Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Health Care "Miles to Go" After Committee Vote; Public Option for Insurance; Ivanka Trump's Wedding; Suspended Animation to Delay Death
Aired October 14, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That brings us up to the top of the hour. It's the 14th of October. It's a Wednesday morning. Thanks for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
Here are the big stories we're going to be telling you about in the next 15 minutes. Health care reform clears a major hurdle in the senate and there's a whole new phase today. Critics are already mounting attacks after the Finance Committee passed its version of reform, arguing that it could make trips to the doctor more expensive. Well, we're looking at where all of this is headed now and the new battle that will begin today.
ROBERTS: Right now parts of southern California at risk for dangerous landslides. That's because a powerful storm is drenching areas that were scorched by wildfires last month. Evacuations are underway.
In just a moment, we're going to check in with Rob Marciano to find out just how bad the storm is going to be and how long it will last.
CHETRY: Also coming up: Our Christine Romans goes one on one with Ivanka Trump -- a revealing look at how she feels carrying the weight of the Trump name and how difficult economic times have affected her.
Here's a sneak peek of Christine's interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVANKA TRUMP, AUTHOR, "TRUMP CARD": Sometimes, the best opportunities are the ones that aren't fully obvious. So, I have seized every opportunity afforded to me by carrying my last name. But I don't know that a lot of people have the same instinct to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Christine will be here with more for us on her interview with Ivanka, coming up.
We begin though with a major hurdle cleared in the critical health care debate. After months and months of going back and forth, the Senate Finance Committee approved an $829 billion bill to remake the nation's health care system. And this plan requires all Americans to have insurance. It does without a so-called "public option," that would be a government-funded, government-run insurance plan.
The only Republican who supported the bill, Senator Olympia Snowe, spoke to us just a few minutes ago on AMERICAN MORNING to talk about why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: What about your fellow GOPers who say they're just doing what their districts want them to do?
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: Well, I don't -- I don't disagree with that. I oppose the individual mandate, and I have made changes in the committee with Senator Schumer, and I hope we revisit that issue, as I said yesterday, on the floor. It's not about punishing and penalizing people. It's about our responsibility to deliver affordable health care.
But that doesn't mean to say that there isn't a problem. It's the rising health care costs. And that's why I drew the analogy to the Titanic. And it really is similar to turning the Titanic around before it hits an iceberg.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, there are also a lot of questions out there over whether or not this bill will help sick people get better and prevent people from getting sick in the first place without going broke. And if you think the debate was intense this summer -- well, you certainly haven't seen anything yet.
We're all over this developing story. Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill with a look at where all of it's going now.
Because we keep saying this has cleared a major hurdle. But when you look at how much further we need to go before there's even a bill on the president's desk, well, that will tire you out.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, months ahead of us, in fact. The goal, to have a bill by the end of the year. But the next phase now begins actually today: combining that more conservative bill from the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, which, as you mentioned, does not have that government-run insurance option, with another Senate bill, a bill from the Senate Health Committee, which does.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): With millions of eyes around the country watching, the call came down.
CLERK: Fourteen ayes, nine nays.
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT), FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The ayes have it.
KEILAR: The Senate Finance Committee's hotly debated plan for health care reform passed, thanks to 13 Democrats and one lone Republican, Olympia Snowe of Maine.
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: Was this bill all that I would want? From far it. Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls.
KEILAR: The plan has an $829 billion price tag. It prevents insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and requires all Americans to have insurance. That would be done in part by expanding Medicaid and offering subsidies to people who can't afford it.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are now closer than ever before to passing health reform, but we're not there yet. Now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back. Now is not the time to offer ourselves congratulations. Now is the time to dig in and work even harder to get this done.
KEILAR: And the road to getting health care done is still long and winding. The first hurdle: a government-run insurance plan. The so-called public option isn't in the finance committee's bill, but it is in another Senate proposal. Those plans now have to be blended together, and lawmakers remain divided.
Another sticking point: paying for reform by taxing high-end private insurance plans. Critics of that idea are already sounding off, including labor unions. Many of them gave up pay increases to get better health care in the first place. And this morning, less than 24 hours after the finance committee's vote, their opposition is in black and white in the morning papers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And I just want to give you another look at this ad from 28 different unions, a full-page ad. This is in the "Washington Post" today. It's also in other papers. And it says that this Senate Finance Committee bill that passed yesterday is deeply flawed because it doesn't have a public option and because of that tax on those high- end plans that will hit some union members.
This is a key constituency for those Democrats who will be sitting down today and throughout the next couple weeks trying to sort out a Senate bill. And sources telling us, Kiran, we likely will not see that bill on the Senate floor until the week of October 26th. That's the week after next.
CHETRY: All right. Still some time there, but a long, long way to go and a lot to reconcile before we see anything happen.
KEILAR: Yes.
