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CNN Saturday Morning News

President Obama Campaigns in Florida; Mitt Romney Campaigning in Virginia; Tornado Warning In New York City; 20,000 Chicago Teachers May Strike Monday; Two Children Rescued from Stolen Boat; Arrest in Border Patrol Agent's Death; Immunity Recommended for Former Mexican President; China Quake Death Toll at 80; "Treatment Alternatives for Children"

Aired September 08, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is Saturday, September 8th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. I'm glad you're with us.

With the conventions behind them, the two presidential contenders are pounding the pavement in two critical swing states. We'll take you live to Virginia and to Florida, where President Obama is to speak just moments from now.

Will they or won't they? Teachers threatening to walk out of Chicago public schools Monday are back at the bargaining table. The goal: to avoid a strike that would keep hundreds of thousands of students out of school and possibly on the street.

And a child with Down Syndrome kicked off a plane after being deemed a safety hazard. Now we will hear straight from his father about how it all went down.

But first, the battle for the White House is heating up today in two key battleground states, Virginia and Florida. Mitt Romney is holding two events in Virginia and President Obama is courting votes in the sunshine state. Both candidates fighting to win over undecided voters, and they have only 59 days left to do it.

We start in Florida, where President Obama is speaking this hour in St. Petersburg. Our chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin keeping an eye on that for us. Jessica, the latest polls give Obama a slight lead in Florida.

You were actually a local reporter there, so you're pretty familiar with the voters in that part of Florida. What does the President need to do to widen that gap?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi.

Well, I was and since I was in this local market, the number of Hispanic voters here has increased exponentially. And so, one of the goals for the President, no doubt, will be to target his appeal to those Hispanic, Latino voters. As you know, he passed a version of -- an executive -- used his own power to do a version of the Dream Act, that's gone over very well among Latinos.

And also he has targeted parts of the Obamacare health care measure, enormously popular among Latino voters as well, among Democrats, Democratic-leaning Latino voters.

So those are two ways he can win some of the people in this I-4 corridor. Now that's exactly where we're traveling in the next two days, across Florida from west to east, and this is considered the swing part of Florida along this highway, where the most undecided voters live and that's who the President will be addressing in his various stops over the next two days -- Randi.

KAYE: And Jessica, this is the first weekend of campaigning since the Democratic convention wrapped up Thursday night. In meeting with people out there -- out there on the road, I mean, have you noticed any boost in enthusiasm at all?

YELLIN: Well, I hate to extrapolate anything across the state based on a few people we see here, but there is definitely a large crowd here for the President, several thousand people who have been here from -- for at least three or four, I'd say four hours now. It's very hot.

And then yesterday, they were -- they were gathered in the rain in Iowa for many hours for the President. So we're starting to see more of that campaign momentum, enthusiasm, where the crowds do start to build and gather, because we are in the home stretch here -- Randi.

KAYE: And once he's done there speaking, what's the President's schedule later today?

YELLIN: Well, we'll hop on the bus and we head over to Kissimmee, Florida which is slightly east and north of here, near Disney World -- Disneyland -- Disney World in this state. Sorry I'm from California, where we have Disneyland.

And so many Disneys -- and also on the I-4 corridor and often on the bus he stops as we go and does some visits on the way with local people. So we'll see what happens. Those are never announced in advance. So we'll have to wait and see as we go. I'll report them to you once they happen -- Randi.

All right, Jessica Yellin, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

YELLIN: It's good to see you.

KAYE: The man who would like to take over as commander-in-chief is discussing his battle plan in the all-important state of Virginia. Mitt Romney is campaigning at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach in about two hours from now.

Our political editor, Paul Steinhauser, has all the angles from there. Paul, good morning to you. What do you expect Romney to say?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, good morning, Randi. You know since we last talked about an hour ago, we've moved inside. We're in one of the big hangars here. You can see right behind me where Mitt Romney will be speaking a little later, a World War II fighter -- fighter plane right alongside there.

