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CNN SUNDAY MORNING
Obamas' Night on the Town Criticized; GM to File for Bankruptcy
Aired May 31, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for May 31st. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for being with us.
It is 9:00 a.m. (sic) here in Atlanta, 8:00 a.m. (sic) in Chicago, 6:00 a.m. (sic) for everyone waking up in Portland. Thanks for joining us.
You know, he promised his daughters a dog and then his wife a Broadway play.
HOLMES: He got the dog, at least. We know that.
NGUYEN: Yes. And last night, he got his wife that Broadway play. But date night for the Obamas was a little more than just a dinner and a play. It also included three planes and a staff.
HOLMES: Yes. You can't just roll out and take the car up to New York for a trip.
NGUYEN: No.
HOLMES: Well, the president now is getting some criticism. We're going to let you know where that criticism is coming from about his trip.
Also, getting some criticism a little out there from you, our viewers. We want you to chime in on this. Does it bother you? Does it leave a tough impression, at least, a bad impression in these tough times to see the president taking this kind of a trip for a date night on the taxpayer dime?
By all mean, join us on Facebook, on Twitter, and also Weekends@CNN.com.
NGUYEN: Yes. And we're also going to be talking with a guy who sat just across the aisle from the president at that play last night, and we're going to get the scoop from him on how it at all went.
But in the meantime, let's talk about G.M. That's really the big story today, as we know it. They have about, what, 24 hours left on the books. Tomorrow, the deadline comes due for the automaker either to declare bankruptcy or dramatically restructure its operation. It has to make that decision in order to get any more money from the government, and we're hearing it wants $30 billion or more.
"The New York Times" reports, bondholders have finally agreed to swap their debt for a piece of the new company. We'll know for sure tomorrow when G.M. holds a news conference in New York. And, by the way, we are hearing the government could have a stake up to 72 percent of the new G.M.
So, let's get some perspective on this new G.M. Neal Boudette, the man who shapes "The Wall Street Journal's" coverage of the auto industry, joins us now this morning from Detroit.
Thanks for being with us. All right. So, Neal, we expect to hear that they are going to file for bankruptcy tomorrow. So, let's just assume that's going to be the case. If so, how soon can they emerge from bankruptcy and what will G.M. look like?
NEAL BOUDETTE, DETROIT BUREAU CHIEF, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, what's very interesting about this is, is they have this agreement -- as you mentioned -- with the bondholders and they've got an agreement with the United Auto Workers. So, really, the table is set into bankruptcy, present their case, go through the process, and come out very quickly. And there's a template for this because Chrysler is expected to come out of bankruptcy on Monday and that would be just about 30 days after they filed.
So, if Chrysler can do it, I think there's a good chance that G.M. could do it as well.
NGUYEN: Within 30 days. OK. So, say, they merge within 30 days. What is G.M. going to look like? Because there's a lot of brands under G.M.
BOUDETTE: Well, G.M. will be a much smaller and very different company than what we have all known for so many years. For three- quarters of a century, G.M. was the largest automaker in the world. They soon will no longer be the largest automaker in the U.S. probably. They maybe passed by Toyota.
They'll have four brands that they'll keep: Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. And there are four brands that are going to go away, either be sold or shut down: Saturn, Saab, Pontiac and Hummer. So, it will be a very different company.
NGUYEN: That's going to be a leaner company, no doubt.
OK. And as for consumers, is this a good time to buy a G.M. car or are we going to see dealerships close around the nation, like we saw a first round of it when we saw that G.M. needed a bailout?
BOUDETTE: Well, there are a lot of great deals out there. So, if you're looking for a car, now is a good time to shop. G.M. has done a really good job in improving its quality in the last decade or so. And they're right up there with Toyota in many categories. And in some categories, they actually surpass Toyota on quality. So, if you're looking to get a vehicle and keep it for a long time and sort of run it for the life of it and not resell it, it's a -- it's a great deal out there.
NGUYEN: What about stockholders -- good time to buy some G.M. because it's pretty cheap these days?
BOUDETTE: Well, I mean stockholders are going to -- the people who own stock now are going to lose that and they'll issue new shares in the new G.M. So, if you own G.M. stock now, I'm afraid you're out of luck.
NGUYEN: Oh, got you. All right. So, as G.M. is expected to go into this bankruptcy, is this going to make the company vulnerable to other companies looking to get G.M. for real cheap?
BOUDETTE: No, because when they emerge from bankruptcy, the U.S. government will own 72.5 percent of the company. And this health care trust owned by the union will own another 17 1/2 percent, and bondholders will essentially own the rest. So, G.M., for a time, will not be a publicly traded company and it would not be possible for anybody to ...
NGUYEN: OK. So, no corporate takeover.
Let me ask you this and let's reset for just a second. Was bankruptcy a foregone conclusion when G.M. went to government and said, "Hey, you know what, we need a bailout"?
BOUDETTE: No, I don't think so. I think, after G.M. presented its turnaround plan on February 17th -- and remember, this is the second one that they presented to the government -- the reaction in the Treasury Department was not good. They did not agree with it and then it really kind of put them toward the path of a bankruptcy. But it was not a guarantee.
