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American Morning

College Student Commits Suicide after Sex Video Surfaces on Internet; Tour de France Winner Tests Positive for Steroids; Congress Leaves Washington to Campaign; Pakistan Banned NATO; Students at Risk; The Human Factor

Aired September 30, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It's Thursday, it's September 30th. Glad you're with us on this "AMERICAN MORNING." I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.

In Atlanta where we took in the Rush concert last night and talked to the Canadian rock trio, we'll have that interview coming up for you in the new hour of the Most News in the Morning.

Right now, though, here are this morning top stories. Breaking news today to tell you about, a new drug scandal in the world of cycling. Three-time tour de France champion Alberto Contador tested positive for a banned substance. We're going to talk with a cycling expert about the potential fallout from the failed drug test just ahead.

CHETRY: Extreme weather, a tornado watch in effect right now along the Virginia/Carolina coast. The Carolinas already with more a foot of rain this week, more on the way. Rob Marciano is joining us with more of what a mess and the potentially dangerous commute we're looking at this morning.

ROBERTS: And heads-up, parents, this just out this hour, a safety warning. Fisher-Price, yes, Fisher-Price, a brand that's in almost every toy box recalling millions of products. There's concern that the toys could cause serious injuries or become choking hazards. The details that every parent needs to know just ahead.

CHETRY: Up first this hour, there are new developments this morning in the tragic death of a Rutgers University student. Freshman Tyler Clementi may have been devastated after learning that an intimate sexual encounter in his own dorm room was secretly taped and posted online by his roommate, according to police.

Clementi then leaped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. His wallet and cell phone were found on the bridge that links New Jersey and New York, and a Facebook posting in the moments before this happened where he said "Jumping off the G.W. Bridge, sorry."

Meanwhile, Clementi's roommate at Rutgers, Dharun Ravi, and another classmate Molly Wei are facing charges for allegedly broadcasting the video on the web. Right now, we bring in Paul Callan, a professor at Seton Hall University with more on this disturbing case.

First of all, what are the charges?

PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right now, they're called invasion of privacy charges. In New Jersey if you take pictures of somebody in an intimately position undressed and you broadcast that on the Internet, that's a crime under New Jersey law for which you would be charged and imprisoned up to five years in prison.

CHETRY: So the charges would not be linked to the death or suicide of this student?

CALLAN: Technically, they're not linked yet. But this may also be a hate crime. If additional evidence is developed that the reason they published this was out of hatred for gay people, that could be added as an additional charge. It could be a state charge, also a federal charge. I'm sure prosecutors are looking at that now.

CHETRY: How do you go back proving the causality as far as what led him to take his own life, tragically, which is what they're charged with, his roommate, I guess hiding the cameras around the room.

And then from what we have from what he actually posted himself. Let me show you the tweets from one roommate Dharun Ravi. "Roommate asked for room till midnight. I went into Molly's room turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude, yay." "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to chat with me between 9:00 to 12:00. Yes, it's happening again."

CHETRY: As a matter of criminal law, you're right, it would be very hard to prove what we call causation, that the posting of this would cause somebody to kill themselves. However, in the civil law when you sue for money damages there's a big lawsuit there because there's a cause of action called intentional infliction of emotional distress. Clearly that's going on here.

And if somebody kills themselves or hurts themselves as a result of emotional distress, that you can get compensation for as a matter of civil law. So I do think the parents do have a civil case. The criminal case is tougher in terms of the manslaughter charge.

CHETRY: We've heard a few other, the girl Phoebe Prince that committed suicide after she was bullied. Is there precedent for this? Are we going to see more of these cases and so forward on as far as the judgments are meted out?

CALLAN: I think we are, Kiran. I have seen a lot of traffic in my office from people who have been harmed. People come and say there's been a posting about me. It's defamatory to my reputation.

There seems to be a feeling among young people in this country because they've been on computers for so long that there are no consequences. They can say or do whatever they want online and it doesn't count.

Well, it does count. Here, a human being is dead. Many times people's reputations are trashed or destroyed. And the legal system does provide a remedy. It's been slow to catch up with the Internet, but the remedy is there, and I think you're going to see more and more legislators dealing with it.

And we've got to teach our kids, too. You have to be careful. You're playing with human lives here. This is such a horrific case. And it resonates with people around the country.

CHETRY: Paul, great to talk to you this morning.

