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American Morning
Baseball Slugger Mark McGwire Admits Steroid Use; Growing Chorus From GOP for Harry Reid to Resign over Obama Remarks; Florida Cold Freeze Devastates Fish Farmer's Business; Pay Taxes Using Reward Points; Madonna's Malawi Mission
Aired January 12, 2010 - 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: Welcome to the Most News in the Morning. Thanks very much for joining us on this Tuesday, the 12th of January. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: 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.
Slugger Mark McGwire admitting, in fact, he did take steroids, he says, for ten years, including in the season he shattered the record for home runs. So, after years of silence and a long exile from baseball, why is Mark McGwire suddenly coming clean? ROBERTS: Plus, a glowing chorus from the GOP demanding that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid steps down over remarks he made about President Obama back in 2008. And now the president is stepping into the fray. Is this the chance for another teachable moment? Our Suzanne Malveaux is standing by live at the White House for us.
CHETRY: And Madonna still pushing boundaries, the superstar with a new cause these days, one that she says has changed her. She's talking about it with Alina Cho for her special series, "Big Stars, Big Giving."
ROBERTS: Five years after trying to stonewall Congress, Mark McGwire admits that he did take steroids. The slugger's confession is our top story this morning.
Once one of baseball's most feared homerun hitters, McGwire has fallen hard in the last five years. The former super star sliding into baseball exile for publicly declining to discuss his past.
Our Jason Carroll joins us now with more on this. McGwire says now is the time to deal with that past, and I guess for the sake of his future.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the sake of a job he wants to keep in terms of being a batting coach, which we'll talk about in just a few moments. But first in terms of McGwire, this was the guy who racked up huge numbers, 70 homeruns in a record breaking season, 245 over a four-year stretch, a superhuman performance that left a lot of people wondering if he was getting a boost from banned substances.
Now, in a very emotional interview, the former all-star says it's time to set the record straight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCGWIRE, FORMER MLB SLUGGER: I've let a lot of people down. It doesn't feel good.
CARROLL: During an emotional interview, the former slugger finally admitting what many suspected, he used steroids.
MCGWIRE: It was the era we played in. I wish I never played in that era. I wish we had drug testing.
CARROLL: That era included an epic battle with Sammy Sosa, the homerun race during the 1998 season that captivated the country and ended with McGwire breaking the single season record set by Roger Maris.
MCGWIRE: It's absolutely amazing. It's -- you know, it's just, it blows me away.
CARROLL: McGwire made his way to the stands for an emotional moment with Maris' children, a bond that came full circle this week when McGwire picked up the phone this week and broke the news to Maris' widow.
MCGWIRE: She was disappointed, and she has every right to be. And I couldn't tell her how so sorry I was.
CARROLL: But it's what McGwire isn't saying that is causing another controversy. While McGwire admitted to taking the illegal drugs, he said he did it to overcome injuries from the game, but would not say the drugs improved his game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you have done those things? Could you have hit 70 homeruns without using steroids?
MCGWIRE: Absolutely. I truly believe so. I was given this gift from the man upstairs.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY" COLUMNIST: There is a word for taking performance enhancing drugs to get better from injury, and that word is it's cheating.
CARROLL: Questions have swirled around McGwire for a decade. At least one broadcaster admits he and his colleagues were suspicious at the time, but had no proof.
CHARLEY STEINER, SPORTS BROADCASTER: We covered the story as best as we could. Here are these guys breaking the homerun record and they were very large.
CARROLL: In his 2005 tell-all book "Juice," Jose Canseco said he injected McGwire with steroids. McGwire now says not true. But that same year, McGwire was famously silent on the topic when testifying to Congress.
MCGWIRE: I'm not here to discuss the past, I'm here to be positive about this.
CARROLL: In terms of what's next, McGwire says he's hoping for a change to focus on the future and his new job with the St. Louis Cardinals.
MCGWIRE: I just want to be a really good hitting coach. I have a lot to offer. I am asking for a second chance, and I hope they give it to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, McGwire says he's speaking out now so he can move forward with that job, that job as a batting coach with the Cardinals. And so far, the cardinals are standing by him.
The other big question, of course, is the hall of fame. It could be why he emphasized his natural ability during that interview. Players need to receive 70 percent of the vote to qualify for the hall. Since he's been eligible, McGwire hasn't received more than 23 percent, and it's obvious why he received such low numbers. A lot of people out there suspected what was going on.
ROBERTS: Another big question, what happens to his record?
CARROLL: Yes, you know, we were talking about that. I think a lot of people would like to see it sort of taken out. But at this point, it's done. You could probably put a footnote there, but once it's there, it's there.
CHETRY: A couple of our e-mailers, because we solicited some comments, one John Roe -- "Is Mark McGwire for real? Take his name out of the record books and ban him from sports. He still can't tell the full truth." But then the flip side, Jack Russ wrote, "What McGwire did took courage. We should accept his admission of guilt and get passed it."
So there's a split whether or not this is really admitting his guilt.
CARROLL: And it makes you wonder if he will be able to get past this. I think a lot of fans will have a problem with the fact that he was unable to admit that the drugs helped him physically. I think that's really going to be what a lot of people say, I'm not so sure how sincere he is.
