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American Morning
President Obama pushes for international deal on limiting emissions just ahead of leaving Copenhagen; American man not awarded son after Brazilian judge suspends legal proceedings in international custody case; Pentagon concedes military knew Iraqi insurgents had access to military drone intelligence; Shopping Deals or No Deals This Christmas?; Florida Man Finally Free After 35 Years in Jail
Aired December 18, 2009 - 07:00 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 on this Friday, December 18th. Thanks for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. Good to have you with us today. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
First, the clock is ticking on climate change, and President Obama certainly knows it. He just spoke in Copenhagen as the conference is winding down, but will he be able to give these stalled talks a new jolt of momentum? We're live in Copenhagen.
ROBERTS: A new jersey dad barred by Brazil's highest court from bringing his kidnapped son home. David Goldman's international custody battle now threatening the stretching to year six. The next move for a desperate father who says he's not done fighting.
CHETRY: Also, an innocent man set free after 35 years behind bars. James Bayne (ph) spent most of his life locked up for a rape he did not commit. DNA evidence proved his innocence, and we will follow him as he takes his first steps as a free man.
ROBERTS: But first, President Obama putting his political capital on the line this morning. Right now, he's joining other world leaders at the Global Climate Summit in Copenhagen. You just heard the president speak a few minutes ago. He's hoping to be able to hammer out a compromise. However, that's not looking particularly likely this morning.
Our Ed Henry is traveling with the president. He joins us live this morning from Copenhagen. It's about 1:00 there now, the president scheduled to depart in a little more than five or six hours, Ed. Can he get anything done before he wheels up back home?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, the clock is ticking, as you note. And people close to these talks are telling me it's very rocky right now, and that's why I think we saw just in the last few moments the president of the United States try to step up and really prod his fellow leaders and say, look, time is running out. The time is now, because this whole deal is hanging in the balance.
He also laid out a clear path to a deal with three key points. First of all, mitigation, which basically means a deal to cut carbon emissions, a global deal. Secondly he talked about accountability and transparency, that nations like China need to step up and show they'll live up to these commitments.
And finally, money, saying the U.S. and other big powers are willing to help pay the cost that smaller nations will have to pay to help to deal with global warming.
And the president in this speech was very tough in saying it's time to stop posturing, it's time to act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: For while the reality of climate change is not in doubt, I have to be honest, as the world watches us today, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now. And it hangs in the balance.
I believe we can act boldly and decisively in the face of a common threat. That's why I come here today, not to talk, but to act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, very interesting that while the president was giving that speech, I was getting e-mails from people on the U.S. side basically saying, look, look at this juxtaposition where the president of the United States is trying to step up a call for action, where the Chinese are basically not pushing for a deal.
And I think that what's going on behind the scenes based on that and many other conversations I'm having with U.S. officials is they're setting this up to suggest that the Chinese are the ones blocking a deal, so that if this falls apart, they're going to say the president did all he could. It's the Chinese fault -- John.
ROBERTS: Ed Henry for us this morning from Copenhagen. Ed, thanks.
CHETRY: A New Jersey dad says he is appealing a ruling by a Brazilian Supreme Court justice that's barring him from bringing home his kidnapped son.
David Goldman was hoping the international custody battle would finally end after a court ruled in his favor this week. But instead a painful five-year separation from his little boy is now going to be lasting a little longer.
Susan Candiotti joins us live this morning. So a curious ruling from Brazil's highest court, and of course it means more anguish for Mr. Goldman. What's the next step?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's what we're all waiting to see, what's the next step and when will it happen.
And wait until you hear what the Brazilian judge had to say. More on that in a moment. But first, David Goldman is still in Rio de Janeiro with his attorney this morning. He says he's appealing the Supreme Court ruling. It's not clear how long that process might take. He calls yesterday's decision "ridiculous." And he seems resigned to the fact that his five-year battle to be reunited with his son is not over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLDMAN: I've been down this road for five years. It's another setback, and it's very sad.
CANDIOTTI: Not exactly the happy home for the holidays ending David Goldman hoped for. Instead, more heartbreak for the New Jersey dad, who arrived in Rio de Janeiro hoping to finally bring home his son.
GOLDMAN: It's very discouraging.
CANDIOTTI: Only to learn a Brazilian Supreme Court justice had blocked the transfer of Sean to his only surviving parent, ruling the child had to first be heard from in court.
GOLDMAN: I honestly believe that the justice system does not want to be looked at as a country that is a safe haven for kidnappers that will allow a child to remain separated from their only parent and try to turn that child against that parent, and then demand a nine- year-old, innocent, vulnerable, psychologically-damaged child to speak in a court is beyond cruel.
