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American Morning
WikiLeaks Founder in Britain; Fed's $9 Trillion Bailout; Eminem's 10 Grammy Nods; "The Hoff" And Family
Aired December 02, 2010 - 07:59 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 Thursday, December 2nd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Let's get you caught up on what happened overnight. Hunting the man behind Wikileaks, breaking news in the search for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. We may know where he is, but why isn't he under arrest if Interpol is looking for him?
CHETRY: They burned his jerseys, tore down his billboards, shed tears. Well, tonight, Cleveland is prepping for the return of Lebron James. It is the first time back since he decided to, quote, "take his talents to south beach." We are live in Cleveland with the preview.
ROBERTS: The Hoff here live. David Hasselhoff talking about his new reality show opening up about fame, fortune, temptation and addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID HASSELHOFF, ACTOR: You know what's amazing is the air. I feel -- I feel calm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You feel calmness?
HASSELHOFF: Yes. It reminds me of another place I went for 28 days.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shut up. It does. I agree.
HASSELHOFF: I'll tell my Sammy Davis story when he said to me, you wear the hat of success really well. Don't mess with the hat. It can be taken away. That's been taken away when I mess with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know what --
HASSELHOFF: Every day it is like something fantastic happens and I kind of get in my own way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The entire Hasselhoff clan will be here talking about their reality show. That will be later on this hour. CHETRY: Up first, a new development in the search for one of most wanted men in the world right now. International police issuing a red notice for the arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Well, now, they may know where he's hiding.
ROBERTS: Reports say that he is in Britain, but British police have not gone after him yet. He's wanted on sex crime charges in Sweden and he's been called a traitor and a terrorist by critics in the United States for releasing diplomatic secrets for all the world to see.
Our Atika Shubert has the latest for us this morning on the search. She's live in London.
What do we know, Atika?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we is, basically, that Interpol has issued their red notice and that he is wanted for questioning in Sweden on suspicion of these crimes, but he hasn't been charged with them yet. Now, British police won't put out an official statement on his whereabouts, but several media reports here in Britain have quoted police sources saying that they know that he is here in the southeast of the country, but they have not arrested him because of a technical issue. Because there are some questions about the original arrest warrant issued by Sweden.
So, we called Swedish prosecutors and police to find out a bit more and the prosecutor's office say it's complete news to them that there has been any problem with the arrest warrant and the Swedish police told us that they don't know where Assange is. In fact, they gave us a statement saying all we have heard is what has been reported to media, that he is supposed to be in the U.K., but we have no information at all about his whereabouts.
So, we don't know exactly where Assange is. We have heard reports that he is here and no idea as to whether or not he will be arrested any time soon -- John.
CHETRY: As the WikiLeaks got boosted off of Amazon.com's computer servers and they were firing back at Amazon for that move. What's going on with that this morning?
SHUBERT: Well, WikiLeaks clearly lashing out at Amazon, saying they have been ousted from the Amazon server. They have switched to another European-based server. Amazon has not given any comment as to why they have removed WikiLeaks from their servers, but it might have to do with the fact that Senator Joseph Lieberman put a lot of pressure on Amazon, calling for a boycott of Amazon if they continued the host WikiLeaks.
And it's interesting to note, actually, online now, there is a move to boycott Amazon because they took WikiLeaks off their server. So, it seems to be a team Assange versus team Amazon lining up on the Web at the moment.
CHETRY: Atika Shubert for us this morning from London -- thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, Wall Street opens this morning after having its best day in three months. The Dow closed up nearly 250 points yesterday. The rally in part because of better than expected auto sales and an upbeat report which showed 93,000 jobs added to the private sector last month.
CHETRY: We're getting a fascinating look this morning at the full scope of the Fed's role at the height of the financial crisis.
Our Christine Romans joins us now.
And the information revealing that the Fed really was pretty much the central bank to the world for a time.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It was. And the scale of the rescue of the global economy is so much bigger than we even thought -- $9 trillion.
Let me put that in perspective for you. The entire U.S. economy is $14 trillion. Nine trillion dollars of aid went into the economy almost every single day as banks borrowed emergency money from the Fed for days in the fall of 2008, and it was U.S. banks, the names that you know.
And, frankly, this rescue makes the TARP bailout look like chump change. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, but also, foreign banks. And this is why many people are saying that the Federal Reserve looks like it was the global central bank. Not the U.S. central bank.
UBS and Barclays took billions of dollars of emergency spending. But also everything from things like Harley Davidson to McDonald's to G.E. to big American companies that needed emergency funding so that they could pay their bills in what we call the commercial paper lending facility that they use.
So, these are 21,000 pages of documents allowing us to see Congress made the Fed reveal, allowing us to see exactly what happened in this nose days and the scope of the fed's activity.
CHETRY: How does that go with what you talked about yesterday which is that TARP ended up being a lot less expensive than we thought, that was $25 billion?
