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American Morning
Military Clash in Korea; Royal Couple to Wed on April 29 at Westminster Abbey; Netflix Offers Streaming-Only Plan; Camped Out For Black Friday; Save the Tiger; Threat of Pilot Fatigue
Aired November 23, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, November 23rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for joining us. Let's get you caught up on what happened overnight.
We know when -- new details about the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. They were announced in just the past last hour. We'll tell you the date, the place, and who might attend in case your invite is lost in the mail.
CHETRY: Well, a shot across the border. North Korea's deadly artillery strike on a South Korean island now drawing strong condemnation from the White House this morning. We're live in Washington, just ahead.
ROBERTS: Another potential travel hassle. This one has nothing to do with body scanners or enhanced pat-downs. Extreme weather, winter storm watches, and warnings stretch across several northern tier states. There's already heavy snow in the Fargo, North Dakota, area. Add to that a band of tornadoes that slammed parts of Illionois and Wisconsin yesterday. More ahead on how all of this could affect your trip to grandma's house.
CHETRY: Up first though, we're finally getting some details about the upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.
ROBERTS: Yes. Dan Rivers is standing by for us in London.
So, when, where, and who's coming, Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well it's going to be taking place in the beautiful gothic building behind me, which is Westminster Abbey. Now, if you're not familiar with London, this is sort of basically the royal church. It's right opposite Big Ben, on the banks of the River Thames. And it's got a long history, about a thousand years of royal connections here.
It's going to take place, this wedding, on the 29th of April, Friday. The government has already said it's going to be the national holiday. The couple are described as being over the moon and on cloud nine. So, now, we are going to have a few months of sort of build-up as we begin to find out which international royal, you know, dignitaries and other royals will be coming. This will clearly be a massive global event.
This building normally has room for about 2,000 people in a normal congregation, but we understand they could cram as many as 6,000 people inside. And then all of these streets throughout Westminster, this part of central London, will probably be closed off and lined with literally hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of well wishers as they wait to see the second in line to the throne finally getting married.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Dan, it's interesting. There was some talk about whether or not they had to scale back what would be a huge royal celebration because of the tough economic times. We got word that the royal family will actually be paying for the wedding.
Has there been any reaction to all of that?
RIVERS: That's right. We're told that the royal household and the Middleton family, Kate's family, will be paying. Clearly, the royal household will be paying the lion's share of this.
Clarence House is saying that in line with Charles and Di's wedding in 1981, also paid for largely by the royal household, and indeed the queen's wedding back in 1947. So, they're saying it's a precedent set by the queen and is in line with that.
Of course, the royal household is paid for, actually, by the civil list, which comes from general taxation. So, I suppose there's an argument to say that, you know, at the end of the day, this is partly funded by the public purse. But the government will pick up the tab for the security and transport arrangements.
And this is going to be slightly less lavish than Charles and Di's wedding in 1981, which was in St. Paul's Cathedral, at the other end of the city, and much bigger venue and a much more lavish ceremony than this. We're told that Kate and William are mindful of the economic situation and the wedding will reflect that.
And this building, we've been told, has been picked, obviously, because of its royal connections. Also, because it's slightly more intimate than St. Paul's.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Dan Rivers for us out at Westminster Abbey this morning -- Dan, thanks.
CHETRY: For some reaction, we're also going to check in now with author and royal historian Hugo Vickers, who's on the phone.
Thanks for us being with us this morning.
HUGO VICKERS, AUTHOR AND ROYAL HISTORIAN: A great pleasure. Thank you.
CHETRY: So, now, we know April 29th, 2001 -- 2011, rather, it's the date. And we also know that it's going to be at Westminster Abbey. What do you think?
VICKERS: Well, I think it's perfect. As Dan was saying, it is the royal family's London church and, of course, the funeral of princess of Wales took place there, the wedding of the queen, and great number of other members of the royal family.
And as for the date, well, April can be a very nice time in London. If it's much later, it would have been a very long engagement. So, I think it's all for the good.
ROBERTS: You know, it's also been known since about 1066, because this is an extraordinarily old, as the coronation cathedral. Should we read anything into that?
VICKERS: Well, Prince William (INAUDIBLE) will certainly be crowned there. Most kings since William the Conqueror has been crowned in Westminster Abbey. Of course, the present queen was crowned there. Of course, you know, all being well, she (INAUDIBLE) with Prince Phillip, they will be married there 63 1/2 years before, which is a remarkable testimony to matrimony.
CHETRY: Also interesting, Hugo, the guest list. I mean, they say you can fit 6,000 in the church. I'm sure that there's going to be -- you know, exponentially more people who would love to attend that they may have to consider. So, how do they whittle this down?
