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American Morning
President Obama Commits to Finishing the job in Afghanistan; State Dinner: Affair to Remember in the White House; Behind the Scenes at the World's Busiest Airport
Aired November 25, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's a good Wednesday morning. Thanks for joining us. It's November the 25th. I'm John Roberts.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans in for Kiran Chetry this morning. Good morning, John. Here are the stories we're going to be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
President Obama committed to finishing the job in Afghanistan. And right now the Pentagon preparing detailed plans to help him do it. It's likely to include thousands of more troops, but where will these additional forces come from? And once they get to Afghanistan, what will their mission be?
ROBERTS: Also, politics mixes with pageantry in Washington. The White House holds its first official state dinner, bringing out an army of politicians and celebrities. We've got a front row seat. We'll show you the glitz, the glamour and the impressive menu.
ROMANS: And on what may be the year's busiest travel days, we're taking you behind the scenes at the world's busiest airport. Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. Rob Marciano is our guide for a CNN exclusive report.
ROBERTS: But we begin this morning with President Obama staking out his political future on a plan to, in his words, finish the job in Afghanistan. It has been eight years since that war began and after nine meetings with his war council, the president has made a decision on a way forward. It is expected to involve sending some 34,000 more troops into the country.
But with the military already stretched thin, where will it find the additional manpower and how will the troops be used? Our Elaine Quijano is working the story for us this morning from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the heels of the president's last scheduled war council meeting to review Afghanistan strategy, Pentagon planners are now expecting orders to send about 34,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, according to a defense official.
The planning calls for Army and Marine brigades as well as support troops, but top military officials have made clear getting any additional forces into the country will take months because of a lack of road and other infrastructure.
ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I anticipate that as soon as the president makes his decision, we can probably begin flowing some forces pretty quickly after that. But it is a bigger challenge than certainly was the case in Iraq.
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIR: We had in Iraq a place -- a staging base in Kuwait. We don't have that in Afghanistan.
QUIJANO: The 34,000 additional troops would be less than the 40,000 sources say General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, wants. But one official says NATO allies would be asked to fill in that gap.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: If the president decides to commit additional forces to Afghanistan, there would be an expectation that our allies would also commit additional forces.
QUIJANO: For his part, the president vowed the Afghanistan war will end on his watch.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is my intention to finish the job.
QUIJANO: But questions persist about Afghanistan's shaky government and the ability of Afghanistan forces to take over security responsibilities.
(on camera): Can one realistically put a date certain on finishing the job in Afghanistan?
MORRELL: Well, I don't know. I think it's unknowable how long it will take, but I think we all have to work with the idea that we have goals, landmarks, things to shoot for to get this done.
QUIJANO: So where would additional troops for Afghanistan come from? Two likely spots are Fort Drum, New York, where one Army brigade was held back from going to Iraq, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, which also has troops that could be deployed.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: An stick around because in about an hour's time, we're going to be speaking with our CNN security analyst, Peter Bergen, and Brett McGuirk, fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, used to be at the National Security Council at the White House. They'll break down the plan and discuss how the president will sell it to the American people. We should mention that Brett McGuirk, by the way, one of the architects of the surge strategy in Iraq, so he'll have an interesting take on might be happening in Afghanistan.
ROMANS: Great. Also new this morning on the subject, when it comes to the next chapter in Afghanistan, military strategy isn't the only thing being debated in Washington. Lawmakers are also concerned about how to pay for the expensive war.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi becoming more outspoken on the war leaving the door open to a war surtax to cover the price tag, which could hit a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. Pelosi telling reporters there's serious unrest among House Democrats over whether the U.S. can afford the war.
Let's continue the discussion on Afghanistan. Jill Dougherty is standing by at the White House. And, Jill, what's the word coming from senior aides? How will the president lay out his plans to the American people -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Christine, this is really a crucial speech for the president because, after all, this now is Barack Obama's war. He does have to sell it to the American public. So it's not only how he's going to do it -- the setting, how he will give that message, but what he's going to say.
And then there's a very carefully choreographed rollout because you're going to be seeing some cabinet members, we understand, testifying on Capitol Hill. So the president actually gave a hint of it just yesterday when he said there are about four different parts to this.
He has to, number one, get the troop numbers. But that's just the beginning. It is really a strategy. He says that the world has a responsibility, so he's going to be talking about what the partners -- NATO and the other countries can do. He's also going to be talking about the Afghans, that they ultimately are responsible for their own security and they have to get trained up with the help of the U.S. and others as quickly as possible.
And then, also, the civilian diplomatic part. And that's really important. People from the State Department, USAID who are going to go over there with reconstruction and development.
