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American Morning
$4 Trillion in Deficit Cuts Proposed; Carnival Cruise Ship Being Towed to Port; G-20 Summit Begins in Seoul; Extending the Bush Tax Cuts; Ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; Soldier Honored with the Medal of Honor; The Fountain Of Youth
Aired November 11, 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. Thanks so much for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Thursday, November 11th, and --
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Which is not my birthday. I thought I would do this every year on my birthday, but I thought I had so much fun last time that I'm --
CHETRY: It was your birthday last time.
VELSHI: It was my birthday.
CHETRY: We talked about that.
VELSHI: So it's just a regular day but I'm glad to be with you. I'm Ali Velshi. John has the day off. Here are the morning's top stories.
Well, they might have been better off on a three-hour tour. Passengers onboard a crippled Carnival cruise liner can reportedly see the California coast from their ship. The luxury vacation turned into a five-star disaster after an engine room fire stranded them without power, hot water or working toilets. We'll talk with one of the passengers in just three minutes.
CHETRY: Well, we've, of course, followed the back and forth over the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Would it be repealed? Would it stay in place? But how risky would it be to actually lift the ban while at war? A Pentagon study group, they reportedly assessed not very risky. We're going to talk to the "Washington Post" reporter who broke that story.
VELSHI: Apparently, they get that information from the soldiers themselves.
President Obama starting two days of talks with leaders of the world's most powerful economies at the G-20 summit in Seoul, South Korea. Security is very tight. The president already taking a lot of heat. We'll have a live report from Seoul where a deal that could bring 70,000 jobs to America is now in the works.
CHETRY: Hopefully, that will go through. Meanwhile, the voters have made it clear, this last election, a lot of people upset with government spending and wanting it to stop. But the question this morning and has been every morning is, OK, what would you then cut? Well, a bipartisan commission asked by President Obama is out this morning with their list.
VELSHI: Yes, it's not pretty. Look, everybody knows you can cut the deficit and cut the debt. But here's some of the proposals that touch you and every American that have come from this bipartisan commission.
First, gradually raising the retirement age from 67 to 69. You remember the protests in France that were spurred by the idea of raising the retirement age two years from 60 to 62. We're talking about raising it to 69. And on taxes, eliminating or scaling back some of the most popular write-offs, including the mortgage interest deduction. Tax increases would be offset by replacing the current tax rates with just three of them, eight percent, 14 percent and 23 percent. It's all some pretty tough medicine for the American economy, and it came with a dire warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERSKINE BOWLES (D), CO-CHAIR, DEFICIT COMMISSION: We're clearly on an unsustainable path. We can't grow our way out of this problem. We can't tax our way out of it. We can't cut our way out of it. Every single member of Congress knows that the path we're on today is not sustainable. And that if we don't bring these deficits down and eventually get the balance, you know, we are headed for disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And if you're one of those people who cares about this sort of thing, you're wonder why you're talking about this at 6:00 Eastern in the morning, in the CNN national exit poll taken last Tuesday, election night, 39 percent of Americans say their highest priority for the next Congress is reducing the deficit. A greater number than said that Congress should be spending to create jobs and an even greater number than said cutting taxes a priority. So this is the biggest priority in this economy for many, many voters.
CHETRY: It is. And Christine Romans is going to join us right now to bring in some perspective about this. It's a pretty dramatic proposal I guess in some ways.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is.
CHETRY: But you heard what Erskine Bowles said. At the end of that sentence was, as you said we can't spend, grow or tax our way out of it. He said it has to be a combination of those three and more.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: What do you think?
ROMANS: And you need economic growth to go with it, too. And one of the things they're trying to make sure is that they don't stunt economic growth right away, folks. And so they're talking about phasing this in and starting in 2012. Let's talk about the scope of the problem. You're talking about a national debt now, almost $14 trillion. Unsustainable. When you start paying so much interest on your debt, at some point that eats into what you, as a country can be investing in, say, education, defense, new roads. And that is a time that many people who watch these things can see in the foreseeable future they want to prevent disasters, Erskine Bowles says. So what are they trying to do here? They're trying to cut $14 trillion out of the projected deficits which would slow the growth of this $14 trillion debt by about 3.8 trillion.
Already the knives are out. The president is in Seoul, South Korea saying, look, before you knock anything down, let's hear what this commission has to say and let's see what their final report is because there is painful medicine that will have to be taken. You have Nancy Pelosi saying this is simply unacceptable. You have Dick Durbin saying there are things in there that I hate like the devil hates holy water. And Republicans, of course, oppose raising taxes. There are some tax increases in there, even as you're seeing the overall tax rates simplified and lowered.
