Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Major League Problem; GOP on The Issues; Dangling Car Rescue, Sweatshop Ornaments?; Ike Turner Dies; Strokes and Statins; Mortgage Meltdown
Aired December 13, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Steroids on deck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Follow the evidence wherever it may lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Major league baseball releases its report on juicing in the game.
Cancer-fighting invention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw way too many young people die before their time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A man and a machine and a way to blast tumors. How his home creation could save millions.
And Hollywood drama, The writers' strike trickles into award season. Nominations for the Golden Globes announced live on this AMERICAN MORNING. Maybe empty pedestal, you know? None of the stars able to talk because of the strike.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I think somehow they will be able to get this done.
CHETRY: We'll see. Well, welcome. It's Thursday, December 13th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Good morning. I'm John Roberts.
We start with a major corruption scandal surrounding America's pastime this morning, a much anticipated report set to be released this afternoon in the use of steroids in major league baseball. Former United States Senator George Mitchell is heading the investigation and will officially release the names of 60 to 80 current and former big leaguers who used performance-enhanced drugs. The bulk of those names coming from a former clubhouse attendant for the New York Mets.
Our Alina Cho at the national update desk. Alina, what can we be expected to hear today?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly an earful, John. This is said to be a huge document, 300-pages. It was done over 21 months and cost millions of dollars. The headline, the Mitchell report, will reportedly expose, quote, a serious drug culture within baseball, MVPs, all-stars and Cy Young winners are said to be involved and the report is said to include documentation including canceled checks and shipping slips and phone records.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE WILLIAMS, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: I think we'll learn the names of many more players that have used the drugs because the drug use is more extensive than perhaps many fans believe and I think it will dishearten fans who care about the cheating problem and the drug problem in baseball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Fans are really mad about this. Now, reports say Mitchell will also call on major league baseball to outsource its drug testing program to an independent agency. This is one of the biggest problems. He'll also reportedly call for more transparency in drug testing like naming the drugs the players test positive for so they can't lie about it. And finally, reports say Mitchell will call for classes for players on performance-enhancing drugs.
Now you should know that it hasn't been easy for the former senator to get information for his report. Players certainly have not been cooperative. So Mitchell has had to rely heavily on a former New York Mets bat boy named Kurt Radomski. You see him there in the video. Radomski pleaded guilty this year to dealing steroids to players over the course of a decade from 1995 to 2005. He agreed to talk as part of a plea deal.
Mitchell began his investigation, as many people know, as reports surfaced about the San Francisco Bay slapped BALCO and its connections to baseball star Barry Bonds. Bonds pleaded not guilty last week on Friday on charges he lied to investigators about using steroids.
But, John, as you know, this is a very big deal. Mitchell will be holding a news conference in New York at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. Major league baseball will follow 2 1/2 hours later. And fans are mad about this. The big question going forward is you've been saying all morning long, what is major league baseball going to do about it? We'll have to wait to see.
ROBERTS: What are the names that will be named? Everybody is looking forward to that. Alina Cho for us this morning. Alina, thanks.
Earlier, I spoke with Luis Fernando Llosa of "Sports Illustrated" who thinks this report is going to bring some changes for the baseball steroid policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIS FERNANDO LLOSA, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: There will be some really good recommendations coming down, the independent testing and testing of the highest -- at the highest level. I mean, the fact that major league baseball and the union govern the testing program, it makes no sense at all. That is conflict of interest. It should be an outside agency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You can catch Senator Mitchell's news conference on "HEADLINE NEWS," our sister network, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, John.
Also another big story we're following this morning is the potential for at least a foot of snow in parts of the northeast, bracing for a 1-2 punch of winter weather. When you take a look at the radar picture there you see the system moving through.
Of course Rob Marciano will know much more about that but it's snow and sleet closing in and possibly a foot of snow in some locations today. Cities up and down the northeast could look like this in a matter of hours bracing for a second storm that would take aim over the weekend. Rob is at the weather update desk right now tracking at all for us. What do you say, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The first order of business Kiran is to see where are the temperatures cold enough to sustain winter precip. So here you go. Temperatures from Chicago to Boston above blue line is where it's 32 degrees or below. Note that New York and Philly not quite at that mark but they could be before the day or next couple of days is done. As far as what you can expect for winter storm watches and warnings, that red area, 6 to 12 inches in spots.
Here is where the rain and snow line is right through here and there is a lot of moisture coming through the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys and moving into cold air in spots. Right now we're just seeing a little bit of light snow across parts of the lower Hudson Valley and through extreme northwest Jersey and through Scranton, Pennsylvania and that's where it's probably hitting the ground for the most part and the pink is now moving into Philadelphia.