So it's crucial. And he says that if he can make coherent and convincing case that the American people will support it. Right now, they are very divided, Christine.
ROMANS: Indeed. All right. And, Jill, you know, it's also the morning after the administration's first state dinner. Quite an event last night, wasn't it?
DOUGHERTY: It was. Really amazing. And as you can imagine, befitting this presidency, it was politically correct and also environmentally friendly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOUGHERTY (voice-over): The first lady dazzled in her strapless champagne gown, the creation of an Indian-born designer. On her arm, traditional Indian bracelets. The menu, eco-friendly and diverse, a potato and eggplant salad made with white, house-grown arugula. Potato dumplings with chickpeas and okra for vegetarians like the honored guest. Caramelized salsify and smoked collard greens for the more epicurious.
Another environmentally conscious touch, the Obamas' hiring a new florist for the occasion. The tinted dining room adorned with sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy.
JENNIFER HUDSON, SINGER/ACTRESS: A place for us.
DOUGHERTY: The entertainment can't miss headliner Jennifer Hudson, though the White House wouldn't let her performance be photographed.
Among the 300-plus guests, Hollywood A-list heavyweights like Steven Spielberg. Big names from network news like Brian Williams, Katie Couric and a brain surgeon we're proud to call our own, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And the Washington crowd included former Secretary of State Colin Powell, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a slightly bewildered Energy secretary.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the future that beckons all of us.
DOUGHERTY: Even the toast was short and sweet.
OBAMA: Let our two great nations realize all the triumphs and achievements that await us. Cheers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOUGHERTY: And on another culinary note, today the president pardons the Thanksgiving turkey -- John, Christine.
ROMANS: Jill Dougherty, thanks, in Washington.
ROBERTS: Looks like a lot of fun last night.
ROMANS: It sure did.
ROBERTS: It's coming up at seven minutes after the hour. New this morning, is Facebook headed for an initial public offering. The social media juggernaut is creating a two class stock structure. The aim is keeping control of the company with founder Mark Zuckerberg and other stockholders. That's basically what the co-founders of Google did before it went public back in 2004, but Facebook says it has no plans for an IPO, quote, "at this time."
ROMANS: Firefighters are battling a wildfire just east of Anaheim Hills in Orange County, California. People who live in that area are advised to have their escape plans ready. The fire broke out last night. It's being fueled by the Santa Ana winds. A red flag warning has been issued for the area.
ROBERTS: If you are cooking a turkey tomorrow, it should already be thawing out in your refrigerator. If it's not, you better take down this number. 800-288-8372. 288-8372. That is the Butterball Turkey talk line. Trained professionals will be standing by, fielding an expected 12,000 calls from frantic people wanting to know how to do it.
Operators have been trained at Butterball University and are armed with turkey tips ranging from thawing to cooking times, to do you put your stuffing inside the turkey or you cook it separately? If you put it inside the turkey, how tightly do you pack it?
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Do you put foil around the wingtips so that they don't burn?
ROMANS: Yes, I do that.
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROMANS: I got a 22-pounder in there. It's still frozen solid in the middle.
ROBERTS: Oh.
ROMANS: I don't know what I'm going to do.
ROBERTS: But it's thawing out, I hope, right?
ROMANS: It is thawing out.
ROBERTS: Here's a tip for you. Here's a tip for you. If it's not thawing in the refrigerator, you can cold water thaw it, but never thaw it at room temperature.
ROMANS: OK. Dr. John, I got it.
ROBERTS: And if you deep fry it, don't burn the house down.
ROMANS: Yes. I'm sure we'll be seeing those pictures definitely on Friday.
Behind the scenes at the world's busiest airport, Rob Marciano, the world's busiest weatherman will be back with us.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: "Closing Time"?
ROMANS: We're just getting started.
ROBERTS: We're just getting started here. However, not everybody is getting started.
Welcome back. We're here with the Most News in the Morning.
"The Washington Post" announced plans to close its remaining domestic bureaus in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago by the end of the year. So it is closing time for them. It's the latest in the series of cost-cutting measures at the paper. A memo from the executive editor to the post staff says the paper need to concentrate its, quote, "journalistic firepower on covering the nation's capital."
ROMANS: Parts of Brazil plunging back into darkness just two weeks after the country's largest power outage. A new blackout hit parts in and around Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Two hundred fifty thousand people were affected. Crews cut off power to fix a problem with an underground cable. Officials say electricity has been restored in most areas.