CANDIOTTI: And it sends a message no court wants to send, according to CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
TOOBIN: They introduce the idea of, well, we need the feelings of the child. We need to interview the child. Well, if that's the rule, then the lesson to be learned is you should kidnap a child as young as possible so that they identify with their captors and ask to stay.
CANDIOTTI: A lawyer for the family in Brazil says Sean is happy where he is and wants to stay there. But New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, who's been helping Goldman in his bid to reunite with his son, believes the Brazilian courts will ultimately rule in his favor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This justice could have done the right thing. He chose poorly and unwisely. This has become a major embarrassment to the Brazilian government, and I do believe the Supreme Court of Brazil is Hague literate. They understand the Hague convention and will appropriately apply its provisions, and Sean will be on a plane home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now, Goldman's son Sean has been living with his stepfather after Goldman's ex-wife died in childbirth. Brazilian Supreme Court judge Marcus Aurelio is defending his decision in a written statement saying, nine-year-old Sean is old enough to decide where he wants to live.
And that's raising eyebrows among most legal observers over whether a child abducted by his mother when he was only four should be the final arbiter in this. And how long is this going to go? Will he be there a few more days, or will he be coming home? Some are saying this might drag on until February. We don't know for sure yet.
CHETRY: Susan Candiotti for us, thanks.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Susan.
Also new this morning, the Senate still one vote short of the 60 needed to pass health care reform. The lone holdout, Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson wants stricter limits on abortion. Nelson says the latest compromise language on abortion drafted to try to win him over is not good enough.
CHETRY: Police say the husband of a missing Utah woman is now a person of interest in the case. Susan Powell was reported missing December 7th when she did not show up for work. Her husband Josh claims that he took their two young sons on a camping trip the night before.
Police say Josh has refused to cooperate and they are calling his behavior "not normal."
ROBERTS: A Canadian doctor who treated Tiger Woods and many other pro athletes will be in court in Toronto today to face drug charges. Dr. Michael Galea is the subject of a joint U.S.-Canadian investigation for allegedly providing performance-enhancing drugs. Galea's attorney denies that his client did anything wrong.
CHETRY: And this is the first-ever images of a volcanic eruption 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. This video was captured thanks to a submersible robot, which amazingly was actually just a few feet from the active eruption.
One scientist described the event as an "underwater Fourth of July." They say it could provide new clues on how the earth's crust was formed.
ROBERTS: The deepest undersea volcano ever observed. That's fascinating.
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHETRY: We brought you first part of the story about U.S. spy drones being able to be hacked by Iraqi insurgents with software that only costs about $25.
This morning the U.S. military is saying that they have known about this, possibly for at least a decade. Some are asking why things were not fixed sooner. We're live at the Pentagon with more.
ROBERTS: And some amazing pictures from Pacifica, California. Take a look at this -- an apartment complex hanging in the balance on the edge of the precipice. Wait until you find out what's going on there.
It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 11 minutes after the hour, and that means it's time for an "A.M." original, something that you'll see only on "AMERICAN MORNING." But first a quick check of what is new this morning.
CHETRY: Right now 11 deaths have been linked to a crib recall. The most recent, a seven-month-old baby in Kentucky died after being trapped in the crib when part of it broke. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has recalled more than 2 million of these drop-side cribs and they say that there are problems with the plastic hardware.
ROBERTS: Residents of an Oceanside apartment complex near San Francisco have been told to get out, the order coming after chunks of the cliff behind the building fell into the ocean. Authorities fear the complex could be next. Officials say just ten feet is left between the 12-unit building and the cliff's edge. Look at that.
CHETRY: It's unbelievable.
Also the company that makes Blackberries, Research in Motion, is saying that technical problems is what caused the widespread e-mail interruptions that you may have noticed yesterday across North America. RIM is apologizing didn't really give specifics on how the problems occurred or how the users were affected.
ROBERTS: An "A.M." follow up now. We are learning more about how Iraqi insurgents with the help of Iranians hacked into U.S. drones. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff himself confirming that security breach, and it turns out even Saddam Hussein knew this could be done.
Our Elaine Quijano is live at the Pentagon. A lot of people scratching their heads, but apparently at the Pentagon it's a thing that they knew about but just didn't fix.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. U.S. officials are now saying there was a security breach of live video feeds from drones flying the skies over Iraq, and all it took apparently was some inexpensive software that anyone can download off the Internet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: The software in question costs as little at $25.95. Made by a Russian company, the sky grabber program allows users to take advantage of unprotected communications links.