So, you guys, this is going to be a difficult process, no question. The difficulty that you're seeing on the streets of France, Ali, as you mentioned. The difficulty you're seeing on the streets of Greece, in the U.K., where you have students --
VELSHI: Riots yesterday.
ROMANS: -- who were rioting yesterday because it's all about belt- tightening.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: And western economies have spent more than they've taken in for so long, that belt tightening is in order. There's also some talk in here in this report about how to make sure that Congress has to live within its means. An automatic tax increase and spending cuts if they go beyond what they're supposed to do. What happens? How likely is all of this?
You've got to have the 14 of the 18 members of this commission have to agree. Then it's sent to Congress. Then Congress has to enact all of this.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: So there's a lot -- a long way to go here but it is a start and something has to be done.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: All right.
VELSHI: Good story. We'll follow it in greater detail through the morning and through the next few days.
ROMANS: Sure. And I want to be clear that Nancy Pelosi was so upset about the social security part.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: But nobody wants to tamper with social security on the right. Republicans don't want tax increases. Progressives don't' want social security touched.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: So you've got an impasse here that's going to have to --
VELSHI: The evidence is you've got to tamper with it. You've got to tamper with everything right now.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Everything's on the table.
ROMANS: All right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: Sure.
VELSHI: Also new this morning, as of next week, you can't buy something called Four Loko in Washington State anymore. I didn't even know what Four Loko was before the story came out, but the liquor control --
CHETRY: Don't try to be highbrow. You've seen Four Loko.
VELSHI: I've seen Red Bull. The liquor control board banning the alcoholic energy drink nicknamed blackout in a can yesterday, after a group of college students got sick last month. Basically 23 1/2 ounces in a can is equal to drinking a six pack of beer and a can of Red Bull and a shot of espresso. The manufacturer says the products are being unfairly targeted.
CHETRY: Well, Christmas is coming a little early over at Google. We told you yesterday that the tech giant is going to be giving its entire staff $1,000 bonus for holiday expenses and across the board 10 percent pay hike effective January 1st. Well, Google confirmed this surprising news after it was leaked to the media. The problem is the employee who leaked that news was fired.
VELSHI: Why? I don't understand that. Google is a good company. It's a good company to work for. They do great things. They give their people 20 percent of their time to work on other projects.
Doesn't sound like the right thing, Google. Google, do the right thing.
Looking for a six figure job, the federal government may be a good place for you to look. "USA Today" reporting that the number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more has jumped to 10 times the level it was just five years ago. Now, this revelation comes as Republican congressmen called for a pay freeze, or a pay cut, for federal employees.
CHETRY: Well, odds are there are a couple of students in your kids' class that have ADHD. The CDC says that nearly one out of every 10 children has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It's not clear if the increase is due to an actual rise or to a growing awareness. Two-thirds of the children diagnosed with the disorder are taking medication to control it. There's also a big countermovement about this, saying that we're too quick to diagnosis children with ADHD.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: Especially young boys because of what we consider paying attention and not paying attention in class.
VELSHI: And what teachers can control. Right? A hyper kid, if you can get them on medication can often make them less hyper and easier for a teacher to control. It may not be the right thing to do, though.
Hey, they're still counting ballots in Alaska. So far it's been good news for Senator Lisa Murkowski. The incumbent is battling Tea Party Republican Joe Miller, but she's a write-in candidate. And that means each vote for the senator has to be individually examined so this could last into the weekend. Right now, Miller trails write-in ballots by about 11,000 votes.
CHETRY: Well, we're getting reports this hour that passengers on board the crippled Carnival cruise liner can actually see the California coast from the ship. That's certainly got to be a welcome sight for them as they've been trapped on this boat after its engine died. Five tug boats are now towing the Splendor to port in San Diego and it's expected to arrive in just a few hours.
Meanwhile, pallets of food, pop tarts and spam loaded on to the ship. That's the cruising food that you're looking for when you pay thousands of dollars to set sail. Their ordeal began Monday with the fire in engine room that left the ship literally dead in the water. No power, no hot water, no hot food. And for a time, no working toilets. But again, we said that that nightmare is almost over. One of the passengers joins us on the phone this morning. Lenora Chavez. Thanks so much for joining us, Lenora.
LENORA CHAVEZ, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER (via telephone): Oh, you're welcome.
CHETRY: So I bet you're thrilled at the news that you can see the coast of California. What has it been like for you guys on the ship?
CHAVEZ: Oh, gosh, it actually hasn't been too bad. I think that everything has been pretty organized. Everybody, you know, is in really good spirits. They've entertained us. We've had lots of music. And just the other night, we did get all of our supplies. They did board liquor, and so not did we have sodas to drink, but there was also alcohol for those that wanted to have alcohol. But overall, I mean, it's been pretty bearable. And I think that they are really trying their best. So it hasn't been so gloom and so bad.
