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American Morning

Obama Bound for Asia; Hurricane Tomas Hits Haiti; Plane Crash in Cuba Kills 68 People; Ex-Pres W. Bush on Oprah; Extreme Makeover, Conan Edition; The World's Most Powerful; Tomas Storms Past Haiti; "I Couldn't Get Through"

Aired November 05, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us on this Friday, November 5th. It really is Friday today. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The end of yesterday's show. On a Thursday, she said, well, we'll see you back here again on Monday. So much wishful thinking but hey, one more day to go and it's going to be a great day too. So let's enjoy it.

I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us. Here are this morning's top stories.

Breaking news out of Cuba. A passenger plane carrying 68 people has crashed. It was headed for Havana. No one survived. We'll have a live report on that just ahead.

CHETRY: And a design flaw could have caused an engine to blow on that Qantas Airbus A380. You remember it was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore just minutes after takeoff. The entire fleet of A380s remains grounded this morning. But the CEO of Qantas says that they could be flying again in a matter of hours.

ROBERTS: Haiti bracing for yet another potential natural disaster. Tomas now a Category One hurricane could dump more than a foot of rain on the island. Our Reynolds Wolf is tracking the storm for us today.

CHETRY: First, though, it's hard to imagine spending $200 million every 24 hours. But when some Republicans become tossing that number around like it was a fact this week, it stuck. And now the White House is trying to shoot it down. President Obama is leaving today on a trade mission to four Asian nations where his approval ratings are higher than they are here at home.

ROBERTS: He's planning stops in India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan. Four countries that he considers critical to helping turn around the U.S. economy.

Our Suzanne Malveaux up early this morning. She's live at the White House.

Suzanne, where did these reports of $200 million a day come from? And how is the White House handling it?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is a report that comes out of India. It has been widely discredited. This is something that comes from a single, unnamed source. They say inside of the Indian government. Robert Gibbs, I spoke with him yesterday, says it's a widely -- a wildly inflated talks about the whole entourage. The president as well as the press corps is staying at the Taj Mahal hotel if only because these are lucky that is not happening. That is not true. Three thousand in the entourage, they say that is not true. $200 million a day is just not realistic. And the White House is pushing back very hard on this as well as the Pentagon. We heard from Geoff Morrell, the spokesperson there saying, look, the kinds of assets that they are talking about going into this trip simply does not exist. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: I will take the liberty this time of dismissing it. It's absolutely absurd this notion that somehow we are deploying 10 percent of the Navy, some 34 ships and an aircraft carrier in support of the president's trip to Asia. That's just comical. Nothing close to that is being done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So Robert Gibbs obviously, he says, look, they don't get into the numbers and details about security matters when it comes to the president's trip. Obviously, there's Secret Service. There are this hardware, this personnel that goes along with it. But we do have some idea from past figures how much things do cost.

So, for instance, to travel Air Force One, for Air Force One to fly each hour it costs $100,000. So if you take a look at this trip from D.C. to Mumbai, the first stop, it's a 13-hour trip. So it's about $1.3 million. That we can figure out.

We also know in a rare instance, the government accounting office actually went ahead and took a look at a trip -- President Bill Clinton's trip back in the late '90s to Africa. That was an 11-day trip. That they said was about $5.2 million a day. When you took over 11 days, it was about more than $57 million for that trip. But again, Robert Gibbs saying, look, we're not getting into the details of this, but the travel of President Obama, comparable to what you see in previous presidents.

CHETRY: That's amazing. So when he does go to Asia, why now? And what is he hoping to accomplish on this trip?

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, there's already been some pushback, some criticism as the White House said they expected. That look, you know, why is he taking this 10-day trip, nine-day trip overseas when everybody's just asking for jobs, jobs, jobs and he had just had a shellacking?

Well, President Obama's trying to get ahead of that message. It was just yesterday, he said, look, this is about jobs. Our first stop in India is about bringing CEOs, representatives of companies and trying to open up the market there to create jobs here at home. So he is definitely trying to make that connection that this is a global economy here. What happens over in India and these two economic summits certainly matters what happens here in creating the kind of work that people are asking for -- John, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. Thanks so much.

Now to Hurricane Tomas gaining strength and pounding Haiti. Heavy rains, maximum sustained winds now at 80 miles per hour.

ROBERTS: Tomas could dump more than a foot of rain on Haiti. You can see those heavy rain bands there in the deep red color. Flooding mud slides a major concern there. Aid groups are still trying to move Haitians who are living in tent cities after the earthquake to more hardened shelters.

