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American Morning
South Korea Threatens Massive Retaliation Against Further North Korean Attacks; Tsa Facing Possible Protests At Airports Against Controversial Full Body Pat-Downs During Busiest Travel Day Of The Year; Michael Vick Give Speech For Humane Society
Aired November 24, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING," brink of war, reported threats of escalation from North Korea. Thousands of American troops are potentially in harm's way. This morning, the tough choices facing the White House.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. It is Wednesday, November 24th. It's almost Thanksgiving time. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran this morning.
ROBERTS: Good morning, I'm John Roberts. Good to have you with us this morning. We'll have more on North Korea in just a moment, but first, here are this morning's top stories.
Let the holiday hassle begin. More than 40 million people expected to travel today. The weather is not cooperating in many places, and a protest at the airport could create security gridlock. We're live at Reagan National Airport on what is being called "opt-out day."
COSTELLO: It's a good day to keep your sense of humor intact.
In other news this morning, a second explosion at a New Zealand mine kills 29 miners. And now investigators are trying to pinpoint the cause. The miners had been trapped underground after the initial blast last Friday. It's not clear if the miners survived the first explosion. Rescue attempts weren't possible because of dangerous gas levels underground.
ROBERTS: The maker of Tylenol is announcing another major recall. Johnson & Johnson is pulling nearly five million children's products this morning because of manufacturing insufficiencies. The children's Benadryl and Junior Strength Motrin were made at a Pennsylvania plant that was closed earlier this year because of quality control lapses.
The company says the products have yet to hit store shelves, so there's no real consumer alert here.
COSTELLO: Not just yet.
Severe weather could be a big, big problem for people trying to get to their Thanksgiving destination. There's a big storm out west. It's now making its way east. We'll have a complete travel forecast for you in just a bit.
ROBERTS: but first, a dangerous situation is unfolding this morning in a corner of the world where a threat of nuclear confrontation already runs high. The direct and deadly assault on South Korea by the neighbor to the north was the biggest attack of its kind since the war in the 1950s.
This morning South Korea is threatening enormous retaliation, and the White House is responding with a very strong show of force agreeing to hold joint military exercises with South Korea not far from where the attack took place.
Our Jill Dougherty is live this morning. She's in Washington. And what's happening at the White House this morning? And what's the posture that the president is taking?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know, they're looking at this, again, very carefully. It's very delicate and very complex. As you pointed out, the very latest is that announcement that the U.S. and South Korean forces will be holding joint military exercises off the west coast of the Korean peninsula.
And you know those exercises had been postponed previously due to concerns of how China would react. But now they're back on the table. That, of course, was before the attack by the North Koreans on the South Korean island.
And here at the White House yesterday afternoon the president held an emergency session with his top national security advisers. And then he telephoned the South Korean president Lee Myung-bak.
And it's important because both of these countries, the United States and South Korea have a defense pact. But what exactly does that mean? What does the U.S. have to do? In an interview with Barbara Walters last night, President Obama was asked about this, but he didn't define it very carefully. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Is an attack on South Korea an attack on the U.S.?
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean War, and we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance.
WALTERS: We will, perhaps send warships? Or would you put U.S. troops on alert?
OBAMA: You know, I'm not going to speculate on military actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: And that's, John, a good indication of the dilemma of the United States right now because it's a delicate balancing act. You have North Korea and South Korea in the equation, of course. And then you also have China.
And I was on a panel just a couple of days ago right before that attack on South Korea. And one of the participants who was with the Bush administration described it as the land of lousy options. And in a way, that's exactly what it is for the U.S.
ROBERTS: And we'll be speaking with Victor coming up in just about half an hour here this morning. But at the same time, North Korea letting it be known that it has a new uranium enrichment facility up and running. How does that play into all of this?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I was talking, in fact, with that scientist yesterday who went into the facility -- actually was shown it by the North Koreans. And the interpretation seems to be that the North is trying to say, here, this is what we can do. You don't believe us? This is what we can do.
So there's a lot of muscle flexing going on right now. And most of the theories say this is because of that succession crisis that's taking place. Kim Jong-il's son is about to take over when his father should die. And they have to show that they are very strong. So this could be part of that.
ROBERTS: Jill Dougherty for us this morning. And of course, continued coverage on this increasingly important story as we go on this morning. Jill, good to see you, thanks.
COSTELLO: On to Thanksgiving and travel, planes, trains, and automobiles. What is typically the busiest day of the year is just about getting started. Actually it started right now.
