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American Morning
Phillip Markoff Arrested on Craigslist Killing; Teen Pirate in New York for Trial; Wild Scene at U.N. Conference; Anvil Documentary Wins Praise
Aired April 21, 2009 - 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: Well, good morning once again. Thanks for being with us. 8:00 on the nose here in New York on this Tuesday, April 21st.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, I'm John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry.
CHETRY: We got lots of stories that we're going to be breaking down for you in 15 minutes. We're getting our first look at the suspected Craigslist killer.
22-year-old pre-med student at Boston University now charged with killing a woman who advertised massage services on the popular classified Web site.
A Somali teenager is in New York City to face the first piracy charges in the United States in more than a century. He is expected to face a judge today for his role in the hijacking of the "Maersk Alabama" and Captain Richard Phillips. We are standing live outside of the courthouse.
And also some developing news about your money. As we speak, markets overseas trading in negative territory both Japan and Hong Kong closing down more than two percent. It comes after Wall Street had its worse day in more than six weeks. Our CNN money team is standing by to break down what this means for your finances.
And we begin with a story developing out of Boston this morning. The first picture now of the suspect in the Craigslist killing case. 22- year-old Philip Markoff, a pre-med student at Boston University. He will be in court for his arraignment in the next hour or so. Police say that he is the same man, they say, seen in surveillance pictures leaving a Boston hotel, where he's accused of shooting and killing a woman. The alleged victim 26-year-old Julissa Brisman was advertising massage services on Craigslist, the popular Internet bulletin board. And police believed that she wasn't Markoff's only victim. Alina Cho following the latest developments for us on this case.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And police are asking that other potential victims come forward, of course, and they very may well -- they may well in the next coming days.
Guys, good morning. Good morning, everybody.
A lot of unanswered questions, and one of the biggest questions right now, why would a 22-year-old pre-med Boston University student with no criminal record commit such heinous crimes? Now there's no word on a motive yet, but Philip Markoff will be in court today in Boston. He's charged with murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. He was under surveillance and picked up just south of Boston.
Markoff is accused of attacking at least two women and killing one of them. Police say Markoff fatally shot 26-year-old Julissa Brisman, who had advertised massages on Craigslist. She was found dead at a Boston Marriott. Four days before Brisman's death, a 29-year-old woman described by police as being in a similar profession was robbed at gun point at a Weston in Boston. Now, police believed Markoff is responsible for that crime, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our top priorities holding Philip Markoff accountable. He's a predator.
ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Someone that clearly is preying on people who are in a vulnerable position and someone that is committing a very, very serious crime that, clearly, has led to violent acts, in our estimation. So we are very, very happy to have this man off the street in such a timely way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: And then there is this. On April 16th, just five days ago, police say a man tied up and demanded money from a 26-year-old dancer in Warwick, Rhode Island. The suspect fled before anything happened, but police are looking into whether that crime is connected to the others in Boston.
Authorities say there have been more than 150 leads in the case, in part, because of the popularity of Craigslist. Police are also looking for other potential victims.
And the CEO of Craigslist, who I know, John, is going to be talking to momentarily, looking into whether they can do anything to better protect users of that site. I know that interview will be on tomorrow, guys.
But one interesting thing, I know you guys both know that he was, you know, reportedly engaged to be married. If you go on the Knot.com, there's a whole page. And his fiancee sent an e-mail to ABC in part saying, "She believes he could not hurt a fly, was a beautiful person inside and out."
But, clearly, a lot of unanswered questions. This story has clearly captivated the nation's imagination. We'll be following it very, very closely.
CHETRY: All right. Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: We're going to dig a little deeper now in the case of the Craigslist killer. How will prosecutors make their case against the suspect, Philip Markoff?
Florida state prosecutor Pam Bondi joins us now live from Tampa.
Pam, what are police and prosecutors doing right now to try to connect the dots between the crime that he's charged with, the murder of Julissa Brisman, and those other two suspected cases in Boston and Warwick, Rhode Island?
PAM BONDI, FLORIDA STATE PROSECUTOR: Well, what we're hearing, John, is that they have used very high tech, very tedious, very complex computer information in this case. And what they've done is they've linked IP addresses to local, physical locations in order to track this guy down. It's still a very active, ongoing investigation, but they have state, local and federal investigators.
And let me tell you, these FBI computer forensic experts are unbelievable. People don't realize now, when you use a computer, it's almost like you're leaving a fingerprint evidence behind for law enforcement.
ROBERTS: Right. You know, a lot of people, myself included, were shocked to hear that the suspect is a pre-med student at Boston college.
BONDI: Unbelievable.
ROBERTS: Is there a particular profile of people who use the Internet to prey on certain people like he is accused of doing?
