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American Morning
Iran Test Fires Long-Range Missile; Obama Under Pressure to Add Troops to Afghanistan; How Do You Lose an Embryo?; Madoff Family Faces Lawsuit; Your Credit, Your Privacy; Spending Reduction Might Lead to Lowered Credit Limits; Roman Polanski Detained in Switzerland for Extradition on Rape Charge; Detained Terrorist Suspect a Longtime U.S. Resident; Lions Win after Long Losing Streak
Aired September 28, 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: And it's 8:00 here in New York this morning on this Monday. Thanks so much for being with us. It's September 28th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for joining.
Here are the big stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
A defiant Iran ignoring the outrage of world leaders and reportedly firing long-range missiles overnight. The move coming just days after Iran was called out for secretly operating an underground nuclear plant. We're tapping into the global resources of CNN to bring you the latest on this rapidly developing story.
CHETRY: Also this morning, a drum beat for deeper involvement in Afghanistan is growing louder. But having already sent thousands of more troops to the war zone, is the Obama administration ready to send more? We're live at the Pentagon.
ROBERTS: And how do you lose an embryo. A second couple has filed a lawsuit against a fertility clinic in Louisiana claiming that they cannot account for embryos that it was storing. How is this possible? The program director of another fertility clinic is going to be with us for some insight on some of the things that might go wrong.
But, first, international condemnation appears to be having no impact on Iran. Just days after it was called out in its secret nuclear facility, this morning Iran reportedly tested at least two long-range missiles. Missiles -- Tehran claims -- could reach American bases in the gulf region, Israel, or even parts of Europe.
Our Jim Acosta is gauging reaction live in Washington this morning, but let's start with Reza Sayah. He is live next door to Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
So, Reza, how advanced are these missiles? Are they conventional warheads, or could they potentially, at some point down the road, carry nuclear warheads?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Potentially, they could, down the road. But at this point, they don't.
John, these are perhaps Iran's most advanced conventional ballistic missiles and I think Washington/European powers, especially Israel, worried about two of them in particular. The Shahab-3 test fired in Iran Sunday night. That is a liquid-fueled missile Iran has had for a while. And then you have the Sajeel-2 test fired today. That's perhaps Iran's most advanced ballistic missile because it's a solid-fueled missile and that -- all that means it's easier to transport, easier to store and hide, easier to get ready for a launch.
Both of these missiles have a range of about 1,200 miles and you're going to find hawks in Washington and Israel point to these missiles and say they can reach targets in Israel and southeastern Europe. It's important to point out, though, that they are not capable, according to U.S. intelligence officials -- of carrying nuclear warheads at this point. And Iranian leaders today went on record as saying this was not a statement, a response to accusations about Iran's nuclear program coming from Washington. These test firings were only part of an annual military exercise, but Washington certainly condemning them anyway, John.
ROBERTS: Certainly something of an eye-opening coincidence at the very least. Reza Sayah this morning in Islamabad -- Reza, thanks.
CHETRY: And, you know, it's interesting. We have been down this road before. It's not the first time a president has been tested earlier in his term.
Our Jim Acosta live in Washington with more on that.
You know, we're talking about the Cuban missile crisis and John F. Kennedy, a young president being tested. And this sets the stage for upcoming talks, I guess, later in the week between the U.S. and Iran, and it's interesting to sort of look back at our history and see how similar situations were handled before.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A lot can be done at the negotiating table, and this is what President Obama talked about when he was running for president. He said that the United States needs to engage Iran diplomatically.
So, this will be a test of that strategy, those talks that are coming up on Thursday in Geneva. And the Obama administration is talking tough these days in what's sounding like a showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. It's the kind of test some in Washington predicted Mr. Obama would eventually face as president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): It was a show of strength from Iran, test firing short-range missiles just two days after a stunning disclosure to the world.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Islamic Republic of Iran has been building a covert uranium enrichment facility near Qom for several years. ACOSTA: And while President Obama is insisting on diplomacy over confrontation with Iran...
ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The intelligence people have no doubt that -- that this is an illicit nuclear facility.
ACOSTA: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is amping up the rhetoric.
GATES: This is part of a pattern of deception and lies on the part of the Iranians from the very beginning with respect to their nuclear program.
ACOSTA: Located near the city of Qom, the underground facility is Iran's second confirmed site capable of enriching uranium.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is all but warning the Iranians to start offering details at upcoming negotiations with the U.S. and five world powers set for later this week.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We don't believe that they can present convincing evidence that it's only for peaceful purposes, but we are going to put them to the test on October 1st.
ACOSTA: And the pressure is on to get tough.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: They're trying to develop a nuclear weapon. And if they are successful, the Sunni Arab states in the region will want a nuclear weapon. Israel becomes much at risk, and we're walking down the road to Armageddon.
