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CNN Saturday Morning News
Eyeing a Partial Government Shutdown; Courting Conservatives in Florida; Palestinian Push for Statehood; Satellite Plunges to Earth; Struggling to Make Ends Meet; Lower Your Bills in Five Easy Steps; Sex Strike Brings Peace in Philippines; Satellite Plunges to Earth; Guilty Verdict in 'Millionaire Trial'; Family Deported, Then Separated; The End of 'All My Children'; Facebook's Latest Facelift
Aired September 24, 2011 - 11:00 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, we're at the top of the hour. And hello to you all and welcome to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this September 24th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Among the stories we are following closely this hour, for the third time this year, the United States is on the brink of another partial government shutdown. The Republicans and Democrats, facing off over spending cuts and disaster relief funds. For some agencies, the cash could run out just days from now.
And the wait is over for that six-ton satellite that crashed through the atmosphere down to Earth. NASA says it fell to Earth in pieces somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. There are reports of potential sightings really all over the world.
And a lot of people, as we know are struggling to make ends meet right now and there are ways you can keep more of your hard-earned money. Some simple things you can do, our financial experts will fill us in on how to live on less.
But first, let's turn to Washington, shall we, where this time next week we could see some government agencies shutting down because they will be out of money. Lawmakers are still arguing over a new spending plan to keep everything up and running. They're off this weekend after days and days of bickering.
The biggest sticking point here is over money for disaster relief. Republicans in the House say any new money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA should be offset by cutting back on alternative energy programs. Democrats say, uh-uh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE SIMPSON (R), IDAHO: That's the danger to this country is 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 CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he intends to push for a vote Monday on a compromise package.
Now Republican presidential candidates spinning the weekend in Florida not vacationing, however. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser, explains why just about all of them are there.
(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: Well tonight is an important night for President Obama. He'll be speaking to the Congressional Black Caucus. Some members have been critical of the way he's been handling the jobs problem. Unemployment among African-Americans was nearly 17 percent last month.
We turn to the Middle East now with the Palestinian Authority's Foreign Minister says he is hoping for quick action on the Palestinian push for full United Nations membership. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas put forward the request yesterday in a speech at the U.N.
The Authority's foreign minister tells the voice of Palestine, the U.N. Security Council will discuss the request on Monday. He's hoping a vote will come soon. The U.S. threatening to veto a resolution on statehood if it makes it to the Security Council. The American position, Israel must be a part of any statehood issues.
After the Abbas speech at the U.N., Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage.
(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 VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, our senior State Department producer Elise Labott is with us in New York.
How does this process work now? OK. He went, he presented it, so when does he get an answer back? When does a vote possibly come up?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, T.J., what he did was kind of dropped a bomb at the U.N. Security Council and went back and gave -- is giving this a little bit time to brew, if you will. The Security Council is going to start consultations on Monday. And Palestinian officials are saying they expect a speedy process within the U.N. Security Council.
Some officials saying two weeks, others officials not being so firm. But I'm speaking to Palestinian -- senior Palestinian officials today saying they have nine votes in the U.N. Security Council. Now, we know the U.S. is going to veto and so that it's not going to pass, but it looks as if they do want to press ahead within the U.N. Security Council and at least get a yes-or-no answer.
And then they'll decide what they can do. They might go to the U.N. General Assembly, but certainly a lot of things right now in play trying to get President Abbas not to force that U.S. vote in the U.N. Security Council.
HOLMES: No matter what happens, is Mahmoud Abbas going to go back home looking like a hero? LABOTT: Well, if you saw when he was giving that speech, T.J., if you saw some of the pictures from the Palestinian territories, the Palestinians celebrating, I think he does -- can go back and claim international victory. I mean, after years of despair, after all these years of frustrations, at least for one day, I think the Palestinians saw some light at the end of the tunnel, some hope.
You know, you speak to U.S. officials, though and they say he's raising expectations because this is not going to lead to a state. The U.S. and others have said, listen, the road to a Palestinian state is not on the floor of the U.N. General Assembly, it's in Jerusalem where the parties should be having negotiations.
So he might be able to claim a long-term political victory, but there's a lot of concern about violence on the ground if these aspirations are not met.
HOLMES: All right, Elise Labott for us in New York. Elise, thank you as always.
Well, it's seven minutes past the hour now. And let's turn to Italy where prosecutors there are defending the DNA evidence they used to convict American Amanda Knox of murder. This is day two opposing arguments in Perugia as she appeals her conviction. A jury found Knox and her Italian boyfriend guilty of killing a fellow student two years ago. But during her appeal, independent defense experts called the DNA evidence flawed, insisting the police mishandled it. Knox hopes to overturn a 26-year prison sentence.
