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CNN Saturday Morning News
Winds Fuel Nevada Wildfire; Family Values Voters; Secret Service Obama Plan Found In Gutter; Debt Deadline Looming; Police Reopen Natalie Wood Case; Saif Gadhafi Allegedly Captured in Libya; Deadline on Spending Cuts Deal; Gingrich on the Rise; Airline Passengers Forced to Buy Fuel; Coach's Controversial Comments
Aired November 19, 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 to you all.
An embarrassing potential security breach for the White House. A secret document detailing President Obama's minute-by-minute movements is found in a gutter. We will talk to the reporter who found it.
Also this morning, a story you're going to be chiming in on. A high school coach is on paid leave after parents file a racial harassment complaint against him. This happened after the coach called a student a, quote, "future welfare recipient." All the comments were caught on camera. You'll hear it all.
Also this morning, oh, you airline passengers, you're used to shelling out money for a lot of things to that airline, but you're going to hear a story this morning of passengers actually paying for the fuel for their flight.
Thank you so much for being here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. Reynolds Wolf about to join me here in just a moment because we've got some -- a weather situation to tell you about that's actually causing fits for firefighters fighting a fire.
This is a big fire fight going on in northwestern Nevada. This is a fast-moving fire. It was fueled by strong winds and dry terrain. It's threatening now hundreds of home. Thousands of people are without electricity in or around the Reno area. But a local newspaper is reporting that most of those folks do have their power back on now.
This fire is just barely a day old, but it's grown to nearly three square miles. Also, tragically, at least one person has been killed as a result of this fire. Also one firefighter had to be taken to the hospital with injuries. Schools were closed yesterday. As many as 10,000 people had to be evacuated. Twenty homes have been destroyed. And we're talking about wind gusts. We've seen up to 85 miles an hour.
Let me get Reynolds Wolf in on this.
Good morning to you, Reynolds.
The winds still going to be causing a problem or are they dying down a little bit?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They're done.
HOLMES: All right, they're done.
WOLF: Winds dropping. In fact, we've got -- we have winds around five to 10 miles per hour today, so that's the good news. The humidity is also going to be back up. But it was yesterday where we had those hurricane-force winds, at the same time very, very low humidity. So when you have the dry conditions and the strong winds, that strong wind will help propel those flames. That was the situation just yesterday in Reno, Nevada.
And the situation that you have right in this area, you've got a big range of mountains. We refer to those as the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The prevailing wind basically goes from west to east. So as you have the wind that rides over these mountains, what happens on occasion is that the wind will go right over and then a lot of that moisture is going to stay on what we refer to as the windward side of the Sierra Nevada. So all your rain, a lot of your snow, is going to drop in places like Lake Tahoe, even into Truke (ph). But quite often places like Reno, not quite as much precipitation. So yesterday the situation was, we had the dry conditions, coupled with the strong winds. Today the winds are moving out. The humidity's expected to pile back up, so that's going to help.
That being said, you already have a fire that's still burning. They still have to work. As you heard, about three -- just three square miles of places that just is up in flames at the time being. So they're certainly going to have a tough time working today. Hopefully mother nature is going to cooperate for them.
I can tell you right now, we're having a few issues right here with our weather wall. So what we're going to do is try to get that out of the way. Here we go. We've got some video, I believe. Plain and simple, you can see flames everywhere. And that's going to be a situation that we're going to be dealing with here a good part of the day.
Assistance is going to come in perhaps from a system -- a storm that we see a little bit farther out towards the west. And the storm we see out to the west, this system over here over parts of the Pacific Coast, that's going to make its way up to the east. That might bring a little bit more humidity back in to help those firefighters.
In the meantime, for the rest of your forecast, snow and a lot of wind up in the northern plains. Four to seven inches of snowfall, coupled with some strong wind gusts around 30 to 45, maybe 50 miles an hour. It could give you whiteout conditions along parts of I-90. The twin cities, you're going to get the snow. And the western Great Lakes, same deal. But sunny and mild for much of the eastern seaboard.
All right, T.J., you're up to speed in the forecast. We're going to give this thing the old Fonzie kick and see if we can get this thing working.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds. Hey, it's still early. We've got plenty of time to get that worked out. WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: All right, we'll see Reynolds plenty throughout the morning.
But we're about four minutes past the hour. Let's turn to some politics. And an important event today for the Republican presidential hopefuls. Our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, tells us why most of the candidates are in Iowa and why one is not.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J.