And, over time, they realized that there is more and more confidence, they could go into bankruptcy and get out. And so, here we are.
NGUYEN: All right. Neal Boudette, the Detroit bureau chief of "The Wall Street Journal," breaking it down for us as we wait for what is expected to be a bankruptcy filing by G.M. tomorrow. All right. Thank you, Neal.
HOLMES: President Obama is heading overseas on Tuesday, on a trip that will take him to the Middle East as well as Europe. A key part of the tour will come in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian tells us the president's main goal on this leg of the trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama heads to Egypt with a Middle East peace plan on his mind. But the real focus is to first reach out to the Muslim world. Call it relationship building.
(on camera): How does the White House currently view the relationship? How bad is it?
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look -- I think the president would say it's in need of improvement.
LOTHIAN: If you're looking on a scale of one to 10?
GIBBS: I think -- I think it's in need of substantial improvement. I think it's safe to say that the president wouldn't be traveling this distance and giving as much thought into this.
LOTHIAN (voice-over): After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, the president stressed the importance of finding common ground with Muslims around the world.
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: That will require, I think, a recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other -- a better sense of understanding.
LOTHIAN: Before making his speech in Cairo, the president will first stop in Saudi Arabia, where he'll meet with King Abdullah.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, the president's speech isn't just, quote, "one-stop shopping," that it builds on Mr. Obama's visit to Turkey, where he held a town hall meeting with local students and met with top leaders.
OBAMA: So, let me say this as clearly as I can -- the United States is not and will never be at war with Islam.
LOTHIAN (on camera): A senior administration official says that this effort is more than something you feel good about. The White House believing that if there's a better relationship with the Muslim world, then it will improve America's security.
Dan Lothian, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And the president is also making news today about date night.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: In fact, was a campaign promise to his wife. You know, he promised his daughters a dog. They got the dog. Well, last night, his wife got her Broadway play and, you know, a little criticism today about that.
HOLMES: Isn't it amazing everything the president -- and no matter what he does -- it will get criticized?
NGUYEN: Well, he's under scrutiny, no doubt. HOLMES: But we're seeing them there. If we can take that, and show it to you, a full picture there. They're in the helicopter now on that picture. But they are dressed to the nines, really, looking pretty good. She had -- I can't describe the dress but ...
NGUYEN: A little black dress. Yes, it's very pretty.
HOLMES: Oh, I could have come up with that, I guess, little black dress.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Just about every single woman has one of those.
HOLMES: But they did go on the East Village, a lot of people lining on the streets and kind of gotten word that the president was coming. They went to see Joe Turner's "Come and Gone." That is a play that's written by Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson.
And, Betty, as you just mentioned, some criticism and it's coming from the Republican National Committee criticizing him for this night out. Put out a statement actually before the president even left on this trip. But here it is. We'll put it up for you.
It comes from a spokesperson for the RNC saying, "As President Obama prepares to wing into Manhattan's theater district on Air Force One to take in a Broadway show, G.M. is preparing to file bankruptcy and families across America continue to struggle to pay their bills."
NGUYEN: Yes. The White House has not revealed the cost of the evening, but said the first couple took a small plane to New York -- not the jumbo jet that they usually are on. And, also, the press corps, obviously, had to go with them and their staff.
So, I think there was a total of about, what, three planes involved in this.
HOLMES: Three planes, a helicopter or two had to fly them over to Manhattan as well.
NGUYEN: And, you know, security has got to be there and all of that.
OK. So, he was sitting in the right place at the right time yesterday. Who are we talking about? A guy who sat fairly close to the president -- only, what, an aisle away?
HOLMES: He was right across the way. Lloyd Lederkramer was across the aisle and he joins us now on the phone.
Lloyd, thank you for being here with us! Tell us -- describe for us just how close you were to the president.
LLOYD LEDERKRAMER, WATCHED SHOW WITH PRES. OBAMA (via telephone): Well, I would say the aisle is probably about four feet wide and he was on -- we were both in Row K and he was on one side of the aisle and I was on the other side of the aisle.
HOLMES: Now, did you get to talk to the president at all?
LEDERKRAMER: No. He came in just before curtain went up and wasn't able to talk to anyone. And I got the feeling they just wanted to be left alone and enjoy the theater as the rest of us were trying to do.
NGUYEN: Lloyd, how surprised were you that the president was sitting so close?
LEDERKRAMER: Oh, I was shocked!
NGUYEN: I imagine. And were people around him at all speaking with the president?
LEDERKRAMER: Yes. There were some people talking to him and I noticed that he was sitting with some of the executives from Lincoln Center Theater -- I was a subscriber, so I recognized them. And they were chatting with him.
HOLMES: And again, you got word -- you bought your tickets to this play a while back, but you had gotten word the president would be there. I imagine, still, you had no idea he would be within arm's length almost from you?
LEDERKRAMER: Oh, no. I was quite shocked. I figured he would be somewhere in a box or somewhere in the center and not anywhere near where I was going to be sitting.
NGUYEN: Well, how the seats there -- how good are these seats?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: I mean, they had to be pretty good, right?
