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CNN Saturday Morning News

Violence Returns in Syria; Secret Service Embarrassment

Aired April 14, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): From CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

Allegations of a shocking scandal send U.S. Secret Service agents home from the president's trip to Colombia. We'll bring you the details.

Also, remember these images from Tuscaloosa last year? Meteorologists are bracing for another tornado outbreak as devastating as this one, likely just hours from now. We'll talk with a storm chaser on his way to tornado alley.

And our weekend in focus today. Madame Constituent. Throughout the morning we take a look at what women want this November and what the candidates must do to win their votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: It is Saturday, April 14th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.

Syrians once again under siege just a couple days after the start of a cease-fire. Government troops opened fire on protesters in Dura where a human rights group says at least 20 people have been injured. Meanwhile the city of Homs was hit again by another round of shelling from forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. It all comes as the U.N. security council is expected to vote soon on a draft resolution which demands access to Syria for outside observers and calls on both sides to end the violence.

An Oklahoma man accused of shooting five people in a deadly rampage one week ago says he does not hate African-Americans. In a jail house interview Jake England says he grew up with friends of all races and, "always got along with everybody." On Friday, prosecutors filed murder and hate crime charges against England and another man, Alvin Watts. All of the victims in the case were black while England and Watts are white. Three of those victims died. Two others were wounded.

And for everyone frustrated by the amount of money that it is costing you to fill up your gas tank, well, here's some good news. Gas prices have been falling, yes falling for the past seven days. AAA says that the decline has shaved nearly four cents off the price of gas bringing the national average to just about 3.90 a gallon. A slight drop in crude prices plus Iran's decision to negotiate over its nuclear program have helped push those prices down. It's all leading analysts to say that gas prices may have peaked for the year.

The Secret Service is in the spotlight this morning with a massive black eye. That is because the agency was forced to pull 12 agents out of Colombia because of a prostitute. It happened before the president even stepped off the plane in Cartagena, Colombia. Yes, the agents were there to lay the groundwork for the president's security.

Journalist and author Ronald Kessler broke the story and calls it "the worst scandal in the agency's history." He told me that it all started with one prostitute who wasn't paid and from there it went to the police and then to the State Department and then a ticket home for 12 Secret Service agents. I asked Kessler about the real risk in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RONALD KESSLER, JOURNALIST/AUTHOR: This is really the biggest scandal in the history of the Secret Service. The biggest breach was when the Salehis broke, crashed the state dinner along with a third intruder. And I wrote that story with Carlos Allen. It all amounts to a pattern of corner cutting, covering up, laxness by Secret Service management.

KAYE: There was a risk here. I know that you believe that. You believe it could have certainly put the president at risk.

KESSLER: The real risk is, you know, some of these agents were married. They could have been subjected to blackmail by these prostitutes. And as a result they could have let terrorists in to secure areas and that could have resulted in assassination. As it is, it's a miracle that there hasn't been an assassination according to agents that I've talked to because of this corner cutting, letting people into events without proper screening, not keeping up to date with the latest firearms, not requiring firearms tests or physical exams.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Our Dan Lothian is traveling with the president for the Summit of the Americas and Dan joins us now from Colombia. Dan, so what is the Secret Service and what is the administration saying about this?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, the Secret Service pointing out that they take this case very seriously, confirming that in fact some of these Secret Service personnel were, in fact, sent home. They have not confirmed that number of 12. They also will not confirm the specific allegation of prostitution. But, nonetheless, this has been handed over to their version of an internal affairs division, which is the office of professional responsibility, to continue this investigation.

Clearly, some of that investigation has already taken place here on the ground. We must assume that they have conducted interviews and that will continue now that these Secret Service personnel have returned to their home base. But I can tell you this is certainly a big distraction and a serious distraction for the administration because they come here with a carefully crafted and scripted agenda to focus on trade, to focus on the economy.

This is a region that really has been booming over the last decade or so. They have been able to rebound from the economic slowdown, global slowdown that we saw much better than the United States. So this is an area that the administration sees a lot of opportunities for U.S. businesses and, in fact, a short time from now the president will be sitting down for a CEO summit here in Cartagena to talk about the public-private partnership that can take place. Yet the headlines are, you know, these Secret Service personnel who have been sent home. So a serious distraction for the administration, a black eye for the Secret Service.

KAYE: Dan, would you expect the administration, maybe even the president to comment on this later today?

LOTHIAN: We don't expect that the president will comment on this. Perhaps if someone throws a question at him he might take the time to say something about it. The more the president jumps in on something like this, the more it will continue to distract from the main message that they're trying to drive here in Cartagena.

But no doubt we'll continue digging on this to try to get more details and perhaps some confirmation from the Secret Service to what sources have been telling us so far.

KAYE: Dan Lothian for us there in Cartagena. Thank you. Appreciate it.

The power of the purse. Even though men traditionally earn more women have a big say when it comes to how many is spent in the household. We'll discuss the buying power of women coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Putting the spotlight on women. It's our focus this morning and pay inequality is no secret. Most men make more money than their female counterparts but did you know that women are earning, buying, and influencing spending at a greater rate than ever before? Women make or influence 85 percent of all purchasing decisions. They also purchase more than 50 percent of traditional male products including cars, home improvement products, and consumer electronic.

