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American Morning
Supreme Court Battle Begins: Obama Starts Talks on High Court Picks; British Airspace Reopening; Ash Cloud Threatens Medical Air of Wounded U.S. Soldiers; Web of Censorship; Not Just a Bad Trip; Too Fat to Fight; "South Park" Creators Threatened; Airports Open, Volcano Rumbling
Aired April 21, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and thanks so much for joining us on this Wednesday morning. We're sort of approaching the top of the hump here on the week, and then a long slide into the weekend.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And there's a lot of people very relieved because a lot of those flights are resuming in Europe today. So we'll keep you updated on that.
ROBERTS: A lot of people moving around. It's April the 21st. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here are the stories we're bringing you in the next 15 minutes.
First, President Obama meeting with lawmakers today announcing possible Supreme Court picks of both parties. New polls show that you already think you know which way the president will go. We're live at the White House.
ROBERTS: Planes are landing in London again. Much of the airspace over Europe beginning to reopen today even though the volcano in Iceland is still spewing out ash. Thousands of people remain stranded. The eruption causing chaos as far away as Afghanistan where our troops now have to be flown to Iraq to get medical help.
CHETRY: And too fat to fight, a group of retired military officers slamming school lunches calling french fries, pizza and mystery meat a national security threat and they have some proposals about what to do about it. New details on a bill that could change school lunches across the country.
And of course,, the amFIX blog is up and running for you to join the live conversation with us this morning. Whatever is on your mind, head to CNN.com/amFIX and we'll be reading your comments throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: All right, let's get you started this morning. At a time when the two parties can't seem to get together on anything, President Obama will begin bouncing Supreme Court picks off of both sides today. The start of the process it's already partisan by nature. Some Republicans are already using the "F" word, filibuster. Ed Henry live at the White House for us this morning. So, Ed, what do we know about this process?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John. You're right. The filibuster word has already been thrown around by top Republicans to say if the president goes too far left with this pick, they're going to leave that rare step open for a Supreme Court pick. And that really gives you an idea of how poisonous this process could become.
So this meeting this morning with leaders on both parties could be a way to sort of defuse tensions before this really gets going. Also critical because CNN has learned that the president has started placing phone calls to some of the prospective Supreme Court picks, still relatively rounding the process but is starting to intensify by reaching out to some of these potential picks by phone. That's why all of this is so critical. Also, because the lawmakers in the Senate who will be voting on this eventual confirmation battle have heard very little from the president about what he's looking for in a pick, other than what he said in the Rose Garden a couple of weeks ago, the day that Justice John Paul Stevens said he's stepping down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: While we cannot replace Justice Stevens' experience or wisdom, I will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities -- an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of law and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people. It will also be someone who, like Justice Stevens, knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, who might the president be calling in some of these consultations? It's expected to be some of the people at the very top of that short list, the solicitor general, Elena Kagan, who some Democrats are very high on, as well as appeals court Judge Diane Wood and Merrick Garland. Some of the folks who lost out the last time around but were at -- on the, you know, near the top of that short list, the last time the president picked the Supreme Court justice and settled on Sonia Sotomayor. But what we're really looking for is the president soon have some one-on-one private meetings with some of these prospective picks. That will be a real sign that he's moving quickly.
And I can tell you this, this pick is expected over the next couple of weeks. His White House aides say they want these confirmation hearings to get going in the summer because they know it could be a long battle and they want to make sure they get that new justice seated before the first Monday in October, John.
ROBERTS: Process well underway. Ed Henry at the White House for us this morning. Ed, thanks so much. CHETRY: There are also some new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation polls asking people about the Supreme Court pick. One shows that people expect President Obama to appoint a liberal to the Supreme Court even though it's not what most people want. One in four saying they want the president's pick to be liberal. Thirty-seven percent saying moderate and 36 percent would like the nominee to be conservative. As it turns out, what they expect the president to do, 21 percent believe that he'll pick a moderate. Sixty-one percent believe he will appoint a liberal to the Supreme Court.
ROBERTS: What do you think about all of this? Who should President Obama appoint to the Supreme Court? Join the conversation. Sound off on our live blog, CNN.com/amFIX.
CHETRY: And new developments this morning on the impact of the volcanic ash over Europe within the last couple of minutes. Air controllers in Germany confirming to the "A.P." that all restrictions for the country's airspace have been lifted. Meantime, for the first time in six days, planes are also landing this morning at London's Heathrow Airport. British authorities reopened most of their airspace over England last night.