To Germany now where there was a slight security incident near the site where Pope Benedict held mass today. The German television reporting that somebody shot two private security company workers with an air rifle about a mile from the cathedral where mass was taking place. That suspect under arrest now and the Pope himself never in any danger, we're told. Pope Benedict is on a four-day official visit to his home country.
Well coming up, I'll show you things you can do right now to help you lower your monthly bills. Very simple stuff.
Also, NASA's dead satellite, it did come crashing back to Earth this morning. To somewhere, we're not exactly sure where, but we're told you don't need to duck any more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 10 minutes past the hour now.
And we're told it has arrived. This satellite, this dead satellite that we and NASA has been telling you about all week, it did come crashing back to Earth, finally, broke up into pieces somewhere over the Pacific. It happened around midnight Eastern Time.
We don't exactly know where all this stuff landed, but we're told it is here. So no reasons for alarm to go into your bunkers or to put your hard hats on or to duck. There are some videos that's been coming out. Reynolds and you were the first one this morning, to sarcastically --
(CROSSTALK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hid in a tree in San Antonio with a flashlight.
HOLMES: But the video is from San Antonio. A lot of people looked up last night around the time it was supposed to come. You see something in the sky? Why not assume that's what it is?
WOLF: Exactly, yes. It's possible. Is it -- is it likely? Probably not. I mean, you think how many different things we have up in space, how many things re-enter the Earth's atmosphere; in fact some 20,000 each year. Is it -- is it a definite thing that that came from that satellite? It is kind of a stretch.
HOLMES: 20,000. So we need to be ducking all the time. Is what you're telling me?
WOLF: All the time every single day.
HOLMES: Wow. OK.
WOLF: Well, the thing you need to remember, though, is that when you have a meteorite which is -- again in space it's a meteor but when it enters the Earth's atmosphere it is a meteorite.
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: Many of them are but the size of a grain of sand. So when you see a falling star it's meteorite. Falling into the atmosphere many times is just one tiny little, tiny little things --
HOLMES: Do I need to duck for that, too?
WOLF: I think you need to.
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: Take a look at this video. These actually are some -- some images that were captured by Kris Rawkowski from up in Minnesota. This is a great shot, could this be part of it? It -- again, it's possible. We'll never know. They said that it re-entered as T.J. mentioned over the Pacific Ocean. I'm sure there's a chance some of it may have fallen into the Pacific. Again, that's the largest geographical feature in the planet.
The thing is T.J., 26 pieces that they say survived, made out of the stainless steel and titanium. I'm going to go out on a limb and say they will never know where all of these have gone. I'm sure many of them will land up in the oceans, some of them will -- who knows. But there's -- I think it's impossible to find every single one of them.
HOLMES: And way to go out on a limb there, Reynolds.
WOLF: Yes, just that this is a little bit of a stretch --
HOLMES: Great predictions.
WOLF: -- absolutely.
You know, one thing we're going to be seeing today besides just to -- going out to -- out of course from out to the space back a little bit closer to home, one of the things that we've got here with our satellite imagery is we're showing something different entirely -- tropical storm Ophelia.
This is actually -- is going to be gaining some strength. In fact, winds right now at 50 miles an hour expected to increase to about 60 miles per hour, but should stay off the U.S. mainland. That's the good news.
The problem is, though, we've got a long way to go for the rest of the hurricane season which means things could be very active. The proof in the pudding is right here. Tropical depression number 17 moving off the African coast. We're going to watch that for a potential development.
Very quickly though, as we wrap things up, here is tropical storm Ophelia. We're expecting to move full to the north away from the U.S. Seaboard, but possibly getting closer to Bermuda as we fast forward into Thursday.
This is the latest information we saw from the satellite imagery. The satellite that is working, a satellite that has not re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and breaking up into 26 separate pieces.
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: That's good news.
HOLMES: And folks, if you do find that stuff, it is not your souvenir to keep. We need to let you know, NASA unless they tell you otherwise is going to want it back. And you cannot sell it, that's illegal to do. And if it causes damage to your home, they have to pay.
WOLF: Sure.
HOLMES: Well, because if it comes down, by law, they have to cover all expenses. So just a little tidbit there for you.
WOLF: They want their stuff back.
HOLMES: They want their stuff back.
WOLF: Yes. Go figure.
HOLMES: All right. We're 14 minutes past the hour. Now, here is something everybody wants to do, right? Lower your monthly bills. Some very simple things you might not even think about. Our financial analyst is going to tell you exactly what those are. He's coming up.
Stay with us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 17 minutes past the hour.