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar for us this morning, thanks so much. Also, don't go anywhere. Coming up in less than 10 minutes, we're going to be taking a look at what's next in this make or break health care debate. And we'll talk to Jennifer Donahue -- she's a political director at the New Hampshire Institute for Politics; and independent analyst, John Avlon.
We're going to talk about whether or not it's the extremes on the far right and the far left that will ultimately dictate moves forward.
ROBERTS: A real and dangerous threat this morning in southern California. A powerful storm system is drenching the hillsides near Los Angeles that were devastated by wildfires last month. Residents who had evacuated because of the flames are now boarding up and bracing for mud and debris that could bury neighborhoods.
Our Rob Marciano is live. He's at the extreme weather center in Atlanta this morning.
Rob, how bad does it look these storms are going to get today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the rainfall has shifted a little farther south. The wind has diminished somewhat. But now that the ground is saturated in spots, we're looking at the potential for seeing more of that ground move. As a matter of fact, just out of Fresno County, we just had this flash flood warning issued for Fresno, just east in the Sierra foothills.
Ten to 12 inches of rainfall measured in that rain gauge there. That is a tremendous amount. They are certainly concerned about potentially seeing the ground move there.
Check out some of these pictures coming into us near Pebble Beach. Not only is it a rain event but wind event as well. Some of the measured wind gusts over 70 miles an hour. In Twin Peaks, San Francisco, 75-mile an hour wind gusts, Los Gatos, California, 87-mile an hour wind gust. And that on top of the rain certainly poses a bit of a problem. So, there are people without power because of that.
But the winds right now are not that bad. We're looking at wind gusts that are about 20 miles an hour maybe right now. So, that's not horrible, certainly. But the rainfall shifting to Santa Barbara, that's my area of concern right now, John and Kiran, the gap burn area there could very well slide if it continues to get rain. And right now, the radar is showing a significant amount of rain moving into the Santa Barbara area. We'll keep an eye on that throughout the morning.
Back over to you.
ROBERTS: All right. Rob, looking forward to hearing back from you. Thanks.
MARCIANO: You bet.
CHETRY: And just into CNN this morning, $3.6 billion in profit. That is what JPMorgan Chase is now reporting for their third quarter results. The New York-based bank has shattered profit expectations for several quarters now. The company is losing money on credit cards, but making lots and lots of it trading and underwriting. U.S. stock futures surged Wednesday fueled by this $3.6 billion profit results.
ROBERTS: Wow.
It's been a better recruiting year for the military. The Pentagon says, for the very first time since the draft ended in 1973, every branch of the military met its annual recruitment goals. Military leaders credit higher pay and bonuses and a lack of jobs in a down economy for the surge in enlistments.
CHETRY: And also, Rush Limbaugh's hitting back at critics who are opposing his bid to buy a stake in the St. Louis Rams. The conservative talk show host says that he is a victim of totally made- up, fabricated quotes attributed to him. He calls them outrageous and slanderous. He also notes that he would be the minority owner in the group.
Anyway, meanwhile, owners of other teams are weighing in. The Indianapolis Colts is saying he would vote against Limbaugh. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says that Limbaugh's divisive comments would not be tolerated.
ROBERTS: Well, we ask for your thoughts on Rush Limbaugh's bid to buy the Rams. And you answered by sounding off on our blog. It turns out you're pretty evenly divided on the issue.
Check it out. Marcus says, "Nope, he should not be able to own a part of team in any sport. What he has said is clearly racist and it's irritating that he keeps saying he is not one." And Rod Davis kept it brief, saying, "Not only no, but hell no."
CHETRY: Also, Todd has to say this. "Although I don't agree with a good portion of Rush Limbaugh's views, him being denied by the NFL because of his opinions is basically discrimination. And the fact that anybody would be cool with that, especially anyone who is part of a group who's been discriminated against, it's not only hypocrite cal, it's sad."
Also, John O. says, "I don't believe it's appropriate to suggest that anyone who can afford it should be restricted from buying anything."
ROBERTS: Got something to say? Keep those comments coming, sound off on our blog at CNN.com/amFIX.
Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, back in January, wowed the world by putting an air bus down in the Hudson River and saved everyone on board. Well, he is back. He's got a new book out called "Highest Duty." And we'll be talking to Sully coming up in a couple minutes, about some of the things that are in the book about his remembrances of that day.
And, you know, he learned a lot of life lessons. For example, what life lesson did he learn from his father committing suicide? It's a really interesting read. We'll be talking to Sully coming up.
CHETRY: We look forward to hearing from him.
Also, we said stock futures surged Wednesday. I'm trying to fast forward the week. It's only Tuesday. But wow, those earnings from JPMorgan Chase, and we're going to be talking more with Christine Romans about what's going on. These companies turning in record profits a year after the financial -- our entire financial system almost collapsed. What's going on?
Ten minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Twelve minutes after the hour.
And some breaking news -- it's only breaking news to me that today is Wednesday. Wow. The early morning hours sometimes cloud the brain.
It's 46 degrees right now and a little cloudy in Washington, D.C. A little bit later, going up to 53. It's going to be cloudy and, again, it will be Wednesday all day.
Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
President Obama's push for health care reform is now facing its toughest battle. Lawmakers have to blend now five bills, there's three over in the House, there's two in the Senate. One has a public option where government would pay for insurance. One does not.
The Senate Finance Committee bill passed yesterday with just one Republican supporter. That was Senator Olympia Snowe, who joined me to talk a little while ago.
And now, we're going to talk about what this means for the future of bipartisanship, and independent voices in Washington.
Jennifer Donahue, she's a political director at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. She joins us this morning.
Hey, Jennifer, good to see you.
JENNIFER DONAHUE, NEW HAMPSHIRE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: Good morning.
CHETRY: And also, independent analyst John Avlon, a columnist for TheDailyBeast.com, as well, joining me in studio.
John, good to see you as well.
JOHN AVLON, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: Good morning.
CHETRY: And so, after all this time, all the amendments all of the, quote-unquote, "bipartisanship efforts," the "gang of six" as they called it in the finance committee, all boils down to only one Republican in both sides of the aisle, both houses of Congress, voting for any type of reform. What does that say, John?
AVLON: It's a huge condemnation of how hyper-partisan our politics have become. You know, in the past, broad social legislation passed with broad bipartisan majorities. But now, we're in a situation where, you know, liberal Republicans are basically extinct and conservative Democrats are an endangered species.
The hyper-polarization of both parties has really left the center a place where there are only a couple courageous voices. And what's interesting, though, is that those voices have the most influence in this debate. That should be a reminder that, at the end of the day, even though parties are polarized, the center is where the balance of power is in American politics.
CHETRY: And, Jennifer, it's interesting, because we love to blame our congressmen and women. And, you know, we talk about the approval ratings being in the 20s, et cetera. But a lot of them were scared away by what they heard during the August recess and their constituents in some of these, especially conservative districts who were so against any type of changes to health care reform.
What does that say about us as a nation as well?
DONAHUE: Well, I think what it says is that people are very confused.
And speaking of approval numbers, Snowe actually enjoys a 70 plus approval rating in Maine. She can do anything she wants. And she's the only vote that matters in the Senate, because it gets them to 60, which means that they can do it as a stand-alone bill and not a reconciliation bill, which is really reserved for budget bills and would be breaking the rules.
In the House, it's going to be a free for all. You're going to see a lot of liberal Democrats and some blue dog Democrats, and especially those up for re-election, pushing for the public option.
But what Snowe knows and what I think the Senate Finance Committee knows, maybe Reid knows, is that the public is behind increasing health insurance for all Americans. They're scared. One in ten Americans don't have a job and therefore don't have health insurance. The bottom line -- give me health insurance. I don't really care about the public option right now. Do I care philosophically, maybe? But let's leave it as a stand-alone idea and explain it to me first.
CHETRY: And so John, this is the other interesting thing. Is it shaping up to be a debate between the Republicans -- Democrats themselves when it comes to this? What we have passed in the Senate and what we have passed in the House so far, it's going to take a lot of mashing together to get anything that looks the same. They're very different. AVLON: Yes, let the blending begin. That's going to be the theme of the next couple weeks. You raise a good point. Right now the big debate's happening within the Democratic Party -- the divisions between centrist and liberal Democrats. And Republicans have basically taken themselves off the field. I don't think that necessarily makes a better bill. What we see within the Baucus bill is something that the CBO is said reduces the debts in the long run.
There is no public option with a lot of people including many independents are concerned becomes a slippery slope to single payer. So you have an opportunity to improve a bill which really makes sense to a large number of folks in the center and independent voters. That's the obligation. Try to form a bill with as much bipartisan support as possible. When all the play's taking place on the left side of the field that gets diminished.
CHETRY: And the other interesting thing, Jennifer is, you know, I was wondering this today. Some of us in the newsroom were asking this. Who really has more to lose when you take a look at this? Is it the Republicans who if something gets passed, they had nothing to do with what could be one of the most significant changes in our laws in several decades? Or is it Democrats who in some cases, and as we've seen in some of these town hall meetings, people are against this, feel as though they've overstepped, they didn't have a mandate for some of what may get pushed through?
DONAHUE: Well I think in the Senate you see Republicans who will pay a price, those who are up for re-election, if they don't support a bipartisan bill. I think as it gets to the House, it's more likely the bill is partisan. And it's more likely you see a partisan line vote. Who pays, really, is House Democrats, liberals, who aren't willing to consider bipartisanship. Because when 2010 comes, the Americans ultimately -- that have to vote for them might not like what they see. There's no truer way to lose a majority than to overreach on politics. We saw it in 1994. We've seen it time and time again.
CHETRY: Right.
DONAHUE: And if that's what they stick to amidst, as John says, a non -- divided nation on many issues and a divided Congress, it would be the Democrats that lose more.
CHETRY: Alright quick yes or no for both of you. Do you think Obama's going to get a bill, the President is going to get a bill by the end of this year, John?