ROMANS: Most of this money has been paid back and is expected to be paid back. Let's be clear. This money went out temporarily and was paid back at very, very low interest rates.
This is what the Fed is supposed to do, I guess. I mean, it is supposed to be this backstop for the economy. The scope of what it did is so surprising to people and also the scope of what it did for foreign companies, as well.
ROBERTS: So, where does the Fed get the money? Nine trillion dollars.
ROMANS: The Fed makes the money.
ROBERTS: They just have it laying around?
CHETRY: They don't get it from the Kardashian card. That's for sure.
ROMANS: No, they don't. They don't. No, the Fed makes the money. This is liquidity. They're pumping in liquidity. This is the oxygen that goes into the body after the heart attack from the patient, trying to keep thing going and then coming back out again. So, now, they have taken all of that back and here we stand.
But we've never been able to see this much detail before. This is what really got a lot people who watch the Fed and people in Congress frankly looking at the powers of the Fed and asking some questions this morning.
ROBERTS: Pretty amazing, $9 trillion.
Christine, thanks.
Also new this morning, Citigroup reportedly in talks to hire former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag. So far, Citi not commenting on any possible position for the former Budget Director. But people familiar with the situation say Orszag would take a senior role at the bank's securities unit.
CHETRY: Juicy Couture shutting down its 5th Avenue store in Manhattan. Why? Well, employees discovered a bedbug infestation.
This is happening more and more across Manhattan, unfortunately, and it's not a good time to happen at a store, obviously -- with holiday shopping season in full swing. That's not the store look like. That's just bedbugs. Sorry, if you're eating.
Store is going to be open tomorrow after exterminators remove and treat every single piece of merchandise.
ROBERTS: But, literally nobody has been immune here in New York City. Not even us. We had them for a while.
CHETRY: Here. I never saw one.
ROBERTS: No, they weren't in my office.
CHETRY: Thank goodness.
ROBERTS: Were they in yours?
CHETRY: They were not in your office or they were?
ROBERTS: No, no. They weren't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CHETRY: Interesting look. They weren't in mine either.
ROBERTS: Anybody else out there? No.
CHETRY: No.
ROBERTS: Well, it looks like scientists may have seriously underestimated the number of stars in the heavens. In case you're counting at home, it now appears the universe has triple the number of stars than originally believed, it's because there's so many little red dwarfs out here. And here's the number -- take a look at this, 23 zeros after the 3.
CHETRY: That's how much the Fed pumped into the global economy.
ROBERTS: Slightly more, but just slightly more. If it's correct, it means that there are 300 sextillion stars in the universe, according to a study headed by a Yale University astronomer.
CHETRY: Wow.
ROBERTS: How do you count that 300 sextillion?
CHETRY: Obviously, they're doing some sort of estimating, but it's amazing.
ROBERTS: Crunching the numbers in a super computer.
CHETRY: Exactly. Reynolds Wolf is in the extreme weather center. He's crunching some numbers for us today, as well, as he takes a look at what the forecast is.
Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. Gosh, from bedbugs to -- what was the number? Three hundred --
ROBERTS: Three hundred sextillion.
WOLF: My goodness gracious, kind of hard to wrap my mind around that one.
Hey, we need some big numbers, too. Certainly not of that magnitude, but still pretty strong affecting a lot of people in parts of the Northeast. We are talking about wind gusts and wind damage across parts of not only Vermont but New Jersey and New York.
Take a look at some of the gusts behind me. There are two big ones that popped up in places like Vermont, over 60 miles an hour. One was actually 73-mile-an-hour gust in Hanksville. Two in New Jersey, actually one in New Jersey. That was in North Elkton and two in New York, one at 54 miles per hour in Ellenburg and one in Malone.
Again, power outages this morning, the clean up will continue. A lot of roof damage out there also. And then further back out towards the west, in places like Pennsylvania, you're going to be dealing with especially in Pittsburgh, some flooding this morning.
That wind that we're talking about, though, is going to linger for a bit, and that can cause a few delays at New York metros and back out toward Seattle, low clouds may cause a delay or two at the airport, anywhere from 30 minutes to a full hour.
The national perspective, it looks pretty good until you look really closely what's happening in parts of Pennsylvania. We've got the flood warnings in effect. In fact, everything you see there on that map that is in that lime green color, including state Altoona, State College, Williamsport, north of Pittsburgh, those are areas that are going to have some issues with the flooding. The river is expected to crest later this morning and then slowly recede.
Then snow was the next big picture. Big story that we have from Erie to Buffalo, even over to Syracuse. By the time we get to mid-morning tomorrow, some places could have over a foot of snowfall and the reason why is that prevailing wind out of the northwest across the Great Lakes.
We have another weather maker way out towards the west, double barrel low and a stationary front, that's going to bring some heavy snow to the Northern and Central Rockies. It's been amazing snow season out there already.
And look for some rain in parts of southern and central California. And plenty of sunshine in the Southeast.
We're going to have more on what you can expect for the weekend coming up in just a little bit, plus, more on those travel delays. It looks like we're going to be adding to those. Let's send it back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much.