A lot of people are glad to see this week on Wall Street behind us, the worst week since the start of the economic collapse three years ago. Wall Street saw the Dow drop more than 700 points. S&P and Nasdaq also took heavy losses. Experts are blaming the drop on Greece's financial problems and fears over a possible new global recession.
Whether it's a recession or not, a lot of people don't care what you call it. Some people on Main Street are struggling every single day. Census figures showing 46 million Americans are living in poverty; that includes people who don't fit the government's definition of poor.
Here now is CNN's Athena Jones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAWN, SINGLE MOTHER: You know, I have to get money taken out of my paycheck for me.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Dawn and her family, every day is a struggle. A single mom with two young children living at home in Maryland, she makes just $25,000 a year as a department manager at Wal-Mart. But that puts her over the federal poverty line.
DAWN: It's not enough.
JONES: Poverty looks different on paper. To be officially considered as living in poverty, a family like hers has to make less than $17,568 a year. And that's the same whether the family lives in California, Washington or Mississippi.
DAWN: It's like right now, it's just a struggle and I would love to be able to not struggle and to put some money aside and to do some fun things.
JONES: The defining line is adjusted yearly for inflation, but it was developed back in the early 1960s.
SHEILA ZEDLEWSKI, THE URBAN INSTITUTE: Since then, so many things have changed.
JONES: Sheila Zedlewski studies poverty at The Urban Institute. ZEDLEWSKI: Health care costs are higher, housing costs are higher. Just a lot of changes that you and I would expect would be taken into account, but they're not.
JONES: The government uses the poverty line to help determine who qualifies for federal health, like food stamps, the children's health insurance program and school lunches. And any change in the official definition could affect the number of people eligible for that help. That's where politics come in.
REP. BARBARA LEE (D), CALIFORNIA: I think we need to go back to the drawing board and come up with an accurate formula so we can better know what to do.
JONES: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a Democrat, believes more people would be considered poor because the current measure fails to account for geographical differences and family expenses.
REA HEDERMAN, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Let's face it, what really counts for people is disposable income.
JONES: Conservative scholars like Rea Hederman of the Heritage Foundation say a measure that counts government benefits like food stamps and housing subsidies as income would see the poverty rate fall.
HEDERMAN: You're not measuring our largest anti-poverty program and official poverty numbers. I mean like I said, this is a lot like not counting field goals in football games.
JONES: Policy experts agree the measures should be updated to account for where a family lives, whether they rent or own their home. the government benefits they receive and expenses like child care and transportation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on in. We brought a gift with us today.
JONES: For Dawn, who relies on help from the government and through organizations like Catholic charities in Washington, D.C., it's a theoretical argument that doesn't help pay the bills.
DAWN: I pretty much care about taking care of my girls, you know, my kids. My kids always come first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Twenty minutes past the hour.
There are some very simple things you can do right now to lower your monthly expenses. I talked to our financial analyst Clyde Anderson. Now some of them might sound big; take a while (ph) with your mortgage. But some other things are very simple. You might not even be thinking about.
Let's start with taking advantage of the low mortgage interest rates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: When we're talking about these all-time lows -- annual, you know, rate right now -- we're talking about maybe 4.3 in a lot of places and 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 are looking at you right now and saying, wait a minute, now. I'm upside down. How am I supposed to refinance?
ANDERSON: That's where it comes in. That's the catch-22. Now some areas haven't experienced the type of depreciation that some have so you still have areas around the country that just are able to refinance. But a lot of people have been hit with depreciation so they can.
And so if you're in that type of situation where you own more on 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 can possibly find to save money -- and we don't think about this enough, we just pay our phone bill without even thinking about it.
ANDERSON: Yes. We pay the phone bill and we don't think about it. And some of us have been with the same carrier and the service provider for years. We don't see the value in that. We are the consumers. 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 to say, what other packages do you have for me? How can I lower my bill? And if you can't lower my bill, I've got somebody over here that can.
HOLMES: We should or shouldn't bundle? You know --
ANDERSON: Do not bundle. Do not bundle anymore. Once that contract is over, don't automatically go back into a contract. Try to do a no contract. And with those bundled services, unbundle the services 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: Well, fuel. Saving on fuel.
HOLMES: Fuel.
ANDERSON: Yes. Fuel costs. As far as energy.
HOLMES: How are we supposed to do that.
ANDERSON: You know, we pay a lot of money right now on heating, gas, whether it's heating, it's 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 right now.
And so maybe you're doing some new windows, some heat, that don't let the heat out of the homes. So those are green improvements that can help you to save more money. Call them up, let them know what you're doing. And also they'll do an audit. Ask them for an energy audit and they can tell you exactly what you're spending right now. And other ways that you can save money, people just don't take advantage of.
