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AMERICAN MORNING
Urgent Search for Missing Boy Scouts; Columbia University Welcomes Iranian President; Fighting Prostate Cancer
Aired September 24, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Breaking news. An urgent search right now for eight Boy Scouts missing in the mountains of North Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there's eight children out there. So we'll find them as quick as we can, make sure no one is hurt.
ROBERTS: We're live alongside the rescue workers.
Campus showdown. Columbia University under fire as it welcomes Iran's president to campus today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case, we're providing not a platform but a classroom, and we're going to challenge this guy.
ROBERTS: We'll talk live to students on both sides of the controversy.
And inside America's most secret society. A revealing new look at the Supreme Court and the nine justices who rule it, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: An interesting inside look from our Jeffrey Toobin coming up.
It's Monday, September the 24th.
Welcome back. Thanks for joining us.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We're following this developing story out of North Carolina this morning, and that is the continuing search for missing Boy Scouts, eight Boy Scouts 11 through 14 and three adults on a weekend camp out in the mountains near Blue Ridge Parkway.
They were to return to Raleigh last night, due to be back in around 7:00. Family members did not hear from them and so they alerted authorities. At 9:00 p.m. last night is when the first search efforts began. Rescue efforts went on all through the night and they are continuing this morning. Rescuers, though, are hopeful and optimistic. They say they think the group just got behind in the schedule, decided to camp for the night and come out in the morning.
We were told a couple of things. One, that some or perhaps many of the members of the group did have cell phones. The problem is that cell service is very spotty in those mountains. So perhaps there was some attempt to try to walk to an area where they could possibly get cell service so they could notify their families.
The other thing we heard is they were well equipped to be able to be on this camping trip for at least two or three days. They also had layered clothing. And they knew what to do in case of a problem. So, once again, rescuers are out in force again this morning, through these mountainous regions. About five square miles they're looking this morning for the missing Boy Scouts, eight of them, as well as their three troop leaders.
We'll continue to follow this, and we're going to be hearing from our own Drew Griffin, who is there, in a couple of minutes -- John.
ROBERTS: Other headlines this morning.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in New York City today stirring up controversy ahead of his speech at Columbia University at 1:30 this afternoon. He denies that the United States and Iran are headed toward war. They handed in a question asked by "60 Minutes" last night. He denied that Iran is building nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We don't need a nuclear bomb. We don't need that. What need do we have for a bomb?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I take that as a no, sir?
AHMADINEJAD (through translator): It is a firm no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President Ahmadinejad already stirring strong emotions in New York. He has been invited, as we said, to speak at Columbia University today.
Police are preparing for a large protest there. The format allows him to be challenged by students.
He has denied that the Holocaust happened, said that Israel should be destroyed. He's also being accused by the administration and President Bush of supplying both weapons and fighters to insurgents in Iraq, targeting U.S. soldiers and marines.
Ahmadinejad was denied permission to visit Ground Zero. Some of his staff tells Alina Cho that he may not go there anyway, just check in with officials from the NYPD. They say that they would not provide the security for him to go down there, so quite likely that he won't be able to make good on that request.
You can watch live coverage of the Iranian president's address at Columbia University, 1:30 Eastern this afternoon. And if you're away from your television, go to CNN.com. Just follow the links to the live event and you can watch it right there on your desktop or laptop.
(NEWSBREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now to six minutes after the hour. Time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new that we're following this morning.
Our Rob Marciano at the CNN weather desk down in Atlanta tracking extreme weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Prostate cancer, the second-leading cancer killer in men. More than 200,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year alone, but a new American Cancer Society report finds that men can better manage their risk by better managing their diet.
CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us live now from Atlanta.
Elizabeth, is this true, that what you can eat would really prevent prostate cancer?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, according to this study, men really can at least try to prevent prostate cancer. What's interesting about this and what's important is that, really, up until now, there hasn't been a whole lot that doctors have been able to tell men to do in their daily lives to try to prevent prostate cancer. So let's take a look at what appears to be good to eat and what appear to be bad to eat to prevent prostate cancer.
Bad would be eating red meat and good would be eating tomatoes and soy. And when we say tomatoes, we mean in their raw form, as well as tomato products, like spaghetti sauce.
Now, it this a guarantee that you won't get prostate cancer? Of course not. There are no guarantees. And this research is in many ways somewhat preliminary.