Nine minutes past the hour.
Washington, D.C. is shinning a bit brighter despite what the weather is like. They had a lighting of the National Menorah yesterday, you know, a ceremony to mark the start of Hanukkah. It's bigger than your average menorah. Of course, they needed a bucket lift to get the first candle lit. The Jewish holiday lasts for eight nights.
ROBERTS: And the White House decked out for the holidays. This year's decorations include 19 Christmas trees in virtually every corner of the White House. And look at this -- the 350-pound gingerbread house covered in white chocolate. There it is. There it is.
CHETRY: Yes. It was a chandelier.
ROBERTS: One of the most interesting items, a giant replica of first dog Bo made out of -- what do you think they made a replica of Bo out of?
CHETRY: Right. Because he is a Portie, right? A Portuguese water dog.
ROBERTS: Portuguese water dog. They made it out of 40,000 pipe cleaners. First things that people see when they visit the White House this month.
CHETRY: So cute.
Well, Miami Heat superstar LeBron James is going to be returning home, I guess you could say, to Cleveland tonight, to face off against his old team. It's going to be awkward. But it's not joke for stadium security or his former fans.
Carol Costello is there with a preview -- live next.
ROBERTS: Yes. Home is where the hostility is this holiday season.
Plus, down to the wire. Soccer fans wild for this morning's huge announcement about the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. That's right. For the first time ever, FIFA will announce two winning World Cup bids back to back in just a couple of hours. Get your vuvuzela out and find out if the World Cup is going to come to the United States.
Ten minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: I guess he's used to the attention and he's used to the spotlight, but is he going to be ready to deal with the angry fans of Cleveland when LeBron James returns?
ROBERTS: Tough to go home when everybody hates you.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: It really is.
CHETRY: It's not -- it's certainly not going to be a happy homecoming. But tonight is a night that LeBron James goes back to Cleveland. It's Miami's first game there since he picked up his ball and went to South Beach.
ROBERTS: Security is being beefed up in and around "The Q" to handle the 20,000 people who are ready to vent. LeBron James says the game will be emotional but the question is: will those emotions boil over?
Carol Costello has gone home for us. She's live for us at "The Q" this morning.
So, what's the -- what's the sense there in Ohio about the degree of animosity that the fans are feeling toward LeBron?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a high degree of an animosity. But there's also a high degree of excitement. People are really psyched to go to the game tonight.
You got an extra $5,000 laying around, John and Kiran? Because that's how much seats are going for, $5,000 or more, for prime seats, here in the arena where the Cavaliers will take on the Miami Heat.
Now, we know how the Cavaliers will be introduced. They were testing out the scoreboard as the Cavaliers come out, flames will shoot from the scoreboard. I want you to take a look at that now because it's pretty -- real flames. They felt the heat.
The question is: how will the crowd respond when LeBron James and the Miami Heat are introduced. We know security will be tight. There'll be extra security on the floor. There'll be security in the stands. The fans are wearing t-shirts with anything profane on them, but they'll be forced to take them off and they will be given a Cavalier shirt.
Plastic beer bottles not sold in the arena tonight. You get your beer in a plastic up. And, of course, that will prevent from throwing those plastic beer bottles on to the floor. Emotions will be very high. As LeBron James himself said, he'll be emotional when he comes back. Emotion is the name of the game tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's responsible for almost half of the Heat's points.
COSTELLO (voice-over): LeBron James, used to unconditional love from fans, will experience something quite different tonight. Yes, he did see Cleveland fans burning his jersey after he ostentatiously announced on national television that he was leaving for Miami, but he hasn't yet experienced the anger live and in person. Keith Dambrot coached James in his Akron, Ohio, high school.
KEITH DAMBROT, JAMES' HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH: I mean, he's never been boo'd in Cleveland, and he's never really been boo'd hardly anywhere or any place in his whole life. So, again, I think he understands the business side of this, and he understands that there's some animosity towards him.
COSTELLO: Keith Robinson, a lifelong Cavs fan will be sure James hears loud and clear. He'll be at tonight's game.
Do you feel it's necessary for the fans to show something toward LeBron?
KEITH ROBINSON, LIFE-LONG CAVALIERS SEASON TICKET HOLDER: No. Hatred.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBINSON: I'll be honest with you.
COSTELLO: Really? Hatred?
ROBINSON: Yes. Dislike. How about dislike or a little -- COSTELLO: Because hate is a strong word.
ROBINSON: Yes. We'll say dislike. I don't hate him, but I don't like him.
COSTELLO: Robinson plans to boo James, but he and others fear some fans, a few, could try to hurt James physically, especially if he insights the crowd with his signature puff of smoke as he enters the game. You could hear the concern as the Cavs practiced Wednesday.
