well, hey, there, everybody. from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia, this is your cnn saturday morning for this september 3rd. hope you're getting off to a good holiday weekend. i'm t.j. holmes. and this has been a slow, but strong tropical storm that is making a mess for people on this holiday weekend. now, six years after hurricane katrina, new orleans directly in the path of this storm. we're live with you. and the title of a new book making a lot of controversy. it's called "is marriage for white people?" and it suggests that interracial dating may be

the answer for black women. you'll be hearing from the author. also -- >> if there's something anti-mexican about what i said, then i apologize for the anti-mexicanness of it. >> comedian katt williams goes on what some are calling a racial rant. but he says he won't apologize for defending his country, even though someone put out a statement on his behalf saying he apologized. we'll work through all of that this morning. but let's get started, shall we, with tropical storm lee? millions of people along the central gulf coast are on alert for heavy rain and flash floods this labor day weekend. this tropical storm is sloshing ashore in louisiana and mississippi. state of emergency in place in both places. some states could get 10 to 20 inches of rain. several inches already fallen in new orleans, the city, as you know, it's below sea level. and there's concern about levees holding up. lee's timing could be worse for

the tourist industry still trying to recover from katrina years ago and last year's massive oil leak in the gulf of mexico really hit them hard. and now this holiday weekend going to be shot for a lot of people. tropical storm lee comes six years after katrina devastated new orleans and the mississippi gulf coast. our ed lavendera is in new orleans for us. ed, hello to you. it has been raining there. how's it doing right now? >> reporter: it's actually pretty decent now. some of the bars here on bourbon street starting to open up already. that gives you a sense of how stressed out folks are about this particular storm, t.j. but it is interesting. i talked to the mayor's office here in new orleans a little while ago. they said things are holding up well, but they're seeing flooding in the usual spots around the city. so they said they expected very much normal. what's interesting, though, as this storm moves further inland, we're seeing tornado watches in 16 parishes across louisiana, six counties in mississippi.

those warnings lasting until 10:00 tonight. so, again, this kind of brings home that point that this is is a slow-moving tropical storm of about 2 to 3 miles per hour. and as i've been mentioning, t.j., people walk faster than that. that will be dumping a lot of rain. and what has really helped out the situation here in new orleans, i'm told, is that as these bands have come through new orleans, we're kind of in between one of them right now. the period, the lull in between these bands have really given the pumps here in new orleans time to catch up and drain away all the water. that has been extremely helpful here, t.j. for the most part, we haven't had any reports of injuries or deaths because of the various flooding in various parts, but these waters are starting to rise and some of the roadways and smaller towns around the new orleans area, and we'll continue to monitor that throughout the day as more and more rain continues to fall. t.j.? >> all right. ed lavendera, thank you. we'll check in again. we need to check in now with alexandra steele. she has the latest on this tropical storm.

good to have you here with us on this weekend. i know we're waiting on another update, right? if he gets it, by all means, let him bring it all over. >> we have seen an update, and it has slowed. is that good news or bad news? >> bad news, right? >> right. >> i like how you're testing me. >> let's talk about, of course, it's going slower, which is exacerbating the rain even further. the two biggest problems, the winds and the flooding rain, of which we're seeing both. here's a quick snapshot of winds we're seeing, 26, 36 miles per hour, gusts well higher than that. and within the last two hours in and around new orleans, power outages now spiking to about 30,000. so the big-time problems just beginning to ensue. here's a look at tropical storm lee. 60-mile-per-hour winds sustained. they were at 50 earlier this morning. the winds have increased, the flooding rains have increased. right now moving north now at 5 miles per hour. center of circulation, right here, still off the coast, but that center of circulation will

fully move onshore later this afternoon. so it certainly will happen. but look at this. this purple and red, that's where all the heaviest rain is, and this thing really kind of lopsided, and all the precip here on the eastern side of this thing. so we're watching that. we're going to watch all this rain move in, potentially 10 to 20 inches of rain. so an astronomical amount. and of course that's being exacerbated by the slow nature of this thing. take a look at this white. this is where we'll see the incredible amounts of rain. and we'll watch this track as well. so by tuesday. really until today and tomorrow with new orleans, the heaviest rain will be. then we'll watch the center of this circulation move northeast. right now the track has been moving north-northwest. we'll see it kind of take a right-hand turn. again, winds 30 to 35 miles per hour. but even tuesday, wednesday, into thursday, t.j., we're looking at the center of this circulation being in tennessee, with some rain. again, not 10 to 20 inches, but an awful lot of rain.

