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American Morning
Germans Killed in Drone Strike; Mondale to Obama: Ditch the "Idiot Board"; Candidate's Secret Recording; Gold Rush; Bullying a Growing Problem; They Call Him Dr. Q
Aired October 05, 2010 - 08:00 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 on this Tuesday, the 5th of October. Thank you for joining us this morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
We're following two new developments this morning on the terror front. There's new information on the drone strike in Pakistan. We now know the target and we also know that there may have been a direct link to the terror alert in Europe. Plus some new information, as well, on some arrests in France.
ROBERTS: A potential political embarrassment for Sharron Angle. Senator Harry Reid's opponent in Nevada, caught on tape in a recording of a meeting she had last week with a third-party candidate in the race, Scott Ashjian of the Tea Party. The tape was made by Ashjian, himself. We're going to talk to him about it at 8:10 Eastern and what the fallout might be from all of that.
CHETRY: Also, a gold rush. The price of the precious metal is hitting new highs. We'll tell you when's driving the rally, and whether or not it makes sense to try to get in on the action now.
There's also new information this morning on the deadly drone attack in Pakistan. Yesterday, more possible ties to the terror threat in Europe. Pakistani intelligence confirming that five Germans were among the eight suspected militants killed in that strike.
ROBERTS: The other three killed in the strike were also foreigners and they may also be the result of al Qaeda's efforts to train terrorists who already have western passports to go back home and launch attacks.
Joining us from Hamburg, Germany, is terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank.
And, Paul, we've talked about this for years now, the so-called worst-case scenario where nationals are sent to Pakistan or maybe Afghanistan, trained in the ways of terrorists and then sent back home. Does this seem to be a real example of that potential program and problem?
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST (via telephone): Well, that's exactly right, John. It does seem to be that sort of trajectory. We know since 9/11, 200 people left Germany to go and get training in these terror camps. Dozens have come back and dozens are still there. There's now been this drone strike in Pakistan.
What we know, that Hamburg cell which we're reporting is that at the heart of this plot in Europe, we know some of these people, three of them, still at large in the tribal areas. So, may be a link between this drone strike and these individuals still at large in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
But the German authorities here have no confirmation of that. We've just asked them.
CHETRY: Te other interesting part about is the arrests that took place from the Afghani national living in Germany who was possibly giving information. I mean, do we know of any links between that intelligence and then this drone attack that took place yesterday?
CRUICKSHANK: Well, it's quite possible that there is a link between that intelligence and the drone strike. We just don't know about it at this point.
But what we do know is that Sidiqi, the individual in question, is speaking to American investigators at Bagram Air Force Base. He's giving chapter and verse about this terrorist plot against Europe, we're being told.
ROBERTS: You know, Paul, the other thing that folks at home might not be completely familiar with is why Germany? We've seen terrorist attacks in Spain. We've seen them in England. We've seen them here in the United States.
What's the nexus between Germany and Pakistan?
CRUICKSHANK: Well, what will animate this jihadist is the fact that Germany has a strong presence in Afghanistan. They want to punish Germany because of that. Back last year before the election here in Germany, there was a series of threats from Germans in the tribal areas of Pakistan connected for al Qaeda, threatening Germany with attacks. So, this may be following on from that, John.
CHETRY: The other connection, of course, the Hamburg mosque, right, where one of the 9/11 hijackers worshipped and where they recently made the decision in Germany to actually shut it down.
CRUICKSHANK: Yes. This is really extraordinary. You know, nine years after Hamburg cell carried out the 9/11 attacks, you have another Hamburg cell at the heart of the plot against Europe. It's extraordinary that, in fact -- and we're being told that the ringleader of the new Hamburg cell was a close friend of Muhammad Atta, the lead attacker in the 9/11 attacks. There are all sorts of links between those two plots.
ROBERTS: All right. Paul Cruickshank for us this morning from Hamburg -- Paul, good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for joining us.
And breaking news to tell you about this morning. Part of the worldwide terror crackdown, we're being told that police in France have now arrested nine people in new terror raids. It comes just a couple of days after the U.S. issued a travel alert in Europe. But to be clear: we do not have any confirmation or suggestion even that the two events are related.
CHETRY: To get more on this, we're going to be joined now by senior international correspondent Jim Bitterman on the phone from Paris this morning with details of the arrest.
As we understand it, we heard two sets of arrests. What do you know?