It also dovetails into an issue here on "AMERICAN MORNING." We've been following the issue of bullying. Most people say, yes, I was bullied both in and out of school growing up. You want to watch "AMERICAN MORNING" all next week for a Special Reporting on bully proofing the classroom and your kids, is it possible? We're going to take a look next week. John?

ROBERTS: It's just such a troubling story, Kiran, in so many ways.

To extreme weather now on the east coast. An alert this morning, even more torrential rains and flooding in the forecast, potential tornadoes as well. Flash flood watches throughout much of the northeast this morning. The ride to and from work in D.C., Philadelphia, and New York can be a downright dangerous one. We've got local reports of pooling water on some of the roadways in Washington, D.C.

Here's a live look at Miami right now. It's beginning to clear out just a little bit. South Florida and the Carolinas have been pounded by the remnants of tropical storm Nicole. Another major system out there as well, a foot and a half of rain and counting in some areas.

Rob Marciano here in Atlanta tracking the storm this morning. It's just bad, bad, bad, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is, John. And this is, you're right, a combination of several things, Nicole and the storm system on the east coast, that combination means tropical moisture as far such as the Bahamas. In between we have the tornado watch in effect until this afternoon.

From southern parts of South Carolina all the way to the Delmarva, we do have a tornado warning earlier for parts of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. We're seeing a tremendous amount of moisture coming through here.

Also, winds are gusting 20, 25, 30 miles an hour. So with the saturated ground in this area, and we're already seeing as John mentioned over a foot rainfall with this area, we're going to see power outages. And the rain and flood watches and warnings go all the way up the eastern seaboard, Washington, D.C. getting pounded right now. They've got a flash flood warning and the wind and rain on the increase.

ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much. We'll see you again soon.

Following breaking news this morning -- champion cyclist Alberto Contador failing a steroid test. The three time Tour de France champion tested positive for a banned substance during this year's race in July. Contador has been suspended by cycling's governing body pending an investigation.

His spokesman blames the failed test on food contamination. We're expected to hear from Contador himself later on today.

Right now joining us on the telephone is Peter Flax. He's the editor in chief of "Bicycling" magazine. Peter, the drug we're talking about here is a dilator but also used by bodybuilders because it increases lean muscle mass and reduces body fat. But it was just a tiny, tiny amount that they detected?

PETER FLAX, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BICYCLING MAGAZINE, (via telephone): Yes, it was roughly one-four-hundredth of the normal limit they test for. So we're talking about a trace amount of a 20-year-old asthma drug. It's a really shocking piece of news.

ROBERTS: So Alberto Contador claims that it was food contamination that led to this. Are they offering any further explanation of how his food might have gotten contaminated?

FLAX: No, my desk will be buzzing with all sorts of statements and press releases. I think they're holding off on that piece until the press conference in a little while. In the present anti-doping system the way it's written, athletes have to take responsibility for what goes into their body. He's on the hook in that way.

But I have to admit, like a lot of observers seeing a trace amount of such an easily detectable drug that stays so long in your system that's so old, it does make you think there's a high likelihood that there's some explanation other than a deliberate amendment for performance enhancing.

ROBERTS: Now, because he was in the Yellow Jersey for so long during this year's tour he was heavily tested. All of the other tests have come back, as far as we know, negative. Is it unusual that there would be, among all of these negative tests, one test that's positive with this tiny trace amount?

FLAX: Yes, it's definitely suspect from everyone I've talked to that stays in your system for such a long time. So for there to be such a trace amount that only showed up on one day, it's consistent with that kind of explanation.

I certainly will be waiting like a lot of other observers to see what Alberto has to say and see how this all plays out. But it's really shocking to see a grand champion at the top of his game like Alberto Contador facing this kind of charge right now.

ROBERTS: In the meantime, until all of this is either cleared up or confirmed, his tour title certainly at risk. Peter Flax, we, like you, will be eagerly anticipating the press conference. Thanks for joining us this morning.

FLAX: Good to be here. ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, the man who could be New York's next governor scuffling with the press. Tea Party favorite Carl Paladino taking on a report from the "New York Post," accusing him of messing with his family. And this almost got ugly. We'll show you more of the tape.

Also, Michael J. Fox talking about his life today, his ongoing battle with Parkinson's Disease. He sits down with our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We'll hear from him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. It's 13 minutes past the hour right now.

