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American Morning

A Look at Obama's New Year Resolution; U.S. Navy to in Crude Video Controversy; Expedia Dumps American Airlines; Road to Super Bowl XLV; Rounding Up Wild Mustangs; Spider-Man Stuntman Recovers

Aired January 03, 2011 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JIM ACOSTA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Good morning. And welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Monday, January 3rd of 2011. First show of the year.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It's the first show of 2011.

ACOSTA: And we're off to a flying start.

CHETRY: We sure are.

ACOSTA: I'm Jim Acosta, good morning.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Happy New Year to you. Here are the top stories this morning.

President Obama returning to a new reality, I guess you could say in Washington this week.

ACOSTA: Oh, yes.

CHETRY: He's entering 2011 with a new Republican House. And we're going to take a look at whether a new year will bring a new strategy.

ACOSTA: A controversy making waves in the U.S. Navy. Sailors on camera and raunchy scenes. Sexual content and anti-gay slurs all aboard an aircraft carrier at war. And the man behind them is now the officer in charge. The latest on the investigation from the Pentagon ahead.

CHETRY: And we're talking a little football this morning. The NFL is set to begin its postseason Saturday. Which playoff teams will have the best chance to make it all the way to Dallas in February? We're going to take a look at the road to the Super Bowl XLV and who got robbed some are saying, just ahead.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. But first, coming back to a collision course. President Obama set to return home this week from his vacation in Hawaii.

CHETRY: Yes. He's facing a new Republican House that will be aiming to unravel some key victories of his first two years. Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House this morning. Of course, you hear it from a lot of Republicans, repeal health care.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely do. Well, Happy New Year to both of you. Obviously, the first show of the new year, the president has his own new year's resolution. He's going to be back here tomorrow afternoon. And you mentioned a collision course. That's absolutely right. We expect a lot of battles here to take place in Washington, the White House, that's going to impact a lot of folks.

So what are we talking about here? First and foremost, he is talking about the economy. We're going to hear that in the "State of the Union" address towards the end of the month. But he's going to be talking about creating jobs, innovating, investing in the types of jobs and education that people will be able to obtain. He's talking about reforming the tax code as well as perhaps cutting wasteful spending and programs that are either redundant or not working, potentially even some sort of spending freeze. Those are the kinds of things he's going to be focusing on the economic side.

Now, when it comes to health care reform, Kiran, this is what you mentioned. This is the "Battle Royale" because Republicans basically put the president on notice this weekend saying, look, we're not only going to try to de-fund health care reform, we're going to try to repeal this thing before the "State of the Union." So the White House very much aware that it has to defend his signature legislation.

And finally, what we're going to see here and pretty much in short order, I'm talking about a couple of days, a couple of weeks here, are some significant staff changes. We're not talking about on the cabinet level necessarily, but Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser heading out the door. Obviously, the president has to name a replacement. That's going to happen fairly soon. We are also talking about political advisers, David Axelrod, top adviser to the president, is going back to Chicago, set up a reelection campaign headquarters there. We expect David Plouffe who was very key in the campaign itself to come down here to Washington to help with the day in and day out, advising the president of political matters. And then also, maybe, maybe some changes in the press office. Perhaps Robert Gibbs, the spokesperson, taking an advisory role, a more political role, and somebody else taking his place, perhaps the deputy, Bill Burton, or the spokesman from the vice president's office, Jay Carney. All these things still being talked about, worked about. But you know that there's going to be a lot that is taking place the next couple of days and weeks. This is going to be a fascinating year to watch here at the White House.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, Suzanne. And the guessing game has already begun as to who might replace Robert Gibbs and whether he will go. But I wanted to ask you about Republicans promising to launch dozens of investigations against the White House, Darrell Issa, who's one of the chief Republicans behind that effort. He's going to be taking control of that House Oversight Committee here in the coming days. How much will this likely slow the president's agenda? And how nasty and partisan is this going to get? I mean, he was on the "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday and he said that he thinks that the Obama administration is one of the most corrupt ever.

MALVEAUX: Yes. I mean, this is obviously going to take a lot of time and attention away from the White House in terms of what they want to do. We don't necessarily expect that some of these things are going to be successful. But certainly, you had Congressman Issa bring up the fact that he feels that his committee is one that is going to shed light on a lot of things. So what are they talking about? They're talking about investigations in the White House, dealing with things like regulations by the EPA. They feel that they've overstepped their bounds. The administration has overstepped its bounds. The Justice Department, how it handles terror suspects, whether or not they try them as criminals or as terrorists. These are the kinds of things that have a lot of Republicans very angry, very upset with this administration, and questioning how it does its business. We expect that the White House is really going to be inundated with a lot of those investigations. As a matter of fact, Jim, they're hiring a lot more White House lawyers to make sure that they can defend their policies on the other side. So this is going to be a big battle ahead.

ACOSTA: Yes. Something tells me this is going to be good for the lawyers in Washington this year. Happy 2011, Suzanne, great to see you.

MALVEAUX: Thanks. Thanks again. It's going to be a busy one.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Doesn't always mean it's good for the American people when you say it's good for the Washington lawyers.

ACOSTA: Well, that's what she is saying that over at the White House they're gearing up for battle. So it's going to be interesting to watch.