AVLON: I do.
CHETRY: And Jennifer?
DONAHUE: Absolutely.
CHETRY: Alright that's -- you guys are very optimistic about this, which is good.
DONAHUE: It won't be a bipartisan bill, though. CHETRY: We'll have to wait and see, Jennifer Donahue and John Avlon. Thanks.
We want to mention really quickly John also has a new book out right now, it's called. "Attack of the Wingnuts." how the lunatic fringe is hijacking American politics and every Friday John has his picks for wing nut on the left and the right. We always look forward to that. John thanks.
AVLON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: I think we should actually make -- create some of those wing nut crowns and sell them. What do you think?
CHETRY: Hey now you know what to be for Halloween.
ROBERTS: Ivanka Trump, the 26 year old daughter of the Donalds showing that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Christine Romans talks with her coming right up, 18 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-one and a half minutes after the hour. Christine Romans minding your business, she's here now and a quick correction as we get into this.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's Wednesday?
ROBERTS: No, no, no, no. I'll correct what I do.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: I said that Ivanka Trump was 26. That's not true. She's far older than that.
ROMANS: Yeah. She was born in October 1981.
ROBERTS: She's 27. She'll be 28 at the end of the month.
ROMANS: Ivanka Trump and I sat down with her yesterday for a fascinating interview about her new book called "the Trump Card." a card she is playing quite well. She is the one who has a jewelry business. She is a model. She's someone who was one of the youngest directors if not the youngest director of a publicly traded company in this country. She's got the Trump name. I mean that helps, right? In the book, though, she talks about how it sort of cuts both ways. She recalls being 9 years old, walking to school and seeing tabloid covers about her parents' divorce and split and how hard that was. How it was very difficult for her and her brothers, drew them all together. But also being Trump has really given her a leg up. I asked her -- I asked her about whether she has -- she has benefited from being the Donald's daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: What do you tell people who might say that you had a leg up to start, and that makes things easier for you?
IVANKA TRUMP: I acknowledge it. I did. And I know a lot of people who have legs up. And choose not to climb the ladder. It's all about harnessing what you have available to you and making it work for you. You know, I'm really not one to dwell on some of the challenges that I face, given the fact that, you know, people will always undermine and underestimate me. Because the fact is, I view the family I was born into as a tremendous asset for me. And that, you know, doesn't bother me or doesn't shame me to admit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So clearly she's got a brand at this young age. She's getting married in just a couple weeks. We talked about her upcoming wedding. "The New York Times" just did a story on everything she registered for her wedding. I said what did you think when you opened up "The New York Times" and saw they're talking about the spatula you registered for.
She couldn't believe it. She said that she got about 40 e-mails from people who were invited to her wedding. And some people who hadn't been invited, saying "The New York Times" was trying to find a copy of the wedding invitation and nobody would give it to them. And I said, that means you invited the right people to your wedding. There will be a lot of people at her wedding coming up in a couple of weeks.
ROBERTS: So she's smart, she's well schooled, she's also a charmer.
CHETRY: She is a charmer.
ROBERTS: Can I read the inscription?
ROMANS: You can read the inscription. Yes she is charming and she...
ROBERTS: You got her to sign this for your kids. Here's what she writes: To Billie and Fin. Your mom is the greatest. Follow her example, and you'll do great.
ROMANS: She's really into inspiring young women in the workplace. That's who says the book is for, it's for young women in the workplace. She thinks there are a lot of business books out there that are self-help books that aren't from the point of view of a young woman in business.
ROBERTS: That was really nice that she wrote something to your kids, praising you
ROMANS: Yea, yea, yea, that was sweet.
ROBERTS: She's going to go far.
ROMANS: She definitely has the Donald charm gene.
ROBERTS: She does. Good piece. Christine thanks so much.
Captain Chesley Sully Sullenberger brought down a Flight 1549 U.S. Airways into the Hudson River safely nine months ago. He's out with a new book, talking about that experience and really every experience in his life that led to that moment. It's a fascinating interview coming up in just a few minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Cheating death. Even the words sound impossible. Imagine this. What if there was a drug that could be injected into critically wounded soldiers to force them into a state of suspended animation and later bring them back from the dead?
ROBERTS: Sounds like the stuff is science fiction but it's real. The research is actually under way. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with us now from Washington to show us where it's happening and why - this is pretty amazing stuff, doc.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is amazing and I got to tell you. Even before I started writing all this I didn't know a lot about suspended animation. But there's a theme that started to emerge. The theme is you've got to buy time. If you buy time you can fix a lot of problems. A new form of CPR can buy minutes. Therapeutic hypothermia can buy hours. Then this idea of suspended animation can buy even more time. The scientist you're about to meet is a bona fide genius, McArthur genius; also on a personal mission. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Mark Roth is a biologist in Seattle. He's at the Fred Hutchison cancer research center. Here in this lab he developed the approach of cheating death through suspended animation. Is the premise that if you can buy doctors or health care professionals a little bit more time?