As far as where you're going to see most of the precipitation, the heaviest amounts are going to be from Scranton mostly north of the I-95 corridor. Scranton to Hartford could see as much as a foot or in some cases, more snow. Boston will probably see less than that and New York to Philadelphia it will be more of a mix of rain, sleet and snow. Because of that it will be more difficult to predict. This is all that is left of the tropical storm Olga after hurricane season has ended. Some of this moisture may start to train up with system number two that will come into the northeast beginning Saturday night into Sunday.
That will be our second snow, sleet, ice storm of the season. Enjoy. CHETRY: Enjoy! Rob, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: This afternoon, the democratic presidential hopefuls take each other to task on major issues. A follow-up to the republicans' last debate before the Iowa caucuses, our CNN senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, joins us live from Des Moines.
Candy, yesterday we saw this shot being fired from the Clinton side of the fence but Bill Shaheen and her campaign director said you may want to check into Obama's previous drug use. Is that a sign they're panicking?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, they're feeling the heat. This is now just a dead heat race. Not just here in Iowa, but in New Hampshire, where, obviously, if they lost in Iowa, which has always been the weakest link for the Clinton campaign, they thought they could stop Barack Obama or John Edwards or whoever won here in New Hampshire. This is a campaign that now has to deal with an entirely different situation.
As you know, nationally and in some of these polls other than Iowa and the states, they have been the leader by a wide margin, 20 points at one time. In New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton was up. We are now talking about a campaign that has to play an entirely different game.
ROBERTS: Our Gloria Borger was saying yesterday in "THE SITUATION ROOM" that the Clinton campaign has discovered that her going negative doesn't work and plays into her negatives. Do you think that is the case in Iowa? And how might that shape her performance in this afternoon's debate?
CROWLEY: Add on top of that, John, the fact that Iowans don't like negative campaigning and I think you saw that when the Billy Shaheen came out and said I'm sorry I said all that about Barack Obama's drug use and the Clinton campaign in no way endorsed this. I think you saw them pulling that back. They clearly saw it as a problem. She is in a double bind which Barack Obama is as well, I must say, and to a certain extent, John Edwards. That is we're in the closing weeks of this campaign, three weeks to go.
As you know, John, as you go up to voting time, it's a time to get positive. It's a time to remind voters why to vote for you, not to tell them why to vote against their opponent. At the same time when you have a tie race, what you really need to do is go after your opponent so there are conflicting needs here as they head into this final debate.
ROBERTS: The numbers are so tight there, Obama and Hillary running neck-and-neck. Have the Iowa voters made up their minds to a large degree or are they still waiting?
CROWLEY: A lot of the local politicos here and a lot of the polls show maybe the majority of the people from Iowa have not made up their minds but there are huge massive voters out there, caucus goers out there that may change their mind at the last minute. ROBERTS: We could still see a lot of movement back and forth. Interesting stuff.
CROWLEY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Candy Crowley for us this morning. Candy, thanks very much.
You can see the democrats duke it out at 2:00 p.m. Eastern live right here on CNN in the Iowa debates -- Kiran.
CHETRY: We have to look twice at this video because it was really amazing. This rescue that took place in an Atlanta parking car. A car dangling hanging seven stories off the ground literally hanging by some steel cables on the side of the deck that caught this car when it fell out of the parking deck. It was so precarious that emergency workers had to go to the deck's top floor and go one story above the car and repel down. You see them. They were able to pull the driver through the window using a safety harness to the applause of onlookers who were amazed by what they were seeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPTAIN BILL MAY, ATLANTA FIRE RESCUE: It's just amazing that it did not fall all the way down. It was held there literally on the side of the building. I seen them halfway out before, but to be completely out like that and still on the side of the building is just amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Police say the man hit his head on the windshield but other than that, they say he will be fine. How did it happen in the first place? Apparently he sped up the ramp and ended up going right through and luckily, as we said, caught on those steel cables.
This Christmas you could be trimming a tree with ornaments that could be made in a Chinese sweat shop. National Labor Committee says some ornaments provided to Wal-Mart were provided by sweat shops in China where workers have to work for 15 hours a day, seven days a week 26 cents an hour and forced to handle toxic chemicals without protective gear and Wal-Mart says it's investigating those claims.
Ike Turner being remembered this morning as a pioneer of rock and roll. He died yesterday at his home in California. The cause not known. The large part of his music legacy was shared with his former wife Tina Turner. They recorded what may be his most popular song, "Proud Mary." Tina Turner left him in 1976 after years of spousal abuse. Ike Turner was 76 years old.