With just over six weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, the campaign spotlight's back on the state that kicks off the presidential primary and caucus calendar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm always reminded when I show up in Iowa, you know, that the pundits always think they're the ones that pick presidents. Nope, it's the people of Iowa that pick the presidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Texas Governor Rich Perry, along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, businessman Herman Cain, Congressman Ron Paul, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and former Senator Rick Santorum. They all speak today at a forum hosted by an influential family values group. You know social conservative voters will have a big say in determining which Republican presidential candidate wins Iowa's January 3rd caucuses.
While most of the GOP White House hopefuls will be in the Hawkeye state today, Mitt Romney will not. The former Massachusetts governor was making his second bid for the Republican nomination. He'll be campaigning in New Hampshire, which votes second in the race for the White House -- T.J.
HOLMES: And Tuesday night, right here on CNN, the Republicans running for president will gather just steps away from the White House for a presidential debate on national security and the economy. This is a CNN debate co-sponsored by The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. That's Tuesday, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
Also, Herman Cain is now being protected by the U.S. Secret Service. A source inside the government tells CNN that the Cain campaign asked for protection after the candidate got some unspecified threats. Here's how Cain responded yesterday to questions about adding the Secret Service.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The thing about Secret Service is that things are secret. So we don't discuss any details about it because that would not be appropriate. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Later in the day Cain admitted that there were things that he encountered in New Hampshire that made the campaign, quote, "a little uncomfortable." However, that's all the detail they would give.
Also back in Washington, it looks like a possible failure on the debt reduction deal is looming, but members of the so-called super committee say they are planning on work through the weekend to try and come up with a deal by Monday. But the deadline for a deal on $1.2 trillion in deficit savings is actually on Wednesday, but they say they actually have to be done and have to get it in the hands of the Budget Office by Monday to get everything in order in time for a Wednesday vote. So, Monday is the day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D-MA), JOINT SELECT CMTE. ON DEFICIT REDUCTION: We were sent here to do $1.2 trillion or $1.5 trillion or $4 trillion. So the idea on Friday of settling for half of what the American people need and what we were sent here to do is unacceptable to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Kerry is one of 12 members of that super committee. There are six Democrats, six Republicans on it. Republican Pat Toomey sounded a little more optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R), JOINT SELECT CMTE. ON DEFICIT REDUCTION: The hour is late. By law, our work on this committee must be completed this coming week. But I remain hopeful that we can meet our goal. And I urge my Democratic colleagues to join us on this effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now this whole thing came about after that sometimes nasty debt ceiling debate that happened this summer. One of the main sticking points is revenue. When we say revenue, they mean taxes here. Republicans proposed a change to the tax code to raise some of the revenue, but Democrats aren't going for that. If no deal is reached, automatic cuts go into effect. That wouldn't happen until 2013.
Well, we did see this week these "Occupy" movements all across the country. They were commemorating the two month anniversary of when the whole Occupy Wall Street movement started. We saw arrests take place in New York and saw really a big showing across the country. We also saw some scuffles and some back and forth between a lot of demonstrators and the police.
Take a look at this one.
(VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, a lot of people are outraged by this video. You see some of the protesters and demonstrators essentially sitting on the ground but then being pepper sprayed by a police officer. This is at the University of California at Davis. Now they refused to move tents they had sent up. The Occupy The Campus. Now they're upset over rising tuition costs. Police are defending their action here. They say they were concerned for their own safety and that's why they had to use that pepper spray.
Turn to Pennsylvania now where the charity that was started by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky may shut down. The CEO of Second Mile stepped down earlier this week. Sandusky has been accused of sexually assaulting at least eight young boys he met through that charity. The new CEO of Second Mile says closing down is just one of the options they are now considering.
Also a moment last night for the Oklahoma State football team. They stopped to pay tribute to two women's basketball coaches killed in a plane crash earlier Friday. The head coach, Kirk Budke and an assistant coach, Miranda Serna, died when their plane went down in Arkansas during a recruiting trip. The number two ranked football team lose -- they did end up losing that game last night in overtime to Iowa State, 37-31.
We're about nine minutes past the hour now. And an embarrassing and potentially dangerous situation in Australia involving the president. A booklet loaded with confidential details of the president's trip was found lying in a gutter. We'll have the details from Australia and talk to the reporter who found that book. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're about 11 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
And President Obama is heading home this morning after wrapping up a week-long trip to Asia. The trip focused on job creation and cooperation, but one of the headlines now from this trip centers on a potentially disastrous security slip-up.
You can take a look at that right there. That is a confidential program detailing the president's trip to Australia. He was there earlier in the week.
"The Sydney Morning Herald" reports that book contained Secret Service plans, placements of strike teams designed to protect the president, and minute by minute details of the president's movements, including what side of the limo he's supposed to get out of. What makes this worse is where the book was found. It was found in a gutter near the Australian parliament.