BONDI: You know, John, typically, of course, we hear that it's pedophiles and child molesters. But now, our Internet is so amazing and it's such a tremendous resource for all of us that these predators also use it as a resource. Not only to prey on children, but adults, because you can almost find your victim in real-time.
Because, you know, going back and forth on Craigslist, buying and selling goods and services. So it makes it very easy for predators. However, it also makes it very easy for law enforcement to track and find these people.
ROBERTS: And we're hearing from the fiancee this morning saying it couldn't be him, he couldn't hurt a fly, you don't know the type of person that he is. Is that typical? Do you hear that a lot?
BONDI: Sure you do. Sure you do. Nobody wants to believe that their relative can be capable of such horrible, horrible crimes. But I guess if you look at the surveillance video of that guy and then you look at his picture on Facebook and on MySpace, plus with all the Internet technology, and I've heard they are doing -- you know, looking at actual fingerprints from the crime scene and trying to tie him back in. And they felt that they had plenty of evidence to charge him with murder, which of course is the most serious offense you can commit.
ROBERTS: All right. Pam Bondi for us this morning. Pam, it's good to talk to you. Thanks so much. We'll stay in touch as this case progresses.
BONDI: Thank you. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Stories again raising a lot of security questions concerning the popular ad site, Craigslist. We are going to be talking, as Alina said, with Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster. You'll see that tomorrow here on AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Well, today, the only surviving pirate from the attack on the "Maersk Alabama" is expected to appear in court in New York City. The Somali team arrived last night under heavy security. He was smiling for a flurry of camera lights. If convicted he could face up to life in prison.
CNN's Jason Carroll is live outside of the courthouse in New York, where the young suspect is expected to face a judge today.
You know, a lot of legal challenges ahead as well as they get ready to try him.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. An already Abduhl Wali-i-Musi's parents coming to his defense. His father basically saying this was his first voyage as a pirate. His mother calling on the president to let her son go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Abduhl Wali-i-Musi had a smile for camera that greeted him. He's already earned a place in U.S. history. The last notable piracy case tried on U.S. soil was when Blackbeard's crew faced a colonial American court in 1718.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This will be a very unusual case for a variety of reasons. You have piracy charge for the first time in many, many decades. You have a very young defendant. You have someone who doesn't speak any English at all. You have someone who's never been to the United States.
CARROLL: The suspect expected to appear today in federal court where the prosecution will likely outline what role he allegedly played when four pirates commandeered the "Maersk Alabama" and took the captain hostage for five days. Not much is known about the young man in custody. He was stab during a struggle with the ship's crew and was being treated onboard the USS Navy rescue ship when the captain was freed.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said all four pirates involved were between 17 and 19 years old. But in an interview with the Associated Press, the woman identified as the suspect's mother says her son is 16, and that he was coaxed into joining the pirates saying, quote, "There's no sensible reason that makes him join pirates. I sometimes find myself weeping. The absence of my eldest son brings tears to my eyes."
Some legal experts say that his age and level of participation could end up being a key part of the defense. PAUL CALLAN, FORMER NEW YORK CITY PROSECUTOR: His tender age could also present difficulties in another respect, because I think he's going to claim that he was acting under duress when he became involved in this act of piracy.
CARROLL: On the juvenile issue, a high-ranking federal law enforcement source told CNN, we're operating as if he is an adult.
As for being an unwilling participant, that defense worked when Blackbeard's crew was tried here. All were convicted except one, Samuel O'Dell, who was acquitted after arguing he was an unwilling participant.
TOOBIN: What if he says he was under duress? What if he said he would have been killed if he didn't participate? What if he said he didn't understand the circumstances? These are things that a New York jury, a year from now when passions have cooled, might well feel sympathetic towards.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Piracy charges very serious, so is the punishment. If convicted, he could be looking at life in prison.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Jason Carroll for us outside of the courthouse today.
Thank you.
ROBERTS: Sparks fly at the United Nations conference on racism. Representatives walking out. Hecklers wearing clown wigs. And this morning, the United Nation says Iran's president took out a line denying the holocaust from his speech.
And some say President Obama went too far when he released memos detailing the CIA's interrogation tactics, but one former CIA field officer says the president needs to reveal more. He's here to tell us why. It's 10 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. Thirteen minutes past the hour.
Time to fast forward through the stories that will be making news later on today. At 10:00 a.m. Eastern, the Supreme Court takes up a landmark case that could affect your children. It centers around a teenage girl who was strip-searched at school, suspected of carrying prescription strength ibuprofen which the school district has banned. The girl's family claims that the search violated her constitutional rights.