JIM BITTERMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, John and Kiran. (INAUDIBLE), two sets of arrests by two different police agencies here, the anti-terrorist squad and the French domestic intelligence. A group of three were taken into custody this morning, two in Marseilles and one in Bordeaux. They're believed to be connected with an accused terrorist in Italy, was picked up in Italy -- a Franco-Algerian who was arrested and found to have bomb-making materials, and they're believed to be connected with that.
Then another nine people in southeastern France were arrested by another police agency and basically, they've been brought in to custody. It's unclear exactly what they were up to. There was some notion that they perhaps were trying to obtain arms.
It should be said, as well, that frequently, just a case here that the French police round up the usual bunch of suspects and then put them under intense questioning. They can do it for six days without bringing charges and it's a way for them to interrogate suspects without necessarily charging them.
So, we have to see if anybody gets charged out of this. So far, none of these people picked up this morning even charged with anything -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: You know, Jim, you said -- you just said, Jim, that there's no connection at this point to any potential terror plot there in France. But last week when this terror alert came out, we saw the Eiffel Tower closed for a day. It was reopened again.
Is it just a general sense of a heightened alert and a heightened police -- at least heightened police activity across Europe?
BITTERMAN: I think so. I think that's basically it, because no one can put their finger on or has put their finger on yet a very specific target or very specific terrorist group or terrorist that is involved. And I think what we're seeing is a lot of very generalized concern. The Eiffel Tower, for instance, evacuated twice on the basis of anonymous telephone calls, a lot of them is telephone calls, and, in fact, nothing turned up.
So, I think there's a real heightened nervousness and a sense of alert. They're hearing about the drone strikes in Afghanistan and the German cell that we're just talking about. I just think there's anxiety at a high official level and the consequence there, the cracking down wherever they can crack down and wherever they have suspects.
CHETRY: And just to reiterate, you said in one of the arrests, possible Franco-Algerian arrested with bombing-making materials?
BITTERMAN: That was in Italy. That was actually took place last month in Italy and is in custody in Naples, and the three that were arrested this morning believed to have a connection to him. So, that's the connection with what happened today.
ROBERTS: All right. Jim Bitterman for us live in Paris with the latest -- Jim, thanks so much. We'll be talking to you throughout the day.
BITTERMAN: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, homeland security officials are set to launch "Operation Railsafe." This is a step-up patrol along Amtrak routes. It's a yearly exercise, but, of course, it takes on new meaning in light of what we've been covering over the past few days, this heightened terror alert in Europe, as well as some alerts coming from the British government, as well.
CNN's Fran Townsend says that this year's security surge will come at a pretty good time to test the safety of the rails.
ROBERTS: Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad is scheduled to be sentenced in a New York federal court in just a couple of hours. Shahzad, Pakistani-American, is accused of trying to set off a car bomb in Times Square back in May. The bomb failed to detonate.
He was arrested days later while trying to flee the country. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence. And we should know about that a little later on today.
CHETRY: Also to politics now, we're entering the home stretch. Just 28 days now until America votes. And up for grabs, who controls Congress?
Just four weeks to go, Republican Christine O'Donnell has finally rolling out her first TV ad of the general election.
ROBERTS: Our senior political editor, Mark Preston, is live at the CNNPolitics.com desk for us.
Good morning, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, John. Good morning, Kiran.
You know, you would think just about a month into -- before Election Day, that candidates would be talking about the economy. But Christine O'Donnell, that Tea Party favorite that upset everybody and became the nominee up in Delaware, is actually talking about witchcraft. In fact, she is addressing the issue head on. Of course, this has to deal with Christine O'Donnell admitting some years back she dabbled in witchcraft when she was in high school.
In fact, let's take a listen to her first TV ad, a little bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: You have Christine O'Donnell. She is the Republican nominee in Delaware, the Tea Party favorite that is addressing the whole issue of witchcraft head on. She goes on in that 30-second ad to talk about how she would come to Washington and how she would change things.
But moving on, how about this advice from Vice President Mondale to President Obama? "Ditch the teleprompter." Mondale on "THE SITUATION ROOM" yesterday said that President Obama would connect with voters better if he'd just ditched the teleprompter and spoke directly to them.
In fact, let's hear what the vice president has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTER MONDALE (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: He's very bright -- as a matter of fact, brilliant. And I think he tends to -- and he uses these idiot boards to read speeches in television and I think he loses the connection that he needs emotionally with the American voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: Of course, that's Vice President Mondale on "THE SITUATION ROOM" yesterday, talking to Wolf Blitzer. Basically, what Mr. Mondale is saying is that Mr. Obama connects with the voters when he just talks to them directly and he's not staring off side to side as he's looking at the teleprompter.