More than 40 million people going somewhere -- this is Chicago's O'Hare airport. You see it's pretty crowded now as two million people will fly out of Chicago's O'Hare airport. And people look pretty calm so far.
As you know, though, a pat-down protest is going viral on the web. It's all in an effort to prove a point to the TSA that so-called naked body scanners must go. Jeanne Meserve is live for us at Reagan National Airport this morning. Jeanne, have you seen any protesters?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the lines here at Reagan National are getting long, but that appears to be simply because it's thanksgiving and a lot of people are traveling at this checkpoint where there is two of those body-imaging machines. We have seen no indication of any sort of protest going on.
What's this opt-out about? People who object to the body scanners and pat downs are urging travelers to say no to the scanners. Don't get in those machines, they say. Instead opt for a pat-down in a private place with a witness. Others say do it in a public place so everybody can see what's going on.
The point is they want to slow down travel and send a message to the TSA that they do not like these security measures. But we did a very unscientific survey of travelers here at the airport this morning, and our results indicate people are opposed to opt-out day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the end of the day, I think that security is security. It's their job to protect our lives. And as a passenger, you know, I'm susceptible to it as well as anybody else. I want my life to be safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd rather get to my gate and get on the plane and get home, you know. They're doing their jobs. It might be misguided, but I don't want to make it harder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: And there's a new poll out from "USA Today" and Gallup that indicates 71 percent of frequent travelers say they don't mind the privacy implications of either the body scans or the body pat-downs.
In addition, TSA is telling us they have now gotten about 2,000 complaints about the new procedures since they were instituted on November 1st. And they screen about two million people a day.
We did talk to somebody from a travel group who was here at the airport this morning. They are advising against the opt-out protest. They say it's a bad idea because it will delay people who aren't participating in the protest. And if they miss their flights, it will be very difficult to get a new booking because the airplanes are so full during this holiday period. Carol, John, back to you.
COSTELLO: Not only that, it could be very, very expensive. Jeanne Meserve, live at Reagan National this morning.
Coming up in a few minutes, TSA administrator John Pistole will join us, the man in charge of your safety and making sure everything goes smoothly. Is the TSA ready to handle the crowds? The protests? We'll ask Mr. Pistole.
ROBERTS: And are you ready to handle the weather across a lot of the country today? Major snowstorm out west will make it a white Thanksgiving in parts of California, Nevada, and Utah. Snow and blizzard-like conditions causing big, big problems for people trying to get to where they need to go for Thanksgiving dinner. That storm system, by the way, is now heading east.
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COSTELLO: Actually for air travelers, nothing says thank you on thanksgiving like the word free, and we're talking booze in this case. Tomorrow only, Southwest Airlines is offering passengers one free in- flight alcoholic drink as a holiday treat. Adult beverages, maybe you already know this, they're usually $5 for those little teeny tiny bottles of vodka.
Starting Saturday, Virgin America will also have free Wi-Fi in the sky. And that could save you up to $12. The deal ends on January 2nd. ROBERTS: It's Google providing that service for free.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Google.
ROBERTS: I used it on my way back from Atlanta on Monday. Thank you so much.
Also new this morning, Michael Vick telling America's youth to be kind to animals. The Eagles quarterback visited two high schools in Connecticut yesterday to help the Humane Society with their "end dog fighting" campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL VICK, NFL QUARTERBACK: The only thing I can continue to do is just prove that, you know, I'm going to fulfill every obligation, to prove that I'm going to continue to work with the Humane Society, continue to help more animals than I hurt. And if I can do that, then I can be at peace.
But I can't change people's minds. I can't change people's perception of what they feel about me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Vick spent almost two years in prison on dog-fighting charges before returning to the NFL. He's reportedly given 24 speeches for the Humane Society since then.
COSTELLO: No reports or injuries or damage after a small earthquake shook Hawaii overnight. The 4.7 magnitude quake hit off the coast of Maui yesterday afternoon. It lasted only five seconds, but it could be felt 100 miles away in Honolulu.
ROBERTS: The happy meal as we know it banned in San Francisco. Starting December 1st of next year, fast food restaurants can't give away toys in kids meals unless they cut the calories and the fat and kick in fruits and vegetables as well.
COSTELLO: Not only will two 45-pound California turkeys get a free pass later this afternoon, the birds also got a free room at the W Hotel. President Obama will pardon Apple, the official turkey, and Cider. Cider is the alternate. I wonder what they'll be doing at the W.