And new this morning, Congress feeling the need to get out of town. Both Republicans and Democrats are leaving. Actually, most of them are gone nine days earlier than they had planned. They're opting to fight their partners in battle on the campaign trail rather than in the halls of the capital.

Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is live in Washington. Was it easy to get in this morning? No traffic?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

CHETRY: You could have ridden the Senate elevator up and down because no one's there?

BASH: Absolutely, nobody is here. You know how the first rule in medicine is do no harm? That applies to politics, too, big time. It was pretty clear, they felt the longer they stayed in Washington the more harm they were doing to their political prospects, especially Democrats who are battling to hold to their power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. LOUIS SLAUGHTER, (D) NEW YORK: Everyone wants to get home.

BASH: Why is that?

SLAUGHTER: Because they can do more good at home than they can sitting here.

REP. TIM WALZ, (D) MINNESOTA: I'm always more comfortable being at home, especially now making the case for why they should give me another shot at it. I think when I'm not there it's easier to say things I can't defend.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: It's like we're in the wizard of oz in Washington and we're going behind the wizard when we go back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: And Democrats blame Republican obstructionism for the gridlock that made them throw up their hands and say let's just go home a week early.






DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And Democrats blame Republican obstructionism for the gridlock that made them throw up their hands and say let's just go home a week early. But I talked to many a Democratic lawmaker in a quiet corner, Kiran, this week, who also admitted, look, they get, people are really angry at Washington and uneasy with some of the big things that Democrats have passed -- economic stimulus, the health care bill. So they say they really need to get home to defend and explain ASAP.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, so that's one concern. The other one is, you know, they're claiming, at least Democrats, that they've done a ton. That they've, you know, taken care of a lot of business. One stark example, though, is the middle class tax cuts. Those were not extended because of the back and forth going on. Is that going to hurt them in their districts?

BASH: You know, unclear. They still think that they have an issue. But that is one thing. Let's talk about Congress's most basic function, Kiran, and that is funding the government.

Before lawmakers left town late last night, they did pass a bill to keep the government running. But that's because a new fiscal year starts tomorrow and Congress didn't finish even one of the dozen spending bills they were supposed to. The government after all, government spending is one of the most politically sensitive issues for Democrats on the campaign trail, Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, it is right now, especially this election year. Dana Bash for us this morning. Thanks so much.

Hey, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Still to come, parents -- hey, Kiran -- still to come, parents, time to check the toy box. Millions of toys and other child products are being recalled this morning. We've got the details on all of that coming up. This is news you really going to want to know about.

Sixteen minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: We got some developing news right now about product recalls, especially relating to children that you want to know about this morning. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" with this news. I mean, this seems enormous.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is a huge recall of a variety of products, the biggest one, seven million -- seven million tricycles made by Fisher-Price. These are trikes. These are toys for 2 and 3-year-olds that have actually had injuries of children sitting who have been sitting on these trikes and playing on them and a key that protrudes from the front has actually cut these children. Medical attention, specifically in six incidents to young girls who were hurt by this key, actually cut by this key -- very, very concerning to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. They're warning that that needs to be recalled immediately.

Also, a choking hazard in 2.8 million other products here also from Fisher-Price. The baby Playzone, look for these Playzone products. They're playgrounds that are -- these baby products, including one that's an aquarium. Another one is a bat and score goal. A one, two, three feather ball. We're going to post all of these on CNN.com/amFIX. But 2.8 million of those are choking hazard, Kiran, because there's an inflatable ball in here, that there have been reports of children who have detached this and put it in their mouth and it is exactly the size for choking hazard for these young children. These are very (INAUDIBLE) for these.

CHETRY: Those are -- these are tough. I mean, the tricycles that you were talking about, that's scary. You know, if you have one, you got to look out for that.

ROMANS: It's clearly a design flaw to have something protruding like that --

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: -- in an area where it could be very dangerous for young children if they're going to get hurt.

CHETRY: The issue, though, with the choking hazards is, I mean, all of these toys, especially, you know what it's like to have older kids and younger kids in the home. You've got to supervisor the little one.

