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American Morning
Sen. Dodd to Announce Retirement; Obama Demands Action After Terror Plot; International Aviation at Risk of Terrorism; Best and Worst Jobs in 2010; AARP Lobbies for Health Care Reform
Aired January 06, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you on this Wednesday, January 6th. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us.
Here are the big stories that we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes here in the Most News in the Morning.
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd about to announce that he's retiring. The five-term Democrat will not be seeking a sixth term in November. He is the second Senate Democrat this week to announce that he is stepping aside in the fall. What all this means for the party and the president in just a moment.
CHETRY: And we're learning some more disturbing details about those first few minutes after the security breach at Newark Airport in New Jersey Sunday. It turns out the security cameras in the terminal were rolling but not recording when somebody went the wrong way through a security checkpoint. We're going to tell you what the TSA is saying about this latest embarrassment.
ROBERTS: And some are calling it heroin for dummies. New York City's Health Department publishing and distributing a controversial flyer that teaches addicts how to shoot up safely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jump up and down to show your veins. Find the vein before you try to inject it. You know, where's the health concern there if you miss the vein you might get a bruise?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A waste in taxpayer money that sends the wrong signal, or could it just be a life saver? An "A.M. Original" is just ahead.
But, first, there will be no sixth term in the Senate for Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd. He is deciding not to run for reelection in November. Instead, he'll retire. Dodd will make the announcement at noon in his home state.
And while Democrats may breathe a sigh of relief that Dodd is bowing out because he was having difficulties, they are reeling from another shocker from North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan. He's not running in the fall either.
Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is working her sources in Washington this morning.
And let's start with Senator Dodd, a high-profile Democrat who seemed determined to stay. What happened in the last few days?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, you mentioned that Dodd is taking one for the team. That's really a good way to put it because Dodd is very low in the polls in Connecticut. And Democratic sources have said that there has been deep Democratic concern that he would lose that seat this coming November and they actually have another good candidate to run in his place.
Now, why was Dodd in so much trouble back home? Well, it started when he moved his entire family out of Connecticut and to Iowa when he had a long shot bid for president in 2008. And then things really snowballed for him when the financial system collapsed and he, as chairman of the banking committee, was seen as absent or even too close to Wall Street.
And recently, he's had a high profile and Democrats really tried to boost his standing and give him that profile in health care. He took over for his good friend Ted Kennedy when he got sick, but none of that seemed to resurrect him with voters he's representative -- he's represented, rather, for 30 years, John.
ROBERTS: Yes. As we said, so, Dodd is not going to run for re- election. Either is Byron Dorgan from the state of North Dakota. So, let's make the calculation as we head into November 2010, in the midterm elections. Two high-profile Democrats not up for re-election. They're going to be new people taking over.
How could this potentially impact the party?
BASH: Well, when it comes to the balance of power in the Senate, John, Dodd's retirement could ultimately mean his seat is safer for Democrats, as we mentioned.
But Byron Dorgan's surprise announcement does put his North Dakota seat in jeopardy because that's a red state and there is a popular Republican governor who may jump in. And we've learned from health care reform which passed the Senate with exactly 60 votes that the president's agenda, at least on highly partisan Democratic legislation like health care, really depends on having all 60 Democratic seats, or at least seats that caucus with Democrats that they have now.
But beyond the balance of power, these two retirements in 24 hours, and also one in Colorado where actually the governor is hanging it up -- it really is an indication, John, that Democrats know how tough this environment is going to be for them this election year. And it just -- it's just kind of important to remember and hard to believe that it was just two years ago that Democrats dominated in the polls.
ROBERTS: Will make for an interesting political season.
Dana Bash for us on Capitol Hill this morning -- Dana, thanks.
BASH: Thank you.
CHETRY: And let's go to other top story this morning.
Disturbing details are emerging about Sunday's security breach that happened at Newark Liberty International Airport. An entire terminal was shut down after a man bypassed security. It affected a lot more than just that terminal as flights across the country ended up being affected.
Well, as it turns out, the cameras that should have captured that person's image were not recording. Now, in the end, the TSA had to request surveillance tape from Continental Airlines, which also has cameras in that terminal. An agency spokeswoman says, quote, "After reviewing the circumstances and meeting with the Port Authority surrounding the breach, the TSA has volunteered to check the surveillance cameras on a daily basis to ensure consistent operations."
Well, President Obama's vowing to plug those security holes that let the suicide bomber come so close to potentially blowing up a commercial airliner on Christmas Day. The president gave his security team a tongue lashing at a White House meeting yesterday. He says they, quote, "screwed up" by failing to connect the dots on intelligence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When a suspected terrorist is able to board a plane with explosives on Christmas Day, the system has failed in a potentially disastrous way. And it's my responsibility to find out why and to correct that failure so that we can prevent such attacks in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And stay with us. Coming up in less than 10 minutes, we'll be digging deeper into whether our government has learned anything since 9/11 when it comes to sharing intelligence, connecting the dots. We're going to be talking to former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
ROBERTS: A developing story now, a high-tech speedboat is sinking in Antarctica after trying to stop a Japanese whaling ship.
(VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The whaling ship did not stop when the Ady Gill tried to cut it off. The Australian conservation group says the bow of its boats was sheared off. Although they were in the icy cold waters, the crew did make it safely to another boat. CHETRY: Also new this morning, as Congress gets back to work on health care, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now backing off of the public insurance option.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The fact is that the public option -- I prefer to call it the public's option -- an option for the public to hold the insurance companies accountable and to increase competition. There are other ways to do that and we look forward to having those discussions as we reconcile the bills. But unless we hold the insurance companies accountable, we will not be able to have the affordability for the middle-class, the reforms of the insurance industry that we must have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, the government-run insurance option is included in the House bill, not the Senate's. And President Obama has scheduled another White House meeting today to try to hammer out issues standing in the way of the passage of a single bill.
ROBERTS: The White House is upset about a new anti-fur ad that features first lady Michelle Obama. The animal rights group PETA says they did not ask for the first lady's permission to use her image because she can't make such an endorsement, even though the White House done firms that Mrs. Obama does not wear fur. The first lady appears in the ad with Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood and Tyra Banks.
CHETRY: Six minutes past the hour right now. Our Rob Marciano is keeping track of the weather for us.
And right now, it is quite cold in many parts of the country and staying that way for a while, looks like.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. No matter what kind of coat you're wearing, a heavy one would be wise today across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country. The cold snap continues and it's only going to be reinforced as we go through the next 24 to 36 hours.
Check out the map, lot of blue on the eastern side of the U.S. Minus-one right now in Minneapolis; 19 degrees in Atlanta; and 32 degrees currently in Orlando -- and these numbers do not include the wind chills which make it feel like it's six in Atlanta; makes it feel like 22 in Tampa; makes it feel like 35 degrees in Miami.
And the next batch of cold air on the heels of this one will bring a little bit of snow as well. So, talk about that, that kind of gets into the messy mix of things. It shouldn't be too much snow, but it will affect a decent amount of people. And again the bigger story is reinforcing this already-cold snap that we're enduring. And for many folks, it will be the longest span of this type of cold weather in about 20 years.
So, it certainly is a remarkable start to this 2010 decade. Talk more in 30 minutes, guys. We will see you then.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it, Rob. Thanks so much.
MARCIANO: OK.
ROBERTS: So, President Obama yesterday held a big meeting in the Situation Room at the White House with the heads of his intelligence agencies promising changes are coming down the pike in order to make America safer and prevent people like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab getting on-board aircraft.
Well, is anything going to work? And have we learned any lessons after 9/11? The very first secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, joins us -- coming up next.
Eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes after the hour now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
President Obama acknowledging the government dropped the ball, failing to connect the intelligence dots that could have stopped the alleged Christmas Day bomber. And now, the president is demanding action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I will accept that intelligence, by its nature, is imperfect. But it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully leveraged. That's not acceptable and I will not tolerate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Joining me this morning on our "Security Watch" is Tom Ridge. He is the former secretary of homeland security, the first one in the Bush administration.
Secretary Ridge, good to see you this morning. Thanks for joining us.
TOM RIDGE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Nice to join you. Thank you.
ROBERTS: So, the president yesterday in the Situation Room, and rare that we hear anything that was said in the Situation Room being made public, said this was not a failure to collect intelligence, it was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already had -- the same problems that America had pre-9/11.
Have we really learned anything since then?
RIDGE: Well, first of all, I commend the president. I think that was the strongest part of his statement yesterday because I think he's spot-on. I think there are several reasons associated with that.
I still think you have a culture where it's still difficult for some agencies to share information. I think you have a culture that suggests that they have to work inside procedural lines, and I think in these circumstances that we've seen, somebody could have picked up the phone and made a further inquiry or demand that this individual be put on the watch list.
But I think the president is right. It was a -- you gather a lot of information, but in this instance, it has not been integrated and analyzed correctly.
And I'll be interested in seeing when they publicly release, what they're going to do about it, what is the threshold to get people's names on the list, what's the amount of information they expect agencies to share. Have they found a technological platform that will enable them to manage all that knowledge and maybe an algorithm that churns at 24/7 to send up red flags?
But there's still a lot of work to be done.
ROBERTS: And when it comes to airport screening, you know, December of 2001, Richard Reid tried to set his shoe off on a transatlantic flight that originated out of Britain.
Have we really learned anything since December of 2001? You know, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly got onboard an aircraft with an explosive device, came out of Britain. We've seen at least two terror plots tried to be hashed out of that. What have we learned since December of 2001?
RIDGE: Well, I think -- I think we've learned a lot. I mean, I think we're gathering more and more information.
I think one of the challenges that this administration has is not only to correct the system or procedure or the process, but also, I do think it would be helpful if they changed the language a little bit. I mean, this is -- the president has referred to an isolated extremist attack, and on other occasions, they talk about manmade incidents. This is an ongoing sustained effort by al Qaeda to recruit, to do us harm and do others harm.