ROBERTS: Well, certainly the public side puts an asterisk on that record.
CARROLL: Absolutely.
CHETRY: Jason Carroll this morning, thanks.
As Kiran said, what do you think of McGwire's confession? We'd love to hear from you. Weigh in at CNN.com/amfix. Post your comment on our blog. McGwire claims performance enhancing drugs did not help him hit all those towering homeruns, as Jason pointed out. We'll be joined at the bottom of the hour by Tom Verducci, he's the senior writer at "Sports Illustrated," to explore why McGwire might be taking that position.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the question, should Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid step down? The controversy is still there about comments he made about President Obama back in 2008, calling him an appealing candidate for, quote, "being light-skinned with no negro dialect."
Senator Reid is promising to move on, even though many Republicans want him gone. And now at least one key member of his own party isn't sure whether or not he should stay on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD, (D) WISCONSIN: I'm thinking about that and we will get together as a caucus next week, and that topic will come up. I have not decided whether these comments merit that or not. They are very unfortunate and should never have been said, and so I need to think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Senator Reid has apologized. And in an interview with CNN political analyst Roland Martin, President Obama is also brushing off the controversy. Here's a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history. For him to have used some in-artful language in trying to praise me, and for people to try to make hay out of that, makes absolutely no sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Some leaders in the black community, though, say the president is missing a chance to kick start a real national discussion about race.
For more on this, we bring in Suzanne Malveaux live at the White House this morning. The president seems to be saying he's moving on from this and isn't necessarily bothered by it. He said "absolute nonsense" in that quote.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It really is quite revealing, Kiran, because in covering President Obama during the campaign, race came up a lot during that, and even asking him about affirmative action or slavery reparations, he just didn't go there. He didn't want to talk about the issue of race.
The president has already said he accepts Senator Reid's apology, that this book is closed. But I had a chance to talk to some folks. Some of his greatest, biggest supporters say they want some more leadership from this president on this matter because it is so difficult to deal with the issue of race.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Some want the president to step into the controversy.
PROF. MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, SOCIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: We can't have an open, honest, real discussion about race in this country. And I think this is, quite frankly, one of the failures of our new president. He's a remarkable man and an insightful man, but I think he's loath to speak about race.
MALVEAUX: He avoided the issue throughout the campaign until he was forced to address it after his pastor made racial remarks. In July as president, Mr. Obama tried to pull off a hot confrontation between a black professor and white police officer.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: President Obama clearly cannot have a beer summit every time there is a problem or the issue of race comes up as he did last year when the situation involving Professor Gates and Officer Crowley.
MALVEAUX: But could this be another teachable moment?
DYSON: We don't expect Mr. Obama to speak to this issue of race because he's a black man. We expect him to speak to the issue of race because he's the president. We have a teachable moment here, but the professor will not come to the classroom.
MALVEAUX (on camera): Many believe that President Obama is uniquely suited to take on the issue of race, being biracial, a strong communicator, and having the bully pulpit of the presidency. But many Americans still struggle to have an open and honest dialogue about race.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Black leaders say, sure, Senator Reid's comments were offensive, to call Mr. Obama being light-skinned with no negro dialect. But they also say he's speaking the hard truth.
DYSON: And 99 percent of people in this country who heard that probably readily understood what he meant, and the question is, how can we get beyond some of this vicious name calling and get to some of the deeper issues?
MALVEAUX: Deeper issues like the reality that light-skinned blacks are sometimes favored.
BRAZILE: I come from a very large family. I'm darker. My skin is, my tone, my complexion is much darker than some of my siblings. And yet as a child growing up in the segregated deep south, we often talked about whether or not we're could succeed given the complexion of our skin.
MALVEAUX: And how one speaks. DYSON: We know what Harry Reid meant -- he doesn't have the typical intonations of African-American culture. But a lot of black people don't do that. They get accused of sounding white.
BRAZILE: We don't have the common language to discuss issues, especially issues like racism and the sensitivity around discussing race. And because of that people often, you know, trip over themselves.
DYSON: This is Mr. Obama's Achilles' heel, as well, and I think we need to call him on this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And Kiran, just a little tidbit here. It was actually the first lady Michelle Obama and some close friends who have given the president a little bit of a nudge the last round of that racial incident to get involved that led up to the beer summit in July.
The sentiment here is this is not rising to that level and that this is not necessarily worth it. And the president is frustrated because he feels it he can talk about race in a real meaningful way, as he did in Philadelphia in his race speech, that is good. But this game of gotcha is what they think this is all about. Kiran?
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. And as we have been talking about the conversation it certainly continues. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: The deep south in the deep freeze this morning -- Florida waking up to brutally cold temperatures. And it's not just the citrus farmers who are worried about the extreme cold. Massive tropical Fish farms are concerned. The weather is anything but tropical today.
CHETRY: And the gloves are off -- Conan, Leno, and the peacock network. It is no joke. If you didn't catch last night's attack, we've got the highlight reel tuned up. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 14 minutes past the hour. It's time for a quick check of what's new this morning.
Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley is urging the Obama administration to increase the number of specialized visa screeners at embassies around the world. Grassley says just 14 of the more than 220 U.S. missions have visa security units. That means they're able to screen applicants for ties to terrorist or criminal groups.
