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American Morning
Murkowski Claims Miracle Win; Terror Suspect Ghailani Cleared on 284 Counts; GM Makes a Comeback; Miners Bound for Hollywood; Political Train Talk; Four Loko Hangover; Man Shoots TV After Watching Bristol Palin Dance
Aired November 18, 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, Thursday, November 18th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. Let's get you caught up on what happened overnight.
More than two weeks after Election Day, one of the most improbable political comebacks may be complete this morning. Lisa Murkowski declaring victory in the Alaska Senate race after many in her own party had left her for dead. We'll speak to the senator later on this morning.
CHETRY: Acquitted 284 times. The jury in New York clearing Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani of every single count against him, except one. The Obama administration taking a beating this morning for the decision to acquit the suspect in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania on trial in civilian court.
ROBERTS: And General Motors comeback. Nearly two years after veering into bankruptcy, General Motors hit some milestone on its road to recovery. But will this gamble on Wall Street made possible thanks to your tax dollars actually pay off?
CHETRY: Thirty-three rescued Chilean miners, five of the men who saved them are all headed for Hollywood this morning.
ROBERTS: Yes. They've been asked to be a part of Saturday night's taping of "CNN Heroes," an all-star tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper. The show airs Thanksgiving night here on CNN. The miners left Chile this morning. They just touched down in Atlanta for the connecting flight to Los Angeles. And we're going to take you there live in just a few minutes.
CHETRY: But first, the people have written. Senator Lisa Murkowski says she's going to back to Washington and last night she declared victory in the Alaska Senate race over fellow Republican and Tea Party-backed Joe Miller.
ROBERTS: Although it's not official yet, it looks like Murkowski will be the first successful write-in candidate for senator since 1954. That's more than four years before Alaska became a state. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: They told us that this could not be done. And we all heard it. You heard Kevin say, you know, he's the guy that we're putting in charge, for crying out loud, and he's not 100 percent sure. What a wild, wild thing that we were doing. What a chance. What a risk. But for the right thing.
To hell with politics, do what's right for Alaska. Tonight, though, I want us to celebrate -- I want us to be happy. I want us to be joyful because against all odds, we, as Alaskans, together, made history. You made history. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, Murkowski's victory speech aside, Miller who beat Murkowski in the Republican primary is not giving up yet, saying, quote, "After all the absentee ballots are in and we further review the procedures and the results, we may ask for a recount. Less than one percent of the vote now separates my and Lisa Murkowski's total. If there is a recount and a consistent standard is applied to all the ballots, who knows what the difference would be."
CHETRY: Wow. Well, right here at 7:15 Eastern, Senator Lisa Murkowski is going to be joining us. She's going to be talking about her historic campaign and how she plans to make peace with her party.
ROBERTS: Murkowski's victory was a blow to Sarah Palin in her home state, but that's until 2010. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Palin said she is already looking at a run for the White House and believes she can beat President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: And looking at the lay of the land now and trying to figure that out if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing.
BARBARA WALTERS, HOST: If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?
PALIN: I believe so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, a candidate has to say they can win, just for the record. But a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll doesn't agree with her. This was taken before Election Day. It says President Obama beats Palin in the popular vote 52 to 44 percent. But 2012 is a long way off.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Well, just in to CNN this morning. A flight bound for Germany is now delayed. Namibian police says they found a suspicious piece of luggage that was loaded onto that plane.
ROBERTS: Reports out of Germany say the suitcase contained batteries, wires and a running clock. It comes a day after Germany stepped up security measures amid intelligence that was pointed to a potential planned terror attack in the country. That incident under investigation. And we'll bring you more as we get it this morning.
CHETRY: Meantime, he was the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in civilian court and this morning critics of the Obama administration say he should be the last. A federal jury in New York fining Ahmed Ghailani not guilty on 284 terror-related charges including murder. He was only convicted on a single count of conspiracy to damage or destroy U.S. property for his role in the deadly 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
ROBERTS: The Justice Department, of course, tried to put a positive spin on that lone conviction saying they're pleased Ghailani now faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a potential life sentence.
Our Deb Feyerick is with us this morning. And it was a near disaster for the White House.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a near disaster. This was as close of a close call as you can possibly get. And as a matter of fact, being in the courtroom, sitting in the courtroom, there was an audible gasp as the verdict was read. The jury on Monday had been deadlocked. One of the jurors saying they felt that they were being intimidated, bullied, attacked in her words. So many in the court read that as well. They are leaning towards conviction, except for this one holdout. Well, in fact, that wasn't the case because they seemed to be unanimous.
So there is some -- you know, when you think about it, there is a little bit of discourse. They convicted him on trying to destroy U.S. property but then they didn't convict him of conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals. So the jury didn't have to explain itself. There are questions, but again, for the Obama administration, this is going to be very tough to try to convince others that these Guantanamo detainees should be tried in civilian court, especially since a key ruling barred a witness who had been held in these secret detention facilities run by the CIA.
