Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Partnership with Afghanistan; Jobs Numbers Impact Obama Tour; Internet Blackout This Monday; Serena Williams Going for #5; Race for Congress Turns Ugly
Aired July 07, 2012 - 07:00 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 world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan's future.
KAYE: An unannounced visit to Afghanistan and an announcement that will impact troop withdrawal.
Plus, June jobs numbers send investors into panic as the Dow plunges over 100 points. Why the numbers just didn't add up for Wall Street?
And a rescue from a hot car -- it's not what you think. How an unexpected hitchhiker got stuck.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 7:00 on the East Coast. Thanks for waking up with us.
We begin in Afghanistan, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton carried a message on partnership, back with a commitment to keep working with Afghanistan well beyond the planned troops pull out in 2014.
Afghanistan is now designated a major non-NATO ally. That means that the U.S. will keep up defense, security and economic relations with Afghanistan even after the withdrawal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I am pleased to announce today that President Obama has officially designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally of the United States. We see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan's future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Afghanistan joins nations like Japan and Australia on the non- NATO list. Shortly after the announcement, Clinton and Afghan President Hamid Karzai left for Japan for a meeting of international donors.
And before heading to Afghanistan, Secretary of State Clinton was in Paris for the so-called Friends of Syria meeting. Leaders there are searching for a solution for the continued bloodshed in Syria at the hands of President Assad's regime.
Clinton offered this warning to Russia and China who have opposed efforts to have Assad removed from power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I will tell you frankly, I don't think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all -- nothing at all for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime. The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Clinton also argued for United Nation's sanctions. The U.N. could authorize force to topple Assad's regime.
Not a good number for President Obama. A weak jobs report left the unemployment rate at 8.2 percent. And that means nearly 13 million people are jobless. A large number of them have been out of work for at least six months. The news pushed the markets down. The Dow finished down 124 points.
The jobs report is a big deal, of course, on the campaign trail. Both parties are spinning it their own way. And, of course, there is a lot of finger-pointing going on.
But as our White House correspondent Dan Lothian reports, the bad news is following President Obama on his campaign bus tour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama's battleground bus tour drove over a big speed bump when disappointing job numbers overshadowed his campaign message.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's still tough out there.
LOTHIAN: At a rally in Poland, Ohio, the president didn't dwell on negative news, instead played up private sector gains.
OBAMA: Business has created 84,000 new jobs last month. And that overall means that businesses have created 4.4 million new jobs over the past 28 months, including 500,000 new manufacturing jobs.
That's a step in the right direction.
(APPLAUSE)
LOTHIAN: But unemployment remains at 8.2 percent. And voters are divided over who best can handle the economy. A recent CNN/ORC poll shows 48 percent of registered voters think Mitt Romney, 47 percent President Obama.
Looking to keep a tight grip on the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania that voted for him in 2008, the president pushed his message of manufacturing gains, especially in the auto industry, to working-class voters.
He began the final day of his "Betting on America" bus tour with breakfast in Akron, Ohio, where the president was joined by three union workers from a nearby Goodyear tire plant.
OBAMA: You have been there 20 years. You still there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LOTHIAN: Then he toured this Summer Garden Food manufacturing plant near Youngstown, a business the campaign said was expanding and creating jobs.
At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, his biggest event of the tour, there was one final appeal for a second term.
OBAMA: And if you still believe in me like I believe in you, I hope you will stand with me in 2012.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The president told supporters almost every stop on the two-day bus tour that he was tough enough to handle negative ads from his opponent and outside groups. He admitted he was being outspent, the first time it's happened to a sitting president.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Pittsburgh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And as we saw in Dan's report, the president started his day yesterday at a diner in Akron, Ohio. No doubt it was a thrill for the owner, Ann Harris. But just about an hour of the president left, the 70-year-old diner owner died.
Here she is after meeting the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPHINE "ANN" HARRIS, OWNER, ANN'S DINER: I was home (INAUDIBLE). They called. (INAUDIBLE) We had to work around it. Get me down here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The local paper reports Harris had a heart attack. The president was in Pittsburgh when he got the news. He called Harris' daughter back in Akron to offer his condolences.