CHETRY: Well, one battle that was won by many who were fighting for, the men and women who rushed to the World Trade Center on 9/11 will now will get federal health benefits. President Obama signed the $4.2 billion bill yesterday. It provides coverage for those that were sickened by toxic pollution at Ground Zero. Rescue workers and others who were there day after day and the weeks and months after 9/11 sifting through the rubble. A White House staffer flew with a copy of the bill from Washington to Hawaii so the president could sign it while on vacation.

ACOSTA: Out with the old, in with the not so new. Jerry Brown will take the oath of office today as California's governor. He's, of course, replacing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Brown already served as governor from 1975 to 1993. Three more states will swear in new governors today. Democrat Mark Dayton in Minnesota, Republican Scott Walker of Wisconsin, and Republican Brian Sandoval in Nevada.

CHETRY: Also developing this morning, the U.S. Navy trying to explain lewd and crude conduct aboard an aircraft carrier in the war zone.

ACOSTA: Navy brass now investigating a series of raunchy videos produced at sea and shown to the crew of the USS Enterprise. The man behind them, one of the ship's top officers. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more. BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Jim, Kiran, the Navy investigation is centering on Captain Owen Honors, the second in command of the aircraft carrier Enterprise back in 2006 and 2007 when he made and showed the crew a series of explicit raunchy videos supposedly for training. Now, the Navy at first said the videos were not meant to offend, but now is calling them inappropriate. And the investigation is trying to figure out how Captain Honors got promoted recently to command that very ship "The Enterprise." Some of the material -- they are using curse words such as the "f" word. But other parts of the material, there is also anti-gay slurs, simulated sex acts, simulated medical exams. We're not going to show any of that here. There is also a scene with two women believed to be sailors in a shower. Captain Honors repeatedly says on the tape that the carrier boss doesn't even know about the videos. But the investigation is going to look at all of this. Because now the question, of course, is how could other senior officers have not known? And what was the environment onboard "The Enterprise" that made anybody think this was OK -- Jim, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, Barbara Starr for us this morning. It was interesting.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

CHETRY: So it will be interesting. We made a lot of calls yesterday. Not a lot of people in the military eager to, you know, come out and talk about this.

ACOSTA: Right.

CHETRY: Certainly an embarrassment for the large, you know, majority of people they're doing the right thing.

ACOSTA: Right. And this happened three or four years ago, the military is saying. And so, you know, their posture to this is, well, you know, obviously we don't think any better of it now than we did three or four years ago. So obviously an investigation will be launched and heads might roll on this. We'll have to wait and see on that.

Facebook, you've heard about this. There's a movie about Facebook. Did you hear this? It could be worth $50 billion? Can you believe this?

Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor just bought a $500 million stake in the company. According to the "New York Times," the deal values Facebook at $50 billion making it worth more than companies like eBay, Yahoo, and Time Warner's parent -- or Time Warner, which is our parent company. As for --

CHETRY: You stumbled over that one.

ACOSTA: Yes. As for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, analysts estimate his personal worth may have just doubled to nearly $14 billion.

CHETRY: Everywhere it's changing. I mean, there's nowhere you can look that Facebook isn't somewhere, you know.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Whether it's advertising, or whether it's reaching out to people.

ACOSTA: I still can't believe they can generate that much revenue off of those little ads. But I guess people click on them.

CHETRY: Yes. Well, an unsolved mystery in Arkansas this morning. Officials there are not sure why some 5,000 birds just fell from the sky just before midnight on New Year's eve. Most of them red-winged blackbirds and starlings. They were found dead over a one-mile area northeast of Little Rock. Among the theories, a lightning strike or perhaps New Year's fireworks that may have caused severe stress.

ACOSTA: The Big Apple has been more like a rotten apple since last week's blizzard with garbage piling up on city streets. New York City sanitation crews will finally resume trash collection today. And we mean finally. The Sanitation Department stopped pickups early last week after the blizzard dumped some 20 inches of snow on the city. City officials have been criticized for the slow response to the massive snowstorm.

CHETRY: Well, meantime, city investigators are looking into a report that four sanitation supervisors that were assigned to clean up after the blizzard -- instead according to witnesses -- bought beer at a bodega and sat in their car for hours instead of working. According to the "New York Post," witnesses say that they ignored a bus and three snowplows that were stuck in the snow nearby. One witness says the four then later placed a call to their bosses saying that they had run out of gas and so they were unable to do any work. Sanitation workers have also been accused of deliberately slowing down clean-up efforts to protest city budget cuts.

ACOSTA: You won't catch that kind of activity down in the CNN weather center. That just doesn't go on down there. The work ethic is just solid.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a tight ship down here.

CHETRY: Plus, there's no bodegas open at this hour, Rob.

MARCIANO: Yes. Well, you know, actually, you have to walk an extra block but you can get there. Enjoy one if you like.

Good morning, guys. Yes, listen, you know, Christmas over now. Trash on the streets, those Christmas trees that people are throwing out. Maybe they give a little bit more of a pleasant scent than what's happening right now. And hopefully things get a little bit back to normal.