ROBERTS: And congratulations going out this morning to Donny Osmond and his dance partner Kim Johnson. They are the new champions of television's "Dancing with the Stars." Osmond beat out singer Mya and Kelly Osbourne. Last night's finale also featured the return of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Look at that doing a little two step coming out there. He dropped out of the competition in the third week after suffering stress fractures in both feet. And no wonder, did you see some of his early routines?
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: He was doing the Bruce Springsteen knee slide and all that.
ROMANS: He was very -- he was 100 percent into it, I would say.
ROBERTS: The former majority leader was getting down. No question.
Today is getaway day for Thanksgiving travelers. AAA estimates more than 38 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during this holiday weekend. That's up nearly 1.5 percent from last year.
ROMANS: Most people will be driving but some 2.3 million Americans will be, shall we say, up in the air this weekend. This morning we have an exclusive behind the scenes look at what makes the world's busiest airport tick. It's an a.m. original.
Rob Marciano has the story for us. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. You know yesterday, we were inside the bowels of the world's busiest or largest airline and it makes sense for the largest airlines' hub to be at the world's busiest airport. So we did a little behind the scenes tour there to see just what it's like and how they go about landing and taking off thousands of flights a day and hundreds of thousands of people. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: We're here at the world's busiest airport. Thousands of people and planes coming and going every day. Do you ever wonder how in the world do they make it work? Let's go take a look. (voice-over): A quarter million passengers travel through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport every day. So first up, getting the people to the planes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At peak times of the day, we move about 10,500 passengers an hour.
MARCIANO: Computer-controlled trams huddle under the tarmac connecting the six concourses. We were allowed beyond that into what felt like a secret train station. So this is pretty much the "Wizard of Oz" behind the curtain here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the man behind the curtain here at the automated people mover. We always have people standing by to respond any time there's a problem.
MARCIANO: Above ground, the runways are inspected three times a day for bad lights, wildlife or any debris that could get into an engine and bring down an aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, sir. Let's start the airfield inspection on foxtrot and echo giving way to aircraft holding short of all runways.
MARCIANO: While on patrol this day, a plane is in trouble.
(on camera): So we're just sitting here on the tarmac doing our inspection and this plane declared an emergency, smoke in the lavatory. So the fire department has been activated. They got to check it out, make sure there's no visible fire before they let it go back to the gate.
(voice-over): The airport has five stations equipped with some impressive gear.
(on camera): This is not your typical fire truck. It holds 3,000 gallons of water, over 400 gallons of foam. This is specifically made for airplane crashes and/or emergencies.
Captain Cuprowski, why is this truck built the way it is? Looks like a tank.
CAPT. PAUL CUPROWSKI, ATLANTA FIRE RESCUE: As you can imagine, if you had one of the planes come down and dismantle on the ground, we're basically in a war zone. But they're - they're designed exactly for that. They're designed to go off road. You don't even have to get out of the vehicle to extinguish a fire.
MARCIANO: What you're looking at is what's called a - a piercing nozzle. It actually can puncture the skin of the aircraft because you can't cut through it by hand, and it sprays the fire inside the aircraft from outside it.
(voice-over): Luckily, that has never been used here, and the plane that reported smoke in the cabin, it was given the all-clear.
Just another day at the world's busiest airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: A lot of ground to cover there with five runways, and they'll probably have them all going today and through the rest of this holiday season as they continue to get all those people in and out of there.
Quite a fascinating inside look and there's actually a lot more to show you, but it would probably take an hour documentary to go run down that airport's facility.
All right. Let's talk about New York Metro Airports. You're going to have some problems there. Volume is going to be the main issue. Some low clouds, some light rain but not a huge storm there. Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, you'll also see some low clouds and some rain in Seattle.
What we have going on - on the map today is this low and it's kind of got extended (ph) across the Great Lakes and will rotate around. It will bring in some rain, a little bit of light snow at times on the back side, but I don't anticipate it to be, you know, terrible as far as the snowfall accumulations. Temperatures will be cooler than average on the back side of this, and here's tomorrow's forecast.
There's that little sliver of snow coming out on the back side, but again, not a whole lot expected. I think the main weather story the next few days will be unusually cool air finally filtering after a mild November, especially across the East Coast.
If you guys are traveling, Christine, by car or by air, please be safe and of course be patient.
ROMANS: I'm staying home for Thanksgiving. I'm staying home, cooking the turkey - well, I have to thaw the turkey first. Cooking the turkey - I'm not moving. But you're - you're getting on an airplane.
ROBERTS: I am getting on an airplane, headed for that airport that Rob just showed us, so...
ROMANS: Be patient.
ROBERTS: ... grease the runways for me, Rob, if you would.
MARCIANO: All right.
ROBERTS: All right thanks. Rob Marciano with that fascinating inside look at Hartsfield Airport.