And he says at the current pace it would take 20 years to establish special security units at 40 high risk posts abroad.
ROBERTS: New Jersey is about to become the 14th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana. Lawmakers approved the bill on Monday and Governor Jon Corzine plans to sign it before leaving office next week. Chronically ill patients will be allowed to buy up to two ounces of marijuana a month for registered alternative treatment centers.
CHETRY: And temperatures in south Florida could be back near 80 degrees by the end of the week. But a record setting cold wave has caused significant damage to citrus and vegetable crops, and it is also putting a sizeable Florida industry on life support.
We have our Martin Savidge who is down there with one heartbreaking story this morning of a man who gave up everything to have a tropical fish farm, and it's just so heartbreaking to see what has happened to his livelihood. Hi, Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Kiran. If any of us had a fish aquarium when we were growing up, there's a pretty good chance the fish in that aquarium came from Florida.
Tropical fish farming is big business down here. There are roughly about 150 farms like this one all across the state. The annual income derived from them is about $43 million. But this fish story isn't about an industry, it's about one man's life-long passion and how it ran smack dab into cold reality.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL BREEN, FISH FARMER: This is a devastating loss. This is a total loss.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): 43-year-old Michael Breen surveys his farm. Seventy-six ponds of 26 varieties of Central and South American fish with names most kids would know from the pet store, Cichlids, Silver Dollars, Tetras, and Barbs -- 125,000 of them. BREEN: We bought the farm because I love fish. And in this day in age, how many people can honestly say they raised their children on a farm.
SAVIDGE: Fourteen years ago, Breen left a six-figure salary in alcohol sales to pursue a dream. That dream died in just four frigid nights, wiping out almost his entire stock valued at over half a million dollars.
VOICE OF BREEN: To walk by these ponds now and not see anything or hear anything, it's just kind of an eerie silence.
SAVIDGE: Breen says there was nothing he could do. He had no way to move so many fish and no place to put them out of the cold, even if he could. Insurance?
BREEN: Not this year I couldn't afford it.
SAVIDGE: Breen's seen cold before. One snap last year forced him to use all of his savings. But he and the industry have never seen anything like this.
BREEN: It's just been a slow death out here.
SAVIDGE: Now, he has nothing left in the ponds or the bank.
BREEN: I've given everything. My 401(k) from the liquor industry, my retirements over there. Yes, I've put everything into this farm.
SAVIDGE: Including your heart.
BREEN: Oh, yes. A lot of blood, sweat and tears.
SAVIDGE: Breen has not yet explained to his children what the cold has done to their lives, but that conversation is coming.
VOICE OF BREEN: They realize that things are going to be very hard, very hard. They're fantastic. I'm blessed.
SAVIDGE: And that is the realization he has found in the midst of everything he has lost.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: This industry has suffered. They believe about a 70 percent or more loss. It's going to be felt nationwide and probably will be felt for some time. As for Michael Breen, he's going to go out and find another job. There's no way, he says, that he is going to lose this farm.
Let me show you the headline in today's "Palm Beach Post." "Ten Days Below 45."
I know if you live in New York, you live up north, that doesn't mean much to you. If you live down in Florida, that is a staggering number. In fact, the last time that happened was before I was born, 1956. The impact is going to be felt here a long time and it's going to add up to a lot of money -- Kiran.
CHETRY: It really is. I mean -- and then you just look at how, you know, one life, one family's life is so affected by the temperatures and we've been seeing that all over Florida, as well as other parts of the south. Just amazing.
Martin Savidge, thank you.
ROBERTS: Madonna has spent most of her public life being controversial, but she is showing a different side these days. A kinder, gentler side, a woman who cares deeply about Malawi, a small country in Africa, where two of her children were adopted from. She is building a school there now and for the very first time she is talking about it with our Alina Cho. We'll share that with you coming up.
Eighteen and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: I'm just laughing because they actually found a different section of that song to play.
CHETRY: And because in a moment, for a moment I thought that wasn't really the song because we always here this night, this town. Right?
ROBERTS: Yes. Yes. It's the same one.
CHETRY: All right. Good.
ROBERTS: O.A.R. is one of my favorite bands but, you know, even if you were to play Led Zeppelin over and over again, I might get sick of it.
CHETRY: Right. That is one of our -- we get stuff on that here.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHETRY: It's all right.
ROBERTS: It's 22 minutes after the hour. That means it's time for "Minding Your Business." Our Stephanie Elam here this morning, and this is rather unusual and unique using your Amex points to pay your taxes?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Can you imagine?
ROBERTS: What the heck.
ELAM: Maybe they'll a little crazier than it sounds because --
ROBERTS: I wish they can maybe get a toaster, but taxes?
ELAM: Yes. Or maybe put it in for a flight to, you know, the Bahamas or something like that.
ROBERTS: I'd take that.
ELAM: That's pretty standard. That's what a lot of people do.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, you got to go further south. I think it's still cool in the Bahamas.
ELAM: Yes. Well, maybe the southern part. There's a lot of items, right?
ELAM: So many islands -- there's a lot of islands in the Bahamas.