The weather, I can tell you this, is beginning to look a lot more calm, which we can't say that for the last week of 2010, huh? Thirty- three right now in the Boston area, 29 degrees in New York City, and 27 currently in D.C. So we had a little cool front came in yesterday, kind of clearing out the fog. Some lake-effect snows will be happening across parts of upstate New York in the usual spots and maybe some flurries across New York City, but that's about it. Central part of the country looks fairly quiet, but we continue to see stormy weather across the southwest, including California. Southern California, the wettest December on record. And here it comes, the beginning of January in 2011. More rain and higher elevation snows for Los Angeles and the surrounding areas there. So if you are traveling through L.A. or San Francisco, you'll probably see a few delays there. Seasonably cool elsewhere with a high of 51 degrees here in Atlanta. That won't close any bodegas, I can tell you that -- Jim and Kiran.

CHETRY: I didn't know you guys were a 24-hour operation as well, you know?

MARCIANO: The city never sleeps. A lot of people don't know that. But we never sleep. But you're right, we're on a tight ship down here and there's -- all two of us are working very hard.

ACOSTA: All right.

CHETRY: I hear you, Rob. All right. Well, thanks.

It is my iPhone's fault. Coming up, the New Year's glitch that made a lot of people late this weekend.

ACOSTA: I can't believe that.

And are you ready for some playoff football? We will look at who made it and who could make it all the way to Dallas in Super Bowl XLV. That is ahead.

CHETRY: Also, the stuntman is on the mend. We have an update on the condition of the actor that was hurt when he flew off of that grid and down into the orchestra pit during a performance of "Spider-Man." Also, what he plans to do once he's fully recovered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Fifteen minutes past the hour this morning. We're analyzing the Rolling Stones. Love them or hate them.

ACOSTA: I love them.

CHETRY: No one hates them.

New this morning, a lot of iPhone users getting a late start to the new year. Thanks to a new glitch. Remember the glitch --

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: -- the daylight savings glitch?

ACOSTA: I do remember that.

CHETRY: Well, there was another one. ACOSTA: Wasn't there like a reception glitch too, where you needed a metal band or some aluminum foil or something?

CHETRY: Yes, they fixed that one, though. But alarms on the smartphone that were set to go off in the first days of 2011 failed. They were the single-use alarms that were affected, not recurring alarms, so plenty of people complained that they overslept and missed their appointments over the weekend. Apple's promising that all iPhone alarms should start working properly today.

ACOSTA: You can always say, Christine Romans, that your dog ate your iPhone -

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: There you go.

ACOSTA: -- I suppose, after they fix this glitch.

ROMANS: There you go. Yes.

CHETRY: But, I mean, the good thing about this happening is that - I mean, there's proof. I mean, no one will think you're lying because - I mean, Apple was saying, yes, it did.

And Hotmail too. Hotmail had a little glitch, right?

ROMANS: And you're not crazy.

CHETRY: Some people couldn't get hold of their - their stored mail. They thought that maybe Hotmail deleted all their mail.

ACOSTA: Wow.

ROMANS: It's still - it's the gremlins. The gremlins in technology will forever bedevil me, and after we fix these, there'll be other ones down the road, you know?

CHETRY: I know. That's true.

ROMANS: Well, let me tell you about airline listings because there's not a gremlin there. If you are looking at Expedia this morning, trying to find an American Airlines fare listing, what that fare could be, maybe compare it with other ones, you wouldn't find it. Expedia has booted American Airlines off of this very popular, very big travel price - you know, price comparing website. This after American pulled its own fare listings off of Orbitz earlier this month.

So this is a question of, you know, the airline against these two big travel - travel behemoths as they try to each of them control these fares. This is what Expedia says, "American Airlines is attempting to introduce a new direct connect model that will result in higher costs and reduced transparency for consumers, making it difficult to compare American Airlines ticket prices and options with offerings by other airlines."

Those of you who use these kind of - sort of travel websites, you know that you can type in where you want to go, what time you want to go - CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: -- and you could see a lot of different - a lot of different fares and figure out what it is that you want to get.

ACOSTA: Sure.

CHETRY: You know, some of the - the discount carriers, it used to be the case, right?

ROMANS: Right.

CHETRY: Years back that you couldn't find Southwest or JetBlue on some of them.

ROMANS: But now most of them are on these - there are - and there are a lot of other ones, smaller ones too, one called Kayak. There's a lot of -

ACOSTA: Oh, yes.

ROMANS: -- there's SideStep.com. There's also Priceline.com. There's a lot of these.

But it looks as though American Airlines is trying to control a little bit more of how its fares are shown. Part of the dispute with Orbitz was that American didn't like how Orbitz was shuffling the different fares and putting maybe American fares lower on the list than it needed to be based on - on fares or prices.

So this is - watch this space because this affects anyone who wants to travel and use these.

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: Maybe a lot of small businesses use these fair compare sites -

CHETRY: Instead of a travel department.

ROMANS: -- instead of a travel department because you know you're going to get the cheapest thing when you're trying to, you know, count your pennies next year. A lot of people use these.

CHETRY: And you said they pulled themselves off of another website?

ROMANS: So American pulled itself off Orbitz, and now Expedia, perhaps in solidarity of Orbitz, is saying we're - we're kicking you off of ours.

ACOSTA: Wow.

ROMANS: So this is American versus these two very big - American on its own website has a - a statement about this, encouraging people to go to Priceline or Kayak or other fare compare websites. So it's not as if American Airlines is giving up on - on these compare websites. CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: It's a dispute, it looks like ,with Orbitz and Expedia.

Watch this space. This could affect a lot of people.

ACOSTA: All right. Christine Romans -

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: Sure.

CHETRY: Thanks.

ACOSTA: Thanks so much.