However, this kind of diet, cutting back on red meat, eating more soy, eating more vegetables, it's good for your heart, so why not do it?
John.
ROBERTS: In addition to foods, anything else that you could do to lower your risk of developing prostate cancer? What about some of these supplements like saw palmetto that they sell in health food stores? COHEN: You know, those are a little bit iffy. And so that's something that you want to be careful about. Some of those might possibly help, but some of those won't. So you want to be careful about that.
But there is -- there are a couple more things that men can do.
First of all, keep your weight down. There seems to be increasing evidence that there's a link between obesity and prostate cancer. So keep your weight down. Of course, good for your heart, good for all sorts of things.
Also, get the proper screening tests. Starting at age 50, men should start having a PSA blood test and a rectal examination. If a man is high risk, he should start having those tests at age 45. And if you want to know what high risk means, African-American men are considered to be at high risk, as are men whose fathers or sons or brothers had prostate cancer.
ROBERTS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning in Atlanta.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: The latest on prostate cancer prevention or at least lowering your risk.
Elizabeth, thanks -- Kiran.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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CHETRY: Well, emotional temperatures rising ahead of today's appearance by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, set to speak at Columbia University. Protesters will be outside and inside. The president will take questions from students.
Well, two students who will be there this afternoon are Liat Shetret, who opposes the visit, and Mateen Makolla, who believes that Ahmadinejad should be allowed to have his say, even though he doesn't necessarily agree with the points of view of the Iranian president.
Thanks to both of you for being with us.
MATEEN MOKALLA, COLUMBIA STUDENT: Thanks for having us.
LIAT SHETRET, COLUMBIA STUDENT: Good morning. Thank you.
CHETRY: Mateen, let me start with you. We look at some of the things that Ahmadinejad has said and done, calling the Holocaust a myth, called for wiping Israel off the map, and, of course, also the allegations from our military that they are currently and actively supplying insurgents in Iraq with weapons that have been used to kill our own troops.
Why does he deserve a platform at a United States institution of learning?
MOKALLA: Well, that's a really good question. And you know, I think you'll find most Iranians and Iranian-Americans deplore any sort of violence against their neighbors in the region, including Israel, including Iraqis, and against Americans, frankly. But you have to remember that the largest expat community of Iranians in the entire world is right here in the United States. And this is a great opportunity for us to directly question him and ask him and challenge him questions -- challenge him with questions on many of his policies.
So, in that sense, since he's already coming, we're glad to have him here and glad to have the opportunity to ask him directly about some of these things.
CHETRY: Mateen, do you think you're going to get a straight answer from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
MOKALLA: I don't know. He's a very clever politician, as you've seen. And he's a master speaker. And we'll have to see.
CHETRY: Liat, you are opposed to it. And let me -- because you said the Iranian Americans, Mateen, you are of Iranian dissident.
Liat, you are Israeli. In fact, spent three years with the IDF.
You are opposed to him coming, yet you are going to go to hear him speak tonight. Why did you make that call?
SHETRET: Right. I'm an Israeli-American, and I think more than anything I'm a global citizen. And I think what's critical about that is we are all attending a seminar in which we're discussing academic engagement. But we're not necessarily engaging him in any sort of discussion.
What we're doing is going to be writing, you know, our questions on cards, submitting these questions to him. And we don't know the selection process of these cards, we don't know how it's going to work. And I feel that framing his comments with (INAUDIBLE) remarks of the university is not necessarily this academic exchange of ideas that we were hopeful.
The reason I'm attending is because it's important for me to know that since he's already here and we do have this opportunity of engagement, that the questions and answer period does go in a way that I feel is actually exercising our freedoms by attempting to maybe engage in discussion and not let him get away with, as my colleague said here, a very clever orator. I don't want him sort of spinning the questions, framing the questions, and recontextualizing the issues that we're bringing up.
CHETRY: So are there others like you that are going to be present there and you are going to be at the ready to protest his actual question-and-answer session if you're feeling it's not going in the proper direction?
SHETRET: Of course I have no way of predicting how the speech is going to go. It has a lot to do with the way President Ahmadinejad reacts to President Bollinger's comments, how he interacts with (INAUDIBLE). If I feel that they're adequately pushing the buttons, pressing him for the questions and not letting him redefine the questions, that's absolutely the way to go.