And so, I think, this is a president who understands the power of language. He's very -- he's very adept. He's very good. Words mean something.
And I think, hopefully, part of his instruction to that crew was to rekindle a sense of urgency and greater vigilance and also -- and also, a protection so that if they see something going on and they don't want to work within the system to pick up the phone and call somebody.
Remember the Major Hasan incident. Why somebody from the FBI did not pick up the phone and call the Defense Intelligence Agency and say, "You got an active-duty soldier sending e-mails to a radical imam?" I mean, there's a procedure that you might want to follow but people should be assured that if they go outside the procedure, when certain red flags come up, they'll be protected.
ROBERTS: It all seems pretty simple. Doesn't it? Do you think that...
RIDGE: Well, common sense.
ROBERTS: Do you think that anyone should lose their job over this?
RIDGE: I don't know enough to suggest that should be the course of action. I do know, however, that we need to empower these men and women who work hard every single day. We need to rekindle with them that sense of vigilance that they would have had on September 12th. I expect it's there, but I do think that they need to be reminded.
And thank God -- perhaps divine intervention -- this tragedy was avoided. But it is certainly a wake-up call to improve the system, hit the "send" button, share that information, and if you see aberrant, unusual behavior, don't even work the system. Pick up the phone and gather some people around and say, should we take action now?
ROBERTS: Mr. Secretary, you said a moment ago that, you know, the intelligence community needs to fully understand that al Qaeda is out there actively trying to recruit people. That is its goal. It also appears to be -- if history is any guide -- obsessed with aircraft.
RIDGE: Yes.
ROBERTS: These new security measures that have been, and in some cases, haven't been, put in place in these 14 countries, and the fact that there is no enhanced security in Britain where, as we said before, at least two terror plots, including Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, and the liquid bomb plot, were hatched -- does that give you any confidence that the flying public is safer?
RIDGE: Well, first of all, I do think we need more and better technology. It's amazing to me, eight years after 9/11, we still haven't designed a platform at our airports that can detect metal, explosives and perhaps the body scan. We're going to have to work through some privacy issues there.
But I think it is about time that the international aviation community -- and there is an international organization, perhaps America needs to take the lead. This is a global scourge. The entire commercial aviation world is absolutely critical to us resolving this question of -- the challenge of screening these people. Let's get the international community more fully engaged than they've ever been before. It is in everybody's best interest.
ROBERTS: I saw one statistic that on an average day, 4 million people are flying on aircraft worldwide.
When a single person is determined to bring a bomb on-board and explode an aircraft heading to the United States, is there really anything you can do to stop them?
RIDGE: Well, I think it is a wonderful -- it is a very appropriate question. This is a risk -- we've said it many, many times. America has to be right a billion times a year. They only have to be right once. So your goal is to eliminate all risk. You can't. But you need to find better procedures and more technology to reduce that risk. It's all about risk management and we still don't have the technological platforms in order to do it.
ROBERTS: Tom Ridge, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, thanks for joining us this morning.
RIDGE: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: Good to see you. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Still ahead, Stephanie Elam joins us. She's "Minding Our Business". If you're looking for maybe a change, trying to figure out where you should probably head in terms of the job market in 2010, Stephanie has a look at the best and worst jobs to consider. 16 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O' BRIEN, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Big sports news. NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas has apologized for pulling a gun on one of his teammates in the Washington Wizards' locker room. I'm sorry, folks, but whatever happened to towel snapping?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Those were the days, huh?
CHETRY: Certainly. Welcome back -- we're going to talk about that. The grand jury now is looking at evidence in this case of NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas. He admitted to bringing three guns, three or four guns into the locker room. He says it wasn't part of any threatening situation. It was to store them safely and you know, said it was a joke.
So, anyway, he's going to be questioned some more in connection with this situation but meantime, a lot of people are coming out pretty strongly about it. The Reverend Al Sharpton as well as NBA legend and NRA member Karl Malone. At 8:30 Eastern, just about ten minutes, we are going to talk to Karl Malone about what he thinks the commissioner should do about it.
ROBERTS: You know there are things called gun safes and there are millions of people across this country, law-abiding citizens who have them and that is where they store their firearm.
CHETRY: Buy a safe. Don't bring them to work.
ROBERTS: Exactly. Stephanie Elam joining us this morning "Minding Your Business" with the best and the worst jobs of 2010. Good morning to you.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, if you're looking for a job, it will probably be smart to think about science, math, computer skills. Those are going to be the top jobs of 2010. We have a new survey out looking at the best jobs. I'm going to tell you right now, they aren't exactly the sexiest jobs out there. They aren't necessarily the highest paying but they're good, solid jobs.
Let's start off by taking a look at the first one, which is an actuary. That's someone who evaluates financial impact of risk for companies, low stress, low physical demand. You could see there, the salary expectation of $85,000. But these jobs are looking at the majority of people in these jobs. They're saying they want to find people with good health, low stress, pleasant work environment, solid income and good growth potential here.
You see also on there the computer systems analyst, biologist and historian, all of those being the top five. So, showing that you have to have some education there for those jobs.