police in new orleans saying, you're driving on flooded roads. again, more than 5 miles per hour, they're going to issue you a ticket. >> that's interesting to me. you've got to do what you've got to do to get it through to focus. >> absolutely. turn around, don't drown. inland flooding kills more people in a hurricane more than anything else. >> good point to make. alexandra, so good to have you here with us this weekend. six minutes past the hour. we'll take you to iowa live, coming up next. iowa politically important, holiday weekend, politicians are always out. now throw in sarah palin. this could this be the weekend she make answer announcement and she does it there? slow down. stay with us. where do you go to find a super business? you know, the ones who do a super job? superpages.com®. for local maps, reviews and videos & it's the only local search site with the superguarantee®. so next time, let the good guys save the day. get the superguarantee®, only at superpages®. in the book, on your phone or at superpages.com®.

well, nine minutes past the

hour now, rain or shine, you can count on parade, picnics, and a little politics this labor day weekend. the republican presidential candidates making their rounds in early voting stating and the tea party is rallying in iowa. that is where we'll find our peter hamby. and that is also where we'll find sarah palin today. will she or won't she? will we or won't we find out this weekend, actually, peter? >> reporter: we won't find out this weekend. i can tell you that sarah palin will not announce a presidential bid at this tea party rally here in noindianola? so why do we care? well, she is close to making a final decision and there's still a chance she could make a run for the presidency. she's pointed to the end of september as a deadline for making a decision. so what we're looking for today is what she's going to say and define herself and carve out some space in the republican primary field. she's attack president obama and

rally the tea party, but she'll also draw some contrast potentially with rick perry and attack crony capitalism, is a word we're hearing. so we'll see what kind of message she puts forth today, but we won't hear an announcement, t.j.. >> you know what, how do republican voters feel about seeing her and having her grab headlines, but her not making a decision just yet? >> reporter: yeah, sorry, i couldn't quite hear you there, t.j. >> i know you've got a lot of music going back there. >> reporter: yeah, yeah, we do. she does have a dedicated group of followers. there are people who have come to this event, all the way there san diego, dallas, the gulf coast. they bused in, they got plane tickets, and they met up here last night. there's a website called conservatives for palin, which is sort of like the online hub of all things palin. they met up last night in urbandale, iowa, and palin made a surprise appearance and greeted them. she's got this dedicated group of followers. they're walking around this event, signing people up, capturing e-mail addresses in

case she does decide to run and they can hit the ground running here in iowa with a campaign later this month, potentially, t.j. >> our peter hamby is there for us. that tea party rally, just about to get underway. peter, thank you. and a week from monday, tune in here, cnn along with the tea party express and several other tea party groups will cohost a debate with the republican candidates. they'll all be in tampa, florida. the 2012 republican national convention will be there as well. the cnn tea party republican debate, monday september 12th, 8:00 p.m. eastern, right here on cnn. well, you're paying a little more this holiday weekend for gas, $3.66, the average for a gallon of regular. that's up about a nickel over last week. it's actually a few cents less than you were paying, though, a month ago. and the higher price of gas is expected to keep more of you at home this holiday weekend. aaa reporting that close to 32 million americans will travel more than 50 miles over labor day. fewer will fly, more will drive, but overall, that represents

about 2.5% decline in labor day travel compared with last year. all right, you should not use your credit card, excuse me, your debit card. you shouldn't use your debit card at a restaurant or at a gas station. you also should not use your debit card on big purchases or items that need to be delivered. there's a lot of places you use your debit card, you actually shouldn't do that, at least according to clyde anderson. talked to him a little earlier. he explained that you should not use your debit card at a restaurant, because your waiter literally walks away with your card. >> they're gone, they've got your number. >> that's why you say -- >> exactly. so you want to have some sort of control. and you lose some sort of control when you're giving them that debit card to go away and do what they do. >> but when they go away with your debit card, your protections in place than -- >> exactly, exactly. >> what about a gas station? >> because a lot of gas stations have these atms, these convenient atm machines that a lot of people use.