ACOSTA: At a congressional hearing last year, nonproliferation experts described Iran's nuclear ambitions as a historic challenge.
GRAHAM ALLISON, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT: I say in my testimony, and I have compared this earlier to something like a Cuban missile crisis in slow motion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a medium-range ballistic missile...
ACOSTA: The October 1962 showdown with the Soviet Union played out at the United Nations.
AMB. ADLAI STEVENSON, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I'm prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over.
ACOSTA: Testing another young president in the early days of his administration. The kind of test that was predicted during last year's presidential campaign.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ACOSTA: But that was 1962, and unlike those missiles in Cuba, there's no evidence Iran has nuclear weapons. Nonproliferation experts believe Iran is one to three years away from that capability, but, of course, Kiran, that is the best guess of the U.S. government at this point.
CHETRY: We'll see what happens. As Secretary Clinton said, she doubts it, but she's going to give them a little bit of time.
ACOSTA: She's going to put them to the test, she says. That's right.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta for us this morning, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
ROBERTS: It's always pretty powerful when you got the pictures to prove it, too, though.
Another major foreign policy challenge facing President Obama: Afghanistan. Right now, the president's under increasing pressure by some to add more muscle in the eight-year fight against the Taliban.
Our Chris Lawrence is live at the Pentagon for us this morning.
What are commanders saying, Chris, about just how bad the situation on the ground is in Afghanistan?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, what we're hearing is that the commanders are saying that basically, right now, they feel that it is worse. The situation is worse than they expected. Specifically, that they knew they were going to have problems in southern and eastern Afghanistan, but now, the north and the west are very contested. The fighting is much fiercer and much deeper than they thought.
But this weekend here on CNN, Defense Secretary Robert Gates framed the cost of losing in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GATES: Failure in Afghanistan would be a huge setback for the United States. The Taliban and al Qaeda -- as far as they're concerned -- defeated one superpower. For them to be seen to defeat a second, I think, would have catastrophic consequences in terms of energizing the extremist movement, al Qaeda, recruitment, operations, fund-raising and so on. I think it would be a huge setback for the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: The U.S. commander on the ground says he needs more troops and they need to turn things around within this next year. Secretary Gates says, if those troops were authorized, they couldn't start arriving until early next year - John.
ROBERTS: Chris, we're hearing that the commander may ask for up to 40,000 more troops. What would all those American troops be used for and where would you get them?
LAWRENCE: Here's the problem, John. From what a very senior official here told me, the problem in Afghanistan right now is, the U.S. may control one town, but they don't control the next town over. So the Taliban used that town as a base to launch attacks. If the U.S. controls one road up to a point, the Taliban have that road extended, where they set up check points, they levy taxes.
So, what these troops would be used for is to get into some of those bigger population centers, to get in there and sort of retake the initiative to let the Afghan people see that, yes, the united states is there in force and that they can retake some of these areas from the Taliban.
ROBERTS: Would they be retasked from Iraq? Would they be brought over from bases in the U.S.? Where would they -- where would they deploy them from?
LAWRENCE: Mostly, tasked from the U.S. But what this new strategy involves is getting, basically, troops that have been to Afghanistan, to get them back. To get a rotation where you're not constantly bringing in new troops and getting them up to speed. Where you've got a group that will go over for six months to a year, and then when they're replaced, they're replaced by another group of soldiers and marines that have already been to Afghanistan and been in that area so there begins to be some continuity in terms of getting to know the Afghan people, in developing those relationships, and being battle tested in that particular area.
ROBERTS: Always important to know the territory, but the repeat deployment thing starts to wear on the troops, no question about that, too.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
ROBERTS: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon this morning -- Chris, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Other stories new this morning.
There's new video of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that's now raising a lot of questions. Four security videos from buildings around the target show people running after the blast, but what they don't show is the explosion itself. The lawyer who obtained the footage through the Freedom of Information Act claims that the tapes have been edited by the FBI. Jessie Trentedo (ph) is conducting his own investigation into the bombing which killed 168 people. No comment from the FBI.
ROBERTS: One of the busiest waterways in the United States is closed this morning. The Coast Guard is working to clean up a 10,000- gallon oil spill along three miles of the Houston ship channel. An oil tanker collided with a barge there on Friday night. No word on when traffic in the channel will resume.
CHETRY: Also, Conan O'Brien is set to be back on the job tonight. He had to spend a weekend recovering from a nasty bump on the head. He fell taping a stunt with Teri Hatcher for Friday's "Tonight Show" and then the episode didn't get completed. I think he had a concussion. So anyway, they had to air a rerun in its place. Poor guy.