And, Kiran and John, as you know, the teleprompter has been much discussed here in Washington with President Obama. And, in fact, some people have made fun of it, including Vice President Biden -- Kiran, John.
ROBERTS: Or the idiot board as Mondale refers to it.
And how many political ads, Mark -- have you -- can you recall in history that had begun with the words "I'm not a witch"?
PRESTON: You know, who -- it's an unbelievable thing for her to do. But, honestly, very smart, though, right, John, for her to come right out of the gate and say, "Look, I'm not a witch. I am just like you." Because her whole message is: I'm going to go to Washington. I'm not one of these career politicians. What she doesn't say is that she's run for office several times in the past.
ROBERTS: I've never seen anybody put a parsnip up on her nose to make here look like a witch.
CHETRY: You know, it was interesting, though, because -- I mean, she's just -- you know, has a very stark background and she's just sort of saying this is all the ridiculous stuff they've thrown at me and I'm trying to tell you I'm just like you.
So, we'll see if it works.
PRESTON: We'll see if it works.
ROBERTS: I still think they should put her on the scale and see if she weighs the same as a duck or not. It's the "Monty Python" test.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes, they might be next. You never know.
Well, a reminder, by the way: for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
ROBERTS: Well, a shocking scene during a Ukrainian circus performance. It was caught on camera by a CNN iReporter. A lion tamer suddenly mauled in the ring by two lions. The circus workers frantically try to hose down the lions to get them.
Doug Shepherd was there with his family. He tells HLN's "Prime News" that there wasn't much to protect the crowd from the attacking animals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG SHEPHERD, FILMED LION ATTACK: And it's a one-ring circus with about, you know, 1,000 people, 1,500 people around and then the gate that goes in and out of the ring is held up by aluminum with some netting. And throughout the video, you see it opened and closed for people to come in and out, and there's nothing between that, the lions, and all of the kids and moms. It's mainly moms and kids in the audience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The lion trainer underwent emergency surgery and is said to be today in stable condition.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, Senate candidate Scott Ashjian, he said he needed to protect himself and he decided to record a meeting that took place between himself and Sharron Angle -- who's also seeking election for Nevada's Senate seat. We're going to talk to him live about why he did it and whether or not any of what she said made sense.
Eleven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning -- 14 minutes past the hour right now.
A secret audiotape is shaking up a close Senate race in Nevada. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is running neck-and-neck with the GOP nominee, Sharron Angle. Now, Angle was on tape trying to persuade the third party candidate, the Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian to drop out of the race and to throw his support behind her.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: That's really all I can offer to you is whatever juice I have, you have as well. You want to see DeMint, I have juice with DeMint. I go to Washington, D.C. and I say I want to see Jim DeMint, he's right there for me.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, right now, if you'll take a look at the polling, Ashjian is polling at just 5 percent in the most recent CNN polls. Others put him at 1 percent to 4 percent. But when you take a look at how close the race is, it is clear in this Senate race in Nevada, every vote counts.
Scott Ashjian is with us this morning. He joins us from Las Vegas. Thank you so much for agreeing to talk to us.
SCOTT ASHJIAN, TEA PARTY OF NEVADA CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE: Hi, Kiran. How are you?
CHETRY: Great. So, first of all, I just want to ask you about the tape. This was a recorded conversation that she apparently or her campaign asked you to come speak to her for a meeting, right? What did you think was going to come out of it and why did you decide to tape it initially?
ASHJIAN: Well, the night before, I got a call from a D.C. lawyer that was asking me to drop out of the race. That wasn't an option. The following day, we got a call from the Angle Campaign that said they wanted a meeting. I agreed to it. I said, no problem.
CHETRY: And, but why did you decide to tape it?
ASHJIAN: I decided to tape it because we have been in a heated race for the last year. The press whether it's T.V. or newspaper usually comes out with misinformation after we have had meetings and for my own personal information and security I decided to tape the meeting because -- in case there was ever an issue, which there has been in the past, it came out. After the meeting, I had -- I never intended to release the tape. I was on vacation with my family. We were in Denver. A friend of mine called and said, hey, what about the secret meeting?
This is what they're saying. A, B, C and D. I said, okay. I got a call from a local T.V. reporter here John Rolston that said that this D.C. attorney, Cleda Mitchell (ph), had left several voice mails on random people's phone saying all kinds of crazy stuff about me and I said, no problem. I sent my campaign manager over with the copy of the tape to John Rolston and I hadn't even listened to it yet. I said, knock yourself out.