ROBERTS: Meeting folks, signing autographs. No, I think it's a no- smoking hotel.
COSTELLO: Sorry Apple and Cider, you'll have to forgo the cigarettes.
CNN's live coverage of the Rose Garden ceremony, by the way, in case you want to see the pardons of Apple and Cider, that starts this morning at 10:30 eastern.
ROBERTS: It can be as we've seen in the past, an entertaining ceremony when the turkey doesn't behave as the turkey should. And by the way, quick clarification -- the free Wi-Fi thing started this past Saturday. So it's already in effect.
COSTELLO: All I know is it's free now. So go.
ROBERTS: Still to come, fliers being encouraged to opt out of the, quote, "porno scanners" at the airport. Is the TSA ready for what could be a monumental backup? We'll speak to the man in charge coming up next.
COSTELLO: Plus, forget about snakes on a plane. These snakes don't need no plane, literally slithering through the air. So why is the military studying them?
ROBERTS: And texting to save a life, maybe your own -- 911 in line for a 21st century makeover. With a generation that now texts more than it talks, is it a bad time for a makeover? It's 15 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Eighteen minutes now after the hour. It's one of the busiest travel days of the year. And many people will risk missing their flight today all to prove a point to the TSA. An online campaign is encouraging fliers to jam TSA checkpoints by opting out of the so-called "naked body scanners" and having to go through one of those enhanced pat-downs which take a lot more time. We just spoke to one of the men behind the idea, James Babb of wewontfly.com. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BABB, CO-FOUNDER, WEWONTFLY.COM: I want us to have the best security possible. That means we have to abandon the security theater and we have to bring in common sense. What they're doing right now is for show. It's actually creating a false sense of security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: TSA administrator John Pistole is the man responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly today. He joins us now from Reagan National Airport.
Mr. Pistole, great to see you. Respond to James Babb there. He says that this is all just a show. It gives a false sense of security. It's really nothing more than security theater.
JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, clearly the procedures we have in place today, John, give us the best possible opportunity to detect a non-metallic device like we saw, a bomb that we saw on Christmas day that the advance imaging technology machines would detect. So I'm afraid he's uninformed as to the technology. And then the reason for doing the enhanced pat-downs is because if somebody opts out of the advance imaging technology or that's not available, they are not going to alert on our traditional walk through metal detectors because there's no metal in the bomb. And so that's the need for the thorough pat-down. So look, the bottom line is, we're all trying to get people home safely for the holidays. The best way we can do that is in partnership with the traveling public. I think that's what we're seeing.
ROBERTS: Right. Well, you know, certainly you're aware of all the complaints that are out there. We've seen you on television almost every day this week. I've never seen a TSA administrator who is as visible and as accessible as you have been. I take it that you do believe that you do have a public relations problem on your hands?
PISTOLE: Well, clearly, there's a certain percentage of the public who has expressed strong concerns. I'm sensitive to that and trying to work through those issues from the standpoint of how do we do this in an informed, intelligent way that identifies the -- everybody, I think recognizes the threats are real. So that's not an issue. I'm hoping that's not an issue. And then how do we best take those security issues, blend those with the privacy issues that people are concerned about in an informed way to say how can we best work together to provide that security that everybody wants knowing that everybody wants to ensure that everybody else on that flight has been thoroughly screened. Knowing that you're not a terrorist, I'm not a terrorist, but what about everybody else?
ROBERTS: So 50 percent of people, Mr. Pistole, say that these pat- downs, these enhanced pat-downs just go a little bit too far. They say they feel like criminals. Some of them have likened it to sexual assault. They don't like the idea that they're feeling groped. Do they go too far? Are they a little bit too intrusive?
PISTOLE: Well, that's the challenge, John. Obviously that we're dealing with. And we're looking at are there less invasive ways of accomplishing the same outcome? That is providing the highest level of confidence for everybody getting on that flight that everybody else has been securely screened. So that's the challenge. I believe that they are necessary. And I believe that 71 percent of the public just in a Gallup poll I saw this morning agrees that we need thorough security. And they understand that the threats are real and that we're trying to help them get safely home to loved ones.
ROBERTS: Yes. I think everybody agrees that we need to have good security because we do see these events happening every once in a while that could prove to be catastrophic if they were to have come up. But you said just a second ago, we're looking at ways where perhaps this could be less invasive. What are you thinking about?