Joining me now on the phone is Dylan Welch. He's from "The Sydney Morning Herald."
And, Dylan, do I have it right, you were the one that found the book?
DYLAN WELCH, "THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD" (via telephone): That's right, T.J. Good morning, all. HOLMES: How -- did you even realize what you had found at the time? How long did it take you to figure it out?
WELCH: Well, funny enough, I actually -- it was early in the morning and I hadn't had much sleep, 6:00 in the morning. We had to arrive three hours early for the president's event at the Australian War Memorial at 9:00. I walked past it in -- it was just past dawn. It looked to me like a discarded notebook.
I walked past it, but then I stopped. My brain clicked and I thought, hang on. The president's -- the U.S. president's here. So I went back, picked it up. It looked official and I thought, oh, this is interesting, put it in my bag and then was in such a rush until about 2:00 p.m. that I didn't even really look at it. When I finally got back to the office after all the presidential events, I then went through it and realized that it was certainly something that you wouldn't have wanted, say, a foreign intelligence service to pick up.
HOLMES: And we have it right. So an important detail here is that you found it while the president was still in Australia.
WELCH: Yes. I think about -- he would have been there for about another 14 hours. So, I mean, there is a big "if" in this story. Obviously those are the big issues. If it was foreign intelligence or a lone wolf kind of person with a significant capability, but if they did find it, they would have had 14 hours. And in -- during that 14 hours they would have known to the minute where the president was, they would have known exactly what his convoy was comprised of and they, as you said earlier, they would have even known exactly which side of the limo he was going to be getting out of.
HOLMES: Dylan, what kind of reaction have you been able to get from the White House, from the administration, in response to what you found? Did you try to give it back with them? What did you want to do with it? Because as a reporter, of course, you know you got your hands on something, but you know there's a serious security issue here.
WELCH: Well, look, like I said, by the time I realized how significant it was and then kind of went through some stuff, the president had left Canberra, our nation's capital, and had gone to Darwin, which is a northern city. So I think there was -- people were fairly -- they weren't too concerned about the immediate threat. But certainly (INAUDIBLE) not pleased that I had it. I returned it the next day to the prime minister's office. Or at least it was returned to the prime minister's office the next day.
I think, to be frank, though, I stayed fairly quiet about it. I don't think it exactly is to the Australian government's benefit to be talking about it at the moment. And to be frank, I haven't been able to get a hold of the White House since then. It's been a busy couple days.
HOLMES: I'd imagine. Dylan Welch, thank you for your time.
WELCH: You're very welcome.
HOLMES: Pretty interesting there that you found this. But thank you so much for the time and an interesting find down under. Thanks so much.
And we are working here at CNN as well to try to get comment from the White House and from others about what this book is and exactly what's in it and how this kind of happened. But they're being pretty mum at this point so far and not giving us comments.
We're about a quarter past the hour now and the deals are coming on this Black Friday. Yes, less than a week away. One of the biggest shopping days of the year. Would you believe Black Friday, yes, is almost a week from now, but people are already lining up and camped out to get the deals. We'll show you where this is happening.
Also, another deal doesn't appear to be happening. This one in Washington. The so-called super committee running out of time. So what is the sticking point? We're getting at that next. Stay with me on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 17 minutes past the hour. What a glorious shot of the nation's Capitol, Washington, D.C., where work is going to continue this weekend.
The super committee has a deadline of Wednesday to get this deal wrapped up. But, however, they actually need to have it on paper and come to an agreement by Monday so they can go through all the process they need to actually get it ready for a vote on Wednesday. So time is running out and Monday is the deadline. We are told that super committee will be working pretty hard throughout the weekend. So we can expect that work to be going on in Washington, D.C., this morning and throughout the day.
But our Kate Bolduan going to give you a look now at what this super committee is up to and whether or not they're looking at a possible plan b.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republicans, according to sources, Republican leaders had pitched what they're calling a backup plan or a plan b if the super committee fails to act. That plans was quickly panned by Democrats on the super committee as it largely included only spending cuts with very little revenue. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D) MASSACHUSETTS: It's Friday and we were sent here to do $1.2 trillion, or $1.5 trillion or $4 trillion So the idea on Friday of settling for half of what the American people need and what we were sent here to do is unacceptable to me, number one. Number two, I haven't seen the plan, but I understand it has perhaps $3 billion of revenue in it. That would be -- I mean if -- I think the American people, on its face, can tell that that does not meet any standard of fairness, any standard of common sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: This shows what has largely deadlocked this super committee all along -- the issue of taxes. Democrats maintain that revenue, tax increases, must be part of any final deal so it includes a quote/unquote "balanced approach," as they call it. But Republicans remain just as firmly opposed to tax increases unless they are part of a broader tax reform process that would lower rates.
