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American Morning

FDA Warns Mouthwash Makers on False Claims; Life on the Base; What's in a Name?

Aired September 29, 2010 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Terror watch. The U.S. now on alert for a Mumbai-style attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Resorts, banks, museums, the places where large groups of people will congregate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New details on a plot that may go all the way to Bin Laden himself on the Most News in the Morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning. Thanks for joining us on this Wednesday, the 28th (sic) of September. It's the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We're going to have more on the terror threat in a moment.

First though, a couple of other top stories to tell you about. South Florida is now bracing for a fast-moving system. It's poised to become the next named storm. It would be tropical storm Nicole once it picks up speed. In strength, it's expected to bring heavy rain as it moves up the coast. We have Rob Marciano tracking all of it for us.

ROBERTS: Time to come clean, the FDA warning certain mouthwash makers to stop claiming their products are effective in removing plaque or preventing gum disease. We'll tell you which brands have been called out this morning.

CHETRY: Also, an "A.M." original, "A Soldier's Story." Today we're focusing on what it's like to live on these bases without the comforts of home surrounded by the terrors of war. Jason Carroll takes us inside the troop's new base in Afghanistan.

ROBERTS: Up first this Wednesday morning, an "A.M." security watch, new concerns today that Al Qaeda is plotting a series of commando-style raids across Europe and here in the United States, raids much like the bloody 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

CHETRY: That's when terrorists hit soft targets causing a lot of terror and making it very difficult to disrupt. Sources say that there's drone attacks, the surge in them may be aimed at trying to disrupt this plot.

Much of the information that officials now have is from a German terror suspect who is in custody in Afghanistan, and a law enforcement source is telling us that Osama bin Laden may have signed off on the plan.

ROBERTS: We've got all sorts of new information coming in about this alleged plot from around the world this morning. Our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve is working her sources in Washington this morning. We're also going to speak with Fran Townsend, our Homeland Security consultant in just a moment. But first to Jeanne with the latest on what we know. Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, let me clarify that this intelligence is about potential attacks in Europe, not in the United States. As one law enforcement official put it, the volume seems to be turned up on this threat information about Europe.

According to multiple sources in Europe and the U.S., the intelligence has raised concern about a Mumbai-style attack that would create a lot of casualties and a lot of chaos in a short period of time. According to law enforcement sources in the U.S., economic institutions including banks and stock exchanges are among the possible targets.

And one of those sources says the belief is that Osama bin Laden may have signed off on this plan. Officials say the intelligence indicates the attack would be carried out by people with western passports who can travel easily throughout Europe.

Last spring, video surfaced purportedly showing Germans training with jihadist groups in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. According to a German counterterrorism official, one source for much of the current threat information is among those who got training there. The man identified as Ahmed Sidiqi (ph) is a German citizen of Afghan descent who was detained in Kabul and, according to this official, is in U.S. custody and has been talking a lot.

Sidiqi, sources says, had lived and worked in Hamburg, where he attended a mosque which was a meeting place for the men behind the September 11th attack. That mosque was shut down earlier this year. John, Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: I'm glad we cleared up the potential for any attacks here in the United States. Thanks for that, Jeanne. What are we hearing from the administration this morning about this?

MESERVE: Well, the director of national intelligence James Clapper issued a statement last evening saying "We are not going to comment on specific intelligence as doing so threatens to undermine intelligence operations that are critical to protecting the U.S. and our allies."

Sources tell us there is nothing in the intelligence to indicate a specific credible threat to the U.S. But, of course, national security and law enforcement officials are watching all of this very closely. One U.S. official says the potential European plot is one factor in the uptick in drone attacks against terror targets in Pakistan as the U.S. tries to exploit what officials call precise intelligence. John, Kiran, back to you.

CHETRY: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Thanks.

And joining us now is former White House security adviser Fran Townsend. And Fran, I want to ask you about this, because when we were first hearing this story develop, they said there was the potential for an attack at least the hope of an attack in the United States on the part of these plotters. What new information are you learning today about where, perhaps, they were targeting?

FRAN TOWNSEND, FORMER BUSH HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: Well, you know, the frustrating thing for officials is with this leak it becomes more difficult for them to get the sort of precise tactical intelligence of potential targets.

We've talked about large gatherings, places where people would -- they could create mass chaos and have casualties. It's interesting, Kiran, because what was said to me by a counterterrorism official was that, look, we don't have specific intelligence about an attack in the United States.