CHETRY: I got you.
CHAVEZ: It's OK. There's a lot of passengers say they're fine, that they're OK. They're happy.
CHETRY: Well, the good news is, it's almost over. Having a little bit of trouble with your connection so we are going to cut it a little shorter than we were going to. But good luck, Lenora. I know that you said that you're eager to be on dry land and that you may or may not accept Carnival's offer for a free cruise in the future. It's got to better than this one. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.
Can you imagine, though, I mean, just what it must been. And you saved up all your money and you just were so excited to go on a cruise.
VELSHI: Yes. But they're going to refund the money and give people a free cruise. The issue, of course, is the time that you take off work and the fact you might get a little scarred by this. But, you know, there are a lot of cruises out there and this doesn't happen.
CHETRY: Have you sailed?
VELSHI: I haven't done it in a long time, but I've always loved cruises. I might just go on one.
CHETRY: Good.
VELSHI: That's the thing. Good marketing. Makes me think of going on a cruise. Imagine getting stuck for a few extra days out there. I'm not sure that would be terrible.
All right. It is 10 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
VELSHI: Rob, good morning to you.
MARCIANO: Good morning. It could be worse. I mean, it could have been a three-hour, you know, cruise and be stuck on an island with the same clothes for years and years.
VELSHI: For decades, yes.
MARCIANO: Exactly. Good morning, guys. You know --
CHETRY: That sounds like you can make a sitcom out of that or, you know, a show.
VELSHI: Are we dating ourselves talking about "Gilligan's Island?" MARCIANO: I think so, little buddy.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Go on. Go on, Rob. Go on.
MARCIANO: Forty-two degrees right now in New York and mild temperatures across the midsection of the country. That's been the big weather story over the past couple of days and that is going to be the big story again today.
Unseasonably warm temps, but that's beginning to push a little bit farther to the south. So New York City and parts of the New England corridor, 41 degrees seems to be a popular number this hour. It will rebound nicely. A bit of a north/northeast wind so that will keep you on the cool side.
On the radar scope this morning, there is some rain that's trying to get itself together across the midsection. That will eventually spread into Chicago, kind of a front that's draping diagonally across the country from the western Great Lakes back to the southwest. And that will bring a little bit of snow to Denver. Thirty-four degrees for the high temperature there. That's cold enough for snow for sure. Sixty-nine degrees expected in Chicago, with showers developing. Nashville, 79 degrees.
Country Music Awards last night. Not sure who won all the stuff. But believe it or not, I taped half of that.
VELSHI: There you go.
CHETRY: I know Brad Paisley won. I know that Zac Brown.
VELSHI: That's who I knew. Right. Brad Paisley.
CHETRY: Brad Paisley.
VELSHI: That was what I'm going to say. You took my line.
CHETRY: Oh, I'm sorry. Zac Brown Band also won for best new artist. You know the song "Chicken Fried"? You love that song.
MARCIANO: I did. I just saw a Zac Brown concert early this year at the Fox Theatre here in Atlanta. So yes, I'm a big fan. Awesome.
VELSHI: All right, Gilligan. We'll see later on.
MARCIANO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, still to come. They certainly botched this. We always see these perfect implosions. This one not so much. The smokestack fell the wrong way during the demolition and it sent people running for their lives. We're going to see more of just how close it came and what the aftermath was like.
VELSHI: And everyone gets a toaster this year. $3 appliances. One store's ridiculous Black Friday discounts.
CHETRY: Which store could it be? Which store could it be?
VELSHI: Well, we'll tell you for sure after this. It's 12 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. It's 16 past the hour.
Right now, the richest nations in the world are fighting over money and how to fix the global economy at the G-20 Summit, which is taking place in Seoul, South Korea. At this hour, President Obama is attending what's being billed as a working dinner with other world - world leaders, and he's taking a lot of heat for his plan to pump $600 billion of new money into the U.S. economy. The Fed plan - plan that Germany's finance minister actually called clueless.
VELSHI: Yes. A lot of people say the U.S. is forcing the U.S. dollar down, making things more expensive for other people around the world. Tensions in security are high in Seoul. Demonstrators have already broken out. More than 50,000 police and riot officers have been deployed, and widespread protests are expected today.
Dan Lothian is traveling with the president. He joins us live from Seoul this morning. Dan, the president went there with some high hopes about a deal for auto makers, a deal that might have resulted in jobs here in the United States.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
VELSHI: And it seems like that is not working out the way the White House wanted it to.
LOTHIAN: That's right. It's this trade deal - South Korea trade deal, which, of course, we have been told that possibly could have been done during the G-20. And now President Obama saying that both sides really have agreed to slow down, make sure that they get this right and that this will happen he said not in a matter of months, but in a matter of weeks.