In Florida, George Zimmerman is a free man this morning one day after a judge said he was a flight risk. Zimmerman was able to post a $100,000 bond to get out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON WEST, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S ATTORNEY: We are confident and comfortable George will be safe. We were hoping the bail would be less than what it was. We will take the judge's comments to heart. But we certainly don't necessarily agree with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: George Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman has said it was self-defense.
California taking a leap into the future. By the end of this year, the state will be on its way to building the nation's first dedicated high speed rail line. After intense lobbying by Governor Jerry Brown, state lawmakers approved billions to start building it, eventually plans to call for the bullet train to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Voters approved the project four years ago. But support for it has fallen along with the state's economy.
So, come Monday, you may be in the dark when it comes to trying to surf the Web from home. Tens of thousands of Americans computers apparently infected with a dangerous virus. Is your computer one of those? If it is, what can you do? Some help ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Checking some stories cross country.
In Dallas, police arrested two gay men for protesting the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The two applied for marriage license knowing that they would be denied. Then they handcuffed themselves together and sat on the floor refusing to move. Police charged them with criminal trespass, which is a misdemeanor.
If nothing else, Thomas Bagel (ph) of Milford, Massachusetts is a man of his words. He said he'd make his final house payment in pennies. And he did, 62,000 of them weighing 800 pounds.
He's been a customer of the bank since he opened the savings account when he was 10 and gave the staff advanced warning. It took them two days to unroll the pennies that he collected for the past 35 years. That is something.
Imagine a driver's surprise when he found an iguana in his car as he left work in Miami -- only in Miami. That's when he called the fire department, which luckily wasn't busy rescuing a cat from a tree or anything like that.
There it is. It took a little work to get it out from under the dash. But they did it. As you can see, it's good size. The firemen walked it across the street, and as you saw, released it into that swampy area.
Monday could be a bad day for many of us who use the Internet and that's because there's a computer virus that's affecting thousands of computers. And it appears the only way the FBI can actually fix it will involve shutting down servers that provide your Internet service. And we know how attach to these guys we are.
So, now to better explain this, let's bring in Tom Foreman to break it down for us in terms that you'll understand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what you need to watch out for this weekend. The FBI went after this virus called the DNS changer through a thing called "Operation Ghost Click".
Why did they call it that? Because this virus targeted about 4 million computers worldwide, a half million in the U.S. And what it did was if you click on a Web site, something you wanted to go to, it simply took you to another site. Sometimes it looked a lot like it.
For example, you went to iTunes, you wanted to buy some music or a movie or something, then all of a sudden, you found yourself on a site that looked kind of like it where they might steal directly from you. They were stealing ad space.
They bottom line is they ripped off about $14 million this way. They were Eastern European criminals according to the FBI.
They were picked up. But the virus is still out there. So, that's the real danger. And the big problem comes on Monday, when if this is inside your computer, there's a chance you will find you cannot get on to the Internet at all.
So, what can you do about it? Well, some of the biggest names out there on the Internet have already been trying to help. Facebook has been sending notices to people whose computers act like they might have been infected, you might have seen one of these. Same thing from Google, letting people know that maybe there's a problem.
What to do if you think you have a problem is simple in many ways. Go to www.dns-ok.us. This was set up with the FBI. And the bottom line is when you go to that Web site. It will show you either a green indicator here or a red indicator here.
Green means you are clean, generally. It's not a guarantee. But that says your computer doesn't seem to have a problem. If it comes up red, you need to act quickly.
In any event, check out all of your spyware, malware indication, your protections on your computer. Get all the updates this weekend. Make sure your security system is working as well as possible to get this thing out of your computer. And take a little bit of time, go to that Web site and just make sure because you don't want to find that it's Monday and the ghost got you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: All right, Tom, thank you very much. Now that we know what this virus means to us, let's talk about it. We all take our Internet access for granted, right? What will you do without that Internet service if you do lose it Monday? How will you spend your time? Do you remember what it was like without the Internet?