those are the ones i'm saying stay away from. some of them look a little suspect. g to the bank. don't want to use it somewhere where it's suspect. >> it's not a matter of buying the gas. >> no. >> oh. >> but on the other side, when you're talking about gas, you don't any recourse as well. it doesn't come out immediately sometimes. >> give me the other places. these might surprise people as well, but these are places we should not use the debit card. >> for future purchases, maybe you're buying something and they're going to deliver it to your home. furniture, appliances, things like that. you don't want to use your debit card. you want to use your credit card, because you've got more recourse. what if they don't come? you only have two days to dispute that purchase. >> so why get rid of your money when you're not going to get the product. >> exactly, exactly. >> what else? >> atms, we already talked about atms that are a little suspect. and hotels, don't use your debit

card. use a credit card. they'll hold that money, put it to the side, and you definitely want to make sure, if you cancel the hotel reservation, you don't want to have that money just gone and it takes forever for that money to come back on your card. >> do we have this list? you can keep going. what else? >> we talked about future purchases, we talked about restaurants, we talked about convenience stores as far as those atms that are kind of suspect. and you really want to make sure that things that you're -- you said first-time things that you never bought before, reoccurring payments as well. if you've got these auto debits, and that's really popular. things that come out of your account automatically on a monthly basis. don't use your debit card. that gives them too much power and too much control. you can have a debit card that you actually only put a certain amount of money on, these reserve cards. it's like prepaid. whether it be visa, mastercard or logo, you want more control. >> is that the same of giving a company your routing number. >> exactly. >> this is very popular. >> exactly. it's very popular. and a lot of people do it and it's automatic that they use a

debit card, because it's a lot easier, i've got my debit card, the money's here, do not use that. use a credit card. and i hear it often that people say, well, it's similar. but really, you've got two days to dispute it. you could be liable up to $500 when you're using that debit card. >> last thing here, do it in 15 seconds, where can i use my debit card? >> there's several places. you want to go to your bank. you know, if you're using an atm, definitely go to your bank. places that you trust, places you frequent all the time. if you're going to buy something, make sure it's an immediate purchase. groceries, that's a great place to use your debit card. you're getting it right then. all right. well, coming up, it is a big football saturday. but today, something a little different, something a little special is happening in alabama. the university of alabama kicking off its season. that's always a big deal, no matter what year it is, but different this year, because it's the first game since that

devastating tornado hit their home city of tuscaloosa. many are saying this new season can help heal a community. we're going to the university of alabama campus after the break. stay here. but not in my neighborhood. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're throwing away misperceptions about natural gas vehicles. more of the vehicles that fuel our lives use clean american natural gas today. it costs about 40 percent less than gasoline, so why aren't we using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community.

well, 19 minutes past the hour now. the university of alabama football team returning to the field today. it's the first major event in tuscaloosa since a devastating tornado destroyed parts of the city back in april.

students and the players hoping the return of football will help that city heal. our reynolds wolf is in tuscaloosa for us. >> reporter: well, t.j., it is game day here at the university of alabama. we're outside bryant stadium, which is really the epicenter of college football if you're a fan of the crimson tide. and many people that are going to be coming here, in excess of 100,000 people in the stadium alone, are going to be making their way toward the campus. the campus was relatively unscathed in terms of the tornado, but many of the ways getting to the campus, especially mcfarland boulevard, people for the very first time since last season are going to see msome of the areas of devastation, some of the places that are now completely cleared out where there used to be neighborhoods and stores, all of that is gone. but they will get here, and for a few hours, just a few hours, they'll get a chance to think of something else other than the devastation that was here only months ago. we spoke with some of the students and some of the people that call this community home recently and they can't wait to

tee it up. >> i think the game's pretty important. the team has to come out and show the community that even through the tornado and through everything, we can still come together for a good cause and play a good game of football. >> everything that usually comes in for games that hasn't seen it yet, is going to come back in and realize exactly what happened here. so they're going to see it and everybody's going to, you know, just be together once again for what this town is basically built around. >> i think assist big deal, because it gives us something, you know, to take our mind off what we have to see every day when we drive home. >> reporter: one of the touching things about this contest, doesn't deal just with alabama, but with the opponent, ken state. ken state football players were actually in the community before the event, and helped out with crimson tide players, to help rebuild parts of the community. certainly good sportsmanship, but a sign of also being good people. let's send it back to you, t.j.. >> thanks, as always, to our reynolds wolf there. at 21 minutes past the hour. you know, comedians, sometimes they're supposed to stir things up, they're supposed to say things that are controversial. well, some are accusing one

comedian, katt williams, of going too far in his routine about mexicans. accusing him of going on an anti-mexican rant. was it fun funny? was it hate speech? you'll hear it and you'll hear from him, ahead.