VICKERS: Well, there's going to be a lot of headaches in the Lord Chamberlain's Office because there'll be a lot of people who want to present and a lot of people have to be present. And, of course, as you're saying, he is an eventually heir to the throne, there will be a number of guests that must be there. There will be a lot of foreign royal houses, perhaps even -- as we said the other day -- perhaps Mrs. Obama might be invited.
But it should be a very exciting occasion, and, of course, a very personal commitment between the young couple. I think that is something that's being stressed very much this time that it's not only a nation al celebration but it is two people getting married purely because they want to be married to each other -- which is great.
ROBERTS: It really is. And it's different than many royal stories that we've heard in the past. So, only five months now until the wedding -- obviously, plans will be put forward a pace. What happens there in the U.K., though, in the next five months?
VICKERS: Well, there will be a lot of things going on behind the scenes and, then, of course, there will be -- one of the things which happens in the Lord Chamberlain's Office is that people ring up and say, look, I'm a great friend of the happy couple and I very much hope that I'm going to get a good invitation, in which case the Lord Chamberlain's Office has to say, so, why didn't you get in touch with the happy couple direct and see how you stand?
(LAUGHTER)
VICKERS: There will be a lot of people wanting invitations.
CHETRY: That's true, right? Just e-mail Kate if you want to go.
VICKERS: Exactly.
CHETRY: Anything else that stands out to you about all of this, the date, the -- just how much planning needs to go into it? And also, the security aspect.
VICKERS: Well, the security aspect for any event these days, whether it's London or New York or wherever is, of course, huge. And I hope there will be a carriage procession because then we get a really good look at the bride and groom, which is what we want. These occasions are very much television occasions now. They will be seen by people all over the world, which is fantastic.
And of course, behind the scenes, there will be meticulous planning, down to the last second. And that is what we do extremely well in this country and the reason that people will be put through that paces. Everything -- every tiny little thing will be rehearse, to make sure that it goes splendidly on the actual day.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, you do well, you have had a lot of practice. No question about that.
Hugo Vickers, author and royal historian -- thanks for joining us this morning. We really appreciate it.
VICKERS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Also this morning, we're following developments in the Korean Peninsula. This is very troubling.
The United States is denouncing North Korea's artillery strike on a South Korean island that killed two soldiers and injured more than a dozen others. Smoke could be seen billowing up from the island following the attack.
CHETRY: It's not the first time that Yeonpyeong Island has been a flash point in the conflict between the Koreas.
CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is live in Washington with more the latest this morning.
Hi, Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there.
You know, it really is quite serious. I've been talking with some experts in Korea. And they're saying this is very serious.
In fact, if you look at events that have taken place in that area, no question. This is the worse so far, using artillery to fire. This is not sporadic firing. This is artillery barrage. People killed, people injured. The United States, the White House issued a statement, and strongly condemning, of course, attack, and telling North Korea to, in essence, stop -- stop right now and reminding them that the United States and South Korea have a defense pact and that means each for the other. That the United States is vowing to defend South Korea should it be necessary.
So, there's a balance here. I think you'd have to say there's really a tenuous balance between giving a very strong message. You've seen that from the White House. You are certainly seeing it from the South Koreans.
But at the same time, not overplaying it and then trying to pull it back, trying to tamp down any type of possibility that this might escalate. It's a tense time. Overall, with the nuclear program, the secession for Kim Jong-il's son to take his place -- so a lot of balls in the air and a very unstable time.
ROBERTS: Jill, this is the third time since 1999 that Yeonpyeong Island has been a point of conflict. We know that the United States is saying about it.
What about the rest of the international reaction? What are countries like China and Russia are saying?
DOUGHERTY: You know, China has been very careful. They wanted clarification. They are, of course, the best friends that North Korea has right now. They supply food, and practically anything that the North gets right now, most of it comes from China. So they have been very careful. They are very worried about instability in North Korea.
The Russians, who are part of the six-party talks, also have spoken out, carefully. And their message is: don't let this get out of control.
ROBERTS: Jill Dougherty in Washington this morning -- Jill, thanks.
DOUGHERTY: It's getting tense and a bit bizarre these days at America's airports. More and more travelers are taking exception to those enhanced security techniques and they are apparently taking it out on the TSA screeners. The union that represents those screeners is now demanding enhanced security for their own members. They claim they need protection from the flying public.
Meanwhile, a "Washington Post"/ABC News poll says nearly two- thirds of Americans approve of airport scanners. It's those enhanced pat downs that are a problem. Half of us feel they just go too far.
CHETRY: Well, just in time for one of the busiest travel holidays of the year. You got snow stacking up in a pace of almost an inch per hour, at least in North Dakota. Almost 13 inches on the ground in Fargo, almost twice what was predicted.
And there's another storm moving in tomorrow. That's the last thing anyone who's flying in or out of there needs to hear. It could bring four to six more inches.
ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning weather headlines.
Folks who want to go skiing, Rob, are probably enjoining the snow coming down. Folks who are just trying to get from here to there, though, I assume, would be cursing it.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you might a hard time just getting to the hill to enjoy some of that snow. I tell you this: once the holiday actually gets here, Thursday, Friday to Saturday, and all this moves off to the east, it's going to be just absolutely primo stuff on the mountain, that's for sure.
But let's get through this: in between, we've got the record high and the record cold. We've got some turbulent weather.
Look at this video coming out of Roxbury, Illinois, yesterday. Several tornadoes touching down in Illinois and Wisconsin. This one caught on tape. Caledonia, it did some damage there. And there you see some it.
There was a school bus that was overturned because of this storm. Three kids were injured, but all of those injuries were minor, thank goodness. This could have been a lot worse, that's for sure.
So, it just gives you an idea of how beefed up this atmosphere is with all the heat out east and the cold out west. In between, we have a couple of storms.
Here's one front pushing off to the east, and to Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, getting over to the Appalachians. This will be light to moderate rainfall. A little bit heavier rainfall across Tennessee and Kentucky and back through parts of the south, Nashville, heading east towards Knoxville and Huntsville. These thunderstorms are not severe, but they're certainly bringing you some strong winds and some heavy, heavy rain.
Speaking of heavy precip, how about some heavy out west? Winter storm warnings, warnings, watches, advisories, even a blizzard warning up for almost all of Utah, western Colorado, and southern parts of Idaho. We'll probably see a couple of feet of snow here on top of the several feet that they have seen over the past couple of weeks and that snow will be blowing sideways.
Forty-six, Denver; 26 degrees in Seattle, they saw record snow. Snow any time of the year in Seattle is a big deal. Let alone in the middle of November.
But meanwhile, it will be 82 degrees in Dallas and 63 degrees out in -- up there in New York City. Give you a little peek as to what we think is going to happen tomorrow as the storm ejects from the Rockies. It will get into the Plains, take a similar track to this past storm.
Most of the winter precip will be across the upper Midwest and western Great Lakes and that probably doesn't include Chicago. So, Minneapolis and much of Minnesota will get another round of ice and snow. But most of the big cities from Chicago to New York with the system on the warm side of it.
So, I suppose if there's a sliver of good news, John and Kiran, it's that. Back to you.
CHETRY: That's really sliver. You are reaching there, Rob.
MARCIANO: That's what we do. We try.
CHETRY: Thanks.
MARCIANO: All right.
CHETRY: Well, new this morning: hope is fading for 29 New Zealand coal miners who have been trapped underground since Friday. The reason why is there's been no communication with the miners since last week's explosion. Also, a volatile mix of gases has made it too risky for anyone to attempt a rescue in the mine.
ROBERTS: In just a few hours' time, prosecutors in Aruba will reveal the results of tests conducted on a jawbone that was found on an island beach earlier this month. It could be -- and we repeat -- could be the first piece of concrete evidence in the death of Natalee Holloway. She disappeared while in Aruba more than five years ago.
CHETRY: It's small comfort to the family of Chandra Levy, but a Washington, D.C. jury has returned a guilty verdict in her death. Ingmar Guandique, pictured there, was convicted of murdering the Washington intern in 2001 while she was jogging in a D.C. park. He faces life in prison at his sentencing in February.
ROBERTS: And Irish protesters are voicing their anger over the government's decision to ask the international community for a financial bailout. They stormed the prime minister's offices in Dublin yesterday. They claim they were deceived by Prime Minister Brian Cowen who insisted for weeks that Ireland could weather the financial storm independently.
CHETRY: A bladder cancer survivor driven to tears by TSA screeners. Well, Thomas Sawyer got an apology from the TSA. But does feel comfortable enough to go through screening after that phone call? We're going to ask him when he joins us live -- next.
ROBERTS: And they say the early bird gets the worm. Well, these guys will settle for a flat screen TV. Their story is still to come.
CHETRY: Yes, already camping out for Black Friday, wow.
And Oprah's final favorite things giveaway. We know it's going to be huge, the paramedics reportedly on stand by. But wait until you see the looks on the faces of a very special audience, handpicked for their good deeds, as well.
Fourteen minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, it's 16 minutes now after the hour. Yesterday, we told you a terrible story about a man who was brought to tears during one of those so-called enhanced security pat downs at Detroit's Metro Airport. The screener didn't know, didn't really care that he was wearing a medical device that might come loose with the new more aggressive pat down.
And since he appeared with us yesterday, Thomas Sawyer got an apology from none other than the head of the TSA, John Pistole. And he's here with us this morning from Holt, Michigan, to talk about it. Thomas, great to talk to you. Just for the folks at home who might have missed it yesterday, a quick recap of what happened to you there as you went through that enhanced security screening.