Our Reynolds Wolf is tracking Tomas for us. Where's the storm now? What's the expected track? And just how much rain is there on that eastern and northeastern side of the storm?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, to answer all those questions, the first thing we're going to do is show you some imageries from some enhanced satellite images. When you take a look at this map behind me, first and foremost, John, take a look at the size of this thing. It extends all the way from nearly covering all of Jamaica, including Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The winds are 80 miles per hour, gusts at 100, moving to the northeast at nine miles per hour.

So, John, to answer one of the questions you had, where is this thing going? We turn to the forecast of the National Hurricane Center, and if you follow that line, it is expected to go right through the windward passage. But the strongest part of the storm, the northeast quadrant, is going to be roaring right near Port-au- Prince.

Let's remind our viewers that this is an area that was devastated, of course, by a large earthquake. At the same time we had a cholera outbreak. So with this storm as it comes through, could bring anywhere to, say, 12 inches of rainfall. Some places perhaps even more, up to 15 inches of rain. So flooding and mud slides, not even a possibility, but rather a certainty for many parts of Haiti.

You see some awful news, no question about it. And the latest we have from the storm again expected to go right through the windward passages. We fast forward into Friday and into Saturday. This storm should move a little more to the north and northeast and then eventually move into cooler waters as we get into late Sunday and weakening. But it's really going to be crucial to watch the next 12 to 24 hours and what it might mean for Haiti, even parts of extreme eastern Cuba and perhaps even Jamaica before all is said and done.

Guys, we get a lot to talk about not only because of the storm but also your travel weather is coming up. Plus a sneak peek of what you can anticipate through the weekend. Back to you.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Good to have you on the case this morning, Reynolds. Thanks.

WOLF: You bet.

ROBERTS: Coming up at 6:40 Eastern, by the way, we're going to be talking with Michael Dockrey. He's now in Port-au-Prince for the Haiti International Medical Corps. He's on the ground. He'll give us a bird's eye view of what's happening there as Tomas comes towards the island.

CHETRY: All right. We look forward to hearing from him.

Also new this morning, another deadly volcanic eruption from Indonesia's Mount Merapi. Fifty-one people were killed in its latest eruption. Dozens more badly burned by spewing clouds of gas and ash. Since Mount Merapi began erupting last week, 98 people have died and some 75,000 have had to be evacuated from surrounding villages.

ROBERTS: Developing story this morning out of Cuba where a passenger plane carrying 68 people has crashed. There are no survivors. Here's what we know.

CHETRY: Yes. What we know it's an AeroCaribbean flight. It was headed for Havana when it went down in central Cuba. Shasta Darlington joins us on the phone from Havana this morning with the very latest. Any new information about what may have caused this crash, Shasta?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Kiran, we don't actually have any information yet about what caused this. It's an ongoing investigation. What we do know is that the crew and the captain called in, reported an emergency at 5:42 local time. And shortly after that, the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers and crashed in central Cuba in this town called Guasimal in the province of Sancti Spiritus.

And I actually spoke to some hospital workers who were about three kilometers away who witnessed the crash. They said the plane hit the ground, burst into flames and that all of the doctors, emergency personnel, fire workers in the region were immediately sent to the scene, but they couldn't reach it immediately. It sort of mountainous and they had to use bulldozers to get through the vegetation, but that they found, obviously, a scene with the plane pulled apart, fire, and it was quite in a disastrous state.

What we also know, what we found out earlier this morning, the list of passengers was published by state media. There were 40 Cubans including 33 passengers and seven crew, and of course, the 28 foreigners. Now many of them from Latin America, from Argentina and Mexico, for example, but many were also from Europe, from Holland, Germany, France and Spain, among other places. And this will obviously come as a blow to Cuba's tourism industry and, of course, to all of the families affected, Kiran. CHETRY: All right. Shasta Darlington for us this morning reporting from Havana. Still no word on a cause yet, but certainly a devastating crash. No survivors.

ROBERTS: Yes. What we do know what was wrong with that Qantas plane. Faulty engine design may be to blame for mid-air engine blowout that forced that Qantas Airbus A380 to make an emergency landing at Singapore. Qantas' fleet, the double-decker super jumbos remains grounded this morning, but the airline CEO says they could be back in the air this weekend once the cause of Thursday's near disaster is officially determined.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're having a team of Rolls Royce engineers come here to Sydney and a team of Qantas engineers, Rolls Royce engineers going to Los Angeles to conduct those checks. We believe then over the next 24 to 48 hours, that those checks will be complete on all of the A380s. And we don't find any adverse findings out of the checks, the aircraft will resume operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Qantas CEO Alan Joyce also denied claims that the engine failure may have been the result of cost cutting on maintenance. He calls those suggestions, quote, "outrageous."