CHETRY: Right. They said that because of those enhanced interrogations. The judge actually refused to allow that witness to speak. How damaging, in your opinion, was that?
FEYERICK: Well, it was pretty damaging, as a matter of fact. The prosecution initially said, look, we don't want to bring any evidence that was obtained during these enhancement interrogations. The one exception they try to argue in front of the judge is this one particular witness who will testify that he sold Ghailani the TNT. Well, the prosecutor said look, this is a guy we would have found on our own. The judge said, you know, I don't really believe you would have found him on your own so, therefore, I'm not going to allow it. That was a key ruling. Because again, a number of these detainees have been held, obviously, in Guantanamo. Many of them have been in these CIA black sites basically. So by banning this evidence, the judge was really sort of siding with the constitution saying it's simply not allowed. So this is where all this comes into play. CHETRY: Would that have been allowed in a military tribunal?
FEYERICK: It would have. Absolutely. Many of these -- a lot of the evidence would have been allowed at a military tribunal. For example, one thing the jury never heard and that is that, in fact, Ghailani was captured in Pakistan back in 2004 after a 10-hour shootout in an al Qaeda stake house. That didn't come in to the discussion. So they didn't hear key pieces of evidence.
The judge -- look, they're portraying this as a win. They did. They got him for 20 years to life. But, again, that was really -- you know that was a fine line in terms of, they thought this was going to be a lot better. The outcome is going to be a lot better than it ended up being. They usually say victor, we've got a victory. This was not the case. They say we thank the jury. We respect the jury.
ROBERTS: More fuel for the fire for those opposed to these types of trials?
FEYERICK: And there are many.
ROBERTS: All right. Deb Feyerick this morning. Deb, thanks so much.
Also new this morning, the head of the Transportation Security Administration is defending those enhanced airport security checks despite a backlash against pat-downs and full body scans. John Pistole telling the Senate committee he went through the procedure himself before ordering it nationwide. He says it is more invasive but it's necessary to stay ahead of the terrorist threat. The TSA has decided to scrap enhanced pat-downs for children. They will face less intrusive hand searches.
CHETRY: Well, the pilot was asleep for most of the flight. That's what investigators were saying this morning about the cause of an Air India crash back in May that killed 158 people. The plane overran the runway, plunged off a cliff. Reports out of India say that you can hear the captain snoring loudly on a cockpit recorder. And that when he was woken up, he was too disoriented to save the flight after being in a deep sleep.
ROBERTS: You've been wondering who actually runs the Internet? Well, listen to this. A stunning new claim that China hijacked massive volume of Internet communications from inside the United States. The report by a congressional commission alleges that during an 18-minute period past April, much of the Internet traffic to and from key sites in the United States was rerouted to pass through servers in China. That included communications from government agencies and, yes, the U.S. military.
CHETRY: Well, check out Seattle this morning. Skis and snowboards might be the best way to get around in the mountains and the eastern part of the state. Parts of Washington State under a winter storm warning today. Up to 18 inches of fresh snow so far falling in the Cascade Mountains. And more wet weather is on the way for the weekend. ROBERTS: Ski area closed now but perhaps open very soon. Let's get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the weather center for us this morning.
Rob, just thinking about waxing up the boards and maybe heading west.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'll tell you what, it could -- it's going to be a historic opening for some part of the intermountain west with as much they've gotten you see there in the northwest. And the pattern for those folks is going to get colder and stormier as we get through the weekend.
On the east coast, you had your storms yesterday. Winds are still sticking around just a little bit. We did have some damaging winds across upstate New York. Orange County, a little bit further north, we had winds gusting over 50 miles an hour. Not so bad this morning. That is beginning to wind down. But places in eastern New England and Maine, you're still under a wind advisory. Winds could gust there over 30 miles an hour. Portland, right now, 28-mile-an-hour winds sustained.
We do have another little system that brought snow to the heartland yesterday. Moving into the Ohio River Valley, some rain and light rain. Indianapolis to Cincinnati to Louisville. Some of this will get to the New York City area later on today. Maybe a sprinkle, that's about it. And some of it may get to Atlanta, as well. But again, this is very, very light and shouldn't be that big of a deal as it scoots across into the mid-Atlantic.
Storms again across the Pacific Northwest. Southwest looks good. Midsection not too shabby. And the winds begin to wind down across the northeast.
We'll have more details in about 30 minutes. John, Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right, Rob, get out your snowboard.
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Looks like you're going to have some fun soon in Seattle.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob. We'll see you again soon.
ROBERTS: All right.
Today marks a turning point for an American icon. General Motors returns to Wall Street. But what's in it for the American taxpayer who bailed out the automaker?