MO WILLIAMS, CAVALIERS POINT GUARD: The heckling, you know, is part of the game. When we go on the road, we get it. Obviously, you know, this is going to be a little bit worse. I get that, also. But once we get talking about harming people and their family and their well being, I think that's kind of taking it a little too far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready for the return of LeBron James? The two-time NBA MVP will bring his talents back to the North Coast.
COSTELLO: On Cleveland's ESPN radio, they were urging fans not to embarrass the city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully, we don't see, you know, stupidity on some of the fans' parts of throwing things or running out on to the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go to the ATM today and tomorrow to put enough bail money in your pocket in case you get incarcerated.
COSTELLO: Most fans will not be that stupid, but they will vent. Robinson only wishes he could do it face to face.
ROBINSON: What I would say to him is you're not the guy I thought you were.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (on-camera): Many Cleveland fans would like to do exactly that, but they can't. That they need to vent in some way, and the big debate going on here this morning, John and Kiran, is how to vent. Do you stand up and do you boo LeBron James as he's introduced? Do you turn your back and not say anything?
The Cleveland plain dealer in an editorial today said the best thing to do would be to greet him with silence. And that would kind of give him the message that Cleveland has moved on, and he doesn't really matter much anymore. I guess, we'll find out tonight how the fans will react.
ROBERTS: But they haven't moved on, obviously.
COSTELLO: No. They haven't moved on, but this will give them a chance for full closure. They'll see LeBron james. Hopefully, the Cavaliers will win. Sorry, Miami fans, and then, Cleveland can really move on.
CHETRY: Yes. I mean, you're right.
COSTELLO: It's a great city. They don't need LeBron James.
CHETRY: Cleveland rocks. Don't worry about it, but the thing is that the Cavs have to win. That will be the best -- that's the best revenge, right? Winning. COSTELLO: I know, but there are few fairly tales as far as sports stories go in Cleveland, but I do hope the Cavaliers win because it would be a cool thing.
ROBERTS: So, is it the fact that left or is it the way that he left that really has people incensed?
COSTELLO: It's the way that he left because let's face it, Cleveland has used to major sports stars and other people of stature leaving Cleveland for greener pastures. And they totally get that, but it was the way LeBron James did it. You know, so ostentatiously. He didn't give his fans the respect that they think they deserve.
CHETRY: We also heard those blasts behind you. What were they doing? They're testing the sound that's going to happen when the Cavs come out tonight?
COSTELLO: Yes. They're testing the sound system, the music.
ROBERTS: That's more than a sound system.
COSTELLO: They're real flames.
ROBERTS: It's like a Q dragon there.
COSTELLO: It's a real flames. You can feel the heat, but yes, they're testing everything. They're cleaning up the floor. They even repainted stuff, you know, to cover the scuff marks on the walls around the seating areas so this -- the arena will be spick and span because this game will be nationally televised, and let me tell you, the eyes of the world will be on Cleveland tonight.
ROBERTS: And we look forward to what you have to say tomorrow post game. Carol, thanks for joining us this mornining.
COSTELLO: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, the Grammy nominations are out as well, which artist picked up ten nominations, including record, song and album of the year? We'll find out.
ROBERTS: See if you can guess.
Plus, as we approach the 30th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon, it's next Wednesday, we take you inside his final moments from the doctor who tried to save him to the hospital administrator who sat with Yoko Ono when she was told of the terrible news. Hear from people who have never spoken before coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Coming up now on 23 minutes after the hour. That's --
CHETRY: It's one of my iPod running songs.
ROBERTS: Is it --
CHETRY: 8th Mile.
ROBERTS: Good treadmill song?
CHETRY: Great treadmill song.
ROBERTS: Excellent. Well, speaking of Eminem, it's time to tell you about some of the stories that got us talking this morning.
And Eminem certainly wasn't kidding when he called his album "Recovery." The rapper got 10, 10 Grammy nominations last night more than any other artist. They include Album of the Year, Best Rap Album, Song of the Year for "I Love The Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna. It's the second biggest contender this year -- or at least best second biggest contender this year with seven nods is Bruno Mars.
CHETRY: Yes. Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga --
ROBERTS: One of my favorite bands is Lady Antebellum got six. That's great.
CHETRY: Eminem's awesome. He's a lyrical genius.
ROBERTS: Yes. They're pretty controversial song, though.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: "Love The Way You Lie."
CHETRY: Yes, but he knows what's controversy.
ROBERTS: Which is unusual for him to be controversial.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: He's never known him to be controversial before.
CHETRY: Never. Very milquetoast.
Well, a Hollywood vet is lending his voice to a new Charlie's Angel series. The original 1970s show, of course, a huge hit with Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson. It spawned millions of Halloween costumes, thank you very much. No word yet on the new angels, but reports say veteran actor, Robert Wagner, will take on the role of their boss, Charlie, who's never seen, of course.
ROBERTS: Is it hang up those reverse mortgage ads to go back on -- come on. No.
CHETRY: He's great in the Austin powers stuff, too. ROBERTS: And Rob Lowe as the young Robert Wagner. He was priceless. Spot off (ph).