LEDERKRAMER: Oh, they are excellent, excellent seats. Yes, yes. I'm a subscriber and I'm going to Lincoln Center Theater for 20 years now. I'm a member of Lincoln Center Theater and these are one of the best seats I've ever gotten. They're just -- it's serendipitous, but they were right across from the president.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: Yes. The going price for those seats -- can you give us an idea?
LEDERKRAMER: The going price, I think they are probably around $100, subscription price I think is $60 now.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Wow. That's pretty affordable, I would say, for a play.
HOLMES: Well, Lloyd, I am so glad we could get you on the phone this morning. We just want to hear a little perspective from somebody who was certainly in that theater. But you were that close to the president. A heck of a surprise for you. I assume the play was excellent as well.
But, Lloyd, thank you so much for your time this morning. Glad you had a good night.
LEDERKRAMER: You're very welcome. Thanks.
NGUYEN: What a great guy. And, obviously, he's still on, you know, the excitement of being so close. Can you imagine, though, going to a play? It's like -- it's already exciting, you know? It's a play. It's New York City and whatnot, but then you sit in your seat and you look over, and guess who's there?
HOLMES: I guess it's hard to focus on the play maybe. You want to keep looking over to see what they are doing.
NGUYEN: There's a lot going on.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds Wolf, a lot going on over in the weather department -- but would you play it cool, Reynolds, if the president was sitting across from you or would you just be a total geek?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I don't care what your politics might be, I don't care who you voted for, when the president of the United States is sitting next to you, I mean, how do you act? I mean, seriously, do you ask him, "Hey, do you want some popcorn?" Do you ask him for, "Hey, this Sprite is awesome, here, take a sip"? How do you handle that? It's tough thing to consider.
NGUYEN: It's tough.
WOLF: I'll tell you what? It doesn't matter who you happen to be today, if you happen to be in parts of the nation's -- especially on the eastern seaboard, you may be dealing with some scattered showers, including the first family. They may have some raindrops in parts of D.C. today.
As we make our way back across parts of the Ohio valley, they're going to be cleaning up the wreckage today in places like Indiana, where they had some strong storms last night, possibly, a couple of tornadoes, too. But when you look back towards, say, the Midwest, back into Minnesota and perhaps even into Wisconsin before the day is out and into the Central Plains, you could deal with strong storms, isolated thunderstorms across the Rockies and into the Great Basin.
West coast looks picture perfect and kind of half-and-half story for you in parts of Texas. Very warm and relatively dry today in parts of east Texas, but when you get out to west Texas, right there on the dry line, you could have some strong storms to deal with. Now, in terms of your temperatures, it is going to be kind of a warm day for you in Texas, but if you have any of these splash-and-dash showers like we are seeing this morning in parts of the Carolinas, you could have your temperatures drop off, say, some 10 to 15 degrees fairly quickly. That is a wrap on our forecast. We're going to be talking about so much more, including what's going to happen tomorrow -- the start of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. A lot to share with you, we got some ideas on how to have your hurricane-preparedness kit, say, in order. We're going to give you some ideas and pointers coming up in just a few minutes.
NGUYEN: Yes, I need to put batteries in my weather radio.
WOLF: Good idea.
NGUYEN: Yes. We'll be talking. OK. Thank you.
WOLF: All right. See you soon.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
Well, protecting the nation's computer networks, President Obama says we are not adequately prepared.
NGUYEN: Yes, our Josh Levs is here to explain that.
Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there to you, guys. Yes. You know, the president is overhauling cybersecurity. He's going to be choosing one person to oversee it. He also criticized President Bush for not doing enough to prevent what he calls a weapon of mass disruption.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A beautiful shot of the White House on this Sunday morning.
HOLMES: Yes. They are probably resting comfortably after their night out.
NGUYEN: The date night that we're talking about today.
HOLMES: The date night in New York.
Well, America's economic prosperity will depend on cybersecurity, and that's what the president said Friday when he announced a new position to protect the country's computer networks.
NGUYEN: Yes. He also took a bit of a swipe at the previous administration. Our Josh Levs is here to talk to us about that.
Hey, Josh.
LEVS: Yes. Hey to you, guys.
This is really interesting what the president did on Friday. He talked about how we need to create this whole new position called cybersecurity coordinator. Behind me is WhiteHouse.gov. You can read more about it there.
Let's take a look at a little clip from what the president said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We will deter, prevent, detect, and defend against attacks and recover quickly for many disruptions or damage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And, guys, the reason I want to show you that was that's the kind of language this president used in this news conference. He didn't just say here's what we need to do, here's what the problem is. He specifically said, "We will protect this country and our computer networks against all of this." It was a concrete vow.
And we're going to keep a close eye on this. What steps the government takes to protect security networks across America -- guys?
NGUYEN: (AUDIO BREAK) President Obama also kind of took a swipe at the previous administration.
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: In what way?
