Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Obama in Indonesia; Coco's Comeback; Happy Meals Ban; Volcano Eruption May Cut Obama's Trip Short; Hope on the Soccer Field; One- Letter Wonder
Aired November 09, 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. And thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, it's the 9th of November. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here's a look at what happened overnight.
A homecoming, but for how long? President Obama in Indonesia. It's a country where he spent part of his childhood. But this morning, an erupting volcano, Mt. Merapi, may force the president to cut his visit short. We're live in Indonesia with the latest.
ROBERTS: Sarah Palin takes a shot at the Fed's latest attempt to kick-start the economy, saying the plan will be paid for by printing money out of thin air. And she's not the only railing against the new $600 billion policy move.
CHETRY: And Coco's comeback. Conan O'Brien back on the air after he was booted from "The Tonight Show." And as you can imagine, last night, the firing jokes flew fast and furious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, TV HOST: People asked me why I named the show "Conan." I did it so I'd be harder to replace.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
O'BRIEN: He's out! Get another Conan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There's no other Conan. He also got some advice from a familiar face here at CNN. We'll have more on that coming up.
ROBERTS: Well, there's always Conan the Barbarian. Schwarzenegger doesn't have a job as of January. So, there you go.
First right now, President Obama in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority nation. It's the second country in the president's 10-day tour of Asia, at a place where he spent time as a boy.
CHETRY: Yes, his homecoming could be cut short, though, because of an ash cloud from Mt. Merapi.
Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with the president.
You know, they thought the third time was the charm, Ed, because he had to cancel the trip two other times. Now, we could be looking at a shorter trip because of Mother Nature.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's right. Good morning, Kiran. In fact, you know, the first trip canceled because of health care and then it was the Gulf oil spill.
Now, there's ash spewing out of Mt. Merapi. It's looking more and more likely is going to have to shave at least a few hours of his stop here in Indonesia, needs to safely get to South Korea which is the next stop. The bottom line is that experts say that volcanic ash can wreck havoc on jet engines and, obviously, the last thing the White House is going to do is put Air Force One in a difficult situation, along with other jets that will be accompanying the U.S. delegation.
I think, obviously, as you mentioned, sort of a homecoming, the president spending four years here as a boy. He was reflecting on that a little bit at a joint news conference with the Indonesian president, was talking about how much it's changed here in Jakarta and had a little bit of a joke about how even on a rough day, it's still pretty cool to be president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I first came here was in 1967 and people were on becaks (ph), which for those of you who aren't familiar, sort of a bicycle rickshaw thing, and they were on becaks, they were bemos, which were -- they're sort of like little taxis but you stood in the back. And it was very crowded.
And, you know, now as president, I can't even see any traffic because they block off all the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Blocked off all the streets, indeed. The motorcade is able to get through here. But the president still has a big state dinner that they'll be celebrating tonight with the first lady and then he's planning to give a speech as well as a tour of a big mosque here in Jakarta, but some of that may have to be shaved down because it's looking more and more likely the president is going to have to urgently get out of town sooner because the volcanic ash is really causing potential safety problems, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Ed, the president made some news yesterday in his speech to the Indian parliament. Anything of substance come out of this press conference?
HENRY: You know, he didn't make as major news as yesterday with that announcement of supporting India's bid of a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Instead, this is kind of more of his broader focus on this whole Asian trip, bring more trade, which he hopes that will bring U.S. jobs, you know, if you increase U.S. exports here to Indonesia, just as we have seen a quadrupling in India.
And then, also specifically here, which you have to remember is the most populist Muslim majority country in the world and so, what the president is trying to do is show that while this is a country that holds true to his Muslim identity, it works with the West, it reaches out to the West on issues like climate change, on trade, as well as counterterrorism. And so, they want to use that as a model for other Muslim countries -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Ed Henry for us this morning in Jakarta -- Ed, thanks.
From age 6 to 10, president Obama lived in Jakarta where everyone knew him as Barry. So, what was the future president like as a boy? Later on on the hour, Suzanne Malveaux talks to his close friends, his classmates and teachers, the people who knew him growing up.