And yes, you know listen, this area, this part of Virginia is a big swing part of Virginia. This is the Virginia Beach Norfolk tidewater area and there are a lot of military jobs here. A lot of defense industry jobs here and you're going to hear Mitt Romney attack the President over there.

Plus, Romney's campaign has gone up with a bunch of ads just in the last few days here in Virginia. Take a listen to the one that's playing right here in the Norfolk, Virginia Beach area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: This President can ask us to be patient. This President can tell us it was someone else's fault. But this President cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in Virginia, we're not better off under President Obama. His defense cuts will weaken national security and threaten over 130,000 jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: I think you're going hear a lot more of that when Mitt Romney comes to this podium right behind us here. And Randi, Virginia is such an important state, just like where Jessica is in Florida, remember four years ago Barack Obama became the first Democrat to win Virginia since 1964. Both campaigns spending a lot of money here on ads, both campaigns spending a lot of time on the ground with visits by the candidates. It's so important here in Virginia, as is about ten other battleground states -- Randi.

KAYE: And they are visiting the same states, aren't they, the two of them, Obama and Romney?

STEINHAUSER: Over and over. You know, later today, Mitt Romney goes up to Richmond, he'll be at -- holding a rally at a NASCAR race. But take yesterday for instance. Randi, yesterday morning, Barack Obama, the President and Vice President Joe Biden, started in New Hampshire and then they went to Iowa.

Mitt Romney did just the opposite he started in Iowa and ended the day with a rally in New Hampshire. So, they're crisscrossing a lot. And as you said earlier, maybe they'll meet on the same tarmac some time -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. We'll see about that. Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.

And you can get an up-close and personal look at the two men vowing to hold the country's future in their hands. Find out what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are really like tomorrow night beginning at 8:00 Eastern Time, when we profile the Republican presidential nominee in "ROMNEY REVEALED: FAMILY, FAITH AND THE ROAD TO POWER". That's followed at 9:30 by "OBAMA REVEALED: THE MAN, THE PRESIDENT", right here on CNN.

Six people are dead in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. The bomb went off near the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Afghan police say five people were wounded. Some of the dead are children. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Military officials tell CNN's Barbara Starr a book by a Navy Seal on the killing of Osama bin Laden is inaccurate. The book "No Easy Day" claims bin Laden had been shot by a SEAL when he peeked in the hallway of his compound. The book says he lay twitching and convulsing as the SEALs entered his room and killed him, but senior Pentagon officials tell CNN bin Laden was standing in the room when the Seals entered and they shot him believing he was a direct threat.

The officials also say that it's possible that the author who was a few seconds behind the lead SEAL never saw bin Laden standing.

Parts of the U.S. could get hammered today by a round of severe weather. A strong cold front is closing in on much of the northeast, including Philadelphia and New York City. The storms could bring major thunderstorms, strong winds, large hail and even tornadoes.

The nation's third largest school district is bracing itself for something it hasn't seen in 25 years, a teachers' strike. The latest in the face-off in Chicago and why the nation is watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back.

I want to take you right to St. Petersburg, Florida where you see right there the President, President Barack Obama is taking the stage, just introduced by former Florida Governor, Republican Charlie Crist.

He is now just walking to the stage there. We'll expect to hear a lot about jobs and see what else the President has to say as he gives one more hug to Charlie Crist. Let's listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, St. Pete. I am fired up. I am ready to go forward.

It is good to be back in Florida. It is good -- how is everybody doing today?

PEOPLE: Four more years, four more years.

OBAMA: All right.

Now, first thing I want to do is make sure everybody's staying hydrated. And if you've been standing here a while, bend your knees. I don't want anybody falling down.

I want to -- I want to thank Charlie Crist for his introduction, for his support, for showing that the values that we're fighting for are not Democratic values or Republican values, they are American values. That's what we're fighting for.

We've got one of the finest senators in the country, your Senator, Bill Nelson here. One of the best members of Congress that we've got, Kathy Castor is here. And all of you are here. I'm really excited about that.

Now -- I love you back. That's why I came. Now, we just had our convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Folks there could not have been more welcoming.