ROMANS: Absolutely. You think about -- in your home, you think about something like a paper towel holder. You think of a roll of a paper towel holder. Anything that is small they can fit in there, you usually look around your home to make sure --

CHETRY: Right. ROMANS: -- because your child can choke on those. And so when a piece can detach from a toy, you got to be very careful about the parts that are smaller, parts that can -- inflatable parts that can get smaller that a child can put in their mouth. There's even more though. There's a whole bunch of highchairs. Some 950,000 highchair also from Fisher-Price. These are healthy care, easy clean and close to me highchairs. On the back, there's a clip to hold the tray that's very sharp that can cut children if they run past the highchair, fall into the highchair. Those are being recalled. And also a bunch of Little People. You know, the small, Little People toys.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROMANS: These are wheelie, stand and play ramp way. These are also say choking hazard, about 100,000 of these in the U.S.

CHETRY: Especially when your dog gets a hold of them, which happened to ours.

ROMANS: Oh, wow, yes. They're small, they're little -- they're ubiquitous. They're in the bottom of the toy box. Watch out for those. We're going to put exactly which models are being recalled.

Also, separately, the FDA is warning parents to stop immediately, immediately stop using all infant sleep positioners. They say parents use these. They think they're preventing SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome. And it's not. In fact, they have instances in many cases of children who roll sideways and then get caught between these in the side of the bed or actually can suffocate because of that.

And also, just to update you on another children's -- important children's story. Johnson & Johnson announcing that its drugs, its children's drugs will be returning to the shelves next week after a five-month absence. Any mom and grandmom, anybody taking care of a little kid knows, and dads, too, sorry -- know that there's a shortage on the shelves. They'll be coming back next week.

CHETRY: All right. So not to just overwhelm you with scary news, we put it all on our Web site as well.

ROMANS: Right.

CHETRY: CNN.com/amFIX. Check them out. You know, you use common sense, of course.

ROMANS: Absolutely.

CHETRY: But with the tricycles, that's obviously a big concern. So if you have that, you know, you may want to take it back.

ROMANS: Yes.

CHETRY: All right, Christine, thanks so much.

John?

ROBERTS: Thanks, Kiran.

It could be the toughest battle in Afghanistan. The battle for hearts and minds. Our Jason Carroll followed troops into one of the most risky areas of the country in an effort to reach out to the people there. "A Soldier's Story" continues next on CNN.

It's 23 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty-five minutes past the hour right now. An "A.M. Original," it's a story that we've been following.

Army Sergeant First Class Randy Shorter, now on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. And Jason Carroll has been following him, along his journey to some of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan. His last deployment was with the 101st Airborne in Paktika province in the southeast. It's nicknamed "hell on earth." That should give you a little bit of an insight into what exactly this is like.

Jason Carroll joins us now with more on "A Soldier's Story." This had been moving to see, and especially when they're going to places like this, like Paktika province.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And you know, big changes this time for Sergeant Shorter this go around. He's engaging his unit, engaging the Afghan people. A lot more this go around.

You know, the mission of U.S. Forces is obviously to crush the Taliban's influence in Afghanistan. One way of doing that is to try to win over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need for my eyes.

CARROLL (voice-over): Key to Sergeant First Class Randy Shorter's mission --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me what you learned in school.

CARROLL: -- engage the Afghan people.

SGT. FIRST CLASS RANDY SHORTER, U.S. ARMY: It's always a good sign when they come up to you because, you know, they don't feel threatened.

CARROLL: Build relationships and trust to trump the Taliban's influence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch this. Like that, or like this?

CARROLL (on camera): Like that?

Oh, this kind. That's old school. (voice-over): Here, in Paktika province in southeastern Afghanistan, the curious approach and ask for pens.

(on camera): I don't have a pen. No pen. So they want a lot of pens.

(voice-over): But it's the challenge of winning the hearts and minds of villagers like this man who made clear where some loyalties lie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is Taliban.

CARROLL (on camera): You mean the Taliban?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CARROLL (voice-over): At a bazaar located several miles away, a group gathers around a man selling jellybean, popular fried dessert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Americans don't help us.

CARROLL (on camera): Americans don't help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

CARROLL: So you want Afghan police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Afghan --

CARROLL: Afghan army, but no one else?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one else.

CARROLL (voice-over): There are supporters of the U.S. presence, like this principal at Alibaba High School who fears openly talking about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can't say.

CARROLL (on camera): You can't say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, I can't say because of danger. I really can't talk. I really can't talk. Some people may be punished and some may be helped by the insurgents if they talk.

CARROLL (voice-over): This is a region some in the Army have called "hell on earth." With little infrastructure and constant violence, Paktika province is on the border with Pakistan from where many Taliban attacks originate. For now, the U.S. military must secure volatile areas like this. The goal, eventually, the Afghan army and police will take over.