The trade rep for the U.S., Ron Kirk, saying that this is a difficult negotiation process, but that he believes that they are closer to the end of this than to the beginning. But as you pointed out, the sticking point still over opening up the South Korean market, a tight market for beef and automobiles.
CHETRY: Also, Dan, there's a report out this morning that White House adviser, David Axelrod, is suggesting the administration is indeed ready to accept an across-the-board continuation of the Bush-era tax cuts. Are you hearing anything more about that?
LOTHIAN: You know, the White House says that there's nothing new here. That this is something that the president has been talking about in terms of being open, negotiating this - this issue. The president obviously had sort of dug his heels on - in on this, prior to the election cycle.
But after that, when talking about how he would move forward with this - you know, the Republicans having the leadership in the House now, the president had said he would be open to negotiating on this.
The White House releasing a statement short time ago from White House deputy spokesperson, Jen Psaki, saying, quote, "The president has been clear that extending tax cuts for middle class families is his top priority and he's opening to compromise to get that done. He's also expressed concern about the cost of making the highest income tax permanent and is looking forward to discussing this and other issues with bipartisan members of Congress next week."
So, again, the president saying here what he has said all along is that he's open to compromise as to moving this - this issue forward. Tax cuts for middle class families is still what he wants, but he wants to make sure that he's open with Republicans now in charge of the House.
CHETRY: All right. Dan Lothian for us this morning from Seoul, South Korea. Thanks so much, Dan.
VELSHI: My head's been spinning with all the changes on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Can they go ahead with it? Do they stop it? Do they repeal it? Do they start? But now we have a study, a survey, basically, on the risks of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". How much risk is there in actually repealing it? And according to this new report, not much.
We're going to talk with the "Washington Post" reporter who broke the story, just ahead. We'll break it down for you.
It's 19 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome -
VELSHI: This is new to me, you know? I -
CHETRY: You like it?
VELSHI: I'm just - well, we're a little bit far.
CHETRY: Yes. A little bit far. It's for your lighting purposes. You don't want to come out of your light.
VELSHI: Can we hold hands, then? Just to be (ph) a little closer while we do this?
CHETRY: You know, because they need to see this, you know, "Morning Talker."
VELSHI: Oh, it's for that. Yes.
CHETRY: And they need to be able to see them in the wall, Ali. VELSHI: Got it. OK.
CHETRY: Go with me here.
VELSHI: I'll (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Twenty-three minutes past the hour. And we are talking about some stories that got us talking in the newsroom, and when Ali's filling in, really, really we talk about a lot.
VELSHI: We talk a lot.
CHETRY: We talk a lot. We barely make it out here.
Well, first of all, it fell the wrong way. If you take a look, this is a smokestack demolition. It was in Springfield, Ohio. And usually, these things go really well. However, this one did not.
The smokestack actually fell in the wrong direction. You see it snapping power lines. You hear people screaming in the background. It actually almost came down on a group of spectators that included children.
VELSHI: Why are there spectators anywhere close to this thing?
CHETRY: People love to come to implosion. I mean, it's very popular -
VELSHI: Well, move (ph) far enough so that it falls in any direction you're safe.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, you can hear the screaming as people ran. It was a 275-foot tower. It snapped the power lines. It also crushed part of the substation. There you see it again.
No one was hurt. The traffic lights' out and 8,000 people in the area lost power.
VELSHI: I just kind of assumed these things - this is a science now, but it - it doesn't go wrong.
I also assumed that when you go down the highway, you're driving next to one of those trucks that carry cars that they never come off, and I - I, you know, I talked to folks, to somebody who operates them and says they come off with some frequency, so don't drive behind them.
CHETRY: Wow.
VELSHI: Yes.
Sears, 124 years old. This is the first time it's going to be open on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone is trying to bounce back from this recession, so they are trying to get a jumpstart on the holiday season.
Sears is also offering e-gift cards for the first time that apparently you can post on someone's Facebook wall. (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Wow, they're really - they're really getting into this.
VELSHI: That's - yes. Jumping in with both feet.
CHETRY: Yes.
Well, you may want to start lining up yesterday if you want these deals. A website leaked a copy of what it says is Target's Black Friday flier. $3 appliances, a 40-inch HDTV for $298 bucks -
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: -- a Sony wireless blu-ray player for $99, and clothes and toys 50 percent off.
VELSHI: I feel like this happens. People leak these fliers.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: Like I - it feels like this is kind of a - and unlike the Google where they fired the guy for leaking the - the raise. I hope nobody at Target gets fired for this.
New stars rising in Nashville last night on country's biggest night, the 44th Annual CMA, Country Music Awards, last night. And Entertainer of the Year went to Brad Paisley. A new power couple swept the Female and Male Vocalists of the Year, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, and the Zac Brown Band won Best New Artist.