ROBERTS: What kind of stunt was he doing?
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Apparently, she ran a triathlon. So they were reenacting some sort of running scene and he tripped.
ROBERTS: Oops!
CHETRY: Yes, poor guy.
ROBERTS: I was doing yoga with the guy the other day, and he managed to whack -- how do you whack your head doing yoga?
CHETRY: It's a contact sport, much more than you think.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: It's 11 1/2 minutes after the hour.
Big news, of course, we had over the weekend, that woman gave birth to the child from another couple's embryo. It's sort of like...
CHETRY: Right. That was implanted in her.
ROBERTS: Yes. It raised a lot of awareness to the accounting problems that you can have when you're doing IVF. And now, of course, this big clinic down in Louisiana has shut down. So, what's going on?
We're going to talk to the head of New York University's fertility clinic about just what's going wrong with some of these IVF clinics. And we should, you know, preface this by saying, his clinic certainly not involved in this. But he'll give us some insight as to what's going on. Something you want to hear about.
Twelve minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A heartbroken case of a woman mistakenly implanted with another woman's embryo shocked the world. You heard Sean and Carolyn Savage's story right here on AMERICAN MORNING. And on Friday, Carolyn gave birth to a baby boy that was not hers.
CHETRY: That's right. And if you think this was a once in a lifetime mistake, it actually wasn't. There's now a hospital outside of New Orleans that's been slapped with not one, but two lawsuits over missing embryos. A lot of people are asking, how do you lose an embryo?
Dr. Jamie Grifo is the program director of NYU's fertility center, which is not connected with the center that seems to have possibly misplaced some of these embryos, in some cases, accounting problems with others.
And, of course, you know, when you're dealing with couples going through infertility, as well as embryos, you know, the beginnings of human life -- I mean, it's a sensitive situation. How does something like this happen? Because I imagine there's a lot of safeguards put into place?
JAMIE GRIFO, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, NYU FERTILITY CENTER: Well, incredibly sensitive and it's a very difficult job that we have. We have no tolerance for error. You can't make an error. It affects too many people. It affects patients. It affects their families. It affects the practitioners as well.
These are bad outcomes. We have protocols in place. When they're followed, these things don't happen. And sometimes, human error breaks protocol, sometimes unavoidable things like the marking on the vial that's in a freezer washes off and you have no markings to identify that specimen. Those are very rare incidents.
We don't know what happened in this case, I'm not involved with it, I won't even speculate. The good news is, these things are very, very rare. And while we have heard about several of these, there have been almost over 4 million babies born from IVF without incident.
ROBERTS: So, the percentage of mistake is pretty small.
But -- so there's an accounting problem here, at the very least in this clinic in Louisiana and they've suspended the program for the time being. But there are a number of embryos that have been created. They're being held for parents to potentially use.
Can any of those parents that are involved in this program have any sort of reasonable confidence that if they do decide to go ahead and implant that they'll get the right embryo?
GRIFO: Well, I don't think they would transfer any embryos until they were absolutely sure that these (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: How do you make sure?
GRIFO: Well, the issue is, we have systems in place to avoid these kinds of problems. We have the concept of chain of custody. Once a specimen goes in the lab, we have to know exactly where it is at all times. We have to know exactly where it came from at all times. And we have a combination of a paper as well as electronic trail to track these embryos. And then there are high-risk events that occur in the lab that we have to account for.
So when an embryo or egg is taken out to be fertilized and mixed with sperm, we always have two people identifying both specimens simultaneously to be sure that there's no error. And by having this spotting mechanism, you have more than one person, and therefore you can reduce your errors. When you do an embryo transfer, the same thing; when you freeze an embryo, same thing.
So, those are high-risk events and that's the time when errors can occur. And by safeguarding that way, you know, we -- our clinic is zero for 15,000 in those kind of errors of mixing up embryos.
CHETRY: Well, unfortunately, I'm sure they wish it was the situation there, but it's not right now. So for the couples again that John was asking that were --it's a little bit at limbo, can they do genetic testing? Can they -- can they tell, biologically, if the embryo belongs to the couple?
GRIFO: Well, there is a method where you could thaw the embryo, take a cell out, do a genetic test on it and then confirm where it came from. Yes, that is possible.
ROBERTS: And no harm to the embryo?
GRIFO: Well, it probably doesn't increase the pregnancy rates of those embryos, but there have been babies born using these techniques for many years. In fact, I did the first one in the United States where we genetically tested an embryo. So, it's very possible. But it's an ideal circumstance to have to put a patient in or your clinic in.
ROBERTS: All right. But you -- but there should be redundancies built into this system, right? I mean, you and I have talked about this before that I think, several years ago, somebody made a wrong annotation on one particular form, but you had a lot of redundancies built in so that you could ensure chain of custody?