What's the medical condition you have and what happened?
THOMAS SAWYER, SAYS HE WAS HUMILIATED BY TSA SCREENERS (via telephone): I'm pretty sure the world, by now, knows what happened. I went through the Detroit Metro Airport, went to x ray, and x-ray picked up on my urostomy bag. I'm a bladder cancer survivor. I now have an appliance on my side and I had to go through a pat down.
And when they were patting me down, I tried to tell them my medical condition and they weren't really interested in letting me tell them my medical condition and when they did the pat down of my chest, they popped the palm of their hand on my urostomy bag and opened it, and I had urine going down me. That's the short version.
ROBERTS: So, after your appearance here yesterday and I watched it yesterday and I was just -- I couldn't believe what happened to you. We got a call from the TSA because John Pistole, the administrator of the TSA, was also on with us. And he said that he wanted the talk to you. He telephoned you yesterday. What was that conversation like?
SAWYER: Yes, he did call me yesterday. He was very gracious. He started by apologizing. We shared a little humor with each other. I said I don't imaging you been too busy today, and he said, oh no, just a couple of meetings here and there. And I said, yes, I have a couple phone calls, too, and we laughed. He went on to apologize to me on behalf of the TSA and then he had some -- some things to say. I had to do a little correcting. He had a part of the story mixed up which a lot of people do right now.
And we did that, and then, he asked me what I thought -- because I kept talking about training. What I thought. And so, I talked to him that I really don't believe that they've been trained as well as -- to handle a medical condition as what -- various medical conditions is what many of the TSA postings have been saying. And he said he had -- was going to be talking at 3:00 yesterday afternoon to his supervisors and the whole thing was going to be discussed, and there is going to be a larger meeting.
And I offered to actually attend that meeting. And I would demonstrate and talk with them about the world of your urostomies, colostomies, insulin pumps, et cetera and will help educate the agents if he was so moved (ph). And he said I might take you up on that. And so, it was a congeal conversation.
ROBERTS: You also told us yesterday, Thomas, that you think that these enhanced pat downs should be stopped until the TSA screeners receive more enhanced training. Are you still thinking that?
SAWYER: The enhanced pat downs?
ROBERTS: Yes.
SAWYER: You know, it's a real double-edged sword. I've tried to make it clear. I'm a good American. I understand that we are in trying times right now and whether or not the pat downs should be stopped, I don't know. The way the pat downs are being done right now I think really have to be looked at to back off for a while until they're positively sure that all of the screeners have been trained for medical appliances.
ROBERTS: So, after that telephone call that you had yesterday with TSA Administrator Pistole, would you be more comfortable now going through an enhanced pat down or you still --
SAWYER: No. I wouldn't.
ROBERTS: OK.
SAWYER: No. Not right now. It's too close. At least, though, right now, after being able to reflect, I know that I would be able to say, no, you are going to listen to my medical condition before you pat me down, but I'm not planning on flying soon.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, if you do, hopefully, your message will get through. Thomas, we thank you again for being on with us this morning, and we wish you the best of luck, and it would be great to see the TSA take you up on your offer coming in to talk to them about all of those particular conditions. I think it would be a good idea.
SAWYER: Thank you, John. I really appreciate CNN for covering this.
ROBERTS: All right. Thomas, good to talk to you this morning. Have a great Thanksgiving.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hopefully, you know, because of what he went through, other people won't have to experience the same thing.
ROBERTS: Let's hope. But you know, there's a lot of people that they get the word out to.
CHETRY: Yes. Absolutely. Well, Netflix is offering something that's different that they haven't offered before. This will be the first time that the company says you can have an online only subscription plan. Meaning, you wouldn't actually get any movies, you would just pay $7.99 a month for unlimited access to streaming content, but if you do still want to get the movies, prices are going up. We'll explain coming up.
Also, two men in Arkansas put all the other early birds to shame. They are already camping out to be the first ones in line at best buy for the black Friday crowds. They've been there since Sunday, actually, seeking bargains on a laptop and flat-screen TV. A Thanksgiving tradition, so they say.
ROBERTS: Well, Oprah did it again, showering her audience with gifts during her final favorite things episode. People, as you can imagine, went nuts. We'll show you the big surprise just ahead.
Tigers are on the verge of extinction. In fact, there are two times as many tigers in captivity than there are in the wild. Now, an expert about the global effort to save the tiger. Twenty-two minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Morning talker time. Welcome back. We knew it was going to be big, of course, Oprah's big --
ROBERTS: It's huge.
CHETRY: Big studio audience giveaway when she has her favorite things episode. Well, she certainly didn't disappoint this time. She gave her entire studio audience in part two of her final favorite things, a car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: They said, we cannot give you this beetle. But how about if we give each person in your audience the brand-new totally redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle?