CHETRY: His voice was exactly the same. I thought that he was actually -- that he was lip syncing to Robert Wagner's voice.
ROBERTS: He did a great job.
CHETRY: But we digress.
ROBERTS: We do. So, let's get back on track. The next YouTube video here that we're about to show you will know that put a smile on your face. It's Emma, a French bulldog puppy engaged in what can only be described as a tough battle with a door stop. The spring kind and having endless amounts of fun.
CHETRY: So cute.
ROBERTS: OK. Question. What do you like better? You like Emma the dog or like yesterday's YouTube video of the kid (INAUDIBLE) the Bob Marley?
CHETRY: You're asking me to choose between kids and puppies?
ROBERTS: Yes. Which one of your children do you love more?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Both the same in different ways.
ROBERTS: OK. Perfect answer.
CHETRY: Well, officially, a Texas ranger. That's right. Texas governor, Rick Perry, is making Chuck Norris an honorary Texas Ranger today to commemorate his work on the show that airs for eight season. It was really filmed in Texas. They used real Texas rangers in an advisory role, and now, he's officially one.
ROBERTS: Chuck Norris is such a nice guy. He really is.
CHETRY: He's awesome.
ROBERTS: It's a great honor for him.
He's back. David Hasselhoff taking over television again starring in a reality series revolving around his family, and they're all here live in our studio. From his private life, to his business, and entertainment endeavors, the Hof and his two daughters, Haley and Taylor Ann coming up.
CHETRY: Also, the final moments of musical legend, John Lennon's life. We're hearing from people who were there, who've never spoken before, the doctor who tried to save him and the hospital staffer who had to tell Yoko Ono that he was gone. More on John's documentary next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The CNN documentary "Losing Lennon" premieres this weekend. It's just ahead of the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's murder which was Wednesday.
ROBERTS: We talked to all kinds of people from this documentary, including those who witnessed the tragic events of December 8th, 1980. For some, it's the first time that they have spoken publicly about it. This morning, the final moments of John Lennon's life as he arrived at New York's Roosevelt Hospital, not in an ambulance, but in a police squad car.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two police officers came around the corner, one with the body over his shoulder and the other was yelling. He was holding him just like the fireman hold. And the other one yelled, gunshot wound, no vital signs.
ROBERTS (voice-over): Dr. Steven Lynn (ph) was the director of emergency services at Roosevelt Hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was lifeless. He had no pulse, no blood pressure, he was unresponsive.
ROBERTS: Lennon was wheeled into a trauma room. Lynn opened his chest and with Lennon's heart in his hand, tried to massage back a pulse. Doctors transfused massive amounts of blood, but as fast as it went in, it leaked right back out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After trying for about 10, 15, 20 minutes, it was clear that nothing could be done, and John Lennon was pronounced dead.
ROBERTS: 11:10 p.m., Dr. Lynn knew what had to be done next. The devastating task of telling Yoko Ono that John was gone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was sitting in a little room right off the E.R.
ROBERTS: Hospital administrator, Sandra Schoen (ph) was with Ono. She has never spoken about that night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was in shock and she was certainly anticipatory because at that point she was still expecting that John could be saved, I'm sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably said something like, I have very bad news. In spite of all of our efforts to save your husband, we were unable to, and he died.
ROBERTS: Ono was devastated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was literally lying on the concrete floor of our emergency department hitting her head against the wall. I put my hands behind her head fearful she was going to hurt herself. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: We are talking about 1980 and at that point medicine was very good. It is better now. I put the question to Dr. Lynn. I said, if you had today's technology then, would you have been able to save him? He said, no, there was nothing that could be done, because every major vessel coming out of the heart was obliterated by one of the bullets that struck him, the hollow point bullets. The aorta was vaporized, and so there was nothing to do. We were massaging the heart and nothing coming out of the heart. They were transfusing the blood and it was just leaking out.
And we were talking about this earlier. It is not like you could have done something.
CHETRY: In some ways, it may be a little bit of comfort because the people were there, and you know it had to go through the minds could I have gotten there faster. Doing something different, could I have saved his life? Perhaps that helps them sleep at night.
ROBERTS: They couldn't wait for an ambulance. They put him in the back of the squad car. By the time they got him there, Dr. Lynn said he was dead. There was nothing they could do.
In the documentary "Losing Lennon -- Countdown to Murder" premiers this weekend. You will hear from those people and whole lot more who were there on that night and the months leading up to the murder. It's Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Tomorrow hearing from Julian Lennon.
ROBERTS: We are. He's the son whom he left in England at the age of eight, never saw him much in the early going. In fact they tried to keep him a secret when he was first born. But then over the years John Lennon wanted to reconnect with him and have much more of a relationship, and that was snatched away, as well.
CHETRY: Well, we are going to hear from him tomorrow, as well. He tells his story.
It's 33 minutes past the hour. A stunning development in the mysterious murder of a Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen. Police say the person of interest killed himself as he was being questioned by Beverly Hills detectives. Chasen was gunned down in her car two weeks ago driving home from a movie premier.