Well, it already includes Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Today, the FBI will announce its newest addition to its terror most wanted list. He is animal rights extremist Daniel Andreas San Diego. He's one for allegedly bombing two Bay Area biotech firms. Also at 10:00 this morning, President Obama will meet with King Abdullah of Jordan. Officials said the talks will focus mainly on helping achieve peace in the Middle East.
Also this morning, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with Libya's national security adviser. Officials expect Libya to complain that it's not giving enough credit for giving up its weapons of mass destruction.
John?
ROBERTS: Well, jeering protesters, hecklers in clown wigs and representatives from many countries walking out infuriated by what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had to say during a speech on racism. And now word that the United Nations says President Ahmadinejad dropped a line from his speech that could have really had everyone in an uproar. Our Carol Costello here is in Washington and she's got more on all of this.
Wow. What a scene?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was incredible to watch. I'm telling you, John. You know, the words that Ahmadinejad supposedly dropped from his speech was a denial of the Holocaust. But, still, that's not making any Israeli feel any better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): The United Nation's goal here was to stamp out intolerance around the world. But some critics called it a festival of hate and anti-Semitism instead. That's because President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, who once said he doubts the holocaust happened called Israel racist and the United States an enabler.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Is it all the more regrettable that the number of Western governments and the United States have committed themselves to defend those racist perpetrators of genocide.
COSTELLO: Protesters, some dressed as clowns shouted shame and racist. Ahmadinejad just smiled.
AHMADINEJAD: I call upon all distinguished guests to forgive these ignorant people.
COSTELLO: Delegates from Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, and Finland left in protest. But according to the CBC, some middle-eastern and African delegates applauded. You can clearly hear them.
The United Nations Secretary General who urged Ahmadinejad to tone down the rhetoric before his speech was not happy.
BAN KI-MOON, UN SECRETARY GENERAL: It is deplorable that the very august chamber of the Assembly of the United Nations has been misused to divide and accused and even to incite.
COSTELLO: And incite, it did. Israel, which boycotted the event along with the United States, is fighting back with words of its own.
GABRIELA SHALEY, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: There's a lot of racism in Iran itself. Iran is stoning women. Iran is hanging gays. There's a lot of discrimination.
COSTELLO: Ahmadinejad also attacked the United States directly for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and blamed the United States for the world's economic crisis. This kind of talk coming at a curious time.
Just this weekend in a surprising gesture, Ahmadinejad intervened on behalf of an American reporter jailed in Iran for spying. Telling Tehran she has a right to legally defend herself.
LAURIE DUNDON, BERTELSMANN FOUNDATION: With this speech for his domestic audience, I'm sure in part it was. There's zigzagging. Last week, he gave a conciliatory speech that seemed to indicate he was leaning towards outreach with the U.S. He may have gotten too much pressure at home and it's back lashing a little bit to go the other way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And, of course, keep in mind, Ahmadinejad is running for re-election in Iran. You know, John, at the beginning of my report, we mentioned that Ahmadinejad took out this line. Well, the United Nations is revealing more information about that line.
Supposedly, Ahmadinejad was to say he was going to refer to the Holocaust as "this ambiguous and dubious question of the Holocaust in setting up Israel as a state." Supposedly, he removed that line to sort of quiet his rhetoric, but, as I said before, that's not making the Israelis very happy.
In fact, just this morning, the war of words between Iran and Israel escalated. Israel's deputy prime minister saying Iran today is like Hitler's Germany.
John?
ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness. So I guess he has seen that Ban Ki-Moon's wishes with that one particular line, but then left a lot of other inflammatory rhetoric in there.
COSTELLO: Yes, sir.
ROBERTS: Carol Costello for us this morning. Carol, thanks so much.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, President Obama is facing stinging criticism from some in the intelligence community about the release of the CIA interrogation memos. We're going to talk with one former CIA field officer, though, who says he agrees with it and that more information should be released.
Also, she's not your grandmother's Disney heroine. Meet Tiana, now making history as the studio's first-ever black princess. It's 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDERELLA: Well, there's one thing -- they can't order me to stop dreaming. And perhaps some day, the dreams that I wish will come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." It's scary, you know, every single one of these songs. That one, of course, is from Cinderella. And now the studio's newest fairytale princess is black.
Alina Cho is here to tell us how Disney is breaking new ground with the "Princess and the Frog."
Some people say long time coming?
CHO: Yes, long time coming, and the timing is just right.
Kiran, good morning.
You know, this isn't the first time that Disney has broken the color barrier -- remember Pocahontas, maybe Mulan? But Tiana? Well, she is the first.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW WHITE: We'll clean the house and surprise them.
CHO (voice-over): Move over, Snow White. There's a new princess in town, Tiana. She's the new "Fairest of them all," and she's making history as Disney's first black princess.