Afghan patrolmen like Kazal (ph) Qazikhani are being retrained by the U.S. Army. Qazikhani says the Taliban's influence is more than just about instilling fear.

ABDEUL HAMMID QAZIKHANI, AFGHAN POLICEMAN: The reason is poverty. I mean, in Afghanistan, the people are so poor so like Taliban, or just a lot of people, they just give money.

CARROLL: There are now 1,000 Afghan patrolmen who have completed retraining, but Shorter says they are still a ways from taking the lead on security.

SHORTER: Oh, yes, they need a lot of work.

CARROLL: Some Afghan officers still don't know what it means to stand guard.

SHORTER: That's the frustrating party. He's probably done it like 500 times. And he's just at the point where, oh, another American telling me where I need to be.

CARROLL: On this day, U.S. soldiers meet village elders in a gathering called "ashura." The goal, winning them over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main thought of the elders right now is survival. They're just going to stay with whoever can provide them the best security.

CARROLL (on camera): I'm very pleased to meet you.

(voice-over): Demands are made for the release of Afghans held by the U.S. military on suspicion of being insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really you have come for peace not for war? Really you have come to build Afghanistan? You should release.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why we come here, because we want to work it out with you guys.

CARROLL: No promises, just an agreement to meet again. Diplomacy, a difficult process.

(on camera): There seems to be a struggle to capture the hearts of the Afghan people. A struggle between coalition forces and the Taliban. Who do you think is doing a better job?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't get involved in politics.

CARROLL: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't get involved in politics?

CARROLL: Don't get involved in politics. I'm not sure I believe that.

It's their feeling, both sides, coalition forces and Taliban causes them problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's got to be frustrating?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very frustrating with something like that. I mean, obviously from where we started and where we're at today, to still hear that, it's kind of rough. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Those village elders are extremely important because the Afghans who live in these areas really follow those village elders, follow their lead. They vote the way that they do. When the elders tell them to do something, they do it. So if you're going to the (INAUDIBLE) over, the hearts and the minds of the Afghan people, you've got to get to those village elders.

CHETRY: You said some things, you know, in that piece that was so telling, he said they're going to side with whoever give them the best security. So we know that we know come 2011 there's a withdrawal date, how do you win over those hearts and minds?

CARROLL: That's a great point. That's just part of the problem. I mean, here's the deal. I mean if you offer the Afghan people in some of these villages, you give them water, you give them food, and you help them now. What happens if tomorrow, somebody else is helping them, the Taliban in this case? It's really a problem. And a lot of folks there worried about that potential drawback date in July of 2011.

CHETRY: All right. Incredible firsthand look at that though, Jason. Thanks so much. And Jason's back tomorrow, a personal look at the real life band of brothers. The bonds that they build on the base and on the battlefield. And also how they deal with the fact that some of them, unfortunately, may not come home. That's the "A Soldier's Story" tomorrow on the most news in the morning. John.

ROBERTS: Kiran, thanks so much. We're crossing the half hour now. It's time for this morning's top stories.

It is already unfortunately a bad weather day up and down the East Coast. Heavy rains expected throughout the day. It's the remnants of tropical storm Nicole. And a second weather system causing all the problems. 15 inches of rain has already fallen in the Carolinas this week. Storms could dump as much as 10 inches of new rain from the mid-Atlantic all the way up into New England.

Pakistan has banned NATO supply convoys from entering Afghanistan. After they say across the border air strikes killed three Pakistani soldiers. NATO officials are trying to get the Pakistani government to lift the ban. NATO and U.S. forces rely heavily on convoys from Pakistan to bring in supplies and other gear.

And according to "Entertainment Tonight" actor Tony Curtis has died. He appeared in more than 100 films during this career. None bigger than the classic comedy "Some Like It Hot," starring Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemon. AP: reports that Curtis died of cardiac arrest at his home in Las Vegas. He was 85 years old.

Well, time now for the latest news from the best political team in television and crossing our political ticker this morning. A Q&A turned toe to toe confrontation when a reporter approached New York's Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Senior political editor Mark Preston live at the CNN politics.com desk for us this morning.