The chief of AIG has got a tough job, and guess what? He's going to get paid big time for doing it too. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" straight ahead.
Seventeen minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Get this, if you're on Twitter, some of your tweets could put money in your wallet. Companies are paying people with a lot of followers to slip in a tweeted ad for cash. It's called in-stream advertising, the idea followers may be more likely to trust an ad if it comes from someone they know or admire. But there are concerns of a backlash from users who don't want commercials in their tweets.
ROBERTS: Yes. I can - I can see that, you know, some Twitter followers would say, hey, wait a minute. I wasn't following you for the commercials.
ROMANS: I know. This is a forum to talk back and forth to get opinions, not necessarily to sell stuff.
ROBERTS: Exactly. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" this morning. She's got news on AIG and the amount of money that folks are going to be making here in the future.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think it's going to be a merry holiday for some people involved, in particular the CEO of AIG, who is Robert Benmosche. It has come out that he has agreed to a $10.5 million compensation package.
Let's break it down for you, what this non-compete contract means. By the way, non-compete, that means he can't jump ship to another insurer after he leaves AIG, so he can't take all your little trade secrets and take it elsewhere.
So he's going to get cash, $3 million, and he'll also get AIG stock of $4 million. The catch there, though, is that he cannot sell it for five years after his start date, which was in August, I believe. And then he has the ability to make a bonus of up to $3.5 million.
So he was named in August to this position. He's reportedly threatened to quit several times, then has come out and said, no, I'm committed to being with AIG and making it work. But he's frustrated - that we keep hearing - that there is so much control from the government over how much compensation they're getting.
There are seven companies that are really under Kenneth Feinberg's thumb, that he's really watching them...
ROMANS: That's the pay czar in Washington.
ELAM: The pay czar, right, Obama's pay czar, and this is one of the companies. Remember, they got bailed out to the tune of $182 billion last fall. And so this was part of the action...
ROMANS: And we're wondering why there's so much government oversight when there's so much (INAUDIBLE) money. ELAM: The government now owns by 80 percent - 80 percent of the company. So this is why this became such an issue here, but he's worked it.
The other thing I can tell you, he also managed, of the seven CEOs, to negotiate the best contract for himself out of everybody else. But he's got a tough job to change this one around and so we'll have to see if he's able to do what he's been now given the mandate to do, turn the company around. We need that money back.
ROMANS: AIG was a solid, stable insurance giant, a leader around the world, but it had this - this financial products unit on it that took the whole thing down, you know?
ELAM: It wasn't the whole company, and it wasn't everyone in the company. It was just that one part that demolished the whole thing and sent ripples through the entire financial network of companies, and that's why so many people care about it. There's a whole idea of being too big to fail, but obviously...
ROMANS: But there is value in there somewhere. There's value in those AIG businesses if somebody can unlock it and figure out how to return...
ELAM: And insurance is key to how the economy works here, so, you know, insurance is not going anyway.
ROBERTS: He's got a tough job, but $10 million a year is going to soften the blow somewhat, I would think.
ELAM: Yes. I think - I think he can handle that. And also, a lot of these executives were making money before they got here, so even if it's less than what you're making, you're probably not crying.
ROBERTS: Stephanie Elam for us this morning, "Minding Your Business". Thanks.
ELAM: Sure.
ROMANS: All right. We're going to have a story for you about a hotel owner who takes health care into his own hands. He dropped the insurance plan and created a clinic in his own office for his employees.
We're going to find out if it's working and if it could work on a bigger scale.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
The country has had 100 years to fix health care. One hotel mogul who has thousands of people on his payroll just got tired of waiting for it to be fixed.
ROMANS: So when his insurance company wanted a 15 percent increase, he said, get lost, hired his own doctors and he claims he cut his costs by more than half - just don't get caught with a cigarette on your break.
Our Jim Acosta is live in DC with this AM Original story. Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
That's right, Christine and John. You know, if you're looking for innovation in health care, look no further. And as members of Congress close in on a final health care reform bill, they may want to check into a hotel we found down in Florida.
In addition to the restaurant, swimming pool and gift shop, there's a health care clinic. Only it's not for the guests, it's for the workers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): At this health clinic in Orlando, Florida, there's no such thing as no vacancy. It's located inside a hotel.
HARRIS ROSEN, ROSEN HOTELS HEALTH CLINIC FOUNDER: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, how are you?
ROSEN: OK.
ACOSTA: And run by the hotel's owner, Harris Rosen, who started the clinic 18 years ago to see if he could cover all of his employees and save money.