Of course, I feel that one of the main reasons he shouldn't be here is that his state is a terror-backing state. I mean, he's here representing a regime that has been highly oppressive of human rights, women's rights. And this is the main reason why I feel he shouldn't be on our campus. We shouldn't be giving him a legitimizing platform at all.
CHETRY: All right.
Well, I want to thank both of you for your input and for giving us your takes on this very controversial appearance at your university a little later today by the president of Iran.
Both Liat Shetret and Mateen Makolla, thank you for joining us.
SHETRET: Thank you.
MOKALLA: Sure. Thank you.
CHETRY: We want to know what you think. Should Iran's president be allowed to speak at Columbia University? Go to our Web page and cast your vote. It's all there, CNN.com/am.
Right now, 72 percent of those who responded to this poll believe he should be able to speak and 28 percent said no.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business".
And this is something that Ali and I like to joke about because we both lived in Canada for a time. I was born there. You were born in, what, Kenya?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but I grew up in Canada.
ROBERTS: Right.
I'm American now, but we always -- we like to look at this idea of the Canadian dollar. And the saying used to be in Canada, another dollar, another 62 cents.
VELSHI: That's what it was worth.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: But it's pretty much a buck now, right? But not everybody is happy about that.
ROBERTS: It's pretty much a buck. It hit parity for the first time since 1976, which means the U.S. dollar will get you a Canadian dollar. And that actually makes things not bad for Americans, because it means tourists come here and get more for their money, it means Americans stay home rather than going overseas and they spend their money here. But there are a few things that are priced very differently in Canada and the U.S.
We were sort of studying some of those. For instance, you take a Ford Mustang. It will run you about $25,000 for a particular model here in the United States, made in Michigan. Across the border or in Detroit, it will run you about $19,000 or $20,000. An iPod will cost you more money in Canada.
I picked up this book I had at home, a new book that was written a few months ago by Robert Frank. And inside the front you see they've got a Canadian and a U.S. price.
The Canadian price is $30, the U.S. price is $24.95. So, if the money is the same, that means this book is costing you $5 more in Canada. And that's a big change, John, because Americans -- Canadians used to cross the border and go into places like Seattle or Buffalo or Detroit, or all across the U.S.-Canadian border to buy things more cheaply in the United States, and that's going to -- sorry, it seems to go the other way.
Now Canadians are coming to the United States, and that's going to affect a lot of retailers on that side of the border. But all in all, a low currency can be a pretty good engine for a country's economy. So the U.S. might gain from this.
ROBERTS: I can see that this whole thing has got you so stunned that you're getting confused about it.
VELSHI: It's backwards. For 30 years, I knew it the other way. Now I'm telling the story upside down.
ROBERTS: Hey -- but hey, those Canadians don't have to pay for healthcare. So they've got more money to spend on books, right?
VELSHI: There's always -- there's always something imbalanced about that.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much.
VELSHI: All right.
ROBERTS: A look now at a story coming up in our next half-hour. Actually, a couple of them you can't miss. Why can't you take your eyes off of that woman or that man? Even if you don't know them and you've never seen them before. Well, there's a scientific reason, apparently.
CHETRY: Yes. For why we find people attractive and what goes into -- what makes someone attractive.
ROBERTS: Or why attractive people captivate us to the degree that they do.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. We'll ask Brad and Angelina that in a couple of minutes.
But also, our ballot jackpot.
We have some great issues today, some hot political topics that we are going to put to our two strategists, one from the GOP, one from the Democrats.
All of that when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
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CHETRY: There is a look right now of the cement skyline. How about that?
It doesn't look that exciting today in New York City. We usually get prettier shots. It looks a little dank. But anyway, 65 degrees.
What?
ROBERTS: Well, let's just stay inside all day then, shall we?
CHETRY: I'm staying inside today. I like...
ROBERTS: It's going to be beautiful out today.
CHETRY: I like the shot of North Carolina better this morning.
It's going to be 79. And there it is. There's our...
ROBERTS: Maybe you should move to Charlotte.
CHETRY: All right.
Well, it's Monday, September 24th. Glad you're with us anyway.
I think -- usually we get a beautiful sunset shot over the river. Today, it was a couple of cement and glass skyscrapers.
ROBERTS: Well, it would be a sunrise shot considering it's a morning show.
CHETRY: Oh yes.
I'm going to put this show to bed. ROBERTS: There you go.
CHETRY: How about that?