GRIFO: Correct. I mean, there's -- when you have identifiers on a piece of paper, you have more than identifier. That gives you opportunity for more error. The most critical identifier is the woman's name, and that's the one that matters the most. But then you have other identifiers like date of birth, Social Security, partner's name if there is a partner.
So, yes, you could make an error in any of those and that could cause some uncertainty. But if you have a system in place that allows you to track those events and when they occur, you can -- you can unravel some of that and be certain.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: And do all -- and do all of these clinics across the country have those safeguards?
GRIFO: Well, I mean, for years since we started doing this in the late '80s, yearly, the trade groups meet at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologists. We've all worked together to try and perfect these techniques because a case like this is bad for everybody. ROBERTS: Yes.
GRIFO: I'm going to work today and my patients are going to be anxious and my staff is going to be anxious because of this case. These cases are really difficult.
CHETRY: And I just want to read what the hospital said. There is a class action lawsuit that's pending against them right now. And in a statement released on Saturday, a spokesperson said, "Sometimes, in issues involving the most personal and emotional aspects of health care, problems give rise to litigation. The fact remains that we are doctors, not lawyers, and can't comment on any pending legal matters."
But, you know, the obvious question seems to be, as the clinic where these questions have even arisen, can they -- and when accuracy is something that's so vital to this job -- can that IVF clinic survive?
GRIFO: I don't know. That remains to be seen. I think it depends -- it's pretty hard for patients to go there after that. So, it's going to be pretty hard for that clinic to assure that they have 100 percent accuracy.
So, I mean, we can't afford to make any mistakes -- make one mistake, it could be career-ending. And forget about our career, because that's less important than actually the parties who have to suffer with that error. So, we go to work every day knowing the seriousness of this. And it's difficult.
ROBERTS: So, what will you tell your patients this morning when they come and say, Dr. Grifo, I heard about this case, are we OK?
GRIFO: The answer is, yes, we're OK, because we follow our protocols and we haven't made any errors.
ROBERTS: It's great to see you. Thanks for coming in and to explain this. We also should just reiterate again that your fertility clinic had nothing to do with the story that we're talking about this morning.
GRIFO: Thanks John.
ROBERTS: But good to get your expertise and your take on it.
The Madoff family, after he goes to jail, they're now being sued for $198 million. More twists and turns in the Bernie Madoff case. Stay with us.
Twenty and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
What's more American than apple pie? Well, according to a "60 Minutes"/"Vanity Fair" poll, Wal-Mart. Nearly half of those picked the low-priced giant over Google, Microsoft and the NFL as the best corporate symbol.
As for cut backs were the toughest to stomach this recession, eating out and all of those Twitter holdouts may be on to something. More than a third of those questioned predict that the social network will likely fade.
And I've said that myself. It just -- it's like a Tamagotchi, it just takes too much effort. You've got to focus on it too much. It's like it's beeping and wants to get fed all the time.
CHETRY: I like it.
ROBERTS: Do you have a Tamagotchi?
CHETRY: I was given a few as gifts when I was younger.
ROBERTS: And where are they now?
CHETRY: They're probably long, long gone. But, but I'll say this -- the interesting thing about Twitter, when you have the home page, when you have your home page up, I love how you can get updates from people. I've gotten interesting stories -- like stories I might have missed going through the papers.
I don't know. It's kind of a little bit interesting. It depends on who you follow, I think.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I love tracking the protesters at the G-20 via Twitter. Like I started meeting people downtown when I got to Pittsburgh and then we all started following each other and then other people are telling me -- people from Pittsburgh will tell me what they were seeing and what neighborhood they were seeing action. It was kind of cool.
CHETRY: All right so John -- he's not the best...
ROBERTS: Still, I think it requires too much effort.
CHETRY: That's why there's a social networking site for everyone. He likes Facebook better, right?
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: You were getting interesting information from the G-20. But when people are saying, I woke up this morning, had breakfast. Why do we want to know that?
CHETRY: Exactly.
Well, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning and she joins us now with more. What are you talking about?
ROMANS: I'm talking about Madoff again and this quest to get the money from the convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. Last night on "60 Minutes" the court appointed trustee for the Madoff businesses and his deputy; we're talking about how they're trying to get the money back and they will go after the sons of Madoff, his niece, and his brother, maybe this week seeking the return of $198 million.
