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American Morning
Heath Ledger Possibly Died of a Drug Overdose; Fred Thompson Calls it Quits; Clinton and Obama Still Sparring After Their Confrontation In South Carolina; Surgery for Weight Loss Could Cure Diabetes; Alternative Minimum Tax
Aired January 23, 2008 - 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: But meanwhile, to another tragedy this morning. And that's the death of actor Heath Ledger. He's one of Hollywood's rising young stars. They're going to be conducting an autopsy today to find out what caused his shocking and sudden death yesterday.
New York City police say they are looking at the possibility of an overdose. Ledger was found yesterday on the floor of his New York City apartment. Meanwhile, after word spread, people gathered outside of the actor's home.
Our Jason Carroll is live right there right now, where fans actually made a makeshift memorial. Many of them just coming down to the scene because they didn't really know what else to do. They were so shocked.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. That's exactly right, Kiran. They brought down flowers, and candle, and cards, outside of Heath Ledger's apartment building.
As you say, investigators are looking at his death as a possible drug overdose. Surely, there will be much more questions about why that happened? How that could have happened? What we do know, what has been confirmed from authorities is that it was at 2:45 yesterday afternoon, Ledger's housekeeper and massage therapist found him naked, unresponsive in his dead. He was face down. They tried to revive him. They called 911. Paramedics rushed to his fourth floor apartment. They pronounced him dead at about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Police commissioner and police deputy commissioner described what was found in Ledger's bedroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL BROWNE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NYPD: There are some prescription medicines (INAUDIBLE), but they were not scattered around his bedroom as previously reported. There were some prescription medications, including sleeping pills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And Kiran, as you know, Ledger was born in Perth, Australia. And yesterday, his family released a statement saying that his death was an accident. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM LEDGER, HEATH LEDGER'S FATHER: We would like to thank our friends and everyone around the world for their well wishes and kind thoughts at this time. Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him. He was a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and selfless individual who was extremely inspirational to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And again, an autopsy is scheduled for later today. Toxicology tests will be conducted as well and ultimately, it will be up to the medical examiner to determine the exact cause of death -- Kiran?
CHETRY: We'll probably be finding out more information about that later today. Jason Carroll, thank you.
ROBERTS: Well, the 28-year-old Ledger, was starting what could have been a long career in the movies. He played the joker in "The Dark Knight" a new "Batman" movie that's coming out this summer. He also earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in "Brokeback Mountain."
Joining us now is AMERICAN MORNING entertainment correspondent Lola Ogunnaike. That really was a very special role that he had in "Brokeback Mountain" and the one that brought him to international acclaim.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That is the role that really established him as an actor's actor, John. It was a really meaty role. Not a lot of lines at all, but you could feel the torture, you could feel the pain, and it was just a really nuance and subtle performance, but powerful, and it earned him an Oscar nomination. And many thought that he would win that year. They were surprised that he didn't. But you know, the real victory, was that he was established as a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
ROBERTS: A real sort of brooding intense in that film. He liked to take on difficult roles. He played the role in the new Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There."
Here's what he told CNN about playing this challenging roles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATH LEDGER, ACTOR: If it's something I've done before, it's not worth the time and the effort, because it's also tedious and takes you away from living. I try and look for something that teaches me something and requires me to do more, to give something that I haven't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, what sort of reputation did he have among his peers in Hollywood?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, he was very well liked on the sets that he worked on. He was also very well-regarded and well-respected. You know, he really was an actor's actor. He could have been one of these leading men who may star in the huge blockbusters, the big popcorn films, but he shied away from that.
After he did "10 Things I Hate About You" which was his first role in Hollywood, he decided to move away from the teen flicks and move away from the, you know, the big blockbusters and really go for smaller films with substantial roles.
And he was drawn to films like "Monster's Ball," "I'm Not There," which you mentioned. And also, you know, the current film that he was working on "Batman." That was actually probably going to be his biggest, most mainstream role.
ROBERTS: Well, he has also played lighter roles as well. He was, you know, in "A Knight's Tale."
OGUNNAIKE: He was in "A Knight's Tale," but he was also -- he said about those films that he just felt empty doing those films and he really liked the substantial, meatier roles. He really wanted to distinguish himself as a consummate actor, someone who was really and truly committed to the craft and not someone who was just dialing it in. Which explains why -- it's really difficult for him to get sleep. We talked about that earlier.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, he was certainly on his way to becoming one of the great actors. It's such a shame taken from him in such an early age.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, unfortunate.
CHETRY: And he leaves his 2-year-old daughter behind who he loved.
OGUNNAIKE: Adored her.
CHETRY: Very, very sad situation. Thanks, Lola.
Well, we're on the security watch today with your finances. Overseas markets mixed right now. Japan, Hong Kong, markets both bounced after Tuesday's massive losses.
London's Footsie (ph) and the rest of the European markets actually trading down right now. And futures here are actually pointing to a lower opening as well. There's a live picture of the big board. The opening bell about an hour and a half away and AMERICAN MORNING is on top of everything that matters to your money.
Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange and senior business correspondent Ali Velshi, on the road, aboard the Election Express. Personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is here in New York as well. And we begin with Stephanie. Any change in futures since we checked in with you last half? STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I wish though, no. And my running joke today, Kiran, is that I'm wearing green because the markets look like they're going to see more red today.
We are looking for a weaker opening. It is the middle of earnings season here. And so we're taking a look at some weaker numbers, coming out from Motorola this morning. Their fourth quarter profits fell sharply and a drop in sales as well. And they said that recovery in their mobile devices unit is going to take longer than expected. That's bringing the stock down in pre-market trading.
Also yesterday after the bell, Apple came out with record quarterly numbers, but its outlook was weaker than expected. That brought the stock down in after-market trading. So it's all about earnings today. The economic situation, nothing on the plate. So we all have earning to look to, to see what's happening there.
Obviously, yesterday's drop could have been way worse. Futures were looking for a 550 point drop when the markets were heading into the open. But then the Fed came in with that emergency rate cut about an hour before the market open, and so in the end, we saw the Dow dropping 128 points, off about one percent. NASDAQ losing about two percent yesterday. The S&P losing a little more than one percent. So, we'll keep our eyes on this day, Kiran, to see what happens.
CHETRY: Stephanie Elam for us at the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks.
We're also going to be checking in with Ali Velshi and Gerri Willis coming up. But right now, Alina Cho is taking one last sip of coffee and then she's going to fill us -- water -- on the most important stories.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Thank you. And we have some breaking news. Good morning, everybody.
New this morning, incredible pictures to show you coming out of London. You're looking live there at a protest. Thousands of off- duty police officers marching through the streets right now in London. They're protesting a delay in pay raises, and they say that delay amounts to a salary cut.
Anger over the delay has prompted the Police Union, the largest one there, to demand the resignation of Britain's top law enforcement official. The dispute centers on the British government's move to stagger a 2.5 percent raise.
A desperate situation reaching a boiling point in Gaza. Palestinians are now pouring across the border into Egypt. They're looking for food and supplies. Again, you're looking live there. Thousands tore down barbed wire and blew holes into the walls separating the two countries. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says he ordered the troops to allow the Palestinians to cross over.
Gaza has been cut off from necessities since Israel imposed a blockade last week, you'll recall. That shut down Gaza's main power plant. The U.S. now pressuring Israel to find another way to punish the Hamas government for a recent series of rocket attacks on Southern Israel.
He's the most wanted man in the world but Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf says capturing Osama Bin Laden is not his first priority. During a sweep through Europe yesterday, Musharraf said it's more important for his troops to root out Taliban leaders than to search for al Qaeda leaders like Bin Laden. Pakistan has about 100,000 troops along the border with Afghanistan. Of course, that is the area where Bin Laden is thought to be hiding.
New York City has a controversial new tactic in the battle against obesity. The city's Board of Health has voted to require chain restaurants to list calorie counts next to each item on their menu. There's been a great debate over this in New York City.
The city says it will help New Yorkers and some visitors make informed, healthier choices. But critics call it a prime example of quote, "Nanny state public health policy." The new regulation will take effect on March 31st. It affects chain restaurants with about 15 or more outlets.
And as the great debate continues over whether New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is or isn't injured, new published reports say, well, he is. "Boston Globe" is among those reporting, Brady is suffering from a high ankle sprain.
Now that would explain that video there of him in a walking cast on his right foot. It was taken earlier this week as we was taking flowers to his girlfriend. But Brady, apparently, was later seen without the cast having dinner here in New York with his supermodel girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen. That prompts the speculation Brady was faking the injury.
The quarterback says the injury is minor and that he will be ready for the Super Bowl in less than two weeks. The game against the New York Giants is February 3rd in Arizona. But the debate continues. I'm not sure I believe him.
ROBERTS: Tomorrow he'll show up in an armed sling, a wrist cast.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Because right now it's 12 1/2 points. The New England favored to win. Will they change it?
CHO: The way the wind blows could change it.
CHETRY: They're nodding yes.
CHO: All the betting.
ROBERTS: Butterfly flaps its wings in Peoria, the spread changes.
CHO: You have money on it, Kiran? CHETRY: No. Not yet, but.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: She wants a sure bet before she's going to put money on it.
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson calls it quits. Thompson announcing on Tuesday that he is ending his White House bid. Thompson's decision comes after a disappointing third place showing in last weekend South Carolina primary. The state was seen as a make or break test for the Thompson campaign. No word yet on whether he will endorse any of the remaining candidates. But it's no secrets that he's good friends with John McCain.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are still sparring after their confrontation in the South Carolina debate. Clinton claims that Obama is frustrated by his primary losses and came in to Monday's debate spoiling for a fight.