CHETRY: Well, it's job you usually involves battling reporters. Yesterday, though, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs went to bat for them. This happened while the president was still in India meeting with the prime minister there yesterday. Indian officials tried to allow only five U.S. journalists into the meeting instead of that previously-agreed upon eight and that's when Gibbs put his foot down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That whole group is going in because they're going in with me. The whole group is going in with me. Those guys, if there's a pool spread (ph), all of them go in. All of my guys go in. Excuse me. OK? That's the new agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, eventually all eight journalists were allowed in.
ROBERTS: That's the new agreement. That's the new deal.
The CNN "Security Watch" now. New airline security measures from homeland security are now in effect. If you were thinking about it, don't do it because passengers can no longer travel with toner or ink cartridges weighing more than a pound. I've never seen anybody bring one of those on the plane, but I guess they do.
High-risk cargo also is banned from passenger planes and will undergo additional screening.
The new restrictions come after two explosive devices mailed from Yemen were found onboard cargo planes.
CHETRY: And a CNN exclusive, a passenger on the Air Canada flight boarded by a man disguised as an elderly American has come forward. She tells CNN that she warned no less than three flight attendants that the young Asian man was actually wearing mask to make himself appear like that elderly man you see picture there.
And Air Canada spokesperson claims that the crew acted appropriately, alerting authorities at -- and then getting them to meet the aircraft upon landing and the passenger will be right here exclusively on CNN in the 10:00 hour.
ROBERTS: Pretty amazing mask, really. Wow.
Former President George W. Bush is back in the spotlight this morning. His new book is being released today. It's called "Decision Points," and ahead of its release, the former president sat down with NBC's Matt Lauer to talk about everything, from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, NBC NEWS: I can never forget what happened to America that day. I would pour my heart and soul into protecting this country, whatever it took. It took two wars.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes.
LAUER: It took thousands of lives, American lives, billions of dollars. You could say it took Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.
BUSH: Yes.
LAUER: And government eavesdropping and waterboarding. Did it take too much?
BUSH: We didn't have an attack. Three thousand people died on September the 11th and I vowed that I would do my duty to protect the American people.
LAUER: Why is waterboarding legal in your opinion?
BUSH: Because the lawyer said it was legal. It did not fall within the Anti-Torture Act. I'm not a lawyer. And -- but you got to trust the judgment of people around you and I do.
LAUER: One part of the evening I introduced Kanye West. Were you watching?
BUSH: Nope.
LAUER: Do you remember what he said?
BUSH: Yes, I do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANYE WEST, RAPPER: George Bush doesn't care about black people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: He called me a racist.
LAUER: What he said was George Bush doesn't care about black people.
BUSH: That's -- he's a racist. I didn't appreciate it then, I don't appreciate it now. It's one thing to say, you know, I don't appreciate the way he's handled his business. It's another thing to say this man is a racist. I resent it. It's not true. And there's one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The former president says he would like his brother Jeb to run for president but he tells FOX News his brother has made it clear that he is not going to run in 2012.
CHETRY: Well, our chief political correspondent Candy Crowley is also going to be sitting down with the former president. You can see her special edition of "STATE OF THE UNION," it's Sunday night 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.
ROBERTS: Well, it is chilly, chilly, chilly here in the Northeast. Some people might be saying to themselves, what happened to fall? Do we go straight to winter?
Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center for us. But not cold everywhere, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, no. Just, you know, actually warming up across parts of the midsection, but it's going to be a chilly breeze for sure across the Northeast, but not quite as nasty as it was yesterday.
Yesterday, we had temperature in the 30s and lower 40s, with rain blowing sideways and some snow mixing in. That's pretty much done, but there's still rain in the eastern New England, extreme cape and the eastern Mass, temperatures still in the 30s and 40s there.
But winds still blowing 25, 30, and in some cases are gusting to 40 miles an hour. So, that slowdown some air travel. But in between from New Orleans, even to D.C., back through the Great Lakes, temps going to be in the lower 60s. And that's well above average for this time of year. A matter of fact, Chicago might get into the upper 60s -- 68 degrees, expected high temperature for Chicago and Minneapolis.