But let's remember, Europe is about a six or seven-hour plane ride away. And so we're responding and reacting to this intelligence as though it could be here, which is what you would want and expect them to do.

ROBERTS: It is. As we saw with Farouk Abdulmutallab, it's very easy, at least it was back then, for a terrorist with nefarious deeds in mind to get on an aircraft and head to the United States.

This is being described as a possible Mumbai-style attack where a group of well-trained and heavily armed militants would take over a so-called soft target like potentially a hotel or shopping mall. Is this the type of Al Qaeda-sponsored attack that we're going to see in the future?

TOWNSEND: Well, you know, John, it's a shift. And when I was talking last evening to several counterterrorism officials, they said to me, as we've been able to better harden some of the traditional Al Qaeda-like targets, embassies and those sorts of installations around the world, they were bound to shift.

And so this represents a target of opportunity. And after all, if they can create chaos, they can instill fear, it doesn't really matter if it's a big government building they attack. They can achieve their aims and get the publicity for recruitment and fundraising that they need by soft targets which are near impossible for government officials to secure them all.

CHETRY: Right. So it's all about disrupting before it happens, because once it happens as we saw with Mumbai, there were hours of terror before they were able to get a handle on that. And we do know that the suspect was stopped in Germany was of Afghan descent. What do we know about where these terrorists are coming from?

TOWNSEND: Well, Kiran, you pointed to the absolute first priority of investigators and intelligence officials right now. We understand they're debriefing Ahmed Sidiqi in Afghanistan. They will be asking him to identify others who may have been trained in the tribal region and already deployed. They will look at travel patterns.

One of the keys here, as you know, European officials have put restrictions on what sharing can happen with travel information that they provide to us. And so, I've been asking -- we don't have the answer yet -- have they lifted those restrictions? Because the ability to share and analyze that travel data information will be key to identifying those who may have been trained and already deployed.

ROBERTS: And Fran, what have you heard about Osama bin Laden signing off on this? And if he did, was he operationally involved?

TOWNSEND: You know, John, going back to 9/11, remember, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind 9/11, did go to bin Laden with the 9/11 attack plan and get his approval. It's not clear from our sources whether or not they think that precisely happened.

But if it's a large-scale attack that's likely to be successful and have international attention and have mass casualties, it's the sort of thing if not in detail at least the type of targeting, the type of plot would likely have been run by at least the leadership if not bin Laden himself.

CHETRY: Interesting. Fran Townsend for us this morning, great to get your take and the insight from your sources. Thanks.

ROBERTS: And coming up at 8:10 eastern, we're going to talk with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the threat and what's being done to prevent any attack here in the United States.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, for the second time in a week, fliers told to brace for impact because of landing gear getting stuck. This time it was a Sky West Airlines flight from Omaha had to make an emergency landing in Milwaukee. Passengers say it was a shaky landing, little, quote, "leaning," but all 39 people onboard did get off safely.

This jet is a slightly different model from the one that made a trail of sparks when it came in for a landing at JFK over the weekend. We talked to the passengers who taped this on their cell phones as the landing gear was jammed. And you can see the sparks fly up as the plane touched down.

ROBERTS: Former President Jimmy Carter is expected to be released from the hospital sometime today. Carter had an upset stomach on a flight to Cleveland and checked in yesterday as a precaution. This morning, his family says he's doing fine and he's going to resume his book tour later on today.

CHETRY: Well, up to 30 people are feared bury under the mudslide. This is in northwest Columbia. Heavy rain sent tons of mud and rocks sliding down a stretch of mountain. Six homes were swept away, and rescue efforts are now still underway and trying to rescue people who may have been trapped.

But as you can see from the pictures, a big mess, and they also say that the rescue efforts have been slowed down because of the threat of other mudslides.

ROBERTS: A deadly landslide in a remote area of southwestern Mexico. Right now officials say 11 people are listed as missing, five people were confirmed dead. Rescue workers are digging through mounds of rock. Hundreds of homes have been buried there.

CHETRY: Well, south Florida's also under the gun this morning, a large storm system forming of the coast. Right now it's a tropical depression. This is a live satellite loop. We're going to show you of the storm. There you can see its track, expected to become tropical storm Nicole.

And while they do have watches and warnings up this morning from the Florida Keys up to Palm Beach, they're getting ready -- there you can see sandbag prep's already underway, because Nicole could produce as much as a foot of rain.

