Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Frustration at Boston's Logan Airport; New Poll Shows Huckabee is Leader Among Likely Republican Voters in South Carolina; Mitchell Report on Steroid Abuse

Aired December 14, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That's a little complicated. It's Friday, December the 14th. Thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry and we begin with extreme weather. Another winter blast expected to make its way from the Midwest to the East Coast today before dumping a lot more snow. It's a scene that's going to look a lot like this one. Snow coming down in West Hartford, Connecticut. This is from yesterday afternoon. The snow ploughs were out in full effect, slowing traffic, covering sidewalks with all the snow there.

Frustration also at Boston's Logan Airport where the storm caused more than a hundred cancellations. Ten inches of snow at Logan actually set a new record. And you were right in the middle of it. I-reporter Ben Bolson (ph) sent us these pictures. Its gridlock cars and its spun out of control. This is in Worcester, Massachusetts. Storm turning roads in to parking lot there. Reynolds Wolf is in the thick of it this morning as well and he has got an eye on the new storm. He's live from downtown Hartford, Connecticut this morning. Looks like they got it taken care of it for now, but bracing for yet another round coming up this weekend.

Reynolds?

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, there is some new polls that where just release this morning that show a rapid rise for Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in a key early state. This is South Carolina. A New CNN Opinion Research Poll showing Huckabee is now the leader among likely Republican voters in South Carolina. And it's stunning to look, July he was at 3 percent and now pulling up 24 percent. Fred Thompson in second place. He was at 18 percent in July losing about a point. And Rudy Giuliani was a big drop in this state. 30 percent in July and our new polling show Rudy Giuliani in third place at 16 percent.

Let's take a look at the Democratic side as well. Hillary Clinton still with the lead. This has not change as much. In July, she was at 43 percent. Now at 42 percent. Barack Obama is still in second place but making some gains. He is up to 34 percent now and John Edwards, this was his native state, he was 17 percent in July and now its 16 percent.

ROBERTS: Four minutes now after the hour. As you heard earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, major league baseball is trying to move forward after the release of the Mitchell report on steroid abuse. All 30 teams were mentioned in the 400 plus page document and some of the big names linked to performance-enhancing drugs included Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Earlier, we spoke with Major League Baseball President Bob DuPuy. He told us, while they have made major strides in cracking down on steroids, baseball is now concerned about what else players may be doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB DUPUY, PRESIDENT, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: I think the biggest surprise for us was that while our program is working to detect steroids, there seems to be a movement to the non-detectable performance-enhancing substance like HGH and we need to redouble our efforts to deal with things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: HGH being human growth hormones. DuPuy also said doping is not just a baseball problem but a societal one. With the Mitchell report finally out in the public, will this be baseball's wake-up call to clean up its act? Our Gary Tuchman is keeping them honest this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You remember the feel-good sports story of 1998, Mark McGwire busting Roger Maris' single season home run record? His name looms large in the Mitchell report. And the ageless pitcher Roger Clemens, his name is also prominently mentioned. Rumors of steroid use in baseball were rampant for years.

DONALD FEHR, MLB PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: Perhaps we and the owners could have taken these steps sooner and for my part in hindsight that seems obvious.

TUCHMAN: But what really kept the players union and the commissioner's office from cracking down? Critics say, one thing, money. For the owners power baseball sells. More home runs hit means more tickets sold. For players, the calculus is just as simple. Performance cells. Better play means a bigger contract.

GEORGE MITCHELL, MLB STEROID INVESTIGATOR: Everyone involved in baseball, commissioners, club officials, players association, players shares responsibility. I can't be any clearer than that.

TUCHMAN: The baseball commissioner also says in hindsight, he wishes he did more, but now...

BUD SELIG, MLB COMMISSIONER: His report is a call to action and I will act.

TUCHMAN: Everybody talks a good game about wanting baseball to be steroid-free. But when Senator Mitchell invited all of the implicated current players to meet with him, with almost no exception, he says they refused. Too worried says their union leader that they could incriminate themselves. Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: A lawyer for Roger Clemens says the allegations about Clemens are totally false. Former Senator George Mitchell is going to be our guest coming up in just a few minutes time, 8:15 eastern here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Also, new this morning. Five men arrested accused of starting the wildfire at Malibu State Park last month. Mug shots of three men released overnight are accused of starting an illegal camp fire, then leaving the scene. That fire, you may remember, destroyed more than 50 homes, some 15,000 people forced to evacuate. Police track the suspects down using receipts and surveillance video from a nearby store. If convicted, they could get several years in prison.

Well, the House has approved a bill that would ban the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods when questioning suspected terrorists. It comes after the CIA admitted that it destroyed interrogation videotapes two years ago. The bill passed by a vote of 222-199 and it now goes on to the Senate. The president is threatening to veto it.