ROSEN: There is a - an apprehension, a fear, an anxiety on the part of most employers to step into an area they know very little about. But we did it and at a cost that were a fraction of what the national averages are. Why? We emphasize wellness.
ACOSTA: Rosen dumped his insurance company, hired his own doctors, nurses and support staff, all of it at little cost to his employees. But there's a catch.
ROSEN: If you smoke, Jim, you can't work for me.
ACOSTA: The employees have to follow Rosen's rules or risk losing their coverage. Smokers have to quit. Heavyset workers have to go on weight loss programs and so on.
ROSEN: So there is a bit of big brother looking over to make sure that you're following the - the regimen.
ACOSTA (on camera): And you're big brother?
ROSEN: Yes, and I don't like that very much because I - I'm not very much a fan of big brother, any big brother. But I am.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Chris Teague the assistant manager at one of Rosen's hotels lost 100 pounds with the clinic's help.
ACOSTA (on camera): You're glad they nudged you?
CHRIS TEAGUE, HOTEL ASSISTANT MANAGER: Yes. Oh, yes. This changed my life dramatically.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The clinic's approach does have its critics who say it's an invasion of privacy.
JEFFREY BLOOM, TRIAL ATTORNEY: The idea of providing wellness care is wonderful, but if I choose not to go back to a follow-up care with - with a doctor, that's my decision.
ACOSTA: But it's not the critics who worry Rosen, it's Congress.
ACOSTA (on camera): You'd think with the health care system Harris Rosen has put in place here, he'd be a big fan of Democratic plans for health care reform. But the message at this health care hotel is quite the opposite. It's do not disturb.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Under the Democratic proposals in Congress, Rosen says he'd save money by shutting down his clinic, forcing his employees into a public plan and paying a government-imposed penalty.
ROSEN: I'd hate to close this facility down. It means so much to all of us.
ACOSTA: Including Harris Rosen, who seems to enjoy providing health care, whether it's in Spanish or French, more than he likes running the fanciest of his seven hotels.
ROSEN: Some of my friends will - will probably not be happy with what I'm about to say, but I do believe that it's a right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Harris Rosen pays just $2,400 per employee every year in health care cost. That's about a third less than the national average, and he has an umbrella insurance policy in contracts with specialists and hospitals to provide catastrophic medical care that goes beyond what the clinic can handle.
And John and Christine, one thing that we found very interesting down there, the doctors work for a salary. They don't work per patient, so it's not a per patient care. It's by salary. And they have found that that works very well for them. It's something that we've seen in other cases, Cleveland Clinic and other parts of the country, and it works for them down there as well.
ROBERTS: Yes, and I saw something similar years ago at a US steel factory in Gary, Indiana but that was on a massive scale, for a big - big corporation. To see it done in a smaller scale like this is really interesting.
ACOSTA: Yes. And this is not really new. You know, companies, for years, have had doctors in-house. And this is just really on an expanded scale.
And he was -- he was thinking that this may not work when he first started this many years ago. He says he made mistakes along the way, there were problems.
ROBERTS: Sure.
ACOSTA: But over time, over these last 18 years, this has really worked for him. And he hopes when health care reform, if it passes, that the government will give him some kind of waiver to continue this going. He thinks he can do this better than the government. He's that confident.
ROBERTS: A real entrepreneur. Jim Acosta -- great story this morning, Jim. Thanks so much.
And we've got a nurse here who will give you a flu shot.
ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: That's about it.
ROMANS: Yes. And she'll send you home. If you really have to go home, she'll send you home.
ROBERTS: Really? Have you taken advantage of that before?
ROMANS: It's happened to me before.
All right. Thirty minutes after the hour.
Here are the morning's top stories.
The Pentagon right now is preparing to possibly deploy 34,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. That's the number of forces the president is likely to order when he lays down his new strategy for Afghanistan next Tuesday after months of deliberations with his war council. The president made it clear yesterday the surge would be aimed at defeating al Qaeda and the Taliban.
ROBERTS: Toyota Motors is recalling some 110,000 Tundra pickup trucks registered in 20 cold weather states, including New York and Michigan. Federal regulators say road salts and chemical deicers can make the frames rust and that can cause spare tires under the truck bed to break loose and fall on the road. The recall involves Tundras from the 2000 to 2003 model years.
ROMANS: An experiment in public humiliation. Honolulu police are posting mug shots on the Web of people arrested for driving under the influence. They include some lawmakers and several stars of the ABC show "Lost," which is filmed in Hawaii. The ACLU says it could violate due process because the suspects haven't had their day in court yet.