LEVS: Yes. It was interesting how he did this. Let's take a look at something else the president said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: In recent years, some progress has been made at the federal level, but just as we failed in the past and invest in our fiscal infrastructure -- our roads and bridges and rails -- we failed to invest in the security of our digital infrastructure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, what he did -- he didn't exactly use -- he didn't use the president's name, but he specifically said, "Look, there had been some steps in recent years, but the fact is big picture, not enough has been done." He said that there really could be -- as you're seeing on your screen -- a weapon of mass disruption that could cause severe problems to computer networks across America. And he, also, at the same time, vowed that he will protect people's privacy, guys.
HOLMES: And he had an issue with his campaign computers as well?
LEVS: Yes. You know, he brought that up with something that happened with his own campaign. Let's take a look here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: What isn't widely known is that during the general election, hackers managed to penetrate our computer systems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: OK, so, that -- he was basically just referring back to something that happened last year. And I could just tell you, at CNN.com, we've reported on this and we talked about it, you can read more before about it in our story here. But it happened to him and to John McCain last year. During the campaign, toward the end -- you can learn some details about that and you can also read more at WhiteHouse.gov.
But it happened to both of them. And there were these hackers, they got some policy data. They did not, as we're told, get any information about donors or private information on people out there. But it was a big deal.
So, look, obviously, privacy is a big concern and so is cybersecurity. We want to hear you so weigh in today.
Let's show one more graphic. Weigh in today. This is where you can go. We got something going on at the "Newsroom" blog, CNN.com/Newsroom, the easy way to follow. You got my Facebook page, Facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN, Twitter.com/JoshLevsCNN.
Who do you think should get this position and how big of a concern is this? Are you worried about your privacy? Lots of issues to discuss online and we will keep that going after the show, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks a lot.
NGUYEN: Here's a message that we want to talk about -- in fact, one to the Muslim world. G.M. in free-fall, a Supreme Court nominee meeting on Capitol Hill with some the power players, meeting on Capitol Hill this week. Well, it's all in a week's work for President Obama.
HOLMES: Well, it's all in a day's work for John King.
NGUYEN: Yes. Sure, it is.
HOLMES: Our John King -- he is coming up next, live with a preview of his show, "STATE OF THE UNION."
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: A little Michael Buble for you this morning.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: And it's very appropriate as we talked about the Obamas who had date night.
HOLMES: And it isn't playing. Most guys take their dates out, John, and we have to drive them here and there, not the president.
Now, this was interesting to see. You know, everybody deserves a night out. But, you know, the president, everything you do, you're going to get criticized a bit.
So, good morning to you. Are you going to be talking about this date this morning?
JOHN KING, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": I don't think we'll spend too much time on date night, but it is a tough one, and you hit the right point. Look, the president of the United States has all of this security that comes with it. It is unfortunately necessary that he has to have a Secret Service detail as part of the territory.
So, he wanted to take his wife to a play. You know, it's hard to say anything bad about that. At the same time, it does cost money. They did take one of the smaller jets up to New York City for their play last night and their date night last night.
And some people are saying, in a tough economy, you know, deficit spending, should he be spending money on a taxpayer-financed plane to go up to New York City on a date with his wife. Fair game. As you noted, anything the president says and does is fair game in this environment. I think if you asked him, he'd like to say, "You know what, I'm working pretty hard and I don't -- you know, my wife deserved a night out."
NGUYEN: Yes. Well, you know, it was a quick trip compared to where he's going to be going this week as he heads to the Muslim world and talking about the Middle East, and speaking directly to the Muslim world.
KING: A huge challenge here for the president. He has made this a top priority. He believes that if he can help repair the U.S. image in the Arab and the Muslim world, that it will not only promote greater relations with the United States -- but in his view -- promote greater national security, help convince young Arabs and Muslims to reject the calls of the extremist groups like the Taliban, like al Qaeda. That's part of the president's mission.
It's a tough challenge. If you look at the polling data, President Bush was widely unpopular. But President Obama is still -- the United States is pretty unpopular in that part of the world and that affects President Obama. So, it will be an interesting speech.
And we're going to have, actually, the Egyptian ambassador to the United States in here for "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning to talk about the stakes for President Obama and also the stakes for those countries. They want progress in the Israeli/Palestinian peace talks.
But if you look, just in Egypt, where the president will give this speech, there's a big debate there about whether, you know, opposition parties get the freedom to speak up as much as they would like.
HOLMES: Well, as he goes on his trip, his Supreme Court nominee might be thinking, "Hey, don't leave me hanging over here with all of these folks up here on Capitol Hill!" Yes, he is throwing her to the wolves, if you will, this week to meet and greet, this will be cordial stuff this week, though.
KING: It's cordial stuff but it's very important stuff. Judge Sonia Sotomayor will make her first courtesy calls up on Capitol Hill. She'll start with the leadership, of course, the Senate Republican leader, the Senate Democratic leader, the top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- a chance for them to look her in the eye, to begin to ask some of the questions, the tough questions will come in those public confirmation hearings. We still don't know the schedule for that yet. But this is a tradition, courtesy calls to go up there.
And it's critical because, you know, Republicans are trying to figure out, you know, which cases they want to focus on in the hearings, do they want to delay this nomination, stall it out a little bit? They don't have the votes to block it, at least not right now -- but do they want to have the vote in July or try to hold out until September? So, some policy issues need to be discussed, some tactical decisions need to be made.