In Iraq, word that radical Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is trying to boost his power. His close aides telling the associated press that he is studying to become Ayatollah and then if he gains the title, he would become even more powerful in Iraq. He is also currently battling other Shiite leaders for control of Iraq's southern oil fields.

And a high school student in Washington State has been suspended for warning his classmates about a sex offender on campus. Raydon Gilmore junior at Gig Harbor High school found a fellow student on a Web site that lists the state's level 2 and level 3 sex offenders, so authorities say he created flyers. He videotaped them to vending machines, even drop them outside the school bathrooms and security cameras caught him in the act. Gilmore says that even though he got punished for it, he would do it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYDON GILMORE, WARNED CLASSMATES ABOUT SEX OFFENDER: I just think it's the right thing to do. People should know about dangerous people that you're attending class with.

MELONEY GARTHE, SUSPENDED STUDENT'S MOTHER: I'm frustrated that my son does something right and good and something that I'm proud of and he is being punished for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, the level two sex offender is identified as a 16- year-old male who was convicted of indecent liberties using force. The principal said that the student should have brought his concerns to a teacher or administrator and that he violated a rule that would require approval to post anything on campus.

She took the wheel on a dark and dangerous road when her father had a heart attack and she is just nine years old. Jennifer Von Reuter has got the story from our affiliate WHAG in Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER VON REUTER, AFFILIATE WHAG: It was a typical Friday night. Father and daughter spending an evening at a hunt club in this remote part of town far from the sound of passing cars or even cell phone service. Shortly after leaving for home, things started to go wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got ready to leave and I started having chest pains.

VON REUTER: Timothy was having a heart attack. That is when Cheyenne took control of the car and drove nearly ten miles to cell phone range.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I steered and I mostly pushed the gas and the brake.

VON REUTER: On her dad's lap, Cheyenne drove their Ford pickup truck down these winding narrow roads at 10:30 at night looking for a place to pull over and call for help.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: And then I called mom because I found that I had service on the phone and she says that she was on her way to come pick us up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I knew something was wrong. I didn't know what exactly was wrong until I got there and he wasn't responding.

VON REUTER: Jessie drove Timothy to the hospital where doctors found his major artery to be 90 percent blocked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably would have hurt myself (INAUDIBLE) and if she wouldn't know how to drive the truck, both of us probably would have been hurt.

VON REUTER: Cheyenne says her dad taught her how to drive a tractor and once drove a car on private property. Something she enjoys doing but as far as driving on main roads again, she plans to wait until she is 16. Jennifer Von Reuter, CNN, Gainsborough, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: How fortunate that he taught her to drive the tractor and easily translated to the pickup truck.

CHETRY: Well, he'll let her drive on some private roads every now and then. I know the area. Not far from, you know where we were from out of D.C. And so I guess, there's a lot of empty strips of land where she could practice. Good for her. ROBERTS: Yes. Absolutely. Saved her dad's life.

CHETRY: Well, an early Christmas gift and a belated birthday gift for two sisters in Kentucky. They were told to open a big present in front of the whole school and here is what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Daddy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, Sergeant Matthew Wilder surprised his girls Mariah and Destiny, home for the holidays from Iraq but he wanted to make sure they were surprised about it. The school helped arrange that surprise, telling the girls that dad was sorry that he missed their birthdays. He wasn't able to make it home so he wanted to send them a present. But of course, then you saw, he was the present. He heads off to flight school, by the way, after the holidays. But boy, I'm sure for those few weeks, the girls were thrilled.

ROBERTS: Couldn't ask for a better present than that. All of those troops still overseas and a lot of families will be separated this holiday season.

CHETRY: Right. Got to be thinking about them as well. But, when you can show that, and when, you know, you see the pure joy on their faces, it's nice.

ROBERTS: Nice to have moments like that.

It's the report that's rocking the baseball world. Former Senator George Mitchell outlines links to steroid use in America's past time. He joins us live to talk about what is next for the sport.

He is an accomplished base jumper, leaping from some of the world's most famous landmarks. These days though, he is flying like a bird and now he wants to land like one. We'll talk to him about his plan that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, this just in right now to AMERICAN MORNING. The number two leader in al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri seen in this file video has denounced last month's peace conference that was held in the United States. Al-Zawahiri saying that the Annapolis meeting was, quote, "A betrayal of Palestinians." His comments come in a new audio message that was just released a short time ago."

John?