ROBERTS: Rob Marciano is tracking it for us this morning in the weather center in Atlanta. And how much rain are folks in Florida going to get?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, they could see upwards of 10 inches of rain with this thing, and not only Florida, but across the east coast where we've seen a tremendous amount of rain in the past few days. So a lot of this land is saturated and primed for flooding.

It is a tropical depression right now. It's not very organized at all. It's moving off the coast of Cuba right now, of towards the northeast at about 14 miles an hour. That'll put it across the Florida straits later on this morning.

And the forecast is for it to become a tropical storm. If so, it will be named Nicole and then make its way up towards the Carolinas in some way, shape, or form, probably being absorbed by a cold front up that way.

But the rain's already begun across parts of south Florida. So that's the scary thing. We haven't seen the center of this thing even close. And heavy rains are already started for the southern half of Florida and even stretching up towards the Carolinas.

So this is an area, Wilmington saw 10 inches of rain the day before yesterday, more today, and they could see another four to eight maybe as much as 10 inches more rain as Nicole or this depression rolls up the eastern sea board.

So, a lot of rain on the east coast there. I guess the good news is, even though we're going to see some flooding is this area has been in a bit of a drought state for the past six months. So it is beneficial, but you don't like to get it at all at one time.

CHETRY: Moderation. That's what grandma always said. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: See you guys.

ROBERTS: They say everything's bigger in Texas, right? Not sure that explains this, though. It was a peewee football game turned into a big-time brawl. Coaches from both teams went after each other on the sidelines. It's pretty amazing and pretty sad, really.

CHETRY: It's a peewee football game, people. All the adult coaches involved were disciplined. It turns out the kids were really the ones who suffered because the league has barred both teams from post season play.

ROBERTS: Shining examples of sportsmanship this morning.

Coming up, texting bans don't work. A highway study says they make drivers more distracted. Hear what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has to say about that.

CHETRY: And do you trust what it says on your mouthwash bottle? Is it removing plaque and preventing gum disease? Well, the FDA is quibbling with some of the claims, and we're going to find out which brands they're targeting. It's 12 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fifteen minutes past the hour.

Classes resume this morning at the University of Texas a day after a student opened fire with an assault rifle on campus. Officials say 19-year-old Colton Tooley randomly fired shots with an AK-47 before killing himself. No one else was hurt, but this was amazing reminiscent of the famous Bell Tower shootings back in the '60s.

ROBERTS: Yes.

Halfway there, a drill trying to reach 33 trapped Chilean miners has reached the 330-meter mark. It's not quite halfway down. Crews say they're already ahead of schedule though, and that the men could be rescued by early November. The miners have been trapped underground since the 5th of August.

CHETRY: And Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is blasting a new study suggesting that texting bans are not reducing highway crashes but have actually led to an increase among younger drivers. Researchers say that drivers are hiding phones from police by putting them in their laps and as a result they are diverting their eyes from the road even more. Secretary LaHood calls the study misleading and flawed.

ROBERTS: What was it? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that did it. They're a reputable organization, too. CHETRY: Yes. But he's claiming there's just not enough research done. I mean, a lot of these bans have only just begun to be enforced. And the other thing, I mean, it's sort of a false argument because people are messing up while they're breaking a law. That's like saying, OK, well, drinking and driving laws don't work because you're trying to hide your beer.

ROBERTS: Yes.

CHETRY: I mean, you know, the point is, is that any time you're not at 10:00 and 2:00, you're at risk.

ROBERTS: Yes. And is it any different having your BlackBerry up here or having it down there? I don't know. But obviously we're going to hear a lot more about this. Maybe we'll talk to the insurance institute about it too.

Do you like your name? Think your life would be different if your parents had picked a different name for you? That question recently got a lot of attention in a best-selling book called "Freakonomics."

CHETRY: Yes. That book has been made into a movie and that film opens today. It's really fascinating. Writer director Morgan Spurlock will be joining us to discuss what's in a name in the next half hour.

ROBERTS: What's in a name?

CHETRY: You like your name? John?

ROBERTS: The rose will smell as sweet.

CHETRY: That's a great name.

ROBERTS: Yes, it's fine.

CHETRY: It's fine.

ROBERTS: It's better than Aliwicious (ph) I guess. Not that anybody out there named Aliwicious (ph) should --

CHETRY: Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just hard to spell. You know, people probably spell it wrong a lot.

ROBERTS: Exactly.

CHETRY: Ron Marciano, by the way, getting in on the name game this morning. So, you're Robert, which is a nice sensible name.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

CHETRY: But your parents actually thought about some other names.