CHETRY: So, you did it basically because you felt that the nature of that meeting was being misrepresented. When we took a look at the audio it shows that, you know, she did say certain things to you, but one of the things that she said, that seems to make sense, is that she thinks your candidacy can do her real harm and her chances which is understandable because of the slim margins here. So, I just want to play a tiny little bit about what she said, what she sort of lays it out about why she wanted you to drop out.
ASHJIAN: Sure.
SHARRON ANGLE, SENATE CANDIDATE: I believe that you can do some real harm, not to Harry Reid but to me. And I'm not sure you can win, and I'm not sure that I can win if you're hurting my chances.
CHETRY: What was your response to her saying that? Do you see where she may have a point that in the end your candidacy could tilt the balance to get Harry Reid back in the senate seat?
ASHJIAN: Well, I understand. I understand the concern from her end. It really isn't my fault that the Republicans put up a candidate that was weak. Our campaign has been the same. The nexus between Harry Reid and Sharron Angle is the exact same. You know, at least with Harry Reid you see a pirate's flag on the ship.
CHETRY: You're sort of saying if it was between the two, you'd rather see Harry Reid re-elected than Sharron Angle?
ASHJIAN: No, no. I'm not saying that. I am saying I don't really see a difference between the Republican and the Democrat. I think politics in general is corrupt. I think both parties are corrupt and I think that is the problem that we have in Washington, D.C. We need to stop spending.
You know, it is a credit/debit situation. The reason I taped the meeting was for the truth. And I have had a problem with here in Nevada in this campaign with reporters reporting on the truth. I never intended to release the tape. It was the Angle campaign that misrepresented the meeting in the beginning. Three days later, after this -- after these voice mails came out, I said, here it is. You guys listen for yourself. CHETRY: And what do you think should come of it now that this is out there?
ASHJIAN: Listen. People can listen to it, they can read it. They can make their own decisions. Here in Nevada we have an interesting situation. We have people from Washington, D.C. trying to affect the Nevada race. We have a Tea Party Express out of California that put in their candidate, Sharron Angle. It was not Nevadans. They gave her the boost that she needed with 30 days left. They infused her race with money. The Republicans put 12 or 13 people on the ballot, chopped up the votes of the most popular candidate, didn't get in. It wasn't Scott Ashjian.
So, you know, it is what it is. At the end of the day, we're going to put on a good race. The people in Nevada will have a third choice and hopefully they vote for me and see through the political rhetoric that is out there.
CHETRY: So, even if it means putting Harry Reid back in the Senate seat?
ASHJIAN: I don't look at it like putting Harry Reid back on the Senate seat. I look at it as Nevada having a choice to change and to start something to move across the country with.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it is great to get your perspective this morning, Scott Ashjian, Tea Party candidate for Nevada Senate seat. Thank you for joining us.
ASHJIAN: Thank you, Kiran.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: Why the price of gold is still rising and is this a good time for you to invest in the precious metal? Christine Romans coming right up. It is twenty minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business". She joins us now. She's talking about the price of precious metals. However, I like the off camera conversation.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The off camera conversation was my husband lost his wedding ring and I went to go get a new one and gold prices were at record highs, just about $1,000 an ounce. And I said, let's just hold on a minute until there's a dip and then we can buy a wedding ring after that and they have been going up and up and up and now because I'm cheap and was trying to play the market it is going to cost me even more to replace his wedding ring. Honey, remember you are married.
CHETRY: Go sterling silver. Be a placeholder.
ROMANS: There you go. And one of our producers said he's just going to get a tattoo around there. That is even more permanent than a gold band.
ROBERTS: I love that you are putting a price tag on love. Honey, you can have a ring but only when it's discounted.
ROMANS: We are both market reporters so we understand the whims of the precious metals markets so he understood for a while but now he is trying to give me a hard time.
ROBERTS: What if he says, yeah, I'll take you out for dinner if we can do the blue plate special.
CHETRY: Dinner between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. You pick the place.
ROMANS: Look at the gold chart. You'll see what I mean. The gold chart over the past five years has gone up and up and up and up. For ten years in a row. You have seen annual gains in the price of gold. Back when gold was heading towards $750 an ounce --
ROBERTS: When you should have bought the ring.
ROMANS: When I should have bought the ring, there were a whole bunch of people saying, oh, after $750, there is going to be a big pullback. It has marched all the way up to $1,300. You have some very bullish gold people, gold people saying, look, it could be $2,000, it could be $5,000. There are others who say no, no, no. It is a bubble. It is not a safe bet. It is a bubble and gold is going down.