CHETRY: Also, Tiger Woods is turning in his putter in for a pen, saying that he's not the same man he was a year ago. In an article he wrote for "Newsweek," why he thinks that's a good thing, ahead.
ROBERTS: Plus, little wheels but big mess. Well, kind of fun to watch. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. What a difference a couple of years make. Our Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning with news about General Motors.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The IPO, initial public offering of GM.
Look, this was a big victory now for this White House. I mean, almost all the noted analysts agree that General Motors now coming out of its darkest days and will be traded again as GM on the New York Stock exchange starting today.
What does it mean for you, the people who bailed out General Motors and are still? You're still shareholders of General Motors but not as much as you were before. It means $50 billion of that government bailout is shrinking every minute. It means $20 billion raised in this IPO and almost $12 billion paid back to the United States Treasury. So the Treasury Department no longer the largest single shareholder of GM. That means GM is no longer "government motors." It's back to General Motors. It traded freely on the New York Stock Exchange.
What has turned around for this company? Well, back in 2008, every time a car rolled off the assembly line for General Motors, it lost $1,100. I mean, they were losing money on every single car. Today in 2010, they're making money again. GM has actually staged a turnaround and is profitable once more.
How did they do that? It was not without a great deal of pain and an awful lot of your money. They shut down Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, and they cut the workforce pretty dramatically. A lot of people lost their jobs in the remaking of General Motors. But the Center for Automotive Research points out, you guys, that while a lot of people did lose their jobs, they think that the Obama administration's rescue with your money of General Motors saved in the end about a million American jobs. All of the different jobs that would have been lost to this company completely shut down.
So we'll watch today to see how well it does. It's priced I think at $33 a share. We'll see if investors are very, very optimistic about what's happening here.
CHETRY: So ironic for the poor people who had invested in General Motors when it was worth - what, pennies?
ROMANS: That's right. They - a lot of people lost a boatload of money and lost their job related to this company. This is now, out of the ashes, the new company crafted by the American government.
How will it do? Now we'll find out.
ROBERTS: It's just surprising, when you think about it, you don't want to lose money on a car, obviously. But making $1,000 on each car, you would think that they would make more. ROMANS: They have to - they're going to have to make more to keep - to be viable, and they're going to have to keep making products that Americans and Chinese -
CHETRY: Want to buy. Yes.
ROMANS: -- and Europeans and everyone else wants to buy.
This is a company - it used to be, as goes GM, so goes the country. Well, are they going to be able to do that again? There's still a lot to prove it.
But this is, no doubt, is (INAUDIBLE) turning around. And a couple of years ago, you guys, we were talking about bailing out this company. A lot of people didn't want to do it. A lot of people thought that they would never be able to come out on the other side.
ROBERTS: Surprise, surprise.
ROMANS: Hard - hard to imagine this day to - just a couple of years ago, but here it is.
CHETRY: We'll see how it goes.
ROMANS: OK.
CHETRY: Christine Romans, thanks so much.
Well, Tiger Woods is reaching out to his fans, opening up in an article in "Newsweek," saying that he's not the same man he was a year ago. Tiger, a year after his fall from grace, in his own words, ahead.
ROBERTS: Plus, where there's a need for speed, there's a need for brakes - or at least so you would think.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour.
A live look inside Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport where the Chilean miners are catching a connecting flight. They came up from Chile this morning. They're headed to Los Angeles where they're going to participate in our CNN "TRIBUTE TO HEROES." It's going to be taped over the weekend and will air Thanksgiving night.
We hope to catch a glimpse of them at some point. We've got our Gary Tuchman there who's chasing them down. So we'll keep watching that for you this morning.
CHETRY: It's been a wild ride for all those miners and their rescuers as well.
ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.
CHETRY: Good thing that they're going to get honored in that tribute on Thanksgiving night.
Well, "Morning Talker" time. In just a year from his fall from grace, Tiger Woods says he's not the same man he was. The world's number - now number two golfer writing a first-person account of his struggles. This is in the latest edition of "Newsweek."
He wrote about the pain in his soul that he says is proving to be more complex and unsettling than he thought. He also said that it's obvious his life was out of balance and that his priorities were out of order.
He went on to write, quote, "I can never truly repair the damage I've done, especially to my family, but I can keep trying. What endures in the record books are the achievements won through competition, but what endures in our actual lives is the love of our family and the respect of others. I now know that some things can and must change with time and effort. I'm not the same man I was a year ago, and that's a good thing," unquote. (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: I thought it was kind of surprising, though, that he kind of blamed golf for what he did, saying it's such an inward-focused sport, you have to rely on yourself, that he thought he could go out there and just do anything he wanted and challenge the world.
CHETRY: Right. He also - it was -
ROBERTS: I don't necessarily know it's the game who's responsible.
