Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Tragedy on a Mountainside; Flight Attendant Rage Resonates; Fed Says Recovery is Weakening; Addicted: Prescription for Danger; Taliban Urges Pakistan to Reject U.S. Aid; Leveling the Playing Field; Former Alaska Senator Killed; Colorado Primary Win; Leveling the Playing Field; Former Alaska Senator Killed
Aired August 11, 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. Welcome to the "Most News in the Morning" on this Wednesday, the 11th of August. It's good to have you with us. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. There's lots to talk about this morning, so we get right to it.
First look, now at the aftermath of the mountainside tragedy in Alaska. Investigators now heading to the scene where former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and four others were killed in a plane crash.
We're also learning more about Tuesday's extraordinary rescue efforts and why survivors had to wait 12 agonizing hours before help finally arrived.
ROBERTS: Fifteen minutes of fame and you're on the clock. It was an absolute mob scene as the JetBlue flight attendant who flipped and became a folk hero walked out of the lockup in the Bronx last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're going to lose your job?
STEVEN SLATER, JETBLUE FLIGHT ATTENDANT: More than likely.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tell me about rude passengers. Talk about that.
SLATER: There's a lot of wonderful people out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And there he goes. He had a bump on his head and said he desperately needed a bath. We'll have more of what he said and we'll take a closer look this morning at why people snap.
CHETRY: Plus, is America's economic recovery in trouble? The Feds sending out a warning that is rattling people from Wall Street to main street. What you can do to make sure you're prepared in these uncertain times.
We're talking to the CNN Money Team about issue number one coming up.
ROBERTS: And the "AM Fix" blog is up and running. Join the live conversation going on right now. Just go to CNN.com/amfix.
CHETRY: Later this morning, on a rugged hard-to-reach mountainside in remote southwest Alaska, investigators will make their way to the scene of a plane crash that killed former Senator Ted Stevens and four friends.
Their plane was found Monday night on a hillside near the Bearing Sea.
ROBERTS: These are the first pictures that we're seeing of the wreckage this morning. The fuselage remaining mostly intact, enabling four other passengers to survive the crash despite treacherous conditions that kept rescuers at bay for 12 critical hours.
Ted Stevens' body is back home this morning. The longest serving Republican in U.S. Senate history being remembered as the man who literally put Alaska on the map.
Casey Wian is live in Anchorage for us this morning with the very latest.
Good morning, Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. We're at Provident Hospital here in Anchorage where those four survivors of that horrific plane crash have been taken. And we have new information about their condition.
Sean O'Keefe, the former NASA administrator, one of the survivors, is listed in critical condition this morning. His teenage son, Kevin O'Keefe, is in serious condition. And another passenger, Jim Morhard, also listed in serious condition.
There was a young 13-year-old, minor, male, whose condition has not been disclosed. His father who's one of the victims who died in that crash.
The crash that they survived -- one of the pilots that we spoke with yesterday, he flew over the area, said that when he first came upon that scene he didn't think that there was going to be any survivors because of the condition of the plane.
As I believe you showed earlier, we're now getting the first pictures of that scene. What the pilot described to us as a plane that looked like it had basically just flown straight -- almost straight into that mountain.
It had skidded maybe 100 yards up the mountain. So there's some speculation that maybe the plane was trying to climb. But the weather was really bad at the time and investigators are still looking into obviously what caused that crash.
And we have -- CNN earlier spoke with that pilot who was one of the first folks who discovered the crash. And here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HADE, PILOT WHO FOUND CRASHED PLANE: The main fuselage in the tail was in one piece but the wings were off and the -- I couldn't see the engine. So.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think anybody could have survived that?
HADE: I didn't think it was survivable.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: And when rescuers finally reached, hours later, the crash site, one of the victims was walking outside -- one of the survivors was actually walking outside the fuselage of the plane. No one was ejected from the plane on impact. And there was no fire.
We are going to be hearing, as you mentioned, later today more information from the NTSB as they gather it, but they're having a difficult time reaching that site -- John, Kiran?
CHETRY: And as we talked about, because of that, because of the remote location, 12 agonizing hours before there could be any type of professional help for the people that actually survived.
Tell us more about the heroic efforts. Some of the volunteers that I understand reached the site earlier than the rescuers.
WIAN: Yes, there was -- because the weather was so bad as it was described by some of the folks, the clouds were almost down right on top of the crash site. The weather was bad, there was rain. They just couldn't get to this steep terrain.
A doctor -- a female doctor was actually airlifted 1,000 feet away from the crash site and she had to hike through this severe dense, wet, slippery brush to reach those survivors and provide some care and comfort overnight.
