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American Morning
Senate to Debate Stimulus Package; Phelps Caught Smoking a Bong, Admits Bad Judgment; The Steelers Wins Super Bowl; London Snowstorm Causing Problems in the City; President Obama Gets a Smartphone; The Problems With Bipartisanship; Food Stamp Diet; Google's Glitch; First Foodies; Michael Phelps Busted
Aired February 02, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): $800 billion of your tax dollars and Republicans are on the hunt for pork.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This bill has become a Christmas tree where members are hanging their favorite program on it.
ROBERTS: Democrats claim the bill is lean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no pork in this, let me say that right away.
ROBERTS: Plus, in hot water, Michael Phelps caught with a bong.
And Pittsburgh erupts as the Steelers take the Super Bowl on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And good morning, thanks very much for being with us on this Monday, the 2nd of February. Six times, new record. Wow, what a game last night.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.
ROBERTS: What a way to end it.
CHETRY: I know. It came all the way down to the last minute. They have to make some room in the trophy case this morning in Pittsburgh, so congratulation.
Thanks for being with us this morning. We start, though, with breaking news.
The more than two-week old cease-fire in the Mideast more fragile than ever this morning after Israel and Hamas exchange heavy fire. Israeli aircraft reportedly hitting a police station in central Gaza, tunnels near the Egyptian border as well. That's according to Palestinian eyewitnesses. Israel says that the attacks were in response to a barrage of rockets and mortar shells fired into southern Israel.
Well back in this country, Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps admitting "bad judgment after a photo appeared in a British tabloid showing Phelps smoking from a bong. The tabloid "News of the World" says the photo was taken during Phelps' visit to the University of South Carolina on November 6th. In a statement, Phelps apologized to fans saying, "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment."
In just a moment we're going to look at what this could mean for Phelps and his millions of dollars in endorsement deals.
This morning the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans celebrating their team's record sixth Super Bowl title. Ben Roethlisberger's six-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left gave the Steelers a dramatic come from behind win over the Arizona Cardinals; 27-23 final score in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.
The game also featured the longest play in Super Bowl history, a 100- yard interception return for a touchdown by Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison at the end of the first half. That play was practically a footnote in the end as both teams staged a memorable finish.
The game also had other headliners. Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson belted out the national anthem. Also "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen, rocked the house at halftime for briefly singing "Born to Run."
The captain and crew of the US Airways flight that landed in the Hudson River were also honored in the field before the game. They walked out to thunderous applause.
ROBERTS: I tell you that James Harrison run was unbelievable, that interception and then running all the way back and he was just laying on the sidelines afterwards trying to catch his breath.
CHETRY: Yes. He watched himself on the big screen running in.
ROBERTS: He got hit two or three times. Watch this. He gets banged up once coming up here. Boom. Manages to get through.
He's running it down, gets away, takes another little hit here, dodges to the left and then watch him get slammed here as he goes into the end zone. Kapow!
CHETRY: Oops, there you go.
ROBERTS: What a way to finish off the half.
CHETRY: I think we also have a slow motion of the final play. I think we're -- yes or no, Ed? Do we have that final play in slow mo?
Here you go, there's the pass from Roethlisberger.
ROBERTS: Look at that.
CHETRY: And there's three different -- I know -- defensemen there and he makes it. They practice keeping their feet in when everything else went out. They actually have a way.
Take a look at the replay, but sure enough, he made both feet in. And so that was wonderful, Santonio Holmes. He was MVP of the game after that. Good job, congratulations, Pittsburgh.
ROBERTS: All right. Better luck next year to Phoenix.
This morning, it's the final push. President Obama's massive stimulus package facing some tough criticism in the Senate. There were some late night lobbying at the White House. Several Republicans joining the president for a Super Bowl party. The president needs their support. After campaigning on the promise of bipartisanship, Mr. Obama's rescue plan passed the House without a single Republican vote.
In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, the president promised to accommodate some of the GOP's demands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The important thing is getting the thing passed. And I've done extraordinary outreach, I think, to Republicans because they have some good ideas and I want to make sure that those ideas are incorporated. I am confident that by the time we actually have the final package on the floor that we are going to see substantial support and people are going to say this is a serious effort, it has no earmarks. We're going to be trimming out things that are not relevant to putting people back to work right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live outside the White House for us this morning. And Suzanne, last week, he hosted a cocktail party. Last night, it was a Super Bowl party. What's next? You're going to fire up the barbecue to try to get Republicans on board?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anything, anything, John. I think, you know, there's really a lesson learned here obviously. The last time in the House side, he let the House Democrats craft the legislation, largely without his input, didn't get involved in the sausage making, if you will. But then finally after the Republicans howled over the price tag and some of the spending programs, he did weigh in personally over a family planning, $200 million or so and the resodding of the National Mall, those kinds of things.
So what you're going to see is the president obviously engaged with the Democrats again, saying what can we actually cut out of this deal on the Senate side that isn't necessary, that doesn't create these jobs very quickly? How can we sit down and at least get some Republican support? Because obviously it was a big disappointment the last go-round.