By 2028 the average American woman is expected to earn more than the average American male. With facts like these it is hard to understand why women aren't a top priority when it comes to anything economy related. Bill Rodgers is an economics professor at Rutgers University. Good morning to you, Bill. We've heard a lot about women this past week, the issue whether women in the work place face more economic challenges than the stay at home moms. But isn't this argument more about who makes the money rather than who spends it?

PROF. BILL RODGERS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: It's a real difficult question. It depends on where you are in the income scale. I mean if you are a woman in a family at the lower part of the income scale, in terms of (INAUDIBLE) who makes it. And women there face a great deal, a large number of barriers whether it be access to affordable child care, then if you move to middle income women the continued challenge of getting into the trades, construction, for example, that these are some of the higher paying jobs.

And then when you move to the higher part of the income scale it becomes an issue still around glass ceilings. So it just depends upon partly where you are in the income scale in terms of what challenges the women face.

KAYE: Yes. Is there really a difference do you think in spending for women who work versus women who stay home?

RODGERS: Is there a difference there?

KAYE: Yes.

RODGERS: I mean, obviously, in terms of the amount of resources they have, most definitely. But in terms of - and then also there is a difference in terms of the kinds of goods that they're able to access. But the focus that, you know, I've seen and particularly talking with other economists, you know, it really comes down to having partners that will do much more in the households to help to offset some of these differences in the work place.

And it's not just, you know, doing the dishes. It's doing, putting the kids to bed and also in this day and age our kids are so wired in to activities. It's that brain power that is spent doing all that family organization that is again - it's very similar.

KAYE: When you look at the primary buyers though, I mean, women are the primary buyers but more than 90 percent of women say that the advertisers just don't get them. They don't understand them. And is that because the industry, that industry is still dominated by men?

RODGERS: Well, that's an interesting point. I mean, that, you know, we are still seeing great amounts of occupation segregation, you know, still - I think many employers still are starting to understand that, you know, now are getting to the fact that 49 percent of those who are in the work place are women. And we do see the societal lag effects in terms of employers, in terms of advertisers, in terms of society in general being really and ready to understand and embrace the new realities that we see in the labor market, the new trends that we see in the labor market.

KAYE: Bill Rodgers, thank you very much.

RODGERS: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: It is about 13 minutes past the hour. Time for a check of the weather. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele with us this morning. Good morning again.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning again, Randi. We certainly do have the threat for severe weather today. You know, the biggest problem with this threat may be the timing of it. A lot of these tornadoes could come tonight after the sun sets so that certainly is the biggest difficulty wit that. What we're looking at right now in terms of the radar, this i-44 corridor between Oklahoma and St. Louis. That is where we're seeing thunderstorms. Nothing severe as of yet. Tornado watch box posted until 9:00 Central but you can see these storms moving out of that. So that certainly will expire. And then the threat pushes eastward.

But tonight the threat also pushes northward. So Omaha, K.C., Wichita, Oklahoma City down to Dallas today, the biggest threat. So here is a look. If you're at some of these cities today or tomorrow the kind of the key will be just to have a plan because of the onset of these pretty late tonight. Des Moines, Wichita, Kansas City, Abilene, and then tomorrow look at. It goes all the way from Green Bay, Randi, down towards Houston, Texas. So a very long linear line of severe weather tomorrow as well as the biggest severe threat really tonight maybe after about 9:00.

KAYE: Get in the bath tub and take cover, right?

STEELE: That's right. And especially because it is going to be night time. That really could be some problems. Although isolated tornadoes before that certainly possible as well.

KAYE: All right. Alexandra, thank you.

Severe storms are expected today as we said for a wide swath of the plains. Tornado outbreaks are likely especially late today and overnight. Storm chaser Tony Laubach took these pictures of a tornado that touched down in Shawnee, Oklahoma yesterday. He is actually driving now to Nebraska to capture video of any storms there. And I spoke with him just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY LAUBACH, STORM CHASER/METEOROLOGIST: We're in Salina, Kansas, heading up to Nebraska today. Today looks very, very potent, very reminiscent of many of the outbreaks that we saw back in 2011.

KAYE: How many storms, I mean, is this something that - what are we expecting in terms of the storms? I mean are you expecting to find what you might call a super outbreak?

LAUBACH: Today has the potential to be a super outbreak with tornadoes possible from Nebraska all the way down into North Texas. Many of those tornadoes could potentially be very, very strong, impacting a lot of people from Lincoln, Nebraska all the way down to Wichita Falls, Texas.

KAYE: And what kind of gear do you take with you on a trip like this when you're going to take on a tornado?

LAUBACH: We are equipped with satellites and mobile internet for radar services. We also have GPS, all of our camera equipment and of course a trusty vehicle to insure that we can get in and out of there safely.

KAYE: I know when you spoke with one of our producers you said you have more food and Mellow Yellow than you can shake a stick at. So I guess you have some pretty good supplies?