HOLMES: Another easy one here -- and I'm horrible about it -- we need to buy generics.
ANDERSON: Yes, buy generic.
HOLMES: You don't need name brands, anyway.
ANDERSON: No, you don't.
HOLMES: Toilet paper? Do you need name brand toilet paper?
ANDERSON: No. Sometimes you have to make sure it's the same quality. Sometimes 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 the generic. So you just have to try them out and see what works.
HOLMES: All right. This last one here, interest free credit cards.
ANDERSON: Yes. Interest-free credits. This is -- I mean you have to leverage it. We were just talking about this. You have to make sure. You go out there, there's a lot of people 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Clyde also said that those credit card deals, not hard to find. But once again, emphasized that you have to have good credit to take advantage of that deal.
We're at 23 minutes past the hour now.
And women, holding out on their husbands. Yes, they go on a sex strike. Why? They're trying to stop an armed conflict. Would you believe? It worked.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, as we get close to the bottom of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, we have a story for you about women withholding sex from their husbands. And they say they had good reason for doing it. They were trying to stop an armed conflict. That's what the women did in the Philippines. Well, exactly how did that work out?
I talked to our Nadia Bilchik about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: What happened was there are various rural villages and they've been having conflicts since the 70s.
HOLMES: Right.
BILCHIK: But in around 2008, the United Nations Refugee Agency said to these people how can we help you? And they actually made a sewing co-op for these women. Well, the women got together and they said our men are still fighting. What can we do? We are going to withhold sex.
Well, it worked wonderfully. And the road that had been closed is now reopened and trade is being done between the villages.
So let's hear from one of the women who has been withholding sex and one of the men who has been withheld.
LENGS KUPONG, VILLAGE LEADER: She told me, if I do bad things then we will be separating.
ANON E. KAMANZA, SEWING COOPERATIVE: I told them, if you don't agree with my -- you cannot -- you have no salary from me.
HOLMES: No salary.
BILCHIK: Yes, no salary from me.
HOLMES: The kids call it these days.
BILCHIK: But I have to tell you something funny.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: When the U.N. interviewed him, there's been so much more prosperity since this ease of tensions. They said what are you going to do now? He said I think I'm going to take a second wife. And you know what she said? She said, I'm going to help people in need.
But as we know, T.J., this is hardly the first time.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Ancient Greeks when Athens was fighting Sparta, the women withheld sex and Aristophanes wrote about it in Lysistrata. So certainly a good weapon maybe something for our politicians in D.C. or their partners to think about.
HOLMES: Let's see if that inspires some folks in this country, as well. But it has proven to work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We're at 28 minutes past the hour now. And up next, infidelity, intrigue, some of the staples of daytime television. Soap operas. But one of the fan favorites is now gone. We're saying good- bye to "Pine Valley."
Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're just past the bottom of the hour.
And prosecutors in Italy are defending the DNA evidence they used to convict American Amanda Knox of murder. This is day two of closing arguments in Perugia as she appeals that conviction that jury found Knox and her Italian boyfriend guilty of killing her fellow student, Meredith Kercher, two years ago.
But during her appeal, independent defense experts called the DNA evidence flawed, insisting police mishandled it. Knox hopes to overturn a 26-year prison sentence.
Well, it's official now. Two of the American hikers arrested in Iran are now formally engaged. CNN has obtained this photo of the couple from an envoy to the Sultan of Oman. That's where Sarah Shourd was reunited with Shane Bauer on Wednesday after he and Josh Fattal were finally released.
And one week left before some government agencies could be shutting down because they will be out of money. That includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helps communities devastated by natural disasters. Lawmakers aren't able to agree right now on how much money FEMA should get.
Republicans say any extra funds should be offset by cutting back on clean energy programs. Democrats say no way.
Well, that defunct, that dead satellite we've been talking about this week, it has finally crashed back to Earth into pieces. NASA said it fell somewhere over the Pacific around midnight, but agency hasn't pinpointed the exact location. There have been plenty of reports of possible sightings that go from Texas to Minnesota to Hawaii to the Philippines to the Netherlands, why frankly what our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf says we just don't know what this stuff in the sky is and we may never know.
WOLF: Well, some of these images, I think, are a little bit questionable. I mean, it's certainly pretty unusual, pretty (INAUDIBLE).
But when it comes to trying to track each one of these, it's almost like we're talking about confetti that has just been tossed across the stratosphere that's been back into the atmosphere. How in the world can you track every single little piece? And here, we're talking about pieces that come through the atmosphere that are burning up, you know, super heated. A lot of this is just ripping apart as it's coming down. So, I mean, it's very, very difficult to say they're going to find every single one of these. I'm sure they wouldn't.