And I want to tell you about the Super Bowl party, we're making calls trying to figure out if there like any food fight between the Republicans and the Democrats. But we have found a little tidbit that nobody else has, which is the president did call the owner, Dan Rooney of the Steelers. He called the coach, Mike Tomlin, and he also reached out to Big Ben, the quarterback. And he's invited all of them, John, to the White House.
ROBERTS: All right. And I'm sure they're probably going to take them up on that offer. I'm wondering, did he serve the bacon belly bomb last night? Do you know?
MALVEAUX: I don't know. I don't know. We're going to get all the details, though. I'm telling you, we're working this story. We're working that angle.
ROBERTS: Get us what they ate. All right. If there was to be a food fight, I'd like to see somebody throw that bacon belly bomb. Suzanne, thanks so much.
Coming up at our next hour here, we're going to talk with Republican Senator John McCain. Last week, the president's former campaign rival promised to vote against the stimulus package unless substantial changes were made.
CHETRY: All right. Well, President Obama is lashing out against corporate greed on Wall Street. Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business."
It's interesting a lot of tough talk but at the same time the administration is still mulling over how much they're going to have to dump into the banks yet again.
CORRESPONDENT That's right and I think that's one of the reasons why you're seeing here on the tough talk because a lot of folks who are watching Wall Street think that more money has to go in there and there's going to have to be some kind of a big financial rescue. It's something that maybe we'll hear about perhaps next week but the president and his team have to get out there and prove to us all that, indeed, they're going to be a very tough cop on Wall Street and that they're not going to allow some of the shenanigans that we've seen be repeated if we're going to continue to pour taxpayer money into the banking system and the financial system.
This is what President Obama said Saturday about the shameful behavior of paying out Wall Street bonuses, huge Wall Street bonuses to companies who are on the taxpayer dime now because they failed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. Well, I'm committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit. The American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And Senator Claire McCaskill has a proposal that's very interesting. Well, she wants to cap the pay for executives, top executives at any of these banks to take taxpayer money or any company that takes taxpayer money. They can't make more money than the president of the United States. That would be a very big difference, and that sends a very clear message that she calls them idiots, by the way. They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: So, you know, I mean --
CHETRY: But once again, you can't put the horse back in the barn, right?
ROMANS: That's absolutely right.
CHETRY: I mean, they approved billions of dollars in the stimulus. I mean, in the bailout without any strings attached.
ROMANS: That's absolutely right. And now I'll tell you right now, a lot of the Wall Street firms, they're trying to figure out how they can get ahead of this, how they can get ahead of having Washington dictate, you know, how they're going do business on Wall Street. So it sets up to be a very interesting, interesting battle.
CHETRY: We'll keep watching it, of course. Christine, thanks.
ROBERTS: Right now, freezing rain in parts of the nation's heartland one week after a crippling ice storm there. Crews are working around the clock to restore power to the hundreds of thousands of people living in Kentucky. The state mobilized its entire National Guard to help rescue trapped residents and deliver food and supplies. And though temperatures are rising and some states are in the early stages of thawing out, the cold snap may be far from over.
CNN's Rob Marciano tracking it all for us from the weather center down there in Atlanta. What have we got on top today, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Another shot of cold air, not so much today, John, but as we go to the next 36 to 48 hours, we're going to see a reinforcement shot of it. So even though the temperatures have warmed a little bit, it's still at or at least near freezing. You know, a couple of degrees on either side of it and the areas that are still have the power outages, you know, Arkansas through Kentucky. So temperatures there will rise above freezing today but we've got another reinforcing cold shot of air that will drive down during the nighttime tonight and through the day tomorrow.
On the east coast, we're looking at a storm that will develop as the day rolls along. The good news here is that when we talked about this on Friday, it looked like it's going to be a lot worse storm than it looks like today. So that's the good news. But the bad news if you live across I-10, you're looking at rain. Some of these could be heavy at times. It will lead to some travel delays potentially across parts of the south, especially in Tampa and Jacksonville you'll see some rain.
Rain showers are moving to Charlotte and Atlanta that could cause some delays. And D.C., Baltimore and Philly, you will see a little bit in the way of some afternoon snow showers roll through as the storm gets itself together again. It shouldn't be as bad as we thought, that's the good news.
Fifty-four for a high in Atlanta, 44 in Kansas City today. But tomorrow's highs, note that they are closer to freezing in places like Nashville.
Speaking of freezing, a quick shot of what's going on across the pond in England. A rare sight in and around the London area, snow falling there and accumulating. They shut down the buses today for the morning rush hour just because the roads are so bad.
It's definitely a rare sight. They've got about four inches in London. There's parts of southeast England, got upwards of 10 inches of snow. So we're not the only ones feeling the brunt of winter. I believe we'll be going live to London a little bit later in the broadcast to give you more details.
John, back over to you.
ROBERTS: That's a pretty impressive picture, Rob. Thanks so much for that. See you soon.