(CHEERING AND CLAPPING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So, you asked earlier, last hour, how many people in audience?
ROBERTS: How many beetles?
CHETRY: Yes, 276 or 278 people in the audience. And it was a special hand-picked audience. A lot of these people were heroes who spent a lot of time doing good throughout the year. And Oprah wanted to repay them. So, congratulations. He's thrilled.
ROBERTS: Well, you would think that the reaction, the real Beatles showed up 1964 as opposed to the car.
Well, Bristol Palin could win "Dancing With The Stars" tonight. She had her last dance last night. It didn't impress the judges too much, but here's the thing when it comes to Bristol. Even if she comes up short with the judges, the fans have kept her on the show. She's up against "Dirty Dancing's" Jennifer Grey and Disney star, Kyle Massey, for the finals.
CHETRY: In a city south of Boston where the Red Sox are a source of pride, and as Rob Marciano told us, where Rocky Marciano hails from, Brockton, Massachusetts, they broke the record for Santa hats worn at the same time. They first set the record two years ago, then it's on Ireland top them, well now, they came back. (INAUDIBLE). So, this year, 872 Santa hats. It's a record.
ROBERTS: That's a lot of hats in one place at one time.
Well, the hit that changed his life forever. A high school football player battling the effects of a concussion years after a game that he can't even remember. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, his story and a warning for coaches and parents just ahead. You're going to want to see this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now. It's 8:30 in the East Coast.
Top stories this morning, we have breaking news to tell you about. A date, the royal family announcing that Prince William and Kate Middleton will get married at Westminster abbey on Friday, April 29. Their engagement was announced last week.
CHETRY: Congrats to them.
Meantime, the Koreas clash, a deadly confrontation leaving the region and the world on edge overnight. Reports say that North Korea hit a South Korean island with some 200 artillery rounds, killing at least two soldiers and injured more than a dozen others. South Korea fought back, scrambling F-16 fighter jets.
And they released a statement saying that the military will retaliate against any additional acts of provocation in a resolute manner. They're also asking North Korea to assume full responsibility for the incident.
ROBERTS: If you're outraged by the TSA and would rather stay home instead of flying, subjecting yourself to the body scanners or enhanced pat downs, Delta Airlines say it will consider refunds in some cases for travelers who canceled because they don't want to go through them.
No such luck at American Airlines. It says it will not change its policy, reiterating that a non-refundable ticket is just that. We fly the planes, we don't control security. CHETRY: It's day two of our series, "Hard Hits, Dangerous Games," a special look at a concussion crisis going on right now in football.
ROBERTS: Yesterday we heard Dr. Gupta's conversation with NFL MVP Kurt Warner about players who are determined to keep playing through the symptoms. But the hard hits are coming at a much younger level these days.
And Dr. Gupta's back with us this morning with a particularly tragic story of a young man who suffered, I guess, Sanjay, that repetitive concussion, one right after the other.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's called second impact syndrome, what you're describing. The thing that's so striking, you have three million high school football players or youth football players, and their brains are still developing. Concussions can have more of an impact on a developing brain and they can take longer to recover from it.
So we investigate the story of Max Conradt. He played through concussions like a lot of high school players do. But what he teaches the urgency of all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Friday night, game night. On a kickoff return, 17-year- old Max Conradt takes a hit.
RALPH CONRADT, MAX CONRADT'S FATHER: He took a knee to the head and went down for several seconds and was staggering off the field.
GUPTA: A week later, another game, another hit.
RALPH CONRADT: He drills his forehead and helmet right into Max's chin.
GUPTA: For some reason, Conradt let him catch the ball.
GUPTA: Astonishingly, Max continues to play. But then --
JOY CONRADT, MAX CONRADT'S STEPMOTHER: He was walking toward me, and he looked at me and he said, "My chin hurts." And then he collapsed.
GUPTA: Max Conradt, star athlete, stellar student was dying. What happened -- second impact syndrome, one concussion closely followed by a second one before the brain has time to heal. In Max's case, his brain began to swell uncontrollably.
GUPTA (on camera): During a concussion, the brain, which has a consistency of jell-o, is stretched and twisted. As it's rocked, chemicals start to flood it, damaging different cells within the brain and throwing the brain into a sort of state of crisis. With rest, the damaged cells can heal. But when a second concussion happens too soon after the first, brain cells die, and that's when permanent damage sets in.
GUPTA (on camera): Max was rushed to the operating room.
RALPH CONRADT: The head surgeon comes over and puts his hand on my back, and he just goes, "I'm really sorry," basically telling us he's not going to make it. He's not going to survive.
GUPTA: Three operations in ten days, Max is alive but barely conscious. It took months before he finally woke up.