ROBERTS: Welcome back. Thanks for joining us.
Hey, breaking news to tell you about this morning out of North Carolina, an overnight search for missing boy scouts. The group was supposed to return to Raleigh last night, eight kids and three adults on a weekend camp out in the mountains near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
The trip was supposed to return to Raleigh, eight kids, three adults, on a weekend camp out in the mountains, near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The search went on throughout the night and it's going to continue as well this morning.
CHARITY SHARP, CRUSO, N.C. FIRE DEPT.: We have a search crew on the way, hopefully between 15 and 30 people. They are bringing the dogs back out. We're sending them back out it in the woods and bringing the crews that have been up all night in for a rest.
ROBERTS: Sharp thinks that at least one member of the group did have a cell phone with him but service is very spotty in the mountains. Parents of the boys say they're well trained, they're not too worried.
DAVID WOODY, FATHER OF MISSING SCOUT: They've been in scouting for a long time. We have a few newer boys, but they are all at least first class and above. So, they've been on a lot of campouts and are well prepared.
ROBERTS: Rescuers are hoping that the group simply got behind schedule last night, and decided to camp out one more night and got home this morning rather than making it back through the parking lot through the woods at night. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, also new this morning. Columbia University in New York getting ready now for the arrival of a man that some consider a guest of dishonor. Iranian Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will speak this afternoon at the school. It has enraged many and protests are planned. And a whole lot of people are furious that a man who advocated the destruction of Israel, has been accused of arming Iraqi insurgents is being given a platform at one of our Ivy League institutions. But last hour, we were joined by the Dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. He, of course, has a different take.
DEAN JOHN COATSWORTH, COLUMBIA U. SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: He's the leader of an important country and one that our country is going to have to deal with in the future. Iran is infinitely more powerful today than it was three years ago. In the future, Iran is going to hold the key to peace in the Middle East. We have to be able to deal with and negotiate with leaders like this however much we may disagree with their views, like it or not, he's an important guy.
CHETRY: The dean said that Ahmadinejad will face some very tough questions today from himself as well as Columbia's students.
One other scary injury in the NFL, Sedrick Killings, number 97 in a defensive tackle in the Houston Texas suffered a neck injury in a head first collision. He had to be taken off of the field in a stretcher. His teammates told the "Houston Chronicle" that Killings is doing better, that he is moving his arms and legs. It comes just two weeks after Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills suffered a spinal cord injury. He's been moved for specialized treatment to Houston. It's the same city where this injury happened to Killings on Sunday.
Gas prices are down a little bit. The latest Lindberg survey finding the average price of regular gas fell two cents in the last two weeks to $2.79 a gallon. That's the nation's average. The lowest gas though came in at Newark, New Jersey, $2.51 a gallon. And the highest, which it has been all, summer, Chicago, $3.16 a gallon.
ROBERTS: Well, turning now to politics. Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney taking on his own party at a new national TV ad. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we're going to change Washington, Republicans have to put our own house in order. We can't be like Democrats, party of big spending. We can't pretend our borders are secure from illegal immigration. We can't have ethical standards that are a punch line for Jay Leno.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It's part of a focused media blitz that includes full- page newspaper ads. The former Massachusetts governor releasing what he calls open letters to his friends and fellow Republicans calling on them to, "start acting like Republicans."
Senator Hillary Clinton says she won't vote for any more money to fund the war in Iraq unless there is a plan to bring the troops home. Yesterday she criticized President Bush's war strategy talking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "Late Edition."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no doubt that everyone agrees, except perhaps the president. There is no military solution in Iraq. That has been the constant refrain from military and other experts that in the absence of the political decisions being made, you might have tactical gains on the ground, but you are not going to create a stable, secure Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Later this week, the Bush administration is expected to ask for more than $190 billion to fund the war for the next fiscal year. it's a big change for people like Hillary Clinton to say they're not going to approve anymore funding.
President Bush predicts that Hillary Clinton will beat Barack Obama for the democratic presidential nomination. It's all in a book that comes out by reporter Bill Sammon called "The Evangelical President." The book is excerpted this morning on examiner.com and quotes the president as saying "it's going to be a tough race, but the Republicans will hold on to the White House." Sammon quotes an anonymous White House source saying that Senator Obama has the intellectual rigor to win the White House but shows an intellectual laziness that's condescending to the voters and relies on his easy charm to get by instead of doing the hard work.