MARCIANO: All right. You got it.
CHETRY: And still ahead, superstar swimmer Michael Phelps apologizing after a photo appears of the Olympic champion using a bong. So will sponsors who paid him millions be forgiving?
First though, "The Boss" bringing down the house at the Super Bowl.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The great Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps vowing that it will not happen again after he was photographed apparently taking a hit from a marijuana bong. But will the apology be enough for sponsors who are paying him millions of dollars after winning a record eight gold medals at the summer Olympic games in Beijing?
CNN's Jason Carroll is following this story for us. It's never a good picture.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. And as you know, there are moral clauses in a lot of these contracts that they can exercise at any old time. If this was the only incident where Phelps had a problem, then advertisers might be willing to stand by him. But this is the second time so it's unclear if he's going to be able to keep all of those endorsements.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Michael Phelps is calling his behavior regrettable after the British tabloid "News of the World" published this picture showing him appearing to be smoking pot during what the paper said was a party at the University of South Carolina last November. Phelps released a statement saying, "I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way." He went on to say, "For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody makes mistakes.
CARROLL: Phelps broke the record books in Beijing this past summer winning an unprecedented eight gold medals. However, this incident should have no impact on his medal standing. Marijuana is a banned substance but an athlete is subject to sanctions only if a positive test result occurs during competition.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said it was disappointed in Phelps but added, "We are confident going forward Michael will consistently set the type of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion."
This isn't the first time Phelps has found himself in a potentially embarrassing situation. In 2004, he was arrested on a drunken driving charge in Maryland at the age of 19. He pled guilty and received 18 months probation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He continues to make a mistake. I think this is the second. I think the third one is probably the last strike, but I think he's fine now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really disappoints me because, you know, I thought he was this great all-American athlete that, you know, abiding by the rules.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, Phelps collect millions a year in endorsements from companies like Speedo, Kellogg's and Visa. Endorsements like that are highly coveted and the bread and butter of Olympic athletes. One cannot take away Phelps' accomplishments in the pool, but those endorsements could be in jeopardy.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CARROLL: We'll have to see.
ROBERTS: You know, obviously the jury is out. The USOC, U.S. Olympic Committee not going to sanction him for this.
CARROLL: No.
ROBERTS: So, you know, if they're not sanctioning him, you got to wonder if anybody else is --
CARROLL: Yes. We'll have to wait and see what kind of fallout.
ROBERTS: All right. Jason, thanks.
CARROLL: All right.
ROBERTS: Good piece this morning. Coming up in our next half hour, by the way, we're going to talk more about the impact of this incident, what impact it might have on Phelps' image and his career with sports attorney and talk show host Ryan Smith. He's got some interesting things to say, so make sure that you stick around for that.
CHETRY: And still ahead, London blanketed by snow. A severe winter storm causing chaos at the major airports in that city. And on the streets, bus services canceled. Major delays underground as well. We're going to get a live report from snowy England just ahead.
Also, President Obama's new smartphone giving inspector gadget a run for his money. Wait until you hear what the president says that his new phone can do.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes now after the hour. Time to fast forward to some of the stories that will be making news later on today.
Punxsutawney Phil is going to be taken out of his burrow in about an hour's time up there in Gobbler's Knob, and Punxsutawney rubbing his sleepy little eyes to answer the question on everyone's mind. Will we have six more weeks of winter or an early spring? We'll we watching for that shadow live in our next hour here.
Around 3:00 p.m. today, Michelle Obama is expected to deliver some brief remarks during a visit to the Department of Education. During her visit there, the first lady will have a chance to meet with department staff including education secretary Arne Duncan.
And at 4:00 this afternoon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be ceremonially sworn in at the state department. Clinton is the 67th U.S. secretary of state, the third female secretary. President Obama not expected to attend at this time.
CHETRY: A severe storm, winter storm across the pond, much of Britain now blanketed by snow this morning. It's creating some major problems for people traveling on roads, rails and at London's major airports. Six inches is expected to fall in London today.
CNN's Paula Newton is live in our London bureau. In full disclosure, of course, you're Canadian, so this is nothing. You're just tossing snowballs while everybody else can't even make their way to work.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You got it. I made a point of getting early into work, being very smug. I made it here.
Look, they have not seen anything like this in decades. And we're usually quite smug around this time of year, Kiran, because the daffodils start coming up. No long, look at this.
I mean you were saying six inches, I can tell you, we've got some good old-fashioned snow down here, at least eight inches to go and it is causing havoc. Have a look at these pictures. I mean, Heathrow is saying they haven't seen snow like this in decades. Major flight cancellations, upwards of 250 flights cancelled.
Now, get this, Kiran, no double decker buses on the road today. There are no buses anywhere.
Most of the trains are stranded. I mean, if you want to get anywhere, you can good luck trying to hail one of those black taxis. It is unbelievable. Certainly taking its toll on the city financially.