CHETRY: He also said that, you know, a news flash, it's fulfilling to spend time with your kids. But, you know -
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: He's trying to turn over a new leaf.
ROBERTS: We'll see.
A housewife no more, Eva Longoria filed for divorce from her husband of three years, NBA star Tony Parker, the actress telling "Extra" host and friend, Mario Lopez, that she found hundreds of text messages from another woman on Parker's phones.
Longoria tweeted yesterday that the two love each other and pray for each other's happiness.
CHETRY: Sad. All right.
Also, I take you to this viral video clip right now for you. It's a slick go-cart track, clearly, a tight turn when one driver loses it and then another, and the hits just keep coming. We've counted 30- plus in this pileup. And, while we were counting, almost 100,000 views so far on the web. Yikes.
ROBERTS: That's a lot of go-carts all on the same track.
CHETRY: Yes. ROBERTS: Well, keep your thumbs on the wheel. That's the message for anyone who works at Disney World. Central Florida's largest employer banning employees from sending texts while driving. Disney says it's all about safety.
Employees who were caught texting could be fined or even fired.
CHETRY: Wow.
Well, thou shall not use Facebook. A New Jersey pastor giving his married church leaders until Sunday to delete their Facebook accounts, and those who refuse will be asked to resign. This Patrick (ph) Cedric Miller - about Pastor Cedric Miller who says that the social networking site is breaking up marriages because people are reconnecting with old flames.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR CEDRIC MILLER, LIVING WORD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP: Most times is that Facebook creates a vehicle for people to - to reunite with their past. If it's a pre-Jesus past, it's something that needs to stay dead and buried.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Pastor Miller has been married to the same woman for nearly 30 years. He admits he had a Facebook page of his own but he got rid of it.
This Sunday he says he'll be urging his entire congregation to stay away from Facebook.
ROBERTS: Does he say why he got rid of it?
CHETRY: I guess, do as I - you know, follow - you have to follow his actions, not just his words.
ROBERTS: Do - do as I do and as I say, huh?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Coming up, they ride a train together every day. They talk politics a lot. Six months after we first spoke to them, we're getting some post-election commuter reaction, all aboard with our Jim Acosta, still ahead.
Twenty-four minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-six minutes past the hour. We're following developing news this morning.
The 33 Chilean miners and five of their rescuers are Hollywood bound this morning.
ROBERTS: Yes. They're going to be part of Saturday night's taping of "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE", which is hosted by our Anderson Cooper. The program airs on CNN on Thanksgiving night.
Our Gary Tuchman is live from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport this morning where the miners are making a connecting flight to Los Angeles. Have you spotted them yet?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I will tell you this is the coolest story. There's no question about it. Because within about one minute, we expect the miners will be coming from behind me. They're in Customs right now here in the Atlanta International Airport. They just finished a nine-hour flight from Santiago. And then we are all continuing on to Los Angeles so they can attend the taping of the "HEROES, THE ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" which airs Thanksgiving night on CNN.
And what they're going to be doing, all 33 miners will be here and the five of the six rescuers will also be here, all honored for their heroism, the heroic perseverance of the miners for being under for 70 days and the true heroism of the rescuers who went half mile underground, help bring the miners up.
But it's going to be an amazing time for the miners. Most of these miners have never been outside of Chile, let alone, the United States. And here they are going to Hollywood, and "CNN HEROES" has invited them to come to the United States when we take them all over Southern California to do some shopping, to do some sightseeing, entertainment, great dinners, just going to have a great time.
They're all bringing family members, so there are going to be wives, there are going to be girlfriends, there are going to be sons, there are going to be daughters. And we expect them to come from behind me outside of Customs at any moment. And we'll come back when they come out, John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Sound goods. It's going to be an exciting ride for sure. Wonderful stuff. Thanks, Gary.
ROBERTS: Well, nearly, two million of you voted. Now, it's time to find out who is the next CNN Hero. Tune in Thanksgiving night, 8:00 P.M., Eastern as Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" right here on CNN.
Well, Americans certainly have a lot to say when it comes to politics and they spoke rather loudly this month during the midterm election, wouldn't you say?
CHETRY: Yes. Yes, certainly. And this morning, we're getting some post-election reaction from a group of New York commuters who months ago told us what they thought about the president, about the state of the economy.
Jim Acosta caught up with them again to check in and see how they're feeling now. Hey, Jim. JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning. You know, we wanted to get back in touch with these guys, because they were so raw and, you know, unfiltered about what's going on in the country right now. And what better way to talk about the election that just happened, the election that's coming up in just a couple of years from now than hopping on a train with a bunch of guys who will give it to straight all in the time it takes to get from Manhattan to the Long Island suburbs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): It's been six months since we caught up with them. Evening commute home hasn't changed.
ACOSTA (on camera): And, you know, they do make beer in 12 ounce cans, right?