And as "The Wall Street journal" first reported and a U.S. official confirmed to CNN, insurgents used the program to intercept live feeds from U.S. military predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq. ALAN PALLER, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, SANS INSTITUTE: What was surprising was that the military computers, the military drones, weren't using hardened technology.
QUIJANO: A senior defense official did not deny the breach, but insists the problem is an old issue for the military, one that's been addressed and fixed.
Yet another official said this is sometimes a risk the military is willing to take because encrypting slows down the real-time video feed when multiple paid need to watch simultaneously.
Still, one expert says this is exactly what happened in Bosnia years ago and should never have happened in Iraq.
P.W. SINGER, AUTHOR, "WIRED FOR WAR": We assumed that our enemies would be dumb. We assumed they wouldn't catch up to our technology. We assumed because they were in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan they couldn't pull it off. Well, what happens when you assume?
QUIJANO: In fact a 2005 CIA report notes Saddam Hussein was suspected to be doing the same thing, monitoring U.S. installations after Iraqi hackers located and downloaded the unencrypted satellite feed from military drones.
As for these latest breaches, a U.S. official says no American troops or combat missions were compromised. But P. W. Singer, author for "Wired for War," says the breach should serve as a wake-up call.
SINGER: There are other potential adversaries out there that have much, much bigger budgets, certain large nation-states, and the kinds of things they're going to do makes this look silly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, one of the highest profile uses of drones of course has been in Pakistan, where they've been used to hit Al Qaeda and Taliban targets on that side of the border.
Informed sources, though, tell CNN that those drones are not vulnerable to this software because they do use the very latest encryption technology and because those drones are used in a much more limited capacity than the military drones -- John.
ROBERTS: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Elaine, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Well, if you haven't finished up your holiday shopping and you're going to head to the mall this weekend looking for some big sales on the last weekend before Christmas, well, you may be in for a disappointment. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. She's going to explain why you might find a Grinch at the mall.
Fifteen minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Eighteen minutes past the hour, and that means it's time for "Minding Your Business" with Christine Romans. First, though, a quick look at your morning's business headlines.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be a rocky road quite literally for a lot of drivers in 2010. Cash-strapped towns in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Vermont are ordering work crews not to repair battered roads but instead tear them up and replace them with gravel.
CHETRY: That sounds like a great idea.
ROBERTS: Yes. A lot bumpier and dirtier than pavement, but a lot cheaper to maintain.
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: Oh, gosh.
CHETRY: Those are the happiest states or not the happiest states? We'll have to go back and check.
Well, 4.3 million households in America had their power turned off during 2009 for not paying their bills. That's up five percent from 2008, and things could get worse. Another 12.5 million households are at risk of losing service because they owe utility companies more than $3.4 billion.
ROBERTS: Unhappy with your credit card interest rates? Well, listen to this. There's a credit card that carries an interest rate of 79.9 percent. Yes, you heard that correctly, 79.9 percent.
Subprime lender First Premier Bank usually charges high-risk cardholders hundreds of dollars in upfront fees to open an account, but new regulations are capping those fees, so instead First Premier is getting around the rules by jacking up their interest rate from 9.9 percent to nearly 80 percent. Unbelievable.
CHETRY: Better start reading the fine print. Boy, they're going to be in for it.
Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business" this morning. What's up?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We are a nation of procrastinators.
CHETRY: But the procrastinators in years past have gotten the good deals at the mall.
ROMANS: It's true, but this year you've got inventories that are pretty thin because these retailers are very careful. They don't want to stock goods on their shelves that they're going to lose money on later on. So while we're procrastinating and looking for holding out for the big, big discounts, the retailers know exactly what we're doing and they're calculating just as carefully to make sure that we need to finish our shopping next week and we pay, not the big deep discounts.
So this is what we know. The National Retail Federation says most of us have finished about 47 percent of our holiday shopping. Think of that. Seven days to go, we're not even halfway done. That's the lowest percent since 2004. So either because you are chasing by the recession or you are holding out for big discounts, we are holding back on the holiday shopping.
Here's the waiting game, more on this. Nineteen percent of us haven't even started yet. Seventy-two percent are working on it. I am in that category. 8.6 percent are all done. Only 8.6 percent. So what's going to happen?
CHETRY: All the guys raised their hand.
ROMANS: So what's going to happen next? Well, it looks as though people when they do go out they're going to go out to the discounters, and they're going to go out to the department stores. That's according to the National Retail Federation. But the discounters and the department stores, they know this. So they're going to have some items for you that may be marked down maybe an $8 Barbie doll, this or that at Wal-Mart. But some of the other things that you want might not be that deep discount that you're thinking. So be careful everyone.