I will caution, though, that members of the committee do insist that they are still talking and still trying to reach their target of a minimum of $1.2 trillion in deficit savings over the next 10 years, ahead of their deadline, which is fast approaching Wednesday.
But it is noteworthy that much of the conversation has shifted from pushing for a deal and reaching that target to now focusing on how to lessen the blow of the trigger of these automatic across the board cuts that would set in if the committee fails to act -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, thanks as always to our Kate Bolduan.
So who takes the blame if a deal does not get done? We're taking a look at that with our political insiders. That's at the bottom of the hour.
Also this morning, a story I want you to chime in on. The story goes, a high school coach in Kansas City is now under fire. Some are calling for him to be fired. He is right now on administrative leave. And this is because of this comment he made to a student, and it is caught on camera.
Take a look and a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEREK HOWARD, COACH, WINNETONKA HIGH SCHOOL: Future welfare recipient. Who?
MARCUS WILLIAMS JR, SENIOR, WINNETONKA HIGH SCHOOL: Who?
HOWARD: Who? Students who don't get good grades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He called a student a "future welfare recipient." We'll tell you how this all ended up on camera and why the boy's family has now filed a racial harassment complaint. It's 20 past the hour. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: At 24 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Give you a look at some of the stories we're looking at cross country.
And we begin with a chain reaction crash in Oceanside, California. Take a look at this scene. An SUV embedded in a vacant building. Police say it rear-ended two other cars triggering the accident. The SUV then jumped a curb, hit a 59-year-old man before careening into the building. The pedestrian was airlifted to a local hospital. Local reports say he was seriously injured. The SUV's driver taken to the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital, and two Marines, passengers in one of the vehicles, wound up with minor injuries.
In Georgetown, South Carolina, a sinkhole swallowed up the foundation of this building in a shopping mall, causing it partially to collapse. You can see what's left of the roof and walls. No injuries, but clean- up work will be happening all weekend. Firefighters have started to inspecting other buildings after spotting several new, smaller sinkholes.
And this may be going a bit too far. We all know that the day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. That's when the stores have all those really good deals. But can you believe people are already camping out for Friday's deals? This is what it looks like outside one Best Buy store in St. Petersburg, Florida. One family pitched their tent on Monday. They're not moving until they get a good deal on a TV.
Here's a story I want you to chime in on this morning. This is out of Kansas City where a high school basketball coach is on paid administrative leave right now after some controversial comments. The coach's name is Derek Howard. People have now filed a racial harassment complaint against him. The people I'm talking about are parents of a student.
Let me explain to you what happened. Marcus Williams is a student at the center of this. He's a high school student there in Kansas City. Now he says his coach, Coach Howard, was speaking to him or has been speaking to him for a while now in negative and a racially demeaning way.
So he's done this with other African-American kids, according to the student. Now Williams said the latest incident, though, he was able to capture it on his cell phone camera. Williams says -- Williams the student, says he was taking a picture from a photography class and the coach was walking by. And take a listen to what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCUS WILLIAMS JR., SENIOR, WINNETONKA HIGH SCHOOL: He stopped and he was like, hey, take the picture. And when you take the picture, at the bottom label it "future welfare recipient." And I was just like -- I'm kind of hurt and they were just laughing. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, that wasn't the end of it. The student, again, he says he has been through this and heard some negative comments from this coach before. So he grabbed his cell phone and actually said, hey, coach, what did you just say? Look at what the coach did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEREK HOWARD, COACH, WINNETONKA HIGH SCHOOL: Future welfare recipient. Who?
MARCUS WILLIAMS JR: Who? HOWARD: Who? Students who don't get good grades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCUS WILLIAMS SR., FATHER: You didn't only just hurt my son, you hurt me. You hurt us as a community. And we ain't got to stand for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. So this has really set off the kid's parents. Williams and his father now -- have now filed that racial harassment complaint. The school system did put out a statement saying, and I quote, "the behaviors reported by this student do not reflect our professional conduct standards and will not be tolerated. We expect all students to be treated with respect by all staff at all times."
What do you think about this? Is an apology enough? Did the coach cross the line? Did he belittle the student? Is it racially motivated? Since the coach is white, the student is black. However, many people out there chimed in with us in saying, hey, my coach and my teachers said some pretty harsh things to me as well and some saying it needs some perspective given that the coach said students that don't get their grades up could be future welfare recipients. But is that enough? Should you be saying this to any kid?