She will make important courtesy calls, just a chance to say hello, put a name to the face, if you will. And that will be a big part of our conversation here today, including with the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, who will make a lot of those tactical decisions for just how the Republicans will deal with this in the weeks and months ahead.
NGUYEN: Yes. No doubt. Quickly, John, you are talking about G.M. because we are expecting to see them file for bankruptcy tomorrow?
KING: We will -- G.M. will file for bankruptcy tomorrow. We are told that filing will take place in New York. The president will come out and say something about that. G.M. leaders will be out saying something about it.
In the bottom of our 11 o'clock hour, if you can stay with us, we're going to give you a very cool behind-the-scenes look at one of the places on the G.M. campus where they think the future is. Yes, they're going to go to this painful bankruptcy. If they are to succeed in the future, they need to come up with newer cars, more fuel-efficient cars that people want to buy.
We're going to give you a rare look inside the laboratory where they do that planning work.
NGUYEN: Hmm. Very cool. All right. John King, looking forward to it at the top of the hour.
KING: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: "STATE OF THE UNION" with our very own right there, John King.
KING: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: All right. Well, are you following your heart or following your faith? That was an agonizing choice for the Catholic priest known as "Father Oprah." But he managed to do both. We'll explain.
NGUYEN: And we know hurricanes can do a lot of damage. But be honest -- how many of you are prepared for a big storm? We have the life-saving essentials that you want to have on hand -- that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back to the CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes and my partner is Betty Nguyen. Also, Reynolds Wolf will be along in just a matter of seconds over at the Weather Center.
We have some headlines here for you.
General Motors could declare bankruptcy as early as tomorrow after reaching a deal with its bondholders; that's according to the "New York Times." The paper says the bondholders have agreed to forgive a $27 billion debt in exchange for up to 25 percent ownership in the company once it is restructured.
Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor heads to Capitol Hill this week to meet privately with some key senators. President Obama says he's hoping for a speedy confirmation so Sotomayor will be up-to- speed when the court convenes in October.
And in Indiana, residents cleaning up this morning after thunderstorms and possible tornadoes hit yesterday -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Speaking of severe weather, we are here in the Weather Center with Reynolds Wolf and Reynolds...
WOLF: We went shopping.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
WOLF: Got some goodies.
NGUYEN: You've done a little bit. We're looking at disaster kits and here is the reason. Hurricane season, folks and if you're not prepared, you might want to get prepared. It starts tomorrow.
WOLF: It starts tomorrow -- it's going to go from tomorrow to November 30th for the Atlantic hurricane season. Let's give you an idea of what the forecast is according to them.
We're going to go and start off with this graphic. You can see named stormed looking anywhere from 9 to 14, hurricanes 4 to 7, major hurricanes 1 to 3. You look also at the bottom, on average you have 11 named storms, six hurricanes two of which will be major. So Betty, it looks like it's going to be fairly an average hurricane season.
The thing is you never know. These forecasts can be kind of fickle so the best thing you can do is to be prepared.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And you know a lot of people take it for granted satisfying it's not going to happen to me, not this year. It's not going to not hit my house but then when it does and you don't have this, you're really stuck.
WOLF: Right, the game plan is, it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
NGUYEN: Not have it, yes.
WOLF: So take a look at what we've assembled here. You know...
NGUYEN: You have a lot of essentials here.
WOLF: We have a lot of stuff.
NGUYEN: What is the most important thing on the table?
WOLF: It's actually not on the table; that would be water. Water is the key thing because you could be 72 hours or even longer without power.
Take a look at some of the goodies we have here; if we can zoom in on some of it. Obviously if you're going to be with out power, you're going to need things like lights, electricity and you can't have it so if you don't have a generator you're going to need...
NGUYEN: Non-perishable food.
WOLF: ...non-perishable food. You're going to have to have batteries. A couple of things that you're seeing right there.; things like Aspirin, like Tylenol. We have a tarp underneath here, first aid kits, anything from weather radios that you have back here. These are windups. These are simply things that you get...
NGUYEN: They don't need a battery?
WOLF: Yes. You know what, Betty? A long time ago these things used to be a real novelty, not so much anymore. You can get them anywhere. You can get them at Wal-Mart, or K-Mart or Target. You can get them anywhere.
NGUYEN: Anywhere which is great. I have a question about the duct tape.
WOLF: That is for you to throw in my mouth when I talk too much.
NGUYEN: If I'm stuck in the basement with you, I need this for a real tool.
WOLF: Absolutely. Absolutely. But have things in here like tarps. Invariably, there's going to be roof damage and what not.
And you know, case in point -- think about this. Last year, we were working in Houston during Hurricane Ike. I was on one side of the city and you were in the downtown area. Much of the area was without power; not just for days but for weeks on end.
NGUYEN: For weeks. I remember people just standing in line after line after line with their cars, with buckets trying to get some kind of gasoline for their generators.
WOLF: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: So, there was no electricity, nothing was open. So when you have a situation like that, you absolutely need these essentials.
WOLF: Nonperishable items. You have to have the things that are going to keep you clean in terms of like it's kind of difficult to cook food, obviously, when you don't have power, you're going to rely on propane. So a lot of this stuff is nonperishable. Just small things you can -- peanut butter...