You can tweet me @RandiKayeCNN. I'll love to know what you think. I'll read your responses later in the show. And you better tweet me before Monday, of course, before that Internet connection might go down.
The business of Scientology is part of our focus on the church this morning. How much money do they generate and where does it come from? We'll investigate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The business of Scientology. We have been focusing on the controversial and secretive church this morning. Last hour, we talked about church doctrine and the draw for celebrities. And now, let's focus on the money and how the church brings in millions of dollars.
CNN's Alison Kosik takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Church of Scientology is known for its celebrity fire power. But beyond that is a sprawling empire that began more than 60 years ago. Dollar figures are hard to come by. It's a nonprofit organization granted tax-exempt status by the IRS in 1993.
And its structure is complicated. The Church of Scientology International headquartered in Los Angeles oversees religious activity. But there are other corporations, including the Religious Technology Center and the Church of Spiritual Technology. They own and oversee the trademarks and copyrights of "Scientology and Dianetics," the bestselling book written by the Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Its publishing house can turn out 67 million copies a year. They go for 20 bucks a paperback on the Scientology Web site.
No doubt, you have seen pictures of the Celebrity Center in Hollywood. That's just one of the church's vast real estate holdings. It says it has acquired more than 70 new buildings since 2004 and the total assets and properties internationally have more than doubled in the last seven years.
The Church of Scientology says 4.4 million people sign up every year. But scholars say the membership numbers are much lower, likely in the hundreds of thousands.
So, where is the money coming from? Mostly its members. The church is primarily funded by contributions usually in change for church services like spiritual counseling and training.
According to "St. Petersburg Times", Scientology's spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, brings in $100 million a year. But the church's hefty fees raised eyebrows. Some former members have alleged the church coerces its flock into making donations and buying scientology materials. And they sell a lot of materials, everything from online courses to DVDs, with most of the proceeds going back to the church.
The church strongly denies coercion.
In New York, I'm Alison Kosik.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Tom Cruise is probably Scientology's highest profile member and a fierce defender of the church's doctrine. Next hour, we'll look at his roots in the religion and his thoughts on the church's critics.
A weaker jobs report dominated Wall Street, throwing all three major U.S. stock indices down a full percent. What it means for your wallet and the economy. That's next.
Plus, a story that will enrage you. Someone, perhaps a few people, doing the unthinkable in Philadelphia. Lighting animals, dogs and cats, house pets on fire. The local chapter of SPCA rescuing some of the animals found alive. But they are also trying to track down who is responsible.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Twenty-two minutes past the hour.
Focusing now on your money.
Investors didn't take kindly to the jobs reports. All three major U.S. indices finished down yesterday after a weaker than expected jobs report. The Dow alone dropped 124 points. Employers added 80,000 jobs last month, keeping the unemployment unchanged at 8.2 percent.
Joining me now is financial journalist and global head of programming for "Thomson Reuters," Dan Colarusso.
Dan, good morning.
DAN COLARUSSO, THOMSON REUTERS: Good morning, Randi. How are you?
KAYE: I'm well. Thank you.
So, let's talk about this. Can you explain why the jobs number made the markets fall?
COLARUSSO: Well, you know, it didn't fall as much as a worse number would have done. You know, it was kind of -- 100 points sounds like a lot. It was a little bit more muted that you'd expect, one because of the holiday, but more importantly because the whole world, Wall Street, is now like a 3-year-old in a cereal aisle at the supermarket that throws a temper tantrums to see when the Federal Reserve will come in and inject some more money into the system. And that's really what everybody is waiting for. And until then, people aren't going to buy stocks. These jobs numbers show that the economy is weak. But not so weak that the fed has to rush to action.
So, it's really what's hanging over the market these days.
I think "Reuters" did a poll this week, and 12 of 16 brokers think that the Fed is going to move soon. Everybody is waiting for that and waiting for a concrete sign.
KAYE: So, do you think the report does make additional stimulus action by the Fed more likely?