This is supposed to be one of the financial capitals. It's been brought to its knees today by the snow. Now, Kiran, just have a look down here. I mean, look, sometimes when we get snow in London, we talk about, you know, getting some fluff, maybe. Maybe if you're lucky an inch.
This is good hard pack snow. Kiran, you know what this is all about and I can tell you, happy today? Children.
My children, they built a three foot fort this morning with this stuff. By 7:30, most of the schools here are closed. Most of these children have never seen snow like this, so they're absolutely thrilled.
Now, here's the clincher. Could be five or six inches on the way yet. It's supposed to stay cold for the rest of the week, so we really could have a winter wonderland here for quite a while, Kiran.
CHETRY: So how did you make it in if all of the buses are stopped and no one can get around?
NEWTON: Well, I was very lucky. I kind of -- I got all the gear on, just like you do. You get your boots on, knapsack, all ready to go and I just started walking. And I was lucky because one of the train lines was working. I ducked in. This is the tube, the subway system. And I got a few stops further down, so the walk wasn't quite as far.
But really, people are being quite novel. I mean, they're sharing taxis. They're getting together trying to figure out, you know, what is working. They're really only a few train lines working. But we do not see any buses. I have never seen this out here. It is quiet. You can almost hear a pin drop in the city.
And you know, for lots of people having fun with this, the highways are treacherous. Most people have taking heed and they are not going anywhere near them. Even the highways around London and across this country, absolutely empty. And Kiran, this one's for John.
CHETRY: There you go, your fellow Canadian. He's used to it as well. Well, it makes for a gorgeous picture, I'll tell you that behind you this morning.
Paula Newton, intrepid, made her way to work despite the weather, thanks.
ROBERTS: If she's true to her roots, she'll have a hockey rink built on that roof within a half hour.
The Obama administration claims to be the most techno savvy White House to date. They have even figured out a way for President Obama, an admitted BlackBerry addict, to have a secure cell phone. And last night the president joked with NBC's Matt Lauer that his highly sophisticated super secure device can do it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: You got to keep it.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did.
LAUER: Can I see it? Do you have it?
OBAMA: You know, I didn't bring it down here.
LAUER: No.
OBAMA: No. It's like inspector gadget. If you touch, it might blow up.
LAUER: I kind of envisioned that. It's like "Q" in the James Bond movie. Did he give you like fingerprint recognition technology or something?
OBAMA: The works, the works. It turns into a car if I have to make a quick getaway.
LAUER: How many people have that e-mail address?
OBAMA: A handful. Look, there are security issues involved and so we've got to make sure that I'm not creating a situation where potentially people can compromise our systems.
LAUER: But like world leaders, can they contact you on that BlackBerry.
OBAMA: Typically, world leaders are going to be contacting me through the Oval Office. They know how to reach me there.
LAUER: Sasha and Malia?
OBAMA: Sasha and Malia can always contact me.
LAUER: Oprah?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: He's just going to continue listing all people until he says yes or no. Very funny.
ROBERTS: Have you ever seen me? I mean, definitely it's an amazing leap ahead for presidents, the first time that has ever happened.
CHETRY: Yes. ROBERTS: Presidents have just eschewed e-mails, cell phones, all of that and he's really kind of breaking the mold here.
CHETRY: Got it. There's a smartphone. You got to keep it. You got to stay in touch at all times. How about it?
ROBERTS: Interesting. Interesting stuff.
CHETRY: Well this morning, the massive economic stimulus bill moves to the Senate. There are some Republicans who say it is a spending spree. Democrats though say it's a rescue plan, an investment in the future. Can the two sides compromise?
Also, a major Google glitch instilling fear in surfers around the globe. We'll explain what happened. It's 24 and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never get flowers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, look at the mug on you. Diane, you're a train wreck. That's why he only sent a box of flowers. Go home to your romance novels and your fat, smelly cat.
NARRATOR: This valentine's day, don't send flowers in a box. You never know what they'll say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one wants to see you naked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." The Steelers were not the only Super Bowl winners last night. The game also a showcase for commercials. There were a lot of new ones this year.
The ads cost $3 million for a 30 second spot. So which one was your favorite? We want to know. Send us an e-mail at CNN.com/am. Carol Costello is going to be looking at the Super Bowl advertisements in our next hour on the "Most News in the Morning."
It's 27 and a half minutes after the hour now. And checking today's top stories, some amazing pictures of a volcanic eruption in central Japan. Japan's Mount Asama erupting today, sending a fine powdery ash over Tokyo which is about 90 miles away. There have been no reports of damage or injuries though.
It's official, Iceland's new prime minister is the world's first openly gay leader. Johanna Sigurdardottir was sworn in on Sunday. She was minister of social affairs and Social Security in the cabinet which resigned last week amid the political turmoil that has rocked the nation. Iceland's currency and major bags have been hit hard by the global financial crisis. Republican Senator Judd Gregg is said to be the leading candidate to become secretary of commerce. It could be named if the position is offered. It would most likely not change the make-up of the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell says he has been assured that New Hampshire's Democratic governor would appoint someone who will caucus with the Republicans. And the leading candidate at this point may make a pledge not to run for re-election in the year 2010.