Anyway, we digress. Let me tell you about what American Express is saying they're going to do to help you out this tax season. I know it's January but, yes, it's time to start thinking about your taxes here.
They're saying you could get ahead and use your points to pay your taxes as long as you use these two Web sites pay1040.com and officialpayments.com. But like here's the thing about this. To pay off 5,000 --
ROBERTS: There's always a thing.
ELAM: There's one other thing. To pay off $5,000 in taxes, you'd have to charge $1 million. And to pay off just $1 in taxes, you need 200 points.
Card members typically get about one point per $1 charge on their card, so I'm not exactly sure how many people are going to find this is just like super useful. But perhaps if you just want to pay off $50 of your taxes, maybe you have a small bill this year that you owe the government, then maybe it'll work out for you. But I think for a lot of people they're going to find it hard if you need to pay off $1 million or charge $1 million or just to pay $5,000 in taxes.
ROBERTS: $5,000 in taxes, that's 10,000 points, right?
ELAM: I guess. Now you're asking me to do a lot more math in my head, but I think that's right.
ROBERTS: No, it's 100,000.
ELAM: 100,000?
ROBERTS: My gosh.
ELAM: It's crazy to me, because most people don't charge that much and have that points...
CHETRY: Right.
ELAM: ... especially in this economic situation. So I don't know who's going to find this useful, but for all those super wealthy out there, if you have to pay your taxes and you use your platinum card or your black card.
ROBERTS: Use the money that you would have bought a toaster with.
ELAM: Go for it.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Steph.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we're going to be talking about Mark McGwire's steroid admission. After all of these years and years of denials, he finally comes clean, or does he? We're going to talk to senior writer at "Sports Illustrated" Tom Verducci in just a moment.
Twenty-three minutes -- 24 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-six after the hour. Your top stories just about four minutes away. But first, an "A.M. Original," something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
And this week, we are spotlighting celebrities who are giving back and giving back in a big way.
CHETRY: That's right. And today it's Madonna. After adopting two children from Malawi, this global superstar has returned to the impoverished African nation to help young girls in need. Here's Alina Cho with her special series, "Big Stars, Big Giving."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's a woman who only needs one name.
(on camera): So you're Madonna.
MADONNA, FOUNDER, "RAISING MALAWI": No, I'm not.
CHO: Yes, you are.
CHO (voice-over): Madonna has spent most of her life being provocative. But these days nothing is more important than her children. Two of them adopted from Malawi, a small African nation where more than a half million children are orphaned by AIDS.
(on camera): All of those orphans, I mean, a million --
MADONNA: I would love to take them all home. Yes. If I could.
CHO (voice-over): Because she can't and because she's Madonna, she made a documentary about the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "I AM BECAUSE WE ARE")
VOICE OF MADONNA: People always ask me why I chose Malawi. And I tell them, I didn't. It chose me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: She also founded the charity Raising Malawi, to help the orphans she can't bring home.
MADONNA: We found and met a lot of people who were sick and dying of HIV with no medical help. And it just felt like a death camp. And it was astonishing. And so on the other hand, though, everybody that I met was also incredibly brave. So it's a very confusing paradox.
CHO (on camera): It's an interesting dichotomy because I know that Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa.
MADONNA: Yes.
CHO: As much suffering as there is there, there's a certain spirit to the people. MADONNA: Yes, there is. Because on the one hand, I went there and I thought, I have to help. I have to save these people. And then I thought, wait a minute, I think it's the other way around. I think they might be saving me.
CHO: Why do you say that?
MADONNA: Because they help you to get a sense of appreciation for -- for life. For -- for what you have. I mean --
CHO (voice-over): A new appreciation for life and a new sense of responsibility. Her latest project, breaking ground on a $15 million boarding school. The Raising Malawi Academy for girls slated to open in 2012.
MADONNA: I never intended to go to Malawi and just sort of, you know, dump a bunch of, like, aid on people and flee the country. It -- it's always been about partnership.
CHO: And she's putting her money where her mouth is. Every dollar donated to raisingmalawi.org, Madonna will match.
(on camera): So you just said, hey.
MADONNA: Match my dollar.
CHO: I'll keep going?
MADONNA: Match my hundred grand. Yes.
CHO (voice-over): Make that 300 grand and counting.
MADONNA: My biggest asset as a human being is, I would say, my resiliency and my survival skills. You know, I'm like a cockroach. You can't get rid of me.
CHO (on camera): But that's helpful in philanthropy.
MADONNA: It is.
CHO: Yes, right?
MADONNA: It is. I mean, you have to -- you have to be pretty tireless.
CHO (voice-over): Her tenacity was on display back in 2006, when many people, both in Malawi and around the world, accused her of using her celebrity and her money to buy an adoption. She won. David, now 4, calls Madonna mom.
MADONNA: It seems that a lot of the things I do end up being controversial even when I don't mean them to be.
CHO (on camera): Right. Does it hurt your feelings?
MADONNA: Hurt my feelings. I don't know if it hurts my feelings. I think sometimes I'm pretty prepared often for some of the things I say and do. I go, I know this is going to freak some people out. But the other things I do, like documenting a child who's about to die, I don't think I'm going to get a hard time for it, and I do.