ROBERTS: It has been almost four months now since three American hikers were arrested after crossing into Iran from northern Iraq. They say it was an accident, but Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, insists their case will go through his nation's courts. So, today, on the eve of Thanksgiving, the mothers of those hikers are sending a video message to their children and to the leaders of Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY HICKEY, MOTHER OF SHANE BAUER: Shane, I love you and I miss you so much. I am staying strong, but it is very difficult.
LAURA FATTAL, MOTHER OF JOSH FATTAL: We say to ourselves every day, any day now, any day now, Josh will be released. Josh, Shane and Sarah will come home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the Iranian officials and especially President Ahmadinejad to know that these three young people meant their country no harm. Please just search their hearts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Here for the A.M. Breakdown in all this is Laura Fattal. She is the mother of jailed hiker Josh.
Laura, good to see you this morning.
FATTAL: Good morning.
ROBERTS: I know you've been doing so many things to try to, you know, keep the awareness of the flight of your son and fellow two hikers, his two friends, are in. Where are do you come with this idea of tape? And where are you hoping to get this tape to?
FATTAL: Well, we want our children no know, we want Josh, Shane and Sarah to know that we are working our very, very hardest to get them released. We're trying every possible way to have them released. And we thought at this time of year, to hear our voices, to see our faces, it will give them great comfort.
They've been virtually cut off from the outside world, and we cannot even begin to imagine how difficult that is for them. We're thinking maybe -- maybe they'll be able to see us, all three mothers, hear our voices, and get great comfort in that. And we are -- we are hopeful that they will be able to see us. We have -- I'm sorry.
ROBERTS: I was going to say, I'm sure it's something they would really welcome because they've now been in captivity about 118 days. They're being held at the notorious Evin Prison just outside of Tehran.
And in terms of trying to get this tape to them, what's the method of delivery? Who do you give it to?
FATTAL: We gave it to the Iranian mission of the -- at the U.N. in New York. And we are very hopeful, again, that they will share it with our children. And we did send it in that manner through the Iranian mission, that it will be able to be transferred to Iran, to our children in Evin Prison. ROBERTS: Weeks ago, you also delivered a petition to the Iranian mission to the United Nations. Do you know what happened to that? Did that get ever into any official hands over there in Iran? And if it did, could you logically assume that maybe they will pass this tape along?
FATTAL: We have been told that everything we give to the mission is passed on to authorities in Iran. And we absolutely believe that.
ROBERTS: The Swiss ambassador has had the opportunity to visit them a couple of times. We should point out to folks at home that because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, that the Swiss are acting as go-betweens in this particular case. The last visit was -- I guess, was almost a month ago.
What have you learned from those visits?
FATTAL: Well, we understand they're in physical good health. But we also are very pained to hear of their isolation and there must be an extremely difficult state of mind they must be in because of this isolation. And we are hoping that the Iranian authorities will show compassion and release our children as soon as possible.
This has gone on way too long. It is just short of four months. I believe it's 117 days. And we cannot imagine why it is such a protracted detention.
ROBERTS: President Ahmadinejad was in Brazil earlier this week. On Monday, he actually talked about this, saying that it's up to the courts to decide the fate of your son and his two friends, but that he hoped the verdict would be lenient. It's very similar language to that which he used in New York City at the United Nations General Assembly back in December, yet nothing has happened in terms of their release.
Do his words give you any comfort at all that there may be some sort of favorable disposition?
FATTAL: Of course, we like to hear these words. We like to hear maximum leniency. And we want him to, of course, be heard throughout his government. And we want their release as soon as possible.
So, we continue to have hope. But we want to see progress. We've heard these words two months ago. We want to see the -- see progress on our children's account.
ROBERTS: All right. I noticed, you know, when we talked to you a couple of months ago, you're being very diplomatic about your language. It seems as, though, the diplomacy is -- or at least your words have stepped up a little bit here. And maybe that will give you action.
Laura Fattal, I know that it's very a difficult Thanksgiving for you and your family, but we wish you your best.
FATTAL: Thank you so much. And, of course, it will be best when they're home with us.
ROBERTS: All right. Laura Fattal this morning -- Laura, thanks so much.
FATTAL: OK.
ROMANS: Meantime, following a story about a very public and bitter debate going on in the U.K. about why did the British follow the U.S. into the war in Iraq. Paula Newton is going to talk about that U.K./Iraq war inquiry. That's coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Why did the U.K. follow the U.S. into Iraq? Military families across the Atlantic are hoping for some answers as Great Britain begins its most in-depth look yet into the war.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be called to testify. The big claim in the first day, that the Bush administration started the drumbeat to get rid of Saddam Hussein even before the 9/11 attacks.
Our Paula Newton is following this live from London this morning.
Good morning, Paula.