MARK ROTH, BIOLOGIST: The whole emergency medicine, having -- it takes -- it's a time dependent thing. And somebody either has enough time or they don't.
GUPTA: Enough time. But there's something else. For Roth, the fight against death is also personal. It's grounded in a family tragedy. What happened to your daughter?
ROTH: She passed away when she was 1 after spending a month in the ICU following heart surgery.
GUPTA: Do you think that that had an impact on your choice of scientific pursuits?
ROTH: Oh, it did, yeah. Yeah. I spent - there are things that happened. You get -- it focuses the mind when certain things happen to people. It certainly focused mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GUPTA: On that particular day, Mark Roth showed me how he put animals into a state of suspended animation, actually injecting a substance or in this case allowing them to breathe a substance that essentially stopped their breathing, stopped their heart rate. They really looked dead. But, in fact, they were just suspended. Then he was able to reanimate them as well. So far it's small animals. He's going to pigs next and has already started to recruited humans for trials as well. So as you mentioned this is happening.
ROBERTS: You know, Sanjay, the world of science is fiction I guess, suspended animation is sort of you know - we don't have a cure yet, so we're going to put them into suspended animation and years from now when we have the cure we wake them back up and we give them the cure.
But practically, in an emergency situation, physiologically, too, how does this whole thing work?
GUPTA: It's sort of interesting. Think about this. Right now we're breathing in 21 percent oxygen. That's what air is, 21 percent oxygen. If I were to take it down to 2 percent, we would die.
But the theory is this. If you take it down to .0002 percent, a really low amount, you could potentially live as long as you provided some sort of fuel for the cells in your body so they wouldn't die.
That's exactly what Roth and his team are focused on. Give a substance that at once blocks all the oxygen in your body but provides an alternative fuel source as well. He's focused on something known as ketones.
The scenario that they paint, you've got a mortally wounded soldier on the battlefield. There is just not enough time to get that patient back to a hospital. They give this substance. The heart rate stops, the heartbeat stops, the breathing stop. They get the patient on an airplane, move him to the hospital.
When the whole team is in place, they reanimate, and the team goes to work. That's the sort of scenario that's been describe for me so far.
ROBERTS: So what you basically do is you stop the dying process, right?
GUPTA: Yes. You truly suspend it. And it's about buying a lot more time than people have ever, ever imagined.
CHETRY: It really is fascinating, being able to be put to practical use, because you talk about it all the time, how those seconds after a trauma are what really make a difference whether you survive or not. So that's just amazing.
GUPTA: I asked Mark Roth, and I asked, look, if you had enough time, could you fix just about anything? And this sort of goes back to John's question, the idea the miracle cure is just around the corner. We're not there yet. But 10 years ago it was just science fiction. No one imagined this could actually be reality. And Mark's proven it could. I think it was in part because of his daughter and in part because of a lot of the science he's been studying. But it's happening.
ROBERTS: I love this amazing stuff. Sanjay Gupta is for us this morning. Doc, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thanks, guys.
ROBERTS: Coming up tomorrow, the high school football ref who collapsed in cardiac arrest on the field, no heartbeat for nearly three minutes. See what he says he witnessed as he felt himself slipping away to the other side. His emotional interview tomorrow right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
And don't forget this Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 p.m. eastern, join Dr. Sanjay Gupta as he examines the medical miracles that are saving lives in the face of death. "Cheating Death" Saturday and Sunday night -- and don't forget to buy the book.
CHETRY: There it is. It's a fascinating read. He's got a lot of people like Lance Armstrong, President Bill Clinton who highly recommend it. So it's a good endorsement.
Checking your top stories now, Florida Democrat Congress Robert Wexler will reportedly resign his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reports say that the Congressman, the seven-term congressman, will make the announcement in about 90 minutes from Boca Raton, Florida.
Wexler has been long involved in issues involving Israel and Turkey. Sources say that he may be taking a job, or that he will be taking a job with a Middle East think tank.
ROBERTS: Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, forming a conservative organization to take on the Obama White House and its approach to foreign policy.
The new group, called "Keep America Safe," says it doesn't agree with the president's policies on Iraq, Afghanistan, and the planned closing of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
CHETRY: The Navy thinks that letting women serve on submarines. Right now they don't do that, but supporters say it's a matter of fairness.
The idea getting some pushback from sailors and their wives, many of them complaining that when women and men are in close quarters for weeks at a time on a sub it's a recipe for ruined marriages and sexual harassment cases.
A sobering assessment of the war in Afghanistan from America's top commander, General Stanley McChrystal reportedly telling the president no matter how many troops we send in there is still a high risk of failure.
McChrystal's written request for reinforcements has been kept secret by the White House, but the Associated Press reports it contains a gloomy view of our prospects for victory.
The general reportedly expressing concerns about rampant construction in the Afghan government that could ultimately derail attempts to defeat the Taliban as well as Al Qaeda.