A couple of storms coming into the Pacific Northwest and the Intermountain West, some snow potentially in Denver. We'll talk more about that in about 30 minutes.
John and Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano for us, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Former "Tonight Show" host, Conan O'Brien, is back on the air. The much-anticipated debut of his cable TV show "Conan," it aired last night on our sister network, TBS. So, how did he do?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twelve minutes after the hour now on this Tuesday morning. Conan O'Brien is back. He returned to a late-night television last night on our sister network, TBS. O'Brien was booted from "The Tonight Show" back in January, you'll remember, after refusing to move his show to midnight, a decision that O'Brien says may have backfired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: I put myself and my staff through this crazy, huge ordeal all because I refused to go on at midnight. OK? And so, I work -- you know, and then I got this job at 11:00. It was supposed to be a big deal. Then yesterday, Daylight Savings Time ended. Right now, it's basically midnight.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: O'Brien started the show by revisiting the months after he lost his job at NBC, and you'll see, he was visited by a familiar face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Don't do it, Conan!
O'BRIEN: Larry King?
KING: I'm your guardian angel.
O'BRIEN: But you're not dead.
KING: Never mind that. I have two words for you: basic cable.
O'BRIEN: Basic cable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conan, I think you'll find our terms very attractive.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: I think we have a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You can catch Conan's show tonight on TBS at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Guests in include Tom Hanks, Jack McBrayer and Soundgarden, as well.
CHETRY: Yesterday, he's jamming with Jack White. Conan himself. He was pretty cool.
ROBERTS: He can play and he can sing. I never knew that.
CHETRY: Yes, a multitalented guy. Well, congrats, Conan. Keep it up.
Speaking keeping up with, how about Hillary Clinton? The secretary of state talking to an Australian radio team, saying that the Kardashians are perhaps not the best ambassadors for the U.S. -- although I don't know if they're trying to be, they just have a reality show. But she used them as a example of how trash TV in the U.S. affects how the rest of the world sees us, saying you would think that we all run around wrestling and wearing bikinis.
ROBERTS: Well, they started the year thinking that they might be the first team to play a hometown Super Bowl. Now, the Dallas Cowboys have fired their head coach Wade Phillips after a 1-7 start to the season. Ouch! Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett takes over.
The Cowboys head to New York next week. They'll be playing the Giants in the new stadium, the team that KO'd their starting quarterback, Tony Romo.
CHETRY: Well, there's an app to catch a cheating partner. It's called the SMS Replicator. It allows the user to secretly forward incoming text from another phone to their phone without the person knowing about it. The person whose texts are getting tapped has no idea which again would make it perfect for monitoring suspicious activities of your significant other.
Google decided that the app goes too far, its banned it from their Android app marketplace.
ROBERTS: And apparently, it only works on the Android. So, this is a thing where if somebody wanted to check up on you or me, they get the app and then they plug in our number and they can monitor everything going on in our phones?
CHETRY: I guess. It's not available on the iPhone. So, I don't know if you have to have an android for it to work.
ROBERTS: Right. Oh. That's interesting.
Happy meals may soon be illegal in San Francisco. City leaders will vote today on a happy meal ban. Under the ordinance, McDonald's and other chains will have until December of next year to make kid's meals healthier or else they'll have to lose the toys that are inside.
CHETRY: In the name of science, one Kansas state nutrition professor spent two months on a junk food diet. He had Twinkies, brownies, Doritos. He said it made up two thirds of what he ate in the day, and he lost 27 pounds, 8 percent body fat. He says he proved the theory that, you know, it doesn't matter what you, it's how many calories you consume, because even though he was eating all that junk, he limited himself to 1,800 calories of junk.
ROBERTS: Junk or good food, I guess, 1,800 calories is 1,800 calories. All right. Bag of Cheetos right after the show.
Sarah Palin, taking aim at a new target the federal reserves monetary policy, and she is not the only one. Christine Romans is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But earlier tonight, somebody else was eliminated from "Dancing with the Stars." Take a look at this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's President Obama's in India right now. He's over there visiting our jobs. Thank you. That's what he's doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Oh, two-fer from Letterman today.