PISTOLE: Well, so what we are informed by, John, are the inspector general, the GAO reports that did covert testing, have been doing for years where they were able to successfully get through our security for several reasons. One of the common reasons was because of a lack of a thorough pat-down. And so trying to address those issues, we're working with them and security experts from around the government and industry -- private industry to say, OK, if we modify these procedures, what is the risk tradeoff in doing that? So that's what we're assessing, cognizant of all the concerns have been expressed, and just figuring out the best way forward. ROBERTS: You know, yesterday, we talked with Thomas Sawyer, the fellow from Michigan who had a urostomy and had the urostomy bag that was partially fold off by a screener at Detroit's metro airport. You had a phone conversation with him. He talked to us yesterday a little bit about that phone conversation. Are you going to take him up on his offer to talk with folks from the TSA so try to sensitize them a little bit, sensitize them a little bit more to some of the issues that the traveling public is dealing with that may have to be looked at a little more gentle way by these screeners?
PISTOLE: Right. I had a very good conversation with Mr. Sawyer and greatly appreciated his offer to help us. Because as he indicated, his concern was that our security officers were not as informed about the external medical devices that he had. And so, yes, we are taking him up on his offer and really just appreciate his assistance as we work forward in collaboration with the traveling public.
ROBERTS: And there's one other issue too that has been brought up by all of these body scanners and enhanced pat-downs. There were certain airports, I won't mention one, but I mentioned them, but one that I fly through a couple of times a week where there are no body scanners, there are no enhanced pat-downs unless you set off the metal detector. Are people flying through those airports as safe as they would be flying through an airport like Reagan where you do have the body scanners?
PISTOLE: We believe that the advance imaging technology gives us the best technology to address those threats. And so that's what we are -- why we're expanding from -- we'll have 500 machines actually at the end of this year. A thousand until the end of next year.
ROBERTS: But currently, Mr. Administrator, these airports where you don't have these advance imaging technologies or the enhanced pat- downs, can people be guaranteed they're just as safe as if they were flying through an airport where you do have that technology?
PISTOLE: Well, John, of course, we know there are no guarantees in this business. So we just try to provide the best layers of security, recognizing that there are multiple layers of security and hopefully we've been informed about threats before anybody would get to the airport who poses that threat. But that is one of the challenges we're dealing with. That we don't have complete coverage through all 453 airports.
ROBERTS: All right. TSA administrator John Pistole, good luck to you today. We'll be counting on your organization to keep us safe as we fly. Thanks for joining us. And maybe we'll talk to you next week after the weekend is over. Appreciate it.
PISTOLE: Thanks, John. Happy holidays to you.
ROBERTS: Thank you. Same to you.
Twenty-five minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Here are the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. Of course, "Dancing with the Stars."
ROBERTS: Yes.
COSTELLO: You watched it?
ROBERTS: No. I've got this thing where I've told my DVR several times not to tape it and record it, and it still does.
COSTELLO: It's a right-wing conspiracy.
ROBERTS: I think it's just the DVR wants to watch it, not me. You have to figure that one out.
COSTELLO: Well, if you did watch it --
ROBERTS: Somebody else will be there perhaps. I don't know.
COSTELLO: You did watch "Dancing with the Stars." You already know. Jennifer Grey took home the trophy. The "Dirty Dancing" actress nailed her last four dances. She had near perfect scores, John. Near perfect scores.
ROBERTS: Near perfect scores.
COSTELLO: And --
ROBERTS: She's a good dancer. She's been dancing a long time.
COSTELLO: She has.
Bristol Palin, she goes back to Alaska empty handed. And she was, of course, the show's underdog. She finished in third place, but not before telling America that a win would be, quote, "like a big middle finger to all the people out there who hate my mom and hate me." And apparently, speaking of her mom, Sarah Palin is trying to get Christine O'Donnell on the next "Dancing with the Stars."
ROBERTS: Really.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROBERTS: Oh, that will be interesting, won't it?
Two words for you. Flying snakes. Check this out. Looks like they're just falling out of trees. But wait for it because watch this. The snake actually leaps off the branch and you're thinking, OK, suicidal snake, right? Watch what it does? It flattens itself out and starts slithering back and forth. Actually makes itself in a kind of a snake Frisbee, and is able to travel long distances. They're found in Asia. They obviously live in trees because it's a good place to launch themselves from.
"Washington Post" says the Pentagon is actually studying the aerodynamics of these snakes for possible application in future military technologies. Because if a snake falling out of tree can glide in some cases a couple hundred yards, you drop something from 30,000 feet with a slither snake-like type of apparatus on it, who knows how far you can go.