That other house you own, you know, the other house that you own, right? Well, it is not immune from the financial crisis either. That's the house I'm talking about - the public's house, the White House.

Wait till you hear how much value the White House has lost since the nation's economy took a turn for the worst.

CHETRY: Also, it's Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal like you've never seen them before. Pretty cool. We'll tell you what brought the world's best tennis players together on a water court.

Eighteen and a half minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: OK, "Morning Talker" time now.

It is a symbol of America and America's struggle right now, the White House losing nearly a quarter of its value during the housing crisis. Can you believe that? The real estate website Zillow says it has depreciated from $332 million to $253 million, even though the Obamas added a vegetable garden and a fancy swing set to the 132-room house.

CHETRY: And they kept the bowling alley, so I can't believe it.

ACOSTA: They did. That's got to be worth something.

CHETRY: Yes. This - you know - I mean, this is an interesting indicator of, you know, prices, but -

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: -- it's not for sale any time soon, so -

ACOSTA: It's not for sale. Thank goodness.

CHETRY: -- they got time to make it up.

ACOSTA: Yes. CHETRY: Well, what were the most annoying words of 2010? Do you have any guesses?

ACOSTA: I can think of a few.

CHETRY: Yes, well, Lake Superior State University does this every year. They come out with a list of words that should be banished, and this -

ACOSTA: OK.

CHETRY: Number one, viral. They say get rid of viral.

Runners-up included epic and fail.

ACOSTA: Wow.

CHETRY: They're often used together on the internet to describe, well, you know, a fail of epic proportions -

ACOSTA: Right.

CHETRY: -- that goes viral.

ACOSTA: That story's going to go viral. I bet.

CHETRY: It sure is.

ACOSTA: And as great as they are, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal cannot walk on water - or can they? Look at this. Oh, my goodness. Check out the world's two best tennis players competing on a special water court this weekend in Qatar. The floating court, was constructed in Doha Bay - am I saying that correct?

CHETRY: Yes.

ACOSTA: OK.

The event marks the season opening event on the ATP World Tour. Nadal and Federer are top seeds in the Qatar Open, which begins today.

CHETRY: Let's see - do they - are we going to get to see them? Actually -

ACOSTA: There was a little bit. They were standing by what appeared to be a net and -

CHETRY: I - I haven't seen a serve yet.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Well, to be continued.

ACOSTA: But, you know, in tennis, love means nothing.

CHETRY: Yes. Exactly. ACOSTA: That's right.

CHETRY: We love each other.

The Falcons are one of 12 teams left standing after the NFL's regular season. Will the "Dirty Bird" return for Super Bowl XLV? Former Falcon star Jamal Anderson will break down the playoff picture when he joins us live after the break.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Here come the playoffs, and we are so fired up over the playoffs -

CHETRY: We're talking football.

ACOSTA: -- that we were fighting about it during that commercial segment. I think that would have been - that might have even been more lively than what we're about to do, but -

CHETRY: I think they already have a show like that.

ACOSTA: That's true. Yes, like every show -

CHETRY: Pardon the interruption, though. Go ahead.

ACOSTA: That's right. Very good.

The NFL postseason picture looks like this. In the AFC, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are the two top seeds. There are picks already in the studio this morning that the Steelers will go all the way, followed by the Indianapolis Colts who's sneaked into the playoffs, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets.

In the NFC - Kiran.

CHETRY: Oh, yes.

In the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons and the Chicago Bears are number one and two. Followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, that's an odd one there, losing season, but going to the playoffs. Defending champs New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers.

And joining us from Atlanta this morning with some playoff insights, former Falcons Running Back Jamal Anderson. I'm just going to give you - I'm just going to throw you a softball, first of all. I know how happy you are about the Atlanta Falcons and, of course, CNN hails from Atlanta. So a lot of people are thrilled about them.

What's the deal with them? Are they going to finally give you guys something to cheer about?

JAMAL ANDERSON, FMR. RUNNING BACK, ATLANTA FALCONS: We definitely have something to cheer about. I mean, we got home field advantages throughout the playoffs. What is there not to be excited about?

ACOSTA: Yes.

ANDERSON: You know, last week, the Saints came in here on a Monday night and beat the Falcons and delayed what they inevitably did yesterday. Destroyed the Carolina Panthers and handled business. And that's exactly what you want is home field advantage in the playoffs.

ACOSTA: And I've got to get to this - this NFC West game last night.

ANDERSON: Yes.

ACOSTA: The Seahawks beat the Rams. They go to the playoffs with a seven and nine record. Everybody's screaming about this because you have two teams, the Giants finishing 10 and 6 and the Bucks finishing 10 and six. They don't go to the playoffs -

ANDERSON: Right.

ACOSTA: -- but the Seahawks is going to the playoffs with seven and nine. Do you like this system, Jamal? Does it need to be changed?

ANDERSON: It's very, very tough. And I know - especially when you have a losing team. And just like you said, Jim, you've got two teams with winning records. Let me tell you, a couple of years ago, the Arizona Cardinals to me were an awful team, but they won the division.

ACOSTA: That's right.

ANDERSON: The Falcons had to go to Arizona. It was Matt Ryan's rookie year. They beat the Falcons. They ended up going to beat Philadelphia and they ended up nearly winning the Super Bowl.

ACOSTA: That's true.

ANDERSON: So, you know, different - different circumstances. Kurt Warner and the Seahawks haven't had the best year.