HOLMES: So, Reynolds, if you're telling me that is not a piece from that satellite, then what is it?
WOLF: It's a firefly.
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: That is someone's t-shirt that they - they got it like a little piece of lint or something on there up in the space.
HOLMES: Up in the sky?
WOLF: No, no, no, no. That is - that's a little trickery is what they're using.
HOLMES: Oh, look. No?
WOLF: That's from KSAT in San Antonio. It's something you see up there. We don't know what the heck it is. We have no idea. We can only speculate what it might be.
HOLMES: That's what we're in the business of.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: Not at all. All right. Reynolds, thank you.
WOLF: You bet
HOLMES: As always, we'll talk to you again shortly.
We're 35 minutes past the hour now.
And Facebook, you may have noticed starting to reinvent itself once again, but apparently not everybody out there is happy about it. We'll break down the changes you will be seeing if you haven't already seen them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.
This just in to us. You're looking at a live picture inside a courtroom in Florida, with the verdict that's just been read in what many followed as calling the "millionaire trial."
Well, the man, Bob Ward is his name, on trial for killing his wife has now been found guilty of second degree murder. A lot of people will remember this case because of the 911 call. He was accused of killing his wife. He claimed that she was suicidal and that the two struggled when he saw her with a gun in her hand. She ended up shot in the face.
And his story was that she was trying to stop her from shooting herself, but she ended up shot and the gun went off. The jury clearly did not buy that story. His wife, Diane Ward, is her name. She died back in September of 2009. But he has now been found guilty of second degree murder.
It has been several weeks of emotional testimony in this case. The prosecution saying he had other motives. His wife was supposed to testify. There he is being led away actually here now, but this is just happening live here in Florida, but he's found guilty now of second degree murder, so he could possibly - I believe it was 20 years in prison he was facing. But Bob Ward is the name, the millionaire trial that many people followed.
And I mentioned the 911 call that was released. That's why you may remember this story. His voice was heard on it calling 911 saying repeatedly, I shot my wife, I shot my wife, she's dead. So that was a piece of evidence used against him. But second degree murder, Bob Ward, the millionaire convicted now of second degree murder in the murder of his wife in 2009.
We'll turn now at 39 minutes past the hour to "Latino in America," the series that certainly (ph) we're going to be focusing on and bringing you here at CNN.
But we're talking about people now who are born in the United States, but their parents were not, having come to this country illegally, their parents, at least. And most often when the parents are deported, the children have to go, as well.
But as part of our special, "LATINO IN AMERICA 2: IN HER CORNER," Thelma Gutierrez reunites us with one of those children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I first met Julie Quiroz when she was 13. She was in the middle of one of most tumultuous times of her life. Her mother and brothers have just been deported to Mexico. Her family was about to be separated for good.
We followed Julie's story for four years to document the impact of deportation and separation on American children born to undocumented parents. There are an estimated four million kids just like her.
Julie's nightmare began in 2006 when immigration agents arrested her mother, a hotel maid who had been working without documents in Burien, Washington.
JULIE QUIROZ, FOLLOWED FAMILY TO MEXICO: I was there when they handcuffed her. I was there when they took her down.
GUTIERREZ: Julie's mother, Anna, her stepfather and two older brothers who had come to the United States when they were just toddlers were all deported. Julie and her sister, Sharis, both Americans and still children, had no choice but to follow.
Julie was a stranger in a foreign land and that's where we first found her, in a cramped house in the middle of Mexico City, where Anna sold tacos on the street, Sharis played on the asphalt and Julie had dropped out of school.
(on camera): How did you do in school?
QUIROZ: Really bad. I would just come home, sit down, cry. And then, mom, I can't do it, you know?
GUTIERREZ: Why?
QUIROZ: I can't read or write Spanish.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): When Texas businessman Joe Kennard read about Julie's plight in Mexico, he contacted her mother, then arranged for Julie to move to Texas with his family so she could continue her education.
JOE KENNARD, ORGANIZATION TO HELP CITIZEN CHILDREN: You can make the argument that, you know, she deserved what she got because she was an adult, she made a choice, she knew the consequence, et cetera. But why the children? They're innocent and they're born here. They're U.S. citizens.
GUTIERREZ: It was a huge opportunity for Julie, but an incredibly painful decision for her family.
That was four years ago. Julie is now 17. She told me that just thinking about the day she left her mother behind in Mexico still causes her heart to drop.
QUIROZ: I just remember we were holding hands and they just slid apart and I went my way and she went her way. I remember I looked back once, she was looking and I never turned back around again because she was crying. I didn't want to see my mom cry.