COLARUSSO: Well, it wasn't so. There were two or three indicators in there, like hourly wages and hours work that went up a little bit. So, I think the specter of the Fed moving really hangs on what happens to Europe.
I think we are going to see on Wednesday, I believe, the Fed minutes from the last meeting coming up. It's going to tell us whether the discussions about more stimulus really getting traction or if they're going to wait for Europe to implode or not to implode to make a move. And that's really specter of Europe blowing up is really hanging over, because that's when they keep their power dry for. That's when they really need to intervene in the markets.
KAYE: Yes. Let's talk about bankers behaving badly. It's certainly been a theme of the global recession. A lot of focus has been on American banks until now.
I mean, less than a week after one of the world's largest banks, Barclays, was fined almost half a billion dollars by U.S. and British regulators for an interest rate-fixing scandal. We now know the CEO Bob Diamond and the COO Jerry Del Missier have resigned.
But even though Barclays is headquartered in London, can the effects of that scandal, I mean, can they reach across the shores into our wallets, do you think?
COLARUSSO: Yes. I mean, it's a complicated scandal. People may not get a handle on what it means.
But the bigger issue is that the faith in the institutions that we come to rely on, stock exchanges, all of these institutions that the market really counts on is being solely undermined. Every time they hear the word bank and scandal, it takes you -- it gives you another reason not to want to play in the financial markets, more reason to stuff your money in the mattress and not buy stocks. Just to feel like the game is rigged against you.
So, I think it erodes the individual confidence in the market and in the system. It really does hit us in a weak spot. And the timing with the way the economies are, the global economy is right now, with how weak that is, is really -- it's a toxic brew really.
KAYE: So, in very simple terms, briefly, what is Libor and why is it so crucial not only to the banks but the rest of us? And how does this whole thing and all of this manipulation take money out of our pockets?
COLARUSSO: Yes. Well, Libor is a London interbank offering rate. It sets the interest rates for all kinds of things -- mortgages, college loans, car loans and it's basically a group of banks deciding what the -- how much they can borrow from one another at, at what rate. So, it's their cost of doing business, and that translating into our cost of living into -- you know, again, what we pay on our credit cards and our mortgages. So, the issue was the banks were conspiring to keep this rate a little bit lower than usual.
So, this might not have directly taken money out of your pocket, but it did allow firms to use this mechanism to trade and profit in other ways that might have affected you, that might have affected the overall spending themes in the real world.
KAYE: Dan Colarusso, thank you for that. Thank you for the explanation there. Appreciate it.
Serena Williams going for Wimbledon title number five. So, how does this stack up among her best performances? We are going to take you to Wimbledon live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Randi Kaye.
Here are some of the stories we are following.
Right now, Libyans are going to the polls in their first free election in decades. It's one of the reasons they overthrew Moammar Gadhafi's 40-year dictatorship, the chance at democracy. Libyans are electing the assembly which will form a transitional government following that. That government, though, faces a tough job, of course. We all know that. It must rein in militias responsible for a wave of lawlessness and try to unify that country.
If you are one of millions of Americans suffering through the recent heat wave, I may have some good news for you, a cold front -- yes, a cold front is forecast for parts of the country this weekend. The National Weather Service says the front will move through the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes today.
While Ohio will get a bit of relief tomorrow. Some 25 states faced heat watches, warnings or advisories affecting more than 115 million people.
Well, all is well that ends well. Thomas Lopez, a Florida life guard credited with saving a life then getting the boot for his rescue is getting the keys to the city. Yes, the mayor of Hallandale Beach will honor Lopez on Monday. The 21-year-old also declined an offer to get his old job back. He'd rather focus on his school and career.
We are just about 90 minutes away from one of my favorite events, the lady's final at Wimbledon. Serena Williams is going for her fifth title today.
Joining me live from the championship is CNN World Sport's Amanda Davies.
Amanda, good morning. So, Serena is the clear favorite today, right? We hope?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes. Good morning. That is the case. Afraid to say it's a wet morning here at Wimbledon.