They are trying to shake down all the money that's left and get it to the legitimate investors who deserve to have some of their money back. And this is what they said here. This is what Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, said about seeking this money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRVING PICARD, COURT-APPOINTED TRUSTEE FOR BERNIE MADOFF: Whether or not they have a criminal problem, we will pursue them as far as we can pursue them. And if that leads to bankrupting them, then that's what will happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. If that leads to bankrupting them, that's what's going to happen. He points out -- he and his deputy point out there were millions and millions and millions of dollars that the two sons who worked for him, his brother, his niece and his wife all collected over the years as payment for their jobs or as an investment in here. And that that money was all stolen, so they're going to reach back and try to get as much of it as they can.
Also pointing out that about half of the investors, the victims aren't really victims, because they took more money out than they even put in.
ROBERTS: This case is just going to go on and on and on.
ROMANS: It will.
ROBERTS: Have you got a Romans' numeral for us this morning?
ROMANS: I do. I love this one -- $14. And this has to do with the idea of putting in a little bit of money and getting a lot out. This is what these lawyers say Bernie Madoff's brother put in, in 1995. After 1995, he put $14 in and took $16 million out.
ROBERTS: Sixty or 16?
ROMANS: Sixteen...
ROBERTS: $16 million.
ROMANS: He put $14 in after 1995 and took $16 million out. They want some of that money.
ROBERTS: I guess so.
ROMANS: That's what -- wow, what a return. It was too good to be true.
ROBERTS: That was a fascinating "Romans' Numeral."
Christine Romans watching your business this morning. Thanks.
ROMANS: Bye.
CHETRY: He's been a fugitive for decades, Roman Polanski. He is now under arrest and fighting extradition to come back to the United States to face sentencing for a crime committed back in the' 70s.
We're going to have more on what is the latest in this case and whether or not Roman Polanski will actually come back to the United States.
It's 27 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
You know that paying your credit card bill late will hurt your credit score and lower your limit.
CHETRY: Yes, but did you know that changing where you shop can also send red flags to your credit card company, if you suddenly switch from shopping at Nordstrom to shopping at Wal-Mart?
In our series "Watching you 24/7" Gerri Willis found that there is a secret way that credit card companies do monitor how you spend money and it actually can affect how much money they're willing to give you.
Gerri Willis is looking at that for us this morning. Creepy, a little.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: A little creepy. Credit card issuers are scrutinizing your spending patterns for changes so that if you're buying rounds at the local bar maybe for the first time or seeking marital counseling, one Atlanta man says this scrutiny has gone too far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing? I'm Levin Johnson.
WILLIS (voice-over): Kevin Johnson is an entrepreneur, candidate for office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm running for state representative.
WILLIS: And according to American Express, a credit risk. Coming home from his honeymoon last year, he was shocked to find Amex had cut his credit limit from over $10,000 to just $3,800.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've done a very good job of being responsible and making sure that I pay my bills on time.
WILLIS: Even more surprising, one of the four reasons Amex gave for the decision. Other customers who have used their cards at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with American Express. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was shocked when I read it because I didn't know that the companies could actually assess your credit worthiness based on others around you.
WILLIS: With more than 10 percent of credit card customers defaulting on their debt, credit card issuers are trying to weed out the risky ones. How? By looking for changes in the way we shop.
ROBERT MANNING, AUTHOR, "CREDIT CARD NATION": You're shopping from a middle or upper-tier retail store and suddenly it shows a purchase at a dollar store, some form of downshifting, suddenly shopping at Wal-Mart.
WILLIS: Those red flags can lead to a deeper look at your behavior.
MANNING: And if you've suddenly started exhibiting new consumer behavior, and then you've made three or four purchases in a row at a local bar, that would raise some flags that maybe there's some impending financial crisis.
WILLIS: For its part, Amex says, "We don't look at and never have looked at where someone shops to make a line reduction. The primary factor is someone's overall debt level. And we also look at payment history with us, credit reports and FICO scores."
Banking industry sources say credit scores are still the most important tool in predicting consumer behavior. But those scores don't reflect sudden life changes like job loss or divorce.
JIM SLAWSKY, CREDIT CARD INDUSTRY EXPERT: All they can do is look at the actual volumes and transactions that are coming in and see changes in that pattern.
WILLIS: For Kevin Johnson, the experience has motivated him to get involved and perhaps change the way banks work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one should be penalized for the actions of others.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: All right. You can't stop your credit card issuer from scrutinizing your spending, but you can put your best foot forward.
A number one, make sure you don't pay for some of these things that we were talking about, marital counseling, your bar tabs on your credit card. Pay it in cash.
And make sure you make consistent payments to your credit card issuer. They love to see you paying at the same time each month and in the same amount. That way they feel reassured you're a good credit risk.
Also, minimize the number of credit cards you have. We always talk about doing that. That's another way of really, you know, making your lender be sure that you're a good risk, that you're there and going to pay your bill on time.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You can be a nice person, take your friends out for drink, pick up the tab, and then get whacked for it.