GUTIERREZ: So Joe Kennard hired an attorney and after several years of fighting their case in court, Julie's mom was granted a temporary work visa to return to the United States.
It was a bittersweet reunion. Back in Burien, Washington, Julie and Sharis are now living with their mother.
(on camera): Do you miss Mexico?
SHARIS HERNANDEZ, JULIE'S SISTER: Yes.
GUTIERREZ: What do you miss the most about it?
HERNANDEZ: I miss my dad.
GUTIERREZ: Sharis would prefer to be in Mexico because her dad's there. You prefer here because you grew up here. It's a very difficult spot for kids to be in, isn't it? QUIROZ: I mean, they have no choice, basically.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): I asked Anna if she had any regrets about putting her children in such a difficult children. She said yes because she brought her oldest children into the U.S. when they were very young and that they're suffering because of the decisions she made. But she says she also did it for them, to give them the opportunity for a better life.
Julie and Sharis savor these moments with their mother and say they have faith the rest of the family will one day be reunited.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Burien, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And tomorrow, Soledad O'Brien introduces you to Atlanta boxer - an Atlanta who will fight in the first Olympic Boxing Tournament to ever include women. CNN's "Latino in America, In Her Corner," airs tomorrow night, 8:00, Eastern Time right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's 46 minutes past the hour now.
And it's the end of an era in daytime television. We're talking about soap operas right now. You know, they're on the chopping block and now one of the oldest and most popular has signed off.
Our Kareen Wynter takes a look at the end of "All My Children."
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: T.J., this is a show that's been around for four decades, "All My Children." That's a really long time, but it's not alone here. In fact, there are so many soaps that are getting washed up in this new era of entertainment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): It's the latest soap opera squeezed out of daytime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's over. There's nothing left.
WYNTER: ABC's long-running drama "All My Children" which made America's favorite soap icon Susan Lucci a household name -
SUSAN LUCCI, ACTRESS, "ALL MY CHILDREN": I'm here to fight for us.
WYNTER: -- and helped launch the career of stars like talk show host Kelly Rippa.
KELLY RIPPA, TALK SHOW HOST: It was my first job, 19-year-old girl fresh off the bus. I just feel so devastated.
WYNTER: And actress Sarah Michelle Gellar who was also stunned by ABC's decision to can the television daytime classic due to poor ratings.
SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR, ACTRESS: I don't know. It just seemed so wrong to me.
WYNTER: Imagine after a 40-year run -
STEPHANIE SLOANE, EDITOR, "SOAP OPERA DIGEST": These are very expensive shows to produce and they're not going to get the same ratings that they used to.
WYNTER: Soap Opera Digest Stephanie Sloane says "All My Children" was the number one soap back in the 1970s when it debuted and stayed on top for about a decade. Things like smart storylines, but pushed controversial social issues.
SLOANE: The show had the first abortion, protest to the Vietnam War. And they dealt with AIDS. They dealt with homosexuality.
WYNTER: But in the 1990s, Sloane says the popular drama began dipping in the ratings.
(on camera): Networks execs were forced to slash salaries and in 2010 relocate the show's production from New York here to L.A., but it wasn't enough to save the soap.
DANNY SHEA, MEDIA EDITOR, "HUFFINGTON POST": The era of the bored housewife is over and soap operas catered to that stereotypical 1950s woman sitting at home.
WYNTER (voice-over): "Huffington Post's" Danny Shea says the cancellation of once popular soaps like "Guiding Light," "One Life To Live" and "All My Children" is a result of daytime demographics changing over the years. Not to mention the emergence of reality TV.
SHEA: Who cares about Erica Cain when you have "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" battling it out on a real life cat fight onscreen?
SLOANE: Reality shows are offering the network a much more inexpensive replacement for these shows that just are too expensive to produce.
WYNTER: It's not just reality shows, but talk shows like "The Chew" that are filling the daytime landscape. Fresh, new programming networks hope viewers will sink their teeth into. Starting next week, "The Chew," a food and lifestyle shows takes over "All My Children's" time slot. Closing a chapter of one of television's longest running and most beloved daytime staples.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: So, T.J., while you wouldn't be able to turn on the tube to see "All My Children" any more, the drama, it's not entirely dead. You see a production company is bringing the series back to life, yes, in an online format. But, T.J., so many die hard soap fans out there fear the show just wouldn't be the same - T.J. HOLMES: I don't know what I'm going to do. The soap opera's genre has been slowly disappearing. Now, this is serious stuff for folks here. Do you see this?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: I know. I see the tears they're welling up there.
HOLMES: This is for real.