ROBERTS: Closing in on 11 minutes after the hour. If you're an investor it's been like you've been on the cyclone at Coney Island the last few days. Our Ali Velshi here at the business update desk. How are the markets looking today?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just moments ago, Lehman Brothers earnings came in a little bit better than expected which means the futures have actually turned around. They are still down a lot. The futures pointing down about 90 points at the moment. It is going to be another roller coaster day today after the last few days, it's been rough. Let's take a look at what happened.
If you were watching the markets yesterday when they opened, you would have seen the Dow well up over 200 points within the first couple of minutes. That settled down later in the day with bad news for the banks with a spike in the price of oil up near $95 again. 41 points higher on the Dow and NASDAQ and S&P had similar moves.
We're now into December so you want to look at your portfolio for the year. Dow up 8 percent and NASDAQ almost 11 and S&P 500 which is more than likely similar to the holdings in your 401k if you're diversified is up only 5 percent, a bit of a problem because you want to do better than that in the course of a year. You definitely don't want to be down, however. For today we're probably looking for a lower open as you know, John, no point in guessing how it's going to end up by the of the day.
ROBERTS: You close your eyes and wait for the ride to be over. Ali, thanks. Kiran.
CHETRY: We've heard the message to watch your cholesterol and it seems people might be listening. Elizabeth Cohen joins us from the medical update desk. Usually we talk about the growing problem with obesity and the rise in people dealing with heart disease issues. Now, we have some good news about cholesterol levels.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This does seem like it's a piece of the puzzle that doesn't quite fit but the reason why cholesterol levels is getting better isn't because we're eating better. The doctors say it's because we're taking more drugs.
First, let's take a look at the numbers. The ideal cholesterol level is below 200 and now the average appears to be 199. We should note this study didn't look specifically at types of cholesterol, it didn't look at triglycerides, it didn't look at the bad versus the good or the LDL versus the HDL cholesterol.
Now the drugs that I was mentioning before, they are called statins and lipitor for example is one of them. You saw people who take these drugs, like men over the age after 40 and women over the age of 60 -- Kiran.
CHETRY: I see. We're still eating badly and still not exercising and we're still seeing a rise in obesity but can take medicine to lower one part of the puzzle.
COHEN: There you go.
CHETRY: How much of a factor is that in overall health?
COHEN: Cholesterol is hugely important. It's a big factor. It is great news it is becoming normal. Of course, it would be better if these levels were normalizing because we were eating better because that would mean our weight is coming down and other good things are happening. Yes, it is a big piece of the puzzle to have bad cholesterol go down.
CHETRY: I got you. How about stroke risk, Elizabeth?
COHEN: This is another interesting story about statins. What some studies have found is if you've had a stroke and then you take statins, it does, indeed, prevent a second stroke or a heart attack. However, there is a concern that taking these drugs might possibly increase the risk of having a specific kind of stroke called a hemorrhagic stroke. It's fuzzy now and they are not sure if it increases having the second kind of stroke, a hemorrhagic stroke, but doctors are looking into it further.
CHETRY: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: He seems to be the one to beat in Iowa on the republican side, he is for now. Why did he feel the need to apologize for his rival? One-on-one with Mike Huckabee. There is he this morning. Next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Mike Huckabee coming from the back of the pack to GOP frontrunner, the new status also means he is undergoing more scrutiny lately. Everything he says and does lately seems to be drawing the headlines. Former Arkansas governor and republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joins me now from Des Moines, Iowa.
Great to see you this morning, Governor.
GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Kiran.
CHETRY: In the front page of the papers today including our tabloid here in "New York Post" I hooked up, you were quoted as asking don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers? Let's listen how you explained it to Wolf Blitzer yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUCKABEE: And so, as a part of that conversation, I asked the question, because I had heard that and I asked it not to create something, I never thought it would make the story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You also said that this reporter knew a lot about the Mormon faith and that you did not. Why did you even go there with this reporter?
HUCKABEE: Honestly, it was a casual conversation. I wish I hadn't. I'm learning very quickly, Kiran, that everything, not that I do say but everything I've ever said in my life is subject now to intense scrutiny and interpretation. There are a lot of people out in my hometown, Mitt Romney has a camera crew in hope, Arkansas and folks are doing dumpster diving on everything that has ever been said. That is part of the political process.
But I think people are trying to figure out why I am soaring and surging and the reason is because there are a lot of people who look for somebody outside of Washington and it has some real message on issues.
CHETRY: No question, ever since you've been picking up steam, there have been a lot more scrutiny on the things you've said and not to belabor it because we want to get to the issues but as a Baptist, do you think Mormons are Christians?