ROBERTS: They are all-stars, fan favorites, and even future hall of famers, all of them named in a 400-page report detailing the so- called steroid era in baseball. Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, author of the report after conducting the 20-month long investigation. He joins me now. Senator, good to see you again. GEORGE MITCHELL, AUTHORED MLB REPORT: Thank you, John.

ROBERTS: You've come under fire from some people, including Rusty Hardin who was the attorney for Roger Clemens who said about your report, "He has thrown a skunk into the jury box, and we will never be able to remove that smell." Did you overstep in the report by naming all of these names?

MITCHELL: No. I was asked to look into it and report what I found. If I didn't say what I found, then, of course, there would have been no report. So, I did what I was asked to do, as fairly and as thoroughly and as accurately as I could.

ROBERTS: What was the purpose of naming names?

MITCHELL: Because I was asked to look into what happened and that is what happened.

ROBERTS: But there is no concrete evidence against them, though.

MITCHELL: Well, there is direct eyewitness statements by participants. There are checks. There are money orders. There are telephone calls and there are many admissions. At least 11 players admitted to us that they did, in fact, purchase steroids from one of the witnesses, as he said they had. So, I think it's quite wrong to say there is no concrete evidence. There is several hundred pages of evidence.

ROBERTS: This is what your critics are saying.

MITCHELL: That's right, of course.

ROBERTS: They're doing it, you know, circumstantial. Players association also took aim at you as well yesterday. Let's take a quick listen to what Don Fehr, the president of the association, said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON FEHR, MLB PLAYERS ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Many players are named. Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever. Even if it turns out, down the road, that they should not have been.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: What do you think of Fehr's comments? Is he standing up to the principle of innocent until proven guilty or is he defending cheaters?

MITCHELL: Every person named in the report was invited by me, to meet with me so that I could present them with the information that I had with the allegations and give them a chance to respond. Almost without exception, they declined. I wrote a letter to Don Fehr's office setting forth the names and the dates and I wanted to tell them, here is what happened, come in and explain it to me. They refused to do so. Now, the position they took, was that I could not name a person if he didn't talk to me. And then, of course, by not talking to me...

ROBERTS: Wouldn't be able to...

MITCHELL: Name. Now, if I did that, what kind of questions would you be asking me today?

ROBERTS: You got some indications from Major League Baseball that they're going to cooperate and try to implement the recommendations of this report. What do you expect will be forthcoming from the players union?

MITCHELL: Well, I think it's important to keep in mind, that both baseball, the commissioner and the clubs, and the players association, have done a lot. Remember, in 2002, they agreed on and adopted a drug testing program although the players association had been against it for many years. They changed their position, they did it.

ROBERTS: But do you expect they would want to go further, as a result of this report?

MITCHELL: Well, let me say, in the five years since, they have agreed on many changes to improve the program. So there, I think, some basis for believing, that yes, they will be prepared to move on, hopefully, and to make further changes and it will be just be a continuation of what they are doing to take it to a new and higher level, so I think it can be done.

ROBERTS: As we know from the report you've recommended against punishment for the players...

MITCHELL: Yes.

ROBERTS: ...Who were name unless, as you say, their conduct was egregious enough that it jeopardizes the integrity of the game. Joe Biden, who is the Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, said quote, "If crimes were committed, they should be prosecuted." Did you agree or disagree with the senator's comments and why not discipline current players. Are you not just letting them get away with it?

MITCHELL: He is a very good friend but I disagree with him. Let me point out to you and to him that in the past two years, over 250 players have been suspended for failing drug tests. Their names have been in the paper. Not one of them has been prosecuted because the Department of Justice and all of the state prosecutors follow a policy which has been followed in this country for a quarter of a century. I followed it when I was the United States Attorney myself. That you don't prosecute the end-users in these drug cases. You prosecute the manufacturers, the distributors, the drug dealers who are profiting from it.

Now, unless someone says that we ought to have a change in this country and we're going to prosecute every end-user all across the country, why should we single out baseball players to treat them differently and more harshly than we do everybody else in our society. ROBERTS: And can you say senator, to people who are casting a skeptical eye, saying you're a director on the Red Sox franchise and there's no Red Sox mentioned on this report, that you are biased?

MITCHELL: Well, of course, that's completely wrong. Red Sox are mentioned in the report. And in fact, in some respects, they are mentioned more than other clubs. For example, the issue of club officials talking about steroid use in evaluating players. One of the few clubs that we discovered, a long e-mail trail and lengthy evidence of discussions with the Red Sox. It's published in detail.

ROBERTS: All right. You're saying they don't have a leg to stand on?

MITCHELL: That's a good way to put it.

ROBERTS: Senator George Mitchell, thanks very much for with being with us this morning. Always a pleasure to see you sir.

MITCHELL: Thank you, John.

ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: And speaking of baseball, another record for Alex Rodriguez, you're "Quick Hits" now. A-Rod and the Yankees did finalize the $270 million, ten-year contract. Its now the richest contract in baseball history and could be worth another 30 million if A-Rod reaches some milestones including breaking Barry Bonds career home run record.

And a Christmas holiday for NASA workers will delay the shuttle launch. A launch was scheduled to launch twice in early December. There were some delays. Now the earliest date they could try is January 2nd but instead NASA pushed the date to the 10th to allow as many people as possible to spend the holidays with family.

Once considered a long shot, Mike Huckabee is now one of the front-runners. New numbers from South Carolina showing Huckabee in the lead in that state. So, how is it shaking up the Republican race? We're going to be speaking with Candy Crowley coming up in just a couple of minutes.

Also, he fell from distances that would terrify most people. Looks like he is just dropping out of the sky. One dare devil. Well, he always had a parachute on until now. This could be his last stunt. We're going to talk to him straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Now, she is living in a material world and now she's getting a major honor in it. Madonna, inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame that is. And she is not the only big name. There is John Mellencamp who is going to be enshrined for his contributions. The Ventures composer Leonard Cohen and also the Dave Clark Five. The hall's president calls the class trailblazers. The ceremony takes place March 10th in New York City. Now, speaking of the Dave Clark Five, they did find a new fan here at CNN in the form of Rick Sanchez who showed off some of his famous, I guess we have to use that word loosely, dance moves at the end of last night's "Out in the Open." There he is.

Is that the twist?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I'm not quite sure what that is.

CHETRY: It's a cross between the robot, the twist and then there's a little air guitar thrown in for good measure. You're snowed in and you can't get anywhere, you start to go a little stir crazy, many hours of coffee -- I'm just teasing, Rick. He is up now so I have to amend what I am saying the last hour. Great job. That was superb dancing.

ROBERTS: Yes. Obviously, the Dave Clark Five is very inspiration. Time now for a look at what is ahead on CNN's Saturday Morning. Betty Nguyen at the CNN Center with that.

Hey, Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENTS: Thankfully, I don't have moves like that. But, John and Kiran, think back to your high school days where you stressed out? Well today, the competition and pressure is at an all-time high because more students are applying to college than ever before.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These kids are afraid to get a wrong answer. So they don't invent. They don't create. Even here at Stanford I've had professors say to me 10, 15 years ago, kids would say I'm really excited, I'm going to write my paper on this or I'm going to do my project on this. Now, they say what can I write my paper on to get the A?

Elbow down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So, schools are taking extreme measures to help their kids cope including, get this, mandatory Yoga classes, homework-free weekends, sounds pretty good to me, but is it working? I went back to school to check it out. Plus, my partner, T.J. Holmes takes on Iowa. That's right. He is joining the best political team on television this weekend on board, our election express buzz.

And bracing for a Nor'easter snow, ice, rain, and more power outages. We'll keep you up-to-speed on travel delays and so much more. CNN Saturday and Sunday mornings, beginning at 7:00 a.m.

ROBERTS: Iowa looks like a lovely place to be this time of the year. All right, Betty, we'll see you tomorrow morning, thanks.

NGUYEN: Sure. CHETRY: And speaking of Iowa. Democrats debate in Iowa for the last time before the caucuses. It was yesterday. Did anyone change their minds? We're going to be talking with Candy Crowley coming up.

ROBERTS: And what do young ballplayers think about the news that their baseball heroes may be cheating? Our Alina Cho finds out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: What a beautiful shot once again. These are icicles. So cold in New York City. The ice, there you see it forming, west over Manhattan. There was a pretty shot. You can see the Hudson River actually in the background. It's not 33 degrees right now. Shaping up to be 47 here in NYC. And there's another pretty shot, that one looking east at Central Park.

ROBERTS: A lot of ice over our cameras this morning.

CHETRY: How about it? You know, it's cold.

ROBERTS: And the weather is going to go downhill from here too.

CHETRY: We'll its Friday, December 14th. That's right, today may be the best

Guest:

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: 47 here in NYC. Another pretty shot, that one looking east at Central Park.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: A lot of ice over our cameras this morning.

CHETRY: How about it? No, it's cold.

ROBERTS: And the weather is going to go downhill from here, too.

CHETRY: Well, it's Friday, December 14th. John is right, it may be, today may be the best day, a break in between yesterday's storm and what's coming up this weekend.

ROBERTS: Absolutely. Yes. I'm John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry this morning. Good morning to you.