Michelle, what can I say? You know, as the other men in the audience know, our main goal when we marry is to improve our gene pool. That's why my daughters turned out good, because you just, you marry up. You marry somebody superior to yourself. And you just, you beg them until they marry you because -- because persistence is the key.

And then you've got President Clinton, who made the case as only he can. After he spoke, somebody sent out a tweet. They said, "You should appoint him secretary of explaining stuff." I like that -- secretary of explaining stuff. Although I have to admit, it didn't really say "stuff". I -- I cleaned that up a little bit.

And then -- and then -- and then two days ago, I did my best to lay out the stakes in this election, because there are big stakes. Both sides have made their arguments now, and I know you have a lot of national Republicans in the neighborhood making their argument. We've made ours. And so now you've got a big choice to make.

And by the way, don't boo -- vote. Vote. I honestly believe this is the clearest choice of any time in our generation. Because it's a choice not just between two candidates or two political parties. This is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for America, two fundamentally different visions for our future.

Now, ours is a fight on behalf of that basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known. The bargain that says, if you work hard, it will pay off. The bargain that says responsibility will be rewarded and everybody's got a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, D.C. That's what we're fighting for.

That basic bargain is why I ran for president in the first place, because too many jobs were disappearing overseas. Too many families were struggling to make the mortgage or put food on the table. People were having to borrow just for day-to-day expenses, to fill up the gas tank. And over time, more and more of that debt built up.

And then all -- this whole house of cards came tumbling down in the worst economic crisis, the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. And millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs and their homes and their life savings. A tragedy that we are still fighting to recover from. Now, our friends at their convention, they were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn't say much about how they'd make it right. They want your vote but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because -- that's because all they've got to offer is the same prescriptions that they've had for 30 years -- tax cuts, tax cuts, gut a few regulations, some more tax cuts, tax cuts when times are good, tax cuts when times are bad. Tax cuts to help you lose a few extra pounds, tax cuts to help your love life. Somebody said it doesn't help. You tried those tax cuts, huh?

Now listen, actually, it does help when you give it to folks who need it. That's why I've cut taxes for middle class families and for small business owners 18 times. But I don't believe and you don't believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires is going to bring good jobs back to our shores or pay down our deficit.

I don't believe that firing teachers or kicking students off of financial aid, students who go right here to this institution, that somehow, that's going to help our economy or help us compete with scientists and engineers coming out of China.

After all that we have been through, do we really think that it would make sense to roll back regulations on Wall Street? That, somehow, that's going to help small businesswomen expand or laid off construction workers, keep their homes?

Let me tell you that, we have been there. We tried what they're peddling. It didn't work. We're not going back. We're going forward. We are going forward. We are going forward.

I won't pretend the path I'm offering is quick or that it's going to be easy -- I never have. Sometimes I ask people to go back to 2008 and look at what I said. I said this was going to take some time because these problems had been building up for a long time. Bill Clinton reminded us on Wednesday night, it's going to take more than a few years to solve challenges that have been built up for decades.

But let me tell you something, when our opponents say this nation is in decline, they are dead wrong. This is America. We still have the best workers in the world and the best entrepreneurs in the world. We've got the best scientists and the best researchers. We've got the best colleges and the best universities. We are a young nation with the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity from every corner of the globe.

So, no matter what the naysayers may say for political reasons. No matter how dark they try to make everything look, there's not a country on earth that wouldn't gladly trade places with the United States of America.

And I am here to tell you our problems can be solved and our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I'm asking you to choose that future. I am asking you to rally not just behind me but around a set of goals for your country, goals in manufacturing and energy, in education and national security, in reducing our deficit. Real, achievable goals that will lead to new jobs and more opportunity and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation.

That's what we can do in the next four years, and that's why I'm running for a second term as president of the United States. That's why I'm asking for four more years.

CROWD: Four more years.

OBAMA: I want you to -- in case you missed it two days ago, I want to repeat in very plain terms what goals I'm talking about. You say I can go ahead? Ok. I'm going to go ahead, then.