24 minutes past the hour now. the search continues in chile for an air force plane carrying 21 people that lost contact over the pacific ocean on friday.

at least one body has been found. the country's defense minister says the plane tried to land twice at juan hernandez island airport before it went missing. chilean tv crew was on board, including a well-known anchor there. turn to libya now, where aid workers are scrambling to address a humanitarian crisis in the capital that's getting worse by the day. a united nations team is now on the ground in tripoli to assist with dire shortages of food, fuel, and water. but as our arwa damon now explains, it's not just lack of basic supplies that is threatening the city. >> reporter: tripoli is now a city of checkpoints, guns, and no real authority. plus the lingering threat of gadhafi loyalists. this road blocked after an earlier drive-by shooting. the new bosses in town on the lookout for anything suspicious. his license plate was changed, look, it's plastic, this fighter

tells us. and there's a bullet hole through the front window. anti-gadhafi firefighters jittery, suspicious. lists were just distributed. on them, the license plate numbers of cars to be on the lookout for. either ones that are known to belong to people who are close to the regime, are missing or suspicious for one reason or another. those who are stationed here are telling us that they're being incredibly careful, because they've also received information that a number of vehicles are rigged to explode. firefighters are collecting weapons and registering them at police stations, and those who were rebels just a week ago begin to work with tripoli's police. always plentiful in libya, there are even more guns now. gadhafi's armories have been empty. gadhafi opened the weapon stores to the public at the start of the rebel revolution, this captain explains. the residents are bringing back various weapons, and he says

that this spectacular one was taken by civilians, effectively, as they were looting. a brand-new beretta, tags still attached. but there are also more sinister discoveries. so they found a car that was filled with weapons. these are some of the weapons that they pulled out of a vehicle that they had suspected belonged to one of gadhafi's loyalists. anti-gadhafi forces are trying to stem the flood of arms, but it's all pretty haphazard. people who want to cant carrying weapons now need to be issued these i.d. cards, and the selection process, it's all very localized. so each neighborhood council decides who can be authorized to carry a gun. and on top of that, a group calling itself the tripoli revolutionary council is trying to exert its control over the city, creating the potential for conflict with the national traditional council, in an

already volatile situation. as this man says, one with resident in his area didn't want to hand his open over. >> he said, no, no, no, no. i'm a big guy and i'm in an apartment now and gadhafi is no here anymore, so i'm going to use my gun and shoot everywhere. he didn't shoot anybody, actually. and then, finally, he killed . >> parts of louisiana and mississippi under a state of emergency on a labor day weekend because of that thing. yes, we're talking about tropical storm lee. could have some flash flooding some places expecting up to 20 inches of rain this weekend. we've got the very latest on this slow-moving storm. yeah. 24 bucks later. that hurts. it's not like i really had a choice. snack on this. progressive's "name your price" tool showed me a range of coverages and i picked the one that worked for me.

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we're at the bottom of the hour on this cnn saturday morning. giving you a look at some of the stories making headlines and a travel alert from washington a week before the tenth anniversary of 9/11. state department is warning u.s. citizens traveling or living abroad to be aware of the continuing threat posed by al

qaeda, but they reiterate, there are no specific threats right now. also, the government suing 17 major banks, all for selling billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities to fannie mae and freddie mac. the federal housing finance agency claims numerous financial firms, including bank of america, jpmorgan, citigroup all misrepresented the quality of the loans. also, there's no place like home, is it? well, you can tell that the congresswoman gabrielle giffords, she's spending the holiday weekend at home in tucson, arizona. she's taking a break from her rigorous rehab that's going on in houston. she's still recovering from that gunshot wound to the head that she got back in january. she does leave, occasionally. you remember this just wonderful moment. what a surprise. that was her surprise return to cast her vote to prevent the government from defaulting. that was last month. she got a standing ovation

there. all right. tropical storm lee is going to cause a problem for people's holiday weekend plans. it's labor day all along the central gulf coast. they had big plans, but now this thing is dumping rain in louisiana and mississippi and other places, and some places could get up to 20 inches of rain. it won't move out for several days now. the flooding is going to be the big issue. louisiana and mississippi under states of emergency. lee comes just days after the sixth anniversary of hurricane katrina. now, earlier i talked with rupert lacy. he's the emergency management director for gulfport and biloxi, mississippi. asked him if people there are prepared to possibly evacuate. >> of course they are. be it where we are still in a process of rebuilding after katrina. with one of the misfortunes is that in some of our lower lying