We're tracking more extreme weather this morning. Second winter blast is on its way. Oklahoma and Kansas could see heavy, heavy snow today. The northeast bracing for a wintry mix itself on Saturday. Here is what round one looked like yesterday. The storm brought significant snow accumulations to Boston and much of New England, Pennsylvania and New York. And the storm forced the cancellation of a hundred flights at Logan Airport after dumping a record amount of snow there. Our Reynolds Wolf watching all this morning from downtown Hartford. What can we expect to see in the northeast state this weekend?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This weekend, John, there is a potential that we could see more snow or at least in combination of rain, sleet, or snow, possibly even some freezing rain into the mix. Let's get started this morning by showing you how people are being affected. Right now in Hartford, things are running smoothly but that certainly isn't the case at some of the airports around the nation. In fact, take a look at right now in Philadelphia, also in Boston, we've got some ground stoppages. So people are going to be very patient there.

Other expected delays we can expect across parts of the northeast are as follows. You can imagine at JFK, LaGuardia, back over to Philadelphia. We're going to have some issues here and there. So that is certainly something you're just going to have just contend with through the morning and mid-day hours.

And as we get into the weekend, there could be even more with this pending storm system. As it stands, we do have a winter storm watch that stretches all the way from the Ohio Valley back up to Maine as we extend down into parts of central and southern plains. We're looking at snow there today. Not tomorrow, but today. In places like Oklahoma City where you could see one to three inches of snowfall, back up in Wichita, even more snow, four to seven inches.

And John, Kiran, you remember that these are places that many of them are still without power so you have all of those downed power lines. You've got all of the trees and on top of that you're going to be dealing with some additional snowfall. Hey folks, time for that cold and flu season report very quickly. We have reports of sporadic activity, local activity in Florida, Texas and Colorado and into Virginia. That's a look at your forecast. Let's send it back to you in New York.

CHETRY: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much.

Mike Huckabee is shaking up the republican race in South Carolina. Also, the democrats facing off for the final time in Iowa. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is covering it all for us and she joins us from Des Moines this morning. Good to see you, Candy. How about these numbers, the newest CNN poll showing Huckabee was at 3 percent in July and now he's polling at 24 percent today?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A couple of things, I think contributed to that. And I think, first and foremost, is that Mike Huckabee has been in the news. His name is out there. Good or bad, at this point in a race, name recognition still matters. So, any time your name goes out there particularly in those early states, people are going to take a look. I think the other factor that contributes to this is that the evangelicals and the conservative Christians who make up a large part of the base in South Carolina weren't all that satisfied with the people that were down there. I think we see that in the drop that Giuliani has in that poll. I think we see that in Mitt Romney who, as you know, there is certain problems with him. So I think in South Carolina, they were looking. Mike Huckabee popped up on the radar screen and the two met and produced these poll numbers.

CHETRY: Yes, it's very interesting, though, also when you look at Rudy Giuliani and how he was at 30 percent back in July and then the drop now at third place with just, I think it's 16 or 17 percent support. What happened there?

CROWLEY: Well, I mean, I think again this is Rudy Giuliani and South Carolina are not an easy fit. He is socially more moderate than the state Republicans are. They look at him and they see what a lot of republican voters see as someone who can go toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton but there are a number of evangelicals and conservative Christians who really have problems with his social views.

You know, look there's a long way to go here because we also know that 22 percent of those voters said, you know, I'm going to watch and see what happens in Iowa and in New Hampshire before I actually make up my mind. So, and, again, when reality sets in, voters tend to look and say who's got the best shot at winning the White House? So, so much could happen between now and those South Carolina primaries.

CHETRY: Let's talk a little bit. I'm sure you were watching yesterday during the Democrats debate as Iowa draws to a close here. Anybody pulling ahead? Anybody making moves that could have a big impact for them at the polls?

CROWLEY: I think in the debate, no one stood out and no one messed up and in some ways, I think that that favors Barack Obama. Why? Because he is the guy whose trajectory is right. He seemed, at this point, to have the juice. So, he had really the most to lose going into that debate, some sort of major mess-up on his part or some sort of outstanding performance by someone else. Might have kind of stopped that momentum that he has. So I think in the end, if you look at it that way, Barack Obama came out of this not having his momentum stopped which is a good thing.

CHETRY: Yes. Of course, caucuses not far away. Our Candy Crowley in Des Moines. Thanks for being with us this morning.

ROBERTS: Thirty-five minutes now after the hour. Major League Baseball says action will come from the Mitchell Report linking some of the sports' biggest names to steroids and other performance- enhancing drugs. Those players are heroes to little leaguers across the country. Our Alina Cho talked with some young ballplayers to hear what they think of their heroes now. What did you find out?

ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really sad, you know, John. You know they're disappointed, they're disenchanted and they don't know what to do anymore about the sport they love so much. Baseball's biggest scandal in years in some ways has hit the littlest fans the hardest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): The New York Metro's little league team had a winning season this year and they did it simply by playing hard and fair. But can the same be said of many of their major league heroes? Grown men, it turns out, who may not be the best role models.

NATHANIEL CRAMER-GIBBS, LITTLE LEAGUE PITCHER: They are cheaters. They are ruining the sport for kids and even people on their team.

CHO: The lineup of seven MVPs and 31 all-stars in the report was disappointing. But to see hometown hero Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers of the last 20 years, tainted by allegations of steroid use, even though he vehemently denies them, was almost too much to handle.

RYAN THIER, LITTLE LEAGUE 3RD BASEMAN: When I was younger, I tried to have windups like them and stuff and now they cheated and I never want to be like them.

CHO: Jimmy Haber has coached little league baseball for seven years. He says the major leagues are setting a bad example.

JIMMY HABER, LITTLE LEAGUE COACH: We sending out a message to them that if they cheat at work or they cheat at school, they're going to make more money, and that is the way they're going to get ahead in life and that is not the right message.

THIER: When someone hits a home run, I will always like wondering do they take steroids and are they naturally hitting it or is it like the drug hitting it?

CHO: And what does this 12-year-old say he'll do when he sees his former hero Andy Pettitte head to the mound at Yankee Stadium next year?

THIER: I'll boo him loud.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: So sad. The coach we spoke to says baseball should be embarrassed. Even Mitchell said while it's important to deal with the players who use steroids, the reality is hundreds of thousands of children are using them, too, and some believe these kids are learning what to do, the good and the bad, John, from the pros.

ROBERTS: There are still plenty of baseball players out there who are not implicated in this report.

CHO: That's right.

ROBERTS: And you know, people like Cal Ripken in the past and Nolan Ryan who did it without using drugs.

CHO: That's absolutely right. And remember, you know, the president of major league baseball spoke to Kiran a bit earlier in the show and he said listen, we're trying to clean up the sport. The overwhelming majority of the players are clean. We just need to convince the kids of that. The problem is right now that's a tough sell.

ROBERTS: And for some of those people who do cheat they will always try to find new ways.

CHO: That's right, they will.

ROBERTS: Alina, thanks very much. Interesting report.

CHO: You bet.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: It's something you only get a chance to do right once. A man who thinks he can fly. The dare devil who is going to be doing this but ditching the parachute. He joins us a little later in the show.

Also a possible medical breakthrough. New hope for people left severely paralyzed in what is known as locked-in syndrome. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at how patients could learn to speak for the first time in years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Forty-two minutes after the hour. Key economic numbers just in. Inflation took a big leap in November and high gases are to blame. What is the impact on you? Ali Velshi breaks it all down for us this morning. Good morning, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. In fact, this is one of those things where you already feel the impact of this, year over year, which is the number I want to look at. Since last year to now, the rate of inflation is 4.3 percent. That is much higher than we'd like it to be. Now, economists will tell and some reporters will tell you that the core inflation rate is just 2.3 percent, that's when you strip out food and energy but introduce me to the person who strips out food and energy from their life. In fact if you use gasoline, the month over month increase in gasoline from October to November was 9.3 percent.

Big increases in clothing and airline ticket prices, prescription drugs and this is turned the Dow lower right now. We are now not triple digits lower on Dow futures but we're getting there. We're about 80 points below at the moment. This is the biggest increase in inflation on a month-to-month basis since September of 2005. That was the month when Hurricane Katrina hit and sent oil price up so this is an area of concern. Again this is isn't news from you because those of you out there spend this money and your inflation rate right now is above 4 percent year over year. John.

ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks very much. Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, the movie "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was nominated for a Golden Globe. People are giving it rave reviews and it tells the heart-wrenching story, a true story of a man with a condition that left him paralyzed except for one eye. And how he blinked to communicate his thoughts. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us how a revolutionary new technology may help others with this same problem. It's called locked-in syndrome, how it may help them find their voice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Watch closely. Blinking is this man's language. In the movie "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Jean Dominique-Bauby tells his story by painstakingly blinking letters of the alphabet. It is his only means of communication. The film sparked hope for this man and his son. 24-year-old Eric Ramsey became paralyzed eight years ago in a car accident that led to a stroke. Now his only controllable movement is his eye muscle.

RAMSEY, FATHER OF ERIC: He to blink with one eye. Had he never done that, no one would ever understand what locked-in means.