ROBERTS: If it goes to $2,000, that waiting looks prudent on your part.
ROMANS: I know. Then the tattoo is going to be cheaper. So, let's take a look at how you can get in on the gold thing if -- if you have decided that now's the time to get gold bars, but the storage and you know, you can kind of throw out an arm kind of carrying those home. So, there are also gold coins and also gold-related ETFs, those are called Exchange-Traded Funds and the most popular is Tickerson (ph) called GLD, trades just like a stock. It is hugely popular. It goes up and down every day, mostly up.
And GLD is a way that a lot of people, who do not want to actually own gold or getting into it. There is also jewelry. There are some people who buy gold jewelry and you have seen those ads on T.V. I would caution you to be very careful there because the prices can vary a lot and you are probably not getting $1,300 ratings, close to $1,300 an ounce for your gold. Why is gold going up? It's a safety, it's a wealth -- a place to park your wealth. If you are afraid about what is happening in the economy. So the fact that gold has been going up even before the financial crisis is a bet by people who have money that they're very concerned about the way things are going. It is usually a hedge for inflation. But we don't have inflation. We have consumer prices that are pretty --
ROBERTS: Deflation.
ROMANS: Right. So, that's kind of one of those little riddles about the gold market right now. We have very, very low interest rates. Money is going into the gold, silver, platinum. All of these metals markets and keep going up. I'm sorry, honey. I didn't buy a ring a long time ago.
CHETRY: A fear of what is a safe bet these days.
ROMANS: It really is. Is there such a thing as a safe bet? No. There's money going into gold. Some people are just diversifying. A lot of people are saying that you should have 5% of your wealth in a metal anyway. You know, will it go up? I don't know. Will it go down, I don't know.
ROBERTS: So, how did Mr. Romans lose the ring in the first place?
ROMANS: Pushing the kids on the swing. They couldn't find it in the grass.
ROBERTS: At least he had one. Honey? Thanks, Christine.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, how do we stop kids who bully and how do we protect kids who are being bullied? Carol Costello joins us with some solutions next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: As we cross the half hour, breaking news tops our top stories. New terror crackdown in France with Europe on high alert. Police in France say they arrested nine people in two separate raids this morning. It comes just a couple of days after the United States issued a travel alert in Europe. It is not clear if these raids are connected to that alert.
CHETRY: Well, federal law enforcement will be stepping up security on Amtrak routes this week. It is a part of an exercise called Operation Rail Safe. It is a yearly exercise and officials say it is not connected to the terror threat in Western Europe, but earlier CNN's Fran Townsend told us the security search takes on new meaning given the current threat.
ROBERTS: In just a couple of hours Faisal Shahzad will learn his punishment for trying to set off a car bomb in Times Square in may. He's already pleaded guilty. He's being sentenced in New York federal court. Prosecutors want Shahzad to spend the rest of his life in prison.
CHETRY: Well, time now for an "A.M." original, something you'll see only here on "AMERICAN MORNING." If you have three kids in your house, chances are one of them statistically at least is a bully and one is a bullying victim.
ROBERTS: The problem of bullying is so pervasive because it's so complicated. How do you discipline a bully? Do you go after the parents? How do you teach your kids to protect themselves when they're ultimately confronted by bullies? Our Carol Costello now looking for solutions for a problem faced by millions of young people every day. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. It's a tough question -- how do you deal with a bully? Do you stand up to him and punch him in the nose? As soon as you do that, he or she will run away like the cowards they are. If only it were that simple. Statistics say it's not.
According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, 30 percent of kids are either bullied or do the bullying themselves, and the bullying seems meaner and the consequences more tragic. So, how do you protect your child and what should happen to the bully? There are no simple solutions, but we're going to try.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: At Oklahoma City's Western Heights High School, students are pledging to protect the bullied. It's especially important to Susan Lay. She knows how bullying feels.
COSTELLO (on camera): Is it worse with words do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it is because when I was little, like, people always said I was, like, really ugly. And it -- I never knew it affected me so much. And like, people would ask if I was a boy or a girl. And I was hurt. I never wanted that to happen, and, like, it lowers my self esteem really bad. And I never wanted to go to school.
COSTELLO: So I see it hurts you -- I see it hurts you so much. You know you're beautiful, right? Yes.
COSTELLO (voice-over): It's the kind of pain that affects so many children. One in three kids are bullied or bully every year. So how do you stop it?
RACHEL SIMMONS, AUTHOR "ODD GIRL OUT": We have to take it seriously.