HUCKABEE: Again, I'm not even touching topics about anybody's faith but my own. That seems to get me all of the trouble in the world. I'm not sure all of the Baptists truly have the right deal. So let me talk about my faith, nobody else's. I don't want to get into anyone's question, then I'm evading it and if I say something, it's always wrong. I'll explain my faith and nobody else's.
CHETRY: Let's talk about some of the issues, a huge issue for republican voters, immigration. Earlier, you said republicans plan to deport all illegals seem to be, quote, unworkable. This week you unveiled a new immigration plan. You actually got the support and endorsement of Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minutemen project. If elected president, what would be your solution in practical terms for our illegal immigration problems?
HUCKABEE: Well, three things have to happen. First, secure the border. The second thing is that people need to get in the back of the line, because that is what angers a lot of Americans that folks would maybe have an amnesty program that put them in front of those who had been patiently waiting. The third thing is modernization of a process. When they go to the back of the line those waiting get processed and those in the back of the line go back home. People have a voluntary opportunity to do that ...
CHETRY: But let me ask you this. How do you balance out the going to the back of the line with offering some path to citizenship for people who have lived here illegally for decades?
HUCKABEE: The point is if you've been here illegally, you go back home, you start over but it doesn't take you eight years to get back. That has been the complete dysfunction of the federal government. It's what we have to fix. You can get a credit card application approved overnight. Certainly within a few days. And if our government is so incompetent that it can't do it, we'll outsource it to American Express and let them handle this process because it's not that complicated to get this really done and done right.
CHETRY: Let's talk about the recent poll. Head-to-head presidential matchup. You're defeated by all three of the top democratic candidates and the DNC, much was made over the reference of glass jaw, meaning, quote, you would be an easy kill in the general election which is why they're withholding their criticism of you. How can you prove that democrats think you're someone they have to worry about?
HUCKABEE: Well, first of all, there were other polls that showed that I was leading the pack among republicans with the best chance and the greatest margin over Hillary Clinton. Look at different polls and get different results. All my political life people have underestimated I could win. I wasn't supposed to be elected governor in the state of Arkansas. I won four times.
I wasn't supposed to be here talking to you about being in the front of the pack. Nobody thought I had a chance. But I'm here. There's an old saying and I've said many times, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog that makes the difference. I've struggled my whole life to come from nowhere to get somewhere and a lot of Americans understand that because they have to and that is one of the reasons my campaign is really getting hold.
CHETRY: Quickly, before I let you go. What is your strategy for New Hampshire where you're certainly not pulling a tie?
HUCKABEE: We're not at the top and we're moving ahead and, again, in the top tier. We're number one in places like Delaware and Michigan. One poll has a number one in the nation, three points ahead of Rudy Giuliani. This is not an Iowa thing. It's across the country. People look for somebody who is not a Washington product, who has ideas to change this country and most of all bring this country back together to be a united people rather the polarized nation we've become.
CHETRY: Governor Mike Huckabee, thanks for talking with us.
HUCKABEE: Thank you, Kiran.
ROBERTS: A great political story.
CHETRY: Sure is.
ROBERTS: Love people who come from behind.
Actor Robert Wagner has been telling you about the benefits of a reverse mortgage in the television commercials but is it the right thing for you to do? We'll ask Gerri Willis ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: You may know someone who has done it and you probably have seen the commercials taking out a reverse mortgage on their home and some are asking who is watching out for shady brokers looking for a raw deal?
CHETRY: I know one person and that is our personal finance editor Gerri Willis. A lot of people aren't familiar with these.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I'm telling you, you need to be aware of this product. Listen. You know how a regular mortgage works, right? You pay installment payments over 30 years, you buy the house. Reverse mortgage is a mere image. The bank is buying the house from you and giving you installment payments or a lump sum and they own the house at your death and that is the way this is supposed to work.
ROBERTS: Why is the Senate worried about it?
WILLIS: You've heard will mortgage brokers and some being too aggressive. This is another area where they are being a little too aggressive. I want to tell you a story of Carol Anthony who testified in front of the Senate committee yesterday about her mother and her experience with one of these brokers. Listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL ANTHONY: Learned are lenders are no longer dealing with sub prime loans and people without money are unable to qualify for those loans so where do you think the thousand of real estate and insurance salesmen and women are headed? I think to the reverse home mortgage market.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIS: All right. So here is what you need to know about this. Her mother, 80 years old, frail, responds on the telephone to one of these salespeople, gets a reverse mortgage, owes $17,000 in closing costs and $5,000 to upgrade the house. When all is said and done, she has a bill of almost $37,000. That's not the way it's supposed to work. It's supposed to work the opposite.