MARCIANO: Yes, I'm kind of like John. Like, yes, it's OK. Dad wanted Alberto, you know, go with the hard core Italian. But it wasn't cool to be Italian back then. I'm not sure it is now. CHETRY: But you would have been an Alvin.

MARCIANO: Yes. That's what mom says.

CHETRY: Or Bert.

MARCIANO: But, you know, Bonnie -- Bonnie -- Bonnie and Gaston were taken for the 2010 hurricane name so we couldn't use either of those.

ROBERTS: Now Gaston (ph), that's a good name for you.

MARCIANO: Yes.

CHETRY: Unless people just call you "Gas."

MARCIANO: A lot of people have.

CHETRY: Well, you know, my parents had -- they said if you're a girl, you're Kiran, which is a Hindu name because I was born in Nepal. If you're a boy, you're George.

ROBERTS: Because they could have named you Kiran if you were a boy too, because it's that --

CHETRY: That's right.

ROBERTS: -- it's a boy's name, as well.

CHETRY: Yes.

MARCIANO: I like Kiran, very unique.

CHETRY: Thank you.

MARCIANO: Unlike John and Robert.

CHETRY: But it's very interesting because in this movie they talk about just how people judge you by your name. Fascinating research.

ROBERTS: Yes. It's like you were saying this morning that if you were to give a young girl the name of temptress.

CHETRY: Which somebody did in the movie -- what happens after that?

ROBERTS: What happens after that? Yes. We'll see.

CHETRY: Well, Christine -- that's a nice sensible name -- Romans is going to be joining us after the break with our business hit coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour, "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Amtrak wants to eventually -- and I guess that's the caveat there, eventually replace its service with a $117 billion high-speed rail line serving the northeast. The new set of tracks will be built between Washington and Boston. The trains would then be able to travel 220 miles an hour. It would cut the ride time from Washington to New York to an hour and 36 minutes.

CHETRY: Can you imagine?

ROBERTS: Yes. Wouldn't that be fabulous?

And New York to Boston would take an hour and 24 minutes. You're going to have to wait a bit, though, because groundbreaking is not going to take place until about four years. But that's if they can get the funding.

CHETRY: Right. And then they don't expect this to actually be completed until what? 2040. We won't be traveling then.

ROBERTS: I don't think we'll be going back and forth between Washington and New York. Which is a real shame because I've always thought that a high-speed rail corridor would be a fabulous thing.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: Yes.

CHETRY: It's just easier said than done.

ROBERTS: Whether it's done by Amtrak or private organization or whatever, I don't care so stop e-mailing me about that. People do it. John Roberts wants to give billions of dollars to Amtrak. No, I'm just saying a high-speed rail system would be great.

CHETRY: Although before the show you were telling me you hoped Amtrak would take over the world. That was something different.

Check your medicine cabinets. Your mouthwash may not be doing all it's promising. The FDA says there is no scientific basis behind certain claims that products remove plaque or prevent gum disease. The FDA is actually written letters demanding that those claims be removed from Listerine Total Care Anticavity Mouthwash, CVS brand Complete Care Anticavity Mouthwash, and Walgreen's Mouth Rinse Full Action.

ROBERTS: Let's bring in our Christine Romans. She's here with us this morning to talk more about this.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And here they are. This is the second day in a row we've had big, high-profile warnings from the government for debt collection companies. (INAUDIBLE) dues and now the FDA on these mouthwashes, this is definitely the administration that is trying to get out there and say, look, we are going to watch out for the consumer after many critics have said there hasn't been enough consumer protection over the past few years.

These are the three and the problem is here. All of them claim in their advertising or on their bottles that they can help prevent plaque, that they are good in preventing gum disease, they will help remove plaque. And the FDA is saying that is unproven. That is not true.

Yes, the stuff that is in here, sodium fluoride prevents cavities, but it doesn't do those other two things. And so they've given them a short amount of time to finally fix their packaging and fix their claims. Two of these three groups, CVS and J&J say that they are going to address this immediately. We haven't heard back from Walgreens yet.

It's interesting because Johnson & Johnson have some other issues on its plate as well. As you know, it had to recall 135 million bottles of children's medicine and other medicines. There will be a hearing on Thursday about Johnson & Johnson.

CHETRY: Still can't find that medicine.

ROMANS: I know. I know.

CHETRY: You know as well as I do when you're looking for baby Tylenol and Zyrtec you can't find it.