CHETRY: Yes. You may know them for their song "Chicken Fried." Or you may not.
One of -
VELSHI: I like chicken, and I know it's a good bet that fried chicken would appeal to me, but I didn't know there was a theme song for my favorite food.
CHETRY: Yes. I'll play it for you later.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Well, Gwyneth Paltrow showed that she's a little country last night. At the CMAs, she belted out the title track of her new movie, "Country Strong," in which she plays a country music singer. And how did she do? Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GWYNETH PALTROW, ACTRESS: (SINGING "COUNTRY STRONG.")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: I think she did a nice job.
CHETRY: That makes one of us.
VELSHI: Oh!
CHETRY: No, she just wasn't smiling.
VELSHI: You are a critic.
CHETRY: She wasn't - she -
VELSHI: What did you think about Wolf when he danced on "Ellen"? Do you remember that?
CHETRY: Everything Wolf does is fantastic.
VELSHI: He was doing a little -
CHETRY: He was. He did. He had a little hip in it.
VELSHI: Yes, a little hip, right? That was a (INAUDIBLE), right?
CHETRY: No, I just - I needed to see - I needed to see either Gwyneth smile more, or she should have brought you as a backup dancer. Either way would have made it more entertaining.
VELSHI: You know, the reason I'm talking about "Ellen," as you remember, when Wolf Blitzer was on "Ellen" -
CHETRY: Yes, I do.
VELSHI: -- and - and, you know, when you're on "Ellen" you got to dance. So, last night - here he is - apparently, the R&B community did not ask Wolf to dance. He was the guest announcer, though, last night at the most soulful night in entertainment, the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta. Even Wolf saw the irony in that.
He also - he's also up for Reggae Artist of the Year. I'm kidding. That was the - he's not. Oh, boy.
OK, it airs on November 28th. We cannot show you what happened inside, but we caught up with him on the red carpet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a surprise. I really can't talk about it too much because the - the audience is going to be pretty happy when they see what I'm going to do. But it's going to be a lot of fun.
It's not exactly "THE SITUATION ROOM". It will be a little different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. Right.
BLITZER: A different side of Wolf.
I was growing up in Buffalo, New York, and I remember vividly, Saturday mornings, watching Don - Don Cornelius and all my favorite groups, whether the Temptations or the Four Tops or Gladys Knight, the Jackson Five. They were all there. All the kids were dancing. We had a lot of soul.
It was - it was very, very cool, but - and that's why I'm here. You know, "Soul Train", you know, was part of my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: There is something about his delivery on that. It's just fantastic.
I love wolf. He's just so consistent the whole time.
CHETRY: He's adorable.
VELSHI: That was Wolf being a crazy music fan.
CHETRY: Yes. He said it's not going to be "THE SITUATION ROOM", but will it be "The Situation"?
VELSHI: "The (INAUDIBLE)".
CHETRY: You never know.
All right. Well, still to come, the first living soldier honored with a Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. It's a remarkable story of a sergeant who risked his life to save a fellow soldier in Afghanistan.
VELSHI: And we'll show you how to reduce the effects of aging without expensive creams or having to go under the knife. That sounded strangely like an infomercial.
It is 28 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Crossing the half hour right now, time for a look at our top stories.
Iraq's leaders are reaching a new deal to form a new government and the eight-month political gridlock in the country. The power- sharing agreement allows Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to keep his position, and other top government posts will spread among Iraq's other political parties.
VELSHI: Homeward bound. Passengers aboard a crippled a Carnival cruise liner say they can see land, matey! The California coast is not far from the ship. Their luxury vacation turned into a five-star disaster after an engine room fire stranded them without power, hot water, and for a little bit of time, no toilets. Carnival is offering passengers refunds and a free cruise in the future.
CHETRY: Some are saying, "I'll do that." Others are saying, "Thanks, I had enough cruising the first time."
Well, Washington state now the third to ban the sale of caffeinated alcohol energy drinks like the one you're seeing there, Four Loko. The state's liquor authority voted unanimously yesterday to impose a ban on Four Loko. Others call it "a blackout in a can." Similar (INAUDIBLE) have sickened many college kids. It goes into effect November 18th.
Oklahoma, Utah and Michigan have similar measures.
So, then, it would be the fourth state to ban this, right?
VELSHI: Something like that. Yes.
CHETRY: OK.
VELSHI: I didn't know that there were drinks that combine them all. But they say "blackout in the can" because it keeps you awake so you drink more and more. And then, all of a sudden, it hits you very suddenly.