ROBERTS: That is before she gets any money from the bank on this.
CHETRY: They market it and commercials all the time of people, usually elderly people saying their lives were changed for the better and how wonderful they found out about this. It seems they are trying to sell this as all roses. Is that the case?
WILLIS: You can get a good reverse mortgage, absolutely. Just don't deal with anybody who calls you on the telephone! Cold callers, forget about that. Go to a lender you've already worked with to get one of these and think about getting a home equity line of credit. Maybe that will work better for you. You know get the government backed mortgage. They require you use a counselor and if you have parents in this age category, you really need to sit down and talk to them because they may be targeted by these people and you don't want this to happen to your mom and dad.
ROBERTS: If it sounds too good to be true.
CHETRY: It absolutely is.
ROBERTS: Gerri, thanks very much.
WILLIS: My pleasure. ROBERTS: Twenty-eight minutes after the hour, MVP, Cy Young Award winners, just some of the big names expected to appear in the highly anticipated Mitchell report detailing steroid use in baseball. It's going to be released in just a few hours' time and we'll tell you what else it's expected to say and we're moments away from the Golden Globe nominations. We'll have them for you live plus the day's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. We're in just a few minutes time, they're going to announce the nominees for the Golden Globe Awards, the traditional kick off to Oscars season.
CHETRY: That's right. Hopefully, it'll be a little more packed than that but not much due to the writers' strike.
ROBERTS: There you go, a lot of good movies to consider this year as well. It's Thursday, the 13th of December. Thanks for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry and we're also awaiting the release of something else quite important today and that is the new report on steroid usage in baseball due out this afternoon. Apparently, more baseball pitchers use steroids than other players. It's one of the bombshell conclusions that we're learning about from this much anticipated Mitchell report due out about 2:15 p.m. Eastern today. That detail coming from this morning's "Washington Post."
The report expected to name 60 to 80 big leaguers both past and present, some of them award winners has steroid users and it will sharply criticize the league as well as the players' union for not doing enough to stop the problem.
ROBERTS: Now the big news on the weather front this morning A nasty winter storm about to descend on the northeast. Heavy snow warnings are up in some places. Our Rob Marciano tracking the storm from the CNN weather desk in Atlanta. We're expecting a lot of the white stuff in some areas, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes, especially the north and west of the city. John, here it comes. The moisture is marching in. There's actually some flash flood warnings out there, posted for parts of West Virginia, tremendous amount of moisture now moving into some chilly air in spots. The question is were are you? New York is going to be right on the cusp of the rain-snow line. So, it will be a mixture of snow changing to sleet and freezing rain and back to snow.
Here comes your storm, rising in this front. It's been sticking around for the past week or so. And we think we'll get about 8 to 12 in Hartford, 6 to 10 in Boston, a lot of that can come down in a hurry. So, that's why they have heavy snow warnings posted, probably about 2 to 4 inches in the New York City area.
So, going throughout the day today, this freeze starts to develop and we're going to talk about, you know, delays. You know the deal. Over an hour in a lot of spots in the major metropolitan airports in Philly to Newark, JFK, Chicago back to Denver, you'll probably be OK. Atlanta, since that you'll probably see problems also. And then we get the double whammy, Kiran. Saturday night to Sunday, our next storm coming in to the northeast. So, welcome winter with open arms and we'll be all right.
There it is, that's the northeastern for Saturday to Sunday.
CHETRY: Wow. I mean, if you're not driving into this, it is exciting to get a little bit of snow.
MARCIANO: That's right.
CHETRY: The first big one of the season, at least for many parts of the northeast. Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: OK.
CHETRY: Well, Al Gore isn't pulling any punches when it comes to the issue of global warming. He had some strong new comments this morning. Speaking at a climate conference in Bali, the newly minted Nobel Peace Prize winner blamed the U.S. government for refusing to take the threat of climate change seriously.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali. We all know that. We all know that. But my country is not the only one that can take steps to ensure that we move forward from Bali, with progress and with hope...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The Bush administration has refused to agree to specific standards, that was what Gore was referring to: to cut greenhouse gases and it has caused a big rift with many European nations.
ROBERTS: Going for the Globe. No writers but the red carpet will be rolled out this year. A live picture from the Beverly Hilton where the Golden Globe nominations will be announced live. Next on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. A look at your "Quick Hits" now. Chipping away, a half inch of ice on Stewart Prewitz's car. This is in Nebraska. Check it out. Can you imagine? You need a heavy duty scraper to get that off or something else. He said he was on his way to get batteries because the power was out and he was looking up for fallen ice and branches and the whole entire time and then boom. There he sees what amounts to a sheet of ice all over his car.