MAX CONRADT: What happened?
RALPH CONRADT: What happened?
MAX CONRADT: Yes.
RALPH CONRADT: You were hurt in a football game.
MAX CONRADT: What?
RALPH CONRADT: Yes.
JOY CONRADT: Yes.
MAX CONRADT: Oh my god!
GUPTA: That was 2002.
MAX CONRADT: I don't remember the season. I don't remember the football season.
GUPTA: This is Max today. He's 26, living in a home for brain injured adults. He still has no memory of the hit that changed his life. In fact, these days he has problems remembering, period.
MAX CONRADT: Once in a while I get upset about if I can't remember the stuff I want to remember. I wish it never happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: It really is amazing. He has no memory of that game, very few memories of the entire football season.
Incidentally, his parents were very instrumental in getting a law passed in Oregon requiring coaches to have more knowledge about concussions. If players have symptoms to keep them off the field for at least a day and they have to be cleared by a medical professional.
The law is called Max's law in Oregon. But around the country, you know, it is inconsistent in exactly how concussions are approached and treated at the youth level.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, in this particular case, how could this have been prevented? What should the coaches have been looking for when it came to Max? GUPTA: There's no question that when we talk about second impact syndrome, the whole point is that one concussion is bad. But at the time before the brain has healed, the person is set up for a second concussion. That second concussion can be exponentially worse.
There's no blood test or a scan as you know, but there are clinical signs to look for. They do the sideline exams looking for headaches, for example. Some sort of pressure in the head that people are complaining of. Nausea, vomiting, vision problem, light sensitivity, confusion, attention or memory problems.
These things, again, they may sound vague but if someone has the symptoms, immediately after a blow to the head or something where they seem -- they feel not quite right, they should not play. They should not play until there's evidence that their brain has healed and that's usually done by a medical professional.
CHETRY: Sanjay Gupta for us this morning. Such a sad story for Max.
ROBERTS: It really is. Thanks, Doc.
Tomorrow Sanjay talks to former NFL linebacker Fred McNeil, a man that lashed out at his own family and considered suicide after his playing days were over. Why? Because of brain injuries he suffered.
CHETRY: Coming up, tigers living in the wild now threatened with extinction. They could be gone in just 12 years according to wildlife experts. We'll talk about the tiger summit set to take place to try to save them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 40 minutes past the hour right now.
2010 is the year of the tiger on the Chinese calendar, but by the time the next one rolls around in 2022, tigers in the wild could be extinct. It is hard to believe. Experts say that right now just 3,200 tigers remain in the wild. That's down from about 100,000 a century ago.
A global effort is now under way to try to save them. They actually kicked off a tiger summit in Russia. Joining us now from Washington is Sybille Klenzendorf. She's the director of the Species Conservation Program for the World Wildlife Federation. Thank you for joining us.
SYBILLE KLENZENDORF, WORLD WILDLIFE FUND: Good morning. Good to be here.
CHETRY: That number is just astounding -- 3,200 tigers left it is estimated in the wild. What is happening?
KLENZENDORF: Tigers have really crashed in the last century, and it's due to heavy poaching pressure for their parts and to a massive decline in habitat. Tigers today throughout Asia live in about only seven percent of their historic range.
So there's urgent action needed to stop this really fast decline in the wild. And that's why we have gone through a yearlong process to get governments together. And it culminates today in the tiger summit hosted by Vladimir Putin in Russia.
CHETRY: Right. And one of the things that you mention is loss of habitat. That is the huge problem, and its seems one more challenging than the poaching issue. What do you do about the loss of habitat?
KLENZENDORF: A lot of habitat conversion today is driven by expanding of agriculture and products we use in the everyday life in the U.S. In fact, most of the consumption that we are having such as paper products, cosmetics, converts vital tiger habitat on islands such as Sumatra and feeds our demand for these products. And that's why we're losing habitat at such a fast rate.
CHETRY: Is there anything that can be done about that?
KLENZENDORF: Yes. We're engaging a lot of the companies and also consumers in the U.S. to really look at sustainability measures of how can we produce the products in a sustainable way. We, World Wildlife have been working with companies on sustainability certification such as forest stewardship council, and you can buy those in the store and they're sustainably sourced.
CHETRY: The animals are so beautiful and magnificent. Unfortunately, though, their parts are highly prized especially in some aspects of Chinese medicine. I think this week alone a poacher was caught with a dead tiger and arrested. But how do you stop the poaching when you can get as much as $50,000 or more for one tiger?
KLENZENDORF: Yes. We have been engaging with, you know, traditional medicine practitioners and they have come out strongly against using illegal tiger products in their products. And we're working with local communities who sometimes have to make a living by poaching tigers to find alternatives.