She was equipped with a satellite phone so she was able to stay in touch with rescuers and provide some aid to those victims.
At the National Transportation Safety Board's briefing late yesterday, the chief of the NTSB talk about the heroic efforts of those volunteers. Here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH HERSMAN, DIRECTOR, NTSB: There were a lot of people who were applying their skills and also supporting those individuals who were trapped on the hillside.
Obviously, we don't know what would have happened if they had not been there, but we do thank the Lord that they were there.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Some of the things that the NTSB is going to be looking at today and in the days ahead are the experience of the pilot who was flying that plane who was killed in the crash.
He had 29,000 hours of flying time. But they don't know how much experience he had actually flying this one remote route. They're also going to be obviously looking at the weather.
They still don't know what kind of avionics were on that plane, what kind of crash detection -- crash avoidance systems were on that plane. All of those questions they're going to be answering over the next couple of days -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Casey Wian for us this morning in Anchorage. Casey, thanks so much.
And we will get the latest on the investigation when the chairman of the NTSB Debbie Hersman joins us live from Anchorage. That'll be at 7:10 Eastern this morning.
CHETRY: Well, now to politics and two marquee primary races. One in Colorado where incumbent Senator Michael Bennett held off challenger Andrew Romanoff to capture the Democratic nomination.
This race was a battle of high-profile endorsements. You had President Obama backing Bennett, and former President Bill Clinton supporting Romanoff.
Bennett had zero political experience before his appointment to fill a vacant Senate seat last year. He'll now face the Republican candidate and Tea Party favorite Ken Buck in November.
ROBERTS: And perhaps money can buy you love. Former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who spent $22 million of her own fortune, won the Republican Senate primary in Connecticut. She beat former Congressman Rob Simmons.
It sets up a race now between McMahon and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, the state's attorney general, in November.
And coming up a the 8:10 Eastern, we're going to talk with Linda McMahon about the primary victory and the general election campaign ahead which many people think is going to be one of the most negative and shall we say smackdownish type -- campaigns we've ever seen.
CHETRY: Well, it is just so surreal to see the people hugging her triple H. She was, like, you know, one of the wrestling champs. He's her son-in-law and he's up on the stage like in a wrestling --
ROBERTS: I think WWE and the whole wrestling arena is going to factor very heavily into this race.
CHETRY: All right, well, she pulled out the primary win. We'll see what happens from here. Meanwhile, do you remember the giant ice chunk that we talk about breaking off of a glacier in Greenland last week? Well, scientists are now worried that it could actually drift into north Atlantic shipping lanes and perhaps even threaten oil platforms off of Canada.
The ice island is estimated to be about 100 square miles, four times bigger than Manhattan. Experts say there's not really much they can do to stop something that big from going where it is going to go.
Meanwhile, at seven-and-a-half minutes past the hour, we get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano's in the extreme weather center for us.
So, I guess the best hope is that -- that the weather will get cold enough, right, the winter freeze, and it'll sort of at least cause it to stop?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes -- no, there is some hope that it gets caught in one of those channels and actually helps build up more sea ice than it would normally. But, you know, it's worrisome that if it slides into the shipping lanes then we might have more issues.
Another thing we don't have control of, but we certainly can prepare for, are our tropical systems. We have this tropical depression that we talked about yesterday. And it is forecast to become a tropical storm.
Here's the latest on it.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: We'll keep an eye on tropical depression number five and let you know if it becomes a tropical storm here. That could happen as early as before the end of this show -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Wow. All right, Rob Marciano, thanks.
ROBERTS: Getting a little more active out there.
Steven Slater's wild ride, Pittsburgh to New York City, down a slide right into jail. Now bailed out and talking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tell me about rude passengers. Talk about that for a second.
SLATER: There's a lot of wonderful people out there.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: We'll have more in his own words. More of what happened on that plane that led to his now-famous meltdown on the tarmac. It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twelve minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning".
The JetBlue flight attendant who, as we now know, grabbed a couple of beers, slid down the escape shoot, and on and on, has been released on bail. Actually walked out of jail last night to a crush of media.
He was in the Bronx. He still had had a smile on his face. Said he wanted a shower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Scar on your head, is that from the suitcase falling? Is it? Tell me about what you think about all the support you've gotten. You know --
(CROSSTALK)
SLATER: Wow. It's been very, very appreciated and it seems like it's -- something here has resonated with a few people and that's kind of neat.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You going to lose your job?
SLATER: More than likely.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you care about that anymore?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tell me about --
SLATER: No comment at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, how about this? Tell me about rude passengers. Talk about that for a second.
SLATER: There's a lot of wonderful people out there.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: I love the, are you going to lose your job? "More than likely."