CHETRY: Also, we have a lot of hot topic to juggle for this Monday edition of "Ballot Jackpot." We've stuffed the ballot box and we pull a topic one at a time. We let our guests weigh in. And today we have two that we love to talk to every single week.
ROBERTS: Absolutely, Republican strategist and the author of "Los Republicanos," Leslie Sanchez. She's in D.C. and from Atlanta this morning, Democratic strategist, Jamal Simmons. Welcome to both of you. You all set to play?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: We are, let's go.
CHETRY: What we figured since the topic in Bill Sammon's book was a big one, we may as well start with that. Bush book -- Hillary is a lock. You know, it's interesting, Leslie, because the president said at one point that he wasn't going to play pundit-in-chief and weigh in about the 2008 election. So, there's some question this morning why he decided to tell Bill Sammon that he thinks that Hillary is a lock.
SANCHEZ: You know, I would say that Hillary Clinton is promoting the idea that she's the inevitable candidate. She's always had all the toys in the sandbox. She has the best consultants, raised the most amount of money, has the strongest name I.D., and she has a husband who's essentially the ATM of the Democratic Party. That's not unheard of. And if the Democrats want to move forward with the most polarizing political figure in modern history, that's perfectly fine with us.
CHETRY: Because he went on to say that he believes that whoever the GOP picks can beat Hillary.
SANCHEZ: You know, that's very true. Truly, like i said, one of the most polarizing political figures in modern history. You have somebody like even a Barack Obama who is trying to find his way to the men's room in, you know, in the Illinois State Legislature just a couple of years ago. So, I don't think Republicans are very concerned about the general election and I don't think it's overreaching for the president to say something that obvious.
ROBERTS: Jamal, let's post something out for you here.
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Hold on a second.
ROBERTS: You want to respond, right?
SIMMONS: I can't let that go by at all. I mean, if you take a look at this election campaign, I think Democrats are in a very strong position. If you look at any generic match up, people are more inclined to be with Democrats than to be with Republicans. I think Hillary Clinton would make a great presidential nominee.
ROBERTS: Is she inevitable?
SIMMONS: I don't think it's inevitable. I feel like we all have this collective amnesia about what happened in 2003 and 2004. Howard Dean at this point was 20 points ahead of John Kerry in national and New Hampshire polls and then he's endorsed by Al Gore in early December and everyone thought that would be the establishment rallying around Dean. Dean lost miserably. We've got to have some sense about this
ROBERTS: OK. All right. We got to move on. We want to get a lot of topics in here. And Jamal because you responded, this one's going to back to Leslie. Where did Fred go? I mean, here's the guy that waited forever to jump in. He got all this media attention when he did, appearing on the "Tonight Show" and it's like he's gone. Where is he?
SANCHEZ: You know what, I don't think that's a fair question. I think Fred is running a campaign. To be fair here, there's about a 30-day window that Fred Thompson has to really make a name for himself and show he's a top tier candidate. He's already done that. The ballot is going to be between Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney with social conservatives in traditional areas, like New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina. He's doing very strongly there. And economic conservatives who are going to fight it out with probably a Giuliani, McCain on the coast.
ROBERTS: But Giuliani and McCain and Romney are getting all the press. You don't hear much about Fred these days.
SANCHEZ: Well, I think that's, you know, Giuliani was very strategic taking on the move-on.org, you know, that atrocious ad against General Petraeus and in tying Hillary Clinton to that, I think there's a lot to be said about that the Democrats kowtowed to move- on.org. There's a lot to be said about these candidates but with respect to Fred Thompson, very strong candidate, you're going to see and hear a lot more from.
SIMMONS: The White House used these words to describe Barack Obama. But it's really Fred Thompson who's running the laziest campaign out there.
CHETRY: All right.
SANCHEZ: That's just... that's it.
CHETRY: I have a better one for you, Jamal, that I want you to weigh in on. So, let's go for it. Bush to veto children. This is interesting. There is a bipartisan children's health insurance program as support for both parties, yet the president has vowed to veto it. What type of position will that put the president and the GOP party in, Jamal?