Now, we move from there to the worst jobs. And these all have a high risk of injury. They have low salary, long hours, some of them isolation and lack of advancement opportunities. The first one -- roustabout. I really did not know what that was.
ROBERTS: That is a roustabout in an oil rig, right?
ELAM: Right. Exactly. That is someone --
ROBERTS: Because there are circus roustabouts too.
ELAM: Right.
CHETRY: Yes, rousties in Australia and New Zealand that actually collects the wool after it is shaved off a sheep.
ELAM: Why do you know that?
CHETRY: I don't know.
ELAM: Okay. Anyway, a roustabout, yes, as I was saying, is someone who labors on an oil rigor pipeline. Think about it, you are out there in the middle of a huge body of water somewhere, either it is really hot or it is really cold. You're dealing with all this different isolation and you're maybe out there for two weeks, two months at a time. So, a rough job there. Lumberjack has better hiring outlook this year than last year but still number two. Ironworker, dairy farmer and a welder. So, overall you see that these jobs --
ROBERTS: Why dairy farmer?
ELAM: Dairy farmer. You know what, you have to get up at 3:00 o' clock in the morning.
ROBERTS: I'd hate do a job like that.
(CROSSTALK)
ELAM: You got to put your face in places that you may not want to put your face.
CHETRY: That's the "utter" thing.
ELAM: You were really good with that, very quick. But also, these jobs, the way they measured them, just to tell you, stress, working environment, physical demands, income and hiring outlook. So, that's how they qualified these jobs.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll keep that in mind when we are looking --
CHETRY: Yes, roustabouting?
ELAM: Yes, I know.
CHETRY: Dairy farmers though, I mean, that milk is just so delicious and important.
ELAM: Milk is important, yes.
ROBERTS: Bring your bag balm to work with you. Stephanie, thanks so much.
ELAM: I don't even know what that is.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you -- it's a liniment balm that they use, a cow's utter, b-a-l-m, balm. You put it on a cow's utter but it is also very good for your hands.
ELAM: Hands? Keeps it soft and moisturized?
ROBERTS: Yes. Made in Vermont. The New York City health department has got a new pamphlet out. Some people say that it is just a how-to guide on how to safely shoot heroin. Others say, no, this is an absolutely legitimate public health message. We'll be talking about that coming up.
CHETRY: All right. Well, NBA legend, the Mailman, Karl Malone is going to be joining us. He's talking a little bit more weighing in. He wrote a great op-ed about it in "Sports Illustrated," this whole situation in the Washington Wizards' locker room. What is going on, and what should happen in light of those guns being brought into the arena. The very arena in fact that President Obama watched a game in. It's scary to think about. 23 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 26 minutes after the hour. That means it is time for an "A.M. original," something that you'll see only on "American Morning."
The AARP considered to be one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the country, boasting some 40 million members over the age of 50.
CHETRY: The group came out in support of overhauling health care. The only problem was not everyone is on board. And some of its members are actually taking it out on the organization. Our Carol Costello is live in Washington with more on her special series "Lobbying for your Health." And there are people who say, you know, the AARP does not necessarily have seniors' best interest at heart.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some people believe that. No lobbying organization had more influence over health care reform than one of the biggies, the AARP. But victories aside, the AARP lost support during the health care battle. It lost 150,000 members.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Robert Tice used to be a proud card- carrying member of the AARP. But he's not proud anymore.
ROBERT TICE, AARP MEMBER: Well, letters don't mean American Association of Retired Persons. It just means AARP. It's just a name.
COSTELLO: Proof of that for Tice came on November 5th, 2009.
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: When it comes to the AARP, this is no small endorsement.
COSTELLO: The AARP'S endorsement of health care reform so angered some seniors, AARP admits 150,000 have dropped their memberships.
DAVID CERTNER, AARP LEGISLATIVE POLICY DIRECTOR: We don't like losing any members. We think that a lot of members have some misinformation about where AARP stands, what we've been fighting for.
COSTELLO: Critics charge the AARP is fighting not for its members, but for its bottom line. Pointing to the roughly $650 million AARP made in 2008 enrolling members in AARP-branded insurance plans. That's almost three times what it made in membership dues.
You're telling me you don't know what kind of money AARP makes?
COSTELLO: Republicans are also questioning why AARP would endorse a health bill that includes huge cuts to Medicare advantage plans offered by AARP and others. These private plans offer seniors an alternative to Medicare that often includes extra medical coverage like dental and vision care.
I recognize the gentleman from Georgia.
COSTELLO: Georgia Republican, Congressman Phil Gingrey, thinks he knows why.
REP. PHIL GINGREY, (R) GEORGIA: If you have people, seniors that are on Medicare advantage and back into Medicare fee for service, the more opportunity AARP has to get royalty from the sale of the Medigap policies.
COSTELLO: Gingrey says those seniors forced out of Medicare advantage would have to buy supplemental insurance like Medigap, which gives you the chance to get additional payments in coverage from Medicare. For insurers like the AARP and its partner United Health Care, that means a much higher profit margin.