And Mark, this was quite a dust off.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: It sure was, John. Who says that politics isn't a contact sport? Well, just last night, Carl Paladino. He is the Republican nominee for governor up in New York, a Tea Party favorite, again one of these Tea Party candidates that totally surprised the establishment to go on and win the nomination, almost came to blows with a "New York Post" reporter. In fact, let's take a quick look at that video, John.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALADINO: You send another goon to my daughter's house and I'll take you out buddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will take me out? How are you going to do that?

PALADINO: Watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: Well, John, let me put this a little bit in perspective, just in the past couple of weeks, Mr. Paladino has had to acknowledge that he fathered a child out of wedlock in an extra-marital affair. He goes on to say yesterday he accused his Democratic rival Andrew Cuomo of having an affair while he is married to Carol Kennedy. The "New York Post" reporter there Fred Dicker (ph) went up and aggressively said "look, I want some evidence. How do you know that Cuomo had this affair?" Of course, this whole battle ensued. We should see what happens over the next couple of days.

But as you know, John, politics in New York is bare knuckle politics. But I'll tell you what, it's not just bare knuckle politics in New York. Look at what's going on down in Louisiana. We have Charlie Melancon. He is a Democrat taking on a Republican nominee down there, David Vitter.

Well, David Vitter acknowledge, all but acknowledge that. He had some transgressions in his own marriage. And had been accused of visiting prostitutes. Well, now, Melancon is going to run a two-minute advertisement he says really pointing out these transgressions.

Heading into the midterm elections, John, just what 30 days left, about 30 days left. It really shows you there's a lot on the line and there's going to be a lot of blood on the floor. John.

ROBERTS: You know, it's interesting, talking to a lot of people down in New Orleans, at least, about David Vitter, they don't care.

PRESTON: Yes, you know, amazing. You know, a lot of people say well, New Orleans a little bit more carefree. Folks tend to let these things go. But David Vitter is a social conservative. He ran on the idea that he was a family's values Republican. And then all these news came out that his number was in a prostitute's telephone list and up here in D.C. and then down in New Orleans, a prostitute said that he had visited her many times. So he seems to be fine. If you look at the polling, David Vitter has a comfortable lead right now over Melancon.

ROBERTS: What does it all matter, you got to wonder? All right. Mark for us this morning. Mark, thanks so much. For all the latest political news, go to our web site at cnnpolitics.com. Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, we've been talking a lot about bullying and the sometimes deadly consequences. It makes you wonder if it's possible to stop it all. Up next, how to identify a likely victim of bullying before they were targeted.

36 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: 39 minutes now after the hour. We're back with the most news in the morning. Here's a stunning number to consider. If I asked you, how many students were shot in Chicago in the past year, what would you say? The fact is, 245 students were shot in 2009. 27 of them died. So the Chicago school system is trying a radical new approach to curbing violence.

In addition to focusing on the perpetrators, they're also trying to identify potential victims of violence. It's call the victimization research. Annie Murphy Paul wrote an article on the topic for "Time" magazine. She joins us now live from Washington this morning.

Annie, great to see you this morning.

So what is victimization research and how is it being applied in Chicago?

ANNIE MURPHY PAUL, CONTRIBUTOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, victimization research is a body of work within academia that's seeking to understand crime, seeking to prevent crime, by focusing on the victim, as well as the perpetrator. The criminal.

You know, the sociology and criminology over the last 100 years have focused mostly on the criminal and understanding his psyche, his motivations, even his childhood. With the idea that if we can understand the criminal, we can stop him from committing acts of violence.

But there's a growing realization that in order to prevent crime, to understand why crime happens, we need to understand the other party in the exchange as well. The victim. Not to say at all that the victim is causing the crime to happen, but just to understand who they're most likely to be and what we can do to intervene to prevent a crime from happening. So the way that that's being -

So the way that that's being applied -

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Go ahead, John.

ROBERTS: Go ahead.

PAUL: The way that's being applied in Chicago is that the head of schools there, Ron Huberman, head of the Chicago public schools, he studied several hundred students who were shot over the last few years. It's more than 1,000, actually, to create a kind of profile, like a prediction model, a statistical prediction model that would allow him to identify those students who are in school now, who are most likely to be shot. And then he is directing his program towards them.

ROBERTS: Got you. I apologize, there's a little bit of a delay between the two of us. I didn't mean to jump on you there. So Huberman looked at these hundreds and hundreds of kids who have been shot. And you discovered that there were similar characteristics that most them shared. What were those characteristics?