ROBERTS: "More than likely." No doubt that his rage is resonating with a lot of people, people who have sat in hours of traffic or got stuck working the weekend or were told well, we're just going to sit here on the runway for another hour while we wait for a gate to open up, or got the automated menu on a customer service call.
CHETRY: Yes, there is a lot of frustrating things that happen in everyday life. And for a society that at times can be mad as hell, Steven Slater's now a folk hero.
Allan Chernoff has more on his 15 minutes.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Steven Slater has gone viral. His Facebook page has been gaining tens of thousands of fans and thousands more are also fans of the "Free Steven Slater" Facebook page.
Slater now on forced leave from JetBlue appeared in court Tuesday to face felony charges. Reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. All this after Monday's incident in which he suffered a bruise on the head during an altercation with a passenger who also cursed him.
He responded by getting on the plane's public address system, cursing the passenger, he then activated the emergency slide, grabbed his luggage, a few beers, and slid on down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD TURMAN, STEVEN SLATER'S ATTORNEY: Were you trying to do your best to provide safety for passengers and you have rudeness and lack of civility among the traveling public.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: His lawyer adds that Mr. Slater has been dealing with extra stress away from work since he's been caring for his mother who's fighting cancer.
Mr. Slater's actions landed him in hot water, but in today's world, some might wonder whether this could possibly lead to a reality television show for him. He certainly has struck a chord with many air travelers -- John, Kiran?
CHETRY: Always comes back to --
ROBERTS: Reality --
CHETRY: Should they get a reality TV show?
ROBERTS: No. I don't think he should. But --
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: You know, sometimes --
ROBERTS: It is an interesting story to talk about.
CHETRY: Right. Sometimes it's best to leave -- you know, leave it there.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHETRY: But who knows? We're not primetime programmers so maybe he will. But so many people out there wish that they could do what Steven Slater did, and then they think of the bills, the kids, their mortgage. Their friends who can't find a job. Coming up at 6:40, we're going to talk about why people snap with clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere. Also, an anger management counselor, Janet Pfeifer, will join us.
ROBERTS: All right. To a topic that's really hitting home particularly in the kitchen table for so many people, is America's economic recovery on the ropes? The Fed issues a bleak outlook at its latest meeting. We'll talk about what it means for you and your family, coming up next.
It's 16 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eighteen-and-a-half minutes after the hour.
The Federal Reserve warning that America's economic recovery is losing steam. As a result, the Fed is buying up long-term debt and keeping its key interest rate near zero percent, where it's been since December of 2008. But what does all that really mean for your bottom line?
"Minding Your Business" this morning, joined by Lex Haris. He's the managing editor of CNNMoney.com. Lex, great to see you this morning.
LEX HARIS, MANAGING EDITOR, CNNMONEY.COM: Thank you. Good morning.
ROBERTS: So -- so what does this buying up long-term debt by the Fed really signal about its perception of where the economy is?
HARIS: Yes. The -- well, what the Fed did yesterday was it did two really significant things. Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, came out and first he said, you know what, we're a little bit more scared than we were just even two months ago. And the second big thing, probably a little bit more important, was what you were just talking about, he'd said we're prepared do something about it, and that's this idea of buying up long-term -- long-term assets.
ROBERTS: Joshua Shapiro, who's the chief U.S. economist at MFR, says that the Fed's announcement, quote, "appears to be mainly designed to provide itself with political cover against the backdrop of the gut-wrenching economic correction that shows no sign of ending any time soon."
Is -- is this just cover, do you think, Lex? Is this -- is this the Fed saying, hey, we're doing everything we could possibly --
HARIS: Yes.
ROBERTS: -- think of here, so if the economy goes bust again, don't blame us?
HARIS: Well, I think that might be a little bit unfair. I mean, they're -- first of all, they're not political. I mean, they're not up for re-election. They don't have to deal with the mid-terms. They don't have to deal with getting votes through Congress.
They really do want the economy to recover. They've done a lot, and they -- and what they're basically signaling is we're prepared to do more.
ROBERTS: But when you look at what they're doing compared to the overall scope of the problem --
HARIS: Yes.
ROBERTS: -- is it really going to make a difference?
HARIS: No. I mean, yesterday's was a very modest move, but in Fed, in (INAUDIBLE) little symbolic gestures are a big deal.
Just a month ago, people were worried (INAUDIBLE) start undoing all the things that it's done over the past -- over the past year and a half, and yesterday they say, no, we're going to -- we're really watching --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: So it's a confidence booster more than anything?
HARIS: Absolutely. But it might not even go that far. Everyone -- you know, you saw the stock market recover yesterday. Already, this morning, we're seeing just -- we're seeing that those gains just start to -- to pull back a little bit.