ROBERTS: Hunting for the man behind WikiLeaks. Reports out today say Julian Assange is in Britain but so far they have not acted on a warrant for his arrest on sex crime charges in Sweden. Assange has been lying low since he made good on a promise to release hundreds of thousands of leaked State Department documents.
CHETRY: And on Wall Street, stocks rallied. The Dow rising nearly 250 points yesterday on better than expected auto sales, news, and stronger private sector hiring. Economists at Goldman Sachs also predict the economy will do better than expected next year. Yesterday was the Dow's biggest one-day gain since September.
ROBERTS: All right, time to break out the vuvuzela's because we're less than two hours away from the major announcements. FIFA is set to reveal the host countries for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022. It's the first time they have announced back to back bids. And the U.S. is a strong candidate for 2022.
CHETRY: Yes. So is the World Cup coming to America? We're going to ask Richard Roth about that. He is live in Harrison, New Jersey, home of the Red Bulls. Not the kind we chug every morning to be so peppy but the red bulls.
ROBERTS: Should we be getting ready for celebration?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The big announcement coming within about two hours. The United States is gunning for the 2022 world cup. Now, in Zurich yesterday, they played their "Rock 'em Sock 'em" promotional video which they have been promoting. The big slogan is "The Game is in Us." So the game is in U.S., I don't know how great that one is.
But the video out highlighting how the United States is stadium ready, and in these tough economic times they don't have to build arenas. That's been a problem that's plaguing other countries and hurt them economically after the matches are over.
Now, they also trotted out big guns politically. Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president that really enjoys soccer at the recent World Cup in South Africa, he was on hand for a pitch to the delegates to vote on who gets the World Cup.
Also actor Morgan Freeman on hand, flubbed a line skipping a page and certainly not acting like Nelson Mandela in that presentation. Of course, everybody in the United States would want the world cup here, those that love soccer. Players can't wait if the U.S. gets the bid. Which country should host the 2022 world cup of soccer?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Which country should host the 2022 World Cup of soccer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.S.
ROTH: Because?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because did you see it this past World Cup? Everyone's crazy. It was such great patriotic spirit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the World Cup were to come here in 2022, it would -- I mean, we have the money to spend and would be successful. People would travel here to see it and great for the sport in general.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Now, the United States is not a shoe-in to win this bid, John and Kiran. There's tough competition, probably from Qatar, the Middle East nation, the world cup never been hosted in that part of the world. The soccer brains like to maneuver it into a different region of the world to increase its popularity.
Other contenders, Australia and then South Korea and Japan that held it more recently than the U.S. I don't know if they're going to get it. The U.S. held the world cup in 1994, if you can remember those days, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: When we do know, Richard, you were a fierce defender of the game of soccer of World Cup when you were up against Max Kellerman dismissing soccer as a sport, but have you been to a world cup match yourself?
ROTH: Yes. I was just chasing Max Kellerman through the empty stadium here. I think he is outside now. I have personally been to several World Cup matches. I was at the final in 1994 in California. Brazil and Italy. But sadly, the final result was nothing-nothing and then going to penalty kicks. That's something that they should change. And I was also at another match in Florida.
But I think by 2022 when I'll be 30 the popularity of the sport hopefully will increase more. There hasn't been a huge TV ratings increase for domestic league matches, the type played here in the Red Bull arena behind me despite the World Cup surge in the summer.
ROBERTS: You look mature for 18. No question about that.
CHETRY: OK. All we have to say to you --
ROTH: That's the red bull.
ROBERTS: You have officially --
ROTH: That brings back memories.
ROBERTS: You have officially been piped off the deck.
(LAUGHTER)
Richard, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Say hi to Max for us.
David Hasselhoff, you know him of course as the former star of "Night Rider" and "Baywatch." He and his family are in the studios to talk about their new reality show next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 42 minutes after the hour now. He's not Michael Night or Mitch Buchanan. And his new show the Hoff is being the Hoff. David Hasselhoff is back with a new reality show that follows him and his two ambitious daughters as they navigate their way through Hollywood.
CHETRY: We know David for the roles in "Baywatch" and "Night Rider." It's 30 years of experience in the business.
ROBERTS: Whoa!
CHETRY: I know. You started when you were five. He knows the challenges that his girls will face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELHOFFS": When you become famous, suddenly all of these kids who are just like your friends, they start acting weird to you. People that never gave you the time of day are suddenly kissing your butt. And then you start to change. And I don't want you to change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, David, Haley, and Taylor Ann join us this morning. Good to see you guys. Is it strange to watch it played out on tape?
HASSELHOFF: No, no. It's just funny, because you know, we're -- the name Hasselhoff took a lot of scuff with that name growing up. Now it's the Hoff and family. It is nice to see the clips you are playing because it's a great rendition of what we went through, you know? And her getting huge and the emotions and the ups and downs --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Why did you do the reality show? You expose your family life, the struggles and everything.