areas of our county, people have not built back right there in paradise along the water. but we've had about ten roads that have to -- we've had water over because of rivers coming up, the southeast flow. you know, we've had a couple of homeowners that have talked to us about that standing water. and if we have to, we're ready to pull the trigger, open up a shelter, but you know, we're still trying to -- we still have a little bit of time so that people can prepare before we have to open up the shelter building for them to seek shelter from the wind, and then, of course, the higher rains. >> all right. let's say good morning one again to alexandra steele. always good to have you here with us. the latest on this storm here, though. you know, it's a tropical storm, so might not have the high winds and what knnot, but the problems it's just creeping along. >> it is. and it's forward momentum, it

has even slowed from earlier when it was at 7 miles per hour. it's slowed its speed now to 5 miles per hour. and the winds are up now to 60 miles per hour, that's maximum sustained winds up from 50 earlier this morning. here's the big picture. center of circulation, kind of a naked western side of it. all the action here on the eastern side. center of circulation has begun to come ashore. the center of circulation will completely come ashore this afternoon. and then, again, we will see the winds, once, of course, this interacts with land. the speed will go up and the winds will come down. but still, the recipe for flooding is there. you heard t.j. just say 10 to 20 inches of rain expected in some areas. so there are the winds. there's its movement. of course, there's the swath of rain. also, a big worry this morning, and we've seen it especially around mississippi, some tornado warnings. so that will be continued through today. and also, t.j., the rain-wrapped tornadoes. that is one additional fear to the flooding we have and will see throughout the next 24 hours. >> we've got a lot of stuff to worry about with this storm, but

we've got to worry about it throughout the weekend. it's not going anywhere anytime soon. alexandra, a pleasure to have you here this weekend. thanks so much. patterson, new jersey, still dealing with some issues. they're drying out from the flooding that was left by irene. tomorrow the president will visit and see this stuff for himself firsthand. we'll take you there live to show you what the people there want to show the president. thing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. everything you need to stretch out

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38 minutes past the hour. we have been talking about tropical storm lee in the gulf, but don't forget about irene. left a mess behind a week after it made landfall. flooding spawned by irene devastated patterson, new jersey. look at some of this. people are still living in shelters. a lot of folks still don't have electricity. even with the water receding, parts of the city still just a mess. the president heading to patterson tomorrow. our susan candiotti is there now. what do we want the president to see, susan, and what do they want him to hear? >> reporter: well, he's going to see things like this. we're on a street called presidential boulevard. a lot of houses here, flooded. the water came up, filled the basement, at least, i would say, 12 feet, and another 4 or 5 inches inside the house. and people here are just looking back at their homes today and shaking their heads about what lies ahead for them. this is a business across the street. also starting its cleanup. this is the passaic river. this is how close they are to the waterfront. and the business operator here

tells me that the water has overflowed at times, but never this high. it's receded now, but looking at that fence, debris is stuck nearly to the top. that's another indication of how high up the water was. and over here, this street is impassable. at one point, that car was submerged, no longer. so it's another sign that the water -- floodwaters are going down. we talked to a mail carrier, who has lived here all his life and said he's never seen anything like it. he's looking forward to the president's visit. >> after the initial shock of everything, it's like everything, there's a grieving process that goes on when something happens and it's just a question of how long it takes to get over it. because i've seen a lot of people help each other out, and everybody does, because that's what we're supposed to do as human beings. it's not -- you know, the president, it's a nice gesture, and that's what a lot of things are, to make gestures, to make the people feel more

comfortable. >> reporter: and you see this man over here, part of the cleanup looks like he has perhaps a boom of some kind, trying to collect a lot of the diesel fuel, that kind of thing, that's seeped out into the water here. the main thrust, the main message that the people hope that they hear from the president is one of hope, hope and money to help clean things up. back to you, t.j.. >> yeah, hope is fine. money helps. susan candiotti for us there in patterson, new jersey. thank you so much. at 40 minutes past the hour now. there's a new book out there that is either going to get a conversation or an argument started, maybe in your household. the name of the book, you're seeing that right, is "is marriage for white people?" but don't let the title throw you out. it's actually examining how a decline in african-american marriages affects everybody. i'm talking to the author. [ man ] natural gas vehicles are used somewhere...