And a small plane carrying 22 people crashed overnight in Pakistan. Everyone on board was killed. Officials say the pilot warned of engine trouble shortly after taking off from Karachi. Witnesses say this typically happens with these things. The plane burst into flames upon impact.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, Democratic incumbent Patty Murray declaring victory in Washington State's Senate race. Her challenger, Dino Rossi, yesterday conceded after he was down two points with 82 percent of the vote counted. Now Murray's win gives Democrats 51 seats in the Senate. There were also two independents in the Senate who caucused with the Democrats.

ROBERTS: Well, here's a bright spot in the fight against lung cancer. For the very first time, a major government study shows screening for lung cancer using a spiral CT scan can dramatically reduce the number of deaths. The study looked at 53,000 current and former smokers between the ages of 55 and 74. It was a huge study. After five years, those who were screened using the more sensitive spiral CT scans had 20 percent fewer deaths from lung cancer than those screened using a chest x-ray. We'll talk more about these findings next hour with the doctor who worked on the study.

CHETRY: Also, the Dow and the Nasdaq opened this morning at a two-year high. Specifically the Dow jumped 220 points yesterday. Thanks to the Federal Reserve's new $600 billion plan to stimulate the economy.

ROBERTS: And finally, check this out. A U.S. spacecraft came within 435 miles of a comet. And here are the pictures that it sent back. This is Comet Hartley 2. You can see geysers of gas and other materials spewing from the surface as it orbits around the sun.

CHETRY: Amazing.

ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.

CHETRY: Yes, amazing pictures.

ROBERTS: Well, it was a special night last night for members of the Canadian rock group Rush, my buddies. I had the pleasure of knowing them for 30 years and was honored to present them with "Billboard" magazine's Legend of Live Award in recognition of their lasting impact on the concert industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: When I was a kid growing up in Canada so many years ago, my mom who was an incredibly astute and patriotic woman used to tell me, "Son, there are three things to really be proud of in this nation. Hockey, maple syrup and Rush." What's most incredible is that 40 years later, the country is still producing talented hockey players. There are barrels of fresh maple syrup every spring. And yes, you can still get a ticket to a Rush concert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Lead guitarist Alex Lifeson was on hand to accept the award. The guys just wrapped up the North and South America legs of their Time Machine tour. You remember we interviewed them in Atlanta back in September, and this is all part of my rock 'n' roll fantasy. Getting up on stage and playing with Alex, Geddy and Neil.

CHETRY: Pretty cool.

ROBERTS: A lot of fun.

CHETRY: That's amazing.

ROBERTS: Alex is just the most down to earth, lovely, unassuming, friendly human being you would ever want to meet. And he's just such a nice guy.

CHETRY: Maybe that's part of the reason why they still have success after all these years. People still love him.

ROBERTS: Maybe part of the reason why they let me on stage with them, too.

CHETRY: Yes. Hey, don't turn down that opportunity. That was a great one.

ROBERTS: Absolutely.

CHETRY: Well, still ahead, George W. Bush opening up to Oprah. What does the former president think of the Democratic debacle and the midterm elections? We're going to get details just ahead

ROBERTS: Charlie Sheen, you'll remember police said he was found intoxicated and naked inside a trashed hotel suite. Well, now, we're hearing firsthand from his friends about Charlie's efforts to clean up his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: You got to stop banging your knee on the desk.

CHETRY: This desk is not meant for people with legs, because I tell you what -- anyway. It's just a temporary situation.

ROBERTS: It's -- it's -- it is --

CHETRY: I wish we could show it to you. It's -- it's basically a -- a trap desk.

ROBERTS: Well, here we go. I think camera -- camera one snapped (ph) a picture.

CHETRY: Are you going to see it?

ROBERTS: Look at -- it -- it looks a little bit like a -- can we take camera one?

CHETRY: Go for it. Let's see what it looks like.

ROBERTS: There it is. See?

CHETRY: There it is. You see all that steel?

ROBERTS: Little bit -- little bit like a jail cell. It actually --

CHETRY: So many bruises on my legs and knees. All right. Temporary situation, though.

ROBERTS: There you go.

CHETRY: And it's very sturdy with all that steel. There's -- we're never going to knock this thing down.

ROBERTS: It -- it is a rather sturdy desk. This is -- yes. You could get up and dance on this. Not that I'm suggesting it.

CHETRY: No. Maybe after the show.

Meanwhile, new this morning, Oprah Winfrey reaching new heights for her farewell season. She has a debut of her very own 757.

ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness.

CHETRY: That's right. There it is.

United Airlines unveiled the craft yesterday, which is painted nose to tail with Oprah's logo -- the show's logo. There you go. The plane has a customized interior, as well, and passengers will be greeted by a video message from Oprah.

United plans to use the Oprah plan on domestic flights through May of next year.

ROBERTS: One of Oprah's big gets in her final season, former President George W. Bush. The 43rd president sat down with Oprah to discuss his memoir, which goes on sale on Tuesday.