Well, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. She joins us now. Unfortunately, there's a little bit too much truth to that zinger.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A little bit too much truth, and it's interesting. As the president is on this trip, he's getting a little bit of blowback from some of our friends and partners there who are concerned about what the Fed has been doing. The Fed and it's injecting all these money into the system. And it's interesting. Here's a quiz for you. What do China, Germany and Sarah Palin have in common?
ROBERTS: They don't like the $600 billion Fed move.
ROMANS: All three of them have been critical of the Federal Reserve. Sarah Palin, darling for the tea party this year, of course, and the vice presidential candidate for John McCain, coming out with some very specific comments about the Federal Reserve and its efforts to try to stimulate the economy, tweeting about this, and in fact, giving a big major speech in Phoenix last night about this, and as well, she's expected to speak about it tonight in Pennsylvania.
So, let me tell you first what she said. Last night, she was speaking to a trade association in Phoenix, and she basically said the fed's quantitative easing plan is printing money out of thin air. She said that Ben Bernanke and the Fed should, quote, "cease and decease" what they're doing. She's concerned about inflation down the road. She said just simply printing up money is not a way to solve our problems.
Also, she tweeted that today she will be in Pennsylvania, the school event, quote, "a school event to start discussing quantitative easing with kids around U.S., so they prepare for fed's experiment with their future." She's not the only one to be concerned about what the Fed is doing in the near term. Basically, buying up treasuries, taking those treasuries off the market and injecting money into the market, money that it is printing. Germany has been concerned about this.
Its finance minister saying, quote, "with all due respect, U.S. policy is clueless." The Chinese have come out strong against this. Very concerned about what the Fed is doing. The president has defended the move noting that the Fed is an independent body. It's not the president that ordered this, but the Fed is doing this to try to get the economy back on a more even keel. The Chinese, interestingly enough, you guys, have stepped back from some of their criticisms as we get closer to that G-20 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.
That diplomacy, it worked, basically. But you got a people around the world starting to ask questions about this and Sarah Palin weighing in just a week after the midterm elections in what's a pretty complicated, pretty big policy issue. Many times you don't see political leaders in this country openly criticize the fed. Rand Paul has, of course, congressman.
There are people who are concerned about the fed, and the fed's role, in general, but mostly, this is an independent body. You usually see elected officials steer clear of open criticism.
CHETRY: And in a nutshell, what is quantitative easing for people who don't familiar with the term?
ROMANS: Quantitative easing is a Fed measure to loosen monetary policy, to get more money going out. They can't lower interest rates anymore, because they're already so low. That's usually how the Fed does it.
ROBERTS: Negative territory. And explain why, quickly, why Germany and China are particularly against this.
ROMANS: Well, they're concerned about this because -- well, Germany's concerned about this because as the U.S. dollar gets lower and lower and lower, it makes our exports more attractive and their exports less attractive.
ROBERTS: That's with Euro goes on. And China?
ROMANS: And China's concerned because we've been complaining about China manipulating its currency, and this is also the U.S. pushing down our currency. Now, the China's currency is pegged to the U.S. currency. So, it makes a little bit a different case, but the G- 20 last year with all these countries talking about speaking with one voice and doing policy together to try to get the economy going again, but this is the U.S. going on its own.
ROBERTS: Got you. Christine Romans this morning. Christine, thanks. ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
ROBERTS: Well, Christmas is coming early for millions of air travelers. Free Wi-Fi on flights. Google making it available to passengers who are flying on Air Tran, Delta and Virgin America. The offer covers all domestic flights between November 20th and January 2nd. That means more than 700 planes in an estimated 15 million fliers.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, we all know him as President Barack Obama. They know him as Barry Soetaro. We're taking you back to President Obama's childhood home in Indonesia where he spent four years, and we get to know him through the eyes of his friends and neighbors. We're going to check in with Suzanne Malveaux coming up. Twenty-four minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-seven minutes after the hour. President Obama touched down in Jakarta, Indonesia, just a few hours ago. It's the second stop of his 10-day tour of Asia. The world's largest Muslim majority country is a strategic ally for America, but it also happens to be the boyhood home of President Obama.