PAULA NETWON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Christine.
You know, those accusations took center stage at the beginning of this inquiry, but what many people here in Britain, especially the family members of those killed in Iraq, want to know, is were they lied to, but why they went to war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice-over): Rose Gentle has been waiting five years for this inquiry and she spent every second clinging to the question of why her son, Gordon, was sent to war in Iraq.
ROSE GENTLE, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: It's my son and I think I've got a right to know every in and out of how my son was killed, because of what, for the years, seen (INAUDIBLE) we need discretion (ph).
NEWTON: But on the opening day, the head of this Iraq war inquiry tried to put a lid on expectations.
JOHN CHILCOT, CHAIR, U.K. IRAQ INQUIRY: We are not a court of law, nor are we an inquest, nor lead a statutory inquiry. And our processes reflect that. No one's on trial here. We cannot determine guilt or innocence. Only courts can do that.
NEWTON: Years ago, when we visited this mother by her son's grave in Scotland, she told us she wondered who to blame, indulging not just her grief but her anger.
GENTLE: It doesn't get easier. How can it really get easier?
NEWTON: So, today, Rose Gentle was at the inquiry, trying to soothe that anger.
GENTLE: I really want to hear what Tony Blair has got to say because he was the person that (INAUDIBLE).
NETWON: Some British families are accusing former Prime Minister Tony Blair of lying about the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
(on camera): Blair has always denied this and is expected to do so again when he testifies here early next year. But already, as this contentious inquiry got under way, senior British bureaucrats were quizzed on intelligence and weapons of mass destruction.
(voice-over): At issue, how close was the regime of Saddam Hussein to getting those weapons.
PETER RICKETTS, FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: There may have been difference of assessment, I don't know. As to whether they were actively seeking to reconstitute the WMD capabilities, then we had intelligence information suggesting that they did, which I'm sure could be exposed to you in more detail in private session.
NEWTON: Private sessions -- that means testimony that could remain secret and keep Rose Gentle wondering whether her son's war mission was based on a lie.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: You know, Christine, already yesterday, we were hearing a lot about Colin Powell's role, about Condoleezza Rice's role, and the whole issue of regime change. Did Britain follow the United States into war not because they believed they had weapons of mass destruction but because not of mass destruction, but because they wanted to just get rid of Saddam Hussein. You're going to hear a lot about this. It's going to go on until late next year -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. More to come. Paula Newton -- thank you so much, Paula.
ROBERTS: (AUDIO BREAK) people will be taking to the skies today. Will the swine flu, too? We'll find out.
Forty-four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Date: 11/25/09 Time: 06:45 Type: Package Head: Shuttle Undocking; Turkey Pardoning; I Just Flu In Sect: News; Domestic
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JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. A live look at Atlanta right now where it's 47 degrees, going up to a high of 64, and it is expected to be mostly sunny today, which is a really great thing considering how much air traffic is going to be flowing through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport today.
And at 47 minutes after the hour, time to fast forward through some of the stories we'll be watching for today on CNN that should be making news. The Space Shuttle Atlantis undocking from the International Space Station this morning. At 8:13 Eastern, the astronauts will inspect the shuttle's heat shield. They're scheduled to land Friday at the Kennedy Space Center, so they'll be having turkey up there about 130 miles above the earth's surface.
After a night of pomp and circumstance for this first state dinner, President Obama has some more official business this morning. At 11:35 Eastern, this is always an important thing, he's going to be pardoning his very first turkey. The White House tradition dates back to the Truman presidency.
And at 03:00 p.m. Eastern here in New York City, it's time to watch the balloons being blown up for the big Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It takes about seven hours to blow them all up. Be sure to check out the pictures on cnn.com.
And of course, all people are talking about New York City today is are the winds going to be calm enough for them to fly the balloons.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
I used to like going and watching them blow up the balloons in the evening. It was a fewer crowds, a kind of interesting precursor to big parade, but I've seen that parade every year for ten years now.
ROBERTS: We're fortunate, it passes right in front of our building as well. We have a lot of windows, so a lot of folks will be coming here with their families tomorrow to watch the parade.
ROMANS: They will. All right. You could say one artist in Boston has invented a medium all of his own, John. His life tiles use optical illusions to make murals in children's books come alive. Gary Tuchman shows us how it's done on this week's "Edge of Discovery". (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You might have seen these bestselling books.
UNKNOWN MALE: Yes, that one looks good.
TUCHMAN: They bring pictures to life when you flip the page, but the man behind the books has been creating other eye-catching art for 20 years. Rufus Butler Seder calls them life tiles, murals that move when you walk by.