CHO: And Madonna says she'll take the criticism if it means one more child in Malawi gets to go to school, survive and thrive.
(on camera): Do you ever get overwhelmed by all of the work that needs to be done. Because it seems that you help one kid and there's like a thousand more standing in line.
MADONNA: Yes.
CHO: And it can be overwhelming.
MADONNA: Yes, it can. I mean, sometimes it stops you dead in your tracks and you think, my god, I can't do this. But then I see the success rate. I talk to the people in Malawi whose lives have been changed and that just helps me and keeps me going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: She really does her homework. You know, Madonna is a woman who is keenly aware of her celebrity, but when she was younger, of course, she used it to make headlines. She's still doing a bit of that today, but not on purpose, she says. Madonna says having children has made her realize that she can use her celebrity to make a difference.
And guys, that's exactly what she's doing in Malawi. You know, a lot of people have said why build an academy for girls. Why girls? And she said that when she went to Malawi, she noticed that the women were the ones baby strapped to their backs. They were the ones raking the dirt and yet there were no opportunities for them to be educated and so it was very important for her to do that.
CHETRY: Amazing. It's great stuff. Glad you got to sit down and talk to her about it.
CHO: It was a real great thing for me.
CHETRY: Well, if you would like to learn more, by the way about helping others and these groups that help children there, you can visit our web site at cnn.com/impact.
ROBERTS: And we're crossing the half hour, that means it's time for this morning's top stories. A couple of big wins for the hometown team of the Detroit Auto Show. The Ford Fusion hybrid won car of the year and Ford's Concept Transit Connection Van was named truck of the year. This is only the third time in 17 years that an automaker has won both awards.
Wal-Mart shutting down 10 Sam's Club stores, four of which are in California. About 1,500 employees are going to lose their job. The world's largest retailer says it's not related to the economy, but that the warehouse clubs continue to lose money. And an update on a story that we brought you yesterday. Wal- Mart says it's pulling children's Chinese-made jewelry that contains the dangerous metal, cadmium. The move follows an "Associated Press" investigation that found items purchased in New York, Ohio, Texas and California had high levels of cadmium, which is linked to some cancers and other problems in children. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Back to the steroid confession, a former home run king Mark McGwire, one of baseball's most feared all-time slugger, most revered all-time sluggers, as well admitted he used performance enhancing drugs for 10 years, including the time that he broke the single season home-run record.
Well, now, he claims it's time to come clean, but some are questioning his motives after comments like this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you would have hit nearly 600 home runs that you would have hit 70 home runs in one year and 65 home runs in other year and topped 54 times, if you had never touched anything stronger than a protein shake?
MARK MCGWIRE, FORMER MLB SLUGGER: I truly believe so. I believe I was given this gift. I -- the only reason that I took steroids was for my health purposes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, here to break down the confession and its likely impact on the game and McGwire's future Tom Verducci. He is a senior editor at "Sports Illustrated." Tom, thanks for being here this morning.
TOM VERDUCCI, SENIOR EDITOR, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: So it was sort of a confession and admission and sort of not. I mean, in part, he said he did take steroids but not to enhance his performance, to help him heal from injuries. Is that coming clean?
VERDUCCI: Well, that's a good question. That has stopped a lot of people. You saw the anguish and a lot of pain on Mark McGwire's face, very emotional and clearly it was a difficult day for him. He did admit to a lot of steroid use, not just experimenting, dabbling, but many years of steroid use. But where he didn't go far enough according to a lot of people is making the linkage between steroids and performance.
He claims he will be the same player without steroids as he was with them. That's hard for most people to believe given we now have a quarter century of known steroid use among professional athletes who put up mind boggling performances.
CHETRY: So how does all this link to his new job as a batting coach?
VERDUCCI: Well, he really did need to come out and admit the usage of steroids. Because if he wanted to come back, which he really wanted to come back and be a hitting coach but he couldn't do that without addressing the elephant in the room. And that was the steroid issue.
It would have been a day-to-day nightmare for him for people wanting to get him to talk about steroids, which he hasn't done all these years...
CHETRY: Right.
VERDUCCI: So he needed to put that behind him to get on being hitting coach.
CHETRY: In 2005, when he testified before Congress about the steroid issue, he basically said I don't want to relive the past. I don't want to go back there. He didn't talk about it at all in front of Congress. They got a question that he denied, as you said, it enhances performance but that he didn't say that he thought Roger Maris, that he broke Roger Maris' single season home run record and Roger Maris' family was sitting in the stands when this happened.
He basically said that his family had every right to think that he did not authentically beat Maris' home run record. Is that the closest that we're going to come to an admission that perhaps steroids enhanced his performance, enabled him to have the year he had?
VERDUCCI: Absolutely. I mean, he clearly felt bad about that. He made that call to the Maris family but he's saying if they want to believe the home run record that he put up at the time at 70 is not authentic, they are free to believe that. He did not take that next step and say that I agree with that. He's acknowledging their right to think that, hey, something is not right with that number.
CHETRY: How does this -- is part of the reason that perhaps he's saying it didn't enhance my performances because of his legacy, what he leaves behind trying to get into the hall of fame and whether or not, you know, they would. Would they be able to in baseball -- a lot of people have written and say that he should -- that record should be eliminated. That should be wiped off the books. And that's not possible, right?