GUPTA: This condition is unlike any other paralysis. Ramsey can still feel pain and it can become excruciating with no way of asking for relief. Neuroscientist Phil Kennedy hopes to improve Eric's life by giving him a way to turn his thoughts into speech. He invented an electrode that picks up signals from the speech area of Eric's brain. Those signals are decoded in labs and it's 80 percent accurate in identifying the sounds Eric is trying to make

DR. FRANK GUENTHER, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: That is kind of like a spine tingling moment where, suddenly, we really thought this was big and it was going to work.

GUPTA: Two years from now with the help of a synthesizer, Eric may be able to speak for the first time since he was 16.

GUENTHER: Based on reports from paralyzed people who have lost both the ability to move and speak, the most common report is that they would like to have their speech back more than anything.

GUPTA: For Eric Ramsey, the ability to speak could be a life- changing experience.

RAMSEY: Do you still have hope? Yes.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: We will continue to follow that and see how that research takes shape. Meanwhile, he is an accomplished base jumper leaping from some of the world's most famous landmarks. Well, now he will try to fly like a bird and he is leaving the parachute behind. We're going to talk to him about his plan. That's Jeb Corliss, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, he has done sky-diving dozens of time. Actually and making more than a thousand different jumps. But next time he takes the plunge it's going to be without one important element. A parachute. Jeb Corliss plans to fly with the help of a winged suit. He joins us now from Malibu, California. Just looking at those pictures and video, even with a parachute this looks terrifying but, of course, you are a professional. Explain what is different about this jump you're going to be attempting.

JEB CORLISS, DAREDEVIL BASE JUMPER: Well, this will be the first time a human being has ever jumped from an aircraft, you know, at high altitude, reached terminal velocity which is close, you know, surpassing a hundred miles per hour and then touch down on the ground without being seriously injured and that is kind of the goal that we're working on is to develop a runway to make that possible.

CHETRY: Well, first of all, let's take a look at the suit what you're trying to do with the suit. So this is the wing suit, how will this help you as you start to make your landing/

CORLISS: Well, what happens is normally when you sky dive you'll jump out of the aircraft and you'll fall straight towards earth. What the wing suit allows you to do is with the wings, you catch air and you're actually flying forward. So for every foot you fall, you'll move forward three feet. So, it allows you instead of falling straight at the ground you actually can fall off the ground at an angle. So, because you can fly angle, all of sudden, matching angled changes and everything like when you jump a motorcycle, if you landed on flat ground, the impact would destroy you. Whereas, if you land on a landing ramp, you know, that allows the energy to transition into a way that is safe for the human body and, you know, that's kind of one of the principles that we're using for how we're going to land one of these wing suits.

CHETRY: So we're seeing some pictures of you right now and we see you in that suit. But you have a backup parachute in this video?

CORLISS: Absolutely. And even when we are doing, it's called the wing suit landing. When we're doing that, we still have a parachute as backup. You know, what happens is I'm very concerned about safety and making sure this is done in the proper way and you always need to have a backup. Just like when you're driving in a car you wear your seat belt in case of an accident.

Well, with the wing suit, I'll have a parachute in case something goes wrong. If I'm coming at my landing area and basically I'm not lined up properly I'll have the option of pulling away, opening the parachute, landing, re-setting. But eventually what I'll do is I come in when everything is lined up perfectly and the runway is right in sight then I'll come in and just touch down without using a parachute which is my goal.

CHETRY: And speaking of that, the runway is just as important as your wing suit. Right, this is going to cost you $2 million to make this runway?

CORLISS: Yes.

CHETRY: And to build it. Are you getting sponsored? I mean, who is helping you pay for this?

CORLISS: That's what we're doing right now is we're getting the word out and we're bringing in people to help us develop and create the runway that is necessary in order to land the wing suit. So basically right now, we're talking to many different groups who are working with us.

CHETRY: And does the wing suit slow you down as you're headed?

CORLISS: The thing is you're usually in free-fall speed is around 125 miles an hour without a wing suit. With a wing suit, we're slowing down our fall rate to about 38 miles per hour but our forward speed is going to be around 95 plus a hundred. And those, both of those speeds are a little bit irrelevant because the relevant speed is going to be the angle speed. You know, what speed we're traveling on that angle which would be around a hundred miles per hour. So that is the important speed.

CHETRY: I got you. Well, it didn't work out so well for, let's say Icarus or Wilee coyote but hopefully for Jeb Corliss. And you have your backup parachute. I don't know how you do it though. I don't know how you can look at a perfectly good helicopter and say I'm going to jump out of this thing.

CORLISS: Well, it's actually a very, the concept is to push the boundaries at what people believe is possible and that is what I like to do. I like to show people you're only limited by your own imagination.

CHETRY: well, good luck. I know you're going to have video of it so we'd love to check back with you and see how it turns out. Very fascinating. Thanks so much, Jeb Corliss. Good luck.