Bill Clinton told an audience in South Carolina last night that he enjoys the campaign crossfire, but that it shouldn't trump the issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I have to tell you, all the publicity about the spat with Hillary and Senator Obama and that's part of politics and it happened. But the thing I liked about it best was the second part, when they sat down and proven and they all said the same thing. They said, isn't it interesting that we're here discussing things that aren't even being talked about in the other party's (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Obama for his part says, both Clintons continue to distort his record and suggests his chief rival is on the defensive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My suspicious is the other side must be rattled if they're continually saying false things about us. Right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One of Obama supporters, former senate majority leader Tom Daschle, says some of Bill Clinton criticisms of Obama are quote, "not presidential," and he worries that all the back-fighting could destroy the party.
The "Most Politics in the Morning" heads next to Charleston. We're going to be there on Friday. We're going to hit all the battleground states on the road to Super Tuesday talking with voters, candidates and focusing on the issues. Our goal, to give you enough information to help you choose a president -- Kiran?
CHETRY: And still ahead, can a popular surgery to help severely obese people lose weight actually cure diabetes? Some promising new research out. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is working the story for us here in New York.
Hey, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm talking about the 20 million people who have this that could potentially benefit. We'll have that for you in just a couple of minutes.
CHETRY: Thanks, Sanjay.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, some are asking the question this morning. Could this be a major breakthrough for obese people? Could surgery for obesity be more effective against type II Diabetes than diet and exercise alone?
There is a new study that says, yes. Researchers claim that patient's who had either Lap-Band surgery or gastric bypass, not only shed pounds but also their type II diabetes. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with more on this.
Explain -- I mean, if you're losing weight one way or another, how does it make a difference?
GUPTA: How does it make -- it's a great question. I think a lot of people are a little bit surprised by this. By the way, there are about 20 million people in the United States alone who are wondering the very same question you are wondering this morning, because they have type II diabetes.
It really gets at this issue of a study that was performed. It was small study and it was also funded by Allergan Health who actually makes Lap-Bands. Although, they say they had nothing to do with the study specifically. But they actually took a group of patients; they did a Lap-Band surgery on them. Another group of patients just had conventional, sort of diet and exercise, and what they found over time, something interesting started to emerge.
Seventy-five percent of the people who had the Lap-Band surgery actually were able to put their diabetes into remission as compared to only about 14 percent of people who did the conventional diet. Now, why?
It probably has a lot to do with the fact that there is rapid weight-loss. When you talk about type II diabetes, it is linked to obesity. If you're obese, you're more likely to have it. If you can lose about 10 percent of your body weight, that seems to be the sweet spot, if you will, you can really start to stave off diabetes.
It's hard to lose 10 percent of your body weight just with diet and exercise, especially if you already have diabetes. That even makes it harder to lose weight. The Lap-Bands sort of jump-starts it, if you will. At least, that's the theory here.
CHETRY: That is really fascinating. There's also, besides the Lap-Band, that's reversible right? In a way or no?
GUPTA: Yes, it is. I mean, the Lap-Band sort of puts a literally, think about like a belt on your stomach. And it really puts a belt on your stomach. You can loosen or tighten that belt to some extent. So it's reversible in that regard. It sort of adjustable.
CHETRY: And then there's also the gastric bypass where once you get that operation done, I mean, you're changed for life. Right?
GUPTA: Yes. That's a more obviously, invasive operation and it is sort of permanent. But you know, they didn't even have to do that particular operation, that invasive operation, to get these benefits here. I mean, they got these benefits just from the Lap-Band surgery alone.
CHETRY: Isn't that risky? The Lap-Band?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think any operation, when you talk about that is potentially risky. I mean, general anesthesia alone is a risk, which is why people take this very seriously. Also, you know, you also develop symptoms that are called like dumping. Where you essentially move things through your small intestine, people get nauseated. They get to vomit. They don't feel good a lot of times.
CHETRY: Especially, if they eat too much sugar, right?
GUPTA: Especially if they eat too much food or too much sugar specifically. Also, just the idea of who right now qualifies for this operation. Usually its people about 100 pounds overweight, who have not been successful at diet and exercise.
Studies like this may start to shift that tide a bit, Kiran. And they say, well, look, if the operation works so well for type II diabetics, why can't I get this even if I don't meet all those criteria? That answer is not available yet. People are still going to discuss that. But a very interesting study.
CHETRY: It is. When you say 73 percent versus about 13 percent with diet and exercise alone, it's a huge difference.
GUPTA: Five times the difference. Absolutely.
CHETRY: Sanjay, thank you.
ROBERTS: Well, the high-pressure world of stock trading is in overdrive right now. We'll see what a day is like for a broker in the middle of this financial crisis.
And you hear the politicians talking about it. But if you're confused by the alternative minimum tax, stay around, because Gerri Willis will be here to explain what it is, whether it's good or bad for your checkbook. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Boats are big polluters. By 2020, more of the acid rain polluter, sulfur dioxide, will be generated by vessels at sea than all the vehicles on land. Enter "Solar Sailor."
(on-camera): Passenger ferries around the world currently use close to 300 million tons of fuel oil every year. The beauty of this system is that it doesn't just use the solar panels for solar power. It also uses them as sails.