ROBERTS: You know what they say, the market goes up, the market goes down.
HARIS: Right.
ROBERTS: What does this mean though, around kitchen tables in America? Is this going to do anything to create more jobs, ease the unemployment situation?
You know, we -- we're talking with a guest in our next hour. He's talking about food insecurity. As many as 15 percent of American homes at some point during the month don't have enough food to put on the table.
HARIS: Yes. I mean, the scariest part of yesterday was, it was -- I mean, the idea that two months ago Ben Bernanke was saying, hey, the recovery's proceeding along and yesterday said, you know, it's going to be a lot more modest. And at the -- the biggest part of his statement was it's all about jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs.
Unemployment rate is not expected to come down for the foreseeable future. Even the White House is saying that, and you would expect them to have a rosier outlook.
ROBERTS: So basically the pain is going to continue?
HARIS: Yes, but there are some signs of -- I mean, at least things are a little bit more stable than they were. So I -- I hate to say the pain will continue, but it's the getting out of the hole that's going to take a little bit, you know, while yet.
ROBERTS: All right. Lex Haris from CNNMoney.com. Good to see you this morning.
HARIS: Sure.
ROBERTS: Thanks for stopping by.
HARIS: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Still ahead, we continue with our special series "Addicted: Prescription for Danger". Abuse of painkillers spiraling out of control and in some cases it's putting doctors' lives at risk. Our Carol Costello has an "A.M. Original" ahead.
It's 22 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- four minutes past the hour.
On our continuing series "Addicted," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING. We're talking about prescription drugs.
Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, the tragic death of these stars, of course, made headlines, but America's problem with prescription pill addiction goes much deeper and much further from the Hollywood spotlight. And it can be deadly not just for the addict abusing the prescription drugs, but for the doctor who comes between them and a fix.
Our Carol Costello has the story from Washington this morning. Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
It is easy to sit back and shake your head when you hear stories about people addicted to prescription drugs. It's sad but it wouldn't touch my life. Well, that's not exactly true. Prescription drug abuse is so pervasive and so dangerous for doctors, he may refuse to write you a prescription no matter how much you're hurting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Small town America with a big problem -- pill poppers.
DANIELLE SANDLIN, DAUGHTER OF DR. DENNIS SANDLIN: I didn't really realize how bad it was getting until after I'd gotten out of college. COSTELLO: Danielle Sandlin grew up in Eastern Kentucky. Her father was a doctor, who, like other doctors in this part of the country, watched prescription drug abuse spiral out of control.
COSTELLO (on camera): In December, things came to a head here in Cornettsville, Kentucky, population 792.
COSTELLO (voice-over): In this clinic, Danielle's father, Dr. Dennis Sandlin, refused to prescribe painkillers for a man he suspected was an addict. Police say that man, John Combs, left angry and came back with a gun.
SANDLIN: My dad was writing in a chart at the nurse's station, and they -- someone heard my dad say, "You don't want to do this. I take care of a lot of elderly people." And he said, "Well, you didn't help me," and that's when he shot him.
COSTELLO: Dr. Sandlin's murder didn't come as a shock to Dr. David Greene.
DR. DAVID GREENE, FAMILY PRACTICE PHYSICIAN, BEREA, KENTUCKY: Any other phone calls?
COSTELLO: He works at a Family Practice clinic in Berea. Addicts often come to his clinic to shop for doctors. They use every trick in the book to get him to prescribe powerful pain medication like OxyContin. It can get ugly.
COSTELLO (on camera): So have you had people come in and -- and scream at you?
GREENE: Yes. Yes.
COSTELLO: Physically push you or touch you?
GREENE: Oh, I've had them -- I have less of a problem because I'm male and I'm taller. So -- but, one of the things we have to do in our office, because I'm the only male doctor, is I'm sort of on call for situations like that that involved anybody else, and I'll deal with them.
COSTELLO (voice-over): But some doctors do refuse to deal with it. They no longer write prescriptions for pain medication, for anyone, regardless of need.
Detectives in Louisville can understand that. They arrest two or three suspects a day who routinely call in fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is a forged prescription that you went and picked up, not just once, a bunch of times.
Do you know who's calling these in? I know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it you? Claiming to be in this instance --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't in the beginning, but, yes.
COSTELLO: It's become an old, tired story.
DETECTIVE STEVE WATTS (ph): That's actually her at the pharmacy.
COSTELLO: Detective Steve Watts (ph) is dedicated to fighting just one kind of drug crime -- illegal prescription drug use. He's looking at surveillance tape of a woman who allegedly used a doctor's name to call in a prescription for Xanax.