COSTELLO: Amazing. I'm just glad those snakes are in Asia.
Coordinating the skies on one of the busiest days of the year --
ROBERTS: Keep your eyes up just in case.
COSTELLO: That sounds so disgusting.
We sent David Mattingly to Atlanta's airport so he could experience the nightmare hell that most travelers will experience today.
ROBERTS: He's traveling to Tampa and back today.
COSTELLO: Yes. Yes. And I guess he's in the air traffic control room now. So that should be interesting.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. How did he get there?
COSTELLO: It's David Mattingly. He can do anything.
ROBERTS: There you go.
And bomb-making materials found in a San Diego home. We'll have details on what may prove to be the biggest bust of homemade explosives in American history. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We're crossing the half hour this Wednesday morning. It's just after 7:30 Eastern. And here are your top stories. The death toll rising in South Korea after North Korea's shelling of the island on Tuesday. The bodies of two civilians were found this morning, bringing the total to four. President Obama is reaffirming America's alliance with the South as the USS George Washington heads to the area for military exercises.
COSTELLO: And we're learning more about the Pope's new stance on condom use. In a new book, Pope Benedict XVI says condom use is acceptable in some cases. The Vatican says that it supports the use of condoms in the fight against the spread of HIV for all sex workers, that's men and women.
ROBERTS: A man accused of running a bomb factory in his San Diego home is being held on $5 million bail. George Jakubec pleaded not guilty to a laundry list of charges, including possessing destructive devices and bank robbery. The district attorney says it is the largest cache of homemade explosives ever found in one place in the United States.
COSTELLO: Back to travel now. The rush home for thanksgiving. And if you're watching us at an airport, you know you're not alone. Millions of Americans are flying for the holiday, including those millions of people around you. David Mattingly is in Atlanta's airport among you somewhere.
ROBERTS: We have given him an assignment. We're going to send David from Atlanta to Tampa and back today. He'll be recording pretty much the entire trip. In the previous hour, we saw David at the AirTran ticket check-in counter and lines starting to form for boarding passes there. This hour, David has made his way to AirTran's control center where the airline is monitoring all other planes in the southeastern United States.
David, a couple of questions for you. First of all, how did you get in there? And secondly, what's going on?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we had to be escorted. The security obviously is tight to get into places like this. And this is a real treat. We very rarely ever get into a place like this. Every airline has a command center like this. This one belonging to AirTran. And the thing about what we're doing here - what we're seeing, the people in this room - in this tower probably have a lot more to do and say about how you get through your trip smoothly than the air traffic control does.
Because air traffic control takes care of the jets when they're out there on the runways and when they're up in the air. Once they get down on the ground and start heading to the gate, that's when it's in the control of the airlines, and that's the people right in here. They're the ones making the decisions, watching what's going on to make sure all these moving parts move exactly the way they're supposed to. With us right now is the spokesman for AirTran Airlines, Chris White.
Chris, what does it look like today? I'm looking out the window. I'm seeing fog here in Atlanta. Any time you have a weather delay or a weather problem and a big hub like this, there's a domino effect. So what do you see happening?
CHRIS WHITE, AIRTRAN SPOKESMAN: Well, so far things look really good. We don't have any delay programs in effect. We are prepared if the fog does continue in Atlanta to have some slow downs. Our main concern today is really accommodating all of our passengers. We're running a very high load factor. So it's tough to re-accommodate folks. We're going to do our best to get them on the original flight as quickly as we can.
MATTINGLY: This is a high volume day and we're standing in a very high-volume spot. This concourse we're standing on and the one next to us, I understand, the busiest in the world?
WHITE: That's right. AirTran actually operates the world's largest low cost carrier hub. And these two ramps are the single two busiest ramps in the entire world. Our folks here do a great job coordinating that, for passengers in and out every day.
MATTINGLY: And as they're coordinating, we got a brief tour, a little bit earlier. You see all these computer screens that we're looking at. All that has to do with all the individual flights, where they are, what their status is. And more important, you're going to be making decisions if they come in a little bit late, you're going to be making decisions that can affect hundreds of passengers at a time.
WHITE: That's right. Our experts here actually are looking at specific flights in the connections. You know, if we have many people going from one plane to another, it's important that they make that first connection. So we're going to do everything we possibly can to make sure they get on that flight.
MATTINGLY: We also have a lot of bad weather out west, how could that be affecting you today?