They have to purchase a Medigap policy, and, oh, guess what? AARP has 30% of that market.
You should know about this card.
COSTELLO: It is a fact not lost on its members.
AARP is about insurance. People need to know that. AARP is not out there to help you. It's to take your money and put it in their pocket.
COSTELLO: The AARP insists this is not true.
COSTELLO (on camera): So your lobbyists haven't lobbied to leave untouched Medigap.
CERTNER: No, it's not even an issue we have lobbied on at all.
COSTELLO (voice-over): David Certner says the AARP supported cuts to Medicare advantage to trim the fat so Medicare itself survives.
CERTNER: We understand that there are financial issues with Medicare and we need to save money for the Medicare program.
COSTELLO: Certner says the AARP fought for more important things like convincing lawmakers to close the gap in Medicare drug coverage known as the doughnut hole.
COSTELLO (on camera): How do you plan to win back those 150,000 members who's dropped out?
CERTNER: I think when people see the benefits of health care reform I think they will come to realize that there was a lot of misinformation out there, that these bills really were good bills to help strengthen the health care system.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Robert Tice for one is waiting to see for himself.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: The AARP says it is important to keep in mind that although many members have dropped out, many more have joined or renewed their membership. They tell me that adds up to 2 million more members. Another note -- the AARP has always brokered insurance for seniors. It is why the AARP tells me it was created, to convince insurance companies to sell policies to elderly people. John. Kiran.
ROBERTS: Sure, we've all seen the ads. The motorcycle cop who pulls up, says let me see your insurance. Right?
CHETRY: There you go. And it goes a long way at times.
ROBERTS: It does. But a lot of emotion on this issue, no question about that.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, when somebody messes with the insurance you already have, and you know the president has promised all along that if you have an insurance policy, you get to keep it despite what happens with health care reform, and many seniors believe that these cuts to Medicare is sort of violating that promise.
ROBERTS: Great series, Carol. Thanks for bringing it to us.
COSTELLO: Sure.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, half past the hour right now. It means it is time for the morning's top stories.
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd will not be seeking a sixth term this fall. CNN learning he'll be retiring instead. An announcement expected at noon today.
Also just in to CNN, Connecticut's attorney general Richard Blumenthal is scheduled to announce that he will run for Dodd's seat in November.
ROBERTS: Breaking news out of Yemen today. Three suspected Al Qaeda militants are in custody after clashes with government security forces. The suspects linked to a plot against attacks on western embassies in Yemen. The arrests are the latest move in the new offensive against Al Qaeda in the region.
CHETRY: Also, blaming the unsettled situation, President Obama is halting the transfer of detainees from the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay to Yemen, but making it very clear that he fully intends to shut down Gitmo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've agreed that we will not be transferring additional detainees back to Yemen at this time. But make no mistake, we will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for Al Qaeda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: About half of the remaining 200 prisoners are from Yemen, home to a growing Al Qaeda network. U.S. officials say that transfers may continue after a careful review of the situation.
The case of Washington Wizards' star Gilbert Arenas is putting the spotlight back on a problem that's been around for years, NBA players and their guns. Arenas has admitted to bringing four guns to a locker room, part of what he now calls a bad joke. But initially it was first reported that Arenas and another teammate, Javaris Crittenton, actually drew guns on each other.
The Mailman, Karl Malone, who had a legendary career with the Utah Jazz, also a member of the National Rifle Association and wrote a great commentary about this for our friends at "Sports Illustrated" joins us now from his alma mater, Louisiana Tech University via Skype. Thank you for being here.
KARL MALONE, FORMER NBA PLAYER: You bet you. You guys get up pretty early, but I'm glad to be here.
CHETRY: It is because we get to talk to people like you, so we're pretty happy about it.
You know, all of this apparently happened -- there are now different stories out there, but it was initially reported, as we said, a card game, a gambling debt. A lot of people at home hear this story and they can't believe that teammates would pull guns on each other or even pull guns out of a locker room in general at their sports arena.
What was your reaction?
MALONE: I think my initial reaction was this right here, plain and simple. I think when you have a situation like this, you got to be educated about guns.
But I think the most important thing about this, when you have teammates that carry on like this, it is an eye sore for the whole NBA. Once an NBA player, always an NBA player. And I don't really care if it was Gilbert Arenas or LeBron James or whoever. It's just is not the state that we should be in, carrying guns in an arena.
I can tell you about ten bad things can happen with a firearm in an arena. I can't tell you one good thing. And that's the unfortunate thing about it. And right when we seem to be making headway, this thing happens.
I'm not bashing Gilbert Arenas. You don't joke with firearms, first of all of. That's just one of those things you don't do. And once again we have a black eye in the NBA that we need to do something about.
CHETRY: You wrote in that article for "Sports Illustrated" that the NBA can't really sweep something like this under the rug. What do you think should happen?
MALONE: Well, unfortunately, we have handbooks about things we should do and shouldn't do. This should be a no-brainer. Unfortunately in a situation like this, people going to call it -- someone make an example and all that.