Also, three things to ask yourself before you go shopping for Christmas. Do I need it? Can I afford it? Will it make my family smarter, better prepared? Is this purchase empty calories or good nutrition? I've been saying over and over again. People really need to think about that before you go out and spend some money over the next week. Seven days left.
CHETRY: Especially if you have that credit card with 80 percent interest because that's going to be fun come January when that bill comes in.
ROMANS: Yes, 80 percent interest -- I mean, you must really need the credit card if you're willing to pay 80 percent. That's about 20 bucks a month in financing charges on a $300 balance.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. Well, Christine everyday brings us a "Romans' Numeral." This is a number that is driving a story about your money and it is?
ROMANS: Today is 18. The numeral is 18, as it December 18th, as in today. Today is a very important day.
ROBERTS: Oh, today is the last day to get your packages out to get them out in time for Christmas.
ROMANS: Yes. The retailers today say if you don't order today online for what it is that you want, you're out of luck. Sixty-two percent of retailers will not be shipping anymore after this. So today is the day if you're buying online or you're buying something and having it shipped.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Well, you sort of scared the Christmas out of all of us. Thank you, Christine.
ROMANS: Bah humbug. Save your money. Put it in a --
ROBERTS: You and me -- all right. Christine Romans this morning "Minding Your Business."
It's 22 minutes after the hour. A CNN exclusive coming up. A Florida man, he spent 35 years behind bars, set free because of DNA. He'd been in there for a crime that he apparently had not committed. And wait until you hear what he has to say upon his release.
Our John Zarrella talks with James Bain exclusively. Coming right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. Top stories just five minutes away now, but first an "A.M. Original," something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: It's the story of James Bain. He spent 35 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. Thirty-five years. He became the longest-serving prisoner to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Our John Zarrella sat down for an exclusive interview with Bain, his first as a free man.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned his presidency, gasoline was 55 cents a gallon. The move "The Godfather Two" came out. Until today, 1974 was also the last year James Bain was a free man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): This is James Bain in 1974, 19 years old. This is Bain today. Smiling, a free man, in the arms of his family and friends after wrongfully serving 35 years behind bars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you get through 35 years knowing you're innocent?
JAMES BAIN, EXONERATED BY DNA TESTING: One day at a time.
ZARRELLA: The Florida court hearing to release Bain, now 54, lasted less than three minutes. Prosecutors acknowledging the state was wrong 35 years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's just not connected with this particular incident.
ZARRELLA: Then the judge.
JUDGE: Mr. Bain, I am now signing the order, sir. You are a free man. Congratulations.
ZARRELLA: All so matter of fact. No apology. Bain had been convicted of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy.
(on camera): The victim told police he was taken from his bedroom, dragged to an empty field here in Lake Wales and attacked. Later he was shown the pictures of five men and picked out Bain.
(voice-over): Bain appealed numerous times for DNA testing but was repeatedly denied. After the Innocence Project which looks into questionable convictions took his case, the request was granted. DNA tests confirmed Bain was not the rapist. Surrounded by his family, I sat and talked with him after his release.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Long overdue.
BAIN: There you go.
ZARRELLA: It's so hard to believe that you spend 35 years of your life locked up for something you didn't do.
BAIN: Yes.
ZARRELLA: And you're turning the other cheek. You're just not angry.
BAIN: I can't be, sir. Once again. People had a job to do back then. It's just sad the way the outcome came. I don't have no bitterness for that.
ZARRELLA: The things you want to see, things you want to do...
BAIN: Yes.
ZARRELLA: ... what are some of those things?
BAIN: Well, I want to travel because I didn't do that as a kid.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Bain says all he wants to do now is spend time with his family. When he left the courthouse, James Bain called his sick mother in Tampa on a cell phone, the first time he'd ever used one.
His attorneys gave him his two favorite drinks, Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. His attorney says Bain is now entitled to $1,750,000 restitution, under a new state law requiring payment of $50,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment. A lot of money. Money that can't give him back those 35 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: With Bain's release, authorities will now have to turn their attention to what is once again an open case. The search for a rapist -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: John Zarrella this morning. Certainly going to ease his re-entry into society, all that money, but can never make up for the years lost.
CHETRY: No. It's just -- it's heartbreaking to think about. But at the same time, he has such a good attitude about it, and hopefully, you know, he'll be able to just really appreciate every day, you know, now that he is finally, finally vindicated.
ROBERTS: It's pretty incredible with all of the catching up that he has got to do as well. He made his very first cell phone call. You know?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Got to get a computer now and get on Twitter and Facebook.
CHETRY: Let's not -- let's not make him -- let him do some more fun things for goodness sake. At least he has his family around him. And wow, God bless, but boy, what a waste.
ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.
CHETRY: All those years.
ROBERTS: Coming up on the half hour time now for this morning's top story. President Obama saying there is no time to waste on climate change. He addressed the summit in Copenhagen. With talks in serious jeopardy, there is still no agreement on who should pay for new environmental rules.
CHETRY: Also, hackers taking Twitter, speaking of Twitter, offline. People who tried to access their accounts last night were redirected to a page that had a green flag and said, "This site has been hacked by Iranian cyber army."
Well, it's not clear if the group has ties to the Iranian government. Twitter was one of the few ways to get information out of that country. You may remember a lot of people turned to their Twitter icon green in support of student protests in Iran during the protests that turned deadly over the summer.
ROBERTS: An explosion killing at least four people in northwest Pakistan overnight. Police say the target was a mosque popular with officers in an area that was the focus of a fierce military offensive earlier this year to oust the Taliban.
CHETRY: Well, it's a billion-dollar question -- how are U.S. contractors spending your tax dollars in Afghanistan? Right now, Congress is looking into reports that among other things money went to pay off local war lords and even went in some cases to the Taliban.
Joining me now to talk about this is Massachusetts Congressman John Tierney. He is leading the inquiry, the chairman of the House national security and foreign affairs subcommittee. Congressman Tierney, thanks for being with us this morning.
REP. JOHN TIERNEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Good morning. How are you?
CHETRY: Great.
There's been some very interesting reporting on this, and I know that you guys are trying to track the money trail here. The situation seems to be that in some cases essentially in Afghanistan, contractors are paying people off so that they can get supplies through, vital and necessary supplies like water, gas, food to the troops. What do we know about how much is being spent, and who some of this money may be going to?
TIERNEY: Well, the host nation trucking company that have the contracts to move the goods get about $1.2 billion. They use some of that to pay subcontractors who provide security. We're concerned that maybe hundreds of millions of dollars of that is going to insurgents or other groups for protection-type money.
CHETRY: So this is one of the trucking companies, the $2.2 billion trucking contract that they have, and concerns that it went to pay off the warlords and in some cases possibly to pay off the Taliban. How do you realistically, from Washington, begin to keep track of that amount of money in an area so far away with a lot of dubious exchanges that have to take place?
TIERNEY: Well, there are eight companies, actually, that host trucking nation companies. Some from the United States and some from Afghanistan, some from Dubai. We can track the paperwork from the United States back. We have made trips to Afghanistan when necessary, we'll have staff over there interviewing people and following that up. We've had a number of whistleblowers who came forward to give us information. But, of course, people like Aram Roston who wrote an article for "The Nation," I think one of the first to get into the subject, they have valuable information as well.
CHETRY: And, in fact, you mentioned it's - let me bring you one of the quotes for our audience this morning about what "The Nation" article said, and let's put it up on the screen. Aram writing, "In this grotesque carnival, the U.S. military's contractors are forced to pay insurgents to protect American supply routes. It is an accepted fact that the U.S. government funds the very forces American troops are fighting."
This system of corruption in Afghanistan, Congressman, seemed so entrenched. How do you begin to make inroads?
TIERNEY: Well, that's what we have to find out. We have to first find out whether these facts are true, whether the assertions are accurate or not and then we have to find out why this is allowed to continue. This ought not to be the United States' policy for sure, but we have to find out what the alternatives are and why we're not moving in that direction.
We'll track all this down by going right to the source and having the interviews on that, tracking the paperwork, doing whatever is necessary to determine exactly what's happening and why if this is in fact occurring, why it's occurring, who made those decisions and what ought to be done about it.
CHETRY: One CEO of one of the contractors says he knows why it's occurring. He says that it really shouldn't be a surprise, because without U.S. or NATO providing security for these convoys, there's really no other option. Is this perhaps a necessary evil of getting business done in Afghanistan?
TIERNEY: I would hope not, I think not. We do outsource way too much in the military and other places in our government. We followed up a lot of sources but there are other ways that this can be done. And obviously the millions and millions of dollars could be spent on having a protective force that legitimately takes care of these highways and passages on that basis.
So there are decisions being made, conscious decisions being made. We have to determine what they are and set them on the right path. We don't need to be fueling the corruption...
CHETRY: Right.
TIERNEY: That we're trying to get rid of for a good counterinsurgency policy and we certainly don't need the United States' taxpayers' money going to the hands of insurgents and Taliban and coming back against our men and women that we're sending over there. This is not appropriate. It's not right and we got to get to the bottom of it.
CHETRY: You mentioned the possibility of bringing on a force, would you be talking about a military, a U.S. military presence?