VERDUCCI: Right. That is not possible. People have brought that up. It's not going to happen. The hall of fame is not going to happen for Mark McGwire. I mean, this is a guy that didn't come close to getting in when people were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now, the doubt had been erased. I don't think there is any way that he's getting into the hall of fame.
I think though that there is a lot of professional pride in play here. Mark McGwire wants authenticity to his career. He wants those numbers. He hit those home runs. He wants to keep those but it's hard to keep that authenticity when you've admitted to so much steroid use. CHETRY: Right. A decade, not just I'm trying to recover from six months over an injury. Not that it makes it better how long or how short you use steroids when they're illegal in the game, but the other question too is he seemed to blame, on the same interview, the era. He said "I'm sorry that I was playing in this era of steroid use." What does it say to everybody else who didn't, who did the right thing and played by the rules?
VERDUCCI: Absolutely. And a lot of players are upset about that general characterization to blame it on the era. A lot of players played in that exact same era and did not make the choices that Mark McGwire made and as it turns out was really a poster boy for that whole era.
CHETRY: Also, it's interesting, public opinion is really split and we solicited comments about this on our web site. Some people say, look what he did took courage and we should accept his admission of guilt and get past it. There are others who say, you know, that if he testified before Congress and lied, that he should be in trouble for that. And there are others that said basically he's no different than Bernie Madoff. He lied and cheated. So there's a lot of anger as well as among sports fans who really idolized Mark McGwire.
VERDUCCI: There is anger. There is also a fatigue factor, too. I think people really want to move on from the whole steroid issue. We've been down this road so many times before. We're not done either. We'll all hear from other players in the future who will be either outed by somebody else or make an admission like Mark McGwire did, but I think fans, obviously, Mark McGwire, as well, want to move on.
CHETRY: All right. We'll see if people are willing to let that happen. Tom Verducci for us, "Sports Illustrated." Thanks for being here this morning.
VERDUCCI: Thank you.
CHETRY: John. Oh by the way, be sure to watch Mark McGwire's former Oakland Ace teammate Jose Conseco. He is the one that wrote the book in the first place, outing all of these people, everyone at the time say Jose Conseco was crazy.
Well, he's going to be on tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE" and he is the one who introduced us to those claims about Mark McGwire and steroid use, even saying he injected him. That's tonight 9:00 Eastern on CNN. Right now it's 38 minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: It's 31 minutes after the hour now and that means it's time for an "A.M. Original."
An American-born radical Muslim cleric is one of the most wanted men in the world right now. Officials believe Anwar al-Awlaki literally ran for the hills and is hard core Al Qaeda. Our Paula Newton caught up with his father who says he is still an all-American boy. She is live with us from Yemen this morning with our security watch. And Paula, not too long ago when Major Nadal Hasan allegedly committed his act at Ft. Hood officials here in the U.S. weren't quite sure about al-Awlaki but now they say hard core Al Qaeda.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's very interesting, you know, American officials say that yes, they have concrete intelligence that tells them that Anwar al-Awlaki is hard core Al Qaeda, one of the top five leaders here in Yemen. They said they figured that out about nine months ago.
What's so interesting here though John is that his father says it's all a big misunderstanding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice-over): This man Anwar al-Awlaki, an American born Muslim cleric is one of the world's most wanted fugitives. Counter terror forces in Yemen are training to track him down, though he's hiding somewhere up there in the rugged mountains of southern Yemen.
In the capital Sana, we went looking for his family to learn more about the man who praised the alleged Ft. Hood shooter and may have encouraged the bombing attempt on the Christmas flight to Detroit. His father, a former government minister here says the west is mistaken and that his son is not the new Osama Bin Laden.
(on camera): So, al-Awlaki's father Nasa Awlaki has agreed to an interview, but he said this is only a courtesy visit and he does not want any cameras. We're about to go to a neutral location just around the corner from here, in the capital, Sana. Here's what he has to say.
(voice-over): Awlaki's father told me that his son is not a member of Al Qaeda. He says "He has been wrongly accused. It's unbelievable. He lived his life in America. He's an all-American boy. My son would love to go back to America, he used to have a good life in America."
(on camera): And yet and American security official tells CNN that al-Awlaki meet with a man accused who tried to blow up that airliner to Detroit on Christmas day. This official believes that al-Awlaki is one of the top leaders here of Al Qaeda here in Yemen, one of only five.
And that he sometimes last year transformed himself from an internet preacher to a hands-on operative, not only recruits, but also helps plan attacks on the United States.
(voice-over): All of that, of course, is not what his father wants to believe. He told me, "What do you expect my son to do? There are missiles raining down on the village. He has to hide. He is not in hiding with Al Qaeda. Our tribe is protecting him now."
This man is a journalist from Yemen. He is the last reporter to speak with Awlaki before he went into hiding with his tribe.
ABDULLA SHAYEA, YEMENI JOURNALIST (through translator): The tribe issued a statement saying if anybody touches one hair on al- Awlaki's head, the tribe will respond with force.