It's a tough, tough system, you know, when you win a division, there should be some award for it. But when you're looking at teams who have winning records versus teams who don't, especially in Seattle's case, I would be really, really furious if I was one of those 10 to 6 teams -

CHETRY: Oh, I know.

ANDERSON: -- and I was sitting at home.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: I know. And, I mean, especially the poor Giants yesterday because they won. They're trying -

ANDERSON: Yes.

CHETRY: -- not to look at the score board, they see the Green Bay Packers win and it's over for them.

ACOSTA: They were flashing it during the game yesterday -

CHETRY: Yes. And -

ACOSTA: -- at FedEx Field in Washington.

CHETRY: You know what, their coach told them not to look, but what are you going to do? I mean, you know -

ANDERSON: Well, it's tough. I mean, that's - and that's the thing. You know, and that's why you should - you've got to handle business when you get an opportunity -

CHETRY: That's right.

ANDERSON: -- on the football field. You can't look at anybody else but yourself. The New York Giants, the team in particular who are in a great situation a couple of weeks ago. Kiran, you know, your Philadelphia Eagles came in and that whole thing turned around quickly for New York. So they just did not play the same up until yesterday. But now it's too late, you know?

CHETRY: So, as we - I know something is weird (ph) - is it weird that they're playing the Pro Bowl first and then the Super Bowl?

ANDERSON: Well, yes, and that's something that - I'll tell you right now, what - what happens is there's so many guys in the playoffs - depending on how far you go into the playoffs. I remember in my Pro Bowl, we went to the Super Bowl. By the time the Pro Bowl came after the Super Bowl -

CHETRY: Right.

ANDERSON: -- I didn't even want to practice -

ACOSTA: Yes.

ANDERSON: -- much less be there. I mean, it's just a tremendous honor to be there. I don't know. It seems to be working for fans.

CHETRY: But you don't want to get anybody injured either.

ANDERSON: No, you don't want to get anybody injured. And - and really, like I said, the - the teams who are going to be in the Super Bowl, clearly those guys aren't going to play, so most of the time those are some of the top players in football.

So that part of it is tough because you don't get an opportunity to see those guys. But it seems to be something that the fans like.

ACOSTA: Right.

ANDERSON: I'm not a big - I'm not a huge fan of it. But it also makes more sense doing it the week before because there's still excitement about the Super Bowl coming up. ACOSTA: Yes. Gives us something to watch between the Conference Championship -

ANDERSON: Right.

ACOSTA: -- games and the Super Bowl. I always hated that - that two- week delay where you've -

CHETRY: Right.

ACOSTA: -- got to wait and - and, you know, you don't have anything to watch that weekend before the Super Bowl.

Let's get into some picks, Jamal. We're going to put you on the spot here.

ANDERSON: Yes.

ACOSTA: And I know you're going to pick Atlanta to go all the way to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl, or are you?

ANDERSON: I mean - listen, it's all about "Dirty Bird" and the dance (ph). I can't tell you. I mean, the Falcons have home field advantage. What I - what this team had to do was get home field advantage. We saw what happened, again, like I said, a week ago with the Saints. You've got to watch out for Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. Clearly, you got the Chicago Bears. Again, the Saints are going to be a dangerous team. So, the Packers are another team you've got to look out for. So --

ACOSTA: Is anybody going to stop the Pats in the AFC?

ANDERSON: Oh, I mean, you know what? Right now, Pittsburgh Steelers look pretty good. Troy Polamalu came back. Those are going to be two teams you've got to look out for in the AFC. But clearly, the New England Patriots, the past six, seven, eight games --

ACOSTA: Unbelievable.

ANDERSON: -- have been playing better than anybody else in football. I mean, a lot of people favorites right now because of the consistency throughout the season is the Patriots and the Falcons.

ACOSTA: That would be one heck of a Super Bowl.

ANDERSON: That would be one heck of a Super Bowl. And both of these teams control their own destiny. And this is what I said -- there are so many comparisons between what we did years ago. But this team is different and may control their destiny.

We had to go up to Minnesota. And that's one thing, you know, look at the Saints. Now, Seattle hosts the game now. So, the Saints are going to have to go there.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: So weird.

ANDERSON: But the Saints is the type of football team that's dangerous on the road.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: It doesn't matter where they play. They're going to come to play.

CHETRY: They have lost more games than they've won, but they have home field advantage.

All right. Well, you know --

ANDERSON: I know.

CHETRY: It will all come out in the wash. We'll see.

ANDERSON: I bet you. Something's going to get changed with those rules, I know, because everybody's going to be talking about it, especially when you have a team with a losing record.

CHETRY: I know, that's a little odd. All right. Well, Jamal Anderson, great to talk to you this morning. Former running back with the Atlanta Falcons -- we know who he's rooting for, thanks.

ANDERSON: Thanks, guys.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

CHETRY: Top stories.

President Obama promising to do everything he can to create new jobs and growth in the middle class in 2011. He's set to return to Washington from his Hawaii vacation with a new Republican House, of course, looking to unravel some of his key victories over the past two years.

ACOSTA: Developing out of Hollywood this morning. Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has been rushed to the hospital and had part of her leg amputated in an attempt to save her life. A spokesman says cancerous lesions started appearing on one of Gabor's legs. She is 93 years old. I hate to hear that.