Hey, the military can lift its ban to gays serving openly in uniform with little risks to troop morale or the current war efforts. "The Washington Post" says a Pentagon study group reached that conclusion about "don't ask, don't tell," in a draft to the group's report to the president which is due on December 1st.
Ed O'Keefe is the reporter who broke the story. He joins us on the phone from Washington.
Ed, good to hear from you this morning. Let me just understand this -- this is a study, but actually based on a survey of active and retired military members?
ED O'KEEFE, WASHINGTON POST (via telephone): It was based on a few different pieces of information. The biggest was a survey that was sent over the summer to 400,000 active duty and reserve troops. And then there was a separate study that was sent to about 150,000 military spouses. There were some focus groups. And then a study group that the Pentagon has conducted -- an extensive amount of independent research as well.
VELSHI: All right. Let's pretend it's election night on CNN. Break it down for me in terms of what the overall was and how it broke down within groups.
O'KEEFE: Well, if we understand it from our sources, about 70 percent of the troops who were, you know, who responded to the survey have said that there would be, you know, little or nonexistent opposition among them to serve alongside openly gay servicemen. We don't exactly -- yes, at least, what the opposition was in each of the branches. But our source has said that the opposition is about 40 percent in the Marine Corps, which was the highest among the different branches.
VELSHI: I was speaking to Barbara Starr a little earlier and she said that that's not entirely unexpected, experts say, about the Marine Corps, which of the branches of the military tend to be a little bit more conservative. O'KEEFE: Not only that, but you've seen the current and former marine commandant being pretty vocal in their concern or opposition to changing this policy. And, you know, the Marine Corps is one that really does follow the orders from the top, that when you hear your branch's the top leadership raising questions about this, it is -- that's no surprise that perhaps there's a little more skepticism among the rank and file, lower down, who are probably hearing this from the commandant, but they may also be hearing it from other commanders slightly higher than them.
VELSHI: Ed, great reporting on this. Thanks very much. We'll look forward to seeing the final result when it is released on December 1st. Ed O'Keefe, a reporter with "The Washington Post" who broke the story of this new report.
CHETRY: Well, today is, of course, Veterans Day. A soldier who ran into the line of fire to try to save the life of his comrade and the rest of his unit happened in Afghanistan, near the border of Pakistan back on October of 2007. Well, now, Sergeant Sal Giunta is going to be the first living soldier to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.
And Barbara Starr is here now with an A.M. original to tell us more about this heroic man.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this young man just a few years ago was working the fast food circuit in the Midwest wondering what to do with his life. He joined the Army. And next Tuesday, he will step into the pages of American history.
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STAFF SGT. SAL GIUNTA, U.S. ARMY: The whole time frame maybe lasted anywhere between like two minutes, three minutes, and five or six lifetimes. I don't know.
STARR (voice-over): But in those two three minutes, Army Staff Sergeant Sal Giunta went from a self-described mediocre soldier to a hero. That October night, Giunta was walking along the ridge line with other members of his unit, designed to protect other soldiers as they were walking back to their base.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a single shot rang out. Everybody started getting down behind cover.
GIUNTA: There's not just one of them and there's not two of them. It's not 10 of them. It's probably more than 10, and they're really not that far away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You actually watch the guy pulling the trigger who is aiming at you.
GIUNTA: It seems like your world is exploding in bullets and RPGs and everything. We've looked and it was along our whole side. It was along, you know, our flank. STARR: Hit eight times with the man in front, walking point, as the military says, Sergeant Josh Brennan of McFarland, Wisconsin. He talked to his dad Mike only a few days before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, he had volunteered for that mission that day.
STARR: On that ridge line, Josh Brennan was down, severely wounded. Sal Giunta raced ahead into the face of Taliban fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He got to the front. He killed one of the guys that was dragging my team leader away, Sergeant Brennan. Wounded another one, recovered Sergeant Brennan. Brought him back to an area where we could secure him and continue to fight, started the aid on him.
For all intents and purposes, the amount of fire was still going on in the conflict at the time, he shouldn't be alive right now.
STARR: Sal Giunta keeps insisting he doesn't deserve the nation's highest military award for heroism.
GIUNTA: When I first heard that they were putting me in for the Medal of Honor, I felt lost. I felt kind of angry. It came at such a price.
It's very bittersweet. I mean, it's such a huge honor. It's a great thing, but it is a great thing that has come at a personal loss to myself and so many other families.
STARR (on camera): And that is what you want people to know?
GIUNTA: Absolutely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: We went to Italy to talk to Sal Giunta, and he told me that he wants to accept his award on behalf of all of the men that he served with in this place in Afghanistan that was so vicious and so violent, it became known as "the valley of death."
We talked to Sal in Italy. And then went on to Afghanistan, of course, to talk to the other men that he served with who are still on duty there. And they are expected, hopefully, they say be at the White House next Tuesday when this ceremony takes place.