She tried in vain to get him to weigh in on the job that President Obama has been doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm through with politics. It's hard for people to believe. I'd already said that. I am through. I (INAUDIBLE) it.

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW: Is that why you haven't commented on what Obama is doing or how he's doing it?

BUSH: No, because I want to treat my successor the way I'd like to have been treated. I don't think it's good for a former president to be out there, oh, pining on every darn issue. He's got a plenty tough job, trust me, and there's going to be plenty of critics, and he doesn't need me criticizing him.

And I don't think it's good for the presidency.

WINFREY: Yes, but --

BUSH: Other people have a different point of view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: That's interesting, because certainly Vice President Dick Cheney was critical, former President Bill Clinton was critical of George W. Bush. So for him to take that position, it -- it's admirable.

CHETRY: Yes. Absolutely.

ROBERTS: Oprah's interview with the former president airs on Tuesday, by the way.

CHETRY: Well, are you ready for some Conan? The former "Tonight Show" host makes his long-awaited return to late night on TBS Monday.

ROBERTS: CNN's Kareen Wynter now on what we could expect from Team Coco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONAN O'BRIEN, LATE NIGHT SHOW HOST: Hey, is it November 8? KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Conan O'Brien makes his return to late night TV Monday, with his new show on TBS, the sister network of CNN. He warmed up by making a surprise appearance on "Lopez Tonight," which is moving to midnight to make room for Conan.

GEORGE LOPEZ, HOST, LOPEZ TONIGHT: Welcome to TBS, and -- and, really, welcome to basic cable.

O'BRIEN: It's thrilling. Basic cable --

WYNTER: "The Hollywood Reporter's" Matthew Belloni has written about Conan's return to late night.

MATTHEW BELLONI, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: For the cable universe, the expectations are high. He's a big star. He's coming over from network TV.

WYNTER (on camera): Coming over from NBC, to be specific, and his departure from the "Tonight Show" in an awkward game of musical chairs with Jay Leno is the stuff Hollywood nightmares are made of.

WYNTER (voice-over): The TBS show represents a chance to prove once again he's one of comedy's best.

WYNTER (on camera): So, for Conan, what do you think here? Is this is a shot at redemption?

BELLONI: It's absolutely a shot at redemption for Conan O'Brien. I mean, he -- the way that he was sort of cast out of NBC, he took it very personal.

Conan is starting from scratch. If it succeeds, it's a huge personal redemption for him.

WYNTER (voice-over): And O'Brien has given few hints about the look of the new show beyond saying it'll have a more intimate feel than his "Tonight Show" did. He will be joined by long-time sidekick Andy Richter.

ANDY RICHTER, ANNOUNCER FOR CONAN O'BRIEN: Back to you, Conan.

WYNTER: They posted a faux preview online, complete with mini band.

As he gets ready to return, Conan's feeling the love from Hollywood.

MILLA JOVOVICH, ACTRESS: We're always happy to see him, because he's rad.

WYNTER: From Milla Jovovich to "Dancing with the Star's" Jennifer Grey.

JENNIFER GREY: Conan's smart. Conan's tough. Conan's special.

WYNTER: Conan's return sets off an unprecedented battle in late night between some giant talent.

BELLONI: Now you have three heavy weights overlapping. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are also players in this, in addition to Jay Leno and David Letterman.

WYNTER: But, in the crowded late night landscape, Conan's always had an edge.

O'BRIEN: I stand out. I'm 6'9" with orange hair.

WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: He does. He does stand out.

And I was just -- happen to be sitting in Central Park a couple of years ago, and he walked by, and you really know it's Conan. He's 6'9", even when he's just hanging out.

ROBERTS: You -- you can see him from the windows out here when he's -- he's (INAUDIBLE) ball field.

After 69 days trapped underground, life has taken quite a turn for Chilean miner Edison Pena. He's running in Sunday's New York City marathon, and he had everyone cracking up on Letterman last night. We'll show you the result.

CHETRY: Also, a woman wanted $3 million from Starbucks after spilling piping hot tea on her foot. So, did she get the money? Morning talkers, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: That's our theme song. Twenty-four minutes past the hour. Time now for stories that had us talking in the newsroom this morning.

You probably heard about this before. Someone buys hot coffee. This was a big McDonald's case, right. You spill some on yourself, you get burned, and you sue. It even happened to Kramer on "Seinfeld."

Well, a Manhattan --

ROBERTS: Did I tell you to put the bomb (ph) on? (INAUDIBLE) did tell you to put the bomb (ph) on.

CHETRY: Well, a Manhattan woman failed to convince the U.S. Appeals Court that Starbucks should be held liable after she spilled tea on her leg and her foot got burned. She said it was in a double cup. When she tried to remove the lid to put sugar in it, it spilled.

ROBERTS: So?