The extra weight was too much to bear for phones and power lines. You can see here form this i-Report from Missouri, a telephone poll snapped in half by the ice. This was taken by Darren Garnett from Jefferson City. He said it took crews more than two days before they got around to working on it.
And here's a high water rescue so close to the holidays. A witness in the Dominican Republic who snapped the picture of a chopper over a swollen river. Is this because of tropical storm Olga, the late in the season storm, now blamed for flooding and landslides. 14 people across the Caribbean died because of that storm.
ROBERTS: Well, it's called the official kickoff to the Academy Award season, the Golden Globe nominations. A live picture there from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
CHETRY: That's right. We're going to listen to some of the nominations. Our Lola Ogunnaike watching as well and she's going to fill us in when they're done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning and welcome to the nominations announcement for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Award. Now to reveal the nominations, allow me to introduce Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Reynolds and Quentin Tarantino -- Hayden.
HAYDEN PANNETTIERE: Hello. All right.
Best performance by an actor in a television series, comedy or musical: Alec Baldwin in "30 Rock," Steve Carell in "The Office," David Duchovny "Californication," Ricky Jarvez, "Extras" and Lee Pace "Pushing Daisies." Best television series comedy or musical: "30 Rock," "Californication," "Entourage," "Extras," and "Pushing Daisies."
Best performance by an actor in a television series drama: Michael C. Hall, "Dexter," John Ham, "Mad Men," Hugh Laurie, "House," Jonathan Reese Myers, "The Tudors," Bill Paxton, "Big Love." Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, comedy, or musical. Amy Adams, "Enchanted," Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray," Helena Bonham- Carter, "Sweeney Todd," Marion Cotillard "La Vie En Rose," Ellen Page, "Juno." Congratulations.
RYAN REYNOLDS, ACTOR: Good very early morning. OK. All right. Best performance by an actress in a television series drama. Patricia Arquette "Medium," Glenn Close "Damages," Minnie Driver "The Riches," Edie Falco "The Sopranos," Sally Field "Brothers and Sisters," Holly Hunter "Saving Grace," Kyra Sedgwick "The Closer."
Best television series drama. "Big Love," "Damages," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Mad Men" and "The Tudors." Best director in a motion picture. Tim Burton "Sweeney Todd," Ethan Coen and Joel Coen "No Country for Old Men," Julie Schnabel "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Ridley Scott "American Gangster," Joe Wright "Atonement."
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama. Cate Blanchett "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Julie Christie "Away from Her," Jodie Foster "The Brave One," Angelina Jolie "A Mighty Heart," Keira Knightley "Atonement." QUENTIN TARANTINO: Good morning, everybody. Proud to say nominations for best screen play motion picture: Diablo Cody, "Juno". Yeah! Ethan Coen and Joel Coen "No Country for Old Men," Christopher Hampton "Atonement," Ronald Harwood "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and Aaron Sorkin "Charlie Wilson's War."
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, comedy, or musical. Johnny Depp "Sweeney Todd," Ryan Gosling "Lars and the Real Girl," Tom Hanks "Charlie Wilson's War," Phillip Seymour-Hoffman "The Savages," and John C. Reilly "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama. George Clooney "Michael Clayton," Daniel Day Lewis, yeah -- "There Will Be Blood," James McAvoy "Atonement," Viggo Mortensen "Eastern Promises" and Denzel Washington "American Gangster."
Best motion picture comedy or musical. "Across the Universe," "Charlie Wilson's War," "Hairspray," "Juno," and "Sweeney Todd."
And, finally, best motion picture drama, we have seven nominees so don't bum rush us: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "Eastern Promises," "The Great Debaters," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," and "There will be Blood."
Thanks, everybody! Congratulations!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me. Thank you to our presenters.
ROBERTS: There are the nominations for the Golden Globe read out very quickly considering it's 5:43 in the morning and all of those people are very sleepy.
Our Lola Ogunnaike is here with us today, any surprises to you?
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm surprised that the "Great Debaters" and "American Gangsters," those are two great Denzel Washington films, but I'm surprised that the "Great Debaters" was nominated so that's a win for Denzel Washington. And George Clooney did not get nominated for best actor is also very surprising.
ROBERTS: He did.
OGUNNAIKE: Oh, he did that?
ROBERTS: Yes. That's what I said, they read them very quickly.
OGUNNAIKE: Oh, they read them very quickly.
CHETRY: They weren't wasting any time at all.
OGUNNAIKE: They weren't AT all.