ROBERT DANE, CEO SOLAR SAILOR: The moment that I knew you it would work was the moment that I read that insects evolve winds initially as solar collectors and then use them to fly.
RIMINTON (voice-over): The wings can be operated manually or by computer to maximize their efficiency as sails, even as they gather solar energy which is stored in bathrooms. There is also, on this prototype, back- up power from natural gas.
Contracts are signed or pending for ferries in San Francisco, in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Europe with unmanned military applications also under discussion. There remains, though, one key problem. Solar energy input ends when the sun goes down. The next great advance will be in batteries or some new generation energy storage system to keep the vessels running hard and clean through the longest winter night.
Hugh Riminton, CNN, Sydney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Here's your "Hot Shots" today. Everyone needs a pet like this sometimes, right? This is Mr. Pinky, who has been trained to scratch his owner's back. How cool is that?
ROBERTS: That would be so great.
CHETRY: A daily chore that gets him a treat every single time. Lisa Steiner from Alaska, is the i-Reporter who is benefiting from Mr. Pinky's trick. Congratulations.
He's so cute, by the way. Look that. He's in great form. You know, just keeps it up. Keeps it up like a treadmill. If you've got a hot shot, send it to us. Send to cnn.com/am. Scroll down the page and click on hot shots.
ROBERTS: Do you think he understands when she says, oh, a little to the right?
CHETRY: Who knows. ROBERTS: Well, the W-2s are in the mail and sad to say, many of us are already thinking about paying our taxes, April 15th. Not that far away. This time of year, you hear a lot about the Alternative Minimum Tax or AMT. But what do you know about it? And what do you need to know about it?
CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here to explain. She is on our "Financial Security Watch" today. First of all what is the AMT? Because so many people have no idea yet they pay.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, it stands for Alternative Minimum Tax, but there ain't nothing minimum about it. Let me tell you. You definitely pay more if you fall into AMTs grip than you do, if you file a regular IRS tax filing this year.
And here's who fall into this. Typically, if you have a lot of deductions, if you live in a high tax state, you could be a victim of AMT. This is not good news for folks out there.
Now, as you know, this was originally set up for folks who were very, very wealthy in giving around taxes. But now it's really capturing a lot of Americans. As many as $23 million every year. Congress keeps talking about changing it but, John, I think they're really addicted to the trillion dollars in revenue they get every year from the AMT.
ROBERTS: I think, you mean, 23 million taxpayers?
WILLIS: I'm sorry. $1 trillion in tax revenue.
CHETRY: Wow.
ROBERTS: So you said that people who reaches certain income threshold have to worry about this? Can you break it down? Give us a sample here.
WILLIS: Sure. Let's look at the numbers here. If you earn $66,250 for joint filers or $44,000 for single filer, you could be subject to this. Now you should know that there was, what they call a patch put in place earlier this year, but it came so late that if you file early you could miss it. So if you fall victim to AMT, which you'll find if you're doing just a regular.
If use Microsoft money or any of the tax software applications out there or if you use a professional tax appropriator, they'll tell you if you have to pay that but I know.
CHETRY: But here's report that really gets people is that if you make enough money, you also don't pay it right? Do you fall out of it eventually?
WILLIS: No. I mean, anybody can be subject to this. It's not about income limits. It's really not about that. It's really about the deductions that you pay and whether you live in a high-tax state. You know, you can work around this if you have your tax preparer work far enough in advance. You're too late for last year's tax filing to do anything so that you're not subject to it.
But for 2008, you can start planning around it. Maybe not take a few deductions. Maybe stop having two to twelve children.
CHETRY: Oh, please.
ROBERTS: One already and one on the way. And it will leave ten more to go. Does Congress is trying to fix this whole thing, right? That the argument is over how you make up for the lost revenue?
WILLIS: Yes. What are you going to do to get a trillion dollars? There's not a whole lot you can do. Charlie Rangel has been outspoken about this saying this is unfair. It's hitting people that shouldn't be paying this. He wants to get rid of it and put in place an extra tax on very, very wealthy people.
And John, you've seen the numbers on what's happened to income in this country. The big, you know, gap between the very, very wealthy and people who are in the middle. It was appalling. And they want to make changes but I think they are addicted to the revenue.
ROBERTS: Yes. No question. It's a big burden on a lot of people too, who fall right into the sweet spot of the middle class.
WILLIS: That's right.
CHETRY: The other ironic thing is if you file early, you might not benefit from the patches you said. So you got to plan carefully this season.
WILLIS: Yes. You might want to get some help this year. If this is something that you're going to have to deal with, contact a tax preparer. Make sure you're using a good software program. It can help you figure out how to handle this, but maybe not how to pay the bill. I read that the average bill is $7,000 more than an IRS.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Gerri.
WILLIS: Yes. Thanks.
CHETRY: Well, it's our "Quick Vote" question of the morning. Should the government be doing more to try to avert a recession? Right now, an overwhelming response. 80 percent of you saying, yes, more needs to be done by the government. 20 percent of you saying, no, and there is still time left to vote. Head to cnn.com/am. We're going to get a final check at the end of our show in about 30 minutes.