WHITFIELD: I know.
HOLMES: Now, we got to talk to earlier the guy who plays Tad. Now, even if you're not a big follower of "All My Children" there are probably at least two people you know. You know Erica Cain -
WHITFIELD: Erica, of course.
HOLMES: -- and, you know, Tad Martin. Now, there's Susan Lucci who plays Erica Cain. But the guy who plays Tad Martin was with me earlier. He told me it was pretty emotional for the entire cast when they had to shoot that last episode.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL E. KNIGHT, TAD MARTIN ON "ALL MY CHILDREN": It was a very emotional day in the studio for - for all of us that have known - some of us have known each other for, you know, decades. And I think yesterday most - most of us were just gratified because we had been working, you know, with the sort of Damocles over our head for a long time. And to know that it meant so much to so many people to - to say good-bye was, you know, it was a good sendoff.
HOLMES: What really killed "All My Children"?
KNIGHT: I think what it is it's just, you know, in an age when the internet is redefining, revolutionizing so many industries, you know, like publishing and online marketing, television had to deal with a lot of things. And basically in terms of cost, as networks had to compete harder for the same market share, they don't have the same monopoly they did 20 years ago. The networks had to cut costs.
And, you know, it's a pretty big nut to carry a soap opera. And I wouldn't say that the Internet or reality television killed the soaps. I think it would be interesting to see if - because if we did find a new home on the Internet, hopefully -
HOLMES: Yes.
KNIGHT: -- it would be interesting to see that it's the same thing that challenged us, that made life difficult for us, was our savior in the end. You know, it's kind of a plot twisted Agnes would have come up with.
I think we're going to see soap operas change. I think we may see it go to more sort of a novella format, which is limited - limited run so you keep your cost down.
I don't think we'll see it go away. I think there's just so much reality television that people can take and they are going to want to see scripted TV.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: See, even if you don't know - you know that guy.
WHITFIELD: I know.
HOLMES: Everybody knows that guy.
WHITFIELD: And you know that show. And it is an institution.
HOLMES: You're absolutely right.
WHITFIELD: I think it is sad that it's going away.
HOLMES: It is.
WHITFIELD: It's going to be odd turning on the television, you know, in the middle of the daytime and not seeing that show.
HOLMES: They're going to put it online and see if - you know, true fans will certainly follow it, but they will have some new episodes.
But how are you doing this morning?
WHITFIELD: I'm good. How are you? You're having a great morning.
HOLMES: I'm doing all right. You're a little sleep you're on right now, though?
WHITFIELD: But I'm OK.
HOLMES: You're OK?
WHITFIELD: Yes. Who needs sleep?
HOLMES: Who needs sleep? Now, the reason, Fredricka is on little sleep, is because Fredricka apparently put on a concert last night.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no.
HOLMES: Let me show you the concert that Fredricka put on. Roll that clip.
WHITFIELD: This was not meant for air.
HOLMES: Yes, Fredricka. Now, please explain to me what you were doing last night. WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. OK. "Essence" last night - "Essence Magazine," an incredible event last night honoring three extraordinary people who do a lot for other people. Tom Joyner, Donna Richardson and Dr. Regina Benjamin as well.
But the highlight - one of the highlights of the evening was the surprise guest. And so I was rattling off some of the names of the songs. Nobody got it. So I thought I had to, you know, share a little tune there.
HOLMES: Did they get it once you -
WHITFIELD: They did.
HOLMES: They did get a chance.
WHITFIELD: I heard a few whooping and hollering. It could have been because I was, you know, off tune.
HOLMES: No. It's great.
WHITFIELD: I think people got it. And so El DeBarge was the surprise guest and he sang some extraordinary - you know, just beautiful ballads and he's got a great -
HOLMES: That was just a taste there, Fredricka, finish the song for us now.
WHITFIELD: Heck, no.
HOLMES: Fredricka, come on.
WHITFIELD: No way.
HOLMES: Not to put you on the spot.
WHITFIELD: No way. I am not doing that. I'm saving your ears.
HOLMES: OK. But -
WHITFIELD: You don't want to hear me sing. That was all I had.
HOLMES: -- you know we had that. We knew you'd object.
WHITFIELD: I didn't realize that was going to make air.
HOLMES: We wanted to share that.
WHITFIELD: I was among friends there in a very quaint Ronald Reagan Building there in Washington, D.C. So I certainly didn't think that was going to make airs.
HOLMES: You're among friends here, just between us.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HOLMES: All right. But -
WHITFIELD: All right.
HOLMES: We'll go to your day job now that's coming up in about seven minutes.