LAUBACH: Yes, I have been on the road for the last seven days, and food and drink on the road is very handy to have in the back seat, and we'll make sure I never run out of that.

KAYE: So how do you know when it's too dangerous? Is there ever a time where you won't chase a storm?

LAUBACH: My goal is to try to tell the story, not become the story, so I try to keep a safe distance in front of the storms so that I don't end up in any kind of trouble.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And we plan to have Tony back on the show with us tomorrow when he'll share his stories of chasing those storms with all of us.

After the break, autism and eating disorders. It's a problem for many kids, like seven-year-old Kaylee. But there's help and there's also hope. Her story, next. Stay with us at "CNN Saturday Morning" where news doesn't take the weekend off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Here is a preview of this week's "Next List." A look inside a virtual world with video game designer Jane McConnell (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are a billion people on the planet now who qualify as gamers. There are games you can play to learn how to start your own business. If you're unemployed and want to start your own company, there is a game you can play to learn how to do that.

When I tell people, hey, do you want to cure cancer or Alzheimer's? You can do that by playing a game. Games are an extraordinary way to tap into the best version of yourself, the most determined, the most creative, the most resilient. I'm Jane McConnell (ph), I'm a game designer and I'm the inventor of Super Better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is something most of us take for granted. Munching on an apple or grabbing a sandwich. But for families of children with autism these can be traumatic events. There is help out there, though, for the kids and the parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): Like many seven-year-olds, Kaylee West doesn't eat vegetables, but she has also never had cookies, a grilled cheese sandwich, or any solid foods.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, it was a total nightmare.

KAYE: That's because up until now Kaylee has refused to eat.

JENNIFER WEST, KAYLEE'S MOTHER: We were at the point we had a seven- year-old drinking out of a bottle, still on formula. So we needed for her health and well being, we needed to find something that was more substantial.

KAYE: Like pureed food. It is a struggle that Kaylee's mother, Jennifer West, knows all too well and so do a growing number of parents in the U.S.. According to the newest figures from the CDC, one in every 88 children has autism. A shocking majority of them have what are known as autism-related eating disorders.

DR. DAVID JACQUESS, THE MARCUS AUTISM CENTER: The research ranges all the way from about 49 percent of children to 80 percent of children with autism have some restriction or difficulties in meal times or not eating enough to get good nutrition.

KAYE: Dr. David Jacquess is the director of the pediatric eating disorders program at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta.

JACQUESS: Children have very severe tantrums, maybe throwing food or running away from the table or getting very emotionally upset and crying.

JENNIFER WEST: With most kids with autism she is considered nonverbal so therefore really has problems communicating. She will swat at you and bite. She will just knock it out of your hands.

KAYE: Even for those patients who do eat their extreme pickiness endangers their health.

JACQUESS: Another example might be a child who will only eat a particular brand of store-bought food so chicken nuggets but only chicken mcnuggets because they have a particular feel in their mouth or something about their experience of it that makes it more comfortable for them.

KAYE: The Marcus Center's feeding program may sound simple to a healthy person but is very rigorous for a child with autism.

JACQUESS: Children are here all day Monday through Friday for about seven weeks working very, very hard and very intensely. We try to balance that out with the kind of re-enforcers that are really going to motivate children to do what for them is very difficult work.

KAYE: There is still work to be done.

JENNIFER WEST: From a kid that would slap you instead of letting you put food in her mouth to she is actually lunging at the spoon now in order to get the food. So we have made big strides and this is just the beginning of the fourth week.

KAYE: Long strides toward a healthier life for Kaylee and some peace of mind for Jennifer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And for more information on the Marcus Autism Center for pediatric eating disorders you can visit their website at marcus.org or of course you can always logon to my Facebook page, Randi Kaye CNN. We'll have the link for you there and some more information as well.

Secret Service agents and allegations of prostitution. It's an embarrassment for the agency. We'll explain, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Getting a check of your top stories now.

President Obama's trip to Colombia to boost U.S. trade is making headlines but probably not in the way the White House had hoped. Twelve of the president's Secret Service agents have been sent home for misconduct. The journalist who broke the story tells CNN it's because of at least one agent's involvement with local prostitutes. The Secret Service which would not specify what happened says those agents have been replaced.

Syrians are once again under siege just a couple days after the start of a ceasefire. Government troops opened fire on protesters in Dura where a human rights group says at least 20 people have been injured. Meanwhile, the city of Homs was hit again by another round of shelling from forces loyal to the Syrian president. It all comes as the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote soon on a draft resolution which demands access to Syria for outside observers and calls on both sides to end the violence.

And a story that we brought you first here at CNN. An Oklahoma man accused of shooting five people in a deadly rampage one week ago says he does not hate African-Americans. In a jail house interview, Jake England says he grew up with friends of all races and, quote, always got along with everybody.

On Friday prosecutors filed murder and hate crime charges against England and another man, Alvin Watts. All of the victims in the case were black while England and Watts are white. Three of those victims died. Two others were wounded.

We are back with more of today's top stories at the top of the hour. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING where news doesn't take the weekend off. "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with Christine Romans begins right now.