WATTS: There she is, with the same distinctive bag, her Wal-Mart bag, walking out.
COSTELLO: We rode along with Detective Watts.
WATTS: We're almost here.
COSTELLO: It wasn't long before she appeared, along with her father and that purse.
WATTS: If I can make this her worst day of her life so that tomorrow she will seek treatment, then I've won.
COSTELLO: Back in Cornettsville, there are no winners. Dr. Sandlin's alleged killer has yet to face trial. He says he's not guilty.
SANDLIN: He has to see what he's done. He has to look at my family and know what he did, took somebody's life. It's the lives of these patients affect community. It -- you know, it's everybody.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: It is.
Danielle is working with a number of groups to make it safer for doctors to practice medicine. Dr. Greene is working too. His clinic has informed every pharmacists in Berea, Kentucky they're no longer calling in prescriptions.
Of course, Kiran, the biggest problem for doctors is trying to figure out who's really in pain. Many times, the only way to find out is to ask, "Are you in pain?" and -- and as we now know, patients will lie to get their hands on those pills.
CHETRY: Yes. And they talked about, you know, other solutions, you know, computerizing the records a little bit more, you know, just -- it's -- it's a little bit ironic, when you talk about this abuse, a lot of people say it's really bad in Florida as well with these -- with these pill mills, as they call it, which could be changing as well because of legislation.
COSTELLO: I hope so. But it's been a long time coming. And -- and, you know, in the meantime, doctors aren't prescribing medication for pain, and that is not a good thing for any of us.
CHETRY: Yes, and especially for people who really need it. Carol, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: It's crossing the half hour now. It's time for this morning's top stories.
Investigators in Alaska converging on the scene of a deadly plane crash that killed former senator Ted Stevens and four other passengers. They're trying to figure out why the plane went down Monday afternoon near the Bering Sea. Four others survived the crash, including former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe and his teenaged son.
CHETRY: The JetBlue flight attendant who grabbed a couple of beers and slid down the escape chute is now out on bail. Steven Slater, facing felony charges, may be out of a job, but he's become a hero to workers across the country.
JetBlue says that Slater has been suspended pending an investigation.
ROBERTS: And tropical storm warnings have forced BP crews to suspend drilling that relief well in the Gulf when they were, oh-so- close to getting it done. But federal officials have re-opened more than 5,000 square miles of the coast of the waters off the Florida Panhandle for commercial and recreational fishing. No oil has been seen there for the month now. Officials say they will continue testing fish that are caught in that area.
CHETRY: Well, the worst flooding in Pakistan's history is now moving south. So far, more than 1,300 people have been killed in this devastating flooding. But officials say there will likely be many more victims.
ROBERTS: The United Nations special envoy is calling this the biggest disaster that Pakistan has ever faced and says the country will need billions of dollars to recover.
Our Reza Sayah has been tracking the story since the floods first started. He's in Islamabad for us live this morning.
And, you know, Reza, just amazing scenes and tragic scenes of destruction and still so much suffering going on.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I think the international community, John, is starting to understand the scope of this disaster. This is day two of the floods and the affected areas seem to grow by the day. These floods, of course, can create a host of other problems. Among them are landslides.
Officials are telling CNN that a deadly landslide taking place in northern Pakistan, 44 people killed in that landslide. More than 50 people missing. Also, reports of severe food shortage in that area.
In the meantime, international aid continues to come in. The U.S. is contributing another $25 million, in addition to the $35 million that they had already pledged. The U.S. also chipping in with a number of military helicopters, donating prefabricated bridges, water filtration systems, and 90,000 pounds of foods. Also later today in New York City, the U.N. is set to announce another $400 million in aid.
So, the relief work, John and Kiran, seems to be picking up some momentum, but there's a lot more work left to be done here.
CHETRY: And we also understand that the Taliban is urging the Pakistani government not to accept aid from the United States? What's the latest on that?
SAYAH: Yes, that's right. Remember, many of these regions -- especially northwest Pakistan -- that were ravaged by these floods, are regions that were plagued, and in some cases, still plagued, by the Taliban. The U.S. is doing (AUDIO GAP) much of its work in the Swat Valley, for example.
In a phone call to CNN, a spokesperson of the Taliban, Azam Tariq, said this: "For the sake of God, don't accept donations from the U.S. because they are our enemies. Whatever amount the U.S. will give us, we will give Pakistan more." The Taliban is also asking the Pakistani government not to be the puppet of Washington.
When asked, "Where is the Taliban going to get all this money to help the flood victims?" Azam Tariq, the spokesperson for the Taliban, said, "God is the one who gives money." Obviously, there's no chance the Pakistani government is going to reject U.S. and international aid.