The president will meet again today with his national security team. And our Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House. And Suzanne, we've seen several of these meetings taking place now. What will be the focus today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, we know this is the fifth meeting with his war council. What they've assessed before is looking at the security situation in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, they've tried to take stock of the afghan government, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, how strong they are.
Obviously what today is going to be about is resources, U.S. troops. At the same time, what the president wants to do is he's trying to convince the American people that his goal is consistent in Afghanistan, that he's trying to diminish, dismantle the ability for Al Qaeda to plot and plan terrorist attacks against the United States.
So what they're looking at now is resources, how do they allocate, divide those resources to basically support various parts of this goal, to support this goal. Here's how the president described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The military security that's provided and our ability to train Afghan forces is one element of it.
Another element of it is making sure that we are doing a good job in helping build capacity on the civilian side, in areas like agriculture and education.
And I would expect that we will have a completion of this current process in the coming weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Kiran, I've been emailing back and forth with several CNN administration officials this morning to get a sense, what is the president talking about when we says in the coming weeks? Obviously this is meeting number five. There's going to be another meeting, a sixth meeting, that coming up next week.
He's going to take a look at all of this. They say the most important thing is that this is an effective strategy to meet that goal. But all of this still very much in flux and a severe debate that is taking place inside of this building -- Kiran? CHETRY: Absolutely. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning at the White House. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Captain Sully Sullenberger took his first flight back on that fateful track between LaGuardia and Charlotte, North Carolina just a little while ago.
While we take him back to the scene where he put US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River and talked about his experiences and sort of what led him to that day. It's all revealed in a brand-new book called "Highest Duty," and Sully will be joining us in just a couple moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Wow, it looks pretty out there. But don't let it fool you. It's only 44 degrees in New York this morning, partly cloudy a little bit later, going up to a high of 53.
And welcome back to the most news in the morning.
You've heard from Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger about how he saved his passengers and crew. He even sat down with us. It was great to talk to him.
When US Airways Flight 1549 went down in what's been called "The Miracle on the Hudson." Now for the first time since February, Captain Sully actually goes back to the scene.
ROBERTS: In a revealing interview, he says that the loss of his father helped make him who he is today. We also talked about what he thinks about being called a hero now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERG, PILOT, U.S. AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549: If you move over here, you can just see the western pier of the George Washington Bridge. And we cleared it, they say, by about 900 feet. And so it was really never an issue. We were well above it.
ROBERTS: When you look out over this today, does it bring back a lot of vivid memories? Are they still right there?
SULLENBERG: Absolutely. It was such a memorable day and such a remarkable day.
ROBERTS: There you are up in an aircraft, both engines out. Did you panic?
SULLENBERG: No. but there was certainly a startle factor involved. My first response was one of disbelief. But within a few seconds you quickly focus on the task at hand. But it was startling.
ROBERTS: As you were coming down the controllers probably thought you were going to die. There were some passengers on the flight who later told you they thought you were going to die. But you didn't. Why?
SULLENBERG: Based on my experience, I was very confident I could make a successful water landing, keep the airplane intact.
ROBERTS: How did you know that? You've never done it before.
SULLENBERG: I knew the fundamental things I would have to do, and I was confident that I could do them. I knew I had to focus on the flight path, keep the airplane from hitting too hard, keep the wings level, have the nose up.
ROBERTS: You say in the book that Flight 1549 was not just a five-minute journey. It really was the journey of your entire life that brought you to that point. What do you mean by that?
SULLENBERG: Something about this event captured people's imaginations. And in order for me to be able to do what we did that day and to do what we've done since then in the aftermath required me to have lived my life in a certain way to be prepared for that in a kind of a thoughtful way.
ROBERTS: Right. But you learned a lot about the preservation of life and the importance of the preservation of life from your father's suicide. What did that teach you?
SULLENBERG: I think it just made me believe what I already knew, and that was that life is so fleeting and precious that we need to do everything we can to preserve it. And the fact that I couldn't save my father made me all the more anxious to save every single life I could on January 15th.
ROBERTS: Wow.
What did he teach you about responsibility, about the sense of giving back to the community, about keeping your word?
SULLENBERG: He was a real gentleman. I never remember him saying bad word about anybody. He knew clearly that leadership had to be by example, that respect had to be earned, and that loyalty is a two way street.
ROBERTS: One woman said, "Thank you for not making me a widow that day." Another woman said "Now I can have a baby." I'm sure you can recognize so much, so many people come up to you.
You say this about that, you say "When people seem so grateful to me, my foremost feeling is that I don't deserve this attention or their effusive thanks. I feel like a bit of an imposter." Why do you feel like that?
SULLENBERG: I certainly felt that way initially. But since then I realized what a great gift they are giving us. And I can accept that gift and not deny it or demean it without completely taking on the hero medal as my own.
ROBERTS: Did you not act heroically in that case? You could have panicked, thrown up your hands, said I don't know what to do and let the plane go into the ground.