How can they live in harmony with these animals and actually maybe even make money by having live tigers in the backyards through tourism or other ways than killing tigers for a living?
CHETRY: Right. It's interesting. Leonardo DiCaprio, we have a picture of, he is attending the summit and donated money. He donated $1 million to the anti-poaching programs that have been organized through your organization. There you see a picture. He's putting in an infrared camera to track tigers to find out more about which tigers are still living and where.
He's also calling on Apple's Steve Jobs to get involved, as well, because millions more is needed in terms of money to make a dent in this. How significant is the involvement of him and other big and deep-pocketed donors?
KLENZENDORF: This is exactly the kind of attention that we need at the plight of tigers. They need every help they can get from actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, and we are very excited he is a spokesperson for this issue, because he can touch millions of people that we as conservationists have a harder time reaching.
But same with, you know, people like Vladimir Putin today that speaks at the highest level of government to say we have to reverse this trend, otherwise we will lose tigers forever. They inspire millions of people.
I, myself, you know, was a kid watching tiger documentaries saying I have to become a conservationist myself.
And if we cannot save tigers, there's really no hope for them or for us to have a natural world and that's why we need people like Leonardo to help us and if you want to learn more, you can go to SaveTigersNow.org and really learn how you can get involved and -- and with your connections through business such as, you know, you -- a lot of U.S. companies are key in helping us source products sustainably and -- and cut the conversion of tiger habitat.
CHETRY: Right. Well, we linked your information up with our Web site, as well. So hopefully people will logon and find out more about it. Sybille Klenzendorf, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
KLENZENDORF: Thanks a lot.
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 46 minutes after the hour. We've got storms in the Ohio Valley, blizzard warnings in the west. If you're walking out the door to the airport this morning and trying to either get to a business meeting or get home to grandma's house, we've got your travel forecast right after the break with Rob.
Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: Forty-eight minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines with Rob Marciano. He's in the Extreme Weather Center and it's going to be tough getting home for Thanksgiving for some folks, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. Especially for the west you go, the further east you go at least today and tomorrow, it's pretty toasty. Look at these data. My, 63 degrees in New York today, 66 degrees is expected in D.C. We had records yesterday and we'll probably see some today.
Meanwhile, 36 in Chicago; 21 in Minneapolis; 7 in Billings; 26 degrees for a high temperature in Seattle. That, my friends, is on the chilly side even for -- even for the northwest.
These are the record highs yesterday in the 80s in Alabama. And 80 degrees in Oklahoma. In New York City, 67 degrees. That was your record high.
This cold front trying to bump into the warm air and getting out here and having a tough time to the north. To the south a little bit more on the way of rough weather from Nashville back to Memphis that will slowly progress to the east. As well this storm which is beginning to wind itself up through the Great Basin. Heavy snow in the Sierras and the Cascades and yes, even the low valleys of the Puget Sound.
Check out this video from Seattle yesterday we saw a couple of inches of snow in Seattle proper. But that my friend is enough to slow things down in a hurry. Folks there are not used to driving in this stuff. They don't have the facilities to really clear it out all that rapidly and it can turn to ice pretty quickly and then you're at a standstill.
And we've been seeing similar scenes this morning so both the airways and certainly on the roadways, even the major thoroughfares looking for -- as a matter of fact we -- we -- here's some live aerials, this is actually Illinois.
I'm sorry, these are especially coming in to us; the raw stuff from our affiliate out there I believe in Chicago. This is Caledonia just west of Chicago near Rockford where there was damage done because of that tornado that was a 1.5 half mile wide and did some injuries to some kids but they were minor injuries, thank goodness. Take a look at this damage and to think, wow. That could have been certainly a lot, lot worse.
All right. Let's get back to the maps now. And we'll give you an idea of what we expect to see as far as snowfall out west. Heavy snows of course in the mountains.
This blizzard which it will be in Utah will head towards the Great Lakes. And that's important because that will keep the warm air east in place so any precip that falls pretty much Detroit to New York here for the next couple of days it's going to be in the form of rain and then the cold air dries in behind this. I think Friday, Saturday and Sunday everybody will get a taste of what will be very, very chilly air.
But I-95 Corridor will remain snow-free and some -- some of those pictures we saw out west, the I-5 corridor, I can't say that so much. John and Kiran, back up to you guys in New York.
ROBERTS: Yes that's -- it's a terrible damage there in Rockford. Thanks for the pictures Rob. We'll keep on looking at those this morning. Rob Marciano this morning.
CHETRY: Well, with everyone so concerned about terrorist and enhanced security at U.S. airports, are we ignoring a more serious safety threat? Pilot fatigue.
Allen Chernoff's report up next.