ROMANS: So, look, Johnson & Johnson, this is the latest blow to Johnson & Johnson being accused here by the government, the FDA, of basically unproven claims on its bottles of mouthwash.

ROBERTS: They started with Airborne, you know, the fizzy cold prevention what they called it medication. They had to take away all these claims --

ROMANS: But don't you think -- don't you think there are more examples of this than you've seen in recent years --

ROBERTS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- of the government coming out and saying, look, you can't say this. You can't do this. Pull it off the shelves. This is not going to be allowed. So this is certainly a headache for these companies. But again, as I said, CVS and Johnson & Johnson both said that they're going to try to fix it. They will take a look at it right away.

CHETRY: Still a lot to say that it freshens breath, though, so --

ROBERTS: And it's not a case if you think it works, it does. Of course, we all know that the only mouthwash that really does freshen your breath, prevent plaque and gingivitis is Amtrak mouthwash.

ROMANS: Oh, I was going to say an apple. My dentist always says an apple is a very good thing to have.

CHETRY: Yes, but then, you know, if you chew, bite into it, you could lose a filling. I mean, who knows.

ROMANS: Anyway, these three, sodium fluoride, yes, it prevents cavities. Doesn't do all those other things. ROBERTS: Riding on Amtrak trains prevents --

Thanks, Christine.

Still to come, a break from the horrors of war. We're just kidding here, folks.

The soldiers of the 101st Airborne try to adjust to their new home away from home in Afghanistan. But they may not have much time. The soldier story continues coming up on the Most News in the Morning.

It's 26 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's coming up on the half hour. It's time for this morning's top stories. In just a few hour's time, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins hearings on the controversial release last year of the convicted Lockerbie bomber. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison you'll remember on humanitarian grounds because it was thought that he only had three months to live. A year and almost three months later, he's still alive and well and living in Libya.

CHETRY: Well, President Obama's campaign road trip continues today. He's stopping in Iowa and in Virginia talking up the economy. The president was trying to rev up young voters. He held a huge rally in Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday urging students to recapture that spirit of 2008. Go to the polls in November, and to prevent a return to the -- as he called it, failed Republican policies of the past.

ROBERTS: And a new report cites the untapped potential of offshore winds to provide power along the U.S. east coast. The conservation group Oceania says offshore wind power could produce 30 percent more energy at a competitive price than offshore oil and gas combined, and they say it could create as many as 212,000 jobs in the United States.

CHETRY: Well, meantime, an "A.M. Original." It's a story we've been telling you about and following. Army Sergeant First Class Randy Shorter, as we said, this is now his third tour in Afghanistan. He hasn't stopped moving since putting his boots back on the ground.

ROBERTS: Today it's time for him and the rest of the 101st Airborne to settle in and try to find a little piece of home in a war zone. Jason Carroll is here with the next chapter of a soldier story. Good morning, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's an important chapter. Because when you spend time with these guys, you realize they're under so much pressure all the time. They'd go insane if they really didn't have that down time. It's really needed. You know, so much of what comes out of war zones, what we see, understandably, are the battle.

But to get to a more well-rounded sense of a soldier's life, we wanted to show some of what goes on when they're off duty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was an IED explosion up to the north-

CARROLL (voice-over): With the threat of violence constant here, life on the base gives soldiers here like Sergeant First Class Randy Shorter a break, an emotional refuge between the fire fight, the IEDs and tense patrols in Taliban heavy territory. Some soldiers in his platoon like 20-year-old Adam Boyette on their first deployment.

SPC. ADAM BOYETTE, U.S. ARMY: It's never going to feel like going to your actual home, of course. I mean, we're still - although we feel like we're safe. I mean, anything could happen at any time.

CARROLL: This is Shorter's third combat tour of duty. With it comes experience of war zone living.

SGT. FIRST CLASS RANDY SHORTER, U.S. ARMY: Because you have other soldiers out there that have less. So be happy for what we have.

CARROLL: He says key to a soldier's well being is making the best of wherever he or she is. So when Shorter's platoon grew restless waiting at Bagram Airfield for a flight to southeastern Afghanistan, they played volleyball. Days later, on another base.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, this guy literally, no people skills. The minute you meet him, you just want to punch him.

CARROLL: Nights spent around the fire trash talking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He gets out of the car and gets back in the car.

CARROLL (on camera): You've got the stress of what you're dealing with outside the walls and then you're sort of confined in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone comes up with their own way of keeping themselves busy. I know I tend to go stir crazy pretty quickly of.