Number one, I've got a plan to export more products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade of decline, this country's now created over 500,000 jobs in the last two and a half years alone just in manufacturing. That's faster than any time since the '90s. We reinvented a dying auto industry that's back on top of the world.

And now you've got a choice. We can keep giving more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, just like the other side is arguing for, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs right here in Florida. We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports and create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years. You can make that happen. That's part one.

Part two, I've got a plan to control more of our own energy. After 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, your cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. That will save you money. It will help the environment.

We've doubled our use of renewable energy and thousands of Americans now have jobs building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries. Today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades. Think about that. So, we're moving to control our own energy.

The other side, they don't have a real plan. So, you've got a choice between a plan that wants to just reverse the progress we've made or one that builds on it. And let me tell you, unlike my opponent, I'm not going to let oil companies write this country's energy plan or endanger our coastline or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers. We're not going to let them do that.

We've got a better path. We're going to invest in wind and solar, clean coal technology. We're going to help farmers and scientists harness new bio fuels to power cars and trucks.

We're going to put construction workers back to work building homes and factories that waste less energy and retrofitting old buildings and homes to use less energy. We're developing 100-year supply of natural gas that's right beneath our feet.

If you choose this path, we can cut our imports in half by 2020 and support more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone. That's the second part of the plan.

You want to hear the third? Ok. Third, I've got a plan to give more Americans the chance to gain the skills they need to compete. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me and Michelle. It's the gateway to a middle class life. For the next time -- for the first time in nearly a generation, every state, just about, has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning.

Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading, including here in Florida. Millions of students are paying less for college today, including students here, because we took on a system that was wasting billions of dollars giving student loan money to banks and lenders instead of directly to students.

So, now you've got a choice. We can gut education like these other folks were recommending. Or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don't have the money. No company should have to look for workers in China because they couldn't find ones with the right skills right here at home.

So, help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers in the next ten years and improve early childhood education and give two million workers the chance to learn skills at that community college that will lead directly to a job. And let's help work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years because, you know, higher education is not a luxury anymore.

It is an economic necessity that everybody should be able to afford. And we can meet that goal together. You can choose that future if you're willing to move forward with me.

Fourth -- fourth; my plan -- yes, I've got four.

Fourth, my plan would reduce our deficit without sticking it to the middle class. We're all concerned about the deficit. After two wars, two tax cuts that weren't paid for, we have a challenge that we've got to now deal with. Can't go backwards.

Independent analysis shows that the plan I've put forward would cut our deficit by $4 trillion. And I've already worked with Republicans to cut $1 trillion in spending. I'm willing to do more.

We've got to make sure government is lean and programs that don't work, you know, we've got to get rid of them so we can pay for the things that do. And I want to reform the tax code so that it is simple and fair and so that it asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250,000.

KAYE: You've been listening to the President there speaking in Florida. We also want to let you know that Mitt Romney will be speaking later on, likely in our 1:00 hour here on CNN. He'll be speaking from Virginia Beach.

But we want to get you some breaking news now. Alexandra Steele is here with us in studio. Alexandra, I understand you have some news of a tornado warning in New York.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Now, very severe weather expected today in the northeast. There's two areas. There's a very strong cold front pushing in and pushing east. And so, we have a very strong line of storms. But ahead of that, in that warm, muggy air in and around New York City, we have a tornado warning.

So, you can see this red box indicated a tornado warning, this one Doppler radar indicated. So, let's go tight in and let me show you where it is. We've got a very strong line of storms. This one, tornado warning for Queens County and southeast New York and King's County. That's in Brooklyn in southeast New York until 11:30.

Again, this was Doppler radar indicated, you could see it. It is moving northeast at 25 miles-per-hour. Kennedy airport included in this as well. So, the warning including Howard Beach, Kennedy Airport, Forest Hills, Little Neck, the clearway Expressway, the White Stone, Flushing and Bayside. So, again, tornado warning in and around New York. Again, just outside the city.

Here is where it is. That means a tornado has been seen on Doppler radar moving northeast at 25 miles per hour. This is just the beginning of an incredibly active, potentially deadly day. This line of storms yesterday through the Midwest certainly had fatalities, 60 and 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts. So, tornadoes, hail, large hail even, winds 60 to 70 miles per hour all a part of the picture today, Randi.