CHETRY: And returning to our top story now today. The Senate begins debating the massive economic stimulus package. It passed the House without a single Republican vote. President Obama assured the Republicans there's room for compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am confident that by the time we actually have the final package on the floor, that we are going to see substantial support and people are going to say this is a serious effort, it has no earmarks. We're going to be trimming out things that are not relevant to putting people back to work right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: But will it be enough to build bipartisan support? Karen Finney, the communications director at the Democratic National Committee, joins us this morning as well as Tara Wall, CNN contributor and the deputy editorial page editor at the "Washington Times."
Good morning to both of you. Great to have you with us.
Tara, let me start with you. Will he be able to get Republicans on board as President Obama has talked about, Tara?
TARA WALL, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think at some point, eventually, yes. I think that he is going to have to make some concessions and he's already making some concessions. I think the question is, you know, will he make those concessions given that not only Republicans vote and the House voted against this but 11 Democrats joined them and some Republicans are calling that bipartisanship, if you will.
So I think that obviously you can't tax and spend your way out of a recession. I think President Obama is coming to some realizations about that and coming to a consensus will be, I think, priority number one, moving forward and getting this done.
CHETRY: Karen, I want to ask you about this. Robert Samuelson writes in today's "Washington Post" about the stimulus package. As it turns out, President Obama didn't make the tough choices on the stimulus package. He could have either used the program mainly to bolster the economy or advance a larger political agenda from energy efficiency to school renovation, but Obama wanted both, and, superficially, the two can be portrayed as an enlightened partnership. Some say it's too ambitious.
KAREN FINNEY, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, DNC: Well, I don't think we can be too ambitious if you look at, you know, the magnitude of the crisis that we're actually facing, not just here at home, but in the global markets. And look, I think the President has made it very clear from the beginning that there is a lot of room for honest disagreements. I think that's why you saw him in a fairly unprecedented move go up to the Hill a number of times, meet with House Democrats and Republican, having people over to the White House. I think It was fairly disappointing to see a straight party line vote from the Republicans. I think they're more willing to play politics than really listen. So I think that when we look at what's going to happen in the Senate, I think you'll see more Republicans coming to the table and trying to work out an answer.
I mean look, we are in an unprecedented crisis and people are really hurting. We've got 20 of the 33 companies on the Dow have announced job losses since October. You know, record unemployment, and the numbers go on and so. So, we really don't have time for this partisanship and I think the President's made it clear he wants a practical solution and he's willing to balance between short term and long term.
CHETRY: Tara, do you think this is partisanship, this is playing politics or do you think there are major disagreements about whether or not this is the right move?
TARA WALL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Not at all. I - look, I don't think - not at all is this partisanship or politics. This is this is the real nuts and bolts of getting legislation passed and being in tune to what the American people want. It's not just Senate Republican who have problems with this bill. There are Senate Democrats who have raise concerns as well, and it is because the spending has ballooned so out of control. And they're - when you're talking - when the goal is infrastructure, as been expressed by the President and only 50 percent of the projects are infrastructure, it makes you wonder what are the rest of the projects. When you're talking about the National Endowment for the Arts.
And on to have of that, I think, you know, these Senators are listening to what they're constituents, our readers, for example, are very concerned about the size of this package. They applaud it, Republicans, and the Democrats who actually oppose this, so you do have to be in touch to what American people who nearly 60, 70 percent consider themselves fiscal conservatives.
FINNEY: Well, I think the - I think in terms of being in touch with the American people, let's remember the American people voted for Barack Obama. And we've tried it the Republican's way for the last eight years. We're in the mess that we're in.
And look, I think we also have to get out of this "either/or" politics here in Washington walk. I mean, it doesn't have to be either tax cuts or investing in infrastructure spending. What's smart about this bill it does a little bit of both.
WALL: I agree with that.
FINNEY: We're in unprecedented situations, so we're really going to have to take some pretty unprecedented moves to get ourselves out of this.
WALL: Yes, I agree it dose both, just not enough on the spending part and the reigning in of spending and more cutting of taxes. I think conservatives want to see a little bit more of that.
CHETRY: Well I want to thank you both of you, Karen Finney as well as Tara Wall, thanks for being with us this morning.
Coming up in our next half hour, we're going to be talking to some fierce opponents of the President's economic rescue package, including Senator John McCain. We're going to ask him what needs to be included to get his support..
Also, another interesting note is that a lot of GOP governors are for it. They want to see the infrastructure spending in their states as well. So the debate continues this morning.
John?
ROBERTS: Google instilling fears in some users this weekend. Did it get you? We'll tell you about the big glitch that gave Web surfers a scare and also tell you how it happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(voice-over): Living on $6.25 a day.
ARKESHA DARENSBOURGH: You can't get name brand.