JOHN LAURIE (PH), NEW YORK TRAIN COMMUTER: Not on Penn Station apparently.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Times have.
ACOSTA (on camera): A lot has happened in the last - what is it, six months?
TOM MCGINLEY (PH), NEW YORK TRAIN COMMUTER: Six months or so, yes. A lot has happened.
ACOSTA (voice-over): So we reunited with Tom McGinley (ph), John Laurie (ph), Jim Marin (ph), Steve Kelly (ph), Kevin Sullivan (ph) and Andy Gardner (ph) for their lively mix of political views on how to get the country back on track.
ACOSTA (on camera): Does anybody have a good one-liner on what happened?
ACOSTA (voice-over): First up, the 2010 election.
ACOSTA (on camera): Obama called it a shellacking, did he deserve it?
LAURIE (ph): Partially, yes. I think, you know, there was a lot of focus on - on the health care bill, which I'm not sure America, you know, understands.
ACOSTA: You were one of the - the lone Obama voters?
LAURIE (ph): There are a few. (INAUDIBLE).
ACOSTA: There are some stealth ones I think.
LAURIE (ph): Stealth voters, yes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): For them, the election was about who's driving the train in Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gridlock can be a good thing depending on where things are going and, you know -
ACOSTA (on camera): We kind of like the idea of tying things up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tying things up for a couple years.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Until 2012 when the president is up for re- election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't vote for him, but I don't underestimate his chances for re-election at all.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But what about the alternatives?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Oh, Nevada.
ACOSTA (on camera): Have any of you guys watched the new Sarah Palin reality show?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Sarah Palin and reality together or like -- I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could easily win those primaries.
ACOSTA: But you don't think so?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disagree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor of Minnesota, what's his name?
ACOSTA: Pawlenty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's got the best shot.
ACOSTA: You like him?
Ever talked about Michael Bloomberg?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Bloomberg is a viable candidate, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would support a wealthy third party person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wanted to fund his own campaign, that's fine.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Or they could go with Kevin's choice in the New York governor's race.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rent, it's too damn high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went with the guy from the Rent is Too High.
ACOSTA: You voted for the Rent is Too High?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cast a protest vote. I did. I'll admit it.
ACOSTA: Maybe the Rent is Too Damn High guy will run for president and then all our problems will be solved.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: If only it were that easy, right? If we could just vote him into office, all of our problems would be solved.
You know, these guys have more than just a couple of one-liners about people who are in power, people who may be running for president. They also have some ideas about what to do about the country. And we get in that in our piece tomorrow. They talk about the deficit, whether or not to extend the Bush tax cuts. And they come up with a unique idea for the next beer summit if the Republicans and Democrats can ever agree on a date to have that.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The Slurpee Summit.
ACOSTA: The Slurpee Summit.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: (INAUDIBLE) Slurpees yet.
ACOSTA: I'll give you two words, "man cave."
CHETRY: Bring you inside, right?
ACOSTA: Exactly. That's right. But you got to watch tomorrow.
ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to it, Jim. I enjoy hearing from these guys. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You got it.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jim.
Well, we're crossing the half hour right now -- time for a look our top stories.
We're calling it a miracle win. Lisa Murkowski declared victory in the long Alaska Senate race last night, saying that she does have enough write-in votes to win. Murkowski kept going after she lost the GOP primary to Joe Miller, who is backed by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. But Miller is not giving up and says that he may request a recount.
ROBERTS: A Gitmo detainee cleared of every terror-related charge, including murder against him except for one. A federal jury in New York convicted Ahmed Ghailani, the suspect in the 1988 U.S. embassy bombs in Kenya and Tanzania on a single count of conspiracy to damage or destroy U.S. property. He faces 20 years to life. He'll be sentenced in January.
CHETRY: And another big step in General Motors' comeback. This morning, GM will once again offer its stock for sale on Wall Street. The initial public offering is set to raise a record $21.1 billion. Almost $12 billion of that will go to U.S. taxpayers who bailed out GM last July.
ROBERTS: Well, the makers of seven different alcoholic energy drinks are nursing a hangover this morning after getting slapped down by the Food and Drug Administration.
CHETRY: The agency has declared Four Loko, as well as other drinks like it a, quote, "public health concern." And they issued an ultimatum: take the caffeine out of the mix within two weeks or risk having your product seized.
ROBERTS: Also today, a new warning about energy drinks alone without the alcohol.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from the CNN Center.
And, OK, you got my interest because every morning, I have one of these non-alcoholic energy drinks. What's the deal?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, if you were a college student, just having one of those drinks at least once a week would more likely make you have a dependence on alcohol. It's a very interesting relationship that these researchers found when they looked at college students and their drinking habits.
CHETRY: So, yes, it is interesting if the drinks don't have alcohol in them, what makes them more likely to have alcohol problems? I mean, you'd think in some cases it's the equivalent of having a couple cups of coffee?