SIMMONS: Well, the president says he's lost his political mojo when it comes to understanding what voters want right now. He's standing in the way of any kind of reform of what's happening in Iraq. He's going to stand in the way of providing health insurance to poor children? I mean, that's like taking porridge from their mouths or something. This is a pretty tough stance for him to ask the country to go along with. Maybe he's just trying to appease some social conservatives who are concerned about Republicans spending so much money and driving us to the biggest deficits we've ever known. But this is not the way to do it.
SANCHEZ: The last time I checked, it's Congress that spends that money, Jamal. You know, it's what the constitution says.
SIMMONS: It's a Republican congress.
SANCHEZ: No, it's a democratic congress. And even if you look at your presumptive democratic nominee has one of the worst ratings by taxes and spending by the National Taxpayers' Union.
ROBERTS: Hey, Leslie.
SANCHEZ: Let's not get away with that. But to get to the point, the president is using what little political capital he has left to stop this congress from incredible wasteful spending, for burdening American taxpayers with raising their taxes and trying to put middle- class families on socialized, you know, medical health care. That's the issue.
ROBERTS: But the Republicans are supporting this as well?
SANCHEZ: Any Republican that's supporting an increase in this is off the mark. What the president is trying to say is that you don't need to take middle-class families and put them on socialized health care. That's what they're trying to do. They're trying to save families that are making $80,000 a year in New York and New Jersey and you know, somebody like a Governor Corzine might think that really is poverty row, that really isn't realistic. This is a program designed, implemented by Republicans for poor children.
SIMMONS: That's not true.
ROBERTS: All right. We got to sound the bell. We got to sound the bell. We're out of time, Leslie Sanchez, Jamal Simmons. Always good to see you. Thanks for playing this morning in "Ballot Jackpot."
SANCHEZ: Thank you. That was close.
ROBERTS: And we'll be back to do it again on Friday. Always good to see you, folks.
CHETRY: MySpace going global. Your "Quick Hits" now.
Today, the social networking site is launching a free advertiser- supported cell phone version. MySpace mobile allows users to send and receive messages, they can post bulletins, update their blogs, and also search for friends.
But you'll soon be able to get a jolt of caffeine and a jolt of free music at Starbucks. The coffee giant plans to give away 50 million free digital downloads in conjunction with iTunes. Starbucks employees will hand out free song cards redeemable on-line which could be right in the store since Starbucks will also soon offer a wi-fi connection to Apple's iTunes.
And the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court head back to work today. It's a closed door session. A lot of what happens on the court is actually behind closed doors. And today, we're getting a peek inside -- how they think, and what they really think of the administration and each other. Our Jeffrey Toobin has a new book about it.
Also sex and the single gays -- is why we can't overlook a pretty face. Whether we're looking for love or not. The science and medicine behind attractiveness? Elizabeth Cohen breaks it down for us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A road in Los Angeles reopened after a weekend mud slide trapped as many as 14 cars. An estimated 4,000 tons of mud, boulders, and tree limbs came tumbling down on the hill. The road still has a layer of silt on it. It is considered drivable though.
44 minutes past the hour now. And Rob Marciano is keeping track of things for us. You know, you usually see that around, what, October or November. We don't usually see the mud slides this early?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, just to get any rain in so-cal this early is unusual. Right about that, this is more like late October, mid November type of storm. It was pretty strong. And on top of that, the rain, you know, it didn't rain that much. It rained pretty much less than an inch. But it came down on top of an area that was burned by wild fire just a few weeks ago. So that's always trouble.
Here's where the storm is now. It's heading through the Colorado Rockies and the Wasatch and Utah. We actually have some snow advisories that are up, east of Salt Lake City, Park City also. You may get a dusting of snow and maybe even some of the mountains across northwestern Colorado, maybe will get a dusting as well but shouldn't be much more than that. It still is a little too early to pile up, you know, a couple of feet of snow. As the storm heads into the western plains or the upper midwest, severe weather as it bangs up into some pretty warm air. If you live in the midwest, the Mississippi River Valley, and also the northeast, you know how warm it has been. Temperatures well above average. Looks like you'll be up around 80 degrees again today, Kiran. So, enjoy this last respite of summer even though today, the first full day of fall. Doesn't feel like it in a lot of spots.
CHETRY: That's right. You told us it was going to happen on the 23rd. Hey, were you eating chicken fingers too. I noticed you had a loss for words for a second there.
MARCIANO: No, I just have the inability to speak sometimes and it's amazing that my badge still works sometimes when I walk in this building in the morning.