A British Airways flight from Vancouver the first to touch down since ash from the volcano in Iceland shut down the skies last week over Europe. Now that volcano remains active this morning. In fact, if you take a look at these incredible pictures, you can see the ash is still spewing and there are fears that more eruptions could be coming.
Rob Marciano joins us now from the CNN weather center. So, they're still making that call, about 75 percent of the airspace over Europe is now reopened. Explain why even though we're still seeing that ash out there they're giving the OK for flights to take off.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, number one, it's not quite as concentrated so that's the good thing. And number two, it's mostly below the 20,000 foot mark. And the forecast more importantly, they really didn't have a good handle on the forecast over the past couple of days, regaining more confidence as to what the atmosphere is going to look like over the next day or two. So for that reason I think they've opened up some of the airspace and let those -- released some of those planes.
All right. Take a look at the forecast or the actual situation as far as what's going on between the surface and 20,000 feet. All that red highlighted area, that's where the ash is the most concentrated. But moving it a little bit forward, the forecast for tonight shows it's going a little bit more towards the north and west and clearing out quite a bit in Europe. So for that reason is why they are opening up some of that airspace. And again, above 20,000 feet it's pretty much all clear.
So that's where we stand right now, Kiran. And good news on that front for sure. We've been waiting for this sort of thing. Even though it's still spewing ash and dust into the atmosphere, not quite as volatile as it was a couple of days ago. And we hope that trend certainly continues.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. Good news there, Rob. Thanks.
ROBERTS: As Rob was saying, it could still be some time before the skies over Europe totally clear. And businesses around the world begin to fully recover and get going again. The volcanic eruption is proving to be quite a disruption stranding thousands of people at airports all over Europe.
Sasha Herriman is live at London's Heathrow this morning. Sasha, finally seeing planes in the runway there, the first time in nearly a week. That's a good sign.
SASHA HERRIMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. Flights have first started arriving here at Heathrow last night. The first passengers actually arrive. And since then, it's estimated there have been roughly 30 arrivals here at Heathrow Airport.
As far as departures go, well, we can see there are actually planes taking off there in the background. One is just about to go. Mostly at least 10 planes are about to depart this morning, so things are beginning to move.
In U.K. airspace, between the hours of 1:00 and 7:00 this morning, there were in total, 130 flights. So that's not very many when you consider what we're usually seeing here at Heathrow, which is flights every couple of minutes or so.
Now, of course, the mudslinging is actually beginning in earnest as far as the airlines regulators go. An organization for the International Air Traffic Association may represent 230 airlines, and they're saying that this industry has cost $1.7 billion in lost revenue. They say that impact on the losses last year, which they say were $9.4 billion in lost revenue to the industry because of the financial crisis. They say they can't cope. They say it's devastating by decisions by government who've compounded the issue over this whole crisis. And they want the governments to help carriers actually recoup some of the money.
Now they cannot force specific things that they want. It's kind of a wish list if you like. But what they would like to see for their various carriers are a relaxation of airport rules as quick as we get planes moving. So this is a back (ph) over flight. They want to lift restrictions on night flights, again, so they can get things moving more quickly. They said they want to address what they say are unfair passenger rules, which mean they have to look after passengers, give passengers care while they're perhaps waiting for those canceled flights to actually be resumed. They say that costs a lot of money. And they want compensation, they say, for lost revenue. They're not calling it a bailout. They say they want compensation.
Now, what's the European picture? Well, let's get a look at that overall picture. I think we've got a map which we can show you, and that gives you an indication about where the flight is restricted and where not. As you can see, it's a fairly clear picture at the moment. Seventy-five percent of flights are OK. Twenty-one thousands flights are expected in European skies today.
Back to you in the studio.
ROBERTS: All right. Sasha Herriman for us this morning at London's Heathrow. Sasha, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: Meantime, it's eight minutes after the hour. Other stories new this morning.
Five years ahead of schedule, General Motors repays more than $8 billion in government loans from the U.S. and Canada. The automaker received a $52 billion bailout from the government and another 9.5 billion from Canada. GM now plans to invest more than a quarter million dollars in its Kansas City and Detroit plants to build a new model Chevy Malibu.
ROBERTS: Police are investigating the sudden death of Colorado Rockies baseball team president Keli McGregor. The 48-year-old McGregor was found unconscious yesterday morning in his hotel room in Salt Lake City. He's been the team's president since 2001. There was a moment of silence before the Rockies/Nationals game in Washington last night. The Rockies then went on and beat the Nets 10 to 4.