COSTELLO: Rachel Simmons wrote "Odd Girl Out." She's an expert on bullying.
SIMMONS: The way is adult intervenes is just as the fact they're intervening at all.
COSTELLO: A good first step, calm down.
SIMMONS: Don't communicate with anyone, another child or the school until you are calm and able to have a respectful conversation, because it's very easy to get marginalized as a crazy parent in a school.
COSTELLO: Next, document how your child is bullied and then ask your child what he or she wants you to do.
SIMMONS: Remember, you are not the one who has to walk back into that school for eight hours a day. And you may want to do solution a, but if you do that solution your child may be mercilessly retaliated against.
COSTELLO: Simmons say bullies are often popular, socially skilled kids who can enlist an army of bullies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't always tell you about it.
COSTELLO: Marisa Velasco, who is also participating in Western Heights anti-bullying campaign, knows exactly what Simmons is talking about. In junior high school, she was a bully. Why?
MARISA VELASCO, OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I don't really know if there was a reason. It was just that easy target, I guess.
COSTELLO: Is it because other kids making fun of those kids, too?
VELASCO: Yes. There was a lot of others, also, bullying.
COSTELLO: Sort of like a mob mentality?
VELASCO: Yes.
COSTELLO: When you were calling people names, did it make you feel better?
VELASCO: It's not that it made me feel better. It's that I knew they felt worse.
COSTELLO: Which brings us to how bullies ought to be stopped -- don't humiliate them.
SIMMONS: If you humiliate a bully publicly, you are much more likely to see retaliation. If you sit down with a child and say, this is what I'm seeing. It's not acceptable. I know you're capable of more, and if it happens again, these are consequences.
COSTELLO: Susan Leigh, Marissa Velasco certainly know the consequences. They're hoping to make this school year bully-free.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Both of them are working together to do that this school year. What about charging bullies or their parents with a crime? As for criminalizing bullying, Simmons thinks generally it's a bad idea. Making an example of a kid or a family by throwing the book at them is not going to change the behavior. Kids don't care about other kids who are made examples of.
What you want to do is help your kids become better citizens. A tougher road perhaps, but in the end much more effective.
ROBERTS: Tougher road and a longer one to travel, as well. How do you change behaviors? If you mete out punishment you can change behavior immediately. The change they're talking about takes alto longer. COSTELLO: It does take longer, but in the end they'll become better citizens. You have to sit the bully down and explain why it's wrong, how it affects the other person, and that there are consequences to bullying, and those consequences may be you don't get to participate in activities, you get detention. I don't know if that works anymore.
But there has to be a consequence. Not criminalizing the bullying behavior, because most of it is mean and teasing and that would be hard to pin a certain crime on, right?
Because most kids who bully are socially adept children. They know what they're doing. They're good kids. They excel in school. So when you sit them down and explain to them and say these are the consequences, they'll get that. But you can't humiliate them in front of other kids because they have a whole army of friends who will do the bullying for them.
CHETRY: That's such a nightmare to think about. You want the best for your kids and hope they avoid the situations and as you've showed us this week, it's far more pervasive than you think.
COSTELLO: Most difficult thing for parents, and I know both of you are parents, is you can't protect your children from bullies. You just can't. You have to teach them to somehow deal with it. And I guess we're going to present another idea for people tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Yes. All right, tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING" with Carol Costello, what happens when the bully won't back down. Some parents are turning to martial arts to bully proof their kids
CHETRY: Bullying is not only in the schools. We have seen it online. How do you stop that? Don't miss a "AC 360" special report tonight 10:00 eastern on CNN.
ROBERTS: And you can find CNN and Time Warner's efforts to stop bullying and you can get involved. In your school is trying to stop bullying, send us an iReport. Go to CNN.com/bully.
CHETRY: We're trying a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean. Rob Marciano live is in a few minutes. There's a look at where it is now but will it gain strength and where will it go?
ROBERTS: Plus, tough security at India's commonwealth games. The security, there they are, the monkeys. Their official role is to keep monkeys who run wild through Delhi in check. A live report is coming up next.
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ROBERTS: It's 19 minutes now to the top of the hour.
The Commonwealth Games are under way in India. The security is tight as the world's greatest compete for gold and at some of the venues more security officers than spectators. And they're dealing with an awful lot of monkey business, real monkey business. Sara Sidner is live in New Delhi for us this morning. And we're talking about real monkeys here, Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. Now, these guys work eight-hour shifts. Ride bicycles to work. But their trainers say they can take on up to 50 potential attackers all at once. I don't know anybody but Superman who can do that. They're definitely a part of a special force.