Send us your comments this morning. I'm already chiming in and conversating with some of you all on twitter already this morning. It stays up right here next to me on the desk. We want to know what you think about this story. You also can find us on Facebook and on our blog, cnn.com/tj. We'll be reading your comments throughout the morning.
And as we get close to the bottom of the hour, we're going to turn to Natalie Wood. That accident drowning 30 years ago. Well, was it really accidental? This is still a mystery. Her sister wants the truth to finally come out. Hear what she says about Robert Wagner's role in this now reopened case. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're at the bottom of the hour now on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Welcome back to you all. Thank you for spending part of your weekend here with us.
Let me get you caught up on the things we are keeping a close eye on today. First, we're looking at the mess they're dealing with in Nevada right now, wildfires out there that have forced at least 10,000 people to evacuate. They had wind gusts out there of about 85 miles an hour at some point over the past 24 hours that really caused this thing to really get going and moving.
They are expecting lighter winds today. Reynolds Wolf will have more on that for us here in just a bit. We can confirm also that at least one person has been killed as a result of those wildfires.
Also, U.S. diplomatic sources say Iran's nuclear program will soon lead to new financial sanctions from both United States and the European Union. Sources say the sanctions would target the Islamic republic's petrochemical industry. The expected sanctions follow more concerns from the U.N. over the intent of Iran's nuclear program.
Also in Syria, more street protests against the government. On the diplomatic front, meanwhile, Syria has reportedly conceded to an Arab League plan to allow neutral observers in the country. An estimated 3,500 people have died this year in anti-government demonstrations.
Also, a month after terrorists attacked Kabul International Hotel, a Taliban affiliated website reportedly shows fighters planning the June 28th assault. Eleven civilians were killed in that attack along with two Afghan policemen and nine of the attackers.
Well, 30 years after actress Natalie Wood drowned off Southern California, police have reopened the case. Woods' death was ruled an accident. The actress had been on a yacht with her husband, actor Robert Wagner and also actor Christopher Walken. Boat Captain Dennis Daverns says after Woods could not be found on the boat, Wagner waited four hours to notify the Coast Guard.
Wagner's publicist issued a statement on behalf of his family saying, quote, "They fully support the efforts of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death.
Wood's sister meanwhile, Lana Wood, talked with our Piers Morgan about the relationship between Wagner whom she refers to as R.J. and her sister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANA WOOD, NATALIE WOOD'S SISTER: I would prefer to always believe that R.J. would never do anything to hurt Natalie and that he loved her dearly, which he did. And I don't believe that whatever went on was deliberate. I've always cared about him. I always will care about him. And I would prefer to continue living the - the prior explanations, but I don't think that's going to happen. And it's - as I said, it's very painful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Police have emphasized that Wagner is not a suspect in this case.
We're just past the bottom of the hour now. And bringing you some developments we're getting out of Libya, about one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons.
Let's get on the line with our reporter, Jomana, is there for us. Jomana, we have been hearing about - and he was Saif Gadhafi we're talking about here, the son of Gadhafi. He was seen as the successor at one point. What do we know?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, T.J., what we understand now from a number of different sources here, senior military commanders in Tripoli are telling us that Saif al-Islam Gadhafi. He's the most wanted son of Moammar Gadhafi has been captured by revolutionary fighters in the Sahara Desert, Libya. We understand the capture was made in the Town of Ubari, that is the town in Southwest Libya. It's an Oasis town, not too far from the Algerian Border.
Now, T.J., to remind our viewers, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. He has been on the run since August, since before the fall of the capital, Tripoli.
Now, we're hearing outbursts of celebratory gunfire across the capital as this news spread. Lots of people honking their horns celebrating what they have been waiting for really for a very long time.
HOLMES: All right. Jomana with the news for us. Again, CNN continues to work to confirm, but the word is that Saif Gadhafi, again, you probably recognize that face. He was certainly visible during the time of the uprising, speaking on behalf of his father and of the government at the time.
But the word is Saif Gadhafi has supposed to have been captured in Libya. One of the most wanted sons of Gadhafi, possibly trying to flee but captured. We'll have more details as we get them.
Thirty-five minutes past the hour. We'll turn back to politics here in a moment and the rise of Newt Gingrich. Up in the polls, with just six weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, but can he keep this up? Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, turning to some politics now. A pretty busy week for the Republican presidential candidates, but, hey, isn't every week from now until Iowa?
Bigger news might be coming out of Washington, however. That so- called Debt Super Committee running out of time to reach a deal on spending cuts. They will be working throughout this weekend.
Here with me now, Matt Towery, syndicated columnist and former campaign adviser to Newt Gingrich. Newt is doing pretty well these days, didn't he? And also Lee May, Democratic County Commissioner in suburban Atlanta's DeKalb County. Thank you both for being here.