But as you say, facing Serena Williams on the top of your game is hard enough, as it is. But Agnieszka Radwanska, who is she's facing in the finals today is struggling with infection. She was forced to cancel her news conference ahead of her grand slam final, but insist she will be fit to play today.
But really, even without that, Radwanska was always very much going to be the underdog going into this one against the 13-time grand slam champion, as you say. She's lost to Serena both of their previous meetings, although they were both a couple of years ago.
Serena, though, as you said, looking for her fifth title here at Wimbledon. She's not had it all her own way. It was only six weeks ago that she was in the first round of the French Open. But she's really stepped it up here in the last couple matches, beating the defeating champion Petra Kvitova, and hitting a record 24 aces in the semifinal against Victoria Azarenka.
So, you would say Serena Williams the fan favorite. People are just hoping it's not a two-set blink and you miss it.
KAYE: Absolutely.
All right. Let's talk about the men. That doesn't happen until tomorrow, of course. Murray in a Wimbledon final -- I mean, people were celebrating like crazy yesterday, right?
DAVIES: And they are still celebrating now, I can tell you. Andy Murray has actually got a day off to prepare for Sunday's final against Roger Federer. But this is history that's being made and could be history in the making because it's been 74 years since Britain has had a homegrown man in the final of their home grand slam Wimbledon.
And Andy Murray has been trying very hard for the last three years to get this far. He's lost three semifinals. Four time lucky he got past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But 11 British men have tried and failed to do what Andy Murray has finally done. So, there really is a Murray-mania or Andymonium as it's being called, spreading across these shores.
The duchess of Cornwall, Kate Middleton, has said, duchess of Cambridge, I should say, Kate Middleton, has said she's going to be here in the royal box tomorrow. The queen, apparently, might be coming, although that is yet to be confirmed. Hundreds of people are camping out already hoping to get their hands on those tickets to go inside and watch what could be a moment of history. Of course, no British man has won here since Fred Perry all those years ago. KAYE: Well, we certainly know Roger Federer who's playing, will do anything he can to keep Andy Murray from becoming a bit of British royalty there.
Amanda Davies, thank you very much.
A four-legged friend now safe at home after going on a marathon journey to escape a fourth of July fireworks show. We'll show how he was rescued.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Here is a look at what people are reading most at CNN.com this morning.
The internet blackout that could be coming for many Americans on Monday, that vicious malware we have been telling you about all morning.
Folks also reading about the euro this morning. It feel to a two-year low against the dollar on Friday.
And the third popular story on CNN NewsPulse this morning, the fatal shooting of four people in Ohio believed to be connected to a man who later drove to a cemetery and killed himself. More on that at CNN.com.
Now, we have a very sad, quite frankly sick story to tell you about. Pets burned on purpose and left to die. Several have been found around Philadelphia in the past few weeks. I have to warn you, what you are about to see is graphic.
Take a look. This is Hercules. He was found yesterday. He's a puppy.
He has severe burns on his legs and his back. He's expected to make it. That's the good news.
But some dogs weren't so lucky. Unlike this next dog I'm going to show. I have to warn you her picture is more graphic than the last one.
This is Chloe. She was found with burns all over her body about two weeks ago. We blurred out the worst parts. Chloe has since passed away.
Yesterday, Marc Peralta told CNN just how often he sees this kind of cruelty. He heads up the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC PERALTA, CEO, PENNSYLVANIA SPCA: We see cruelty to animals frequently. Unfortunately, with the fire and burning of these dogs, this has been much more of a disturbing trend in the past few months. And, you know, I can't even speculate.
It's -- you know, we have seen things from domestic disputes to somebody owing someone money. It's kind of across the board. But either way, we just want the community to know that it's happening.
And, you know, we are a community of dog lovers. And we're not going to tolerate this happening in our happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The SPCA is leading the investigation and the heading up the rescue of these dogs.
So, if you want to help, you certainly can. Check out their Web site, SPCA.org, that's PSPCA.org.
And now to a more uplifting story about man's best friend. A dog reunited with its owner after fireworks on the Fourth of July caused the pooch to run away.