Well, if you love sushi, you might want to listen up. There's some new research showing high amounts of a dangerous substance in tuna. We're going to tell you more about it coming up.
And also, it's baffled some of the best doctors in the world. A window washer falling some 500 feet from a skyscraper hitting the ground with the force of four high-speed head-on crashes should have killed him instantly. It didn't. He survived. Today, brand new details on his remarkable recovery. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Beautiful picture this morning of Central Park. You can see the reservoir back there in the background. It's 32 degrees right now. It feels like 26, though, but, hey, we'll take it after 15, a couple of days ago.
ROBERTS: That is going to look so much nicer in about three months. Isn't it?
CHETRY: I know. It's going to be so bright.
ROBERTS: The leaves will be back on the trees. It will be green and it will be warm.
CHETRY: Get your bike ready. It's Wednesday, January 23rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
New this morning. An autopsy will be conducted today on the body of Heath Ledger to determine what caused the actor's death. He was found yesterday on the floor of his New York City apartment. The NYPD says they are looking at the possibility of a drug overdose. Throughout the night, Ledger's fans brought flowers to a makeshift memorial outside of his New York City apartment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe somebody so young and talented for this to happen. It's terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was at work. It was just right around the corner and there was a gasp shock throughout the office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Ledger had just been shooting a new "Batman" movie called "The Dark Knight" in which he played the Joker. But he was probably best known for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," which earned him an Oscar nomination.
On the political scene, Fred Thompson is out of the Republican race for president. Thompson entered the contest late, failed to raise enough money or voter interest to keep going. The South Carolina primary last Saturday was a make or break test for Thompson. He finished a disappointing third. He is not saying if he will endorse any other GOP candidate, though.
It's an ad campaign that helped make big profits for two major drug companies. Now it's off the air after a study that showed the drug may have missed the mark. American Schering-Plough say they are pulling ads for Vytorin. You may have seen the ads. They show food and people to show that cholesterol is related to diet and your genes. The decision comes after research that showed Vytorin, a combination drug works no better than one of its components alone which sells a generic for one-third the cost.
And a sushi scare in New York City and possibly elsewhere. Laboratory tests conducted for the "New York Times" found so much mercury in tuna that a regular diet of a few pieces a week could in fact be a health hazard. Levels were found to be so high in five out of 20 places that the FDA may sue to get sushi off the market. "The Times" says most of the tuna tested was blue fin -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Ali Velshi on the road. He is meeting folks, talking to them this election season, gauging their concerns and fears about the economy issues that impact Americans and also the way they plan to vote. Ali actually left Atlanta this morning and is now headed towards Birmingham, Alabama and he joins us on the road from the CNN Election Express bus via broadband.
Hi there, Ali, we just got word, Dow futures are down more than 200 points so far, about an hour before the opening bell. The Fed emergency cut didn't allay any fears on Wall Street?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, yesterday Kiran, about 24 hours ago when I was in Myrtle Beach before we started this road trip, the Fed announced that massive cut, even then the Dow opened more than 400 points lower and it recovered, only ending about 130 points lower. Right now, we got Dow futures down more than 200 points.
European markets have turned down in London off 2 1/2 percent, in Frankfurt more than 4 percent, in Paris, almost 4 percent. These are major numbers and it just sort of underscores what's going on. The sort of fears that are going on in international markets, really translate right down into places like we're in right now. We're in Alabama.
We've been talking to people through South Carolina and Georgia so far. We've been asking them specifically what about the economy? We spoke to a gentleman yesterday who said, health care is his biggest concern. Here's what he said to me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WAYNE BROWN, FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA: There are too many people in one of the richest countries in the world, with no health insurance.
VELSHI: So that's the ...
BROWN: That's the one thing I would like to tell them. Make sure you take care of health insurance and then you can go to social security. Make sure when everybody get out and retire, they get their fair share of what you put into through their work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: So, Kiran, while people are concerned about things like the stock market, and what the Fed is doing. The people we've spoken to around here are mostly concerned about jobs, obviously interest rates on their mortgages, and health care and gas prices. Those are the main things that are on people's minds as we cross (AUDIO GAP).
CHETRY: All right. As we said, with broadband Ali, comes in and out. Sometimes you get the signal. Sometimes we don't. But I think we were able to get a good taste of what he was talking about.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
Your financial security watch continues now with an important meeting on Capitol Hill later this morning. The treasury secretary will begin to hammer out the details of President Bush's economic stimulus package with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Republican leader John Boehner. Our Kathleen Koch is live at the White House this morning with a closer look of what we can expect from today's meeting.
And Kathleen, it sounds like they're prepared to cooperate on this, suggesting that they want to get it done in 30 days, which really would be light speed in Congress?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would indeed, John, but everyone is in agreement on a lot of the key points. One of the centerpieces that everyone does agree on is tax rebates. They're saying obviously because the wide range could be anywhere between 800 for individuals, up to perhaps $1,600 for families.