It's not about that. It is about we've been accountable. We say that we can't do this. It is absolutely no joke when it comes to a gun. But I don't want this to get into a situation that it's once again taking away rights of citizens who have done it the right way. There are a lot of professional athletes that have done it the right way and are educated about guns. And when you have these situations, now they think every NBA player got a firearm, and that's something we don't need.
CHETRY: Well, the "New York Daily News" and the "New York Post" sports editorials are both calling for the players, Arenas and Crittenton, to be ejected from the NBA, one of them writing that Arenas violated ADC laws by bringing a gun in there, even if it was unloaded, and also the league's own collective bargaining agreement about bringing guns into the locker room.
So what message does it send if he's allowed to keep playing?
MALONE: Well, I think the most important thing, this right here, you have got to have respect for your job, OK? Any other person out there that takes a firearm to work would probably be terminated, no questions asked.
I don't want this to get into I don't like Gilbert Arenas. I think he's a great talent. But this is bigger than that. This is a situation when we have laws, we have the law.
Hey, I commend the hockey league, I commend the NFL and baseball, because they have almost zero tolerance. We don't want to make an example. I don't care if it's LeBron, Shaq, Kobe, whatever, these are things you don't do.
If you need a bodyguard and you fear for your life, make them go through the same training that our police forces and our SWAT team and our FBI members go through for them to carry a firearm. Nothing good happens, especially when the first thing you think about is I'm going to get my gun. That is not the way you do that.
CHETRY: Reverend Al Sharpton came down really hard. He's calling on black leaders and the NBA to come down hard as well on Arenas. He says the reaction over this incident, he believes, has been tempered because the players are black.
In fact, this is what Reverend Al Sharpton said. He said "If it had been a white player pointing a gun at a black player, there would have been much more of an uproar. It's almost as if people are saying we don't expect anything better from our black athletes." What's your take?
MALONE: Let me say this. I have respect for Reverend Sharpton. But you know what? I am also almost fed up with "black" and "white" and "black and white." We know that. Let's just say a human being. Let's stop playing the race card.
We know that. It's been documented since slavery. Let's move on and let's handle the things at hand. I don't care if it is a white player or black player, whoever, it is uncalled for.
So please, please let's stop playing the race card, and let's stop waiting on someone to do something for us. Let's be accountable and let's handle our business and let's take care of our business and let's stop using that card. I'm fed up with that card.
CHETRY: All right, well, you had a really great take this morning. I'm glad that we had a chance to talk to you. Karl Malone, a former NVA star -- well, you're always going to be an NBA star, but, you know, former player -- and National Rifle Association member as well at your alma mater there at Louisiana Tech University. Thanks so much.
MALONE: Thank you, guys.
ROBERTS: It's great to see Karl this morning.
It's 37 minutes after the hour. The New York City department the health has released a pamphlet recently that some people are saying is nothing more than a how-to instructions on how to shoot heroin safely. But the New York City health department says, no, no, no, this is an important public service.
We'll have both sides of that story coming up. Our Alina Cho is looking into it. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Critics are calling it nothing more than a how-to guide for drug addicts.
CHETRY: The New York City health department thinks that a controversial flyer that it's been handing out to heroin users may actually save a few lives. Here's Alina Cho with an "A.M." original.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This 16-page pamphlet is called "Take charge, take care, ten tips for safer use," a virtual heroin how-to guide, complete with illustrations and detailed tips -- warm your body, jump up and down to show your veins, don't always inject in the same spot, and don't dig for veins. If you don't register, pull out and try again.
PETER VALLONE, JR., CHAIRMAN, NYC PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION: Jump up and down to show your veins. Find the vein before you try to inject it. You know, where's the health concern there? If you miss the vein you might get a bruise? That's an egregious misuse of taxpayer money.
CHO: The brainchild of New York City's health department -- 70,000 flyers, paid for with $32,000 taxpayer dollars.
JOHN GILBRIDE, DEA SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: I think it sends out the message and the wrong message that heroin use can be safe. Heroin use cannot be safe. Heroin use can be deadly. CHO: That's exactly why New York's health department says these tips are crucial. Accidental overdose is the fourth leading cause of death in New York City, claiming more than 600 lives a year.
Another big issue -- HIV and AIDS -- one-third of Americans living with HIV are infected through injection drug use. One reason why the health department also encourages users not to share needless, but adds, "There's no healthy use of drugs. just helpful information."
DR. ADAM KARPATI, EXECUTIVE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, MENTAL HYGIENE: The messages are clear. It is about getting help to stop using drugs, it is about preventing overdose, it is about preventing HIV infection and hepatitis infection. That's the context.
CHO: Information that could have helped this 35-year-old heroin user. We'll call him John. He shoots up several times a week. Two and a half years ago John was diagnosed with hepatitis c.
"JOHN": Most people going to use it, they're going to use it and they're going to find a way to use regardless. I think it is better that somebody has the right information so that, you know, they can do it the right way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: In fact, the health department says the $32,000 they spent on the flyers is actually a drop in the bucket when you consider just how much money is saved by preventing infections.