CHETRY: I feel the same way, especially on a Monday, Rob. All right. Good enough, thanks.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
ROBERTS: We're coming up to 14 minutes to the top of the hour now.
The Supreme Court makes some of the most important decisions in our country. But how do they make those decisions? What goes on between the justices? A new book by our own, Jeffrey Toobin called "Nine." Inside the secret world of the Supreme Court takes us behind the closed doors of the court. Jeff is here with us now and Jeff, first of all, congratulations, the book has been getting great reviews.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Thanks, John. We're off to a great start.
ROBERTS: Yes. That's terrific.
You talked to some of the justices, so at least it would appear you talked to some of the justices for this book. You want to say whom you talked to?
TOOBIN: No. That was the deal I made with all my sources that it would be that all of the conversations would be on back ground, that I could use the material but couldn't quote them by name.
ROBERTS: Surprising though that they do talk. I mean, we think of these people inside the star chamber and never have any interaction with the outside world.
TOOBIN: Well, that's starting to change a little bit. The justices, some of them come from a generation that's a little more comfortable with the news media. It's -- it still is a challenging reporting assignment. But the justices are concerned about how they're perceive in the world. They recognize the stakes of their own decision. So at least some of them want more than just the opinions to speak for the court.
ROBERTS: So, inside the book, which is a lovely photo of you on the back cover. You call the 2000 election decision where the Supreme Court got involved in the Florida recount as, "one of the lowest moments in the court's history." You even say that David Suitor was so upset by the whole thing and was weeping about it and considered resigning.
TOOBIN: Well, you know, my book is mostly reporting and analysis. I don't sort of come out evaluating thumbs up and thumbs down on most decisions except Bush v. Gore. I mean I have to say I do think that was a low moment in the court. I thought the court would have been much better staying out of the recount controversy altogether. I'm not sure, as I don't think anybody is sure whether the decision actually gave Bush the election. He certainly might have won anyway. But certainly the court did not reflect well on it. And I think David Suitor who is known as a very mild manner person, not someone with the high political profile, the fact that he took the decision so hard he considered resigning over it, I think illustrates just what the traumatic experience Bush v. Gore was for the court
ROBERTS: Now, Senator Warren Ruddman who's a good friend of Suitor's disputes your account, saying no he didn't weep about it, he didn't consider resigning.
TOOBIN: You know, I'm a big fan of Senator Ruddman but he's not right all the time.
ROBERTS: Hey, you had harsh words for Sandra Day O'Connor's role in the 2000 recount. As she casted her signing vote in that 5-4 decision, but you go on to call her the most important woman in American history. What is it about her that made her that?
TOOBIN: Oh, I think she's such a larger than life figure. Sandra Day O'Connor went through such an extraordinary odyssey arriving at the court in 1981, not even from the highest court in Arizona, just a very obscure judge, a very obscure person. And yet on issue after issue whether its abortion, affirmative action, executive power, she wound up controlling the court. And she also goes through this extraordinary personal odyssey after 2000 where she becomes quite alienated from the Bush administration over the war on terror, over Iraq, over the Terry Schiavo case. And it kills her to have to give up her seat to George W. Bush but she does it because her husband is slipping to the grip of Alzheimer's disease and then once she leaves her husband is really beyond her help. So, she loses both the court seat and her husband. It's a tragic personal story.
ROBERTS: Well, Jeff, it's a fascinating reading including some quirky goings on, behind the scenes of the Supreme Court - notes being passed between the justices. It's called "The Nine - Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court." Our own Jeffrey Toobin, the author. Again, great reviews. I'm sure it's going to be on the bestseller list soon. Jeff, thanks for joining us.
TOOBIN: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: All right. See you soon.
CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now and Betty Nguyen is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good Monday morning to you, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN, ANCHOR: Hey there, good morning. Iran's outspoken president on the NEWSROOM rundown this morning. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at Columbia today. The university is getting a lot of heat for giving him a forum.
Also, crews are combing the mountains of North Carolina this morning. Eight boy scouts and three troop leaders are missing.
And a college newspaper stirs house with an editorial. Now, we can't say or show you the title. But the offending word starts with the letter f. We'll let you fill in the blanks there. Join T.J. Holmes and me in the Monday NEWSROOM. That's at the top of the hour right here on CNN. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Betty. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. But the eye has a hard time looking away from attractive people like Brangelina for example. A new study tells us why. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Some breaking news and its good news, for a change. We found out that the eight boy scouts as well as the three troop leaders have been found safe and sound. There's a lot of worry. They were supposed to come home last night around 7:00 p.m. No one heard from them. That's when a big search started in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. And sure enough, they were able to find them. So, we are happy to hear this. And we are actually going to hear more about it right now.