WHITFIELD: Yes. We got a lot going on. Of course, Richard and Avery are going to be along with us. They're always the highlight of our noon eastern hour.
Amanda Knox, you know, the American college student who's facing 20 years prison time in Italy. So now, it is down to the wire. Will she win freedom through the appeal? Richard Herman says he thinks she's going to find her way on U.S. soil soon. We're going to ask why, what he thinks, and, yes, why he thinks this case is closing favorably for her.
HOLMES: She needs to get home.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, he says that he thinks because of the lack of evidence that she may be making her way home. And he's got more to say on that, too. I won't steal his thunder.
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: And then, of course, everyone's come to know Levi Johnston's name.
HOLMES: For all the wrong reasons.
WHITFIELD: And he's written a book now "Deer in the Headlights." And it's a tell-all book about his life with Palin Family. He said that was the moment that really changed the dynamic for him in so many different ways. That was the Republican National Convention here when he saw what an incredible stage he was going to be on, that he felt like he was thrust on.
He is talking about everything from how life seemed very simple and amicable with the Palin Family until Bristol Palin got pregnant and until the presidential ticket lost.
HOLMES: Is this a tell-all in the sense of a tell-all? I mean, it's the salacious, the -
WHITFIELD: He says, yes, no holds barred. He feels like at this point so much has been said about him by the Palin camp that he felt like this is my turn. So it is a tell-all book. But then he says he's also moved on. So it's an interesting heart to heart with him.
HOLMES: All right. They're telling me we've got 30 seconds left here. We used a lot of time on you singing, so we -
WHITFIELD: Yes. You robbed my time with my singing. Mi, mi, mi, mi.
HOLMES: I wasn't robbing - but that was - it was totally worth it, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: No, no, it was not.
HOLMES: It was totally worth it.
WHITFIELD: OK. 2:00 Eastern Time, Financial Fix.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: So would you be able to stay in your home if you lost your job. And we're not just talking about how much savings that you have. I think folks have heard it ad nauseam now that it's eight months saving, but there are other measures that you need to take to try to make sure you can keep your home.
And then we're in for a real treat later on today, 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time. Talking about extraordinary people. WNBA's player Tamika Catchings. She has an extraordinary story about her achieving greatness.
HOLMES: She'll be here with you?
WHITFIELD: She's going to be here. And, you know, she was a young kid who had hearing limitations. And she said, you know what, I'm not going to allow that to create my destiny. So we're going to hear from her how she was able to get beyond that. And she in no way believes it's a disability, if anything was a great advantage for her. So we're going to talk about her achievements along the way.
HOLMES: Fredricka, we will see you in just about three and a half (ph) -
WHITFIELD: End in an inspiring way.
HOLMES: -- past minutes. Would you like to send us out on a singing note?
WHITFIELD: No.
HOLMES: Quick break, folks. We're going to be right back.
WHITFIELD: It's too early. I've got to warm up my vocal cords.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, Facebook reinventing itself once again. It means a lot of new looks and a lot of unhappy friends. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to create a timeline of our lives.
Mario Armstrong, our digital lifestyle expert, tried to explain that to me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: So much information about our lives is being posted on Facebook. How can you really see the key milestones in - in your life? So how can you go back over time and really see those important points?
So that's what this timeline feature, which many people will not see right away in their profiles. This will be rolled out over the next week or two. You'll start to see this in your profiles.
But the idea is to be able to have a synopsis of who this person is with the most memorable moments along that timeline so that all the information - you know, you may have graduated from college recently, but now all that stuff has been pushed down because you've been talking about what you ate for breakfast or where you been hanging out, and people don't know that. And so, now they will see more significant life moments along your journey.
HOLMES: OK, and you said it's being rolled out. Are some noticing it already in their Facebook pages?
ARMSTRONG: Well, if you are tech savvy enough to go into what's called the developer account, then you can start to see how this is going to play out. But no, I don't think individuals just yet are seeing this in their profiles.
They are seeing in the right-hand corner what they think is a timeline, but it's a news ticker. That's causing confusion and complaints right now.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, Facebook, we just got you on Twitter, so we shouldn't even go that far, should we?
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) you're killing me.
HOLMES: It's all right, one step at a time.
WHITFIELD: I was feeling so relaxed, now I'm all stressed out.
HOLMES: I'm sorry about that. You're on a little sleep. Good to have you here and back here, even though you were doing good things.
WHITFIELD: I'm a low achiever in the whole Facebook, Twitter thing.
HOLMES: No, you're not. No, no, no.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I am. But that's OK, I proudly boast. I'll get there --
HOLMES: You have a good show.
WHITFIELD: -- with your help.
HOLMES: All right, see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, T.J., thanks so much.