SULLENBERG: I think I acted competently and professionally. If someone calls that hero, then I understand why.
ROBERTS: Did you experience post-traumatic stress to some degree?
SULLENBERG: We all did. It's human nature.
ROBERTS: What did you go through?
SULLENBERG: Distracted thoughts, the inability to sleep, the inability to turn your brain off. You couldn't read a magazine article or a newspaper for more than a few seconds without drifting off into thoughts of what had just happened.
ROBERTS: Not everybody, but a lot of us have a to-do list before we die.
SULLENBERG: A bucket list.
ROBERTS: A bucket list. What's in your bucket list now that wasn't there before as a result of what happened?
SULLENBERG: I'll tell you what, a lot fewer things than before January 15th. Again, this has afforded us amazing opportunities to meet people, to go places, to do things that we wouldn't have done in 10 normal lifetimes.
ROBERTS: Prior to this what was the defining moment in your life?
SULLENBERG: My answer is the same now as it was before January 15th. I had hoped that one day at a time, one human interaction at a time, I would have made a difference in enough small ways that in aggregate at the end of my life I would have made a difference for having been here. And I still think that's true.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It was great to get a chance to speak with him for as long as we did. We're going to put the whole interview, and it was about 20 minutes long, up on the Web site so folks can get a sense of really what it was over the course of his life that brought him to that moment, things like when he was learning how to fly he was 16 years old, a little field in the middle of nowhere in Texas.
Some guy had crashed a plane, died in a plane crash. The wreck sat there for almost a week. And he flew over it every day looking down, saying that's the consequence of making a mistake.
And just some of the other things in life along the way that brought him to where he was that day when he put that plane safely down in the Hudson.
CHETRY: So he really is amazing. He's somebody -- we met him for just a short amount of time. You spent more time with him yesterday. But I love that man. He just is such an inspiration.
ROBERTS: He exudes confidence, there's no question.
But here's the other thing that's really interesting about Sully is that his salary was cut 40 percent because of cutbacks at U.S. Air; lost two-thirds of his pension. He'd had a little commercial property that was a jiffy lube on. They decided not to renew the lease.
He and his wife not too long ago were thinking that they were going to have to sell their home to make ends meet. He started a little consulting business on the side. But as you can imagine, business for that consulting business has gone up dramatically.
He's now getting paid to give speeches.
CHETRY: Good for him.
ROBERTS: Reports are that he was given by the publisher $3.2 million to do two books. So the life of Captain Sully Sullenberger has turned around quite dramatically in the last nine months.
CHETRY: Well, he deserves it. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
ROBERTS: Absolutely, yes.
This a look at Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's brand-new book, by the way. It's called "Highest Duty" you can read an excerpt of the book by checking the AMERICAN MORNING blog, CNN.com/Amfix. And as I said, we'll get that entire interview posted up there on the blog so you can have a look at it.
CHETRY: All right, check it out. It's going to be good.
Meanwhile, there's a lot of controversy raging over French "Vogue's" newest cover where they have an American - a Caucasian model in blackface. Some are saying this is art, high art, they're sending a message, what is it?
Others are just saying its plain racist. Jason Carroll breaks it down for us.
It's 46 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Baseball's championship series starts tomorrow night as we know. And last names like Ramirez, Rodriguez, Martinez, baseball maybe America's past time but it's Latin America's passion.
In this Latino in America report, Soledad O'Brien shows you what these baseball players struggle with.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Mariano Rivera remembers well the first time the doors swung open for him. And he entered America 19 years ago. It was miserable.
MARIANO RIVERA, YANKEE RELIEF PITCHER: Miserable.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
RIVERA: Oh yes, miserable, I used to cry every day.
O'BRIEN: Really.
RIVERA: Because I couldn't communicate with my teammates.
O'BRIEN: Well before Rivera became famous for finishing games, the ten-time all-star closer had to endure a frustrating and lonely start. Fresh from Panama at 20 in a new country with a new job.
How about the rest of it? Navigating a checking account, navigating an apartment.
RIVERA: Now, you're talking - ordering food.
O'BRIEN: Yes, how do you that?
RIVERA: You're going to Burger King or anywhere where you have to order food.
O'BRIEN: You need to know more than si and no.
RIVERA: Oh, yes, you need to know more than that. A lot more than that.
O'BRIEN: The Yankees now know that, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to get him ready for the big leagues. But we also want to prepare them for the big leap here. Because it is, it's a leap. It's a big difference. It's a big change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of our 250 or so players in our system, 52 percent of them speak Spanish. It's a big deal.
O'BRIEN: And getting bigger every year.
Since 1995, Latinos on Major League rosters have increased some 65 percent and now account for more than a quarter of all big leaguers. In the minors, that number is almost 40 percent. And most teams have now launched their own programs to educate their investments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Players that go through our programs make better performers on the baseball diamond and we truly believe that these kids that go through our programs are going to have better chance at a better life because of what they've been through with us.