CARROLL (voice-over): reporter: It's at forward-operating base Rushmore, about 40 miles from the volatile and deadly border with Pakistan where Shorter and his platoon will set up home for the next year.

(on camera): You've got a court here, basketball court.

SHORTER: yes, basketball's the biggest thing that we've got here.

CARROLL: Laptops, video games, 21st century gadgets offer momentary escapes from war's reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got busted out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought Madden was going to happen tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Connect it to the power, geniuses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's connected. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. It isn't, genius. It's running off of that, right? If this isn't plugged in -

CARROLL: How important is it for you guys to create some sort of sense of home?

SHORTER: Well, for me, pretty soon there's going to be grass growing around here. For some guys -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fish.

CARROLL: Charon Richardson says all you need is a sheet hanging from your bunk to create a little privacy.

SGT. CHARON RICHARDSON, U.S. ARMY: You see these guys 24 hours a day every day we go on missions together. I mean they become your family, but this is whenever you need to get away, just you and your movie or something.

CARROLL (on camera): I wonder if you get to the point where as much as you guys love each other, do you get to the point sometimes when you just want to throttle someone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is what the cave is for. Whenever you feel like you need to wring their neck, just go hide in your cave and calm yourself down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 36, 37, check.

CARROLL (voice-over): Shorter says personal reminders of home keep him going emotionally and mentally. Today it's letters from his family.

SHORTER: It says from my wife. My dearest Randy, please know how much I love you, support you, and truly appreciate all that you do. Please be a great leader again. Lead your men and yourselves out of harm's way and back home to our loving arms. Your wife, your daughters (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: You know, letters like that can mean so much to these guys when they're out there. And you know, when we spent time with them, we realized that they could be called on a night patrol at any moment and then they're on a day patrol. There's so much uncertainty for them. So when they're back there on the base, it's just so important that they get that down time where they can relax and decompress.

CHETRY: You know, I'm just wondering, how do they ever really sleep or really relax knowing that at any moment you can go from being sound asleep to being in the fight of your life.

CARROLL: Actually, I have a good answer to that.

ROBERTS: They're so tired.

CARROLL: They're so tired. That the minute you put your head down, whether it's on a cot or a bunk bed with a mattress that's that thin, you're so tired the minute your head hits, you're out.

ROBERTS: What I found so remarkable about these soldiers in war zones is that they have the ability when they get back to base to tune out but at the same time still be dialed in. Because if something happens -

CARROLL: They're up like that. They're up like that. Absolutely.

ROBERTS: I mean, obviously that's part of the training and part of the experience of being there. But it's stunning, you know, to understand how a person can do that.

CARROLL: Yes. And it's incredible once you're there and there you see psychologically how they're going through so much in their minds and their mind is still racing and yet, you know, there's got to be a time when you have to shut it off.

ROBERTS: Jason (INAUDIBLE)

CHETRY: Yes, great stuff. And Jason's going to be back tomorrow. Tomorrow, he's talking about how you win hearts and minds in a place that some call hell on earth. Jason follows the 101st into dangerous and critically important provinces. It's a "Soldier's Story" tomorrow on the most news in the morning.

ROBERTS: Well, if you can change the name your parents gave you when you were born, would you do it? Would you be living a different kind of life if you had a different name? Jason, your original name was -

CARROLL: Christian.

ROBERTS: Christian Carroll.

CARROLL: Christian Carroll.

ROBERTS: Christmas Carroll, I guess.

CARROLL: Yes, but then my mom's friend who was pregnant at the same time, she took the name.

CHETRY: She snatched it up.

CARROLL: So I got Jason. I got the (INAUDIBLE) prize.

CHETRY: You look like a Jason.

CARROLL: Do I?

CHETRY: Yes.

(INAUDIBLE)

CARROLL: You could be Lewis, but then you'd have to wear a funny hat and a big watch with you all the time.

Well, author, director Morgan Spurlock joins us after the break to explore the question, what's in a name? It's 36 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back. Well, it's 39 minutes past the hour. What's in a name? Juliet once posed the question to Romeo. And this morning, we want to ask you. Have you ever wondered if your life would be different if your parents had given you a different name? Or is your thinking about naming your child, how much will what you decide to name your kid go into their future success? Well, "Freakonomics" author Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner explored the question in their best-selling book which is now a film and it now opens Friday. Take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet Robert Lane. He had two sons. He named his first son Winner, three years later he named his next son, Loser. So Winner and Loser Lane set off on the world to claim their destinies. And what happened?