NGUYEN: How much does something like this cost?
WOLF: We assembled most of this for around $50.
NGUYEN: That's it.
WOLF: Yes. And the great thing is you don't have to go out in one fell swoop and just buy it all at once. You can buy little bits at a time, make a list and you can find that list if you go to the redcross.com. A lot of places offer these hurricane lists.
Go to Google and whatever and type in "hurricane preparedness kits" and you're going to find tons of sites if you give it a good think.
NGUYEN: And very quickly, how many days should you prepare for?
WOLF: At least three days. At least three days. Hopefully, that will be long enough for you to finally get some help and hopefully, power will be restored and you'll get back to a sense of normality.
One last thing to remember is you always need to bring out a little bit of cash. Fill up your car with gasoline before the storm approaches because a lot of things are shut down. You're going to be without power, you're going to be without the ability to get money out of your ATM. It's going to be a mess.
NGUYEN: And we've seen what a mess that can be especially with the latest one, Hurricane Ike down in Houston, Galveston area.
T.J. I've got a lot of shopping to do because my kit is not completely ready.
HOLMES: You know, unfortunately, we don't think about it, sometimes, until it's too late. But these are good reminders to have. So we appreciate your little QBC set you got going over there.
WOLF: We do what we can, guys.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks guys.
Perhaps it's just the sign of the times. But mama probably still wouldn't approve of you doing this; sitting in church on your blackberry, on your computer, typing away during the sermon.
However, this is ok, because this time, people are doing it with the pastor's blessing in this morning's "Faces of Faith" Shanna Franklin from our affiliate KDAF in Dallas-Ft. Worth where this practice is going on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Church, it no longer operates at the speed of our culture.
SHANA FRANKLIN, KDAF, DALLAS-FT. WORTH: Len Wilson is listening but he is also tweeting tidbits about the morning service at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flowermound.
LEN WILSON, TRIETSCH METHODIST CHURCH: People look to social networks to find community and our point is that the church, although it often fails, the point of the church is to be the ultimate social network, a place to find community.
FRANKLIN: It's part of a three-week sermon series called the Theology of Twitter. It's and designed to get congregation members to better connect with family, friends, the community and church.
REV. JOHN ALLEN, SR. PASTOR, TRIETSCH METHODIST CHURCH: The world is 24/7. We have to use whatever means that the church could be 24/7 for each other.
FRANKLIN: Today, week two was about love. Pastor John Allen asked everyone to get out their phones and text someone.
ALLEN: And let them know that you care about them and you want to connect with them.
FRANKLIN: Several members told us the gratification was as immediate as the message sent.
PAM TAYLOR, CHURCH MEMBER: I just really got on Twitter about two weeks ago, so it was new to me, but it was fun.
CHRIS MELVIN, YOUTH MINISTER: Kid stuff. Text me.
FRANKLIN: Youth Minister Chris Melvin was new to Facebook. Some of his team helped him set up an account. Now he returns the favor reading theirs.
MELVIN: A lot of times, they share what's going on in their daily life. And what happens is if they are struggling with something, I call them, I text them.
FRANKLIN: Other members told us this use of social networking sites feels natural. After all, we use our phones and computers for everything else.
KRISTI WEBB, CHURCH MEMBER: We need to, you know, use today's technology to do more to help others.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Twittering in church, whatever works for you. Send us a tweet and let us know what you think about it. If you're this church later, you feel like joining a tweet, by all means, do it and send it to us.
Well to tell you now about a priest who is getting a lot of attention this past week. Popular priest caught having an affair. He is back at the pulpit actually this morning but not in a Catholic Church.
Alberto Cutie -- you see him there -- is giving his first Episcopalian mass in Florida. The man some called Father Oprah left the Catholic Church after a romantic photo came out showing him with a woman on his left you see there on the right of the screen. He admitted seeing her for two years. They are planning to get married. Thousands used to listen to Cutie give relationship advice on his radio show, he has had to leave that show as well.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about Britain's Prince Harry for a minute because he has been in New York; his first official visit. He's now waving good-bye to the big city, the Big Apple.
The two-day visit wrapping up yesterday with a stop at the Harlem Children's Zone. It's a unique program that is helping kids from poor communities excel in school. Prince Harry took the tour with the Prince of Lesotho and said that he hopes the African nation will be able to create a program just like that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: It should be fantastic. I just hope to come back again very, very soon. The school in itself is a fantastic project, which means also now going to take this back to Lesotho and make it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: In the afternoon, Prince Harry faced off in a charity polo match. This was his first official visit to the U.S.
HOLMES: I think we have an end to this story. No, the story will probably continue. Susan Boyle, a lot people know this lady, we have been talking about her for weeks now.
NGUYEN: She's got talent.
HOLMES: She's got talent. "Britain's Got Talent" is the show she was on; she became a bit of a celebrity, unlikely after she sang on that show. The show ended -- was it just last night?
NGUYEN: The season finale last night in London. Check out her performance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN BOYLE: (SINGING "I DREAM A DREAM" FROM "LES MISERABLES")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Wow. What a voice. Susan Boyle right there singing "I Dream a Dream" and despite her popularity, Boyle came in second.