O'BRIEN: The Yankees' programs help Latinos learn about American culture, society and laws. And they not only teach English, but Spanish as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of the kids, they come from countries where they're third world countries. And a lot of them don't know how to read, don't know how to write. So we figure how is this kid going to learn English when we doesn't really know the language he speaks, his own language?
O'BRIEN: Four World Championships and more than 500 saves later, Rivera wishes those lessons could have saved him.
RIVERA: I told my teammates, you know what? You can laugh all you want. You can make fun of me all you want. But you can teach me. If I say the thing wrong, teach me. Please. And they did.
O'BRIEN: A lesson all of baseball seems to have learned as well.
The main reason the number of Latino players has risen so dramatically is that most teams have opened training facilities in the Dominican Republic. That gives the teams more of a presence in Latin America and a chance to see these kids who are either practicing or trying out for different teams virtually every day. There's no draft for international players. The Yankees say it's, quote, "a free market in its purest form."
Back to you, John and Kiran.
CHETRY: There you go. Very interesting. It's a whole new language, whole new culture, whole new life.
ROBERTS: It is, imagine if the shoe were on the other foot. If it was reversed and you were dumped somewhere where you'd never been before.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Programming note: we're only a week away now from "LATINO IN AMERICA." It's a comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing America. It's next Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: French "Vogue" magazine kind of shocks the world a little bit by putting a model on -- a Caucasian model on in blackface.
Is it ever acceptable to use blackface? Jason Carroll checks in on that issue coming right up.
Seven minutes now to the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: French "Vogue" magazine has been known to push the fashion envelope. A photo spread in this month's issue shows a white model posing in blackface.
CHETRY: Some people are asking is this really high fashion or is it just highly offensive? Jason Carroll following the controversy, reading some of your comments. And first tell us a story that you've been inundated with e-mails as well. A lot of people have an opinion about this.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of people e-mailing in. We're going to read some of them at the back end of this. Pop culture is one of the United States' most influential exports. But what happens when a once popular image falls out of the mainstream in this country because it's deemed offensive?
Blackface is an example of how it can still find an audience internationally.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: The imagery an embarrassing chapter in American entertainment. Blackface.
Popularized decades ago in minstrel shows and movies like 1927's "The Jazz Singer" but not a relic of the past. Pictures from French "Vogue's" latest edition showing a white Dutch model in blackface and body paint, wearing ethnic inspired clothes. Editors may say it's high fashion. It was something far more offensive to most of those we showed it to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anybody in this day and age slathers black paint on a white face and expects everybody to just be okay with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They think they're pushing the envelope. But really they're just being offensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clearly for fashion. You know, it's not made for any political purpose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think there are a lot of beautiful black women who could have probably played that role.
CARROLL: French "Vogue" did not return our calls for comment. Critics say without context, readers are left to assume the worst.
CHARLTON MCILWAIN, NYU PROFESSOR, RACE & MEDIA: What you see simply is another white performer being dressed up in blackface for the amusement, for the profit of whites.
CARROLL: The issue coming a week after a popular Australian talent show ran into trouble for this. American judge Harry Connick Jr. criticized the group's depiction of the Jackson 5. The show's host later apologized.
HARRY CONNICK JR., MUSICIAN: You know we've spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.
CARROLL: Outside the United States, it's not just Australia where blackface is still entertainment. In Japan, a popular soul group called Gosperat (ph) sells out shows. In Mexico an offensive looking comic book character ended up one of the country's national stamps in 2005. Despite criticism from the White House, the stamp was never pulled.
MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, BET CONTRIBUTOR: While we've come a long way, baby, we had a long way to come from. We still have a long way to go in terms of our global image.
CARROLL: Pop culture experts say other countries may not have experienced civil rights movements and national conversations about race the way America has and therefore may not have the same sensitivities. So it might be a while before blackface finally fades from the limelight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, that particular issue of French "Vogue" was supposed to celebrate super models. It featured names like Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer. No black super models made their cut.
As you can imagine a lot of folks wrote into us at amFix with some of their comments. I want to read some of them here.
JJ writes in and says, "I am black and I don't find this French "Vogue" pictorial offensive. I believe people are being too sensitive over this topic. But then again, you hear from people like Jack who says my immediate reaction was, no, it's never OK but I thought Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant in "Tropic Thunder." You remember that last year. That was well-received by both blacks and whites.
Dorothy though says "I think the real question is, are there no black models?" A lot of people raising that issue.
And finally, elcasari writes, "The exotic women in 'Vogue' looked even more beautiful with their bodies painted brown. What makes American news commentators greater experts than the French who actually taught us about interracial relationships?"
CHETRY: Interesting comments. Insightful comments. Jason thanks.
We also invite people to continue to e-mail us on our blog.
ROBERTS: Go to the blog cnn.com/amfix.
That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks for being with us on this Wednesday morning. We'll see you again tomorrow, Thursday morning.
CHETRY: I'm going to write that down. Thanks so much for being with us.
The news continues. Here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