COHEN: Right, it is strange. It's like, why, just because you drink an energy drink which doesn't alcohol, why would you be more likely to have alcohol? And it's kind of a chicken/egg thing and the researchers aren't quite clear why it's true.
What might be happening is that kids like to mix these things a lot. So, therefore, if you're drinking a lot of energy drinks, you're also drinking a lot of alcohol. It may be the kids start out with just the alcohol and that they're so tired and so hung over that they find themselves drinking energy drinks to compensate. Nobody is exactly sure why, but that association really is quite clear.
ROBERTS: And, you know, what also is popular at parties, the -- you know, Four Loko drink aside, for people to mix their own, doing like a Red Bull and vodka, that's a very popular drink. How much caffeine are we talking about here?
COHEN: You know what's interesting about this, John, is that they don't have to label their can. I spent all day looking at Four Loko cans yesterday and it doesn't say how much caffeine is in it. So, you don't know. However, the Center for Science and the Public Interest, which is this public interest research group, they analyzed it.
CHETRY: Right.
COHEN: And here's what they found CHETRY: Oh, I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I'm so sorry to cut you off. We'll come right back to you.
We just want to show this video now that's new into us. This is the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport where the miners, the Chilean miners, are making their way. They just got of customs. They're waving right now.
You see Gary Tuchman there in the background as well. He's traveling with them.
They've been invited to the U.S. by CNN. And they're going to be invited to the big All-Star Heroes Tribute that's taking place in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving Day.
ROBERTS: Yes, we got to get a shot of the miners even though they're making a connecting flight, because as they're coming in from Chile. They clear customs and then they have to check back in and go to their flights. So, we'll have an opportunity to at least look at them for just a little while.
I don't believe we got Gary Tuchman online. I think he's probably he's probably picked up and he's walking with the miners. So, I mean, it's been -- oh, we do.
Gary, talk to us.
GARY TUCHMAN CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm glad you guys can hear me. This is really cool technology here. And these are some of the miners.
This is Daniel Herrera. I got to meet him in Santiago last week. So, I got to go to Chile last week to meet the miners. So, I know I was talking about.
Daniel is a great guy. He doesn't understand English.
(SPEAKING SPANISH LANGUAGE)
TUCHMAN: Daniel was miner number 12. And he's here with his mother. Where is your mother? Come here, madre?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TUCHMAN: The mother of Daniel. Everyone has brought one guest -- mothers, daughters, sons, friend, girlfriends, wives. So, this is one of the 33 miners who's here. Five rescuers also.
This is the first time -- Daniel has never been outside of Chile. (AUDIO BREAK) Santiago. Most of these miners live in Copiapo, which is about 500 miles north of Santiago. That's where the mine was.
It was the first plane trip, most of them last week, to get their visa. That's why I was there at the U.S. embassy, first time in the United States. We're walking through Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta. We're getting ready to board a flight, four hours to Los Angeles. They'll attend a hero's celebration. They'll be here with five of the rescuers. We're also -- this is the first group of the 33 miners and the five rescuers coming out.
So, there's a little bewilderment here. People are very tired. They've been flying 9 1/2 hours overnight. But it's just a wonderful scene. And they're going all over Hollywood and Los Angeles.
These guys don't even know what they're doing yet. We're going to tell them later. But they're going to be having a lot of fun, doing shopping. Look at the entertainment, going to Hollywood Boulevard, putting their hand on Grauman's Chinese Theater.
And this is really a great event for all of us to be part of. We're really proud of this.
CHETRY: And you mentioned, Gary, the language barrier, some not that comfortable speaking English. Are there going to be translators or, you know, hosts to sort of show them around to make sure they really get the full experience?
TUCHMAN: Oh, absolutely. We have plenty of translators. So -- and I speak a little Spanish. Let me be fair about it.
For example, this is Jimmy Sanchez. Jimmy, we've heard a lot about, Jimmy is the youngest miner. Nineteen years old.
(SPEAKING SPANISH LANGUAGE)
TUCHMAN: OK. In May, he'll be 20 years old. This is the youngest miner, Jimmy.
Jimmy, I'll just tell you one little thing about him. He won't understand what I'm saying, but you may have heard about a guy who proposed to his girlfriend while he was under the mine. That is Jimmy right here.
But I've really be honest with you. Jimmy is now saying he's not so sure he's ready to get married. Underground, he was pretty sure. He may eventually get married.
But, right now, he told me he's not so sure. This is what he told me on a bus last week in Chile.
(SPEAKING SPANISH LANGUAGE)
TUCHMAN: This is Jimmy's father, by the way, over here.
(SPEAKING SPANISH LANGUAGE)
TUCHMAN: Jimmy brought his dad. Good son.