Now, the Democrats are a little concerned because the administration have wanted to restrict that to taxpayers only. Democrats say that hey, that leaves out some 50 million working American whose don't make enough to pay income taxes. Now, we about a third of the stimulus package would go to stimulate businesses, expected in the form of tax breaks. The president met here at the White House yesterday with lawmakers and he made the point that everyone agrees this must happen soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of us understand that we need to work together. All of us understand that we need to do something that will be effective and all of us understand that now's the time to work together and get a package done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Democratic leaders say the goal is to get a deal through within just three weeks. Now, that would be by February 15th, when Congress goes out on a break, a winter break. But it's expected to take at least six weeks after that before any checks arrived in the mail. So that would be, if you did the calculation, John, April 1st, April Fool's Day.
ROBERTS: And it sounds, Kathleen, like Ben Bernanke is willing to or I'm sorry, not Ben Bernanke but Paulson. He is willing to compromise a little bit on his economic security plan?
KOCH: That's what the White House is signaling. Yesterday in a speech that he made here in Washington, saying this stimulus package "must reach a large number of citizens" abandoning the previous usage of the word, taxpayers. So, I think they're listening to some of these economists who say you get the money to the lowest income Americans. Maybe they aren't paying income taxes but they're paying payroll taxes. They pump it right out into the economy. They spend it quickly and that's what this economy needs.
ROBERTS: All right. Kathleen Koch for us this morning at the White House. Kathleen, thanks very much. Kiran.
KOCH: You bet, John.
CHETRY: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano at the CNN weather center with us tracking extreme weather for us this morning.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kiran.
Looking at another reinforcing shot of cold air that's coming down across the Great Lakes just to fire up a lake-effect snow machine once again, and also pretty rare storm moving in to southern California. Actually the entire California coastline, sitting and spinning out here tapping some sub-tropical moisture. This is going to turn into a pretty decent events, not only with rain but also with heavy mountain snow. So, we're watching this.
Here's the moisture plume now coming across i-5. San Francisco and Sacramento, churning snow across the northern Sierra. There you see across the bay area. Some of these air above the atmosphere, in the upper levels of the atmosphere. It's cold enough to maybe fire out off some thunderstorms. So, that could be interesting as well and some heavy rain moving into some of the burn areas across Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
So, there have been flash flood warnings or watches posted for this area. We could see several inches of rainfall and a level above 4,000 feet, we could see several inches if not a couple of feet, of snowfall. Santa Barbara mountains and some of the mountains in Ventura and L.A. county as well, in our winter storm warning tomorrow and maybe even Friday morning with heavy snow expected in those areas.
Well, we do expect to see heavy snow across parts of upstate New York, east of Lake Erie, east of Lake Ontario. Also, downwind of Lake Michigan. Grand Rapids, seeing a tremendous amount of snow. Those bands will continue to fire off, as this next reinforcing shot of cold air drops in from Canada. These are actual temperatures. It does not include the wind. It's minus 7 right now in Green Bay, 3 in Milwaukee and 6 degrees in Chicago. And this is pushing off down to the south.
You thought you're going to warm up to above normal temperatures? Not quite yet. I know you're looking for snow there, Kiran, but at least it's cold enough for snow in New York.
CHETRY: Yes. It's cold enough. We're waiting. It's cold enough but I haven't seen any flakes. ROBERTS: Keep them handy. Winter's not over yet.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob.
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 20 minutes to the top of the hour.
Former Indonesian President Suharto's health is getting worse. Suharto has been in the hospital for the past 2 1/2 weeks getting treatment for a failing liver, heart and lungs. Doctors now say his blood pressure is stable but an infection has gotten worse and he is now on life support.
Gaza hospitals are up and the running today after Israel agreed to temporarily end its diesel fuel blockade. Israel made the decision under intense international criticism. The Israelis say they were trying to pressure Hamas into stopping militants from firing rockets into Israel.
Well, the 500 foot free fall didn't kill him. The 100 mile-an- hour impact with the New York City street didn't kill him either. Today, brand new details on the miracle window washer's progress. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has got them for you.
And Wall Street bracing for a rough day today. What's it like to be right in the middle of the turmoil? We'll spend the day way with a broker. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 43 minutes after the hour. The wild gyrations in the markets have a lot of investors feeling jittery. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho spent the day talking to them and finding out what kind of advice do experts have for people like you and me? A lot of Maalox consumed in the last 24 hours? I tell you.
CHO: Hey, you're absolutely right. And who knows what will happen today. It doesn't look good, John, Kiran. Good morning, everybody. The more than 450 point drop at the open on Wall Street yesterday was enough to make your stomach churn. So we wanted to know just how are the traders dealing with all of the calls they're getting from clients? What is their advice? Buy, sell, or hold?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Even before the opening bell, everyone sense a bloodbath is coming. By 9:33 a.m., the Dow was down more than 450 points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't panic and sell into these things.