ROBERTS: Thirty-one million Americans do it; how and why? Our Sean Callebs is finding out what it's like to try to live on food stamps.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Never have I had to pay so much attention to every single thing that goes in the basket.
ROBERTS: You're watching The Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirty million Americans need food stamps to live and with economies tanking worldwide and food prices going up, some say it's the equivalent of living on pennies. Our Sean Callebs is going to experience it firsthand. He plans to spend the next month living on nothing but food stamps. Sean's live in New Orleans this morning.
And Sean, it sounds like it's going to be a very difficult task for someone whose probably used to spending an awful lot more than what food stamps afford you on food every week?
CALLEBS: Yes, without question. I mean, I'm not a small guy, firstly, but in talking with the state and talking with a dietician, it is going to be tough. We're not doing this as a lark. With the economy tanking, there are a the lot of people, a lot of families who are turning to aid, people who thought they would never have to. In Louisiana, this is what passes for food stamps, it's called "Louisiana Purchase." Not stamp, an actual card. And you're right, $6.25 a day - basically, the cost of a Big Mac meal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARENSBOURG: Green beans are or four for three.
CALLEBS (voice-over): You may not realize how much you spend at the grocery store until you're in dire straits. Thirty-one million Americans need food stamps to make ends meet. In Louisiana, for instance, one person out of six receives government help keeping food on the table. Louisiana officials know it's humbling.
SAMMY GUILLORY, LA. DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES: We've done everything we can to remove that stigma. We don't feel there's such a stigma. In times of need, you just have to seek help.
CALLEBS: Here, and in other state, food stamps have been replaced by this less obtrusive government debit card. To better understand this life, I'm going to spend February living on the maximum amount one person can get for food stamps.
(on camera): Never have I had to pay so much attention to every single thing that goes in the basket. I have $176 to live on the entire month. That's all 28 days. Break that down, it's about $6.25 a day.
DARENSBOURG: Cause I buy it in a bag like that.
CALLEBS: How come?
(voice-over): Arkesha Darensbourg and her three children depend on food stamps off and on. She says it's tough to make ends meet, but she's going to show me how to stretch a dollar.
DARENSBOURG: You have to squeeze in a lot of things. You can't get name brand items, you have to get store brands.
CALLEBS: The challenge is eating healthy and eating enough.
(on camera): It's 32 ounces here and there's 16 here. I'll get two of these. It says 30 cents each. That's not that great, is it?
DARENBOURG: What about - do you eat mac and cheese.
CALLEBS: I guess I'm going to, big time.
DARENBOURG: It's 89 cents.
CALLEBS: I like that. That's in my window.
DARENBOURG: You think you're getting a good deal - two for this, two for that - in reality, you're really not.
CALLEBS: Because it adds up quickly.
DARENBORG: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED CASHIER: Five dollars and thirteen cents now.
CALLEBS (voice-over): That's right. Just $105 and change for the rest of the month.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Yeah, that $70 went quickly. I want to show you - the dietician told me to buy carbohydrates, because that's going to give you energy at every meal. This is some of the stuff I bought, John. Some rice, some pasta, some red potatoes here. Breakfast is in a little while, we'll check back with you later. I'm going to make some oatmeal. The crazy thing is, this says it's two servings. I mean this is like a 3:00 feeding for me. So this is what I'm going to have to deal with. It's going to be very difficult. I've tried to plan out meals rather than just buy a whole bunch of stuff. So it is going to be a challenge. We'll see how I do.
ROBERTS: I see a lot of carbohydrates there, Sean, but what about protein? Obviously, carbohydrates can give you energy, but protein gives you more immediate boost. Are you worried about your energy levels here?
CALLEBS: Yes, I am. In talking with a lot of folks, they said that's one thing, you're always going to feel hungry. I've been running a lot since - the last several months, so I want to see how that's going to hold up. I was able to buy chicken, some lean ground beef, some tuna fish, but that's it. There's there's no way I'm going to be able to have meat with every meal.
ROBERTS: Just one other question, Sean, and totally unrelated to this. What's with the guitars all over your fridge?
CALLEBS: These are Gibsons. Goldtop Les Paul. Little Explorer. Little SG. Big guitar fan.
ROBERTS: All right, there you go. That explains it.
CALLEBS: And the King, too.
ROBERTS: And the King. See him there - two or three incarnations of him.
Sean, thanks very much. We'll keep on checking back with you.
We are going to be following Sean's story as he lives off food stamps for the month. And you can read more about it online. Sean's going to be blogging about his experience on our show page at cnn.com/am.
CHETRY: I'm just writing to him right now telling him don't buy those small oatmeal packets, that's not a bargain. You need to get the big tub. Poor Sean. We're going to try to help him out.
Also, Google's search engine brought to a grinding halt. We're going to tell you about the strange warning that Web users got and how it happened.
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ROBERTS: Forty-four minutes after the hour.