WHITE: (INAUDIBLE) mainly via connection. So if someone's coming from a Denver to Salt Lake, or coming to Atlanta to a Caribbean destination, it's very important that we accommodate them as best as we can. So we keep a very close eye on the weather. We'll track flights literally by the second.
MATTINGLY: And so far, so good. Let's hope it stays that way. A very high-volume day here at the Thanksgiving holiday. So let's see how the rest of the day goes. We're going to be going from here. We're going to be taking our own flights south. We're going to be talking to passengers and seeing what kind of experience they're having as they go home for Thanksgiving. John, Carol?
COSTELLO: So you're going to go to security next. Are you going to opt for the full-body scanner or the pat-down, David?
MATTINGLY: I've actually already gone through security. I didn't get either. It was sort of business as usual. It's sort of random who has to go through the scan, who has to go through the pat-down. Again, we didn't see any organized protests going on. We didn't see long lines for people waiting for pat-downs. It's early, we saw everything running smoothly. There were lines, but everything was moving. So, again, so far, so good. Let's see how long that lasts.
ROBERTS: Excellent. So where are you headed next? You're going straight to the gate or you're heading pass through catering first?
MATTINGLY: From here, we're going to be going to the gate and then we're hopping aboard our flight to head south down to Tampa, down to Florida. So, again, we haven't even started traveling yet. We just got through security and we're having some fun getting up here, getting behind the scenes look at how things are going. But now the real test, we're going to get on the plane and see how things go.
ROBERTS: Appreciate that. All right. David Mattingly this morning. David, great to see you. Thanks so much.
A deadly showdown between North and South Korea this morning. Threats of escalation. What happens next on the ground? And what will the White House do? It's 38 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: 41 minutes after the hour. Tough talk coming from both sides of the Korean border about who is to blame and how to retaliate after the north attacked the South Korean island, killing four people. The South fired back and is promising more if attacked again.
Joining us this morning to talk about what the world can do and what happens next is Victor Cha. He is a Korean expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former White House adviser at the National Security Council. Victor, good to see you this morning.
VICTOR CHA, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: Let's give folks at home the lay of the land here. We're talking about Yeonpyeong Island, the western coast of the Koreas. And there it is. It's actually closer to North Korea than it is to South Korea. It's about seven miles away from the North Korean coast. And has been the scene of conflict in the past. 1999, I think it was 2001, as well, there was a skirmish. This is the worst that's happened, I think since the Korean war. How dangerous is this?
CHA: Well, I think it's pretty dangerous, John. I mean, as you've said, there have been conflicts there before, but we've never seen an incident where they started actually shelling an island, shelling South Korean territory.
As you said, it's seven miles from North Korea, but it's only 120 kilometers from the Incheon International Airport, which is a major international airport. They had to close the airport because of this. So this is about the most severe conventional military attack we have seen since 1950s.
ROBERTS: So because of an agreement between South Korea and the United States, President Obama has now dispatched the USS George Washington and its carrier group to the area to conduct the joint military exercises with South Korea. Obviously a show of force to say to the north "stop what you're doing." Will it work? Or could it prove to be an escalation?
CHA: Well, it's a really difficult question to answer. You know, the policy problem is you want to come up with a response that is strong enough to deter the North Koreans from doing this again, but again, you don't want to do something that's so strong that you start a war. And I think, you know, the Obama administration is doing the right thing. But in terms of policy, it's a very difficult needle to thread.
ROBERTS: You still talk to the administration from time to time. How would you advise them in this case?
CHA: Well, I think what they're doing right now is right. You want to show a lot of solidarity with the allies. The big piece that we haven't seen yet and they're probably working it behind the scenes is with regard to China. You want to get China to say the right things about this from the very beginning, to say it's a violation of the armistice. China is a signatory to the armistice and get the Chinese to stop the North Koreans from doing this.
ROBERTS: I don't think they've gone that far yet, have they?
CHA: No, all I've heard so far is they're somewhat concerned about this, which is an understatement.
ROBERTS: And Russia, another party to the six-party talking talks talking about the need to de-escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula, make sure that it doesn't get any higher. Is there a potential that this could escalate to all-out war?
CHA: Well, I mean, I don't know if it'll escalate to all-out war, but I am concerned about provocations. The North Koreans claim they did this because of some military exercises the south has been doing. They've been doing these exercises because the North sunk a naval vessel last March of South Korea. So these go on for a week. So there may be more prove provocations by the North using these exercises as justifications.