RUFUS B. SEDER, ARTIST/INVENTOR: What I'm after is trying to create an experience which totally takes you by surprise.
TUCHMAN: But how do they work?
SEDER: The short answer is, it's magic. The slightly longer answer is it's like a flip book. I've taken all of the pages from a flip book, and I've and scrambled them all together, and I've put them up on the wall and made them animal.
TUCHMAN: Life tiles don't use any moving parts, electricity or tricky lighting. Just hours of pain staking work done at Seder's Boston studio.
SEDER: We put about four to five hours into each tile we make.
TUCHMAN: The glass for each tile is cast by hand, then sand blasted, painted and eventually assembled to work in harmony with the hundreds of other tiles that make up each mural.
SEDER: Anywhere from six months to a year is what it takes to produce these.
TUCHMAN: Seder says the hard work pays off when his audience pays attention.
SEDER: I love to watch people react to the work. They don't expect a wall to move, so they'll be walking down the hallway in a museum. They're walking outdoors through a zoo, and suddenly they'll realize that those dolphins are starting to move next to me, how is that possible.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Wow, that's pretty amazing.
ROMANS: I have some of those books. It's very cool.
ROBERTS: I've never seen the wall murals. Those were fascinating.
Travelers taking to the skies today to head home to grandma's house for Thanksgiving. Are they also bringing the swine flu along with them? Not in the bag but could be something else. Jeanne Meserve is taking a look at that issue for us this morning.
ROMANS: And the stars were out in Washington, D.C. for President Obama's first state dinner. We'll take you up close and personal to see the glamour and glitz. It is 50 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Move along, move along. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Crowded roads, jam-packed airline terminals. Please, holiday travelers, we're used to that.
ROBERTS: But there is new cause for concern with the Thanksgiving travel rush this year, the spread of the H1N1 swine flu virus. Jeanne Meserve is covering that for us. She is live at Reagan National Airport in Washington where a lot of people will be heading out today. Good morning, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. You know what they say, when people get together, germs get together and that includes the H1N1 virus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): As if anyone needs another reason to stress about holiday travel, now H1N1 anxiety is part of the mix.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: There was this lady that was sitting like across the aisle from me like blowing her nose and I was like, that's great, I'm glad we have that kind of distance, you know, because I don't want to get sick, and there's no way you can really get away from it when you're on a plane.
MESERVE: This animation from Purdue University shows how a sneeze propels germs around an airplane. Government health officials have a few simple words of advice for travelers; wash your hands often; don't touch your eyes or nose; cover your cough; and for Pete's sake, don't travel if you're sick.
JANET NAPOLITANO, DHS SECRETARY: Don't get on a crowded plane and spread the wealth. It's time to stay home.
MESERVE: Airlines have briefed crews about H1N1. Air Tran even enlisted a former head of the centers for disease control to answer employee questions.
UNKNOWN MALE: Can I contract swine flu from loading bags?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Maurice, the bags will not transmit the flu.
MESERVE: But flight crew vigilance has inconvenienced to small number of passengers. Mutra Mustafi (ph) had an upset stomach and was taken off a United flight.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: The crew does not feel good about you flying because you might be sick. I didn't know they were all physicians.
MESERVE: It turned out Mustafi (ph) did not have H1N1, but United says it removed her as a precaution, to protect the health of other passengers. Despite the specter of H1N1 infection, many Thanksgiving travelers are undeterred and unconcerned.
UNKNOWN MALE: Something you have to live with and just have to make some adjustments, and yes, you can't let it stop your life.
UNKNOWN MALE: If it's going to happen, it's going to happen, and there's no reason to get, you know, so uptight about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (on-camera): If you're sick and you know you shouldn't fly, all you have to do is provide documentation, like a doctor's note to the airline. They will rebook you without penalty, and if you get on a flight and you're next to someone who you think is sick, you can ask to have your seat changed, but you should be aware this busy holiday travel season, there may not be another seat on your flight or the next one or even the flight after that. John, Christine, back to you.
ROBERTS: Back up for a second, Jeanne. What was that about a doctor's note and the flight when you can get rebooked?
MESERVE: Yes. If you're sick, genuinely sick with H1N1. The airlines who I spoke with yesterday said they'll rebook you without penalty, but they have to have some documentation. They can't just take your word for it over the phone, so you need to have something like a doctor's note to show to them to prove that you're, indeed, sick.
ROBERTS: Oh, that's a good deal for passengers. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning at Reagan National. Jeanne, thanks so much. Happy Thanksgiving to you, by the way.
New details to the President's plan for Afghanistan. We got your top stories coming your way in 90 seconds. Stay with us.
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