WILLIS: Do it in cash.
ROBERTS: Gerri Willis for us this morning. Gerri, what a fascinating story, thanks.
So what do you think about all this? Should credit card companies be keeping tabs on how you spend your money? Sound off on our blog. Go to CNN.com/amfix and weigh in.
Tomorrow on "Watching you 24/7," we're going to take a look at the so-called data brokers companies hire to do background checks on people and what happens when they make a mistake and come up with a rap sheet on the wrong person. That's tomorrow on "Watching you 24/7," right here on "American Morning."
Checking our top stories right now -- more war games overnight from Iran. Iran says it test-fired a long-range missile that defense analysts believe could hit Israel or U.S. bases in the Gulf region. This all comes just before U.S. officials are set to sit down with Tehran for talks on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Islamic republic has put itself into, quote, "a very bad spot."
President Obama and the first lady are headed to Copenhagen later on this week. They're going to join in on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The international Olympic Committee will announce its choice on Friday.
Michelle Obama will head to Denmark on Wednesday and the president will follow on Thursday. Chicago's facing stiff competition from Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro.
Plus, former President Clinton says the, quote, "vast right-wing conspiracy" is alive and well and day caring on President Obama. He was asked about it on "Meet the press" by NBC's David Gregory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was because America's change demographically, but it's as virulent as it was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The former president also said he didn't think that the health care debate would inflict a lot of damage on Democrats in next year's midterm elections -- Kiran?
CHETRY: John, thanks.
He was living as fugitive in plain sight, but now famous director Roman Polanski is being held in custody in Switzerland as his lawyer fights extradition to the United States. Polanski was arrested Saturday after he arrived in Zurich to receive an award at a film festival.
You may know the case. Polanski was wanted on a U.S. warrant stemming back from the 1977 statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. French and Polish officials have both condemned his arrest.
Here to discuss it, criminal defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean. Thanks for being with us this morning.
JENNIFER BONJEAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.
CHETRY: So the interesting thing people are talking about is the timing of this. Roman Polanski has been a fugitive for decades. He actually owned a home right in Switzerland. So why the arrest after all these years?
BONJEAN: It's not clear to me what motivated the Swiss to actually act on an arrest warrant that's really actually been out there since 2005, since before that, that they've been actively pursuing him since 2005.
But I do believe that the release of the documentary certainly brought the issue to the forefront again, maybe inspired the L.A. district attorney's office to really push it this time, and then the Swiss, being under that type of pressure, succumbed to it.
CHETRY: So what is he facing now? For people that aren't necessarily familiar with the case, basically he pled guilty to a lesser charge, but basically it stemmed from a 13-year-old girl being photographed at a home that Roman Polanski was photographing her, and she said that he raped her, basically.
BONJEAN: That's right. He pled guilty back in 1977 to having sex with an under-aged child, an under-aged woman. Now he is in Switzerland. He is in their provisional detention, meaning he's under arrest.
But the United States still has to extradite him, still has to seek extradition, and he has the right to fight that, and that could take months.
CHETRY: First, his lawyers have indicated that he will fight that. What does that mean for the case, then?
BONJEAN: That means that it's probably going to be just five months of foot dragging. Quite honestly, even though there are grounds on which he could fight the extradition, chances are the United States will be able to get him back here.
And in the meantime, the French, the Polish are trying to get his release on bail so that at least he can live in his home in Switzerland until that process is finished.
CHETRY: OK, so meantime, if he does come back here, what is he facing? The original sentencing and then on top of that, charges of jumping bail and being on the lam?
BONJEAN: That's a possibility, but it's really unclear. Because he left before he was actually sentenced, he hasn't actually been sentenced in this case. He did do like 42 days prior to the sentencing hearing, but...
CHETRY: And he claims he was led to believe it would be time served?
BONJEAN: Correct. There seemed to be an agreement between the prosecutors and the defense attorneys that that would be the extent of his incarceration.
But then he got wind at the last minute the judge might give him more time and that's why he actually fled, or that's the motivation that's been reported.
So now he's going to come back. He has all these allegations that the original plea and what occurred afterwards, there was misconduct involved between the prosecutors and the judges, and he has grounds to try to actually vacate his guilty plea or dismiss the indictment altogether.
So I'm sure he will attempt to do that once he is back here. So whether he actually gets sentenced or whether that gets litigated is really up in the air, because it's an unusual procedure.
CHETRY: Yes, there are a lot of twists and turns to this case.
Another one is the victim herself, Samantha Geimer, who publicly forgave Polanski back in 1987. And in January she actually filed a formal request again with the L.A. prosecutors to drop the charges against him.