CHETRY: And check out the video right now. A tornado at sunset touching down in a rural area around 20 miles west of Amarillo, Texas. No reports of any damage or injuries from the twister, but it did make for some amazing pictures.
ROBERTS: All right. And bad news for men who live where there's cold, dry weather. Scientists now think that a combination of cold temperatures, a lack of sun and dry air could make men more susceptible to the development of prostate cancer. Cold weather may actually keep certain cancer-causing chemicals like pesticides around longer. Scientists also claim that men in colder climates do not get enough vitamin D from the sun.
CHETRY: Well, coming up in the Most News in the Morning, the volcano in Iceland means that soldiers who may get hurt in Afghanistan can't go to Germany for medical treatment, which is what they usually do. We're going to show where the military is sending them instead.
It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 13 minutes past the hour right now.
We've been talking a lot about the fallout from the volcano eruption in Iceland. Well, it really is having an impact around the world and the U.S. military is not immune.
ROBERTS: Right. The ash cloud is hampering efforts to get wounded American troops medevaced (ph) out of the war zone. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has that part of the story for us today.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, the U.S. may have the strongest military on earth, but right now, Mother Nature is running the show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Jo Ann and Greg Gitto are now on their way to see their son Andrew, a Marine shot in Afghanistan, now finally on his way home via Iraq because of the volcano erupting in Iceland.
JO ANN GITTO, MOTHER OF STRANDED MARINE: I just want to see him and talk to him. So it's been a long time since Thursday night.
STARR: The U.S. is now sending some troops wounded in Afghanistan into this hospital in Iraq because it can't fly them to the primary medical facility in Germany. The Pentagon worries if there's a major battle in Afghanistan, it won't be able to treat all the wounded.
BRIG. GEN. STEVEN KWAST, U.S. ARMY: To have that capacity ready at our hands means we have to move those wounded soldiers.
STARR: The flow of troops and cargo into the war zone also slowed down. The secretary general of NATO insists security across Europe hasn't been affected by the volcanic ash cloud.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I can assure you that the Icelandic volcano does not have any effect on our operations nor our -- neither our operations nor our territory defense of allied member states.
STARR: But the U.S. Air Force is now inspecting every aircraft it has in Europe to check for damage. Look at these pictures from the Finnish Air Force, ash and rock melted onto their F/A-18 engines after they flew. Air bases in Britain, Germany and Italy have suffered shutdowns. Spanish military bases scrambled to help.
As Britain sent warships to bring home stranded citizens, experts say governments have to plan for what may seem totally improbable.
FRANCIS FARGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: I can't say I can't think of an instance where we plan for a volcanic disruption. But think of things like hurricanes, terrorist attacks. They're all sorts of contingencies that both the military and the civilian federal government plan for.
STARR: The good news, terrorists may be shut down right now as well. Nobody can move quickly.
TOWNSEND: You need people who are pre-positioned. They have to be able to communicate with one another. They have to have all the materials they need. (END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: The U.S. military is keeping a close eye on all of this right here at home. There is growing concern that as some of the winds begin to shift to the west, that ash could fall on the northeast coast of Canada and the United States -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Barbara Starr for us this morning.
Wow, when you look at the damage in that F-18, you'd know why they don't want commercial airliners flying around in that.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. They say it's almost glasslike, you know, it gets stuck in the engines.
ROBERTS: Yes. It looks like it was, you know, run -- run over by a gravel truck or something.
Also new this morning, Latino members of Congress are urging Arizona's governor to kill a state bill that would require immigrants to carry papers with them at all times and require police to question anyone if there is reason to suspect that he or she is in the country illegally.
At 8:30 Eastern this morning, we're going to be talking all of this with Sheriff Joe Arpaio and state lawmaker Kyrsten Sinema, both from Arizona. They're on opposite sides of the issue.
CHETRY: A missing three-year-old Florida boy turns up safe and sound at New York City's Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Nathan Fons was dropped off last night without a scratch and with a note to police in his pocket.
The boy's mother and her boyfriend were arrested on counterfeiting charges earlier in the week and his mother told police that the boy was with two other people also suspected of being part of that ring.
Florida investigators were able to convince the couple to leave him somewhere safe so that he can be returned to his family. Investigators are now trying to find this couple. They're looking for surveillance video that could help identify them.
ROBERTS: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, we are "Minding Your Business", Google now revealing just how much some governments are making them sensor online information. You'd be surprised at what you find out.