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about a quarter of the top of the hour. it was the topic this morning that's got a lot of you all responding. the topic and the question, "is marriage for white people?"

that is actually the title of a new book that has some people talking. the book actually examines the state of african-american marriage. you wonder how does it do that? well, i'll let the stanford law professor and author of it, ralph banks, explain for himself. i talked to him a little earlier, asked him if the marriage problem comes down to simple supply and demand. in his words, not enough eligible and marriage material black men for too many eligible marriage material black women. >> but it's not quite a simple issue. it's actually a complicated story. >> now, what makes it so complicated? that's the end of it. we have more black women, right, graduating from college, two to one to black men, you throw in incarceration rates, you throw in the unemployment rates and you're saying there's just not enough black men. >> well, there are not enough black men for all of the college-educated black women, in particular, that have the type of husbands that they want to have. >> the type that they want to have. now, i put this out, and we had this conversation yesterday and

a lot of people were chiming in. and i decided to ask for questions from viewers. one of the questions simply put is do black women deserve better than what black men have to offer? that seems like a very heavy question there, but is that essentially what it is? do we not measure up to the quality of black women right now? >> that's really a great way to put it. i will admit, i usually think about it from the other perspective, which is that should -- is it fair to ask black women to sacrifice their own happiness on the altar, as it were, of black men's struggles. i think not. >> what's that -- >> i think not. >> what's that the sacrifice, necessarily, when we're talking about -- and i asked you this question yesterday. is it always marrying down if the person you marriage doesn't make as much money or have the same level of education? could be a good guy. >> could be a good guy, and lots of relationships work with across classes, that's true. but it's also the case, not

simply for the women, but for the men as well, having a spouse who is matched to you educationally, in terms of your outlook, your aspirations, your experiences, that's a positive thing. so it's actually not a great thing for the wife or the husband, if they're in a mismatched relationship. >> and we know a lot of conversations we started yesterday because of this topic, and i had one of these conversations at my house with mrs. holmes. and one of these things that keeps coming up is how do you, and the word, i think, my wife used, is reprogram, if you will, black women. because you're suggesting they need to be open to dating outside of their race. but you know, a lot of black women just like brothers. they like a black man. >> right, right. >> so if you're just not attracted naturally, why have them give up on finding a black man? >> right, that's a great question. and the issue, what i think of that is that women have been asked to carry a great load. black women shoulder a lot of

the burden, in short, of black men's struggles. and i am asking women to put the burden down. many women think that they're attracted to black men, they are attracted to black men, but attraction itself is complicated. and one of the things i discovered in the course of writing this book is there's a whole host of fears and anxieties and desires that animate black women's attraction to black men. >> okay. and on that, though, i got another question from a viewer, judy, sent in and said, it sounds like you're saying, why should black women give up the good fight? you're not telling them to take on a project of fixing a man, necessarily, but why just give up on black men? >> that is another great question. i actually am asking black women to give up the good fight, because -- >> give up the good fight?! >> because it is not been successful. this is what a friend of mine calls a negro improvement project, which is what a lot of black women undertake. and often the results are not so

great. so the strategy has been counterproductive. it doesn't help african-americans for us to have black men and black women locked in bad relationships and raising children in households where the parents quarrel and ultimately divorce. that's not a win. >> don't give up the fight. don't give up the good fight, alina. >> your wife, marley had -- >> she had something to say. >> she had something to say about this. >> a spirited conversation. but alina cho, good to see you. it's been a while since i've seen you. >> you celebrated a birthday. turned 21 again. >> isn't that something? >> amazing how that happens. >> it's amazing how you get older. how it just kind of happens. >> it does. >> but that's not what we're here to talking about. you're in for fredricka today. >> i am, our other good friend, fredricka whitfield. >> what have you got on? >> we're going to be talking to our leaggal eagles about this ce out of illinois, it's so interesting, two adult children, 20 and 23, suing their mother, saying she was a bad mother