CHETRY: So the $3 million lawsuit, dismissed. ROBERTS: Out of there.

You've got to check these next pictures out. Canadian authorities are investigating why this young man who you can see on the left here boarded an Air Canada jet in Hong Kong disguised as the person on the right -- an elderly, white male.

Officials say during the flight to Vancouver, he went into the lavatory, then some time later emerged as a man who appears to be in his 20s. No one knows why he disguised himself. But Canadian officials say he filed a refugee claim as soon as he arrived in Canada.

CHETRY: It's a pretty good costume. I mean, that's pretty amazing.

ROBERTS: What about after he came out, people said, yes, he had this really old face, but very young-looking hands. They couldn't figure out, but no one said anything.

CHETRY: All right. Well, after 69 days trapped underground, Sunday's 26.2 mile marathon in New York City may feel like a piece of cake for Chilean miner Edison Pena. Before he was rescued last month, Pena ran six miles every day in the mine in his boots. He's planning to do the NYC marathon. He spoke to Letterman about it. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": And how long were you a miner?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).

EDISON PENA, CHILEAN MINER: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH). Yes, I was a miner only seven --

PENA: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- or eight months when the accident happened.

LETTERMAN: Oh, wow. Do you consider yourself to still be a miner?

PENA: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm a miner for life. I'm a miner for life out of respect of my -- my colleagues who are miners and out of respect for my country, and -- and the people of the world. I self- identify as a miner.

LETTERMAN: Wow. Wow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: What a good a guy.

CHETRY: Yes. He's a character.

ROBERTS: So if --

CHETRY: He also sang a little Elvis on the show.

ROBERTS: He did. In a very interesting fashion, too. Maybe we can get some of that a little bit later on.

But you figure he ran six miles underground, 2,300 feet underground, 90-degree temperature in his boots, you know, temperatures in the high 30s with running shoes on here in New York City, piece of cake for you.

CHETRY: And with fresh oxygen at all times.

ROBERTS: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).

CHETRY: Good luck to him.

ROBERTS: What a difference.

Well, it's turning out to be a pretty tough week for the president. First, the midterm elections. Now, he's no longer the world's most powerful person. So who is? We'll tell you, coming up.

It's 27 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now and your top stories this Friday morning.

A passenger plane carrying 68 people has crashed in Central Cuba. There were no survivors. The AeroCaribbean flight was headed for Havana when it went down last night in the village of Guasimal. Officials in Havana say 28 foreigners from 10 countries were onboard that flight.

CHETRY: Hurricane Tomas, we are tracking it. It's now battering Haiti with heavy rains, as much as 15 inches expected in some parts of the island nation. Flooding and mud slides are the major concern right now. Aid groups are trying to move more than 1 million earthquake victims that are still living in tent cities to try to get them some shelter.

ROBERTS: And Costco shoppers, if you recently bought any Dutch Style Gouda Cheese made by Bravo Farms, don't eat, return it to the store. Federal officials say the cheese has been linked to an E. coli outbreak. So, far, 25 people have gotten sick. The cheese was sold in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and the San Diego, California area.

We're finding out this morning, though, unfortunately that those Costco outlets were offering free samples of the contaminated cheese to its shoppers. So, remember, it's the Dutch Style Gouda Cheese made by Bravo Farms.

CHETRY: Christine Romans claims she bought it.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That story just got my attention. I just bought a big brick of Dutch Style Gouda Cheese from Costco. I'm going home to check it out.

CHETRY: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Again, it was Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and San Diego.

ROMANS: I might be safe.

ROBERTS: So, you might be all right.

And we'll post the information on our Web site, too, just in case you don't get.

CHETRY: Absolutely. So, we'll talk about --

ROBERTS: So person who is doing our Web site, get to it.

CHETRY: Talk about kicking a man when he's down. President Obama no longer the most powerful man in the world on the heels of the midterm elections -- now this news, at least according to "Forbes" magazine.

ROMANS: Look, this is the leader of the free world usually on the top of this "Forbes" most powerful list. And for those of you out there who are concerned perhaps that maybe this will be China's century and not America's, here's more ammunition for you.

Let me tell you who makes the top of the list? It is Hu Jintao, the president of China. The 67-year-old married president of the People's Republic of China. This is what "Forbes" said. It says, you know, unlike Western counterparts like our president, Hu can divert rivers, build cities, jail dissidents and center Internet without meddling from pesky bureaucrats and courts.

So, he takes the top of the list. This is the world's largest economy, as you know. It just unseated Japan as the world's second largest economy, rather. The U.S. is still the world's largest economy. And so, they have put Hu Jintao on the top of their list.

And so, that makes it kind of a tough week for President Barack Obama who lost the House, his party lost the House, and now, he's lost the top spot.