Seventeen and a half minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour. Stephanie Elam, in for Christine Romans today, "Minding Your Business." We're talking about Google and censorship this morning.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and transparency. That's also part of this discussion here.
This is something that Google has been working on, as you know. We've heard a lot about them and censorship and they're saying they're taking a stand by showing which governments are actually asking for information about users and also which site they're trying to block data from.
So let's take a look at who's really topping the chart here, and it may actually surprise you when you see that at the top of the chart is Brazil. They ask for user data more than 303,600 times and sent 291 content removal requests. Google honored 83 percent of those removal requests. Even telling that is part of the -- the information as well.
Germany, in there as well, had the most request to edit material after Brazil. Their laws actually restrict online display of Nazi- related content, so that's what a lot of it has to do with in Germany.
In India, they 142 requests, like Brazil. A lot of these requests were related to Orkut, which is Google's social networking site. So that's one thing there.
Then, after that, head back over here to the homeland, United States with 123 removal requests. They also sent 300 -- 500 -- 3,580 requests for user data, and most of the demands were related to YouTube, interestingly enough, and Google says it complied with 81 percent of those U.S. requests. But it does exclude things related to copyright infringement, which is a big issue on YouTube.
So, as you look at this map, you can see there's a really big question mark over there because all we've talked about is China. Well, the issue is that they talk about how that's really an issue of state secrets in China, so for now they're not putting it up on the Web site, but it's something that could be changing here because --
ROBERTS: Well, they wouldn't put up the number of information --
ELAM: China refers to them as -- as a state -- state secrets, so, because of that, they're honoring that and not putting it up and you just have a question mark on the site.
ROBERTS: Any way to ballpark it?
ELAM: They have not done that at all. Nothing.
They've given us nothing on that one, but chances are that number is probably higher than these other numbers that we've talked about. But they're saying the data will be updated every six months and this is their part on trying to include this transparency and let people know which countries are really asking to (INAUDIBLE) out there. Yes.
CHETRY: To talk about this (ph). Yes. It's interesting.
ELAM: And to let users know when it affects them.
CHETRY: Cool. Stephanie, thanks so much.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, coming up on the Most News in the Morning, usually linked to the hippie generation of the 1960s, well, now some psychedelic drugs, like for example LSD, are being considered as a serious treatment for some disorders. We'll explain.
Twenty-three minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour.
Decades ago, psychedelic drugs were generally reserved for hippies and recommended by few respected doctors. But new studies point to a comeback for hallucinogenic drugs as a modern treatment for depression.
In this morning's "A.M. Original", something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING, our Dan Simon explains why doctors are now taking another look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're the drugs once associated with hippies in the 1960s, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, once feared as a one-way ticket to insanity, now being discussed as real medicine to treat real problems.
RICK DOBLIN, PSYCHEDELIC DRUG EXPERT: Well, I am a firm believer. I've seen it work in many people.
SIMON: Rock Doblin imagines a day when patients will be able to go to their doctors' offices for their doses of LSD or ecstasy pills.
DOBLIN: I think eventually there will be psychedelic clinics regulated by FDA with people who are especially trained to administer the psychedelics and people will come to them for medical purposes or for rites of passage in their life or personal growth.
SIMON: Doblin comes with credentials. He's got a Ph.D from Harvard in Public Policy and has spent years studying psychedelics.
SIMON (on camera): Proving that there is a convention for practically everything, researchers from around the world have come to San Jose, California to talk about psychedelic drugs. Here at the Holiday Inn, they're sharing stories about those drugs and their hope that one day they will become a regular part of medicine.
SIMON (voice-over): Here at the conference, we found Sara Huntley who says she was abused emotionally and physically as a child.
SARA HUNTLEY, USED MDMA: It made me feel worthless most of the time and that I was a burden to that member of my family and that I wasn't really worth that burden.
SIMON: She says the abuse stripped her of self-confidence. Then, as a 17-year-old high school student, she started taking the drug ecstasy, scientifically known as MDMA.
SIMON (on camera): MDMA or ecstasy, you see right here, was developed in the early 20th century as a possible appetite suppressant. Of course, today, people use it for its hallucinogenic effects. Users say it can heighten their senses and lower their inhibitions.
HUNTLEY: It seems like the color contrast --
SIMON: Now 23, Sara says MDMA helped get her life back.
HUNTLEY: Using the MDMA helped ease my -- my sense of fear and defensiveness.