CHETRY: Awful.

Well, a controversy making waves in the U.S. Navy. Sailors on camera in raunchy scenes with sexual content, anti-gay slurs aboard an aircraft carrier at war. Now, the man behind them is the officer in charge. This is a tape from a few years back.

Well, there are some new sites -- well, there are few sites more majestic than watching wild horses, wild mustangs roaming in the American West. But these days, the federal government says that that mustang population is growing out of control and draining the region's resources.

ACOSTA: So, the Bureau of Land Management is using helicopters to round up the horses by the thousands. Animal rights groups call it cruel and they're out to stop it.

John Zarrella is in Miami this morning with more.

And, John, everybody loves to see those horses running wild. I -- you know, we've read about this controversy over the last several years. You've got to wonder what's the solution here.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Jim, Kiran, the American horses of the West are simply, as you put it, a majestic sight. But the activists are saying that they are systematically being eliminated. The federal government says it is simply trying to control the population.

America's wild mustangs are at the center of a fight that stretches now from the courtrooms to the Wild West.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): There is no Secretariat, no Seabiscuit, no Black Beauty. Here, they have no names, none needed. In their eyes, you see who they are -- rugged, powerful, independent. They are the wild mustangs of the American West.

LACEY DALTON, LET 'EM RUN FOUNDATION: Out here, you hear it all the time. A cowboy will say, you know, the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.

ZARRELLA: Woven generations ago into the fabric of this land, they've become the focus of lawsuits, even protests as far away as New York.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help save America's wild horses.

ZARRELLA: The horses are at the center of a tug-of-war between the U.S. government chasing them down with helicopters and animal rights groups who want it stopped.

RICHARD COUTO, ANIMAL RECOVERY MISSION: The round-ups at the wild horses and burros of the United States is a true holocaust of the animal world.

ALAN SHEPARD, NEVADA BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: We can't let one, say, the horse, impact everyone else by taking all the feed, all the water, all the -- do the damage to that habitat.

ZARRELLA: The disagreement is clear cut. The Bureau of Land Management, BLM, is charged with caring for and managing nearly 40,000 horses and burros roaming on 26 million acres of the West. While this federal land, your land, was set aside for the horses, they don't have free rein. The land is considered multi-use.

SHEPARD: Wildlife, life stock, recreationists, mining interests, whatever.

ZARRELLA: The BLM insists it must reduce herd sizes because the land can't support the numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This ain't Kentucky bluegrass.

ZARRELLA: So, it holds round-ups. This year, the goal: remove 12,000 horses. That's right -- 12,000 -- and take them to holding pens.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our land. We want the horses on here, most of us.

ZARRELLA: Armed with cameras and recorders, the activists document what they see as brutal round-ups. Here, a helicopter chases one single burro, eventually knocking it over. It staggers off. Here, you're looking at steam rising from the backs of chased down, exhausted horses.

The BLM says less than 1 percent of the animal die in these round-ups. Activists say that's 1 percent too many.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: Now, the Bureau of Land Management tells us it has absolutely nothing to hide at these round-ups. Well, tomorrow, we're going to take you on one of these round-ups and let you be the judge -- Kiran, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. John Zarrella with some beautiful pictures of those horses.

CHETRY: Yes, it's the hard part to see, you know? It's -- it really is a sad situation. John, thanks.

ACOSTA: Thank you, John.

And will have more on this story tomorrow. We're going to show you, as John mentioned, exactly how the bureau rounds up these wild horses as well as the efforts to protect them, which is very important. We have to keep parts of this country wild, you know?

CHETRY: Absolutely.

ACOSTA: This is one of those issues.

CHETRY: Well, we're determined to start 2010 with a fresh new outlook on life. What about you? Coming up, some practical advice.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

CHETRY: How to put the "happy" in happy New Year. Being happy is not just a state of being. You have to work at it. And we have some tips.

ACOSTA: All right.

CHETRY: Are you happy?

ACOSTA: I am happy. And glad.

CHETRY: What did I say? 2010, it is 2011, I've just been told. ACOSTA: That's right. You're not happy about that.

CHETRY: Really not.

ACOSTA: An update on the condition on the actor who ended up in the hospital after falling off stage during a performance of "Spider-Man." We just can't stop talking about this guy -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. It bears repeating -- happy New Year. How many times did you say that or hear that this weekend? Hopefully a lot.

It sounds great. Everyone wants to be happy, but not all of us know how.

CHETRY: It's true. And joining us this morning is Henry Cloud. He is a clinical psychologist and radio host who has studied the subject of happiness for more than two decades. And he has a new book out entitled "The Law of Happiness."

Dr. Cloud joins us now. Thanks for being with us.

DR. HENRY CLOUD, AUTHOR, "THE LAW OF HAPPINESS": Good to be here. Happy New Year.

CHETRY: Happy New Year to you too. If you want to put more happy into the New Year, how do you, first of all, define happiness?

CLOUD: Well, happiness is really an overall sense of well-being. It's not the quick kind of manic high. But when we study people who are happy for a long time, they have this general sense that life is good.

ACOSTA: And you have a happiness formula, correct? Let's take a look at this. Because I think this is important.

CHETRY: This is interesting.

CLOUD: It isn't an iPad, isn't (ph) a new pair of shoes.

ACOSTA: Yes, exactly.

CLOUD: That's all the standard stuff.