These are some of the 100,000 security forces on patrol in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. It's not just the guys in khaki but the guys in fur, too. These are three of the ten roughians dedicated to cracking down on monkey business around the stadiums.
Their job -- to keep the tirelessly mischievous wild Rhesus monkeys away from people. They're just doing what wild monkeys do, searching for food and a bit of fun, but in a big, busy city, they can't help but in have run-ins with people. They snatch their food, chase them, and sometimes bite.
"In order for the foreign visitors not to have problems and the monkeys don't bite them, we have langurs," he says, "so the other monkeys stay away from stadiums and don't bother any of the foreigners.
This langur trainer says it takes two years to train his workers to jump on the transportation provided. He says one of his large primates can scare off dozens of macaques.
These monkeys aren't just used for the Commonwealth Games but the government hires these guys every day to make sure there's no trouble at government offices.
"They're also being used in government buildings because monkeys go in and rip apart files," he says. Private home and building owners hire them, too. Even when there are no games, there are 28 langurs on duty in this city.
One of India's leading primatologist says, using the langurs to scare away the macaques is not a long-term solution to a real problem because the wild monkeys just move elsewhere for a while. Animal rights groups question using langurs for labor.
Handlers, though, say they treat them like family, and in turn these furry security guards leap into action when duty calls.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: And if you've ever come to Delhi, which, John, I know that you have, you have certainly most likely seen monkeys because they're all over the place, and a lot of people feed them because many of the Hindus, which is the main religion here, will actually honor them because one of their deities is the monkey god. John?
ROBERTS: You see those long tails hanging down and you worry about them getting caught in the spokes. But you say it's a little controversial to use the langurs because they're being made to work. But how different from here in the United States, bomb-sniffing dog or a cute little beagle that sniffs out illegal goods that people bring back from overseas?
SIDNER: It is a controversy, especially with animal rights groups. And the difference there being that normally these monkeys are wild and in the wild, and dogs are normally domesticated. And so there is a conversation going on.
And also, you know, primatologists are basically saying, you know, look, this isn't the real answer. The real answer is to figure out how to deal with the monkey population and try to bring it down. And obviously you have the clash of, you know, big cities growing and more and more people coming into them and squeezing out these animals who have been here for a long time. John?
CHETRY: Sara Sidner for us, thanks so much. I also remember when we were at Nepal, the same, the monkeys would push the prayer wheels at the Buddhist temples. It was funny. If you're just seeing it for the first time, as a visitor, it is certainly a kick.
ROBERTS: Like anything, too much of a funny thing is just too much.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Anyway, storms in the northeast, plus we are watching a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean. Rob Marciano has all of it and he will tell us when the yucky weather is finally going to kick out of the northeast and whether this storm is going to turn into anything.
Its 45 minutes past the hour.
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ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning and I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center watching this area of disturbed weather in the Lesser Antilles, near Puerto Rico. The National Hurricane Center has up this to a high chance of becoming a depression or a tropical storm in the 48 hours.
For us though, we've got a lot of dry air in the Gulf of Mexico, Western Caribbean and some troughiness including this guy on the East Coast which should help protect us from any storm if that thing does develop. But we'll track it for you, certainly.
Also tracking on to our flow a lot of cool, damp and dreary conditions across the northeast once again today. This guy has been slow to move. It will finally begin to move tomorrow but really another day and a half of unsettled weather from Philly to New York up to Boston and then slicing all the way back to parts of the Ohio River Valley and the southern Great Lakes, as well.
Temperatures below that are certainly cool but they are warming up now that the sun is up but there were some frost and freeze advisories out once again. Yesterday's record lows in Gaylord, Michigan, 23; Oklahoma City saw 37; Longview, Texas 41 degrees. And we'll probably see some records this morning. They also had some record highs in Montana and some mountain snows out west in the Sierra-Nevada.
You're up-to-date weather-wise. AMERICAN MORNING is coming back next.
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CHETRY: He's got to top himself on a daily basis. This is Phil's challenge.
ROBERTS: In a special series, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is introducing us to some truly amazing people with stories that inspire us.
CHETRY: And Sanjay joins us from Atlanta; it's the latest installment of "The Human Factor". Good morning Sanjay, how are you?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- I'm doing fine. Good morning.