DR. MICHAEL MITHOEFER, ADMINISTERS MDMA: Today talk about being happy --
SIMON: Psychiatrist Michael Mithoefer has never examined Sara but believes psychedelics hold tremendous promise.
Through a study approved by the Food and Drug Administration, he's been administering MDMA to patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.
SIMON (on camera): As a doctor, what made you think that psychedelics could be helpful?
MITHOEFER: Well, you know, we know that the treatment of PTSD involves revisiting the trauma in a therapeutic session, so what we -- our idea is that MDMA may bring people into kind of an optimal zone of arousal where they can connect with their feelings, where they aren't going to be overwhelmed by fear.
SIMON (voice-over): For advocates, the key is matching the drug with the problem. Psilocybin found in certain mushrooms might be used to treat anxiety related to terminal illness, the same for LSD.
DOBLIN: It can vary according to what issues they're working with, how much denial they have. But we would like to have psychiatrists and psychotherapists have access to a whole tool chest of psychedelics that they can use at appropriate times.
SIMON: But some doctors question whether psychedelics are ever appropriate. Stanford psychiatrist David Spiegel says there's no scientific literature yet to back up any positive claims.
DR. DAVID SPIEGEL, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: The key issue in the treatments of this disorder is teaching people how to access their memories and feelings about the trauma in a controlled way, and psychedelics are anything but a controlled experience, so while --
SIMON: For now, that's the mainstream medical consensus. MITHOEFEL: Maybe if you get pure MDMA --
SIMON: But supporters here hope that over time psychedelics will be seen less as a bad trip and more as legitimate medicine.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Jose, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: So difficult to control, though, I would imagine.
CHETRY: Yes. And that's what they're saying. It just -- I mean, while it's always interesting to find out if there's new medical breakthroughs, it seems that it would be wild to risk it.
ROBERTS: They should have to do it under very, very controlled circumstances.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: We'll see where this one goes.
It's 30-and-a-half minutes after the hour -- time for your top stories this morning.
The Supreme Court battle begins today, President Obama is meeting with lawmakers later on this morning, announcing possible Supreme Court picks off of both parties. Sources tell us that he has already had conversations with potential nominees.
CHETRY: Also, much of the air space over Europe has reopened this morning. Germany is the latest nation to clear all flights in their skies. Things are also picking up at London's Heathrow Airport six days after ash of volcanoes in Iceland -- a volcano in Iceland shut it down. But it could still be weeks before travel around the world resumes to normal.
That volcano is still rumbling this morning and as we talked about with Rob Marciano a little earlier, still spewing ash. Unpredictable about what could happen next.
ROBERTS: West Virginia is considering new safety regulations. After the nation's worst coal mining accident in 40 years, a state panel says quick action is essential to address the explosion that killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch mine earlier this month. Proposed changes concern mine ventilation and more regular maintenance of methane gas detectors.
CHETRY: Well, school lunches have been labeled a number of things over the years, high calorie, unhealthy, fattening, just plain gross -- but a threat to national security?
ROBERTS: Yes, a group of retired military officers say millions of our youth are too overweight to join the military. They are now calling for a bill that would make school lunches healthier.
Joining us now from Washington is retired Air Force Lieutenant General Norman Seip. He is a member of Mission: Readiness, the executive advisory council of that. He testified about the report "Too Fat to Fight" on Capitol Hill.
General, it's great to see you this morning. Let's look at some of the statistics that you found in your report. Seventeen percent -- 27 percent rather of Americans age 17 to 24 too fat to join the military. During World War II, you had the opposite problem, 40 percent of recruits were undernourished -- too undernourished to join the military.
As the result of that after World War II, the military pressed Congress to institute the school lunch program to fatten people up. Where did it go off the rails?
LT. GEN. NORMAN SEIP (RET.), EXECUTIVE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER, MISSION READINESS: I think we're a victim of our own success, John. Now, we're not undernourished, we're over-nourished -- but over- nourished with the wrong type of calories, those empty calories.
So, we're calling upon Congress as they reenact the bill for child nutrition to raise nutrition standards, which will -- and to put money against those nutritional standards so that we can bring in the whole grains, the vegetables, the fruits into our cafeterias as well as challenge our food makers out there that have put our food into our vending machines to be more competitive and meet those challenges.
CHETRY: You know, and it's interesting because a lot of people watching out there right may be surprised that, you know, it's viewed as a national security threat. But explain that for us. What -- how big of an impact does an unhealthy school lunch have on a young growing teenager and, in some cases, young people that may be thinking about signing up for the military?