PAUL: That's right. Huberman discovered that the students who are most likely to be shot they were more likely to have a high rate of absenteeism. They were more likely to have academic problems and be off-track to graduate. And they were more likely to have behavioral problems in school like gang activity and drug use.

So by taking that model and applying it to current students, he was able to identify the 250 students who he said were at ultra high risk of being shot. He said those 250 kids had a - I think he said a one in five chance of being shot in the next two years.

ROBERTS: So when he was armed with this information, what did he do with it?

PAUL: So then he designed a very intensive program for these students, the ultra high-risk students where he recruited what he called mentors from the students' own neighborhoods. These were adults who could act as a kind of combination of role model, cheerleader, counselor. They're meant to be available to the student, the ultra high-risk students, 24 hours a day, whatever they need, whenever they need it. To give them support for them to stay out of situation where they might become victims of crime.

And he also arranged for these students to have part-time jobs. And the idea of all of this is that - behind all of this is that victimization research shows that a major indication of whether you'll be victimized is how you spend your time. So Huberman is trying to structure these kids' times, change the way they spend their time.

ROBERTS: Well it's a fascinating article, yet another one. Because we had that other one that you wrote last week. Annie Murphy Paul, great to be with you this morning. Thanks for sharing.

PAUL: Thank you John.

ROBERTS: A quick programming note for you, bullies and not just violence, but general bullying, a pervasive problem both in and out of school. All next week on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to examine how to bully proof the classroom and your kids. And why do kids bully in the first place. An "A.C. 360" special report that all parents should see on CNN beginning Monday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

It's 44 minutes now after the hour.

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ROBERTS: A picture of the Washington Monument for you there this morning. Lots of fog and clouds, rain in Washington, D.C. The weather is just terrible. It's not going to get any better today either. All up and down the east coast, all kinds of problems from the remnants of tropical storm Nicole. Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center this morning, checking in on what's going on, and it's just not looking good today.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, it's not. And you showed that picture of D.C., another shot of the capitol. It's flooding across the metro area there with heavy, heavy rainfall. And that's only going to be on the increase, as well, the wind. And on top -- I mean, this (INAUDIBLE) it's like really combination of several things coming together, including the remnants of Nicole which is really feeding into this thing.

And this tornado watch now has been issued until 1:00 this afternoon for much of the mid-Atlantic, and we have seen a couple of tornado warnings pop. No confirmation of anything on the ground, there's been a couple of scares across Norfolk and Virginia Beach proper. And these cells continue to roll their cells (ph) right up the eastern coastline. So, heavy, heavy rain with this.

And boy, I'll tell you what, Wilmington has just gotten pounded with rain for the past four days now, 20 inches of rainfall. And they'll get several more today. So, this is the most rain that they've ever seen, at least, a three-day period, let alone, a four or five-day period. You can see this continues to stream in here. So, that's going to be the main issue and then also some winds. We see some winds gusting over 30 miles an hour in North Carolina.

But last night, in South Carolina, we had a wind gust measured at over 60 miles an hour. So, the saturation of the ground, coupled with a little bit of wind, you're going to see some trees down and some power outages. And this flood watch goes all the way up to the Canadian border. So, this is a huge, huge system that's affecting a lot of people. Ground stop at Teterboro. I know you're not flying at Teterboro, but --

ROBERTS: No, I'm not quite in that league.

MARCIANO: A couple of hour delays.

ROBERTS: None of the G5 --

MARCIANO: But a lot of major metropolitan airports are under significant delays and will be for the rest --

ROBERTS: I notice the Delta has canceled at least one flight from Atlanta to New York. So --

MARCIANO: There'll be probably several more to come.

ROBERTS: Check in with your airline before you head out today -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Guys, thanks.

Coming up, Michael J. Fox paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The actor sits down with Sanjay to talk about his life some 20 years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. It's 49 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Wow. Well, we are launching a new series this morning with Dr. Sanjay Gupta called "The Human Factor" focusing on people who inspire us in different ways. And we're kicking things off with a conversation that Sanjay had with actor, Michael J. Fox. As you know, he's been living with Parkinson's disease. But you know, it's been nearly 20 years since he came out with the diagnosis.

He devotes a lot of his time to try to raise awareness and hopefully find a cure. Sanjay joins us now. In the 20 years since this diagnosis was revealed about Michael J. Fox, have they made strides in Parkinson's?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think so. You know, overall, in terms of the way they medicate people, how they time the medications, for example, and some of the surgical procedures, surgical options. He had surgery himself on one side of his brain that affected the left side of his body. He's not had any more surgery since then.