Over a lifetime, of course, treatments can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per person. So $32,000 for 70,000 flyers, they say -- supporters of this, of course, say this is not a lot of money when you consider the potential downside of infections.
But I mean, listen, people who support this flyer will say, the reality is that people are going to use drugs, they're going to shoot up, they're going to abuse drugs, so why not try to save lives by showing them how to shoot up safely?
Other people, critics, will say, listen, detailed tips like this? Do we really need to be doing this? Maybe the better way is to use that money toward prevention.
CHETRY: Or even -- look. It's the same controversy that comes up whenever you talk about supplying needles, the sterile needle programs.
But this flyer really struck a nerve, I think partly because it seemed to -- it gave no value judgment to it, and then just sort of giving some tips on the best ways to do it. In some cases it wasn't necessarily about safety but also like maximizing the ability to get high.
CHO: Yes. I mean, listen, that's what the critics will say about it. The health department will say, listen. In order to reduce the number of infections for HIV, for hepatitis c, in order to save lives, we've got to do this, because otherwise, a first-time user or even a person who's been using for years could shoot up and kill themselves. It's that easy.
As you know, heroin, you can buy it off the street for less than a six-pack of beer and it can be very, very strong and it can kill you. So they say that they're trying to save lives.
Listen, they're passionate on both sides.
CHETRY: All right, Alina Cho, thanks so much.
Still ahead, the frigid weather and the longest cold snap we've seen in years. Rob Marciano is tracking all of it. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: Forty seven and a half minutes after the hour. We just want to make a quick correction here on The Most News in the Morning.
A few moments ago we're talking about Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal going to throw his hat in the ring for Senator Christopher Dodd's seat in the 2010 mid-term elections. We inadvertently showed the wrong photograph of the attorney general.
This is a picture of the attorney general, Richard Blumenthal. We accidentally showed the former Clinton aide and journalist Sidney Blumenthal when we reported the story. Our apologies to all and in the immortal words of Monty python, "Those responsible for this egregious error had been sacked." No, they haven't really but they know that they made a mistake.
CHETRY: Right, all we said was the beatings are going to continue until morale improves.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHETRY: All right, well, let's check in with Rob Marciano right now and he's following extreme weather for us. A cold snap, one that we haven't seen the likes of in years.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes and in some cases, 10 to 20 years. We're not seeing a ton of record-breaking lows but there were a handful this morning.
We'll go over in Tampa, Florida 27 degrees. Do you believe that? Our berry farmers are worried there. West Palm Beach, 34; Fort Myers, 34; and Miami, South Beach, 40 degrees, that ties a record. Right now it's 18 degrees in Atlanta, 19 and warming up in Memphis just a little bit and just above freezing the freezing mark in New Orleans.
We do have the leading edge of the next batch of cold air coming in. It does have some snow with it now moving into Nebraska and Kansas. And we're seeing some of this snow, will pile up anywhere from two to six, maybe some eight inches in spots. A couple of shots of the Mississippi River, this is how cold it's been there. You don't see this too often where it actually freezes over in chunks of ice. Hannibal, Missouri and then these shots just up the river in Quincy, Illinois.
So as Mark Twain would say, the coldest summer -- winter I ever had was a summer in San Francisco. San Francisco, much, much nicer right now than it is in Quincy, Illinois.
All right guys. Stay warm and cold air coming to you as well as we head closer to the weekend.
ROBERTS: Rob thanks so much.
Coming up next: our Dr. Sanjay Gupta easing the pain for people who suffer from cluster headaches. Stay tuned for that you want to see it. It's 49 and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's like penciling into your calendar 15 minutes of agonizing pain, same time every day for weeks. If you're one of the million Americans who suffer from cluster headaches, you know what we are talking about.
CHETRY: And now it looks like there is a new way to relieve the pain. And we're "Paging Dr. Gupta", CNN's chief medical correspondent, in Atlanta this morning.
And Sanjay, it's something unfortunately that we understand you're all too familiar with. You get these cluster headaches. What's it like?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I get very similar headaches which are serious migraine headaches. These cluster headaches though are some of the worst pain. I think most neurologists, neurosurgeons, would agree. This is the very worst of the types of headache. And they call it cluster headaches because of the way that they behave.
Now, these are headaches that typically occur one or more times a day and they last 15 minutes as John said to several hours in the day. And the reason they're called clusters, they typically occur around the same time every day and this goes on and on for weeks, if not months, sometimes even years. These are terrible headaches, no question about it.
And then you'll go a period of time where you'll have months or years even pain-free. So it's really hard to predict as well.
Scientists do know more about these types of headaches than ever before. Take a look inside the brain here. It has this biological clock sort of nature to the headaches, as I just alluded to.
And that's what really let scientists sort of zero in on the hypothalamus which is this area where you see the pain sort of coming from. That's where it's believed these headaches originate, the hypothalamus. But they're very, very difficult to control. And that's you know, deep inside the brain.
So this isn't something that you can simply take aspirin or Tylenol for. This is something that's really affecting the whole brain and as a result the whole body. It can radiate into the top of the head, the shoulders and the eye gets really, really swollen as well.