SEIP: Well, our students right now are taking in about 40 percent of their daily calories in school, either before or after or during the school year. And so, if we can make a dent in that area, we can certainly put those young men and young women who are the future, who are going to guarantee our security, to put them on the right path and balance that with a healthy lifestyle.
Part of our emphasis is also bringing those programs that have been successful out there across the country, in our school system nationwide, that will educate not only the students but their families on how to better balance physical fitness to make healthy choices.
ROBERTS: You know, General, so many people are worried about the quality of the food that our children are getting in these school lunch programs and what it's doing to them. You know, one of people very concerned is famous British chef, Jamie Oliver. He's got that "Food Revolution" program. He was recently in Huntington, West Virginia, trying to revolutionize the school lunch program there. Huntington is taken to be the most unhealthy city in America.
Let's look at a clip from his television show on that and I got something I want to ask you about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE OLIVER, CHEF: But when I started looking at mashed potato and then the nuggets and then the fruits and then the milk is got cropped in and the cereals got cropped in, all of those little things together, it pisses me off. And if you're a parent, it should piss you off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Basically, everything's got cropped in. What do you want to see there in the school lunches? What do you think would help keep these young people healthier and have them fit for military duty should they decide to recruit when they're 18 years old?
SEIP: We need healthy choices. We need these whole grains. We need the fruits. We need the vegetables, those types of things.
And then we need to increase the amount of money that we spend daily on a child. Right now, it's about $2.68 per meal. By adding money to the Child Nutrition Act, we'll be able to increase the quality of the food that's served and push out the junk food, the empty calories, and result in a more healthy nation and reverse this trend.
But we've got 39 states now that report 40 percent or more of young men and women in the ages of 17 to 24 as overweight.
ROBERTS: Wow.
CHETRY: Yes. And, you know, that thing -- that struck me when you talk about that, because bottom line, 75 percent of young adults ages 17 to 24, according to these studies that you guys conducted are not eligible for military duty, may be partly because of obesity, it maybe because of lack of education, not graduating, and maybe because they have a criminal record.
But that's a huge chunk of people out of mix when it comes to protecting our country. How big of a threat is this?
SEIP: Well, I think it's certainly a very challenging threat down the road. We want to reverse those trends. We want to make more people eligible.
And it's not a question of whether you end up serving in the military or not. It's the right thing to do for our country if we're going to continue to remain to be strong and competitive in the global market, in the global workplace.
ROBERTS: All right. We're going to keep following this because the bill before the Senate, the House still has not acted on this and growing concern about this epidemic of obesity in our country.
Lieutenant General Norman Seip, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks for joining us, sir.
SEIP: Thank you, John. Thank you, Kiran. Thanks for your great support of our men and women in uniform.
ROBERTS: You bet.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Thanks a lot.
Well, coming up next on the Most News in the Morning: "South Park," of course, no stranger to controversy, is now sparking Muslim outrage and threats of violence. We're going to talk to the man behind these threats and why he believes he's justified.
Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour.
You know, for years "South Park" has made fun of things usually too controversial to target, in particular, religion. Jews, Catholics, Mormons, Scientologist, Hindus, Buddhist, no one is safe from the guys behind that very popular cartoon.
Well, in last week's episode, the world's biggest religious figures came together, including the Muslim prophet, Muhammad. And to poke fun at censorship guidelines against showing him, first, Muhammad was kept inside of the moving van, and then he wore a bear costume.
Well, now, one radical Muslim group has responded, warning the show's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, that they'll probably end up dead.
So, does that go too far? Or is the threat itself protected by free speech?
Drew Griffin with our Special Investigations Unit is digging deeper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): Revolution Muslim says despite their provocative posting complete with a photo of a murder victim, the group says it's only issuing a call to protest, not violence.
Contacted by CNN, the creator of the posting said Revolution Muslim only wants those offended to be able to voice their opposition by letters to the show's creators.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Certainly, the comment on this Web site is very ugly. But it is certainly not specific enough to get anyone arrested at this point.
GRIFFIN: Last year, CNN interviewed one of founders of this radical Muslim group on the streets of New York. Younes Mohammed chose his words carefully, telling us he saw nothing wrong with Americans dying in the 9/11 terrorist attack.
YOUNES ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, REVOLUTION MUSLIM: I don't think it was wrong. I think it was justified.
GRIFFIN: And then adding he does not encourage any violence on U.S. soil.