Let me just start with this. And let me just - you wouldn't - you don't even have to get into it, yes or no? Will they reach a deal?
MATT TOWERY, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: No.
LEE MAY, CHAIRMAN OF DEKALB COUNTY'S BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE: No.
HOLMES: No.
TOWERY: Absolutely not.
HOLMES: Absolutely not. What does this tell us about Washington? This was it, the big debt deal. So what do we - already people don't think much of what's coming out of Washington. So will this hurt them anymore?
TOWERY: Well, they kick the can always. And no one ever thought the Super Committee was a good idea other than the people who are on the Super Committee. You already have a split of group called the Gang of Six rising, once again trying to offer another alternative.
But right now, I think Lee would agree, everybody is playing to their own constituencies. Republicans realize conservatives and independents are really strong this year. They can't vote for any tax increases. At the same time, Democrats can't settle anything without some tax enhancements.
HOLMES: You said Lee would agree with this, but I'll get you two to agree but they can't them to agree in Washington. So who's going to get the blame, though, when this goes down in no agreement?
MAY: Well, all of Congress. I mean, with the nine percent approval rating, all of Congress. This is the worst game of football ever. This is a - this is a football game with, you know, no touchdowns, no field goals. It's a football game full of punts. It's an unattractive game you wouldn't want to watch it. And they're just kicking the can down the road.
HOLMES: All right. We'll move on from that then and we'll go back to a guy you used to work for, Newt Gingrich. Can he keep this up until Iowa?
TOWERY: I think he can. Newt's in a very precarious situation in the sense that he's sort of made his peak a little bit early. He would have done better had it been after Thanksgiving.
Last year, in 2008, if you recall, we did the CNN YouTube Debate in St. Petersburg. That was right after Thanksgiving. We went into the holidays. Mike Huckabee won that debate and he never looked back. But it's during Christmas people don't care about politics.
HOLMES: Right.
TOWERY: And then you get into the early Iowa caucus. Now, Gingrich so far is weathering the storm better than I thought he would. He's quieter than he used to be. He's not, you know, just firing left or right. He has to get his story down right, but so far it doesn't seem to be penetrating as much as the Herman Cain issue, for example, because it's not as, quote, "sexy."
HOLMES: OK. Then let's talk to a Democrat here, but talk about the Republicans. As you watch this as a Democrat, what do you think they're thinking at the White House as they're watching what's happening on the Republican side? MAY: Well, they're loving this. This is even showing that either the Republicans don't know what they want or they have such a high standard that none of the candidates are able to fulfill their needs.
HOLMES: Who do they not like? Who does the White House you think not want to go up against in that group?
MAY: Well, I think they don't want to go up against Newt Gingrich. I think they don't want to go up against Mitt Romney, either. I think - but, you know, at the end of the game, it's going to be such a battle that goes on. The candidate that comes out is going to be bruised and it's going to be kind of like the game of "Sole Survivor," you're going to be on the island but -
HOLMES: But Newt is not the one they want given the background, the history, his Washington connections.
MAY: Well, they all have baggage, you know? And Newt has just a longer tenure of baggage to bring to the table. And if he can make it through this portion of the primary as the nominee, then he'll have more time to really be able to filter through that.
TOWERY: I think - I think the other point to be made here is that I don't think the White House really is as afraid of Newt Gingrich as they are Mitt Romney. And the reason you've been seeing all these things come out about Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and the like - and I've run these campaigns, I know how they are.
HOLMES: Yes.
TOWERY: The Romney organization has a great opposition research group. They were pitching reporters on the Herman Cain story months ago. I know reporters who told me they were being pitch. Don't have any - don't be shocked that the fact that the Romney folks are not floating some of this Gingrich stuff right now. If I were running the Romney campaign, I might be doing the same thing.
HOLMES: Can Cain - we'll wrap on Cain here.
TOWERY: Yes.
HOLMES: We've seen more polls come out. He ends up in number three in some of them as opposed to being number one or number two like he has been. Lee, has he at least steadied the ship, if you will? And then on top of this, we have another National Security debate coming up. And after what happened down in Florida with his comment about speaking Cuban and then what happened with the Editorial Board with his question about Libya, I mean - is this - a lot of negative (INAUDIBLE).
MAY: I think you're going to see Herman Cain fade to the background. I think really it just shows that he wasn't really ready for the big times.
HOLMES: Can he get ready in the next six weeks? MAY: No. I think he's made so many blunders now. I think his campaign wasn't really prepared for such a steep trajectory that they made over the past weeks and I think you're really seeing the fruit of that.