CHETRY: Wow. It is amazing how he was able to express to you that bittersweet feeling.
VELSHI: I thought that was interesting, yes.
CHETRY: I mean, he's a young man. As you said before, just -- you know, he was almost thrust into this. Obviously, he didn't ask for it any step of the way, and he really has a good perspective on it. STARR: He really does. This is a young man in a good deal of considerable pain. One of the things he said at the very end was, he is deeply honored to receive the medal. He'd rather have his friends back.
VELSHI: Right, right. Fascinating story. All right. Thanks, Barbara.
STARR: Thanks.
CHETRY: Thanks, Barbara.
Still to come, can you slow down the effects of aging without undergoing radical surgery, spending millions on diets and creams?
VELSHI: I'm comfortable with aging. I'm uncomfortable with my nose. I have a very large nose.
CHETRY: I don't know if we can help you with that. But --
VELSHI: I'm not the one (INAUDIBLE) might have, but I'm not that worry about aging.
CHETRY: Well, we can help about reducing the stress. But it's good for everyone. They can also make you feel younger. Be healthier longer.
VELSHI: I'm going to stick around.
CHETRY: All right. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
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CHETRY: Oh, if only it were that easy, right? Not to worry about a thing. But we worry and we stress. And we also spend billions of dollars as a nation trying fight aging, between the creams, the potions, the gym memberships, hormone replacement, and even cosmetic surgery, we're all trying to fight off the ravages of time.
We also hear a lot that stress ages us. Well, now, there's new research to back that up, finding that stress actually ages us down to the cellular levels. But through lifestyle changes, things we eat, things we do, we can actually slow down or reserve our aging.
Thea Singer is the author of "Stress Less." And she joins me now live from Boston this morning.
Good to see this morning, Thea.
THEA SINGER, AUTHOR, "STRESS LESS": I'm so happy to be here.
CHETRY: So, tell us more about this. We all know that stress is bad for us, bad for our health. We've heard that for years. But talk about this direct link between stress and aging.
SINGER: Right. We've heard for years that stress can make us sick, that it can contribute to all kinds of diseases, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases. But this new research that was sparked by Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and UCSF, health psychologist Elissa Epel actually shows that stress can physiologically age us all the way down to our cells.
CHETRY: Right. And I guess the best way that you illustrate this, as you say, think of a shoestring and think of the little plastic binding at the end of the shoestring. You got it with you. So, explain what --
SINGER: Absolutely. I have it here.
CHETRY: All right. So, you go ahead and tell us what is it -- what is that thing at the end of the shoestrings, how is it like our cells?
SINGER: OK. These are called telomeres, at the ends of our cells. In our cells, in the nucleus, we have our chromosomes and they're crossed, kind of like an X, they look like two worms crossed at the middle. And at the end of those chromosomes are little tips, those are called telomeres. And they're similar to the tips on the end of this shoelace.
The reason for these tips on the shoe laces is to keep the shoelace from fraying. And the telomeres on the ends of our chromosomes do exactly the same thing. They keep our DNA safe because our DNA rests on our chromosomes. And we don't want anything to happen to that.
Now, when cells divide, skin cells divide, immune cells divide -- and when they divide, the telomere gets a little bit shorter. So, young people have longer telomeres than older people, people with certain diseases have shorter telomeres than people who are healthy. And so, scientists look at the length of these telomeres, this little tip just like on the shoelace, they look at it as a marker of biological aging.
CHETRY: All right. So, our goal is to keep those telomeres long and intact. So, I want to show you some of the things you talked about in the book that can actually slow down or reverse aging. One seems counterproductive. Don't diet. Why not?
SINGER: Right, right. Studies have shown that rigid dieting really having to hold to a particular schedule actually raises our levels of cortisol which is our main stress hormone. And so, that can work to erode the telomeres. It's not what we need to do is to make wise choices about eating. And in the book, I talk about Walt Willet's healthy eating pyramid, because then, we're putting ourselves in control.
And when we're out of control, when we feel overwhelmed, that's when we primarily feel stressed. CHETRY: And that sort of links into the belly fat because cortisol also is what causes us to retain the belly fat, and that's a sign of stress as well. Why eating pistachio nuts, though?
SINGER: Eating pistachio nuts, a study done by Sheila West at Penn State University showed that eating pistachio nuts actually can slow down and relax our blood vessels response to stressors. So, you don't want to overdo it, but you want to eat in moderation. And this is really kind of alarming evidence, because there isn't a lot of science out there showing actual foods that can help to reduce stress levels.
CHETRY: And omega 3s, we talk about that in fatty fish like salmon and other grains.
SINGER: Right.