So, this is just the beginning. And again, tornado warning including, of course, Kennedy Airport as well, in the line of this tornado has been spotted by Doppler radar. Of course, we'll have more throughout the afternoon and tonight. Back to you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: All right, and of course, the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament is taking place there as well.

STEELE: Definitely impacted, yes.

KAYE: A lot of people need to take cover. Alexandra, thank you very much. We'll have much more right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It will be a hard and intense working weekend for leaders of the teachers' union and the school district of Chicago.

They're trying to keep 29,000 teachers from walking off the job on Monday, but yesterday talks broke down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN LEWIS, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: We did not make much progress at the table. We are very disappointed. We thought it would be infinitely better than it was so. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Major points of contention -- teacher pay and a move to change the way teachers are evaluated. Four hundred thousand students right now will not have school Monday. The district has set up 144 sites for parents to take their kids for a half day Monday. Many churches are also opening their doors.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel gave this statement to CNN, "every day they're not here is a day taken away from them that they just cannot afford. Leaders on both sides need it stay at the negotiating table and finish their job, finding a solution that is fair for our teachers and keeps our students in school."

A father accused of abducting his two young children and running away with them on a stolen sailboat is now in custody. Authorities say 43- year-old Christopher Moffay abducted his children from their mother's San Francisco home. He allegedly sailed away from them on a stolen boat Tuesday night with no navigation lights. The boat was spotted off the coast of Monterey on Friday, and that's when the coast guard moved right in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMANDER DON MONTORO, U.S. COAST GUARD: We wanted to provide him with water and a radio so that we could have a conversation with him. And at that point, he said that he was willing to help us in any way that he could,

And we asked if we could put a boarding team on board, and he said that would be fine, and we put the boarding team on and we quickly got Brooklyn, the oldest child, who is 4 years old, of the boat and transferred her to the hospital.

Next, we got the individual and his son, Devon, and got them on to the small boat and brought him back to the hospital. At that point, we detained him and transported him back to the station in Monterey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Police say the father has been in a custody dispute with the children's mother.

As we told you, there is a tornado warning in the New York City metro area. We're going to have much more on that. A tornado has been sighted there is what that means, according to Alexandra Steele. She'll be back with us as we get more on the warning, which does include Kennedy Airport. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We want to get you some new information now on this breaking news, apparently, a tornado warning in the area of New York City. Alexandra Steele is back with us. So, Alexandra, this means that a tornado has actually been seen somewhere in that area? STEELE: Yes. This one has been spotted by Doppler radar, meaning seeing rotation. We're talking millions of people being impacted by severe weather and even tornadoes. So, right now it's Westchester and Rocklin County.

Just want to show you the biggest picture. This is just the beginning of an incredibly active and severe weather day in the northeast and New England. This watch box is the tornado watch box.

It encompasses New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Long Island and New York, and it is in effect until 9:00 tonight, meaning tornado conditions are possible. So, let's hone in. Not only are they possible, they've been spotted.

So, here's a look at where that tornado warning is right now. Now it's right across the river. This is the Hudson River. So, the areas right now until noon with this tornado warning, and this tornado could be rain-wrapped, so if you're not taking cover this immediate minute, it may be too late for you.

Here is where that warning is, Lake Mohegan, driving on 9W, these are small roads. This is a rain-wrapped tornado potentially so really it may be too late if you're not taking cover and you're hearing that bing, bing, that buzzing going off with the tornado warning sound on your TV right now.

Haverstraw, Ossining just out of it, Clarkstown, Sopomona, Peekskill, we're talking millions of people. Westchester, Rockland County, tornado warning for you, a tornado has been spotted moving northeast at 25 miles per hour, heading toward Lake Mohegan.

Again, we will watch these throughout the morning, through tonight. You know, Randi, this is just the beginning, again, of a severe weather day. All the ingredients, a powerful cold front for this time of year moving into this very warm, humid air mass, so this is really just the beginning of a lot of severe weather.