CHETRY: Back then, everyone knew him as Barry. White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, joins us this morning with an "A.M. Original," a story you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING. See, he was talking about his fond memories. He lived there for four years. What do Indonesians remember about this boy who would grow up to be the American president?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: you know what, it's kind of funny, but what they remember is he loved to eat. He loved to eat. He ate all the time. He was a big kid in elementary school and he really stood out. He got teased a little bit for it, but he also liked to tease back, and he adapted to some of the local customs like he had small crocodiles for pets. He spent hours flying kites. I was in Indonesia in March.
I was traveling ahead of the president before he canceled his trip. So, I got the chance to visit his old neighborhood, and I talked to those who knew him or close to him as they really see him. They see him as a son, one of their own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): When Barack Obama lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, he was Barry Soetoro, the big kid with a big smile, always running around with the neighborhood boys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Running and bicycle.
MALVEAUX: Indra Madiwa (ph) was his friend who lived around the corner from Obama's first home. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barry is very energetic boy.
MALVEAUX: Obama's first house in Jakarta where he lived for three years is largely hidden behind concrete.
And they're paving the street now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think --
MALVEAUX: His home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The street --
MALVEAUX: For his arrival, yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so.
MALVEAUX: Yes, for the last 40 years, a dirt road leading to Obama's home. Now, a makeover with friendly neighbors eager to see the 6-year-old who grew up to become the American president. Just down the street is Obama's first elementary school, a catholic school, St. Francis of Asisi. Obama's first grade teacher remembers a sweet kid who helped her erase the black board.
ISRAELLA PAREIRA DHARMAWAN, FORMER PBAMA SCHOOL TEACHER: His mother took him to school every day. She walked him to the front gate. Obama was a good listener.
MALVEAUX: She likes to think his success now has something to do with his Indonesian experience.
DHARMAWAN: His attitude, his leadership maybe comes from the neighborhood he used to live. (INAUDIBLE) is a small area but full of diversity in every aspect. That might affect his personality as a president.
MALVEAUX: When his family moved into a more upscale neighborhood, 9-year-old Barry went to the masuki (ph) school. It's a public school that during the U.S. presidential campaign, some news outlets incorrectly labeled as a madrassa or radical Muslim school. His classmates here recall Obama stood out in many ways.
They say he was a boy scout, couldn't stand kids who cheated in sports, and he could hold his own.
(on camera): I understand he was teased a little bit because he looked different?
CITRA DEWI, OBAMA CLASSMATE: Yes. Some of the kids tease him but he like to tease also.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Four years in Indonesia, and it seems everyone who knew Barry Sotoro has a story to tell. For childhood friend Indra, it was a fight over a toy gun.
INDRA MADEWA, CHILDHOOD FRIEND: He take me very high and lifted me and --
MALVEAUX (on camera): Dropped you?
MADEWA: Yes.
MALVEAUX: If you see him, will you remind him that he picked you up and dropped you?
MADEWA: Of course. Still pain, no?
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Still hurting?
MADEWA: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Unfortunately, for Indra and the others that had been hoping to see the president during his visit, very likely they're not going to see him this time. He is only scheduled to be on the ground for less than 24 hours. And now you have this erupting Indonesian volcano, so the president's trip is going to be cut even shorter.
When I was there in March, many of the friends wanted to see not only president Obama but first lady Michelle, daughters to welcome them back to the family home, the neighborhood. White House officials say that might happen next year when he goes back to an East Asia summit in Indonesia.
Obviously In March, there was so much excitement. Kids had songs and they were cheering, signs up and all of that. It was very disappointing when they realized he wasn't coming. So now very, very quick trip.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: At least you got to see it.
MALVEAUX: I loved it. I got to see all of it. There was a little statue of the president when he was a little boy at one of his elementary school. And all of them, I mean, they had the road in front of one of his homes, had been a dirt road for like 40 years and quickly paving over it. He's not going to see it this go around.
CHETRY: What a unique sense of pride. Never before in Indonesia, an American president lived here for four years.
MALVEAUX: There's a lot of excitement around it, too.
CHETRY: Understandable. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.
MALVEAUX: Good trip.
ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now. Erupting volcano, Mount Merapi, may force the president to leave Indonesia in just a few hours. During his two day visit, pushing for opening markets to U.S. goods, giving a major speech on relations with the Muslim world, as well.
CHETRY: New restrictions in place if you're traveling in the sky. If you're planning on traveling with a toner or ink cartridge, it cannot weigh more than 16 ounces, while cargo deemed high risk is banned from passenger planes. The new rules come after two explosive devices were mailed from Yemen found aboard cargo planes.
ROBERTS: A Republican lawmaker saying that Sarah Palin cost his party control of the Senate. Alabama congressman Spencer Bachus told a local chamber of commerce group last week that the Senate would be Republican if not for Tea Party candidates like Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, candidates who Sarah Palin endorsed.
A spokesman for Congressman Bachus backtracked a little bit on that, saying he credited Palin with the turnout that led to huge wins for Republicans in the House.
CHETRY: And speaking of that, the Republicans are set to take control of the House come January and they're now busy figuring out who gets powerful and influential leadership roles.
ROBERTS: And one of the questions, a huge one out there, is whether any newly-elected Tea Party candidates will be a part of that group. Our Brianna Keilar is live in Washington, and there's one Tea Party-backed candidate in particular that the Republican leadership has their sights on.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Her name is Kristi Noem from South Dakota. She is a freshman. She's seen as a very promising Republican. She ran a campaign against a very charismatic Democrat and Noem herself seen as very charismatic, and she won.
So at this point we're told by sources that she is interested in perhaps a new position that GOP leadership is talking about creating at the table for a Tea Party member. But you have to remember that she would have to run for this. This is an election process and would have to have the endorsement of the freshman class.
This has to do with a very big question for Republicans, and that is with this huge influx of new Republicans, many of them aligned with the Tea Party, how do you make sure that they're represented in a way that's going to keep those members of the Congress happy and also the voters that put them in Congress?
And the answer seems to be according to sources to create a position so a Tea Party member and a freshman has a seat at the table, John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Interesting. Meanwhile, the other side of the aisle, backroom dealing with the Democrats trying to figure out their joint leader and the other roles. There's not enough leadership roles to go around now that they're a minority party. KEILAR: That's right. Democrats experiencing a squeeze here moving into the minority in the new Congress. They lose a leadership position so you have jockeying going on between Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn, and this is a bit of an inner party feud going on or really a battle because they represent different wings of the democratic caucus.
Steny Hoyer is aligned more with moderates, many of whom lost seats in the election. Jim Clyburn, a very prominent African- American, seen as someone that represents the liberal wing and support of the Congressional Black Caucus.
And so, you know, we are sort of waiting to see how all of this shakes out. I just learned from senior democratic aide that Hoyer and Clyburn met yesterday for about half an hour and still trying to figure out exactly what was discussed as this jockeying continues.
CHETRY: All right. Hey, is it me or you? We'll have to see what happens.
KEILAR: Yes.
CHETRY: Thanks so much.
If you want to add years to your life, how about figuring out where people live longest, ten to 12 years longer than the average American and some parts of the world. One happiness researcher shows us how to take the secrets and put them to work for us. It's 36 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 39 minutes after the hour. A mission to make America healthy, a town at a time -- Dan Buettner, the author of a new book called "Thrive" joined us earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING".
CHETRY: He brought back secrets of the healthiest cities in the world and helped a town in Minnesota lose 10,000 combined, adding three years to their lives, halving health care costs. He told me a few steps of what went into it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: What was the trick? What changes did you put into place in Albert Lee, Minnesota?
DAN BUETTNER, AUTHOR, "BLUE ZONE" AND "THRIVE": OK, so there were seven schools, and one of the things we got them to change is simply prohibited eating food in hallways and classrooms. And that alone cuts eight hours of junk food eating out of a kid's daily diet and lower the BMI, their body fat, by 11 percent.
We put in 1.7 miles sidewalks, and instead of putting them in, we brought experts in to help them work with the city planners to figure out the natural pedestrian routes. We did farmer's markets. We got people to cluster in groups of five and become friends with other active people, because we know who you hang out with has a huge impact on your health behaviors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Dan Buettner chose our shows to announce the next three big cities that will be getting wellness makeovers. There are a group of beach towns in southern California, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach. And he said little things like sidewalks, banning junk food and snacking in all of the city schools except for in the lunchroom.