ROBERTS: He got nominated for "Michael Clayton"
OGUNNAIKE: No real surprises there. With Daniel Day-Lewis, he has already won two critics awards for L.A. film circles critic as well as New York film circles critic. So, he's in the lead for this one. Viggo Mortensen I thought that many people will forget about his performance in "Eastern Promises" but they did and he played a London gangster and so, you know, he could be the dark horse in this race.
CHETRY: There we see some of the best actors for drama. The other interesting thing is some of the shows that were nominated could be like "30 Rock" here, "Big Love," some of the HBO series could be looking at not having any new material next year because of this writers' strike. What is the impact? Not only award shows but what they're getting awarded for?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, one of the impacts is say "30 Rock" wins, Tina Faye who has been very vocal about the writers' strike and been one of the faces of the writers' strike may not actually show up for this show. Katherine Heigl had she been nominated for her performance in "Knocked Up" made it very clear that she would not participate in the Golden Globes at all.
ROBERTS: We'll see. You know, some of these television shows that have been dominated for drama, comedy and the actors and actresses, people like Hugh Laurie, Bill Paxton, will they show up as well?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, you know, that remains to be seen. If the strike is not settled by January 13th when the show airs, a number of people have said that they don't feel comfortable crossing the picket line and if they do cross the picket line, they may turn the podium into an area to make their statements how they feel about the studios and the executives.
ROBERTS: So, Kiran, who's...
CHETRY: That would be far more interesting.
ROBERTS: What will win for best film drama?
CHETRY: You know what? I'll leave it to the experts. What do you think, Lola?
OGUNNAIKE: I think it's between "No Country for Old Men" and "There will be Blood". I don't think that "American Gangster" will win this show.
ROBERTS: I think Ridley Scott will win best director.
OGUNNAIKE: Well, it's about time. He lost for "Gladiator." So...
CHETRY: Also nice to see Nikky Blonsky. She's the adorable little girl who is in the movie "Hairspray." Wasn't she just plucked out of obscurity? She never even acted before?
OGUNNAIKE: I think she is one of the biggest surprises of the day. I mean, she is starring in her high school musical to actually be nominated for a Golden Globe. She is the feel-good nominee of the day. ROBERTS: All right. The Academy Award season officially kicked off there. We'll you see because a lot of times what you see in the Oscars are names that pop up in the Golden Globes.
OGUNNAIKE: That's true.
ROBERTS: Lola, thank you.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, possible breakthrough for cancer treatment. The inventor isn't even a doctor, not a researcher but he came up with a machine that could end up saving millions of lives. We're going to show it to you and show you how it works, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, this just in the CNN newsroom. Some good news about the economy. Commerce Department saying retail sales surged by more than 1 percent last month, 1.2 percent to be exact. It may not seem like much but they are calling it the biggest increase in six months. However, our Ali Velshi says it's also important to also keep in mind that they are counting things like airplanes and other large purchases as well in that so that could make the difference.
ROBERTS: You bought one of those lately?
CHETRY: I haven't. They were not for sale at my local Wal-mart so unfortunately I could not get one.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll see if that has any effect in the Dow futures and what the market is going to do. We'll try to check back in on that one more time before we go.
This fellow, not a scientist, didn't go to medical school, he's just a man with a desire to help people like him who were suffering from cancer. Now, he may be on to something big. Here's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When John Kansas retired to Sanibel Island, he thought he would fish, relax. Instead, he ended up fighting for his life after being diagnosed with leukemia. Kansas turned to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, for treatment. While getting chemotherapy, he found himself haunted by the face of the fellow cancer patients.
JOHN KANSAS, PATIENT TURNS INVENTOR: I saw way too many young people die before their time.
GUPTA: So he started thinking and tinkering. Kansas worked in radio his whole life. He picked up some transmitters, a few of his wife's pots and pans and designed a machine to battle cancer. KANSAS: What if I could make the cancer cells act like little radio receivers and pick up the signal and when they pick up the signal, they get hot, they create a fever and the cancer cell dies?
GUPTA: He showed it to his oncologist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was an attractive concept that we ought to kill off the cells without invading the patient's body. So that was a power of a good idea.
GUPTA: His doctor then took his patient's invention to a cancer surgeon who thought of using microscopic metal bits to conduct the heat from the radio waves. Here is how it works. Inject the metal bits known as nano particles into the tumors, direct radio waves in. The radio waves then heat the metal and that destroys the cancer cells. The early results are promising.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we can target these nano particles in the cancer cells and the do this treatment, there won't be a lot of the side effects that people usually associate with chemotherapy drugs.
GUPTA: Doctors hope the machine will be able to fight all types of cancers, including breast cancer and liver cancer, though human trials are still three to four years away. While the inventor is still fighting leukemia, he hopes his discovery will make a difference.