HASSELHOFF: You know, someone says you want to invite cameras in? Yes. We are inviting the world in to say, hey, this is who we are, instead of like reading about us saying that's not us, or doing a five-minute interview and trying to be charming and cute and funny and self-effacing in five minutes.
No. We are real people. We have a life. We have something to say and. We love this business. We love show business. They're pursuing their dream to be actresses and singers, and the ups and downs of it, but also the fact that we have feelings and we say we can do this through television which is a media that I love and make it entertaining.
So, yes, come on in. This is who we are. We're inviting people into our home for the first time and saying, no, what you read about us is what you read about us. This is what we are. So hopefully you will find it entertaining.
ROBERTS: Of course one of the things you address and you do off the top --
HASSELHOFF: Get it out of the way.
ROBERTS: The infamous hamburger incident that caught you in the depths of alcoholism. This is addressed several times in the show. Let's watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSELHOFF: So I brought you guys up here just to say thanks and what a great life we have. I mean, people don't really know who we are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They have no clue. I'm the hamburger saver with the 911 taper.
HASSELHOFF: Hamburger Hoff and 911. We should write a song. Being in the Hoffs is not like that fun. We like to hike, our dogs and sing a beautiful song. Hamburger Hoff 911.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You can make light of it now, but it was much more serious back then. And Taylor, you shot the tape of that incident.
TAYLOR-ANN HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELLHOFFS": Five years ago, yes.
ROBERTS: What were you trying to show your dad?
T. HASSELHOFF: You know, I love him so much. He's my best friend. I tell him everything. We are very honest with each other and I think that I just thought and I just wanted this to be like, you know, you're -- you're so amazing to me and I just want to kind of show you what you're like when you're -- when you're not in the best state.
DAVID HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELHOFF": The key to that sentence is what were you trying to show your dad.
ROBERTS: Right.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Not show 11 million people.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
HALEY HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELHOFF": That was a very private tape and that's why it when come out it was -- it was -- for me that was -- it was something very, very hard for our family, it was hard for us personally --
ROBERTS: I can imagine.
H. HASSELHOFF: -- for her take it just for him but for it to be shown to the entire world was -- it was devastating experience.
ROBERTS: Yes.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes. KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, but David, one thing that it did do actually is that there were -- a lot of people talk about the struggle with relapsing and trying to fight your demons and you sometimes --
D. HASSELHOFF: It brought awareness to it, huh?
CHETRY: Yes. And a lot of people said I can sort of relate to what he was going through.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: What we did to the Comedy Central was go on television and bring an elephant out of the room and laugh and ha-ha- ha and then one of the guy who roasted me was in the same boat and is dead. His name is Greg Doraldo (ph) and he died of -- of -- of an overdose and it's tragic and it's a sad thing.
And millions of people can relate to it and then millions of people have looked at my daughters and said hey, that's helped me in a way so. You know there's a reason for everything. You know?
But we -- we we've moved on so long ago. We're -- we're living large and having a blast and --
CHETRY: And how are you now with the recovery?
D. HASSELHOFF: I'm fantastic. How are you?
CHETRY: You it's a (INAUDIBLE) today.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes, it's today, right? You know, we're -- we're only as good as today. We're only as good as what God brings us every morning. And I'm fantastic. And the girls are fantastic. And we're -- we're having a -- the time of our lives and, you know, it's funny. Through -- amidst all of this, all of my shows are still number one and been successful.
ROBERTS: Oh no it's amazing -- it's amazing how successful you are. "Baywatch" still watched by a billion people around the world.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes, I'm --
ROBERTS: We got a lot more we want to talk about.
D. HASSELHOFF: Great.
ROBERTS: We've got to take a quick break. So let's do that and we'll be right back with more of the Hoffs. Stay with us.
It's 47 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CLIP FROM "THE HASSELHOFFS")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It's 11 minutes now to the top of the hour. We are back with the Hasselhoff family. David, Haley and Taylor-Ann are with us today. In the opening episode, Taylor Ann, you are at the University of Arizona and you are thinking about coming back to Hollywood to pursue a singing career. And David, you are trying to talk her into not taking risks.
D. HASSELHOFF: Right.
ROBERTS: To play it safe and you say if I had to played it safe, none of my life would have ever happened --
(CROSSTALK)
D. HASSELHOFF: Right.
ROBERTS: So how does a dad try to get his daughter to play it safe when you haven't done it?
D. HASSELHOFF: I just loved the University of Arizona and the Wild Cats. I love the fact that she was going to school and staying there because I never finished school. But I knew the time is now for them. They want to be, you know, in this music pop world. The time is now. They're ready. And so you have to take the risks and the best part about it is she's still taking classes and kind of continue studying.
ROBERTS: So, did you say to your dad, hey wait a minute. You took risks. You didn't play it safe? Why are you forcing me to?