CORI MURRAY, ESSENCE MAGAZINE: Finally, here is something that all little girls, especially young black girls can embrace. And that is huge.
CHO: Tiana's timing couldn't be better, the fairytale princess falling on the heels of what some call a real life fairytale, the Obamas.
MURRAY: This is a message that, you know what, no matter what you look like, you are beautiful. That one day you can be a princess. One day, you're going to be first lady.
CHO: And Tiana is a modern princess, shapely with her own career. Far different from cartoons of year's past.
CARTOON CHARACTER: Listen, mommy.
CHO: Racial stereotypes used to be everywhere, even in some Disney productions. There are reels on YouTube. But times have changed, says marketing guru Linda Kaplan Thaler.
LINDA KAPLAN THALER, CEO, KAPLAN THALER GROUP: It used to be that we would see people in black face. We would see minstrel shows. We would see black people portrayed in subservient positions. And it is so wonderful that we have finally moved past these stereotypes.
CHO: Pocahontas, Mulan and now Tiana. Disney's marketing machine is in high gear. The doll was unveiled last month and her movie will be out soon, too -- "The Princess and the Frog." Set in New Orleans, Tiana is a waitress, a budding chef. She kisses a frog who, no surprise, turns out to be a prince. Kaplan Thaler says that's where the story still needs some work.
THALER: There's a lot of girls, even 5 or 6 years old, who might scratch their head and go, I don't know, I don't know if it's going to be solved by a prince, I don't know if a frog is going to do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Best line of the piece, I like to say, you know. And what about the prince? Now the blogs have been on fire lately asking if Princess Tiana is black, why isn't the prince?
Now, a little bit about him. He's name is Prince Naveen. He said to be olive skinned, and a Brazilian actor is the man behind the voice. Now to some point, he's not black, but he's not white either. And perhaps a sign that Disney is venturing, Kiran, into another round of multicultural relationships. And hey, not a bad thing.
CHETRY: Yes, we talked about that...
CHO: It's a sign of the times.
CHETRY: Yes, we've talked about it. It's interesting, though, after you did this in the last hour, we talked about how Disney markets the princesses altogether...
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: ...as you know, from the different movies. But the most popular ones still are Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel and Aurora and Bell.
CHO: And we were talking about how your daughter, particularly, identifies with Snow White, because she does looks --
CHETRY: Right.
CHO: Same haircut -- the whole deal.
But what a wonderful thing to have multicultural princesses now, and especially a black princess. So black girls all across the country -- in fact, the world can relate to somebody and say, you know, hey, I can be a princess, I can be first lady, maybe I can be president, too.
CHETRY: Exactly. Well, Alina, thanks so much. CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: The president's decision to release some top secret memos on interrogating terror suspects not sitting well with some of the agencies top brass. But we'll talk to one former CIA operative who says more information about the interrogation tactics needs to be made public.
Did the father of a "Slumdog Millionaire" star really try to sell his little girl, or did a British tabloid set him up? We're live in India with the very latest on this controversial story. It's 24-1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
President Obama coming under some strong criticism from some in the CIA and others for releasing memos that detail the agency's harshest interrogation tactics.
So yesterday the president went to the heart of the spy business to explain his decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to be very clear and very blunt. I've done so for a simple reason, because I believe that our nation is stronger and more secure when we deploy the full measure of both our power and the power of our values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Former CIA Operative Robert Baer is an Intelligence columnist with the Time.com, and he supports the move. He says that perhaps even more information should be released. He joins me now via Skype from Berkeley, California.
Good morning. Thanks for being with us.
ROBERT BAER, INTELLIGENCE COLUMNIST, TIME.COM: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: So you support the move? You think that the release of those Bush era memos on interrogation tactics was the right move and that it did not compromise national security. Explain your position.
BAER: Well, not at all. I mean, all of those techniques are in the military manuals, which are on the Internet. Most of that information -- most -- all of it appeared in the "New York Review of Books" in Mark Danner's article. The prisoners getting out. They've talked about what they were subjected to. It's not a secret. None of these techniques are a secret, so why not release it?
I think what we really need to do is clear the air on the torture. And my biggest objection is nobody, until now, has presented evidence that torture works, and I just don't see it. CHETRY: Well, you know, it's interesting, because not everybody sees it from your point of view. Even people within the agency, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, also former CIA Chief Michael Hayden, had both said that they think that releasing the memos threatened national security.
In fact, here's what Hayden said about it. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: At the tactical level, what we have described for our enemies in the midst of a war are the outer limits that any American would ever go to in terms of interrogating an al Qaeda terrorist. It describes the box within which Americans will not go beyond. To me, that's very useful for our enemies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Hayden went on to say that it allows prospective terrorists insight into the precise limits of U.S. interrogations. Do you think he has a point there?