KAYE: Yes, and a lot of those towns you mentioned, I'm from that area originally and that's right along the Hudson River there.

STEELE: Right, this is the Hudson River, absolutely and all these are small roads and heavy rain. We were going to talk about Bermuda, of course, with the hurricane there.

They could see two to four inches of rain in Bermuda. We could see well more than that here in the northeast with this heavy rains coming down from these very strong thunderstorms.

KAYE: Yes, and you make a good point, that is rain-wrapped.

STEELE: That's right. This one happens to be, yes.

KAYE: All right, Alexandra. We'll check back with you, of course, as we keep an eye on this. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Welcome back. It's 43 minutes past the hour. Top stories now. Mexican police say they have arrested the man behind the killing that ultimately exposed the mistakes of "Operation Fast and Furious."

Leonel Sanchez Jesus Meza allegedly murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. It was a probe into Terry's death that set off the investigation of "Fast and Furious," an effort to track weapons, allowing them to end up in the hands of drug cartels. U.S. authorities are now seeking to bring Jesus Meza here.

The U.S. Justice Department is recommending immunity for a former Mexican president in a case that's been closely watched both here and in Mexico. A lawsuit argued Ernesto Zadillo should be held responsible for the brutal massacre of 45 villagers by paramilitary troops back in 1997. A U.S. federal court, which had jurisdiction in the case ruled the accusations against him were baseless and outrageous.

In South Western China, the death toll from a series of earthquakes is now at 80. More than 800 people have been injured and officials expect those numbers to rise as search-and-rescue efforts continue.

About 100,000 people have been evacuated and 100,000 are in need of relocation as well. The quakes have blocked roads and downed communication lines, hampering rescue operations.

So, what can cayenne pepper do for you? The health secrets of that spice and much more in alternative medicine from an expert with a conventional medical degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: From coughs to headaches and the occasional stomach ache, more and more Americans are turning to alternative treatment. It's a broad term for anything really from foods and spices you can pick up at your local grocery store to yoga, acupuncture, even massage.

And now there's a new book, "Treatment Alternatives for Children," which focuses on non-traditional cures for children. I spoke with the book's author, Dr. Lawrence Rosen, about why the alternative way can beat out conventional methods.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. LAWRENCE ROSEN, CO-AUTHOR, "TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR CHILDREN": I came to the book through one of the parents in my practice, Jeff Cone, who said you know, on a daily basis, we're talking with families about not just conventional medicines.

But also all the things we found over the past hundreds of years in our kitchen cabinets, not necessarily in our medicine cabinets, that are good for children's health.

And so, we're finding ways now that we can integrate spices and common ingredients that you might cook with for health of children, and we're understanding now why they work and that they are safe, and in many cases, very effective.

KAYE: I love, though, there's one part of your book where you have some specific treatments. Ten spice rack resources that we should turn to.

ROSEN: Yes.

KAYE: We have the list, actually, to share with our viewers at home, but one of them is cayenne pepper. That one really caught my attention. What is so good about that?

ROSEN: Well, it's counterintuitive because we always think about cayenne pepper as being very spicy and that's the way we use it to cook, but there is a substance in cayenne pepper, capsaicin and you'll actually see these in over-the-counter ingredients now for pain relief.

And it turns out that the capsaicin in the cayenne pepper can numb different nerve impulses. It's anti-inflammatory. As you can see, it also helps with pain syndromes like headaches. But it's used mostly topically. We use it for insect bites and other peripheral, painful conditions.

KAYE: And just to mention a few of the others -- clove, dill, minced cinnamon. All that is good stuff?

ROSEN: Yes, it's remarkable. You know, when you go out in your garden, you're growing basil. You're growing mint, all of these things even in my own garden.

We have oregano and they taste good as teas, but we're finding, you know, mint, for example, is very good for digestive disorders. Dill was one of the first things used in the first colic remedy and gripe water for kids hundreds of years ago. So these are all useful things for families' health.