She went on to say that, basically, she wants the case dismissed, and she would argue for that. She said that -- she also told Larry King back in 2003 that she felt his punishment was secondary and she just wanted all the craziness to stop.
If the victim is saying she doesn't want him prosecuted, how much weight does that carry?
BONJEAN: It carries weight, but not in an official type of way. Obviously she doesn't get any discretion to say whether or not the D.A.'s office proceeds with the charges. But she is the prime witness. They would want her cooperation, her support, her blessing, and they don't have it right now. So that does create a little bit of wrinkle.
But technically they can proceed without her.
CHETRY: Because she gave testimony years ago and described how traumatic it was and how she was raped.
BONJEAN: But if the guilty plea is actually vacated for some reason, they would still need her testimony. She never said she wouldn't give it, she just says she doesn't support proceeding at this point.
CHETRY: All right, well, this remains up in the air. As we said, it will be a several-month process before we find out if he even is willing to leave Switzerland to come to the U.S. Either way, Jennifer Bonjean, criminal defense attorney, thanks for being with us.
BONJEAN: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Najibullah Zazi, how did he go from being a street vendor to an alleged and charged terrorist? We'll follow the trail. It's long and convoluted.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 42 minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Najibullah Zazi is in New York to face terrorism charges. Federal prosecutors say that he may have been planning to bomb a New York target on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
ROBERTS: So just who is this guy and how did he allegedly go from street vendor to terrorist? Our Susan Candiotti has been digging into Zazi's background. She's here now. So, what'd you find out?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What made him tick and why did he do it, what was his motive? Those are questions of course that everyone wants to know. By the time he was arrested, the FBI says Zazi had already been to an Al Qaeda training camp and already made bomb-making chemicals back here. Regardless, authorities say they caught up with him just in time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Before Najibullah Zazi got a police escort to New York, those who knew him in Colorado said he showed no signs that he had terror on his mind.
KARIM ABDULLLAH, AURORA ISLAMIC CENTER: When I saw him, he would come. He was pleasant when he attended here. He never espoused any of his beliefs or ideas or anything. He would just attend, make the prayer, and leave.
CANDIOTTI: But for Zazi, according to coworkers, friends and court records, making it in America was a struggle.
RICHARD GROSS, ZAZI'S EMPLOYER: The best adjective to describe him is hardworking. He would work approximately 80 hours per week.
CANDIOTTI: Born in Afghanistan, Zazi's family moved to Pakistan, and then joined his father, who drove a taxi in New York. In the 1990s, Zazi went to a Queens, New York, high school, but dropped out.
He ran a sidewalk coffee cart in Manhattan's financial district. Last March, records show he filed for bankruptcy. He racked up more than $51,000 in credit card debt, citing an $800 monthly income.
Zazi named more than two dozen creditors, including several banks, a department store, and other retailers, including Radio Shack. Last August, a month before his arrest, his bankruptcy file was closed, his huge debt left unpaid, yet somehow he managed trips back and forth to Pakistan, where he has a wife and children.
Investigators say Zazi admitted a trip to Pakistan last year that included weapons and explosives training at an Al Qaeda camp. When Zazi returned in January, he moved from New York to an apartment outside Denver. Employers say he passed TSA security checks and drove an airport shuttle.
GROSS: Mr. Zazi had indicated that he was receiving harassment from certain airport officials about his beard. There's been some harassment of Middle Easterners at the airport.
CANDIOTTI: Last summer, investigators say Zazi and others bought bomb-making ingredients at beauty supply stores and his laptop had bomb recipes.
Days before the 9/11 anniversary, court records say he booked a suite like this at a Colorado hotel, where chemical residue was found in a vent above a stove.
On September 9th, authorities say Zazi drove a rental car to New York, intending to carry out an attack, but was tipped off that he was being watched and flew back to Colorado.
He calls the charges a fantasy, ready to do battle in court.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: And his arraignment is tomorrow morning. A terrorist squad is still making its case against Zazi, trying to find all those chemicals he bought, still trying to find others they say who were helping him, and what was his target? That of course, is another mystery here.
ROBERTS: I talked to some law enforcement officials over the weekend. They think this guy's the real deal.
CANDIOTTI: That would appear to be the case. He had the ingredients. He tried to get a u-haul truck. Where were the others, what was he intended to do?
CHETRY: And you also point out, where are the materials? They have yet to be found, right?
CANDIOTTI: That's right. Kind of scary.
ROBERTS: All right Susan Candiotti this morning with the latest. Susan, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, it was the debut of this year's season of "Saturday Night Live." And she was the new girl in her debut skit, and she dropped the f-bomb on air.