BAER: No. This is an executive decision whether we use torture or not. That's very clear for the eight years of the Bush administration, and we can go way beyond those limits if we want.
If we are attacked again this president is going to be faced with the same decision, do we use abusive interrogation techniques? And, you know, we don't have to be confined to these military techniques. We can go way beyond it. It can change policy at any time. The question I have, does it compromise sources and methods? And the answer is no.
CHETRY: Here's what your fellow "Time" magazine columnist Joe Klein said. He talked about some concerns that the CIA and other clandestine operators have about the release saying that it represents to them a, quote, "breach of faith." That the release of the information will cripple the clandestine service and represents a grant of too much information to our enemies. He says that it might make it harder for them to do their job.
It's something that the president alluded to actually when he was well-received in his visit yesterday to the agency.
BAER: Well, you know, here's the thing. Is that, yes, it is demoralizing the CIA. Anytime scandals appear on the press, it demoralizes the CIA. But this should have been thought of seven years ago when this was started. That is not the CIA's job. The CIA's job is to do hostile interrogations, to collect classical espionage which was diverted from doing and the CIA does best when it's left alone. This was a very political decision and it was a mistake.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, it's very good to get your perspective this morning. Robert Baer, intelligence columnist with "Time" and former CIA operative. Thanks for being with us.
BAER: Thanks. JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up now, 31 minutes after the hour. Here is what is on the agenda. The big stories that we're covering for you in the next 15 minutes. The fiancee of the accused Craigslist killer claims he is innocent. Megan McAllister saying to an e-mail to ABC that suspect Philip Markoff, "could not hurt a fly" and that he is "a beautiful person inside and out." McAllister said she and Markoff expect to be married in August and share a, "wonderful, meaningful life together." The 22-year-old Markoff is a pre-med student at Boston University.
A bizarre scene is only the suspected pirate to survive the attack on the "Alabama" arrives in New York to stand trial. He is in cuffs surrounded by police and appears to be grinning about the whole thing. His mother says he is only 16 and is asking President Obama to let him go.
And did the father of a "Slumdog millionaire" child actress tried to sell his own daughter or did a British tabloid newspaper set him up. Undercover reporters of "News of the World" say the father of nine- year-old Rubina Ali who played Latika in the film demanded money in exchange for allowing them to adopt her. This morning, he is denying the whole thing. Our Sara Sidner is with us now live from New Delhi. She has been trying to get to the bottom of the shocking story. What are we learning this morning, Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, despite Rabina's fame, she still lives in the slums with her father and stepfather. And now there are allegations that he tried to sell her to a couple that was posing as an adoptive couple but actually sent by a British tabloid called "News of the World." That couple apparently went into Mumbai and spoke with her father and said that they would like to adopt Rubina to take her to a better place, to give her a better life. To that they said the father turned around and said that in order to do that, he would agree to a legal adoption but wanted about $290,000 for her.
Now that is the allegation but the father flatly denies it, saying he would never sell his daughter to anyone no matter what the price. His daughter also denies it, saying that her father - she spoke with him and she knows that he would never give her away. All of this has caused some controversy here in this country obviously. And we're hearing now from different NGO, "Save the Children," for example, here in India says they are very disturbed what they are hearing about the allegations about the father but also disturbed about the tabloid and the tactics they used on this family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS CHANDY, CEO, "SAVE THE CHILDREN": What news agency did is condemnable, is vulgar and I think it's a cheap stunt. Simply exploiting that child and the family's vulnerability. The child is under the severe media glare and media scrutiny. So is the family at this point in time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Now, we have tried to contact "News of the World" for a comment and we have not heard back from them. W should also mention though that they sent out a video to several news organizations, including CNN, to prove their case. And the video was sent with no sound on it. Trying to get to the bottom of that. John?
ROBERTS: Sara Sidner for us from New Delhi with the very latest on this bizarre case. Sara, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: Right now, there's a push now to make America's X files public. UFO believers, even former astronauts want the government to release documents of possible UFO sightings. So, will the Obama administration do it? It's 34 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
There's a group this morning of space enthusiasts, even astronauts who are pushing President Obama to release government documents on possible close encounters with aliens and UFOs. And we're going to beam in now with CNN's Jim Acosta who has been following this story for us live in Washington.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my goodness.
CHETRY: There he is!
ACOSTA: Tremendous.
CHETRY: You made it, Scottie.
ACOSTA: I hope. Living long and prosperous here.
CHETRY: What's going on now? Why now do they want these documents released?