Even so, John and Kiran, you can look for Azam Tariq, the mouthpiece of the Taliban, to continue to denounce the U.S. even as the U.S. is helping a lot of flood victims who desperately need that help.
CHETRY: A bit of an irony there. Reza Sayah for us this morning -- thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, a couple of things that we've seen over the last couple of days. First, there was flight attendant Steven Slater who quit his job in -- shall we say -- spectacular fashion. Then there was the woman who drove up to the drive-through of McDonald's trying to order McNuggets at 6:00 in the morning and didn't like the answer that she was getting from the attendant.
Why do people snap? We'll find out coming up next.
Thirty-four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: Coming now with 37 minutes after the hour.
He's become a working class hero. The JetBlue flight attendant who flipped out and became famous overnight, he's out on bail now and he's talking.
We'll hear from him a little bit later obviously.
Something that many of us have thought about doing, even we've played it out in our heads sometimes, thinking, "Gosh, what would I do if I had the opportunity to do this?" So, what makes some people ignore the consequences, maybe even the safety of others, and finally lose it?
Joining us to talk about that is clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere, and anger management counselor Janet Pfeiffer.
First of all, are you surprised -- both of you -- that this guy has become somewhat of a folk hero? He's got a Facebook fan page that was created right after this incident became public. He's got 85,000 fans. And a lot of people are looking at him saying, "Wow, I wish I could do that myself."
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think that's part of it. A lot of people have this fantasy in their head, John, that they just love to say to an employer or someone who's been rude to them, take this and shove it! And we play it out all the time.
But we don't say it. We don't do it because there are consequences. I'm not surprised. We're kind of anti-government these days, kind of anti-corporation.
And we know the abuse that flight attendants get each and every day. It's a tough job. But it was totally inappropriate and as you said, he flipped out. And I don't trust someone on an airline that I'd be riding with who could flip out in that way.
ROBERTS: Janet, what is it about people that they -- you know, they look at him, and they say, "Yes, I've had that fantasy before"? What is it about people who want to go out in a big way like that and maybe, you know, can't keep a lid on the anger as they might every day?
JANET PFEIFFER, ANGER MANAGEMENT COUNSELOR: Well, there's a part of me that feels like had he this planned because he wanted that 15 minutes of fame. And that really distressed me.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE).
PFEIFFER: Oh, yes. That distressed me a lot because in this country we do tend to glorify bad behavior and we reward it. And so, I'm concerned about the consequences that this is going to have on the rest of society as well.
You know, we all are frustrated. We're all dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety in our day-to-day lives. But as adults, it becomes our responsibility to understand what we're really dealing with and learn effective ways of expressing that and resolving those issues.
ROBERTS: Do you agree, Jeff, that this guy might have been planning this? Or do you think that he just kind of lost it? Because, you know, his father recently died.
GARDERE: Yes.
ROBERTS: He's been dealing with a mother who's battling cancer. There's some talk about maybe alcohol problems in his life as well.
GARDERE: Yes. I -- respectively, I disagree. I think this is a guy who just -- that was the tipping point for him. After all, he doesn't like being this "bag Nazi," as he calls it. He knows his job is a very difficult one. The bag hit his head. He got cut. He got into an argument with this passenger.
So, I think it was all of these things -- and what you've said, the issues of alcohol, father dying, and I think that put him over the edge. So, I don't think he planned it -- but I think he was playing this out in his head for a very long time and wanting to do this and probably never thought he would, and that was it. You know, the straw that broke the camel's back and he let it fly.
ROBERTS: I think there are a lot of people across the America who are probably playing this stuff out on their head.
GARDERE: Yes.
ROBERTS: Maybe not on a daily basis, every once in a while, thinking about, boy, would I ever like to. But when people feel that rage welling up inside, that uncontrollable volcano that's about to blow, is there any way to put a lid on it?
PFEIFFER: Well, I don't recommend that people put a lid on it, but what I do recommend is that they learn how to process it and release it safely. So, I developed a very simple three-step process that people can implement.
ROBERTS: OK. So, what should Steven Slater have done when he got bunked in the head and called an MF'er?
PFEIFFER: OK. Well, the first thing I would have told him to do is -- it's called the SWAT strategy. And SWAT stands for: stop, walk and talk. You stop what you're doing at that moment because as soon as we get emotional, we very rarely make good decisions. So, you want to stop what you're doing.
Second thing is you want to walk away. Physically put some distance between you and the other person -- kind of out of sight, out of mind.
And the third thing is self-talk. What you say to yourself at that moment is either going to allow you to calm your emotions down or cause you to become more angry and frustrated. So, if I say things like, "Oh, God, I can't stand this job! I just want to choke somebody" -- I'm actually fueling my own anger.