NEWTON: And that means even with the most aggressive manhunt, Awlaki may be as well protected right now as Osama Bin Laden.
(on camera): No matter how effective the counter terrorism forces, no matter how good the training, much of this really won't matter in the tribal regions which the government has little or no control over.
(voice-over): His father holds out hope that he can convince his son to surrender without more bloodshed. But he needs time, he says. He claims he hasn't spoken to him in weeks, the son, who he says has always loved America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: What's so interesting here, John, is that his father does say that he is hiding out in those mountains with a very powerful family tribe and one American official I spoke to, John, said he hates to be the one in charge of that mission right now, trying to penetrate any kind of a hiding spaces in those mountains a big job.
ROBERTS: Sounds like the same sort of hunt as going after Bin Laden and al-Zarqawi.
Paula Newton for us in Sanaa, Yemen this morning. Paula, thanks so much.
Forty-five minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano has got this morning's travel forecast coming up right after we take a break.
And in 10 minutes, time for an "AM House Call", and this morning we're "Paging Dr. Gupta". He's training for a triathlon and he has hand picked six AMERICAN MORNING viewers to train with him. It's all part of our Fit Nation Challenge.
We're going to check in with Sanjay, live from Central Park, coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, NBC TALK SHOW HOST: Welcome to "The Jay Leno Show".
As you know, we're not just a show any more. We are now a collector's item. Supposedly we're moving to 11:30, but even this is not sure. See, my people have said, Conan's people have said -- hey, NBC said they wanted drama at 10:00, now they got it.
Now they got it. Everybody's mad (ph). Exactly!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, that was Jay Leno, striking back after it became official that the 10:00 PM experiment is over. But Jay's not the only one that's unhappy.
ROBERTS: No, no. Here's Conan O'Brien's take on the news. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC TALK SHOW HOST: Good evening, everybody. I'm Conan O'Brien, the new host of "Last Call with Carson Daly".
Big local story this weekend. No one was seriously hurt, but this is true. A 6.5 earthquake hit California. Did you know that? True story. Yes. The earthquake was so powerful it knocked "The Jay Leno Show" from 10:00 to 11:35.
Everybody now wants to know what my plans are. Everyone's asking me. All I can say is I plan to continue putting on a great show night after night while stealing as many office supplies as humanly possible. I'm going to rob this place blind.
ROBERTS: NBC says it's still negotiating with the three hosts, including Jimmy Fallon, over Jay Leno's possible move back to 11:35.
Boy, they wanted a nice drama at 10:00, they got one now, right?
CHETRY: Yes. And it's also certainly providing a lot of fodder for the late night hosts, whoever they might be, eventually.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) are kind of interesting, let me you.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine if we got on here every morning and slammed CNN? Not that there's anything to slam CNN for, but...
CHETRY: Right, but... Yes.
ROBERTS: ... I don't think we'd be here for very long.
CHETRY: How that (ph) whole thing play out.
ROBERTS: Shows the power of those folks.
CHETRY: Exactly.
All right, well our Rob Marciano is following everything for us this morning as well weather-wise, Florida still 10 days and counting they've been in the chilly, chilly numbers.
ROBERTS: Yes. He's here with us in the Weather Center.
CHETRY: Hey, Rob!
ROBERTS: Hey, Rob! How's it looking down there?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, you bring up a good point. It's like you know you're powerful when -- when you can actually sniff or -- or bite at the hand that feeds you. You -- we don't have that kind of power down here, for sure.
Thirty degrees right now in DC. So, listen, we've got cold air still in place. We talked about why -- one of the reason why, because we've got a tremendous amount of snow packs, so that's kind of keeping the air refrigerated, and we do have one last punch of cool air that's going to come through right now, and then tomorrow we'll start to warm up.
Twenty-nine degrees in Orlando, so we're still looking at temperatures that are dangerously cold across Central Florida. A little bit warmer across Southern Florida where it's 43 in Miami.
All right. This -- this other front, it's pretty much dry, just a couple of snow showers and snow flurries, and it has maybe two or three degrees difference in -- in temperature, and then we'll start to see a pattern shift. But it will be breezy down across the Eastern -- third of the country, and heavy rain expected across parts of the West Coast.
So that's going to change-up our weather pattern. That's going to bring rain to the valleys, heavy snows across the Sierras and into the inner mountain west. They have been waiting for that. And it will also usher in this ridge, which will begin to warm things up, really, starting with the Central Plains, getting into the Northern Plains, and eventually getting over to the East Coast. Another day, day and a half, maybe two days of below average temperatures, certainly East of Mississippi.
John and Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano for us. Thanks so much.
Well, our top stories this morning just minutes away, including, at the top of the hour, some black leaders are now calling on President Obama to go beyond just accepting Senator Reid's apology for the racial remarks. Should this start a discussion? We're live at the White House.
ROBERTS: And at 8:18 Eastern, payback time. President Obama considering a tax on banks that got a bailout, but will you end up paying for that, too? We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour.
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CHETRY: Maybe there's (ph) a couple of people in the control room that could maybe run a triathlon.
ROBERTS: Got to be in good shape for that. I can't imagine how you could ever do that. CHETRY: I could do everything, except I don't know if I could go through the one-mile swim.