Christine Sloan of our affiliate WCBS in New York explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE SLOAN, WCBS (voice-over): This 10-year-old shepherd mix named "Charlie" is happy to be back in his owner's arms after a terrifying journey alone through busy roads and then on the George Washington Bridge. Here he is on the edge of the bridge, a 200-foot drop, being rescued by a Port Authority police officer.
TOM ROBINSON, OWNER OF RESCUED DOG: He's a smart dog, but he might not know that something is dangerous. The feeling of not being there to protect him was really kid of strong.
SLOAN: Charlie's owner says the smart pooch took off from his Leonia home, where he lives part of the week, after being frightened by a fireworks show in the neighborhood.
For Charlie, it was an 11-hour ordeal that ended on the catwalk of the GWB, a three-mile walk from his Leonia home.
KAMEEL JUMAN, PORT AUTHORITY POLICE OFFICER: He probably got from the Jersey highways and he had to go under a little metal area where he could have snuck under.
SLOAN: Port Authority police officer Kameel Juman rescued Charlie after responding to a 911 call.
JUMAN: I had a leash and collar and he allowed me put it on him. I don't know if he was scared or exhausted or a little bit of both.
SLOAN: Charlie apparently had a run in with a skunk, and cut his leg on a fence where he's got stitches now.
is owner said he thinks he was trying to make it to their other home in Manhattan on the Upper East Side.
ROBINSON: He tried to make it to the place he knew best, I think, even though he'd never gone that way except inside a car. SLOAN (on camera): Now, Charlie didn't have his home phone number on his leash but he did have this dog license tag, and that's how Port Authority police were able contact his owner,
ROBINSON: If we hadn't gotten that dog license, I think it would have just been another disappeared dog story.
SLOAN: But instead Charlie is now a super dog, who defied all the odds and survived.
In Leonia, New Jersey, Christine Sloan, CBS 2 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: What a great story.
And while many humans look forward to those annual Fourth of July fireworks, the loud explosions can be terrifying for pets. One chapter of the Humane Society says more dogs disappear on the Fourth of July than on any other day of the year.
When is a person's war record fair game? Joe Walsh is trying to keep his seat in Congress. It's what he said about this woman, his opponent, an Iraq War veteran, that's getting him in trouble.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
A race for Congress in Illinois is getting ugly. Republican Joe Walsh says his opponent, Democrat Tammy Duckworth, is playing too heavily on her military career. She is an Iraq war veteran. Walsh says her service demands our respect, but not our vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE WALSH (R), ILLINOIS: Now, I'm running against a woman who -- I mean, my God, that's all she talks about. Our true heroes, the men and women who served us, it's the last thing in the world they talk about. That's why we are so indebted and in awe of what they have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: All right. So, here is where it gets ugly. Duckworth lost both legs serving in Iraq but Walsh says she's not a true hero, his words there, because of her constant reference to her war service.
Wolf Blitzer asked Duckworth to respond to Walsh's comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D), CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS: Well, I think Mr. Walsh is being irresponsible in his words. At a time we have so many veterans coming home. I hope that the veterans of this generation talk about their war experiences more than the veterans of the Vietnam generation like Senator McCain. You know, they were criticized back then.
Our war heroes coming home today (AUDIO BREAK) need to talk about the leadership skills they learned in the military that will make them better employees. They need to talk about the fact that they were able to accomplish really tough missions under really extreme conditions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Walsh has since tried to soften his criticism of Duckworth. This is what he told Ashleigh Banfield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: She was on TV a month and a half ago. She was asked a question about gay marriage. Do you know what she talked about? Her time at Walter Reed.
Look, I'll say it again -- I have respect for her and her service. My thoughts and prayers go out to her like they do every wounded warrior. But that doesn't demand our vote.