CHO: People were clearly were panicked, but by lunchtime, the Dow gained back more than three quarters of its losses. Now down 120 points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been big reversals in the market.
CHO: Money manager Matt Levin spent most of his day reassuring his clients.
MATT LEVENS, ING FINANCIAL NETWORK: This is a 9/11-type response and there was a 9/11 today.
CHO: He sees opportunity.
LEVENS: They always tell you, buy when there's blood in the streets and it's the most difficult thing to do.
CHO: His advice, stick with brand names.
LEVENS: Philip Morris, Johnson and Johnson. You know, people aren't going to stop shaving when the market's going down.
CHO: Sounds good, but are investors listening? We're not even through the month of January yet and already many people with 401ks lost everything they gained last year. That had them really anxious, really worried about what happens next. Just ask 62-year-old Mary Chione.
CHO: When you look what's going on on Wall Street ...
MARY CHIONE, INVESTOR: I'd be scared to death. I'd be scared to death.
CHO: Why? In a word: instability.
CHIONE: If I had the resources I'd go into gold. I swear I would.
CHO: By the 4:00 p.m. close, the Dow finished down 128 points. A 1 percent loss on the day.
JASON WEISBERG, FLOOR TRADER, SEAPORT SECURITIES: Some people might not be able to digest it as well as others.
CHO: How are you digesting it?
WEISBERG: I'd rather be up 450 than down 450.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Wouldn't that be nice? Well, we went to another brokerage firm, a trader there told me there's been a lot of holding of stocks and a lot of hand-holding. He says, holding, buying -- all that is good, just don't sell now, but keep in mind, he's also a trader and of course stands to gain, guys, every time one of his clients buys up some stock.
ROBERTS: I tell you if you're an investor you wonder, should I get out now? Is it going lower? Should I stay in? It's a lot of anxiety?
CHO: It's on everybody's minds right now, and certainly not the least of which on the presidential candidates' minds as we move forward and talk about that. CHETRY: Well, the markets open in 45 minutes. We'll see. A lot of people, if they're following that advice this morning. Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kiran, good morning to you.
Your money in the NEWSROOM this morning. Boy, we're following your money all morning long. Markets in Asia and Europe settled down just a bit. We keep an eye on Wall Street, Nasdaq and S&P futures are down this morning. Hang on and we'll tell you how to recession-proof yourself.
Gaza under Israeli lockdown. Thousands of Palestinians bust a border fence and flood into Egypt for food and medicine.
And an autopsy today on the body of actor Heath Ledger, one of Hollywood's brightest new talents dead at the age of 28. Breaking news when it happens, you're in the NEWSROOM at the top of hour right here.
Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Tony, thanks.
ROBERTS: The miracle window washer takes another amazing step towards recovery. How could he fall 500 feet and live? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has got a details on that story.
Hey, Sanjay.
GUPTA: It's a mind-boggling story for sure. You have gravity, you got height, you got the human body. He's alive. I'll show you what's in store for him next coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes now to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
Your "Quick hits" now, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles forced to sell its headquarters for $31 million. The cash will help pay last year's $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of sexual abuse. The church says some staffers will now be forced into office space located on the grounds of the cemetery and others will be consolidated into a couple of floors on the existing building that they're going to lease back from the new owner.
Hollywood goes to college and flunks math. The movie industry was blaming 44 percent of illegal downloading on college students, but now say it's only 15 percent. The Motion Picture Association says its research firm made an error but they still want colleges to crack down on illegal downloading.
CHETRY: Well, this next story is almost impossible to believe. A New York City window washer falling 47 stories, out of the hospital and now in rehab. Alcides Moreno was in a coma. He survived 16 surgeries after the fall, and it's a recovery that continues to stun his doctors.
CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more of the exclusive details on this situation. This is a situation where you know that the fall was deadly, because it killed his own brother.
GUPTA: It killed his brother right and stunned the doctors, is a good way of describing it. It's pretty remarkable, the fact that he's even alive today. Exactly how he survived is hard to understand exactly. The theory is he may have actually surfed his way on this plank down to the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA (voice-over): It was hard for me to wrap my mind around just how far the Moreno brothers fell: 500 feet, almost two football fields. From all the way up here. I'm on the roof of this 47-story building. They were roughly this high when the scaffolding gave way. One second, they were stable, the next second, they were falling and accelerating. It took them just 5.5 seconds to fall and to reach the speed of nearly 100 miles an hour. When they hit, they were all the way down there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Pretty remarkable. And you know, just getting a sense of just how high somebody was when they fall, that's what I was trying to show there. He broke his spine. He had a brain injury. He broke his right arm. He needed 24 units of blood.
Since we first reported on this, Kiran, he has had 16 different operations. But he's in rehab now. So, he's actually out of the hospital and into a rehab facility. He's going to survive all this.
CHETRY: Wow. And just the physical, when you think about the physical recovery alone but how about brain function? Everything's going to be normal?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's hard to say. As far as the spinal cord, first of all. It looks like he's going to be able to walk again. We talked to his neurosurgeons specifically about that. And they say, he's going to be able to walk again. He still able to answer questions and do some simple commands. He's able to follow as far as brain function goes.