CORLISS: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Here's the thing I'm wondering, if he lands he has to land on his face. So, does he hold his face up as he's getting on the ground or does he put his hands on the helmet?

CHETRY: When you land with your parachute, you're sort of running.

ROBERTS: You can't do that, you're going way too fast. It's going to be a belly landing somehow. I guess that is all part of working out the plan here.

CHETRY: Like I said, you know what? I hope he has a video. He does have a backup parachute but I hope he shows us the video again and we'll see how it works out.

ROBERTS: It's going to be interesting to watch. So, he is attempting this landing in the wing suit and causing a huge buzz on the web, right?

CHETRY: Oh, absolutely. After the big announcement, apparently, I caused a huge surge and Veronica de la Cruz joins us now with more. VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: I can't watch the video, it makes me dizzy. I cannot watch the video.

ROBERTS: You don't want to make a mistake.

DE LA CRUZ: But you guys are right, it's all over the web. Lots of people doing searches for these wing suits. Apparently there's lots of video out there. This week it is being passed around, it's viral. Let's take a look at some, this is Dave Barilla. He's also a base jumper, a skydiver and here he is flying over (INAUDIBLE) a key resort there in the Swiss Alps. Pretty amazing video. He was using a parachute to land something that, you know, Jeb is going to try to do without. I know, we wish him luck.

CHETRY: It looks like a special effect from a movie.

DE LA CRUZ: It's just - I can't even imagine what that must feel like. You know? What is going through your mind? Have you ever jumped out of a plane? Got to show you this. John actually told me about this. The infamous gate D at Giants Stadium, John. Remember telling me about this, John?

ROBERTS: I did?

DE LA CRUZ: I'm pretty sure you did.

CHETRY: John or Ali?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, yes, it might have been Ali. You're right. There's been a standing half time tradition at Jets' game as men gathering at gate D chanting at female ladies to flash their breasts. It seems apparently that some of these women oblige. You know, they might change their minds now knowing their ta-tas might be on cyberspace. Gate double D? Well, since the video surfaced on the web, security has been cracking down on this tradition so they are trying to put a stop to all of it, John.

ROBERTS: Oh, that's good. Were you folks talking about something? I was thinking about something else.

DE LA CRUZ: They're considering cordoning off. All right. Since John doesn't want to partake in this, how about this one for the rest of you men out there? These ladies are calling themselves the end train divas. Not too long ago, they shot this video as part of a dare. They jumped on the train, they got down with some dirty dancing. The girls won the $10,000 first prize in a contest and reports say that the girls did give most some of the money to charity. However, the MTA not amused. Do you know what is amazing? Watch the reaction on people's faces. I mean, whatever, the dancing is one thing but just the looks on people's faces I think is priceless.

ROBERTS: Just out of curiosity, I actually watched that video and there's a couple of guys from England who were there saying we missed our stop like six stops ago.

DE LA CRUZ: I was in Coney island, what is going on? CHETRY: I love what the MTAA calls it, disorderly conduct.

DE LA CRUZ: It's now been called the NC 17 train, I think, is what they are calling it now.

ROBERTS: Interesting stuff. Love that wing suit jumping.

DE LA CRUZ: Isn't it great?

CHETRY: Yes. It is some good stuff.

ROBERTS: A quick look now at what the CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.

TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The first big snowstorm of the season paralyzed parts of the northeast.

Baseball's steroid report. What are accused players saying today?

Arrests in last month's devastating Malibu wildfire.

Oprah Winfrey getting heat from fans for endorsing Barack Obama.

Monkey mayhem in a big city.

And cats that glow in the dark. NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour, on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, just before we go this morning. We want to say good-bye to an old friend.

CHETRY: That's right it's our buddy Jerry Koppel. He is going to be leaving us after nearly a decade here at CNN. But he is not going too far away actually.

ROBERTS: What do you mean he is not going too far away?

CHETRY: He is going to London and he wanted to go across the pond for some time now and he is starting his new gig as an audio operator for our headquarters in London. How about this for no lag time? He is starting Monday morning as an audio operator for the network there. Jerry, wave hello.

ROBERTS: Jerry, he is a very rare bird here, too. Because he has been with AMERICAN MORNING since its inception. To the best of my knowledge is one of the only people who has.

CHETRY: Well, hopefully he will be watching us and he will have better hours as he watches us. They are five hours ahead and he can sleep in and still watch his favorite show.

ROBERTS: Safe travel, Jerry. You got to love the haircut too. Fabulous haircut.

CHETRY: He got dapper for London. All right. Bye, Jerry. Thanks so much for being with us. We'll see you back.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com