KAYE: You also have a part in the book with the top ten super ingredients as we like to call them. Apple cider is really big on the list. I actually take this every day, a tablespoon of it. Tell us why it's so good.

ROSEN: Well, apple cider vinegar is used both internally and topically. In children we tend to use it more in topical conditions, things that are skin conditions like acne or warts.

But it's also people that drink it find that it can help with your metabolism in some cases lowering cholesterol or helping with blood sugar.

There are many different things digestively that it can help with mild heartburn, digestive disorders like indigestion or irritable bowel syndrome so it has a lot of uses.

KAYE: Sea salt is on there. You know, and in this day and age, a lot of people say, salt, wait, aren't we supposed to cut back on salt. What is good about that? ROSEN: Right. It just shows you that you have to be mindful that just because things are natural doesn't mean necessarily they're safe but sea salt is used in many, for many respiratory conditions.

There are studies going on now looking at nebulising or putting in a humidifier sea salt with some water for conditions like asthma or cystic fibrosis at higher concentrations.

And the studies are finding that these things may be helpful. We use them in saline rinses for nasal congestion, allergies and so a little bit used in the right way can be very helpful.

KAYE: So when you talk about these alternative methods, is this to round out care from doctors do you think or can this really be a full replacement in your opinion?

ROSEN: Well, no, I think that they do round out. We talk about in the book what's called integrative medicine and I think it's a paradigm that doesn't throw away all the good conventional things that we've done.

We have a medical system that has done a pretty good job of taking care of acute care conditions, but when it comes to more chronic conditions, or even in some first aid cases we're integrating many of these therapies with conventional therapies.

So in my practice, when I see a child with an earache, we're saying to parents if you're interested, there are other ways. You talked about olive oil or garlic, and we can make a mixture of those to use for earaches or ear infections.

But we're not saying that there's never a case for treatment like antibiotics. So it's really an integration and I find it more and more families are interested in this type of integrative care.

KAYE: Thank you so much, Dr. Rosen and thank you very much for making that point as well. It's nice to have you on the program. Appreciate it.

Fredricka Whitfield is going to join me with a look at the potential legal issues for the NFL, right after this.

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KAYE: CNN NEWSROOM starts at the top of the hour. Fredricka is here to tell us --

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good to see you.

KAYE: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: It's a big football weekend and just in time, our legal guy are going to be with us and talk about how at least one New Orleans Saint is now cleared to play after that suspension involving the bounty plan, has been lifted. So our legal guys are going to talk about this collective bargaining agreement, how this came to be and what might be next because at least one New Orleans Saint is still pursuing a suit against the NFL's Roger Goodell. So where does that case go?

And then, you know, there's been an increase in the poaching of those majestic, gentle giants known as elephants, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is brutal, and now as we know that poaching has been a big problem for decades now they're seeing an increase because of the apparatus that's being used.

We're talking about military helicopters that are now being used to cull these beautiful animals. So we're going to be joined by an environmentalist, conservationist, who is going to give us an idea what can the world, what can the international community do to try to protect these incredible animals.

They're gorgeous and very intellectual and very compassionate animals and it's just horrible what's happening, all for the sake of the tusks.

And then Lynard Skynard, we talked about that last weekend. You know, "Free Bird" and "What's Your Name," and all that, well, they joined us. Forty years they've been playing together as Lynard Skynard, talked about their new album "Last of a Dying Breed."

The significance behind it and then they talk about the significant of what has been a longstanding tradition, you see the confederate flag there that's been part of their albums, the backdrop of their concerts.

Now they've replaced it with the American flag, they're going to explain why, how that came to be. The evolution of the use of the confederate flag and now the use of the American flag instead.

KAYE: I'm sure that was a really interesting conversation. I look forward to it.

WHITFIELD: They're like big kids. They're still really excited about their craft and they're still turning out the music and having a lot of fun doing it. And of course the fans, you know, have a lot of fun watching them, too.

KAYE: It's great they're still together after all of these years. All right, Fred, we'll check in with you a little bit later on.

Meanwhile, the latest on the tornado activity, we will have that for you, all happening in the northeast in the New York City metro area. So keep it here.

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