You know, if -- if you take a few minutes to get to know somebody's stories sometimes you can find some pretty remarkable things, you can find their human factor. Dr. Alfredo Quinones Hinojosa, he's a fellow neurosurgeon but his path to medicine started differently than just about anyone else you've ever met. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): This is Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, they call him Dr. Q., here taking out a life-threatening brain tumor.
(on camera): This is quite an operating room, right?
DR. ALFREDO QUINONES-HINOJOSA, JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL: Yes.
GUPTA: You got all of your scans up. You got in tropical CT Scanner.
(voice-over): Johns Hopkins, is one of the finest hospitals in the world.
(on camera): So is this your room? I mean this is what --
QUINONES-HINOJOSA: This is my room. This is -- they build this specifically for our service.
GUPTA (voice-over): At 42, Dr. Q is at the top of his game.
But life wasn't always like this. In fact, it's been a long journey from his hometown in Mexicali, Mexico. He started working at the age of five at his father's gas station. His family was poor and things got worse when the business collapsed. In 1987, young Quinones headed north to the border. QUINONES-HINOJOSA: There became one choice that I knew I had to make and I hopped the fence. I jumped the fence, I climbed the fence between Mexico and the United States at age 19.
GUPTA: His first job? Pulling weeds in California's Central Valley.
QUINONES-HINOJOSA: I remember, I tell you, Dr. Gupta, my -- my hands, they're very same hands that now do brain surgery right around that time they had scars everywhere from pulling weeds. They were bloody.
GUPTA: This trailer was his home. But Quinones knew he could do better. He worked for the railroad, he got a job as a welder. That money paid for night school. He got a scholarship to the University of California-Berkeley and from there he went to Harvard Medical School.
(on camera): Did you ever think to yourself, you know what? I don't belong here.
QUINONES-HINOJOSA: Yes, many times.
But I think that that's also what has kept me on the top of my game. You know? Back then when I was in medical school I remember thinking, wow, I look at my classmates. As you know, you had some of them who train at the best prep schools in the country, who came from the most distinguished families in the United States, from traditional education and there was me who barely had an education but I was eager to learn.
And I said -- I always knew that I had something that all of the others didn't have. And that was that fire in my belly that keeps me going. There is my girl right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
GUPTA (voice-over): The fire, that still burns today. As Dr. Q takes out brain tumors and does research that he hopes to lead to better treatments.
(on camera): Do you guys ever sit around, you and your wife and just pinch yourselves? I mean, your wife has literally seen you go from being a migrant farm worker to being here.
QUINONES-HINOJOSA: Yes. I do. We -- we think about it but I feel very blessed that every day when I walked out of the operating room, of this operating room and I go and give the patients the news that everything well -- went well in surgery, and they hug me, it's just the most rewarding moment that I can think of.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Sanjay that story is -- is nothing short of incredible the way he pulled himself up by his bootstraps. But a reminder he did come to the country illegally. Now there's a serious federal crackdown on illegal workers you're not going to see another Dr. Q come along.
Does he say that a crackdown would be a big mistake? Because I'm sure that for every Dr. Q., there are thousands and thousands of people who would never do what he did.
GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's interesting I asked him that that same question, John. It's worth pointing out a couple of things.
First of all, he is a U.S. citizen now; he became one in '97 and he is not what people typically think of, obviously, when they think of an undocumented worker by any means. His answer I thought was very candid and simple which was that as long as there are opportunities in the United States that are greater than there are in Mexico, no matter what the crackdown occurs, this is still going to happen where you have people coming over the border, crossing the fence like he did. He was actually sent back the first time and then came back again.
So, you know, he's an example -- a real life example of what can happen there.
CHETRY: Must be a relief though for people who were facing, you know, the prospect of dealing with brain tumors. It's already scary enough and if English isn't your first language, that you have a doctor especially if you're, you know, a Spanish-speaking patient who can sort of feel your pain and sort of communicate with you on a different level.
GUPTA: And you know, there was an interesting study, Kiran, about that very issue showing if a doctor communicates with a patient in their first language, Spanish, for example, outcomes are actually better. It could be because they better understand how to take care of themselves after the surgery or during the therapy but it can make a huge difference.
ROBERTS: What a remarkable, remarkable story. Thanks for bringing it to us, doc.
Gupta: You got it. Take care.
CHETRY: Thanks Sanjay.
All right. We're going to take a quick break. Three minutes until the top of the hour. We'll be right back.
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CHETRY: That's going to do it for us this morning. Thanks so much for being with us on AMERICAN MORNING. We hope to see you back here bright and early tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Don't miss it for the world. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Fredericka Whitfield starts right now. Good morning, Fred.