ROBERTS: Made an impact her first time out.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: I guess so. Probably not the one she wanted to make, but we'll show you some more of it. its
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Good morning, New York City, where it's a little hazy, but still sunny, 60 degrees right now, a little cooler than we've had it over the last few days. Later on today, some isolated thunderstorms and a high in the mid-70s. All in all, a beautiful day for late September.
It's the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," brand-new cast member Jenny Slate making her debut. So what does she do playing a biker chick saying the work "fricking" over and over? She slips and says the right thing, dropping an f-bomb live on television.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You frickin' just threw an ashtray full of butts at my head. You know what, you stood up for yourself and I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) love you for that. You're in my heart, babe. You're in my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: I love when she realizes she did it. She see her cheeks puff out like, uh-oh.
It's actually happened several times before on "Saturday Night Live," the past couple of times during "Weekend Update." Not immediately known if any disciplinary action will be taken against the actresses. But she was aware when she just...
CHETRY: Do they get a chance to beep it out at some point?
ROBERTS: I think it only ran on the east coast addition.
CHETRY: Well, there you go, if that's any consolation.
It's 51 minutes past the hour.
(WEATHER BREAK)
ROBERTS: By the way, in Detroit they're using another f-word. The f-word is "finally." The Lions won. So what's a worse thing than being the Detroit Lions today? Being the Washington Redskins, because they lost. We have a full report on the NFL highlights coming right up with our Carol Costello. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: They're staying alive in Detroit, that's for sure. Right now, it's 56 degrees, a little bit of wind there in Detroit. But later, showers and 60 degrees.
Right now it's 57 minutes past the hour. We've all heard the bad jokes -- how do you keep the Detroit Lions out of your yard?
ROBERTS: Put up a goalpost.
Where do you go when a tornado hits Detroit City?
CHETRY: Ford Field, they never have a touchdown there.
(LAUGHTER)
However, now you can hear the sighs of relief coming from sports fans in Detroit this morning. They're no longer the laughing stock.
ROBERTS: It finally happened, the Lions won a game. For more, she's our own Lions die-hard fan and has the hat to prove it, Carol Costello is on the story this morning, live from Washington.
I'll bet you had a huge party last night.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I did have a huge party, and I'm here in Washington this morning, and people aren't talking to me. I can't understand it. Jim Acosta, a long-time Redskins fan, threatened to burn my hat. He's a violent man, that Jim Acosta.
Let's talk about the game, shall we, because the game was blacked out in Detroit because not enough people bought tickets. It had its lowest attendance since 1989, only 40,000 plus hit the stands.
I think "Detroit Free Press" columnist Mitch Albom said it best: "For lions fans, our long local nightmare is over." And you saw the moment. Let's savor it.
Rookie quarterback Matthew Sapper threw to Brian Johnson. We just saw that, and then the celebration. Redskins fans, I'm sorry, but the Detroit Lions actually looked good.
The players who prayed in the locker room after the game then went back out on to the field to celebrate with their long-suffering fans again.
Again, Mitch Albom summed it up best. He said, "After 644 losing days, 21 losing months, 18 losing Sundays, one losing Thursday, four starting quarterbacks, one fired coach, one tar and feathered team president, and million bad jokes about Detroit's futility, there is something to celebrate."
The headline in the District of Columbia this morning, look at it, "Washington bails out Detroit." The talk around town, the Redskins coach Jim Zorin may be fired very soon. Of course we'll keep you posted.
But go lions.
ROBERTS: It's one. It's not bad. Let's see if you can make it two.
COSTELLO: It would be terrible if they went 1-15, but I don't think that's going to happen.
CHETRY: No, you guys got enough -- you finally, after getting to pick for so long, hopefully you got a good team there. Carol, we're happy for you, seriously.
But it was not the only NFL headline yesterday. Of course, all eyes were on Philadelphia. Michael Vick played for the first time for him, what, 36 months, was it?
COSTELLO: Yes, 36 months. He had his actual on field debut. And it was downright unimpressive against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But to be fair, Vick was rusty and he was nervous. He told reporters as the national anthem played, he was thinking about his grandmother. She died while Vick was in prison and she wanted to make him proud of him again.
NBC sports analyst Tony Dungy said, who is also one of Vick's mentors, said, "Vick told me he can't remember having butterflies before a game, but he had butterflies today." Vick says, "I did just fine. No turnovers and the next game will be better."
ROBERTS: There you go. Well, we'll watch that. And good luck with your Lions next week, too, by the way.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE)
COSTELLO: I'll get you your hat. I'll send them to New York.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: All right, thanks.
CHETRY: Poor Jim (ph).
All right, well, continued conversation on today's stories by the way. Go to our blog, cnn.com/amfix. And we'll see you back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Yes. The news continues right now with Heidi Collins in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