Ashleigh, if that's what it took to be -- to get your vote, John McCain, another hero, would be our president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The dispute between Walsh and Duckworth has taken on a life of its own. Just look at this clip of an exchange between Walsh and Ashleigh Banfield in which Walsh tries to get a word in edgewise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You told "Politico, sir --
WALSH: Ashleigh --
BANFIELD: -- you told "Politico" this, what else has she done? Female, wounded veteran, ehhh, and I'm paraphrasing ehhh, I'm assuming ahhh. What is that?
WALSH: No, Ashleigh, Ashleigh, Ashleigh, Ashleigh, you are paraphrasing that. I didn't say ahhh. What I said was she's a war hero, but you know what? She's running for Congress.
So, like I don't know about you, Ashleigh, but hopefully voters think like every other candidate for Congress tell us where you stand on issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: If you thought Walsh said "Ashleigh" a bunch of times, well, he did. We got a Twitter count from Sam Stein of "Huff Post". He logged 92.
A New York state senator thought it was a great idea to hold an etiquette class for the women in his district. But women were outraged because -- well, why just for women?
You know you have to stay to hear what comedian Bill Santiago is going to say about this and so much more.
But first, hoping to make strides in medical technology with the help of a childhood toy that we all know and love. Meet the latest member of the CNN "NEXT LIST".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to create the equivalent of what Lego is today for toys. I want to have not just the medikits, but the movement of democratized innovation in health care. I want to do it for medical technologies.
My name is Jose Gomez Marquez, and I use toys to make affordable medical devices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: In case you think television reporting is glamorous, well, take a look at this, a reporter in Grand Rapids, Michigan was on the air live when, there it is, a cat jumped on her shoulder, digging in its claws both -- yes, they are both a little surprised there. The reporter tweeted, learned my lesson, never make eye contact with a cat before going live. That is one brave kitty.
A New York state senator is scrapping plans to hold an etiquette class for women in his district. Let's talk about this with comedian and "Huffington Post" blogger Bill Santiago. We always like to get his take of the stories on the week.
All right. Bill, good morning to you.
Take a look at this. State Senator Marty Golden mailed this flyer to his constituents in Brooklyn. He apparently thought it was a good idea for women to learn posture, deportment and feminine presence. In other words, have a sit, stand and walk what he deemed the proper way.
Are you surprised at all this didn't go over too well with his constituents?
BILL SANTIAGO, COMEDIAN: I just love that line -- feminine presence. I'm sure the senator is a well meaning sexist pig.
But what kills me about this whole story is the classes are taught by an outfit called Etiquette Training International. And this is the same Etiquette Training International that also gave these very same classes to federal correctional officers in Brooklyn.
KAYE: Oh, my --
SANTIAGO: Does that make any sense? When you're trying to put down a prison riot in cellblock nine, is anybody really asking what Miss Manners would do. Do you hold up your pinky when you're trying to bash someone's the head and drag them off to the hall for a month of solitary --
KAYE: I mean, this is just so old school, isn't it? I mean, what is he thinking?
SANTIAGO: Yes, yes. He's a real throw-back. But look, he's learned his lesson. He's now replaced feminine class with tantric pole dancing for housewives.
You know, this is very similar to the mentality that was behind what happened in Michigan.
So, Marty, any second now, don't be surprised when the "Vagina Monologues" flash mob shows up on the front steps of your legislative offices. It's coming.
KAYE: Tantric poll dancing. Oh, boy, he's gone the other way.
All right. Let's move on before we get ourselves in too much trouble here. I want to ask you about the blog there. Here we have it. OK.
There's a documentary coming out next month. I found it pretty interesting. Take a look and then I want to ask you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With no money, no contact with anyone I know, I'm going to live entirely off Craigslist.
Just seeing if I could, a, survive. If I could literally eat, find shelter, find showers.
B, try to travel America. See if I could find a community out there.
For the next month, this is all I've got.
Away we go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: All right. So living off Craigslist for one month. What do you think of that idea?
SANTIAGO: You know, I get on Craigslist all the time myself. I mean, it's supposed to be a documentary but it's like a reality show --
KAYE: Yes.
SANTIAGO: -- and documentary, right? So I don't know how real -- it's about as real as a WWF dress rehearsal for an exhibition match on April Fool's Day.