But, anyway, welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
So many of us...
ROBERTS: You could -- you could run -- how long?
CHETRY: Six miles.
ROBERTS: Oh, is it only six miles?
CHETRY: Yes, you only have to run six miles, bike 25. You do that every day, bike 25.
ROBERTS: Only six miles.
CHETRY: Well, I'm just saying, the one-mile swim, I think I'd sink.
Well, anyway, many of us are trying to turn over a new leaf and get healthy.
ROBERTS: Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta went one step further, challenging himself to become a triathlete. He chose six AMERICAN MORNING viewers to join him on a journey to the New York City Triathlon this July. Sanjay's live in Central Park this morning with a few of his new training buddies.
Hey, Doc. How are you doing?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning!
You know, this is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I -- I've been a runner for some time. This idea of doing a triathlon was something that I really wanted to take on, and decided we make this part of Fit Nation and, as you pointed out, invite iReporters -- viewers of AMERICAN MORNING to -- to submit their proposals, why they wanted to join me as well.
And we -- we really had an overwhelming response. It was really remarkable. It was hard to pick, but I want to introduce you to a few of our -- our participants right now, and they've all had this -- these remarkable stories.
Meredith is from Tallahassee, Florida. Your video really inspired all of us. You -- you said you really wanted to -- to inspire people like you to get involved in athletic events like this. Well, what motivated you to send in the video?
MEREDITH CLARK, WRITER: I found this statistic that 79 percent of African-American women are overweight or obese, and I don't see enough women who look like me out at 5ks and 10ks (ph). So I really wanted to inspire everyday people that their family history doesn't have to be their future. They can do something about it.
GUPTA: And this is the first day for us actually getting together in person. Nervous?
CLARK: Very. Very. Ready for the training.
GUPTA: You're going to do great.
Rickey from South Central Los Angeles. He's a high school teacher as well. Obviously, you are responsible for the lives of lots of young people.
And you've actually done a triathlon before, a sprint triathlon, so you've got a little bit of more experience than a lot of people here. What -- what are you most worried about?
RICKEY WILLIAMS, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER: Well, I had a friend challenge me two weeks before that sprint triathlon to -- to try to do it. So once I actually did it, I realized how much work it is.
So it's -- the training for me is going to be, I think, mentally challenging, just pushing myself. I grew up playing football and baseball. It takes a different kind of mental toughness and endurance than from (ph) a race is.
So I'm -- I'm excited and nervous about that part of it.
GUPTA: Did you tell your high school students you're doing this?
WILLIAMS: Yes. They're pumped. They actually want to train with me and try to be part of it.
GUPTA: Oh, we have to get them on video, for sure.
And, finally, Angie from -- from Ohio. I'm from Michigan but you're from Ohio. We still picked you anyway.
You know, we talk about beating things, and one of the things you wrote about or sent in a video about was that you beat breast cancer. And on the day of the -- the finish of the triathlon will be your 18th wedding anniversary, and this is sort of a gift to your husband. He was a rock for you during your -- during your treatment.
When you cross that finish line, what is that going to mean for you?
ANGELA BROUHARD, SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER: Well, any time you have an illness, you're -- you're feeling like you just not -- never be going to be back to normal. How are you ever going to get back to the way you used to be? And I want to show everyone that you can not only be where you were before, but you can be better than ever.
GUPTA: Great, Angela. I look forward to working out with you.
And this would be a lot of fun, I think. A one-mile swim, 25- mile bike, and about a 10-K run or about a 6-mile run. So maybe separately it doesn't sound like a lot, but usually about three hours or so it takes to finish this. It's going to be a lot of work over the next six months.
CHETRY: There you go. And you guys are -- you've all said, you know, you're newbies at this. This is going to be your first triathlon. How intense is the training schedule?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, we want to start off by really recommending no more exercise than is recommended already. The American Council on Exercise recommends about 30 or 45 minutes a day. That's where we're going to start.
And obviously there's going to be a lot of cross training involved here, which is going to be different than just running alone. So working different muscle groups, doing different sports and exercises to try and work all of that -- that's where we're going to start within the next six months. We're -- we're going to be at that level where we can do this hopefully without -- without straining too hard.
ROBERTS: All right. But this -- this time, Sanjay, don't injure yourself. We should point out he was going to run the New York City Marathon, got real close and tumbled down the steps at the Qualcomm Center in San Diego, which shattered his hand.
GUPTA: That's right.
ROBERTS: So be careful!
CHETRY: I know. I was there (ph).
GUPTA: And -- and Kiran pointed out that I had a broken hand.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, he (INAUDIBLE).
GUPTA: I needed Kiran to tell me.
CHETRY: And he holds his hand up and I said, I am not a doctor, but I think you need to get to the ER ASAP.
But anyway, better luck this time around. You guys are really going to kick butt.
GUPTA: No injuries.
CHETRY: Proud of you. Proud of you guys. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks. See you in an hour.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: All right, cool, Sanjay.
And also, by the way, you can follow Sanjay and the group during their six months of training. Go to cnn.com/fitnation.
ROBERTS: Top stories are coming your way in 90 seconds. Stay with us.
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