ROBERTS: At the same time, the North Koreans showed that an American scientist a roomful of 2,000 centrifuges which the North claims are being used to process highly enriched uranium, for nuclear fuel, potentially for its nuclear weapons program, as well. How does that fit into all of this?
CHA: Well, I mean, the first thing, that's a big revelation. I mean we have suspected for quite some time that they were producing a second nuclear program through uranium enrichment. But when they showed the facility to the scientist, nobody expected it would be that far advanced. I think this with the conventional attack are part of a general effort to show the strength of this very weak regime as they go through a difficult leadership transition.
ROBERTS: You have described North Korea as the land of lousy options. So, out of all the lousy options, which one is the least worst?
CHA: Well, which one is the least worst? I mean, right now, the least worst option is to show strength with the allies and try to work on China behind the scenes. You know, the military option, which no one wants to do, would be to take out the artillery on the North Korean side that fired on the island.
ROBERTS: How do you do that? That's buried in the mountain.
CHA: That's buried in the mountains and it's also very dangerous, because you don't know how the North is going to respond to that.
ROBERTS: Yes, and they've got how many pieces that are trained on Seoul?
CHA: Hundreds of thousands.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHA: Yes.
ROBERTS: Victor Cha, thanks very much for being with us this morning. Not exactly an uplifting conversation.
CHA: Well, my pleasure.
ROBERTS: All right. Happy Thanksgiving to you, by the way.
Forty-five minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.
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COSTELLO: Forty-eight minutes past the hour.
Bringing 911 into the 21st century. The FCC is calling for a next generation 911 service that would allow people to send texts, videos, and pictures. It says modernizing the system would allow Americans to text for help in situations where a call might jeopardize their safety. And sending mobile videos and photos could provide first responders with critical, on-the-ground information.
ROBERTS: Well, the Fab Four still fab after all of these years, despite some analysts predictions that nobody would want to buy their material on iTunes. The Beatles sold more than 2 million songs and more than 450,000 full albums during their first week on the Apple music downloading site. "Abbey Road" was the top-selling digital album.
And what do you think the top track was? "Come Together"? "Help"? "Long and Winding Road"?
COSTELLO: That was my favorite.
ROBERTS: "Here Comes the Sun" was the top individual track.
COSTELLO: A happy tune. People want to be happy. They want to forget the pessimism.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Talking about happiness and Thanksgiving --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Don't pull yourself totally out of your cynicism here.
COSTELLO: I know. No. I'm just thinking the next story is about the football games that will be on tomorrow for Thanksgiving Day, and one of them is my Detroit Lions against the New England Patriots, which could get very ugly.
ROBERTS: You're going to be excited to watch this one, I can tell.
COSTELLO: It could be so ugly. I only want to say one thing about the Detroit Lions. There's going to be a prayer vigil at Ford Field in Detroit. I'm serious. It's going at -- and Reverend Horace Sheffield is organizing it. People are going to join hands and start praying for the Detroit Lions. And I'll just read you a quote from his radio show. He said, "I believe if we can all come together and pray, that we can assist in making Detroit Lions a truly competitive team who can one day become Super Bowl champions."
ROBERTS: It's such an incredible display of faith against the odds. It's really impressive.
COSTELLO: I admire him. I'm going to go to his church.
ROBERTS: Well, if you need help with something else, like the bird, don't pray. Well, you can pray if you want. But our friends at Eatocracy will be live-blogging starting tonight through dinner time tomorrow. Just leave a note in the comment section or reach out on Twitter. That's Twitter.com/Eatocracy.
It's 51 minutes after the hour.
COSTELLO: I'm praying now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All this week, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been examining the concussion crisis in football from pros on down.
ROBERTS: This morning, in the last part of his special series, "Hard Hits, Dangerous Game," Sanjay tells us about a former NFL star who has paid a severe price for years of hard hits.
And Sanjay joins us now from Atlanta. Good morning, Doc.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, we have been concerned and talking quite a bit about the potential long-term impact of these concussions for some time and there's been a theory out there that it could be causing a sort of early onset dementia, almost an Alzheimer's-like disease. That's what researchers have been looking at for some time.
On average this season, there's been one concussion per game. And the question is: What is the compilation of these concussions? What does that really mean?
What we find is that people start to develop symptoms -- memory problems, depression and rage and then spirals into this dementia-like state. We found out about this through the eyes of one particular retired player. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SPORTSCASTER: Nice play. Oh! He got drilled in the thigh.