HOLMES: Is it fair to say that - a lot of people say he didn't want to be president any way, he's just promoting a book. So are they surprised at their own success? Like, "Whoa, wait, we can win this thing?"
TOWERY: Well, we both know Herman. I think at the beginning, Herman really was doing this for other reasons. He had messages he'd wanted to get across, whether it was a book or not, I don't know.
HOLMES: You think he never really wanted to be president?
TOWERY: I think he thought it was a long shot, and when he got there, he didn't have, as Lee alluded to, he did not have the infrastructure you have. Running for president requires the very best. You have to have the very best minds. You've got to be very tough. I don't think they were quite prepared for it.
HOLMES: All right. Gentlemen, good to see you all this morning.
TOWERY: Thank you.
HOLMES: We hope we can get you back in here. So good to have some guests in studio with us.
MAY: Thank you. Absolutely.
HOLMES: Good to see you. We'll continue this conversation.
Six weeks to go until Iowa. And, of course, we've got next year to talk about. So plenty of politics.
And then Tuesday night on CNN, the Republicans running for president, they'll gather one more time not too far away the White House actually. It's our National Security debate. CNN is putting it on, co-sponsored with the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. That's coming your way 8:00, Eastern, Tuesday night right here on CNN.
Well, we're about a quarter of the top of the hour now. We're going to be checking back in with our Reynolds Wolf here in just a bit. He's keeping an eye on all things weather-related, including the situation going on out in Nevada right now where high winds fueled a massive fire that's killed at least one and destroyed 20 homes.
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. About 12 minutes to the top of the hour.
Let's say hello once again to Reynolds Wolf. A lot of people traveling this weekend. A lot of people already doing their holiday travel.
WOLF: This is it. This is it, you know?
It is really getting started for many people today, and for a lot of folks it's going to become interesting where they happen to be. In some places, it's going to be a smooth traveling experience, other places it's going to be just brutal.
Let's start where we expect some delays. In San Francisco, due to the showers, you're going to have some backups; in Boston, wind; Chicago, showers and a strong breeze may keep you grounded for just under an hour; Miami, an issue; but Minneapolis is the one that's very interesting. You could see some delays there. And I would not be surprised if you see the delays expand. And the reason why is because of this big, monstrous, complex storm system that brought some heavy snow to parts of the Rockies, now it's bringing in a combination of snow and winds to the Northern Plains and, yes, it's going to tattoo the Twin Cities and bring not only the snow but, of course, some strong wind gusts, anywhere from 25 to 35 miles per hour.
Everything you see on here that is pink or purple indicate your watches, your warnings, your advisories, and believe me there's tons of them. This is the area of low pressure that's going to pull its way just to the south. It's going to split the difference between Green Bay and Minneapolis. Minneapolis is going to get the backside of this system which means the moisture that's going to actually sweep over the area of cold air, say, you know, the cold blast, then the overrunning moisture giving you the snowfall. So icy conditions can be expected.
Anyone making a drive on parts of 90 trying to get to Fargo, have fun with that. It's going to be a long trip for you.
As we wrap things up, your highs of the day, 68 degrees in Kansas City; 55 in Chicago; a stream of 50s from Boston to New York, to Washington, D.C., even Atlanta. And then when you get to Tampa and Miami, 80s; 49 Denver; 58 in Albuquerque; 80 in Dallas; 57 in San Francisco; and 42 in Portland, Oregon.
All right, T.J., back over to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you, kind sir. We'll see Reynolds, of course, plenty throughout the morning.
But coming up here next, imagine this. An airline telling you this plane is not going to move and you're not going to get to your destination, even though you bought your ticket until you pay for the fuel for this flight. And that's exactly what the passengers did.
Stick around for this in our "Morning Passport."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About nine minutes off the top of the hour. Now, let's say good morning to Nadia Bilchik for the "Morning Passport."
This is one of those outrage stories.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes.
HOLMES: Airlines charge us for everything, right? All these fees for the baggage and you pay for the ticket. You have to pay directly for the fuel.
BILCHIK: Only in this particular occasion.
HOLMES: Just this one, OK.
BILCHIK: I think the airline industry might have reached a new low.
HOLMES: Why?
BILCHIK: And this was on Thursday, where you had a group of passengers who were traveling from India - from Amritsar in India to Birmingham, England. But as you can see, they needed to stop to refuel in Vienna.
HOLMES: All right.
BILCHIK: Well, when Comtel Air got to Vienna, they didn't have enough money to pay the airport taxes or the fuel.
HOLMES: What do you mean they didn't have enough money?
BILCHIK: They did not have enough money.