ROBERTS: What's the matter with New York? What are we, chopped liver? Come on. Let's get it going here.
Storms lingering in the Northeast. The Midwest, temperatures bouncing back to a lovely fall-like warmth. Our Rob Marciano is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A great shot this morning in Atlanta, Georgia. It's sunny and 51 degrees, a pretty nice day there. More sun, high of 74 in Atlanta.
ROBERTS: Which is why it's great to live in Atlanta and that's where our Rob Marciano is this morning with a look at the weather across the country. Good morning, Rob.
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHETRY: It sounds good, Rob. Thanks so much.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Well, it was a trick play drawn up by a middle school assistant coach in Texas and football fans across the country are now cheering and talking about this so-called penalty play. It was executed to perfection by the quarterback, Jason Garza. Who walked just five yards and then ran past the confused defense making a 67- yard game-tying touchdown.
ROBERTS: Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING we asked Garza and the coach who devised the play what they were thinking as it all unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON GARZA, QUARTERBACK, DRISCOLL MIDDLE SCHOOL: It was just a rush. Adrenaline. I think I said that right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GARZA: it was fun. I had a blast doing it. I didn't think I was going to get very far but I -- it turned out to be a touchdown.
JOHN DE LOS SANTOS, ASSISTANT COACH, DRISCOLL MIDDLE SCHOOL: In practicing the play, we even said, there's going to be two results to the play. Either Jason is going to get hit really hard by a line backer or safety or he's going to hit a first down or a touchdown and for us, thank goodness, it was the latter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It was perfectly executed. Basically it gets a call from the sidelines. Ok, he walk off another five yards in that penalty. So he asked the center for the ball. And the line backers are saying, what are you -- what are you doing, Jason? And he just walked across the line.
Perfect, video of the trick play was posted on YouTube. It's gone viral, of course, getting nearly 170,000 hits and a thousand comments so far.
CHETRY: And we got one -- we got one funny comment on Twitter who said, "That play was good for middle school. In high school and college, the QB would be killed."
ROBERTS: Yes, can you imagine the NFL?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: With Brett Favre, just give me the ball and he's going to walk another five yards. Sure Brett.
CHETRY: Well, at this point, Dallas will try anything.
Still ahead, refugee kids from war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Congo; they are finding a sense of hope and community in a very special soccer league right here in the U.S.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to the "Fugees" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes now to the top of the hour.
When you're here, you're family. A Georgia woman who is getting high marks for combining soccer and education to give refugee kids from war-torn countries a new lease on life.
CHETRY: She is the matriarch of the "Fugees Family".
Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in today's "Human Factor".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first glance, they just look like a bunch of kids playing soccer. But take another look, a closer one. This is the Fugees family.
(on camera): Anybody who wants to be a part of this family can be?
LUMA MUFLEH, FOUNDER, FUGEES FAMILY: Any refugee that wants to be a part of the family can be. GUPTA: And that is what binds them together. They are all refugees; 86 children and teens from more than 28 countries.
MUFLEH: Any country that's had a war in the past 20, 30 years we have had kids from those countries.
GUPTA (voice-over): What started as a casual soccer team six years ago is now a school full of students most of whom had never been in a classroom before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come here from Russia.
GUPTA: Robin Dikori, sharply dressed in the school's uniform blue sweater and tie is an eighth grader at the Fugees Academy, something that would have been almost impossible in his native Sudan.
(on camera): Right after you moved to the United States, if someone said, Robin, what are you going to do with your life, what would you have said?
DIKORI: I really didn't know what to say, during that -- during that time. But now, when I look at myself, I want to be someone like very good and make my people proud.
GUPTA (voice-over): Life in America has not always been good to Robin.
(on camera): But when you're an outsider from Sudan living in the United States, what -- what is that like? What happens to you?
DIKORI: It is very hard. Like, everyone is picking on you. Like they're treating you really different like you don't belong here.