T. HASSELHOFF: That was our conversation. I was like, you're a hypocrite. What are you saying to me?
H. HASSELHOFF: And I didn't go to college. I turned out okay.
D. HASSELHOFF: Well, yes. Yes. You did. It was tough. It was tough. She went to home school. You know? Like home.
H. HASSELHOFF: I graduated from high school three years early.
CHETRY: Did you learn any lessons or did you take what some of the things that you learned about your dad or saw as he was living in this career and said, you know what? I'm going to try it. I'm going to do it.
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes. Well, I mean he always has had fun with it and really followed his dreams at such a young age. We learned that from him. We learned to always follow our dreams and never give up.
And, you know, we got to see the bad side of being in the entertainment business at such a young age which I think kind of helped us realize that that is such a small price to pay when you do what you love.
And so it's a great -- he was a great example for us to say, you know what? Follow your dreams and that's exactly what he did. And that's exactly what we're doing. And we're doing.
ROBERTS: You know dads always love to be mentors. What do you think the greatest lesson you taught these two?
D. HASSELHOFF: Honesty.
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Honesty. There are -- somebody was honest with me. A long time ago Joyce Selznick was honest to me. She was like this amazing casting director. And she said -- she always smokes a cigar. She says can you act? I said, yes, I can. No, you can't. Anybody that's good looking and can act could be a star. And she immediately said -- she was brutally honest with me. And that's the best thing -- the best advice I ever got.
I have to be honest with them. So when they're on it, I say they're on it. In the show, when they're not on it, you are not on it. When I mess up, dad, you are messing up. You are scaring us. There's consequences for your actions in life. And that's what we have learned.
You know? And we -- we're a tough family. We stick together. But we have more fun than anybody -- we laugh at ourselves more than anybody. You know? Just --
CHETRY: And what is your dream gig? If you could do anything what would it be?
H. HASSELHOFF: Acting and singing. You know, I just got off the series "Huge" on ABC Family and we're pursuing our, you know, our girl group called Bella Vida.
ROBERTS: And you actually -- you've opened for him a couple of times.
H. HASSELHOFF: We did. Yes we have.
We went over -- we were on our first disco tour out in Germany.
ROBERTS: Not the Berlin wall we should say.
D. HASSELHOFF: On New Year's Eve we are going back. Will be there on New Year's Eve 20 years later.
ROBERTS: How does it feel to have been the person who single- handedly brought down the Berlin Wall?
D. HASSELHOFF: You know what? I've decided to go around the rest of the world. I'm bringing down the Great Wall of China and I'll be in Israel next week. You know? It was hysterical. It was such an honor.
CHETRY: I hope the jacket is like --
D. HASSELHOFF: You know what? Do you have that?
(CROSSTALK)
D. HASSELHOFF: We're going to be there at that same spot with that jacket on New Year's Eve, 20 years later. We have already booked it.
ROBERTS: That jacket still lives?
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes. The jacket still works.
ROBERTS: I thought it would be in the Smithsonian by now.
CHETRY: Or the Hard Rock.
D. HASSELHOFF: I thought I would be in the Smithsonian by now.
CHETRY: Thanks, you guys.
ROBERTS: Thanks. And good luck to you.
CHETRY: Good luck with the show. Good luck to both of you.
(CROSSTALK)
D. HASSELHOFF: Thank you for this. This is fantastic. Wow.
CHETRY: Incredible graphics department.
D. HASSELHOFF: Quite an honor.
ROBERTS: Requisite plug here. You can catch the season premier of the new show, "The Hasselhoffs" at A&E Sunday 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Thanks again.
H. HASSELHOFF: Thank you.
T. HASSELHOFF: Thank you.
CHETRY: Thanks, guys. And hopefully you guys will have an okay time getting back home. Because we do have some travel troubles if you're flying. Several cities getting, of course, big snow right now. Reynolds Wolf checks in coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Welcome back to the CNN AMERICAN MORNING, The Most News in the Morning. I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf. And these -- these are some delays. These are the most recent ones that have popped up.
In Teterboro we've got a delay about an hour or so. That may increase also in Baltimore; you have a 45 minute delay. That is also expected to increase.
A lot of your regional airports, stay in places like Buffalo due to heavy lake effect snowfall. You might have a wait on the tarmac. Also out towards the Pacific Northwest, some heavy snowfall in parts of the Cascades into the central and northern Rockies, even to the Sierra Nevada might cause some issues. Reno, you might have some problems there later on.
But plenty of sunshine, the southern plains and into the southeast. It should be a beautiful day for you. And as we fast forward into the day tomorrow, looks like the snow's really going to expand in parts of the Midwest. Still some snow showers in parts of the northern Rockies.
That's a quick look at your forecast. We have more coming up right here on CNN AMERICAN MORNING, The Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: That is going to wrap it up for us this Thursday morning. Thanks so much for joining us. And we'll see you back here again, bright and early tomorrow morning.
CHETRY: Right. Meanwhile the news continues right now. CNN NEWSROOM with Don Lemon -- hey Don.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Thank you.