ACOSTA: Well, as you've heard there has been change in the White House and so they are hoping for change when it comes to UFOs. And you've heard about the scores of special interest groups appealing to President Obama in the first 100 days in office, now you can add believers in UFOs to the list.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): To believers in UFOs, the truth isn't out there, it's in there. So they're calling on President Obama to end what they insist is a government cover-up of the existence of extra terrestrials.
STEPHEN BARRETT, UFO BELIEVER: Will you release the records? Will you release all documents?
ACOSTA: Documents they claim exists and prove there is life in outer space.
President Obama is awfully busy these days. Do you think he has time for this? EDGAR MITCHELL, FMR. NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, let's say I would say the fact that we are not alone in the universe is one of the more important aspects of our time.
ACOSTA: Former Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, told the National Press Club he's convinced.
But there isn't convincing proof that's going to convince the entire world that-- ?
MITCHELL: That is correct. That is what we're trying to open up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are about to go out and do our little hoax.
ACOSTA: Equally committed are UFO skeptics. Earlier this year, two skeptics set off weather balloons that people in New Jersey mistook for alien spacecraft. The pranksters showed up on the local news pretending to be eyewitnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden, we see these lights literally zip over our car!
ACOSTA: They later admitted it was all a hoax and paid a $250 fine for creating a disturbance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not trying to prove or disprove anything, but it's OK to be skeptical.
ACOSTA: The open minded counter UFO believers pointing the former White House chief of staff and former Obama transition team head John Podesta.
JOHN PODESTA, FMR. OBAMA TRANSITION CHIEF: It's time to find out what the truth really is that's out there.
ACOSTA: It's a question President Obama has fielded before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The three astronauts of Apollo 11 who went to the moon back in 1969 all said that they believe there's life beyond earth. Do you agree?
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: You know, I don't know. I don't presume to know. What I know is there's life here on earth. And that we're not attending to life here on earth.
It depends on what these aliens were like and whether they were democrats or republicans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Yes, as you can see the question is not alien to President Obama. And if Russert can ask the question, why can't I? Please. Last year, the government in Britain opened up its files on UFOs and as for John Podesta he's still sticking to his belief that the government knows more than it's telling about UFOs. He released a statement to CNN saying the government should open the files. The American people can handle the truth. The truth, that is, out there.
CHETRY: Wow.
ACOSTA: Really out there, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. All right. Hopefully, they will do it again and we will get a look firsthand. All right. Well -
ACOSTA: That's right.
CHETRY: We have the power here as well. It's time for us to beam Jim to his next story.
ACOSTA: I'm off to big foot!
CHETRY: Thanks, Jim!
ROBERTS: You do that with such ease.
From beaming out Jim to beaming in Rob Marciano. He is down there at the extreme weather center in Atlanta, checking everything from extreme temperatures on the west coast to snow in Chicago? Rob, what a day!
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, pretty chilly storm certainly. Snow in Chicago. That would be good for big foot for sure. Heavy rain across the northeast for the last couple of days. Yesterday, Newark had over two inches of rainfall. Obviously, there is some localized flooding and definitely some flight delays. It won't be quite as bad today but we're already seeing that.
But the bigger story really is the cold air. Chicago may see some snow mixed in and certainly Milwaukee. Well, northern parts of Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan will see another five to six inches of snow with that system today. La Guardia already got almost an hour delay there. Philly about 45-minute delays. Newark seeing about 30- minute delays. So that should be about it.
Today's day time highs will be right in the mid-60s. But 44 in Chicago, might hit 100 or close to it again in L.A.. They are in a scorching heat wave for this time of the year. John, back over to you.
ROBERTS: All right. Rob, thanks very much for that. Appreciate it.
MARCIANO: All right.
ROBERTS: Did you know that some fat can actually help you lose weight? Sounds crazy but our Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows you why the color of the fat is key. Why brown fats are good.
And 28 years ago, I sat down in an interview with what was the hottest heavy metal band in Canada at the time. They went from hot to not but now, they may finally getting that shot at stardom and eluded them from a new rock documentary that's getting rave reviews. Anvil, metal man, pure metal. You will meet them coming up. It's 18 minutes now to the top of the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, welcome back to the most news in the morning.
What if some fat could actually help you lose weight? It may sound too good to be true but there are several new studies saying just that and we're paging our Dr. Sanjay Gupta for this week's "Fit Nation." He joins us now from the CNN center in Atlanta. So our body doesn't treat all fat equally. That's good news, I guess?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's great news. You know, not all fat is the same. We talk about fat sort of generically but it is interesting and something that people have looked at for some time, trying to figure out is there a better kind of fat? And here is a simple way to think about it. There is sort of white fat and there is brown fat. So this is white fat, for example.