ROBERTS: Yes, Drew Griffin is on the phone there. Drew drove overnight from Atlanta, up into the search area there, about 20 miles southwest of Ashville, North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Mountains. Drew, what are you hearing?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): John, unconfirmed at this point but I did hear from a woman who actually found the boy scout leaders. She is an electricity company worker who picked up the leader along the road. The leader was brought to the Caruso Fire Department and is inside right now, we are told, briefing the search parties. But, apparently, they did just get lost and walked themselves out to a road this morning. And should be along fairly soon. No one hurt. They just got lost. And the boy scout leader has been driven down to the fire department. We're expecting official confirmation any minute now. The crews, as you said, have been out all night searching for these eight boys, ages 11 to 14 and their three leaders. It's been beautiful weather, though. No reason to believe anybody was hurt in any way or suffering from any of the elements here. But again, it appears at this point that they have been found. The search is over. And that everybody here in the Blue Ridge Mountains is OK.
ROBERTS: Well, that's terrific news. Drew Griffin following that story for us this morning. Drew, of course, will have more details as we continue on. But those eight scouts and the three leaders apparently found. Everybody is OK. And they'll be bringing them out of the woods real soon. Drew, thanks very much.
Have you ever found yourself staring at someone and wondering why they're so attractive to you?
CHETRY: Well, apparently, there's a medical reason behind it. CNN's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta with answers from a new study about who's looking at whom and why. Hi, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. This study is so interesting. They actually quantify what many of us feel on a regular basis. Let's say, for example, you're a single person and you walk into a party and oh, my goodness, there's Brad Pitt. This study shows that single people -- their gaze will actually linger longer on someone who's a hottie like Brad than on someone like let's say actor Paul Giamatti who shall we say average looking. They can actually quantify how long people were staring at attractive versus average-looking people. Now, the reason for that really is biological. If you're single, you're on the prowl for a mate and so you're biologically wired to focus in on the most attractive prospect.
ROBERTS: Elizabeth, what about this idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Didn't it make it difficult for researchers to determine who is attractive and who isn't?
COHEN: You know, what's interesting to some extent of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But many studies have shown that there really are some pretty universally accepted standards of beauty. Let's take women, for example. Let's take one of the most beautiful women that I know, Kiran Chetry. And tell you --
CHETRY: I'll pay you for that. Large amounts of money.
COHEN: And show you sort of her universal accepted beauty traits as you will. Take a look at that hair, what you're seeing is healthy, young, shiny hair. That is a sign that she is healthy, that she is fertile, that she could provide some nice babies.
CHETRY: But Elizabeth, some of it is real and some of it are the extensions of my hair.
COHEN: Oh, i see.
CHETRY: Maybe it's all a ruse.
COHEN: Well, you know, there are some things that are hard to pretend. And look at that skin. Look at how wonderful that skin is. You can't pretend.
CHETRY: Air brush makeup skin. COHEN: But it's basically a sign for men. If you think about cavemen -- a sign for men to think, wow, here's someone I ought to try to mate with because she could provide me babies, right?
CHETRY: That's really, that's exactly my range. What I'm looking for is a caveman, I like them. I like them very attractive.
ROBERTS: Who wants to mate.
CHETRY: She's right. The biological basis for what we find attractive. It is fascinating, right. As much as we all try to think we're so sophisticated and it all comes down to our genes.
COHEN: Right, absolutely. It really does. It really does. And something else that was interesting here is that researchers found that married people -- things are a little bit different there. Let's say, I, a married gal walks into a party, what they found is that I might focus on hot members of the same sex. Hot females. This is sort of curious. Am I looking to mate up with let's say, Jessica Alba? No, what they found is that people who are married will focus in on someone hot, like there she is, Jessica Alba. The reason for that is I want to keep her away from my husband. So maybe if I size her up, I'll be able to keep her away from him.
CHETRY: I got you, you're scouting out the competition.
COHEN: Exactly.
ROBERTS: A lot of work. Elizabeth. Thanks very much for that.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll be right back.
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