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ROBERTS: We're looking at some pictures this morning coming to us. This is more of what Rob was showing us just a minute ago from the town of Caledonia near Rockford, Illinois. Damage from what appears to be a tornado. Although it hasn't been confirmed, I believe, at this point. Farmhouse there with a lot of damage on the outbuildings. Rob showed us another building that was just completely exploded.
CHETRY: Yes. And you're able to see a silo. You should be seeing it in the foreground, there you see it just trashed, completely exploded there. They also say this was the storm system that was responsible for the school bus that tipped over and landed, six kids taken to the hospital. Thank goodness they only had minor injuries goodness.
But you can just see, I mean it certainly looks like the type of damage that you see after a tornado rolls through.
ROBERTS: And some wild weather there. We'll keep following it as that weather moves east through the Ohio Valley today and, of course, lots of snow out west. Utah basically at a stand still today because of blowing snow, winds of 40 miles an hour; just a wind-driven blizzard.
So we got Rob on the case all day today as people are thinking about traveling this heavy travel Thanksgiving week. So information that you will want to know about right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Also when it comes to everyone's air safety, attention's been focused the past few days on terrorism and enhanced pat-downs, body scans in the airport checkpoints. But there is another issue.
ROBERTS: Yes. There may be a much greater threat to the safety of air travelers and that is pilot fatigue.
Allen Chernoff with us this morning. And you know, we've been talking about terrorism. Meantime, the FAA has got some new proposed rules on trying to make sure that pilots get enough rest. We're wondering, is all of this going to work?
ALLEN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're very important rules but these days, you know pat-downs seem to be getting more attention than pilot fatigue but, as you mentioned John, the FAA is concerned about making sure that pilots stay awake. So it has new proposals that would give pilots more rest time. It would seem to be a no- brainer. Even so, management and labor in the airline industry can't agree on these rules.
Indeed, lives are at stake here. So we saw at a flight simulator, it's very easy for pilots to get tired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF (on camera): When you're at cruising altitude, you're cruising just for hours --
MAXINE LUBNER, VAUGHN COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS AND TECHNOLOGY: Yes.
CHERNOFF: It is easy to get fatigued.
LUBNER: Very easy. Fatigued, bored, distracted. All of those things.
Fatigue is a dangerous thing. It's caused many accidents and deaths.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Thirteen people died six years ago from this crash in Missouri. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed pilot fatigue. And the investigation of the 2009 crash near Buffalo, New York, that killed 50 people revealed the pilots were not well-rested. (on camera): The same rules have governed pilot rest and duty hours for 25 years. Even though a growing number of accidents have been tied to fatigue and the science in this area has been improving. So what's taking so long to get better rules in place?
(voice-over)Industry players just can't seem to agree. The FAA is proposing pilots permitted to work no more than 13 hours a day and be given more down time, at least nine hours prior to a flight assignment, an increase of one hour from the current rule. Not enough say pilots.
CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERGER, PILOT: Every human has a physiological need for sleep and scientists tell us that we need about ten hours in a hotel room to be able to get eight hours of sleep.
CHERNOFF: But the fiercest opposition is coming from airlines who want flexibility in scheduling employees. Their trade group the Air Transport Association calls the proposal operationally onerous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems to me like passengers are much more safe with pilots who are well rested.
CHERNOFF: That says the NTSB is reason enough to get new rules in place as quickly as possible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody who flies should be outraged that there are known changes that would help to benefit safety in this area and absolutely everybody should be pushing to see these changes happen now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Changes are coming. Even with the complaints, the FAA is pushing forward. Congress has mandated that the FAA must put a new rule in place by August 1st of next year. We will see this happen.
ROBERTS: Allen Chernoff this morning. Allen, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Want to take you back right to these new pictures that we are getting in out of Illinois -- Caledonia, Illinois near Rockford, Illinois. This is where they believe a tornado touched down and now they're getting the first aerial views of the damage. You can see some of the homes knocked right off of their foundations, downed trees. We saw a silo just smashed and there as you always see with tornadic activity, right next to destroyed and flattened structure are many structures that are still standing.
ROBERTS: They are capricious systems. They'll take one structure and then leave the other ones intact. And there behind, take a look at -- these pictures coming to us from WGN. There's a building that has been totally flattened. Looks like a farmhouse or some sort of building as they're going through there potentially looking to see if anybody was trapped inside at the time.
Real wild weather that moved through there yesterday. All of it now heading east. It is in the Ohio Valley, bringing with it some thunderstorms and high winds. Nothing, thankfully, as strong as that which came through the northern part of the Illinois yesterday though.
CHETRY: And no major injuries, amazingly enough in this system.
We want to take a quick break we'll be right back.
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ROBERTS: That will wrap it up for us this Tuesday morning. See you back here bright and early again tomorrow for another AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Meantime, the news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Good morning, Kyra.
