let you know what they're doing, and also, ask them for an energy audit. And they can tell you what you're spending right now and other ways to save money. People just don't take advantage of.

HOLMES: Another easy one here and I'm horrible about it. You need to buy generic. You don't need name brand.

ANDERSON: No, you don't.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Now, sometimes you got to make sure it's the same quality. Sometimes, you know, some of these are just packaging. It's all in the packaging and the branding. And so, you're using the same manufacturing plant to make some of these name brands versus generic. So, you've just got to try them out and see what works.

HOLMES: All right. This last one here -- interest-free credit card.

ANDERSON: Yes, interest-free credit cards. You got to leverage it. And we were talking about this. You got to make sure. You go out there.

There's a lot offering six months same as cash or maybe it's a zero percent interest rate for six months and they'll allow you to go ahead and transfer balances over to that credit card and so you're not paying those high interest rates that you may have on your other credit.

HOLMES: Are they hard to find, though?

ANDERSON: No, they're not hard to find. But, again, you got to have good credit, though. Now, that's one of the things, and a lot of people right now are challenged with the credit issues. If you have those credit issues, you're not to going to find as many of those deals if your credit ain't in good shape.

HOLMES: We're going to have to change your graphics package. We put the tip here but the catch here.

ANDERSON: There's always something. We got to tell the whole story. HOLMES: Clyde, good to see you, buddy, as always.

ANDERSON: Good to be here.

HOLMES: Coming up on the bottom of the hour here now. Quick break, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. All the candidates, they're spending a lot of time in the delegate rich states Florida and Michigan this weekend. The hopeful there, Rick Perry among them and Mitt Romney, they're still trading barbs out there on the campaign trail. They're both going to be stumping in Michigan today, much of the rest of the field at the CPAC conference in Orlando.

Also, NASA is telling us that part of its dead satellite UARS, it did re-enter the atmosphere over the Pacific a little after 11:00 Eastern Time last night. It did come down but they don't exactly know where it came down. They're still looking into that.

I'll be back at the top of the hour with more live news. Right now, time for the good doctor.