ACOSTA: That is how a lot of us define happiness. But you say it really comes from within. And many cases, 50 percent, you say is constitutional.

CLOUD: Right.

ACOSTA: Meaning, that's who you are.

CLOUD: Yes.

ACOSTA: And 10 percent is circumstantial, we can't really control, right? Circumstances --

CLOUD: Well, it's interesting.

ACOSTA: -- to make us happy. And then 40 percent you say is controllable.

CLOUD: Right. If you look at the research, and they've done a ton of research on this in the last decade -- all this stuff that we pursue, you know, the circumstantial -- if I had that job, if I had that house, if I had that car, had that relationship -- all of that only contributes about 10 percent to our happiness. And then the interesting thing is, it's a bump and it goes back to your basic sense of whatever your set point is. Then there's all the genetics up.

But here's the good news: there's this big other half that are actually life practices that we have control over. And they find when they look at tons and tons of happy people, happy people do a very specific set of things.

CHETRY: This is interesting. So, if you're lucky enough to be one of the people who already has a 50 percent leg up because your baseline is just content, great. And if you're not, as you put it, there's some things you can do.

CLOUD: And it's more than the baseline. I mean, just because you were born with good genes does not ensure it. You've got to work on some things.

CHETRY: Right. So, let's go over to your list and we'll go to a couple. Number one, you talk about one of the most important things is who you surround yourself with, the support system.

CLOUD: And not only who you surround yourself with, but what you do as you're surrounded. What they know about happy people is this: that there's a circle of significant relationships, both in the home and outside, in the workplace, in your community, that you are nurturing. And they really know what's going on with you. You process life with them.

And when people have that kind of close circle, their immune systems are different, they're happier, they have less disorders, on and on and on.

CHETRY: All right. Number two is the setting specific goals. This is happiness, something active that you're working toward.

CLOUD: OK. We don't want to be driven an anu (ph), right? But the reality is, what the research shows is that people that set goals and have specific goals, both long-term and short-term, are happier people. It does something to the brain. Our brains get organized and active around deadlines and about time-oriented structures that really helps.

ACOSTA: And some of the other things on the list: volunteer, adjust your attitude, don't dwell on things you can't control.

CLOUD: Right.

ACOSTA: If only we could, you know, fix that last one. Talk about some of these.

CLOUD: Well, you know, the volunteer part, the giving, happy people are givers. Remember, I was writing the book. My 4-year-old at the time, we were talking about sharing.

And so, I said, "Just go to preschool and share a cookie with somebody and we'll talk about." When she comes back and says, "Daddy, what is it?" I said, "What?" She said, "What is it here? When I gave her the cookie, I felt something here. What is it?"

Well, actually, that was her brain secreting the same chemicals that are secreted when we have good food or sex. Same pleasure centers are activated when people are giving or volunteering or sharing. So, it's a good formula.

CHETRY: And you also are religious. You're very Christian. How much is -- how much does having spirituality, how much just believing in a higher power play into happiness?

CLOUD: Well, what the data show -- what the research shows is that people that have an active spiritual life, they are longer -- longevity rates. They have stronger immune system functioning -- a lot of good things by focusing on the spiritual development of our lives.

ACOSTA: And, Dr. Cloud, I hear there's another edition coming out for people who have to get up in the middle night and go to work. I think we can pass that out with some of the staff here. It's a little extra challenge when you have challenging jobs. People who are stressed out and maxed out with their lives -- what's your best advice?

CLOUD: Well, in our economy at the time and the last few years, it's been hard. But in doing a lot of projects with a lot of companies, what we find is that -- that first of all, you've got to divide things up into things you can control and things you can't. If you give somebody exercise right in a column, all the stuff you cannot control, like the economy and your crazy boss and all of that and then really worry about it for 10 minutes every day and then put it in your drawer and then focus on the things you can control. You can make these calls, you can do all the things that are in -- directly under your control, you will feel better.

And the other thing is, in the workplace and outside of the workplace, structure getting together with the people that are supportive.

ACOSTA: Good advice.

CHETRY: Absolutely. Dr. Henry Cloud, great to talk to you this morning. The book's called "The Law of Happiness." Thanks so much.

CLOUD: Thank you, guys.

ACOSTA: And still to come this morning, Rob will have this morning's travel forecast right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Forty-seven minutes past the hour. Time to get a check of the morning's weather headlines with our Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center. We getting more snow at the end of this week?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Maybe. That's possible.

ACOSTA: Oh, my goodness.

MARCIANO: Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

ACOSTA: Wow. I'm unhappy already.

MARCIANO: Even if we were to get a little bit of snow, just, you know, a dusting even.

CHETRY: You can't control your circumstances.

MARCIANO: You can't control that. And you know, look at what's hanging around the streets right now, you know? It's kind of dirty, you know?

CHETRY: Yes.

MARCIANO: Maybe a little fresh coating wouldn't be too bad.

ACOSTA: That's true

MARCIANO: But between now and then, we've got a lot of time to figure out that forecast and a lot of time to enjoy some quiet weather, at least for the time being. On the East Coast, there's a little storm system that's rolling into the Western Great Lakes and another storm that's continuing to batter parts of Southern California. This just doesn't want to end after the wettest December on record, 2011 certainly starting off with gang busters from Los Angeles to San Diego. Rain, of course, to the valleys, and it is cold enough.