I mean, the pitch is he goes out and lives for a month off Craigslist with nothing but a laptop, cell phone, clothes on his back. They never mention the film crew. I mean, I'm sure that has an effect to the way that people react to you. I'm sure that filters out some of the serial killers who may not want to be in the film.
KAYE: You know what's going to be funny thought is because it's brought to us by Zach Galifianakis.
SANTIAGO: I'm sure it will be very entertaining. I'm just saying, you know, I don't know how can I believe this guy, the protagonist in this documentary is actually going hungry, when I know that the film crew is behind this, breaking for lunch. I'm sure they throw him a fish taco every once in a while. I don't know if I'm buying it.
But Craigslist works miracles. That's how I got this gig, by the way, was in the et cetera section of Craigslist.
KAYE: I think that's how we found you.
SANTIAGO: Yes, yes. See, there's definitely benefits.
KAYE: All right. Let me ask you this. Do you remember when you were turning 16? I know it was a long time ago. But when you wait to get your license.
(LAUGHTER)
SANTIAGO: Yes, I do.
KAYE: Let me ask you this, because there's a travel survey by the federal government and it's found that Gen-Y teens would rather not get behind the wheel. I mean, isn't it the most exciting part, getting your license? Why do you think that is?
SANTIAGO: Yes, I mean, it was. For me, it was very exciting. The interesting thing, now there's going to be less 20-somethings on the road. But now, proportionately, there's more 70-somethings.
KAYE: Oh, boy.
SANTIAGO: So safety-wise it's a statistical wash. It's not like the roads are going to be any less safe because the kids aren't on the road. The cataract crowd is more than making up for that.
(LAUGHTER)
SANTIAGO: I'm telling you, for me, that was the best. I mean, you get your car. Now you can finally drive your date home or not.
How do you do that on public transportation? The back seat of a light rail doesn't sound romantic to me.
KAYE: I don't know. I guess you walk home, hold hands.
SANTIAGO: I mean, you know, they don't want to drive. They don't want to contribute to global warming. This sounds very un-American to me, this Generation Y. Why Generation Y, why?
KAYE: Bill, thank you.
SANTIAGO: See you next week.
KAYE: Have a great day.
SANTIAGO: Bye-bye.
KAYE: Cheers. President Obama enjoys some happy hour drinks on the campaign trail this week. But he's definitely not the first. Up next, a recent history of beer and politics. We've got the video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Nothing quite like a cold beer after a long day of campaigning. Thursday night, President Obama's bus tour made an unexpected stop at a bar in Amherst, Ohio. He shared a few pints with the patrons, light beer was on tap. He had a Miller Lite and then Bud Light in a bottle.
It's the kind of scene we've seen a lot of -- politicians and citizens knocking back some cold ones. It reminded us just how much we tend to see beer in politics, so we compiled a list for you.
Back in 2009, there was the beer summit. It was the president's idea to ease tension between a Harvard professor and the police officer has arrested him after a dispute over racial profiling. And remember this, Hillary Clinton famously sipping a shot of Crown Royal Whiskey in 2008 before chasing it with a big old light beer.
And beer brought U.S. and England together in 2010, President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron exchanged bottles of beer after U.S. and England World Cup game ended in a tie.
Monday could be doomsday for many of us who use the internet. We've told you about that nasty virus out there and how the FBI may actually have to shut down servers to fix the bug. And that could idle your access to the net.
Well, earlier on the show, I asked you, what will you do without your Internet service if you lose it Monday? Here is some of your responses.
Subee Jacob wrote as this, "I just hope my neighbor has unsecured Wi- Fi or Starbucks Wi-Fi could also work. But that means I have to go outside."
And Jason Sexton says why not the personal touch. He tweeted, "Call me a hypocrite because I say this on Twitter, but I get way more satisfaction communicating face-to-face."
So, what do you think? Tweet me @RandiKayeCNN and I'll be sure to read your responses a little bit later on.
Thanks for starting your morning with us. We've got much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING which starts right now.