Now, look, "Forbes" points out the United States still has the deadliest army -- even though China has the largest army, the most number of people. But the U.S. still has the deadliest. And he is still technically the leader of the free world.

But they point out, it's quite a come down from last year's most powerful position, who after enacting widespread reforms in the first two years of office, will be hard-pressed to implement his agenda in the next two.

So, who else is on the list? If you got communist leader number one, you got democracy leader number two -- who's number three? It is a king, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. He runs the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has control of about a fifth of the world's oil reserves. So, this is an 86-year-old who is incredibly important.

And then also on the list, Vladimir Putin, who is not even technically running the country of Russia, but many of you think he will be. The government is already --

ROBERTS: He's not running the country.

ROMANS: Yes, exactly.

And Pope Benedict, he is 83 years old. He's, of course, the pope -- 1.1 billion souls follow the pope. So those are --

ROBERTS: So, the lesson here is really China ascended.

ROMANS: China ascended, that's right. And if you've got the natural resources, you are king, so to speak, and the pope is still up there, too. But the president slips to number two.

So, the story of is this China's century or America's century? Put this one in China's century category.

ROBERTS: It's news like this when you'd like to be able to turn to comedian Lewis Black over here who we had the other day, to say, so, Lewis, what's your take on this?

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: I'm not as noisy or opinionated as Lewis Black, but there you go.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.

ROBERTS: Thanks so much.

CHETRY: We're talking about the "Slurpee Summit" right now, right?

ROBERTS: Yes, just as a shellacking comes the so-called "Slurpee Summit." Plans for that are taking place. But crushing the ice, President Obama has invited the bipartisan congressional leadership to the White House for a meeting and dinner. But like the Slurpee itself, the atmosphere could be a little icy.

CHETRY: Well, unless they do what John Boehner suggested. The summit, by the way, suggest -- is scheduled for November 18th. GOP leaders may not be happy if Slurpees are actually served because as House speaker in waiting, John Boehner, said, how about a glass of merlot?

ROBERTS: Why stop there? How about a dreaded Scotch?

All this talk about Slurpee is just giving 7-Eleven a lot of free advertising for its signature drink, no kidding. We mentioned that yesterday. Company officials say if the president wants a Slurpee Summit, they're ready to cater it with red and blue Slurpees, even purple ones, or the Coca-Cola one. That's Brianna Keilar's favorite. That's what you get, though, with the other ones, the purple when you combine red and blue, of course.

CHETRY: You got to come up with a lemon Slurpee so you can be quite patriotic.

ROBERTS: There you go. Charlie Sheen allegedly leaves a path of destruction at the Plaza Hotel. Now, the actor's friend, Tom Sizemore, talks to CNN about trying to reach out to the troubled star.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Thirty-eight-and-a-half minutes after the hour now.

And Hurricane Tomas battering Haiti this morning with heavy rains and winds as high as 80 miles an hour. More than 1 million earthquake survivors still living in tent cities and scrambling for shelter.

Michael Dockrey is with the International Medical Corps. He joins us live on the telephone now from Port-au-Prince.

And, Michael, we just saw a satellite picture of Tomas over the western part of Haiti and all sorts of deep reds and purples, which indicates an awful lot of rain. What's it like there on the ground there this morning?

MICHAEL DOCKREY, INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS (via telephone): Well, good morning, John. I just got of the phone with our staff in Jacmel and Petit Goave, which is right out there on the western peninsula. They report increasing rains.

The winds are still fairly light, though, which is, you know, obviously good, but picking up. But probably not as high winds as we had initially expected.

ROBERTS: Well, that would be a good thing. What about there in Port-au-Prince where so many people are still living in tent cities? How much rain are you getting there?

DOCKREY: Quite a bit. Again, not as high a wind. I just saw reports from the airport where they had gusts up to 35, 40 miles an hour. Different sections of the city are protected. Some areas are obviously more exposed than others.

But right now, heavy rains, heavy to medium rains, mild winds.

ROBERTS: Right. And what's the situation with all of those folks who are -- there's 1 million of them across the country still living in tents. Are they being evacuated to more hardened shelters?

DOCKREY: Most aren't, John, because there are over 1 million of them, probably about 1.3 million in all -- some in the more low- lying areas that are in smaller camps, particular around Petit Goave. They are right next to streams and rivers, have been moved to higher ground. There hasn't been much relocation here in Port-au-Prince because the camps are just too large and there's really no place to put them, quite frankly.

ROBERTS: You know, a couple of concerns that come to mind immediately. Obviously the winds there, you say they're lighter than expected, at least for the moment. Tents don't fare well in a wind storm, there's no question about that.

But the potential for flooding and mud slides -- how big of a concern is that in Port-au-Prince and some of the outlying areas this morning?