But if I say, "All right, you know what? This is not that important. You know, my job is more important to me than what happened here. I can deal with this. You know, I'm just grateful to be employed" -- then, I'm actually calming myself down and then I can go back and address the situation.
GARDERE: And as you said, that fantasy that people play out in their heads all the time, it's healthy. It's healthy to have that fantasy. You're in a car, you have road rage.
ROBERTS: OK. We'll talk about being in a car and having road rage, let's roll this videotape.
GARDERE: OK.
ROBERTS: This was New Year's morning, a woman driving up to a McDonald's drive-thru window at 6:30 in the morning, demanding "I want my McNuggets." She's told by the attendant, "We don't have McNuggets." So, she says, "What?" Gets out of the car -- and we'll just let this play out.
You know, the fact that it was 6:30 in the morning on a New Year's that she had a half-open beer available to throw through the glass might suggest what's behind this.
But, Jeff, how does somebody lose it to that degree?
GARDERE: I think these are folks who have extreme anger issues to begin with. This is not an isolated case, what this woman did. And you talk about that half-open can of beer. She had been drinking, and we know that's a deadly combination.
ROBERTS: Yes.
GARDERE: That's why we don't like people to drink and drive. But we know when people leave a party and they've just been a little bit tipsy, they tend to act out their rage, instead of going through the fantasy.
So, this guy is a folk hero. Let's live vicariously through him. But for heaven's sakes, folks, don't repeat what he did because it's bad behavior.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, are you worried that, Janet, that this may -- because of this guy's popularity and fame now -- inspire some copy cats?
PFEIFFER: Yes, absolutely. And we've seen that. I mean, look what happened back in Columbine. I think that was 2000? Right? And then what happened, we had all these copycat incidents of other kids acting out the same kind of behavior.
Unless somebody if steps in and says that this is inappropriate and we're not going to tolerate it and there are some heavy consequences for this man, that is a very big --
GARDERE: And that's the thing. What is the next step? What is the next person going to do?
ROBERTS: Yes.
GARDERE: They're going to up the game a little bit. And now, they see bad behaviors being rewarded. So, we need to be careful with this. We need to call a spade a spade in this particular case.
ROBERTS: All right. There you go. So, there is the clinical analysis and the advice -- think about it, feel free to think about it, just don't act on it.
GARDERE: That's it.
ROBERTS: Jeff Gardere, Janet Pfeiffer, great to see you this morning.
GARDERE: Thanks, John.
PFEIFFER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Forty-three minutes past the hour. Still to come on the Most News in the Morning: Rob tracking a storm that's headed for the Gulf Coast. He's going to give us more details on that and have the morning's travel forecast coming up after the break.
Also, in just 10 minutes, amazing new tools helping the disable join the constantly growing community of online gamers. We're going to take a look at how it's working in today's "Edge of Discovery."
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty-six minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Video games already let us do things that most of us will never really do like win a Super Bowl or visit alien worlds. But more and more gamers are actually playing together online, and new tools are letting the disabled get in on the fun, too. Gary Tuchman takes a look in this morning's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Steve Spohn (ph) is an avid gamer. He's also disabled.
STEVE SPOHN, DISABLED GAMER: I have a form of muscular dystrophy that's called spinal muscular atrophy. Right now, I can move my hands and that's about it.
TUCHMAN: Using only a mouse and an onscreen keyboard sometimes limited his gaming experience. So, he looked online for help and came across an organization founded by Mark Barlet. MARK BARLET, THE ABLEGAMERS FOUNDATION: The Ablegamers Foundation is a non-profit that helps get disabled people into gaming.
TUCHMAN: The website's forums encourage people to share game recommendations and useful tips.
BARLET: Able-bodied people see the wheelchair. Able-bodied people see the crutches, and they don't always see the person. Gaming allows you to shed all of that.
TUCHMAN: The foundation also works with developers to create modified equipment. Like this device that controls a game almost entirely by blowing in and out through a tube.
BARLET: I'm either -- or -- depending on what I'm doing.
TUCHMAN: Or this controller built with larger buttons for easier access. As for Steve Spohn, he stays busy as associate editor of ablegamers.com.
SPOHN: I think the community will always exist in ablegamers. For me, it was a place where I fit. I often say that I found a place on ablegamers where I needed them and they needed me.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Great inventions getting everybody in the game.
Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center, and the big news, of course, down in the Gulf of Mexico today. Hi, Rob.
MARCIANO,: Good morning, John. Good morning, Kiran.