Now white fat is the kind that you don't want. It just stores calories. Really does nothing for you. It gets your body out of shape. But there is a better kind of fat. The fat, brown fat, which is this fat over here, it's often the stuff found around your collar bones, upper chest area. This is metabolically active fat. This is the kind of fat that you want. This stuff burns 300 to 500 calories a day just simply by being present.
So again, not all fat the same. This brown fat is something that we are probably born with and may develop more of as we age, depending on the certain things that we do. But that's the goal is to get more of this brown fat and less of this white fat up here, Kiran.
CHETRY: How do we do that? How do we - is it what you eat that converts it into one or the other or is it what happens in your body?
GUPTA: There's a lot of things that sort are in play here. The first thing to keep in mind is that you know, that simply having this brown fat can make you burn calories that you otherwise wouldn't burn. So we all know that person who eats ice cream every night or has a candy bar every single day and never seemingly gains weight, that could be the answer.
A couple of things to point out. In chillier weather, in colder weather, people develop more brown fat. So people say turn down the heat and you will burn more calories. But as you might expect, as a result of studies like this, the pharmaceutical industry has already taken note trying to figure out if there are medication that might stimulate the production of this brown fat. We don't know exactly how to get a lot more of this and a lot less than that but a lot of people are sort of working on that now, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Interesting stuff. Sanjay, good to see you this morning. Thanks.
GUPTA: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: Well, they were one of the hottest heavy metal bands in Canada 28 years ago. The '80s fizzled out before they got their big break but Anvil is still rocking. Now 28 years later, the subject now of what could be one of the best rock documentaries ever produced. I interviewed them back then and yes, we've got the tape. And they're back with me again today. Anvil for you, coming up. 13 minutes to the top of the hour.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Human moments where you're actually in the same room as the people that love you.
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ROBERTS: Well forget that movie "Spinal Tap," the mocu-mentary because we have the real thing here today. 28 years ago I sat down to interview the hottest heavy metal band in Canada. They were young and they were certainly dedicated.
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ROBERTS: In 20 seconds or less, tell me what Anvil is all about.
Metal. Pure metal.
Heavy metal. Anvil, you know, lots of weight, dense power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's what the name says it is.
Sure. We don't - as they say, we got no gum! You know? We don't got gum at all.
ROBERTS: How about down and out? Delusional and down right disaster. From early billings with some of the world's biggest rock act to today, a new rock documentary today traces the arc of their rocky career.
ANNOUNCER: All of them sold millions of records around the world. All of them. But one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thing that's really good, man, is that we found those sleeping bags.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where we learned how to play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're like brothers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just innocent kids. We really didn't know what we were doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crappy production, crappy management. ROBERTS: Well, hilarious or heartbreaking. Whatever you may think, Anvil, the story of Anvil is receiving rave reviews by "Rolling Stones," as this year's great rock movie. 28 years later, Steven "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner are here for one more shot at the brass ring. Great to see you guys today.
STEVEN "LIPS" KUDLOW, ANVIL CO-FOUNDER AND LEAD VOCALIST: Hi, John. How are you.
ROBERTS: This documentary, I got to tell you, I watched it five times. It's just terrific. And the thing that people love about this film is that you just - you never stopped trying. You always kept trying to live the dream and, in particularly in this economy, it's so inspiring to see!
KUDLOW: Oh, it's - it's - well, for us, it's been a long road, but an endless road. We've been recording and touring all over the place all through the years. We've recorded 13 albums and we felt successful but not, you know, not the massive success that the big bands get. But we've stayed in the underground and managed to keep it going.
ROBERTS: Yes. We should point out, too, that your day job, you deliver school lunches for children, right? And then you got the rock band on the side. You know, it's almost like a hoop dreams for the music business. You've had setback after setback and you've gone on this disastrous European tour recently which was what the documentary is all about.
ROBB REINER, ANVIL CO-FOUNDER: Many of them.
ROBERTS: A 12,000-seat stadium and there were 174 people there. You know, you and Lips have been like brothers and you can finish each other's sentences since you were 15 and had some terrible, terrible fights. What kept you going through all of it? Why did you keep trying?
KUDLOW: The music.
REINER: We love the music. We love to play. We love to write and we love to perform in front of people. That is what this is all about. The best religion in the world. F-u-n, fun.
ROBERTS: It's all fun. You know, you've been doing this forever as I said. The "Boston Globe" reviewing this documentary said describing you Lips, "a rubber faced optimist with a bounce of over caffeinated sheep dog, he remains certain that rock godhood is just around the corner even as his wife and family made vague noises about moving on." That sort of captured, in part of the trailer here. Let's just play it out for our folks at home.
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KUDLOW: I started out with Robb when I was 14 years old. And he said we're going to do it until we're old men. And we really meant that.
REINER: They should have made it a lot bigger. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he knows at the end of the day, the family is what is important.