It's a word game federal officials tell us, that allows Revolution Muslim to post support of terrorists like the alleged Fort Hood, Texas, shooter while the Web site itself is protected under free speech laws of the United States.
Younes Mohammed told us he doesn't see anything wrong with his messages. He dislikes the United States. He yearns for a Muslim world.
MOHAMMED: We're commanded to terrorize the disbelievers. And this is a religion like I said.
GRIFFIN (on camera): You're commanded to terrorize the disbelievers?
MOHAMMED: The Quran says very clearly in Arabic language, (SPEAKING ARABIC). This means "terrorize them." It's a command from Allah.
GRIFFIN: So, you're commanded --
MOHAMMED: To terrorize them.
GRIFFIN: -- to terrorize --
MOHAMMED: It doesn't mean --
GRIFFIN: -- anybody who doesn't believe.
MOHAMMED: You define terrorism as going and killing an innocent civilian. That's what you --
GRIFFIN: How do you --
MOHAMMED: I define terrorism as making them fearful so that they think twice before they go rape your mother or kill your brother, or going to your land and try to steal your resources.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): The clip on the site ends with a warning on a graphic directive at Parker and Stone that the dust will never settle down.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: That's pushed the edge of the envelope --
CHETRY: That's right, many times -- many times before. But this is interesting because as Jeffrey Toobin was saying, where do you draw the line on whether you have free speech when it comes to threats?
ROBERTS: Yes. How far does something go? How for does language go before it actually becomes a threat? That's a very much open to interpretation.
CHETRY: Well, we'd like to know what you think about the story. Sound off at CNN.com/amFIX. We'll be reading some of your comments from our live blog in just a couple of minutes.
ROBERTS: Forty-three minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano has got the travel forecast right after the break.
CHETRY: Also in 10 minutes, Jeanne Moos with a story of a woman who had such a bad migraine, it actually gave her an accent.
Forty-three minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Yes, it's good to be president. Wow, got a roof over your head, the woman you love sleeping in your bed. Washington right now, 51 degrees. Partly cloudy later on today, 59 degrees, and unfortunately, some rain this morning.
CHETRY: Yes, you can see the wind too. The camera was shaking a little bit there. We get a check on the morning headlines of the weather with our Rob Marciano. Hey, Rob.
MARCIANO: Hey, guys. Yes, a little bit of rain across the mid- Atlantic, including D.C., but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle as we talked towards the north towards this and then severe weather outlook today in the same spots that we saw a couple of tornadoes touch down yesterday. Check out this video coming out Bushland, Texas, not a whole lot of damage, a couple of windows blown out and some homes and trees and power lines down, but that is a menacing- looking storm there on the videotape for sure.
One of two reports of tornadoes across parts of the the Texas panhandle. That is a spot that we're highlighting today again, so be aware of that, but I think a more widespread outbreak as we get later into the week. All right. Here's your rain coming through the Virginia through the mid-Atlantic and the Delmarva getting into the D.C. area, so will be a rather wet day at times. And we had some rain across the southeast yesterday with thunderstorms and at times were severe as well. This bowling ball of a low is going to be ejecting through the mountains. It's kind of cool and windy and wet out west right now, and it will bring that energy with it into the plains.
So, there's a slight risk of seeing severe weather across the Texas panhandle today, much like yesterday, and then tomorrow and Friday as what we see a more widespread threat happening, might very well be the first real severe weather setup that we've seen this year and very, very quiet. We will certainly take that. I'm not sure it's going to last through Friday, but nonetheless, so far 2010 has been all good as far as severe weather goes. John and Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much.
CHETRY: You know, a lot of comments on our live blog this morning about a number of different topics. We're going to take look at a couple of them right now. One of the things was that the news today that the president is going to be meeting a little later with people from both parties about a Supreme Court pick and possibly meeting with some of the candidates as well.
KCH writes about the Supreme Court pick, "Absolutely, he should appoint a liberal justice. There needs to be a balance. The court has shifted radically to the right due to W's choices. We need a young, proud, smart, articulate progressive to do battle with the right wingers currently parked to the courthouse."
ROBERTS: Melon who point out from time to time. He's a frequent contributor to the blog writes about Arizona's immigration law. "More states need to pass laws like Arizona concerning illegal aliens. More needs to be done to stop the invasion that is happening to the United States."
You can join the conversation too right now. It's CNN.com/AMFix.
This morning's top stories now just minutes away.
CHETRY: Right, like first lady's brother. We're going to get a chance to meet Craig Robinson, and I had a fancy interview with him yesterday, fascinating, inspirational guy. He is an Oregon State basketball coach, and he actually gave me a few pointers.