because the son didn't get christmas presents because the mother moved in with someone and the daughter was so distraught, she gained a significant amount of weight. now, i understand how that might be upsetting, but is there a legal case here? so we're going to talk to avery and richard about that. >> but they're saying their lives just didn't turn out so well -- >> yes, emotional distress, and for their pain and suffering, they're seeking $50,000. if you're going to file the case, file for more than $50,000. >> we can do that? we can sue parents? >> apparently so. it's happening. >> let me know how that one works out. >> okay, i will. >> you're there were those bad unemployment numbers that came out. unemployment remains at 9.1%. we want to know, how do you recession-proof your budget. one of the things to do is stash cash, but how much? six months, 12 months, two

years? we're going to talk to an expert about that as well. >> it's hard in these could have economic times. people say, you're telling me to save, it's hard to save right now. >> it is. and the other thing, too, they say try to reduce your debt. but some of these people need to put food on the table. maybe the only way to do it is credit. it's sad. but we want to give people tips on that. and finally, i was in east haven, connecticut, earlier this week looking at the hurricane irene aftermath. there was a one small beachside community that was just decimated in the storm. i was there. i talked to that man there, dino braine brainerd. the second floof endr ended up on the first floor. i couldn't believe my eyes. we'll talk to dino brainerd on the phone later today. >> alina, good stuff as always. >> you going to make some time for me this weekend. >> i will, as soon as i get home, the tv's on when i get home.

so good to see you. >> i mean for dinner. >> oh, yeah, i'm sorry. fredricka only cares that i'm watching. i'm sorry. alina, good to see you. we're getting close to the top of the hour. we're laughing. but nobody was laughing at cat williams' comedy routine. we stirred some things up once again. controversial remarks, some are saying controversial, about mexicans. some are calling on him to apologize. he told me this morning, he ain't doing it. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless too? discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers.

as we get close to the top of the hour, comedian katt williams, no stranger to controversy. and what some are calling an anti-mexican rant during one of his shows in phoenix last weekend has him in hot water. take a look and listen. >> you can see there in the video, he was responding to somebody in the crowd. this person was heckling him in the audience. this went on for seven, eight minutes.

give you another little snippet of it. >> katt williams was here with me last hour to discuss this controversy and his alleged apolo apology. >> if a person starts their heckling with "f" america, then that gives me the right to defend my country. i couldn't be anti-mexican. my mexican fan base is largely responsible for me even existing. so between them and the black community is really all i have. but i don't think i need to apologize for being pro-american. the guy said that all of this is still mexico.

and i was just giving him geography. this is america, greatest country in the world. >> help us understand. do you not apologize for anything? we only showed like a 50-second clip there. >> no, sir. >> go ahead. >> i apologize for the fact that the word anti-mexican is being said to a black guy in america. >> bowe but you don't apologize for what you said in that stand-up? >> i'm not allowed to. as a stand-up, the only thing that i sell is uncensored thought. so i'm only selling them the way i think uncensored. so i'm not allowed to then come back the next day and apologize. that's for the tracy morgans of the world. i said what i meant and i meant what i said. i'm apologizing if somebody thought i was trying to be anti-mexican. mexicans are my friend. >> katt, why sit somebody is allowed to put out a statement apologizing on your behalf, then?

>> sir, they put out a dvd called "katt williams' nine lives" what i was in jail without my permission. we were in phoenix, a heavily mexican american crowd. i gave $5,000 out to a mexican american serviceman at this same show. it was nothing like that the night of the show. this happened 19 days ago. it's just happening in the news yesterday because it's my birthday. >> well, help me understand. what was it because it's clear you were visibly upset and you said you're a proud america and you were defending this country. >> i was. >> is that what it was? he was clearly out of line, in your opinion. but he really got you hot. >> i was offended because he was making a statement that we're not allowed to make in this country. in this country, you have to pledge allegiance to america first and your country of origin second. so the fact that he was blatantly disrespecting the law that we all follow, black people

worked too hard to become black americans in this society. and we were slaves here. and we did a lot of free work. whatever they did was in another country and we certainly applaud their history. but don't come here talking to sons of slaves about that. and if there's something -- if there's something anti-mexican about what i said, then i apologize for the anti-mexicanness of it. i was talking to one individual. >> you understand at least some people hearing that -- and you were talking to one guy. >> one guy. >> it's clear that other people in the crowd were laughing at what you were saying to him, even as you were going off on the one guy. >> if i disrespected mexicans, i wouldn't have been able to get out of there alive. >> but do you understand why people who do hear it maybe do get offended by it, who maybe didn't listen to the whole seven, eight minutes of it but maybe just read a few comments? do you think they have the wrong impression? or do you understa