There's a cold core system to where we're getting some snow not really in the mountains, just a little bit above the city. Check it out, Stevenson Ranch just north of L.A. on the way to the grapevine there, about 2,000 feet in elevation, the Corita (ph) Valley there and just enough to build a snowman for the kids. All right. So, that gets everybody in a bit of Christmassy mood, but enough's enough now that we're in January, right?

Four to 14 inches of snow potentially at above the 2,000-foot mark here just in the mountains around Los Angeles. There will be some delays because of the rain at LAX. and San Francisco, some delays, as well. New York and metros, maybe some delays because of some of the wind. You had the fog yesterday when the cool front came through and kind of blew that out. So, now, it's back to seeing seasonable temperatures.

Thirty-six degrees expected for high temperature in New York City, 51 in Atlanta, 34 degrees expected in Chicago, and 59 degrees expected in Los Angeles with on and off rain showers. We'll talk more about the potential for snow at the end of the week for the northeast, throughout the week because you know what? We don't have any monster storm systems to speak of over the next couple of days, and that's going to be nice for everybody to catch their breath just a little bit.

CHETRY: Oh, yes. City managers are breathing a sigh of relief. They already blew their budget just on this last one.

MARCIANO: Yes, right.

CHETRY: All right, Rob, thanks.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: This morning's top stories just a couple minutes away, including New Year, time to get a new job. A lot of people are starting the year the way they started last year looking for work. Christine Romans will show you how to stand out in 2011 among 15 million job seekers.

ACOSTA: Yes. We're hoping for a better forecast there or you could just win the mega-millions. Fifteen straight drawings now without a winner. More on a jackpot that could change your 2011 and the rest of your life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: You know, we've been following this story nonstop. The "Spider-Man" stunt double who fell from to the stage during a performance last month, he will be out of rehab later this week. A 31-year-old actor, Christopher Tierney, suffered broken rib, a skull fracture, and three cracked vertebrae from the fall. Several performances of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" were canceled after the accident. And Tierney's dad says his son, quote, "he can't wait to return to the show." We hope he can.

CHETRY: Yes. Hopefully, things will be safer this time around. Tierney is one of four cast members who've been hurt during this $65 million Broadway production. The accidents are raising concerns about the overall safety of performers and also whether more should be done to make sure they don't get hurt in the future.

ACOSTA: CNN Susan Candiotti talks with a group of acrobatic dancers about the risks they take on the job every day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their flowing moves and dancing artistry are both stunningly beautiful and a bit frightening to watch.

GUINEVER DIPIAZZA, OWNER, AERIAL ACROBAT ENTERTAINMENT: You know, when you're performing a trick, and it's, you know, something that's a little bit sudden or quick or swift and you get that -- huh -- from the crowd, it's really exciting.

CANDIOTTI: But there are risks. Will the knots hold? Will the rigging bear an acrobat's weight?

VIRGINIA LOGAN, STUDENT AERIALIST: If you forget a line or if you get a stop, it's one thing, but if you're --

CANDIOTTI: If you fall.

LOGAN: If you fall, game over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And switch sides. Beautiful.

CANDIOTTI: An actor in "Spider-Man" who plunged more than 20 feet during the recent stunt is the fourth performer injured in the $65 million Broadway play still in previews.

How dangerous is this profession?

DIPIAZZA: OK. Well, danger is -- is kind of part of the game.

CANDIOTTI: More than a game, it is serious work.

DIPIAZZA: Ten, nine --

CANDIOTTI: Guinever Dipiazza is an aerial acrobat who runs her own small troop performing throughout New York.

DIPIAZZA: Rotating more so the knot faces you.

CANDIOTTI: Spider-Man's accidents are the talk of the aerial community.

ELIE VENESKY, PERFORMER, AERIAL ACROBAT ENTERTAINMENT: One person getting hurt, then it's not necessarily the show's fault. But four people --

LOGAN: If I was in that show, I mean, it's hard. That's a big machine to be a little tiny cog in. So, I don't envy those performers.

DIPIAZZA: Reach your right arm out to the side.

CANDIOTTI: Barely dangling off the floor, they gave me a small taste of their techniques.

DIPIAZZA: There you go. So even just sitting is a little bit difficult.

CANDIOTTI: It is to keep your upper body straight.

DIPIAZZA: Uh-huh.

CANDIOTTI: Without falling.

These aerialists are self-regulated. They watch out for their own safety.

And each time you perform, how do you deal with the risk?

VENESKY: I never perform anything that I haven't done in practice at least 100 times. I'm always sure that my rigging is secure.

CANDIOTTI: For Dipiazza, there are no shortcuts. A close friend fell to his death two years ago working for another company. Since then, for her, safety is paramount.

DIPIAZZA: I felt like this was a really good way to, you know, keep his memory alive and, you know, inspire --

CANDIOTTI: Inspire others?

DIPIAZZA: Inspire others, yes.

CANDIOTTI: To make her art safe or at least as safe as it can be.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(CLAPPING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Wow. I mean, the dangerous side, I mean, they're clearly trained.

ACOSTA: They should get up there.

CHETRY: Getting your body to move like that, that's unbelievable. The flexibility.

ACOSTA: It's true.

CHETRY: It's pretty amazing. I mean, could you swing from just a sash?

ACOSTA: I would never do that.

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: I don't even like watching it. That's how scary it is.

CHETRY: We're going to take a break. We have your top stories coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)