TIERNEY: Well, in other conflicts that's obviously what we've done. We've used the military to protect military supplies. This is a military situation over there, and you know, to contract everything out, particularly to contractors who may not be doing the job appropriately or who are feeding the fire in political corruption, is certainly not the way to go about it.
CHETRY: All right. But many would say where do you get these guys? We're fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan right now, two active wars. We have people going through repeated deployments over and over again. I mean, we're stretched thin. So how could we possibly bring more troops into this?
TIERNEY: Well, these are decisions that you make or ought to make to determine whether or not you ought to be involved in these conflicts and the way in which you prosecute them. And I think that sometimes when you start relying on contractors to move in this direction, it stops you from making the difficult choices that you have to make.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, certainly a lot to get to the bottom of and I know that your subcommittee is taking this issue up.
Congressman John Tierney from Massachusetts, great to speak with you this morning, thanks.
TIERNEY: Thank you. Nice to talk to you.
ROBERTS: Well, tomorrow night, our Christine Romans has got a Saturday night special on, it's called "IN GOD WE TRUST." She's going to be looking at some very interesting issues across the country, including the potential to repeal some old laws that are keeping stores closed on Sunday. Christine gives us a sneak peak of her series, coming up next.
It's 35 and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
More than a dozen states have what are called "blue laws" that restrict or even ban selling things or buying things on Sundays.
ROBERTS: The practice is rooted in religion, of course, but in this current economy some people are questioning whether revenue should be the bottom line. Our Christine Romans is looking at that for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 'Tis the season to eat, drink, and be merry. Except you can't do this on Sundays in some parts of the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think the law is an arcane law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a free country and people should be able to do what they choose to on which days.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still go to church because I know my church people will go to church.
ROMANS: They're called "blue laws" and they limit shopping on items like booze to Buicks. It's based on a centuries old Christian concept brought over to this country in colonial times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Particularly the statewide "blue laws," actually reference the fact that, you know, you are not to profane the Lord on the Lord's day, and that you went to church on Sundays, you know, there would be no other work permitted on Sunday.
ROMANS: But Sunday closings have little to do with religion today. Mac Thurston, owner of Mac's Beer and Wine in downtown Atlanta is happy to close his doors on Sundays for other reasons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a day of rest that I like taking personally and professionally. All we'll do is spread out six days' worth of sales over seven, incurring overhead costs that we don't have now.
ROMANS: "Blue Laws" or not, S. Truett Cathy (ph), the founder of fast food chain Chick-fil-A has never let his restaurants open on Sunday. For him it is about religion. God comes before the bottom line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It teaches us very plainly, the Lord rested for a day. You work hard all week, you need that day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Now people that want these repealed say that in some of these counts where there are blue laws, look it just pushes people over the country border to buy in other counties and hurts some business owners but there's no doubt here that this is not about religion, in most places, these blue laws, anymore, it's about tradition. Some of them have been around for so long in some parts of the country that is now simply just tradition.
CHETRY: It's funny. My husband and I tried to go furniture shopping one weekend, I guess it was a Sunday obviously, in New Jersey, and we're like, there's so much parking in all these wonderful places. They're not open.
ROMANS: Well, 150 years ago it was on Sunday we rest, now it's Sunday we go to the mall.
CHETRY: Or do all the 100 million things you didn't do the rest of the week.
ROMANS: Times have changed indeed.
ROBERTS: Christine, by the way, explores the balance of faith and finance in a time where money is tight in a special, Saturday 8:00 p.m. Eastern, "IN GOD WE TRUST," faith and money in America, Saturday night, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Well, there are many famous people who just talk the talk. Then there are those who walk the walk and do it in other people's shoes. The ones who really try to give back and their generosity really is helping change the world and we're highlighting them this holiday season.
Our Alina Cho is here with a sneak peak at her special series "BIG STARS, BIG GIVING."
Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Good morning, guys.
You know, I had the chance to sit down with some of Hollywood's biggest stars, and I mean, biggest. It's a real A-list. All of them doing their part to try to make a difference. Sir Elton John, a long time advocate for AIDS awareness, we sat down recently in Baton Rouge. Ben Stiller there, combining comedy and social networking to raise awareness.
You saw Madonna there. I'm going to sit down with her tomorrow in New York. It's really a rare one-on-one interview, that will air on Wednesday. Madonna, of course, is working to raise awareness for orphans in Malawi. Martha Stewart, she built a center for aging Americans. She did that for her 93-year-old mother. She says she wants aging Americans to be able to age gracefully, age actively, as she says.