Well, Loser went to prep school on a scholarship, graduated from college, joined the NYPD and eventually became a detective and then a sergeant. He goes by Lou now. And his brother, the most noted achievement of Winner Lane is the sheer length of his criminal record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That's unbelievable. Well, Morgan Spurlock, the man behind the film "Super Size Me" wrote and directed that chapter on names. And he joins me this morning to talk more about it. Good to see you again.

MORGAN SPURLOCK, WRITER & CO-DIRECTOR "FREAKONOMICS": Good to see you.

CHETRY: This is funny because that was an extreme example. Obviously, naming your kid, Winner or Loser, but how much did you find does go into a name?

SPURLOCK: I mean, I think what you start to see is people do make pre-judgments on you based on a name. Like people will decide, you know, that person's name sounds smart. I met a Veronica the other day and she goes "tell me about my name." I said "Well, I've never met someone Veronica, you know, with a name Veronica who wasn't really bright. So that's good for you." We make those snap judgments just based on that.

CHETRY: Right. And the other interesting part is we spoke to this economist and you actually interviewed him in the film, Roland Fryer (ph) and he says that people definitely judge you based on your name alone. And he did a study to just actually find the concrete evidence in it. What he did is he sent our thousands of identical resumes and the only difference was the name. One would say Deshawn Williams and the other would say Jake Williams. And it turns out that Deshawn, which is probably more of an African-American sounding name got 35 percent less callbacks. What does that tell you?

SPURLOCK: Well, I mean, I think what also comes out in our chapter, which I think is really, really interesting is there is still this very much underlying, you know, kind of judgmental racism judgment in America, as much as it's 2010 and we think that it doesn't matter, but people do make those choices. What's interesting about those resumes is even when they changed the qualifications and made Deshawn even more qualified and made, you know, Jake even less qualified, you know, Jake still got more callbacks. So I think - it's very telling.

CHETRY: And what is it, you know, then what's the message to African- Americans who are thinking about naming their children? I mean, do they need to say if there's a name I liked or wanted I need to realize that perhaps my kid's going to be judged on this?

SPURLOCK: Yes. And well, and it's also a choice. It's not just an African-American name. I grew up in West Virginia. You're going to name your kid Bobby Joe. You know, you hear the name Bobby Joe and you start hearing two names together, like might be a little country, might not be so bright. Bobby Joe is not the same as Robert Joseph. Robert Joseph sounds much more, you know, wise and eloquent, you know. But there is - there is connotations that come with those names.

CHETRY: It's very interesting. It's also socio-economic. You found it wasn't just related to race. This was an interesting bit in your movie as well that I like to play for people.

SPURLOCK: Sure.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what's happened to Ashley? She's fast losing her popularity on the middle class list, but she's number one among the Wal-Mart crowd. As those wealthier folks see their names popping up everywhere, they quickly discard them in favor of less common merchandise. And just like that, today's high-end Ashley becomes tomorrow's low-rent "Trashley."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: I mean, everyone's going whoa, whoa. But you were using that as an example. You were saying that certain people of certain income ranges have certain names. When I looked at the list I had to laugh. I mean, some of them are very popular. And when they become more popular among lower class people, the upper class people stop doing it.

SPURLOCK: They're done. And it's interesting because you would think it's the famous people we want to name our kids after. You know, you want to name your kid Christina after Christina Aguilera but it's not. We emulate much more upper class models of people we want to name our kids and I thought that was pretty interesting.

CHETRY: I thought it was interesting as well because I also looked at presidents last night. You had me thinking. The most popular first name for presidents of the United States, James.

SPURLOCK: Yes. Very solid.

CHETRY: Johns. Right.

SPURLOCK: I don't know how many more Baracks there'll be after this one, but time will tell.

CHETRY: That is the other interesting point. Are we changing? Is our society changing? We have Barack Obama as president, Beyonce. I mean, that's a very unusual name.

SPURLOCK: Very unusual.

CHETRY: Condoleezza Rice, Oprah.

SPURLOCK: Yes.

CHETRY: So are we sort of breaking out of that judging people and their success by their name?

SPURLOCK: Well, I think it's also we're picking very successful people with their names also. I think there are plenty of people who have very odd names that aren't successful. We met a guy who named his kid Possum, you know, in Georgia. Is Possum going to be that successful? I don't know if Possum's going to break out and be the next big thing. But who knows.

CHETRY: That's hilarious. You had this personal decision yourself.