DOCKREY: We're all very concerned about that, particularly mudslides that can cut off communities and the streams. A lot of the bridges, John, were destroyed during the earthquake. So access to a lot of these coastal cities has always been problematic. We've been forting streams with four-wheel drive vehicles that will last seven to eight months.

So, now, we're looking at these areas being cut off -- which is why we pre-positioned medical supplies, pre-positioned extra tents, tarps, those types of things and our staff. We sent extra medical teams out to these areas that we knew were going to be isolated.

ROBERTS: There's also that cholera epidemic that's raging in areas north of the capital city. What potential impact could this hurricane have on that epidemic?

DOCKREY: Well, we're already seeing increases in the number of cases. Fortunately, not an increase in the number of deaths per number of cases. So, a lot of that's attributable to the fact that the word's getting out, the government of Haiti and the international community has been getting the word out.

But, yes, the high-level of rains will flood streams. That means more contaminated water, more sickness, and probably an accelerated spreading of the cholera.

ROBERTS: And potentially more problems, too, in trying to get needed relief supplies to those people, as well, to treat the cholera victims.

And one other question, Michael -- aid agencies, they've been so taxed by just trying to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, are they prepared to deal with the aftermath of this hurricane?

DOCKREY: It's obviously stretched us all real thin. We can certainly all use more help. The government can. The international agencies that are responding certainly could use more help.

We would invite your listeners to go online to InternationalMedicalCorps.org or text Haiti 85944. We can certainly use the help and all the responders. But, yes, it's stretching us thin.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, Michael, we can't stress enough the fantastic work that you and all the other aid agencies have been doing down there since January. Thanks for joining us this morning. Good luck in dealing with this latest disaster.

DOCKREY: Thank you, John.

CHETRY: So, at least the one bit of good news, the winds are not as high. They were very worried about that.

ROBERTS: You could imagine, you know, 80, 100-mile-an-hour winds come there and just sweep all those tents away and you've got to start from scratch.

CHETRY: Yes. Well -- so, we'll keep our fingers crossed. We keep checking on that situation.

Meanwhile, in other news, Charlie Sheen is under fire after that trashing of the hotel room in New York. Well, now, his friend actor Tom Sizemore talked to CNN about trying to help Sheen clean up his life.

And a rainy and cold start to the weekend for many people living along the East Coast. The rest of the country -- look, they've got sunshine. Reynolds Wolf will be along with the morning's travel forecast right after the break.

It's 44 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Already?

ROBERTS: Can you believe it? Oh, my gosh. Chicago picks its holiday tree. The 70-foot blue spruce is going to arrive at Daley Plaza tonight after years of using fake trees. The city held a contest last year looking for a local spruce or a fur (ph). The family that won will help (INAUDIBLE) put the switch to the tree lightning ceremony the day before Thanksgiving. I can't believe --

CHETRY: Going back --

ROBERTS: We're talking about Christmas. Lewis Black and his new book, right? "I'm dreaming of a black Christmas." The way he liked it at the whole momentum thing, going with Christmas was like the running to the bulls of --

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: Just out there trying to stay with the flow.

CHETRY: Got to remember the true meaning, I guess, instead of worrying about all the other things.

ROBERTS: Nice, though, that they're not doing a fake tree this year.

CHETRY: Yes. Nice for everybody but the tree.

All right. It hardly feels like November in Southern California. They're dealing with an unusual heat wave. Yesterday 96 degrees in downtown L.A. Man, that's 20 degrees above normal, and temperatures hit 100 degrees in parts of San Diego.

ROBERTS: You know, it's not that bad, though, after having no summer this past summer.

CHETRY: Yeah.

ROBERTS: When do they go to see some relief, though? A return of those comfortable 60-degree temperatures that they've had for the last few months. Reynolds Wolf in the Extreme Weather Center for us. Good morning, Reynolds.

CHETRY: And Reynolds, we were just showing a picture of somebody being put on an ambulance. So, I guess, what happened? Did somebody get heat exhaustion in San Diego?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Pretty much so. Absolutely. You know, people really got to be careful out there. No question about it. The heat really can be deceiving. You go out just for a few minutes, doesn't feel that bad, but then you can really get overexerted and then boom, the rest is history. Hey, we've been talking about things heating up. The tropics still are pretty warm out there. The waters in the Caribbean are very warm.

Certainly enough to support a large storm like this. This is, of course, Hurricane Tomas. Not a very big storm in terms of shear strength with winds of 80 miles per hour, but if you look at the outflow, it stretches all the way from Central Cuba clear over to parts of, say, Puerto Rico, so, pretty wide to say the least. And it is continuing to make its way to the northeast around nine miles per hour.