Yes, tropical depression number five. It doesn't look any better than it did yesterday afternoon. Take a look at it. Not a whole lot -- you don't see that typical cloud canopy that we would for a well defined tropical system. Right now, winds are 35 miles an hour. So, that's still tropical depression, gusts to 45. Its location is, I don't know, about 250 miles east-southeast of New Orleans.
Its movement is in that general direction at about 10 miles an hour, northwesterly moving it there. And so, tropical storm warnings have been posted from Destin, Florida all the way back to just past the Chapala Bay there in Central Louisiana for tropical storm conditions to possibly be affecting these areas as early as later on this evening. We don't expect it to be become a hurricane at this point. You saw how disorganized it is, but if it slows down, that would give it more time to develop.
Right now, the forecast is to bring it anywhere from here to there some time tomorrow morning as a tropical storm. You can already start to see some of the rain showers and thunderstorms rolling towards the mouth of the Mississippi. The other big story is the heat across the central part of the country. 105 to 115 heat indexes today. Heat warnings out again for St. Louis and Kansas City. We are going to see a change in this weather pattern. It is not going to come today. It is not going to come tomorrow, but towards the weekend and beginning of next week, we'll start to see a bit of a change.
Georgetown yesterday, 99, D.C, 98 degrees. These were records, Trenton, New Jersey, 96. It was steamy in the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. up to New York City. A little bit cooler today and then certainly cooler as we get a little bit closer towards the weekend, 89 in New York, so couple degrees but (ph) 95 degrees in St. Louis and 103 degrees in Dallas and cooler out west. All eyes on tropical depression number five, guys, and we'll be tracking it throughout the day today. John, Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: You said it could become a named storm during our show this morning.
MARCIANO: That is possible. Next advisory will come up at 8:00. Probably won't happen, but it's possible, maybe by noon.
CHETRY: All right, Rob. Thanks.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: This morning's top stories just minutes away, including more Americans going hungry. Skimping on groceries, barely anything on the table by the end of the month. In a country with so much to eat, we'll talk about why this is happening and the effect it's having on families.
ROBERTS: At the bottom of the hour, from flight attendant to rock star, Steven Slater now out on bail and talking. We'll take a look at his amazing rise to fame on Facebook and beyond.
CHETRY: Also at 50 minutes past the hour, live from low-earth orbit. Astronauts getting ready to give plan B a go to fix the space station. We'll check in live. Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fifty-four minutes after the hour and time now for the Moos News in the Morning. It's a short trip from obscure flight attendant to American folk hero. Just a quick ride down a slide. Steven Slater's meltdown on a JetBlue flight has made him an instant celebrity.
CHETRY: Yes. If you took a last straw poll, Slater has someone many people can identify with. Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fasten your seatbelts, Steven Slater. Faster than a cross-country flight, he went from flight attendant to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steven Slater is an American hero.
MOOS: With his own ballad.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Reporters asked him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Slater, why are you smiling?
MOOS: But he made us smile when he went ballistic on the airplane intercom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the blanking blank-hole who told me to blank off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To the expletive, expletive that told me to expletive off.
MOOS: He's even swearing in Taiwanese.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
MOOS: Already immortalized in an animation. His name flitted around Twitter, "my hero," "free Steven Slater," "If the slide don't glide, then give Steven Slater a free ride." It was at if "Network" met Jerry Maguire.
TOM CRUISE (acting as Jerry Maguire): I'm not going do what you all think I'm going to do which is -- just flip out!
MOOS: On a double bill playing aboard "Airplane 2."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're also out of coffee.
MOOS: But in Slater's case, it was grabbing beer on the way out that captivated everyone and had morning hosts fantasizing in song.
(SINGING)
MOOS: As "The Daily Beast" called Slater the new sally. "The Washington Post" coined a phrase poinous Slater saying we all dream of activating an escape slide. Talk about an exit.
MOOS (on-camera): When reporters asked his attorney why Slater took the slide, the answer -- because it was right there.
MOOS (on-camera): Even his ex-wife came to his defense.
VOICE OF CYNTHIA SUSANNE, SLATER'S EX-WIFE: He definitely has the Joan of Arc of the flight world right now.
MOOS: You sound like you like him a lot for an ex-wife.
SUSANNE: Oh, he's fantastic. He's wonderful.
MOOS: But even wonderful people snap like in the Nicoderm commercial.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last time I tried to quit smoking --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only two carry-on items!
MOOS: Passengers seeking a moment of Zen from the indignities of flying mind appreciate this pillow fight aboard a Lufthansa flight. It's been a long time since flying felt light as a feather.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There you go. Fifteen minutes and ticking.
ROBERTS: I think it might be a little bit longer than that.
CHETRY: Probably.
All right. We're going to take a quick break. Our top stories coming up in just three minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