REINER: I always believe no matter how hard it gets, there is always a way.
KUDLOW: Let's show the world that they're wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anvil!
KUDLOW: We're going to do it together!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And so many people love this film. There's that moment at the end where you go back to play Japan which is where you played in 1984 with Scorpions, White Snake, Bon Jovi and you think, oh my god, there are going to be 20 people in the audience? There was 12,000 people.
KUDLOW: It's 20,000 people.
ROBERTS: It's like the Cinderella story.
REINER: Well, that's how it turned out. We didn't know how many people were going to be there prior to going out. Only the director knew. He came in crying but he wouldn't tell us what was going on.
ROBERTS: I was feeling so terrible for you guys! No, please don't let there be 25 people there! The "Seattle Times" reviewing this movie said that Anvil could teach us a thing or two about optimism. You know, you said, Lips, that everything went disastrous on the European tour but at least there was a tour for it to go wrong on!
KUDLOW: Well, that's absolutely true. Because really, the majority of life is actually being present, being there. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. At least we were there. It wasn't as bad as it all seems because when you're actually in the midst of it, it's not about that.
ROBERTS: Right.
KUDLOW: You miss a train? Catch the next one! It's not that bad!
ROBERTS: One of your great quotes said in this documentary is "things can't get any worse but if they do get worse, at least we know that we tried. The "New Yorker" really kind of sums up the whole thing in the review that it did on this movie. It says, "it's about time. It's about time this whole movie and how it threaten to fade us out like a song on the radio and why, risking ridicule and leaning on love, we should crank up the volume and keep going."
Are you guys so frightened that if you stop, you will just fade away and that is what keeps you going?
KUDLOW: No. I don't think - I don't think it's - I don't think there's any fear of fading away. We just - it's a life endeavor. You know, when you start this, when you're 10 years old and you've made the decision from a child, you keep going. Because that's what you do. That's what we are, and that's your identity. You can't run away from it! You keep going!
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, you guys are an inspiration and this movie is giving you a new shot at stardom, perhaps one that you never had. "Overnight sensations. 35 years in the making."
REINER: Sure. John, I want to give this to you.
ROBERTS: Thank you so much!
REINER: You can wear this to the next Anvil concert. How is that?
ROBERTS: How about if I wear this on AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow. Terrific, you guys are our inspiration. Good luck. If Susan Boyle can do it at the age of 47 hey you guys can do it as well.
KUDLOW: Hey, it's never too late. It's never too late. It's too late when you're in the ground, but when you're alive, where there is life, there is hope, you can always do it.
ROBERTS: All right, guys. Words to take to heart. Lips, Robb Reiner, thanks very much for being with us this morning. Good luck to you guys.
KUDLOW: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Forget no tie Friday and now it's Anvil t-shirt Friday.
ROBERTS: There you go. And the CD. Got it all right here.
CHETRY: Well, you were just talking about Susan Boyle. If you thought that she shocked the crowd at "Britain's Got Talent," just wait we're going to meet the singing sensation's biggest rival in the competition and he's only 12 years old. It's 56 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: All right. Our top videos right now on cnn.com, most popular, yet another stunner from "Britain's Got Talent." This 12- year-old came back after first attempt on with a version of Michael Jackson's song taking the audience by complete surprise and even throwing Simon for a complete surprise. Let's listen.
Adorable. All right. Susan Boyle has got some competition!
Also, U2 guitarist, the Edge, wants to build five houses on the scenic ridge in Malibu. But his neighbors aren't so happy about it. They call it a "environmentalist disaster." The Edge however says that the homes would be some of the most environmentally sensitive in the world.
Also the scrapping bonus. Car owners in the U.K. can get up to 3,500 euro or $2,300 for a new car if they turn in their old one for scrap metals. As a result, U.K. Car sales are dramatically up, bucking the global trend. And those were the most popular videos right now on CNN.com.
Well, finally this morning a look behind the scenes at AMERICAN MORNING. Let's check out this little beauty. Causing quite a stir in the control room. Her mom is our graphics operator, Charlene Tousssaint (ph). Well, she went into labor in the control room during the show yesterday! This is something they don't tell us. She was working all the way up to the last minute like many expecting moms do and little Morgan was born just after 5:00 p.m., a healthy 7 pounds, 11 ounces. Adorable. And congratulations to the parents. Whoa!
ROBERTS: Congratulations. Showing dedication, working right up until the -
Hey, by the way, I forgot to mention. I'm in that Anvil documentary. So if you want to see pictures of me 28 years ago --
CHETRY: Cool.
ROBERTS: That's going to do it for us. Thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. See you bright and early tomorrow morning.
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM begins right now with T.J. Holmes.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN HOST: Thanks, guys.