SPURLOCK: I did. I have a son who is three and a half, and we had a lot of discussions about what to name him. We chose a family name. It was my great, great uncle's name, his name is Lakin. We could not come up with a girl name to save our lives. Every girl name that we had was either too girly, or too foofy (ph), or too butchy, that we want a tough girl but not that tough. (INAUDIBLE) that we could. Thank goodness we had a boy because we couldn't come up with a girl name.

CHETRY: Girls' names are so much harder.

SPURLOCK: So hard.

CHETRY: We went endlessly back and forth before we came up with Maya.

SPURLOCK: Maya is good. That's a good name.

CHETRY: And my son, we named him after his dad, he's Chris.

SPURLOCK: Easy. Very good, strong name. CHETRY: Exactly. Well, the movie's fascinating and your part in it was also very fascinating. So it opens up Friday, "Freakonomics." It's going to be great. Thanks, Morgan.

SPURLOCK: Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: Good to see you. John.

CHETRY: Exactly. Well, the movie's fascinating and your part in it was also very fascinating. Opens up Friday, "Freakonomics." It's going to be great.

Thank you, Morgan. Great to see you.

SPURLOCK: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: John.

ROBERTS: Possum? Sounds like a fellow that might end up as road kill in the fast lane of life at some point.

With now less than five weeks before the Congressional election, Republicans are standing together and speaking out about the charges against Democrats. Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters. Details on what's going on from the Best Political Team on Television.

And the rain continues to drench the East Coast. When will it clear out? Rob's got this morning's forecast right after the break. 45 minutes now after the hour.

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ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. Check this out. You don't think that the entire earth has gone unexplored? Well, this crater, which was the result of a meteor that came slamming down some time ago, 16 meters deep, 45 meters wide. It's out there in the middle of the Gypsum Desert. It was recently found via Google Maps and the satellite imagery used for Google Maps. They had a little expedition and went out there and checked it out a couple years ago, and these are some of the pictures you're seeing. Just to give you an idea, you know, there are certain spots on our earth that are pock marked with large meteors that can come crashing down at over 10,000 miles an hour do a world of hurt. This one very, very well preserved after all these years.

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CHETRY: Seven minutes until the top of the hour. Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning. Crossing the political ticker, Republican members of the House Ethics Committee accuse Democrats of stalling on the trials for Democratic lawmakers Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters.

ROBERTS: Our senior political editor Mark Preston live at the CNNPolitics.com desk monitoring all of the incoming.

Good morning, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, John. Good morning, Kiran.

Yesterday, five members of the House Ethics Committee, five Republican members, sent a letter to Zoe Lofgren, who is the Democratic chairwoman of the committee, suggesting that she is stalling on holding these ethics trials against Charlie Rangel, from New York, and Maxine Waters, from California. They said she is doing it because of elections. We're heading into the midterm elections and this is not good news for Democrats.

Interestingly enough, Maxine Waters, who is accused of helping her husband who owns stock in bank, and Charlie Rangel who is accused of having multiple allegations against him. Both said that they wanted these trials to happen very quickly. So we'll expect to hear from Zoe Lofgren today to these accusations charged yesterday.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell." What do Americans think about this very divisive issue? Well, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll just released within the last hour or so shows that 67 percent of Americans favor it while 28 percent oppose it. This is an issue in the headlines over the past week or so. Lady Gaga, the pop star, has been very much involved. And we saw the Senate Republicans block a defense bill that included a measure that would call for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The Pentagon right now is reviewing the matter. We expect to see a report in December.

Who's the new rock star out of New Jersey? I'm not talking about John Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen. I'm talking about Chris Christie, the Republican governor. He came out of nowhere in 2009 to win the election against the Democrat Jon Corzine, the Democrat. He's been spending the past few weeks cris-crossing the country for Republican candidates. He'll be here on Capitol Hill within the next hour or so. He'll be talking to House Republicans. Perhaps he can rub a little bit of his political magic off on them as they try to take back the House of Representatives in November. John, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Chris Christie, the wrecking ball.

Mark Preston for us this morning. Thanks, Mark.

CHETRY: Thanks, Mark. PRESTON: Thanks.

CHETRY: We're going to check in with you in another hour. For the political news, go to our web site CNNpolitics.com.

ROBERTS: This weekend, don't miss the new CNN special, "Right on the Edge." Meet four, young, rising stars in the conservative movement who are changing the course of public debate and pushing the envelope of journalism. That's Saturday and Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Top stories coming your way here on CNN, right after a quick break. Stay with us.

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