Apparently what has happened was the travel agency in England didn't pay Comtel Air, but have a look. You're seeing passengers actually give money, around $200 or so dollars, if they didn't have the money - wait for this one - they were escorted into the airport building and at the ATMs told to get cash.
Now, do you travel with about $200 on you every time?
HOLMES: Now, these folks had to go to -
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: Wait a minute. See, I thought this is the case where, hey, either the flight would stop right here - those are their options, OK? We're not going to be able to take to you your destination -
BILCHIK: Exactly.
HOLMES: -- or you're going to have to pay for gas.
BILCHIK: We need to get around $30,000. So as you can see, they're finally clapping because it means we are actually taking off. Those people who didn't have the money didn't get to go to England.
But I want to hear from one very frustrated passenger about the ordeal. Let's hear from him and the gentleman we're going to hear from actually took some of the photographs you're seeing. HOLMES: All right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAL DADRAH, PASSENGER/CAMERAMAN: It was a complete and utter sham. I could not believe what I was witnessing. It was - it was as if we were being held hostage, you know, against our wills with the 24,000 Pounds - which we all eventually had to pay, being the ransom. So, it's - it was just a nightmare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILCHIK: Can you imagine that?
Now, because the travel agency is British, even though the airline is Austrian, the British Aviation Authority is going to refund the money.
HOLMES: OK. Good.
BILCHIK: And is going to help those stranded in Vienna to get back to England. But can you imagine?
HOLMES: This is incredible. And I hope airlines are paying attention to this for the right reasons. You know, some airline executives, hmm, maybe we can find a way -
BILCHIK: Exactly. More money, never mind charging for food, let's charge for fuel.
HOLMES: Charge for fuel. You're going to get where you're going.
We have another story, another outrage story about an airline to tell you here, this one out of Hong Kong. I'm sure you've heard of this one as well. The passengers - I was kind of proud of them for this - they staged a sit-in. The airline had them sitting through a nine- hour delay, all right? And you heard some of these horror stories, people sitting on tarmacs all this time.
Well, this is in Hong Kong. So when the Hong Kong Airlines flight finally landed where it was supposed to land at 5:00 A.M. Wednesday morning after that nine-hour delay, some of the passengers refused to leave the flight until they were compensated. They wanted to be refunded money for unused hotel rooms.
Now, initially the airline offered - I think it was $50, but a lot of people said, "No. That's not enough. We're going to sit here until you pay us."
And, Nadia, would you believe, they held out long enough, the airline ended up paying them $150. Still not a lot.
BILCHIK: Exactly. What will you do for $150?
HOLMES: But you know -
BILCHIK: It's a matter of principle. HOLMES: It is. To make the point. But still, after you sat there for nine hours, they sat there for another five. I don't think I had it in me.
BILCHIK: Definitely sounds very arduous. But if you think about it, here you have this Comtel Air passengers, let's hope they get refunded, too, but is it worth the hassle to get the money back?
HOLMES: The hassle - the hassle, always the hassle to fly sometimes.
Nadia Bilchik, we'll see you again for another "Morning Passport."
But coming up, another story you all are already chiming in on. I have been reading your comments. This is about that high school coach in Kansas City who is now out on leave after he made a controversial comment to a student and it was caught on camera. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Future welfare recipient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Students who don't get their grades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A coach calls a student a future welfare recipient and then he repeats it on camera for the kid. So, should the coach be suspended? Should he be fired? Or is the apology enough? Some of your responses coming up. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: As we get close to the top of the hour, earlier we were telling you about a coach's controversial comments. He is now on administrative leave after telling a student he's, quote, "a future welfare recipient." The student taped this on his cell phone. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Future welfare recipient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Students who don't get their grades.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now, the student and his parents say this is just one of a number of really negative and sometimes racially motivated comments from this particular coach. We asked you to weigh in. Is an apology enough from the coach?
Well, here's what some of you have been saying. One says, "The coach is correct. Students who earn Cs, Ds and Fs will have a terrible time in our current economy. Education is key to success."
Another saying, no, "That teacher should be fired. No question. No tolerance for treating our children this way."
Another still saying, "Fragile, politically correct panic attacks? Coaches motivate students, it's not always with kid gloves."
And also another one saying, "Coach apologized because he got caught. Kudos to the son and father for evidence. What's to investigate? Video doesn't lie."
Just a few of a number of comments a lot of you all have been chiming in this morning about that. Please keep those coming in.
But some of you kind of split here. Some of you are saying, yes, if you're not a good student, that's the point the coach is trying to make. If you're not making good grades, some of you saying that's just too far. That's not how you motivate. We'll continue the conversation this morning.