Some live pictures for you there from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, up there in Gobbler's Knob. And the fireworks exploding this morning as they are anxiously awaiting the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil. It's Groundhog Day, they're going to take him out of his lair in just a few minutes and he's going to tell us whether or not we're in for six more weeks of Winter or an early Spring. The last time that he predicted and early spring was in 1999. And the forecast there is for about 30 degrees right now. Some snow showers today, likely to be cloudy. So the chances of Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, greatly diminished today. But you never know. Maybe the sun comes out for a minute and he sees it and then goes back inside. Having a lot of fun up there.
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: Where is Bill Murray when you need him?
CHETRY: Exactly. Well, if you missed it, we'll show it to you again tomorrow.
Google this morning, recovering from an unnerving glitch this weekend. Warning people their searches might crash their computers. Alina Cho has been looking into this one for us.
It raised panic on the Internet.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It did for a blink. I mean, I'm sure to Google it felt like a lifetime, right?
Good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody.
You know what Google says? It was simply human error. But for potentially millions of people who dialed up Google on their Web browsers on Saturday, it looked like the entire Internet was infected were a virus.
Now, here's what happened. Between about 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, if you did a search on Google, each and every search came back looking like this. We want to zoom in. If you look very closely, you can see the warning there. It says, "This site may harm your computer." It came back on every result.
Now, Google, by far, is the largest search engine out there, performing hundreds of millions of searches a day, so it's pretty safe to say that millions of people were affected. Some blogs even started saying Google was broken.
Now, Google actually explained the problem on it's on own blog saying it was human error related to the way it tracks bad sites. Now, Google works with a nonprofit group called stopbadware.org to identify dangerous sites that could infect your computer. Now, Google keeps a list and if you search and hit one of those sites, you do get that warning.
Now, for those technically inclined or just curious to know exactly how Google goofed so badly, here's the somewhat geeky explanation of how this list was corrupted. Now, Google says, "Unfortunately (and here's the human error), the URL of '/' was mistakenly checked in as a value to the file and '/' expands to all the URLs."
Can you imagine? Just one little backslash, and it affects all the results.
Now, what does that mean in English? Someone, somewhere, typed in that extra backslash in a file, one little character, and it did break Google for about an hour. Now again, it the warning wasn't actually true. There was nothing wrong with the sites, but it was quite a surprise, Kiran, for those people maybe in bed on Saturday morning doing a search. I mean, and really, it was over in a blink, as I mentioned. To Google it probably felt like forever. But can you imagine if this would have happened on a weekday. I mean, I missed it, but had it happened between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. on, say, a Monday morning, I think there would have been far more people who would've been affected by this.
CHETRY: One little backslash.
CHO: One little backslash and the whole thing falls apart.
CHETRY: Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: It's forty-seven minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(voice-over): Coming up...
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNTED STATES: We got some cheese to sprinkle on it?
CHETRY: Every since the First Family showed up, business is booming at D.C. restaurants.
TODD GRAY, CO-OWNER AND CHEF, EQUINOS RESTAURANT: Our President and the First Lady are foodies. What more could we ask for?
CHETRY: Get ready to chow down.
GRAY: Mmm, truffles.
CHETRY: You're watching The Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA IMPERSONATOR: But now is not time to look back. It's the time to look forward and acknowledge the sacrifices we're all going to have to make. But before we do that, remember the election night? Grant Park in Chicago, nice weather, Oprah. The white guy Oprah was crying on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: "Saturday Night Live" poking fun a little bit of fun at the President's first 100 days. There's a long list of people who are happy that the Obamas have come to Washington and near the very top of that list, D.C.'s restaurant owners. CNN's Kate Bolduan looks at how the dining habits of the "First Foodies" are having a ripple effect across the capital.
(BEGIN VIDEPTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coming and going. It's become a familiar scene with the new First Family. Known for eating out on the campaign trail, the Obamas are continuing that trend in D.C. One of the first stops, D.C. staple Ben's Chili Bowl.
OBAMA: We got some cheese to sprinkle on it?
BOLDUAN: And they celebrated Michelle Obama's birthday at Todd Gray's restaurant Equinox just days before the inauguration.
GRAY: Phones are ringing like crazy, not only for reservation, but also for congratulations.
Mmm, truffles.
BOLDUAN: A visit Gray says couldn't have come at a better time for the city's restaurant industry.
GRAY: The new administration is going to help our restaurant economy. It cannot do anything but help it. All the new people in town are out frequenting restaurants, and our President and the First Lady are foodies, what more could we ask for?
BODUAN (on camera): Local businesses are already reaping the benefits of the new administration. Estimates for inaugural business put the economic gains as high as $1 billion for the city. Many are hoping that's just the beginning.
BARBARA LANG, PRESIDENT, D.C. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: This past Saturday or Sunday, the line getting into Ben's Chili Bowl was five blocks long because Mr. Obama ate there. Everybody wanted to go see Ben's Chili Bowl. Well, we expect that same kind of impact around the city.
BODUAN (voice-over): Presidential patrons are something D.C. restaurant owners haven't seen in a while. President Clinton was known to eat out, but President Bush was known as more of a home body.