Yes. She was beat out by a dance troupe.
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: After all this, some dancers?
NGUYEN: The winners took home $161,000 and will sing for the queen at the World Variety Show. I hope the dancers can sing as well.
HOLMES: The dancers, they're going to be singing as well?
NGUYEN: Maybe they will make an exception and just let them dance.
HOLMES: Maybe that is why they won. They can sing and dance, apparently. We'll see what happens to her if she does get a deal or something...
NGUYEN: I'm sure she will, it's definitely not over for Susan Boyle.
HOLMES: Well, school is over for a lot of kids in a lot of states this summer but we still have "Extra Credit" for you this morning.
NGUYEN: Yes we do. Students speak their minds to our "Extra Credit" chief Carl Azuz, he's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: What do we need to do for an open like that?
HOLMES: I don't know. What did you do get that, Carl?
CARL AZUZ, CNNSTUDENTNEWS: I just showed up. It's the best part of the segment thought. You start out at the top and then just slowly slide down.
NGUYEN: That is not true.
AZUZ: Absolutely not.
NGUYEN: Carl Azuz is here with student news what we call a little "Extra Credit" today. And students are really sounding off. We have something that's coming up -- I spoke with Reynolds about it and that's hurricane season. AZUZ: It starts tomorrow. These things don't always follow the rules like many members of our target audience. Hurricanes can form at any time and we actually had our first tropical depression this year and that leads us into today's trivia question from CNN Student News.
How are tropical depressions identified? By female name; by male name; by number or by letter?
HOLMES: We should know this.
AZUZ: I'll give you a hint. The first one is called Tropical Depression 1.
NGUYEN: C, the number.
HOLMES: That's it.
NGUYEN: That's only because Reynolds was yelling out in the background.
AZUZ: He's right, as he ought to be. It is by number. We've had tropical depression 1 already formed. They are predicted based on the best science we have but they can pretty much show up whenever they want to.
NGUYEN: That's true.
HOLMES: Students, a lot of students we know are getting out of school right about now. Some are out already and some still in school. What do they think? What are they talking about as they wrap up the school year?
AZUZ: We asked them what they thought the biggest story of the school year was. We had responses ranging from North Korea to Michael Vick. One student said that Cady (ph) stole Michelle's boyfriend and that was the biggest story.
We have a comment from Abby for you. She says, like a lot of students, "The election was the biggest story of the year without a doubt. But the other top story should have been when CNN Student News got a Facebook page."
And we appreciate Abby saying that because if you search CNN student news official on Facebook you will find our show with all kinds of cool supplemental material and while you're on Facebook, of course, you search for the lovely Betty Nguyen, the awesome T.J. Holmes -- I didn't want to say lovely T.J.
HOLMES: That's the best you could do?
AZUZ: Awesome T.J. Holmes. Dapper.
HOLMES: It's ok, Carl.
AZUZ: It's all positive, it's all good. Search for T.J. and you'll find him on Facebook.
NGUYEN: We look like your groupies in that picture.
AZUZ: I'll take it.
NGUYEN: Speaking of? You got some shout-outs today?
AZUZ: Yes, I do. We have a couple of shout-outs -- a couple of groups watching this morning. We have one in Mr. Montag's class in Spirit Lake, Idaho and one of the whole Social Studies Department at Pendleton High School in Pendleton, Oregon. So many were requesting shout-outs and students on our Facebook page we were just like "let's give it to the whole social studies department." Thank you guys for watching.
NGUYEN: That was so generous of you.
AZUZ: We do what we can.
NGUYEN: That's great. Thanks so much for joining us. We always appreciate this segment.
AZUZ: Always appreciate being here. Thank you guys.
HOLMES: Thanks so much, Carl.
NGUYEN: I want to tell you about this because new passport rules, they are taking effect and the new rules start at midnight so you will need to know them if you're driving across the border.
HOLMES: Find out what's that about. Are you taking a trip? Let us know if you are.
You're going to need that passport; things are changing.
NGUYEN: Yes you will.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We wanted to show this picture to you because we think it's a neat picture. That thing is moving, isn't it Betty?
NGUYEN: Very slowly.
HOLMES: That is the shuttle Endeavour -- you can't make it out. But it is actually moving. This is tradition or this is what it has to do. It has to go from one spot to the other. Rolls out the hangar and has to go to the launch pad. It's going to take off and scheduled for a mission on June 13th but it has to make this slow --
NGUYEN: It's a good thing it's on June 13th, right? Slowly as it's moving.
HOLMES: That's why it's going so early. But a nice picture; it is on its way. NGUYEN: Are you planning to leaving the country? Maybe even just to Canada or Mexico? Well, you better bring along your passport starting tomorrow because you're going to need that or something equivalent to get back into this country without a hassle.
Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve goes over these new rules.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At certain times at certain places it can take hours to cross the border from Canada into the United States. Some fear new rules will make the wait even longer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Starting June 1, 2009, new document requirements.