CHETRY: A lot of the other four down here which is interesting. Be optimistic. Hang out with friend, sleep, dance. This is all part of just overall wellness. Why does this make such a difference?
SINGER: It makes a difference because what's happening now in the field of telomere and stress research is that links are being made between physiological stress and what's happening to ourselves. We know for instance, yes, it's good to get exercise, and it's good to get enough sleep, and it's good to eat well, but it wasn't until this research came out that we realized that it actually had an effect on how we were aging.
So, for instance, when I go to the club now to work out, and I'm on that treadmill, I can almost see new brain cells growing. And I can also see my telomeres lengthening, because there have been studies done with twins that show that those who exercise a moderate amount have longer telomeres than those who are sedentary.
CHETRY: A lot of good advice. We're going to put some of it on our website as well. The book is called "Stress Less." Thea Singer, thanks for joining us this morning.
SINGER: Thank you so much for having me.
CHETRY: My pleasure. Meanwhile, Ali, I know you were up there taking notes.
VELSHI: I was taking notes. And in fact, I'm about to talk about, you know -- when we come back from the break, I'm going to talk about the deficit. And you know, one of the issues about cutting the deficit is what should you cut, and your interview made me think, don't cut the ends of the shoe lace.
CHETRY: No. Leave those there.
VELSHI: You know. So, we're have to -- how do you cut the deficit and not make things really bad for the economy. Do you push retirement age back or something like that? These are the problems of the president's retirement commission. And we're going to talk about that when we come back.
And quite a warm up for the middle of the country. Rob is going to have this morning's travel forecast right after the break. Right now, it is 48 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: It's always fun to have a prop like Ali did with the shoe laces. It's less fun when you have to try to put the shoes back on.
VELSHI: I spent the entire break trying to do that. I hope you have something. Do we have something -- are we talking for a little bit or just something where I can finish putting my shoe on.
CHETRY: You can put your shoe on as we talk to Rob who is going to show us. This is really unique, Rob. So, half the country is enjoying sunshine and beautiful weather, the other half is getting rain and snow?
MARCIANO: Yes, it's that time of year where you'll get the topsy-turvy kind of stuff. Good morning again, guys. It's warm on the east side, and it's kind of cool out west, except for Los Angeles which we'll see the Santa Ana winds blowing today and tomorrow. Forty-nine degrees right now in Chicago and also 49 degrees in Atlanta. So, Western Great Lakes certainly getting into some warm weather, and some record-breaking weather, as a matter of fact.
Here's the cool front right here. So, it is cool behind, snowing in Denver. And this is kind of stay right here for another day or two. And a little storm will develop along it and bring rain into Chicago, but, before it does that, that will keep temperatures fairly mild as the heat pump from the Gulf of Mexico continues to surge up towards the north, and most of that, cool air will remain out to the west.
Here's what records yesterday in Rockford, Illinois, 70 degrees, Waterloo, Iowa, 69, Minneapolis got up to 68 degrees, and international fall, we often heard of that as the ice box of the country, not yesterday. Record-high temperature of 69 degrees. Seventy-four for the high at least today in St. Louis, 69 in Chicago, and not too shabby in New York, 54 degrees, 60 degrees expected in D.C. Just kept up those shoelaces and get outside and enjoy the big weather. Guys, back to you in New York.
VELSHI: Yes, that was an unduly complicated shoe lace strapping thing.
CHETRY: Glad you're all squared away.
VELSHI: I'm going to move in to slip-ons. Rob, good to see you, my friend.
MARCIANO: All right. See you, guys.
CHETRY: Bye, Rob. VELSHI: All right. It's called blackout in a can. That's the nickname for it. It's now being banned in one state. It's a controversial caffeinated malt liquor called Four Loko. We'll tell you more about that.
CHETRY: Are you a night owl or a morning person? If you're smarter, do you sleep in? Go back to bed right now? We're going to find out who has the edge. Fifty-three minutes past the hour.
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BUDDY VALASTRO, TLC'S CAKE BOSS: Hi. I'm Buddy Valastro. TLC's cake boss, and I travel more than a 100 days a year. One thing that I always travel with is my St. Anthony medallion. It was my dad's and after he passed away, I put it on and never took it off. My favorite way to find a good place to eat in the city you're not used to being in is ask the locals.
You hear it from four people, and then, hey, it's got to be pretty good. A tip, though, I have for parents traveling with kids, travel off hours. I find the night flights are a little bit calmer and slower because the airport is less congested. On the plane, it's better for sleeping. Just this year, we had to shoot "Cake Boss" in Italy.
We were in four cities, my pregnant wife, my three children, 17 luggages, four hotel rooms, boats, buses. You want to talk about road warriors? You have no freaking idea. The month of November, I'm hitting the road. I'll see you in a city near you.
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