But that's sort of the point this whole human factors really talking about people who overcome some sort of obstacle but exceeded expectations, or in his case, you know, turned this disease into some sort of movement which is what the foundation has done. He doesn't do a lot of long interviews, Kiran, anymore. As you might imagine, for obvious reasons, he just gets really tired, but we did have a chance to sit down and talk to him. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: It's like the arm will go. If I stop the arm, the other arm will go. The leg will go. Cross the leg. It's going to go somewhere. So, it's constantly moving it around and then there'll be times when just stop and be still. Right now, for example, if I wasn't talking to you, if I was just sitting, I'd be perfectly still.

GUPTA: Is that the stress part of it or is it the --

FOX: Yes. Again, it's like there's stuff that fires to tell you I want to pick up this glass. It's firing to tell me that something is required of me here and my mind can't tell my brain what it is.

GUPTA: When you sleep, you don't have --

FOX: No. It's completely still.

GUPTA: Turned off. And I you also talked about when you ice skate.

FOX: Yes.

GUPTA: Do you not have symptoms?

FOX: You just glide, you know?

GUPTA: How about what playing an instrument or something?

FOX: Yes, I play guitar.

GUPTA: I mean, how does -- how are you --

FOX: It's weird. When I'm occupied a lot of times, I can do things. The times when I can't but it's -- I go on the -- I go on the -- like if you play golf. I'm a terrible golfer, and I started golfing in my 40s with Parkinson's. So, if isn't optimism, I don't know what it is, but I just do what I want to do. And I just work with what I show up that day.

There's an old saying my happiness grows in direct proportion of my acceptance and in direct proportion of my expectation. You know, it's just about -- this is what it is. And so, now what?

GUPTA: So, once you are not in denial, you think you're happier?

FOX: Yes, absolutely. Because when you can look at the truth of something, then -- I mean, that's what it is. It is what it is. Now, you have options. The only thing I don't have a choice about is whether I have Parkinson's. Everything else is my choice. And that's incredibly liberating. Much more liberating than the physical constrains of this disease are limiting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And it's amazing. You said that he is on medication to be able to be that -- to be able to have that ability to move and to speak. If he didn't take his medication, what would he be like?

GUPTA: Yes. People don't realize that. That's Michael J. Fox medicated. If he hadn't it, he would be very, very slow to move, have that slowness. He would have the tremor that's very characteristic kind of like this. Also, people develop an expressionless face. Mask faces they call it. He's smiling.

He's able to be interactive. It's very different. Sometimes, you can't walk through a door. You literally freeze up as you're trying to walk. He, instead, is loose. He got what's called sort of that dyskinetic movement.

CHETRY: Right. GUPTA: That's a result of the medication that he's taking.

CHETRY: You know, it's also interesting because when we talk about him raising awareness, he sort of put a youthful face on Parkinson's for so long. I think we associate it with older American.

GUPTA: That's right.

CHETRY: You know, the elderly, but what ultimately might be the breakthrough for this disease?

GUPTA: You know, it's interesting. The study that's he's doing. You know, they raise $200 billion. They're studying these bio markers which are basically some sort of clues within the body that might be a target to attack Parkinson's. So, exactly why this disease occurs, no one knows for sure. But if you can find out, you know, the answer to that, that's going to be the answer ultimately.

You know, surgeons can provide some sort of relief. He had an operation long time ago. It provided some relief on the left side of his body. I asked him specifically -- it was funny. A moment actually, I said, how about having the operation on the other side now to help with the right side of the body? He goes, I'm not so sure. You know, it's brain surgery, you know? That's what he says. I said, I know, Michael. But, you know, he says he's doing well. The medications are working for him.

CHETRY: He looks great.

GUPTA: Yes, he does.

CHETRY: I mean, all of these years later and he's, you know, just still out there being an advocate, as you said, the human factor. Very interesting stuff. Good to see you, Sanjay, in person.

GUPTA: Good to see you, Kiran.

CHETRY: You can find the full story, by the way, of Michael J. Fox, how he's coping with Parkinson's. That's tonight on CNN. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports, a conversation with Michael J. Fox. It will be airing at 8:00 p.m. eastern. Hope you tune in right here on CNN. We're going to take a quick break. It's two minutes until the top of the hour. We'll have your top stories just ahead.

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