SHELDON SCOTT, GENERAL MANAGER, MARVIN RESTAURANT: I think the Obama family brings back this kind of Kennedy-era style of like having a youthful family in the White House. People actually plan on living in the city, not just necessarily at the city.
BOLDUAN: And Sheldon Scott of restaurant Marvin in the trendy U Street neighborhood says, put politics aside, this President's eating habits is change he can believe in.
SCOTT: Yes, any table that he likes, he could have, even if someone else is sitting in it at that time.
BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Round two, the Senate debates the President's massive stimulus plan. Democrats rally, Republicans remain skeptical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no pork in this, let me say that right away. But there may be some sacred cows.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMAL: This bill has become a Christmas tree where members are hanging their favorite program on it.
ROBERTS: Are there signs of a compromise? John McCain joins us live.
Plus - taxing questions. Another potential member of the Obama Administration didn't pay all his taxes. Will it derail Tom Daschle's nomination?
You're watching The Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it would change my image a little bit of him. But the fact that he came clean while other athletes are not, proves that he can really step up and about man about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sort of held him in high esteem, especially for my sons who are athletes. So, yes, it does kind of hurt me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The image of America's "Golden Boy" is just a little bit tarnished this morning. This headline came out in a London tabloid over the weekend along with a photo of the Olympic swimmer apparently smoking from a marijuana bong. It happened at a house party in November in South Carolina. Phelps has apologized, but are his endorsement days over? Ryan Smith is a sports attorney and a talk show host on BET, and he's with us this morning.
So what was your initial reaction when you heard this? I mean, when I heard about it, I thought, oh, the last thing you want to ever be seen doing when you're the type of athlete that he is.
RYAN SMITH, HOST, BET'S "MY TWO CENTS," SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY: Well, it was pure disappointment as soon as I saw it. The thing with Michael Phelps is he's not only been an outspoken athlete against drugs - so he's done lot of testing, he's been supportive WADA, which is the World Anti-Doping Agency - but he's really a guy of high character. So you look at this, and my first thought was what about his endorsement deals? What's going to happen in those? A lot have clauses say that you can't do bad actions like this. That you can't - not only crimes, but just things you do bad in public could result in the termination of your contract. So he could lose a lot of money on this.
ROBERTS: Now, he never admitted to actually smoking marijuana and it's difficult to tell from the photo you know what could be in - I mean, it's - obviously, it's a bong. Well, you could say maybe there's something else in there. He never really went there. Here's what he said in the statement, he said, "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23-years-old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public - it will not happen again."
The USOC isn't going to sanction him it look like, but it did call his actions disappointing. But to the greater issue that you were talking about in terms of his endorsement deals, do you think anybody is going t0 say, well, this is the straw that broke the camel's back with this guy? I mean, he had one incident back in 19...
SMITH: In 2004.
ROBERTS: Or 2004.
SMITH: Right.
ROBERTS: But are you going to dump Michael Phelps because of this picture?
SMITH: It could happen. And the reason why is because a lot of the companies that are sponsoring him really are focused on kids and how actions of their athletes affect children. So that could be a big problem.
The other thing is, unlike and athlete that plays sports every year in the public spotlight, the Olympics, for swimmers, comes only every four years. So he doesn't have the chance to rehabilitate his image immediately like a lot of other athletes - a basketball player or a football player - would. So companies might say, you know, what? Let's not work with Michael Phelps right now because he really doesn't have a chance to redeem himself. A picture says a thousand words and how can he fight that right now.
ROBERTS: How could you turn this around? If you were his attorney, if you were advising him, what would you suggest he do? SMITH: Well, the first thing I would suggest is a drug test. And I know that that's not required and he's not really going have problem with swimming in 2012, but I would just show that, hey, I'm clean, I'm doing great. The next thing I would do is go out in the public and talk about the troubles with working with drugs and things like that and really show the public you are not about drug use, you are not about doing bad things in public. You are only about supporting the rules of WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and supporting their drug testing programs. You can show that this is minor incident, not a big deal. And really what it's all about is remaining clean.
ROBERTS: If you were to lay a bet, would you say anybody drops him?
SMITH: I would say he'll have problems. I don't know if I would say that a big sponsor will drop him, but I would say that a more wholesome-oriented sponsor might.
ROBERTS: All right, Ryan Smith, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming in.
SMITH: Same here. Thanks
ROBERTS: All right, take care.
CHETRY: Well, we're coming up on the ton of the hour, at look now at the top stories this morning.
Thousands of National Guard troops are still working to help residents in Kentucky dig out from last week's deep freeze. Ice storms left many still without power. Kentucky's governor warns it will be a long haul before life is back to normal. The storms are blamed for more than 40 deaths across nine states.
North Korea sharpening its words against South Korea saying the two nations have reached the brink of war. The North says it's scrapping all military and political agreements it signed back in 2000. Officials in Seoul say they see no unusual military movement across the border. We're going to be getting a live report coming up in just a couple of minutes.