Richard Branson, the man behind the Virgin empire treats philanthropy like a business. Identify a problem and solve it. On Monday, we're going to begin with a man, I call the original, Elton John. In 17 years his AIDS Foundation has raised more than $150 million with programs in 55 countries. I caught up with him recently at a celebrity tennis tournament benefiting his foundation. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on camera): You are Elton John, you could easily take a publicity photo, write a check, and call it a day. But you're out there getting your hands dirty. Why?
ELTON JOHN, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Well, people are so grateful for the smallest thing. It doesn't take a lot of money to run a project in Africa for a year, $15,000, $20,000. This is you know, this is something that's never going to go away in my lifetime. So I've got to try and each year step up and do a little bit more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: It's really incredible. Did you know that Sir Elton John plays tennis as well. We're going to show you his moves on the court. He's really, really good.
Then there's movie star Ben Stiller. He's using comedy, no surprise there. And also social media to raise awareness and money to build schools in Haiti. Now, we all know lance Armstrong's foundation, Live Strong, with those famous yellow bracelets. You know, they sold 80 million of those. Well, Ben Stiller came up with stillerstrong.org and his version of that bracelet, a yellow head band. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on camera): They say you should be ashamed of yourself.
BEN STILLER, ACTOR: Well, that's him being funny.
CHO: Really?
STILLER: He doesn't have a great sense of humor. I mean, he's a cyclist. Cyclists spend a lot of time alone with their thoughts. Yes. Which color would you like? Yellow?
CHO: I like the yellow.
STILLER: All right. Good. You go for the yellow. I'll go for the red, 'cause...
CHO: It's Christmas time. STILLER: Exactly. See? See what I mean by it looks cool?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: He's great.
CHO: You don't want to see me in that headband, guys.
CHETRY: I noticed you didn't give us...
CHO: No, I did put it on.
ROBERTS: You're supposed to put it on.
CHO: No, I did put it on ultimately. You'll see that on Tuesday.
ROBERTS: You can still see the bump.
CHO: Yes, exactly. You know why comedy - you know, Ben Stiller basically says, you know, for me I wanted a way to connect with people, and comedy really just made sense for me. So he's actually made a series of videos, he's recruited people like Owen Wilson, Bob De Niro - Bob De Niro, you know, we're friends.
CHETRY: You call him Bobby.
CHO: Bobby de Niro.
CHETRY: What movie was Ben Stiller in with that volleyball - you know what I'm talking about, "Dodge Ball" -
CHO: "Dodge Ball."
CHETRY: OK. He had the head band on there, too.
CHO: Yes, he did.
CHETRY: There you go.
CHO: Yes, he did. Anyway, it was just fascinating to talk to these people and we'll be rolling that out next week. So I look forward to it.
CHETRY: Very nice, Alina. I'm sure it was tough for you to sit down with all those stars.
CHO: It really was. It's hard work but somebody's got to do it.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to your Madonna interview as well.
CHO: Thank you. Yes, we're going to sit down tomorrow. I really look forward to it. I've always wanted to meet her.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, you don't miss "AM" all week. Christmas week. Alina's big stars, big giving, an up close look at again, Elton John, Ben Stiller, Madonna, Martha Stewart, Sir Richard Branson, how all of them are giving back, trying to make the world a better place.
ROBERTS: Coming up on 45 minutes after the hour, Rob Marciano will have this morning's travel forecast after the break.
CHETRY: Yes. And also in just 10 minutes, We're "Paging Dr. Gupta." This morning, something that could be a potential breakthrough in diagnosing and treating two major cancers. It's a report you don't want to miss.
Forty-five minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: Dean-o, bringing this in this morning. New York, it's not exactly frightful unless you're allergic to cold weather. It's beautifully sunny out there, only 16 degrees, later on today sunny with a high of 36, but that's not going to last.
CHETRY: It is frightful if you're - if you're a naturally cold person out there. It's windy. It looks pretty from in here.
All right. Well, Rob Marciano is taking a look at it for us. It's only 11 degrees. I - I just got the report from hubby, where we live. A little cold. A little cold out there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: I love that picture of the Eiffel Tower bathed in snow. That's great. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: C'est bon! C'est bon!
ROBERTS: C'est bon! C'est bon! All right there. Bonjour, Robbie.
This morning's top stories just minutes away, including top of the hour, a New Jersey man who flew to Brazil to bring his little boy home and will be coming back without him. David Goldman was hoping his international custody battle would turn out differently this time. Our Susan Candiotti is looking at his next option.
CHETRY: At 8:25 Eastern, possible hidden dangers in your home if you built it during the housing boom. It's a fire hazard that's getting extra attention during the holiday season.