ROBERTS: Pointers, really?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you just get your hand under the ball and shoot it like that.
CHETRY: That was take one, swear to God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You notice I made a first shot --
CHETRY: Yes, I did.
OK. From right here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's pretty good. Do it again, but what were you looking at?
CHETRY: I was just looking at the orange circle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what part of it?
CHETRY: The actual rim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole thing? CHETRY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, that's so funny. Everybody does that. Don't look at the whole thing, just look at the front of it. That's it! I'm the best coach, you know.
CHETRY: You are the best coach in the world. I could do that every time --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it. Let's quit now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Good to you.
CHETRY: Yes, it really was my second shot. He gave me a little pointer, and I did it.
ROBERTS: Perfect time to quit.
CHETRY: Sure it is, but he's great. He's a charming guy, smart and really inspirational, and he dishes a little bit about, you know, what it was like, you know, growing up with Michelle. And he also talks about his then-to-be his future brother-in-law, Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: Great tip, though, look at the front of the rim.
CHETRY: It worked for me.
ROBERTS: I never heard that before.
CHETRY: I didn't want to test it twice and try again. Work the first shot.
ROBERTS: There you go.
CHETRY: We're going to hear more of Craig Robinson in a minute. Ten minutes until the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Squirrel nut zippers this morning.
ROBERTS: A whole control room full of them.
CHETRY: Time now for Jeanne Moos and a strange phenomenon has taken hold on one woman in particular in Great Britain.
ROBERTS: She says that a severe migraine turned her English accent into something that sounds sort of Chinese. You don't believe it? Jeanne Moos has the story of a very strange phenomenon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Politicians do it. BARACAK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's nothing we can't do.
MOOS: Adopt an accent.
OBAMA: We have too many daddyes --
MOOS: Actors do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is no a fake guys (ph). I'm from Scotland.
MOOS: Adopt an accent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's sort to talk like that, and you know, he used to like talking like that all the time.
MOOS: But this British woman used to talk all the time with an English accent then until out of the blue, her accent changed into sounding Chinese.
SARAH COLWILL, ALTERED ACCENT: On the day that my voice changed, I found it difficult to speak. And when I did speak, it sounded Chinese.
MOOS: It happened after a migraine so severe her husband called an ambulance. A week later, Sarah Colwill's new Chinese accent changed again.
COLWILL: It sounds more Eastern European. It have been like that ever since.
MOOS: Doctors diagnosed it as FAS and the f does not stand for fake.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's foreign accent syndrome.
MOOS: It caused by a stroke or a brain injury that affects --
GUPTA: The speech area itself where you are actually forming words with your mouth.
MOOS (on-camera): Imagine the only voice you've ever known goes from this --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got fabulous things shared --
MOOS (voice-over): To this --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought like I was going a little bit crazy.
MOOS: Florida resident, Judi Roberts, was Indiana born in bread. She had never even been to England but a stroke left her with an English accent. JUDI ROBERTS, ALTERED ACCENT: And if you run to any foreigners (ph) you know, they would look at you like you had flipped your wig.
MOOS: And a piece on foreign accent syndrome, ABC interviewed an American woman who not only got a new accent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The accent would be very Russian.
MOOS: Cindy Lou Romberg (ph) sometimes speaks in sounds that languish say don't resemble any known language.
From gibberish to Chinese, English woman gets Chinese accent, sounds like a joke, but the people it happens too aren't laughing.
COLWILL: Strangers who meet me think I'm foreign. Also, some people speak to me as if I am a bit silly, a bit stupid.
MOOS: Sometimes you get mocked for acquiring an accent.
MADONNA, ENTERTAINER: I hadn't quite adjusted to the tabloids.
MOOS: And sometimes an accent acquires you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank God, I've got a voice.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
Now, Sanjay, do you do any accents --
CNN --
GUPTA: No, not really.
MOOS: New York.
GUPTA: Maybe off camera.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: So, what do you think?
CHETRY: I don't buy it. First of all, the woman in Florida, she used the term bloody and that's like -- that's you know, an adjective that they use across the pond.
ROBERTS: So, you think she adopted more than the accent? She adopted the colloquialism, too?
CHETRY: We'll see. I don't know if I buy that one, but as Sanjay says that there's foreign accent syndrome, there is.
ROBERTS: Yes. I would think so. A little FAS, right? Top stories coming your way after the break. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