So, anyway, this is a wonderful moment. We're now arriving at the gate here in Atlanta. Getting ready for the flight and we'll be in Los Angeles, around 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time today. As they get ready for their days of fun and celebration in Tinseltown -- Kiran and John. ROBERTS: We're looking forward to all of that. Good job there, too, Gary, with the translation.
CHETRY: Yes, and an amazing technology.
ROBERTS: Funny that when he was 2,300 feet underground, he was dead sure he wanted to get married, and now, not so sure. Wait until he goes to Los Angeles, we'll see how he feels.
CHETRY: It seemed like such a great idea at the time.
All right, Gary. I love the technology that you're able to show us this amazing and exciting time. We see them taking pictures as well. I hope they have a blast and we'll check with you throughout the morning.
Thanks, Gary.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Gary.
Thirty-nine minutes after the hour now. Stay with us. We'll be right back with more of AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, Chicago's Wrigley Field hasn't seen a World Series game in 65 years. But this weekend, it will see something else, college football. The home of the Cubs is decked out for Saturday's Illinois/Northwestern game.
Gridiron slapped sideways on top of a baseball diamond. A golf post attached to its famous right field wall. And no net either. So, kicks are going to sail right into the bleachers. Just like the old days.
CHETRY: Pretty cool.
How about this one? Spotted out of the sky off of Florida's coast. This is a huge mantra ray gliding through the blue waters of the ocean. This is off of Singer Island just north of West Palm Beach.
They're not shy, these rays. They're known to approach divers in the water and they're not small either. Females can have a wing span of more than 16 feet.
ROBERTS: A big, beautiful animal.
CHETRY: Well, it is now 43 minutes past the hour. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Rob Marciano joins us with the travel forecast.
ROBERTS: And a backlash against Bristol Palin's performance on "Dancing with the Stars." You won't believe just how far one guy went to protest.
It's 43 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Not much soaking up of the sun today, at least in New York. It's 43 degrees. A little bit later, it's going up to a high of 55. But we're due for some clouds and rain, unfortunately.
ROBERTS: A drag because it's been such a beautiful week up until now -- not. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob is in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning, Rob.
MARCIANO: Good morning, guys. I don't think it's going to rain to much up there in New York. You're OK. Check out this picture. This is what it looks like outside the windows of the CNN Center here in Atlanta. There's a skyline of downtown. Sun coming up 37 degrees right now in the ATL. That is a little bit cooler than it is up in New York.
You mentioned 43 in spots of New York. We're tapping into 47 degrees, 43 degrees in Philadelphia, and a little bit breezy still this morning, and that's what's keeping some of the temperatures up. Still blowing, 10, 15 miles an hour here in New York and then up towards Portland, Maine where we have wind advisories still don't (ph) effect from that storm system that gave you guys some, yes, some of that rough weather early yesterday and then the winds later in the afternoon.
Could see winds gusting 25 to 45 miles an hour across parts of Northern New England and then things will begin to wind down just a little bit. A little storm system that brought some snow across the heartland yesterday and some rain is getting into the Ohio River Valley right now. Some light rain from Indianapolis to Louisville. A lot of this is moving into a fair amount of dry air.
So, some of this will begin to disappear and evaporate. Maybe some sprinkles or light showers in Montgomery, or Huntsville and Atlanta, but for the most part, this thing is going to weaken. What is not weakening is the pattern out west. We'll continue to see strong storms rolling to the Pacific Northwest. There you see heavy rains in the valleys and heavy snows up in the mountains. We do have winter storm warnings that are posted for not only the cascades, but as you get into the intermountain west, this is quite a pattern that's setting up for the weekend.
The temperature is going to be well below average. It will feel more like the end of December as opposed to the beginning of November. In between, not too bad. Chilly? Yes, but fairly quiet with some sunshine warming things up quite nicely. You will see some delays at Boston, in New York, and Memphis, maybe San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, because of that stormy weather pattern out west.
Just be prepared if you're heading out there, dress appropriately. It will be 66 degrees. Rebounding from 37 currently in Atlanta and 57 degrees, a better today in New York than it was yesterday -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: It was so unbelievably windy yesterday. I mean, it was flipping over small planes.
MARCIANO: Yes, it just accelerates when it gets squeezed through some of the building passes, especially downtown and the canyons of Wall Street. Good times.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Thanks.
ROBERTS: See you again soon just a few minutes from now.
This morning's top stories are just a few minutes away now, including one of the greatest political comebacks of all time, Lisa Murkowski on the verge of dealing the tea party and Sarah Palin. A huge blow at her home state. How did she do it? The senator will join us live coming up in our next hour.
CHETRY: And witches looking for a pirate. The new "Harry Potter" movie leaked online. Could it spoil one of the most anticipated movies of the year? Those stories and more at the top of the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON SWEENEY, ACTRESS: Hi. I'm Alison Sweeney. I'm on "Days Of Our Lives" and I host the "Biggest Loser" and I travel probably about 150 days a year. I don't get on a plane without serious preparation as to what I'm going to do, and it boggles my mind people who get on the plane like empty-handed and they just sit down next to you, ready to chat. I'm like I have plans.