ROBERTS: And at 8:30 Eastern, President Obama is saying there is no time to waste on climate change. If he comes home without a deal, his legislation in Congress is dead (ph). We'll ask Congressman Ed Markey live from Copenhagen this morning. Those stories and a whole lot more coming your way beginning at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Six minutes to the top of the hour, 7:54, and that means were "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning. Scientists may have made a major breakthrough in cancer research. They cracked the code mapping the DNA of two common types of cancer.
CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Gupta is in Atlanta this morning. So, what does this potentially mean for treatments, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this is sort of the - the holy grail when it comes to cancer overall, trying to diagnose it better and then ultimately develop these targets potentially where you can develop new drugs to - to try and fight these cancers.
Look, we're better at sort of sequencing the genome of all sort of things than we were just even a few years ago, so being able to take a cancer cell and then fully sequence its genome is really within the realm of possibility.
That's exactly what happened with regard to two cancers - two relatively deadly cancers as well, lung cancer and melanoma.
Now, what they did was they sequenced the genome and they found that there were 23,000 different mutations in lung cancer and about 33,000 in malignant melanoma. Again, these are complete sequences. In the past, they partially sequenced different cancers, but this was done, again, trying to figure out what's different between the tumors and the healthy tissue in the same body, with the hope that one day you might, you know, you might be able to develop some targets for intervention.
ROBERTS: You know, and Sanjay, this is a disease where people will often think that they've made a breakthrough only to be frustrated when they try to apply it clinically. So what kind of promise does this really have in potentially developing cancer treatments?
GUPTA: Well, you know, what's sort of interesting about these cancers, and it teaches us a lot and then, you know, developed some potential therapy down the road, these are both highly preventable cancers. You know, when it comes to lung cancer, it's very associated with smoking, melanoma associated with exposure to sunlight. And that was sort of bears out as well when you look at the - the genetic sequence.
One thing I thought was really interesting is they estimate, based on looking at the - the models of the genome, that for every 15 cigarettes that's smoked, there is another genetic mutation in someone's lung tissues. So, you know, you really get this sort of interplay between environmental factors and genetic factors and we can - we can predict that better than ever before. But I think, to your point, John, you know, in the past, if - if a woman had breast cancer, for example, they would analyze that breast tissue genetically and develop medications, for example, a medication called Herceptin was developed after looking at the genetic sequence of breast cancer, and that's exactly what they hope to happen with - with cancers like this.
There are obviously lots of other cancers. The really amazing thing, John, would - would be if you find a mutation that seems to be common to all of cancers. There's some sort of mutation out there that turns on tumor cells. If they could somehow figure out what that mutation is that drives all cancers - think about that, John. You could come up with a medication that could potentially treat cancers all across the body.
We're not there yet, but I think pretty soon, when someone, you know, has a cancer, they're going to test it and - and sequence it and try and figure out the best therapy.
ROBERTS: It certainly would be great if they can make sort of breakthrough with lung cancer because, you know, we've seen so many people - Peter Jennings, you know, Dana Reeve - die from lung cancer.
GUPTA: That's right.
ROBERT: You know, it's very difficult to treat.
GUPTA: It is very difficult to treat and it's very difficult to screen for as well. You know, we had a lot of discussion a couple of weeks ago, John, about mammography as a screening test for breast cancer. There are a lot of cancers out there we simply don't have a screening test for, and by the time someone, you know, shows up at the doctor's office it is often too late, which is why lung cancer is - is so - so deadly, the patients come into the doctors' office after the tumor has already grown to a certain size.
If you could figure it out earlier and potentially treat it earlier, it would make an exponential difference.
ROBERTS: All right. Exciting new stuff. Let's - let's hope that it bears fruit. Dr. Sanjay Gupta this morning. Doc, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
CHETRY: We're 57 and a half minutes past the hour. Your top stories are just 90 seconds away. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Good morning. Thanks for being with us on this Friday, the 18th of December. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
Brazil's Supreme Court is now blocking a New Jersey dad from bringing his kidnapped son home. It's been a five-year battle for David Goldman. He was hoping to be reunited with his nine-year-old son yesterday after a lower court ruled in his favor, a judge now delaying the transfer of custody until the child can be heard in court.
ROBERTS: "Climate change poses a grave and growing danger to our people," those words from President Obama. Right now, he's on his high stakes trip to Copenhagen, trying to salvage the climate change talks, but can the president get a deal or will he return to Washington empty-handed?
CHETRY: And an innocent man set free after 35 years behind bars, accused of a crime he didn't commit. James Bain spent most of his life locked up for a brutal rape that he didn't take part in, until DNA evidence proved his innocence.