MESERVE: Ad campaigns in the U.S. and Canada are spreading the word that starting June 1st, travelers crossing into the U.S. on the northern border will need to present one of the following: a U.S. or Canadian passport, a U.S. passport card, a trusted traveler card, or an enhanced driver's license like those offered by a limited number of states and provinces.
U.S. officials estimate that only about 1 in 3 Americans has one of those documents. Although people living near the border are much more likely to have one. Officials are promising to be flexible about enforcement in the beginning.
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We hope that people appreciate, however, that as we implement whether we are going to do it with common sense, we want to be fair, but that that is the law and my responsibility is ultimately to make sure that that law is enforced.
MESERVE: Every day, about 300,000 people cross the U.S./Canadian border and every minute, $1 million worth of trade goes back and forth. Business and travel groups worry the new rules will create bottlenecks.
PERRIN BEATTY, CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: The last time a shot was fired in anger between the Canada and the United States was in the war of 1812 to '14 and yet we are putting barriers between our two countries which keep on getting higher and thicker and we're moving in the wrong direction.
MESERVE: But U.S. Officials predict things will go smoothly. Some of the documents are enhanced with radio-frequency identification tags that can be read before a vehicle gets to an inspection and may actually speed travel.
(on camera): So what happens if you get to the border without one of the required documents? You will get more scrutiny and that will take time but, in the end, if you are a U.S. citizen, you cannot be denied entry. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: King of the road, the envy of the corporate world, stock market champ -- that is how GM used to get down.
NGUYEN: Used to.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: We'll show you why GM will be forever a part of the pop culture even if the company does file for bankruptcy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Now that's how you say good morning.
HOLMES: The entire crew is dancing with this song on right now. Usually, we can't find a consensus with the crew.
NGUYEN: This one by the band called the "Average White Band;" "Pick Up the Pieces" is the name of the song. Hello, Miami.
HOLMES: I know that's where you want to be right now, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, it is.
HOLMES: Once the U.S. auto industry revolutionized the way Americans live and now another one of the big three is expected to declare bankruptcy.
Christine Romans looks at just how far the industry has fallen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Henry Ford started at the beginning of the last century with four wheels and a running board. 1908 was the birth of American car culture. That same year, General Motors was formed in Flint, Michigan. It wasn't until 1925 when the big three was complete with the formation of Chrysler Corporation.
JOHN DAVIS, HOST, MOTORWEEK: When the big three emerged, they not only emerged as, you know, rivals that really gave Americans much better automobiles at the time, but they also cemented the American automobile as a world standard.
ROMANS: As goes General Motors, so goes the nation. That phrase defined America's economic power for much of the last century.
PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: So many folks who are employed either at General Motors or the other two major carmakers making steel and all the other components that go into cars, it just meant that if the automobile companies were prospering, the country was prospering, too. ROMANS: Today, there are 74,000 rank and file GM workers in the U.S. but in its heyday GM was the largest industrial company in the world, a technology's leader. By 1979, 600,000 people worked for GM. Those good jobs helped build America's middle class.
DAVIS: It also allowed us to migrate out from the cities to have that quarter lot in the suburb to basically get away from a lot of the congestion of the metropolitan areas.
ROMANS: General Motors was the company that revolutionized what we drove, how we thought about our cars, and how we paid for them. GM invented auto loans and the model year. It was the first to hire designers instead of engineers to create new car concepts, think big fins and chrome of the 1950s, '60s and everything changed. Ford adopted flashy fins with the Ford Fairlane as did Chrysler with the popular Desoto.
Automobiles from the big three put their stamp on popular culture: from music, to movies, to television. What is considered to be the first rock 'n' roll song ever recorded was "Rocking 88" by Ike Turner about a GM product.
The Pontiac GTO considered by many to be the first true muscle car was showcased in a song by Ronnie and the Daytonas; the Corvette on Route 66; the 1948 Ford in the iconic movie, "Grease." The Trans Am in "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Archie Bunker's."
So what happened? How did the wheels come off?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, you heard that question there? For the answer to it, you can check out our special with Christine Romans and Ali Velshi, "HOW THE WHEELS CAME OFF: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY." That is this afternoon at 3:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: But John King, he is coming up at the top of the hour with "STATE OF THE UNION."
In the meantime though, we got stories making news for you.
First up, GM, it appears almost certain the auto giant will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy tomorrow. The New York Times says bondholders have finally agreed to swap their debt for a stake in the company after it is restructured. However the government will own the largest share, reportedly more than 70 percent.
Pakistani intelligence officials say the army is involved in heavy fighting in South Waziristan, a major Taliban stronghold. Officials say 25 insurgents and 6 Pakistani soldiers have died in the fighting
And hurricane season, are you ready for it. Well, hurricane season for the Atlantic, it begins tomorrow, so hopefully you are prepared. Officials urging residents in hurricane-prone areas to plan ahead, extra water and non-perishable foods as well as the medicine are among the items residents should be encouraged to keep on hand.
Those folks in Indiana, they are cleaning up after severe thunderstorms and some possible tornadoes. Police in one community say 60-mile-per-hour winds whipped around yesterday. There are also reports of hail and downed trees.
Don't go anywhere because "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King starts right now.