GUPTA (voice-over): They are thrilling.
SPORTSCASTER: Delivered the blow. Came in with a stinger.
GUPTA: And terrifying. Watch a football game and you can't miss them -- the hits.
SPORTSCASTER: Oh, dropped.
GUPTA: But what is the real impact? What is happening to the player's brains?
(on camera): How many times did you take a hard hit playing football?
FRED MCNEILL, FORMER NFL LINEBACKER: There was one time when I had a real seen your concussion and it was so serious that I was dizzy for, like, you know, for, like, two or three weeks.
GUPTA (voice-over): Thirty years ago, Fred McNeill was a linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings. He played for 12 seasons and then two Super Bowls.
SPORTSCASTER: Big shot.
GUPTA: Relentlessly hitting opponents was his job.
MCNEILL: You got to be able the move, right?
GUPTA (on camera): Right.
(voice-over): No question McNeill is robust physically.
MCNEILL: Then you can control it.
GUPTA: But you can tell his brain has paid a price.
(on camera): What has it done to you?
MCNEILL: Well, impact is on memory. I meet people and they talk about the conversation that we had, you know, two weeks ago or three weeks ago or a month ago or whatever. And I don't remember.
GUPTA: If we saw each other again, would you remember me?
MCNEILL: Sanjay, I don't know. When I started out --
GUPTA (voice-over): The not knowing, it happens often. There was also rage.
TIA MCNEILL, FRED MCNEILL'S WIFE: It got to where I would say things that really shouldn't upset him and he would get angry really quick. His temper was very short.
GUPTA: Followed by remorse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that was the biggest thing for my dad. He felt like it was al his fault.
GUPTA: It wasn't, but there was no doubt he was different.
T. MCNEILL: It was a moment where I realized I wasn't living with the person that I knew and married.
GUPTA: No one seemed to know what was happening to Fred McNeill until reports about other former NFL players who had been through similar issues -- like McNeill, they had memory problems, rage issues and depression. Most disturbing, all died young.
Could concussions, the common denominator, be to blame?
(on camera): Little bit different on this?
(voice-over): Researchers at Boston University Medical School are looking deep into the brain and spinal cord of former athletes to find out. What they're seeing is startling.
This is a normal brain. This one a 45-year-old former NFL player. See the brown tangles? That's brain damage. It looks a lot like this 70-year-old brain with dementia.
DR. ANN MCKEE, NEUROLOGIST, BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCH. OF MED.: To see the kind of changes we are seeing in 45-year-olds is basically unheard of.
GUPTA: It's called chronic traumatic encephalopathy and here's the kicker -- those changes are directly associated with rage, memory problems and depression.
MCNEILL: I was actually considering not living. I was actually considering that.
GUPTA (on camera): You wanted to end your life?
MCNEILL: Yes. I was just thinking it would be so much easier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: It gives you an idea of just how profound the impact is on him. He is doing better today, he says. He just followed up with him, but he believes so many of the symptoms that he just described were due to concussions.
Now, we did reach out to the NFL, as well, telling them about McNeill and other players like him, to get a statement. And they say this: "What we're trying to prevent is multiple concussions without recovery. We know there are long-term effects of concussion but they have not been fully characterized. The whole goal of the NFL is when in doubt, sit them out, and let them recover so that there are no long term effects."
But again, you know, part of -- part of what Fred McNeill teaches us is what the long-term impact. Again, you can't say this conclusively, but looking at the brains, you a saw those images there, it's pretty remarkable. I've never seen anything quite like that.
COSTELLO: It's just sad that he feels that it would, it might be better if he wasn't on this earth. I just -- it just makes it so difficult to understand why so many football players are not for increased penalties for hitting someone illegally or stay out of the game too long after they've been hit in the head or had a hard hit because they don't want to lose their position. It's just so difficult, because in the end, it doesn't really matter.
GUPTA: Yes. I mean, the culture -- I mean, you heard from Kurt Warner, as well, Carol, on Monday. The culture has been that way for so long. Even him, five concussion, there's a real desire for him to go back in the game and a real desire for organizations to win. But again, people hadn't thought about the long term impacts.
What you saw there are brand-new studies on this, and 15 out of 16 brains that have been examined so far show these problems, and people as young as 18 years old.
ROBERTS: It's pretty incredible. Well, maybe by studying it more and more of these reports, Sanjay, something will be done about it.
Sanjay Gupta this morning -- Doc, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way right after a quick break. Don't go away.
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