We wanted to talk to him. But he said he's not quite ready for an interview as of yet. So, it's going to take a while. How long? Take up to a year in a situation like this.
ROBERTS: And what's the long-term prognosis for his recovery? Will he ever be back to the way he was?
GUPTA: You know, I think as far as cognizant ability, I think he's going to continue to improve. People can improve up to 18 months after an injury like this. So, it could be a slow going but it could happen. As far as his job, being able to go to work, the psychological sort of manifestations of falling from that may prohibit him from doing work like that again. That's very possible.
I should point out as well, the neurosurgeon who interviewed was a former student of mine. I feel very old now. But he was the guy who actually took care of this guy. We talked to him and he says he's doing fine.
CHETRY: That is amazing. It was touching when you read a little bit how his wife said she touched his face every day as he was, you know, still in a coma telling him, you're going to be OK, and he touched the face of the neurosurgeon. It's the wrong person.
GUPTA: It was touching until that.
ROBERTS: You certainly couldn't blame the guy though for never wanting to get on one of those window washing scaffolds ever again.
GUPTA: I can't even imagine what was going through his mind, and it happen so fast. I mean, you could imagine I wanted to go show that because 5.5 seconds is what it took and you're accelerating constantly the way down. So, it's just, it's hard to imagine what that would be like.
ROBERTS: Was that scaffold in free fall or was it dragging a little bit on the lines?
GUPTA: I don't know. Both he and his brother were on that. Whether or not it was dragging or just the drag of having a sort of scaffold like that against the air and sort of surfing, if you will, down? That's what we hypothesize and they're taught, actually taught, interestingly enough to sort of bunch up into a ball and get on that scaffolding. That sort of gives you the greatest resistance as you're falling. Not much, maybe enough to live.
CHETRY: And there was nothing. There are no awnings, nothing to sort of bounce of it. It was just a straight fall down.
GUPTA: Exactly.
CHETRY: Sanjay, what do you have tomorrow?
GUPTA: We're talking about lots of interesting stories tomorrow. First of all, antidepressants, which ones work better than others? Fascinating study. They're not all the same as you might expect.
Also, adult vaccinations. We talked about kids' vaccinations all the time, what about us? What vaccinations should we be getting and we're also going to be dipping into the mailbag. A lot of great questions this week and I'll answer some of those.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it.
CHETRY: All right. Sounds good. Thanks, Sanjay.
ROBERTS: See you tomorrow.
Quick look now with what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
An autopsy today on the body of actor Heath Ledger. Asian markets rebound. We follow Wall Street. The White House and Congress working on tax rebates today. Palestinians break through a border wall and steam into Egypt for food and medicine. New health risks linked to red meat. And the man who lives with 50 poisonous snakes.
NEWSROOM, just minutes away, at the top of the hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Two minutes to the top of the hour. Final check now of this morning's quick vote question, should the government do more to avert a recession? 75 percent of you say yes. 25 percent say no. To all of you who voted today, thanks very much. We'll do it again tomorrow. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Some of the bloggers reacting this morning over this picture. Is it a man on Mars or is it just rocks with clever lighting? You be the judge. It's sparking some new rumors about life on the red planet. The figure resembles maybe big foot, maybe walking in mid stride with its head tilted to the side or perhaps sitting with his elbow rested on his knee. Maybe it's a rock. The image taken in 2004 by NASA's roving robot Spirit. The pictures were only recently found on a Chinese Web site.
ROBERTS: That would explain why nobody's seen big foot in Tibet lately.
CHETRY: That's right. He made all the way up there.
MARCIANO: It looks like woman. I don't think it's a man. I think it's a woman directing traffic, looks like it.
GUPTA: Hey, new money for the space program ...
ROBERTS: There you go.
GUPTA: The finest thing.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Rob, what do you think about all this?
MARCIANO: You know, the last couple of years has been reports of trace amounts of methane in the Mars' atmosphere. So, Sanjay, I don't know what this guy might be eating, but that's possibly the source of ...
ROBERTS: Only Rob would go there.
MARCIANO: Yes. I did say that, Tony. I did. Well, it's science!
CHETRY: You know, Tony Harris just said now off to the side. I can hear him.
GUPTA: The looked for water and they found a woman up on Mars.
CHETRY: Sanjay maintains it's a woman as well. So, that would totally nix your theory, Rob.
MARCIANO: Caucus. Right. Gotcha.
ROBERTS: Wait till Rob starts talking about the trapper who ...
CHETRY: Yes.
MARCIANO: Nice to see you guys.
ROBERTS: See you.
CHETRY: See you tomorrow, Rob. Thanks so much for joining us, by the way on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: We'll see you again tomorrow. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I just want to say that I'm not in this at all.
HARRIS: Marciano, again.
Oh, hi. Good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Wednesday morning, January 23rd. Here's what's on the rundown. Thirty minutes to the opening bell, will sanity return to Wall Street.
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