GUPTA: What did you do?
DIKORI: I used to fight a lot but nowadays I don't really get into fights. I try to resolve them and not make people fight.
GUPTA (voice-over): And while there are refugees all around the United States, the Fugees Family is the only group combining soccer with the hope for a better future.
(on camera): Are there other organizations that you know of like this around the country?
MUFLEH: No.
GUPTA: So this is it?
MUFLEH: This is it. And we get e-mails every week from people around the country and the world, when are you bringing the Fugees to us?
GUPTA: Wow. How many more years before you finish?
DIKORI: Four more years. GUPTA: Four more years and then?
DIKORI: Another four years.
GUPTA: Of?
DIKORI: College.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Parkston, Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Wow, what a great program.
Well, she nailed it. For serious "Wheel of Fortune" fans it's one of the most epic puzzle-solves of all time. Meet the New York City woman who guessed this puzzle with just one letter revealed. Coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, certainly a good night for one contestant on "Wheel of Fortune." Pat Sajak himself called it the most amazing solved ever.
ROBERTS: One letter is all Caitlin Burke needed. And it wasn't a short phrase either it was a long phrase.
Jeanne Moos now with more on the "Wheel of Fortune" stunner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She was excited then. And she's still excited. You'd be excited, too, if all you needed to solve this "Wheel of Fortune" phrase was a single letter.
CAITLIN BURKE, CONTESTANT, "WHEEL OF FORTUNE": "L."
PAT SAJAK, HOST, "WHEEL OF FORTUNE": One "L."
MOOS: one "L" and an apostrophe don't help most folks. What is this phrase?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Um, can I buy a vowel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea. I'm stumped.
MOOS: But fashion editor Caitlin Burke wasn't. Host Pat Sajak was rendered momentarily mute when Caitlin asked to solve the puzzle so soon.
BURKE: Can I solve?
SAJAK: Ok. BURKE: It is a prize puzzle.
SAJAK: Yes.
BURKE: "I've got a good feeling about this".
SAJAK: That's right.
MOOS: no one looked more shocked than her fellow contestant. Look at his face.
BURKE: I had a good feeling about it. I had a good feeling about it.
MOOS: This transplanted New Yorker is such a fan of the show that she got tears in her eyes the first time she spun the wheel.
BURKE: If you're a long fan of the show, there is a strategy a little bit, like always the apostrophe helped.
MOOS: It helped her know the first word was "I've" or "I'll".
If you think Caitlin is a one-letter wonder, what's really amazing is she says she had the phrase figured out before there were any letters up.
So you knew it when it was empty?
BURKE: Yes. I do this all the time at home. I call it before there's any letters or a there's only few and half the time I'm right.
MOOS: Skeptics called her a witch. Said it was staged, rigged.
BURKE: I think that's just funny. I mean obviously I didn't -- I don't know how you would cheat.
MOOS: Caitlin won a total of around $53,000 which includes a Caribbean trip, plans to pay off her student loan.
BURKE: I have a bucket list of things I want to do and number one was be on "Wheel of Fortune". Somewhere in there is own a Chanel bag.
MOOS: This Chanel bag runs about $3,000. The fact that Caitlin solved this with only one letter prompted someone to post I can't even solve it when there's only one letter remaining. We doubted that until we saw contestants blow it with no letters remaining.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.
MOOS: Leaving us with a bad feeling.
BURKE: I had a good feeling about it.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
BURKE: I've got a good feeling about this.
MOOS: CNN --
BURKE: I had a good feeling about it.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: We argued about it. She's probably got an IQ of 165.
CHETRY: Well, good for her. She's huge fan of the show. She got to get on it. She'll get herself a Chanel bag, I'm sure.
ROBERTS: All she wanted out of life was a spot on "Wheel of Fortune" and a Chanel bag.
CHETRY: Good for her.
ROBERTS: It's good. She's, you know, she's easily satisfied. That was amazing, though. Pretty incredible to see her do that.
Well, that is going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us today.
We'll see you back here again bright and early tomorrow morning.
CHETRY: We sure will. Meanwhile, the news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips, starts right now. Hey, Kyra.