KANSAS: We need to treat our cancers in a more humane way. If nothing else I hope I have changed the prevailing thinking of the medical world.
GUPTA: One man and his machine trying to change the world.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Ironically, Kansas' machine is not being used to fight leukemia, his type of cancer. He says he didn't invent the machine to help himself, he just wants to help other people who are suffering. Kiran.
CHETRY: Here's a quick look at what CNN NEWSROOM was working on from the top of the hour.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Dozens of major leaguers expected to be named in baseball's steroid investigations today. Democrats debate today in Iowa, live on CNN. A common childhood vaccines recalled. The FBI names the new bank robbery capital of the country. A foot of snow possible from Buffalo to Boston today? And a driver's frightening high-wire act.
NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Well, before we leave you today we got to tell you one more time the story of Dustin Hoffman. He's a Dunkin' Donuts clerk, not the actor, who fought off a thief who robbed his store.
ROBERTS: He lunged over the counter to grab money our of the register. Hoffman pounded him on the head with a tip jar. Take a look at this. He just grabs the tip jar and gives it a big whack, right over the head. He said one of the reasons because if it ever made it to the internet he wanted to look brave and not like a wimp. Earlier in an exclusive interview here on AMERICAN MORNING, he told us he didn't really have time to think about his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUSTIN HOFFMAN: Afterwards, like the proper instincts kicked in, be safe, make sure you're OK, but you couldn't register all that within a split second. I mean, you look, it lasted about six seconds from the moment he lunged to the moment I hit him and he leaves. So there's no time to really reasonably react.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you have it. He also said at the end of the day he still had to clean the Coolatta machine. He says he realizes now that what he did was potentially dangerous. He also says he doesn't expect an reward from Dunkin' Donuts.
ROBERTS: Not that they would give him one.
CHETRY: Right. They were going to give him one anyway but he should at least get Employee of the Month.
ROBERTS: Altering the laws of nature. Cat and mouse living together in harmony. Check this out. It's a mouse that has no fear of cats. Japanese researchers say it's genetically altered in a way that it can't pick up a certain odor. No smell, no fear apparently. The test cat seen here, not genetically modified though nor tied up or anesthetized. She was chosen because she's very calm and apparently not very hungry.
CHETRY: That seems brilliant. Make the mouse unafraid of the cat that still wants to eat him. All right. It looks they could go belly first at any time. You now, it's pregnant women toppling around. Now, there is research that says that it's actually evolution. That's why we don't tip over when we're preggers. Apparently there are some slight differences for men in their lower back and hip joints that allow women to adjust their center of gravity.
It's something they say, seen only in human females and are closest relatives who walked on two feet and not chimps and apes. By the way, one person who's not going to have to worry about that anymore is my great friend, Laurie Hugh just during our show gave birth.
ROBERTS: Congratulations to her. CHETRY: So 7 lb. two oz., Luke Thomas (INAUDIBLE) were born about an hour ago.
ROBERTS: That's right.
CHETRY: Congrats.
ROBERTS: Final check on this morning's quick vote question for you, we asked who is more to blame for the baseball steroids scandal. 54 per cent say the players and 46 per cent say the leagues. To all of you who voted, here are the final results of our quick vote question for you. To all of you who voted, thank you. Don't forget our special coverage.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. We'll be watching at 2:15 today. Meanwhile before we go, we want to give you one last look at today's hotshots. Some beautiful holiday lights. This one certainly brightens up the entire neighborhood. It's a mansion in Ontario, Canada that has 20,000 Christmas lights on it.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine the amount the power it uses.
The house was built in the late 19th century by a man who patented one of the earliest lamps. Hey, gorgeous shot. Gorgeous house. So, kudos to the people who probably spent hours putting them on. And we'd like to see more from you. So, if you have a hot shot send it to us. Our address is AM HOTSHOT at CNN.com. Please make sure the picture is yours and not someone else's and tell us a little bit about them. We love looking them.
ROBERTS: All right. So, don't forget, coverage coming up today on CNN. At 2:00 this afternoon, the democratic debate live from Des Moines. Our sister network "CNN Headline News" will be carrying the baseball conference with Senator George Mitchell and don't forget coming up straight ahead on "CNN Newsroom," they're going to have Victor Conte who is the founder of BALCO Labs who is involved in this scandal.
CHETRY: You know, a lot going on and we'll of course be back here tomorrow to cover it all for you as well. Hope to see you then. And thanks so much for joining us today. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.
HARRIS: And good morning everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS CNN, ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live this Thursday, December 13th.
Here's the rundown. Who dope? Based on steroids reports expected today, dozens of major leaguers today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