ROBERTS: Do researchers know what triggers this reaction, Sanjay and how do you deal with it? If you're going to do this the same time every day for weeks, what's the treatment?
GUPTA: Well, what's interesting about the treatment -- one thing we know that doesn't work are over the counter medications like ibuprofen, things like that.
First of all, they don't work fast enough. Second of all, people can develop sort of rebound quality to it. So they get a tolerance to it.
What seems to work, interestingly, better than just about anything else and patients always thank me for this piece of advice is actually using 100 percent oxygen; actually just breathing in 100 percent oxygen...
ROBERTS: Wow.
GUPTA: ... for some reason seems to stabilize the blood vessels that seem to be out of sorts with this type of headache. So using oxygen like that helps.
There are other medications that are called abortives or preventives, medications, certain blood pressure medications, for example, can help as well.
But to your question about trigger specifically, we do know things that trigger and these are things that you should absolutely never do if you're in the middle of a cluster.
Smoking is just absolutely a no-no. Again, blood vessels really affected by that. Alcohol consumption makes it worse. High altitudes and irregular sleep schedules as well.
John, it's hard to get oxygen obviously in your office or something like that. But I know patients who do that, they keep oxygen canisters in their office.
ROBERTS: Wow.
GUPTA: They can actually buy it; it helps about 80 percent of people.
ROBERTS: Wow. Difficult stuff to deal with, no question, though. CHETRY: Yes, they say that it's so painful that some of the female patients who get it describe it as more excruciating than child birth.
GUPTA: I wasn't going to say that because I have no personal experience but that's exactly what I've heard.
CHETRY: I know, no cluster headache can (INAUDIBLE) childbirth.
Good for you.
GUPTA: That's right. But you are absolutely right. Can you imagine a searing poker-like pain behind the eye, the eye just gets really swollen? And as you said, you can pencil it in. It occurs almost the same time every single day for weeks, if not months.
ROBERTS: That's amazing. Sanjay, thanks so much for that.
GUPTA: Thanks guys.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we're checking in with Jeanne Moos. She has the latest on a Web side beautifulpeople.com kicking people out for maybe gaining a little weight over the holidays?
Fifty-five minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: It's about two minutes until the top of the hour. Time for "The Moost News in the Morning".
ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos is with us. It is a dating Web site devoted to beautiful people. It's showing thousands of so-called festive fatties, the virtual door. Our Jeanne Moos digs deep on an unbelievably shallow enterprise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Imagine you're a beautiful person on a dating Web site called BeautifulPeople and all that holiday food was just too beautiful to resist and you gained a few pounds.
GREG HODGE, CO-FOUNDER, BEAUTIFULPEOPLE.COM: We've had over 5,000 of our newly chubby members who had been removed from the site.
MOOS: 5,000 members dumped like a second helping. In the words of the founder of BeautifulPeople, "Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model."
MIA AMBER DAVIS, CREATIVE EDITOR AT LARGE, PLUS MODEL MAGAZINES: It is a very ugly thing that they're doing. It is hideous.
MOOS: You can only become a member of BeautifulPeople if existing members of the opposite sex vote you on.
You probably think this Web site is about you.
Maybe both eyes. That's how we began a piece we did five years ago about the site.
What we need is a guinea pig. Not him -- me. But despite our best efforts...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excellent.
MOOS: ... the photo I submitted was rejected. I didn't stack up. At least I'm not alone; 4 out of 5 applicants are rejected by BeautifulPeople. Let them eat cake. Wait, better not eat any cake now that they say they're shedding beautiful people who packed on a few pounds.
Members supposedly complain when they meet the actual person...
HODGE: And they hadn't looked as they'd represented themselves in their initial pictures.
MOOS: That's a shocker, huh?
HODGE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it (INAUDIBLE) yes it is because I almost wanted to be...
DAVIS: This is insulting.
MOOS: Mia Amber Davis is a plus-size model who sees no pluses in this.
As you look at the beautiful people, is there anything you would like to say to the beautiful people?
DAVIS: They all deserve each other. Get a life.
MOOS: She, and we, wondered if it could all be just a publicity stunt. Co-founder Greg Hodge says, no. When he looks in the mirror, he sees this, a 7.84.
How do you look at yourself in the mirror every morning when this is the kind of superficial thing you do?
HODGE: Look, is it politically correct? No, it's not. It's certainly very honest. People want to be with people they are attracted to.
MOOS: Those kicked off the site can re-apply to be voted back on. You would think even a guinea pig wouldn't be a glutton for punishment.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There is so much more good to what makes a person beautiful than what they look like on the outside.
ROBERTS: Even guinea pigs get more character than the fellow that runs that Web site, to tell you the truth.
CHETRY: You know what? He'll find love somewhere too.
ROBERTS: Yes, I'm sure.
CHETRY: Maybe with the guinea pig.
ROBERTS: That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us today. We'll see you again bright and early tomorrow.
CHETRY: We sure will. Meanwhile the news continues, Heidi Collins.
Hey, Heidi.