I have my iPod, my laptop, my "Kindle" magazines that I subscribe to, my scripts that I need to memorize. My must haves when I travel in terms of clothes are my jeans, my flip-flops and then I have that my workout clothes. Being part of the "Biggest Loser" has taught me that there are no excuses for not working out. No matter where I am, even if it's vacation, I am always watching my calories.
I think the hardest part of about traveling has been away from my family. I definitely take advantage with technology to keep in touch with them. I also have this really sweet book called "I Love My Mommy" because my son and I play it together ourselves, and it has photos of us together in it, so that he has that to look through when I'm gone and when he misses me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: She certainly does move in her own way. Bristol Palin still dancing, but how did she manage to beat Brandy and waltz into the final round of "Dancing With The Stars"? Well, it appears that she may have gotten some help from a tea party website that instructed viewers how to vote for Bristol again and again and again and again.
CHETRY: This is something that we saw happen with "American Idol" as well where there's a lot of controversy over whether or not the voting was fair, but you know what, she won. She moved on. I mean, she won that round. And although, she was a controversial choice, this reaction of one guy in Wisconsin, I think, went a lit bit too far.
He took a shotgun and he actually blew a hole into his TV. He said that he did it, Steven Cowen (ph), because he felt Palin wasn't a good dancer, and he was fed up with politics. So then, he allegedly turned the gun on his wife. Less funny at this point and was arrested after an all-night standoff with the S.W.A.T. team.
ROBERTS: I think this guy is probably sort of a little beyond Bristol Palin's dancing problems (ph).
Let's check back in with our Gary Tuchman. He is at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. There he is. Gary is at the gate with our Chilean miners. What's going on, Gary?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're at gate E-15 international terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Atlanta, and these are some of the miners, a miner, his wife. A miner standing here, you see, we've given them all these hats. They have to wear these hats as part of the deal. It's the only part of the deal. That say "CNN Heroes," because the "CNN Heroes" that has invited them to the United States of America.
All 33 Chilean miners, five of the rescuers to be part of our heroes with all-star tribute presentation which beyond Thanksgiving evening. And this is just a wonderful occasion for us. I've never done a live report like this in my life. And we're taking them to the United States. They're going to attend Heroes and tour Southern California. We're about to get on the plane before (INAUDIBLE) on the California. This gentleman right here speaks a little English. This guy is a true hero. This is Roberto. Your wife's first name again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yvette.
TUCHMAN: Yvette only speaks Spanish, but Roberto speaks English.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit.
TUCHMAN: A little bit, but good English. Robert, check this microphone off so we can talk to you. Roberto is one of the rescuers. He was the second man who went down to the hole a half a mile to rescue the 32 miners. You, my friend, are a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, thank you.
TUCHMAN: You're in the service, the military? What kind (ph) of service?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The navy.
TUCHMAN: In the navy. What's amazing about Roberto is he became part of the navy when he was 14 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 14. TUCHMAN: Is that allowed in Chile to enter the navy when you're 14. He said, no, you have to be 15. I don't know why, but he said he lied about being 15. He was 14. You are how old now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am 34 years old now.
TUCHMAN: You're how old? In Espanol (SPEAKING DIFFERENT LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 34.
TUCHMAN: Think that 20 years, you're a hero. I hope you have a great time in the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.
TUCHMAN: This is a wonderful occasion for us. As I say, we're about to board the plane to go to Los Angeles. A lot of days of touring and fun with these heroes. John, Kiran back to you.
ROBERTS: Hey, Gary, real quick, because we're almost out of time here? How are you doing this?
TUCHMAN: How am I doing this?
ROBERTS: Yes.
TUCHMAN: With my intellect or what?
ROBERTS: No, no.
TUCHMAN: I'm a translator -- I'm joking, John. I wish I could speak better Spanish. We have this new technology, John, this kind of the technology that we use during the wars when we're, you know, we're in tanks going through the deserts, but we're unable to walk through the airport and do live reports, but it's a backpack on my cameraman's back who shoots great video right now. Orlando Ruiz (ph), and he's able to broadcast live. So, it's a real cool thing to do.
ROBERTS: Fantastic. Orly is a great guy. You're in good company there. Thanks, Gary. We'll see you again soon.
CHETRY: All right. I hope they have safe and easy flight and have (INAUDIBLE) L.A.
Meanwhile, 2 million of you voted. Now, it's time to find out who will be the next hero.
ROBERTS: Yes. Tune in Thanksgiving night, 08:00 p.m. as CNN's Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute." Top stories coming your way just a couple of minutes. Stay with us.
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