Now, the latest forecast we have for this particular storm brings it right through the wind more passage just to the west of Haiti to the east of Eastern Cuba, and that could bring, of course, some of the heaviest rainfall right towards Port-au-Prince. Now, the biggest threat that we have with this particular storm will be the potential for mud slides and flash flooding. You got to take a look at the topography right around Port-au-Prince. If you look at it, here's the downtown area right about here.

You've got a big ring of hills. And as that water comes climbing down, that heavy rainfall, some places up to a foot of rainfall, flash flooding is going to be a real possibility and with that mud slide. That is certainly something to be advised about. Something we're going to watch out for. This storm again expected to make its way to the north, eventually, to portions a little more to the northeast as we get into late Saturday and into Sunday.

So, again, that is certainly something worth watching. We're also going to be seeing back home. Of course, we've seen -- of course, the watches and warnings we have through parts of Cuba and back into Haiti, but we're also going to be seeing some heavy rainfall in parts of the northeast as we advance this particular map. You can -- well, let me tell you. You got some rain this morning in parts of the northeast, including New York, as far as south as the nation's capital.

(INAUDIBLE) through a good part of the day. By early afternoon, we're going to have some clearing, but delays can be expected for New York and Philadelphia, as far south as Reagan National and perhaps even Richmond. Let's send back to you in New York.

CHETRY: All right, Reynolds.

ROBERTS: It's been the year of the nor'easter here in New York.

CHETRY: It's been a lot of them.

WOLF: You bet, guys.

CHETRY: There are two new inductees to the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York. That's right. The winners, playing cards and the Old Milton Bradley Life. Do you remember?

(SINGING)

CHETRY: Oh, I love that. You know, although, most of the time you did retire a millionaire unlike real life.

ROBERTS: I never played "Life."

CHETRY: I love it. They join a line of 44 other classics including the Nintendo game boy, the skateboarders, the Easy Bake Oven, Candy land, G.I. Joe, Silly Putty, Mr. Potato Head, and of course, the slinky.

ROBERTS: I will tell you, I have ordered the original Slinky when they first came out.

CHETRY: They probably would not be allowed these days if you (ph) think too dangerous, right?

ROBERTS: Can you imagine? We all managed to survive just fine.

Charlie Sheen's friends reaching out to the troubled star after he allegedly went on the hotel rampage here in New York City, but is television's highest-paid actor listening? We'll find out. It's 51 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Six minutes til the top of the hour now. Six minutes until the top of the hour now. Charlie Sheen is one of the highest- paid actors on TV. We know that. He also has a long history of getting into trouble. We know that as well. Most recently, he's accused of trashing a hotel room in New York City.

ROBERTS: Now, the actor's friends are reaching out to the troubled star. And our Amber Lyon is live in Atlanta. Amber talked with Tom Sizemore. It's really kind of a tragedy because Charlie Sheen is such a talented and funny guy and yet he's got all of these problems.

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. You know, John, we talked with Tom about that exact issue. About what it's like to be an actor and be so talented and so passionate about what you do, yet, society really only knows you for your mishaps and your personal life. And Tom's been friends with Charlie for about 20 years. Tom's had his own issues with drug and alcohol abuse.

He even says one time Charlie sat by his pool for 56 hours waiting to take him to rehab to convince him to go. Now, Tom Sizemore is sober and pretty much he says he's just absolutely worried about Charlie. He says there are a lot of lists in Hollywood. You know, you got the "A" list, "B" list. Also, though, unfortunately, you have the death list with the likes of, you know, Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, Brittany Murphy.

And he's very worried that Charlie's going to end up on that list. In addition to that, he says, like you said, John, Charlie's a talented actor, and it just really hurts to be known for your screw- ups in life rather than your talent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM SIZEMORE, ACTOR: In six hours, you can undo 17 years of hard work. And what people will remember is the six hours where you were an (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

LYON (voice-over): Like Charlie, Tom has long battled addiction. And like many of Charlie's friends, Tom fears for him.

(on camera): Have you tried to reach out to him and help him get into rehab?

SIZEMORE: I tried to call him. I couldn't get through. He wouldn't talk to Robert Downy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYON: And Charlie Sheen's already back at work on "Two and a Half Men." And Tom says that Charlie's going to need to take at least a year off work, in his opinion, in order to get better and really focus on Charlie, but when you're making nearly $2 million an episode, John and Kiran, you can imagine how difficult it is to actually take time off.

CHETRY: Absolutely, and a lot of pressure. I mean, this is an extremely popular show for the star of it to leave is something that's probably difficult, as well.

ROBERTS: Yes.

CHETRY: Amber Lyon for us this morning. Thanks so much.

ROBERTS: Has America finally had enough of this long-time bad boy? "Falling Star: The Charlie Sheen Story" airs Saturday night 10:00 eastern. And the top stories are coming your right after the break. Stay with us.

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