Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
New Congress, New Agenda; Royal Wedding Plans; New York Snow Job; Best & Worst Diets; Homeless Man, Golden Voice
Aired January 05, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Wednesday, January 5th. A big day up on Capitol Hill as Republicans take back the House. I'm Jim Acosta.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. It's a bit like the first day of school for many of these freshmen incoming Congress people. Lots of talk about this morning, so let's get right to it.
There is a new majority in Congress. Today Republicans take charge in the House. The GOP promising to act quickly to try to undo parts of the president's agenda. We're live in Washington ahead of today's power shift.
ACOSTA: And no winners here, specifically here at AMERICAN MORNING, but two Mega Millions ticket holders are celebrating big time this morning. They hit the $355 million-dollar jackpot. The winning numbers, 4-8-15-25-47, and the Mega ball, 42. We'll tell you where the two lucky tickets were sold straight ahead.
CHETRY: We also have new details this is morning about the big royal wedding taking place this spring. How Kate Middleton plans to make the big entrance and what Prince William plans to do immediately after the I dos. We're going to get a live report on some of the details from London, this morning.
ACOSTA: But, first up, this morning, as Kiran mentioned, it's sort of a first day of school up on Capitol Hill. The GOP is flexing its midterm election muscle as the 112th Congress opens for business. A live look at Capitol Hill right now, where hours from now, 96 new members of the House of Representatives will be sworn in -- 87 of those 96 are Republicans.
CHETRY: And taking the gavel as House speaker today is Ohio's John Boehner. He'll waste no time trying to fulfill those promises made during November's elections.
And this is a statement released by his office this morning. Quote, "Our spending has caught up with us and our debt will soon eclipse the size of our entire economy. No longer can we kick the can down the road. The people voted to end business as usual, and today, we begin carrying out their instructions."
ACOSTA: Right out of the gate, the GOP moves to roll back President Obama's signature achievement, health care reform. While House Republicans have the votes to repeal it, in the Senate, any repeal measure is destined to die. But Republicans could try another tactic, Kiran, and that is cutting off funding for the law.
But that is not all they're talking about up on Capitol Hill today. A lot of this is just getting familiar with the surroundings and there's pomp and circumstance going on, as well.
Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live at St. Peters Church in Washington, D.C., where the incoming speaker starts the day within the hour. And we understand there's a prayer service scheduled for this morning.
Good morning, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim and Kiran. This is where the day's going to begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. This is a bipartisan prayer service here at St. Peter's Catholic Church, where, really, just a couple of blocks away from the Capitol, just one block from the nearest House office building.
And you mentioned that there's a first day of school feel. Certainly, there is. There's also a graduation feel I want to say because there are going to be tons of family members escorting their members of Congress as they go through this day and that's also going to include the incoming speaker, John Boehner, his family, comes from a huge family and 10 of his 11 siblings are going to be seeing him sworn in.
So, after this church service here at St. Peter's, the House is going to underway at about noon and just taking you through the things we'll be seeing today, Speaker Pelosi is going to be introducing the incoming speaker, John Boehner. She's going to be giving some comments and then we're going to be seeing the Speaker-elect John Boehner.
And we do have an excerpt of some of the comments that he's going to say. One of the things he'll say is that "They have refreshed our memories, voters, as to how temporary the privilege to serve us is. They have reminded us that everything here is on loan from them."
Shortly after that, early this afternoon, he's going to be sworn in, actually, by the dean of the House, John Dingell of Michigan, the longest serving member of the House of Representatives and also a Democrat. This is going to be a very, very interesting day here on Capitol Hill -- Jim and Kiran.
ACOSTA: And, Brianna, I think it's safe to say that folks in Washington will be looking for a few tears in the eyes of the new speaker and as is often the case when something momentous like this happens, they try to bring some of the creature comforts in to add to the pomp and circumstance. I understand Skyline Chili has been flown in for some of the festivities there in Washington.
And I was just looking at the numbers, Brianna. It's so striking. The smallest number of Democratic House freshmen in over 100 years and largest number of GOP freshmen since 1920. It is going to take some getting used to for both sides to deal with this massive shift.
KEILAR: Yes, it's very interesting. This is such a huge incoming freshmen class and almost all of the incoming freshmen are Republicans. Actually, I spoke yesterday with an incoming Tea Party Republican, Raul Labrador of Idaho. He's been getting the feet beneath him, as have a lot of these freshmen members coming in.
And, you know, one of the things I talked to him about was this health care vote. We're going to be seeing the procedural vote on Friday and a repeal vote in the House next week on Wednesday. And I said to him, you know, the sense is you guys are going to do this, but the Senate, not going anywhere in the Senate because there's still a Democratic majority. He said, basically, we told voters we're going to have the vote and not so fast. I'm not so sure the Senate isn't going to move this along.
Of course, Jim, we know it's not going to get passed. President Obama and outright repeal, but you still certainly have some of these incoming Republican freshmen who are hopeful that they may be able to actually get this to President Obama's desk.
ACOSTA: The president doesn't have much of a busy schedule today because he's letting the Republicans have their day on the other end of the Pennsylvania Avenue.
Brianna Keilar live for us this morning on a big day for the GOP in Washington -- thanks, Brianna. Appreciate it.
Well, it is one of the largest lottery jackpots ever. Kiran and I played but to no avail. This morning, there are two newly-minted mega millionaires not in New York City. Two winning tickets were sold in last night's drawing. One in Idaho, one in Washington state. They will split the $335 million jackpot.
The winning numbers were: four, 18, 15, 25, 47 and the mega ball, 42.
And apologies --
CHETRY: Yes, a dollar you're never going to get back. Sorry about that.
Well, if you're fans of the TV show, "Lost," you'll notice that some of these numbers are similar to four, eight, 15, 16, 23 and 42. A recurring theme throughout the show and one of "Lost" most beloved characters, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes was haunted by this mega jackpot lottery win.
This was his first reaction to hitting the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That makes tonight's mega lotto jackpot drawing: four, eight, 15, 16 and 23 with the mega number 42. Whoever has those numbers has won or will share in the near-record jackpot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right, Mary Jo, because this is the 16th week without a winner.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: OK. That's just eerie.
CHETRY: I know. But it's so eerily similar. Wasn't the 16 weeks without a winner and then the mega number to be 42?
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: Can you imagine if all of those numbers hit?
ACOSTA: Well, maybe that show was real after all. Let's not get back to that whole thing.
CHETRY: I know.
ACOSTA: It's very complicated.
CHETRY: You're right. We don't have enough time this morning.
ACOSTA: That's right.
CHETRY: For people that played it -- anyway, just let you know that the payouts are released. Two people are going to be coming out of the woodwork hopefully to explain their stories.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
CHETRY: And see what they're going to do with money.
ACOSTA: With a whole lot of friends around them.
CHETRY: Yes, new friends, new relatives they didn't know they had.
ACOSTA: That's right.
And Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center right now -- really, the weather doesn't matter when you're a multi-mega millionaire.
CHETRY: It's always sunny. You can get somewhere where it's sunny.
ACOSTA: The weather is good and you're through.
CHETRY: But can you believe that "Lost"? Is that freaky, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. I think you win $120 million and something, $120 million -- I wouldn't go opening up a fried chicken franchise, which is what Hurley did and it didn't work out too well for him. So, no to advice -- like you need my advice if you win $150 million.
Good morning, guys. Take a look at this, some numbers across the Northeast. These aren't lottery numbers. But they're not bad as far as winter goes, about where you should be this time of year. No precip expected from D.C., Philly, New York and Boston. Lake-effect snow showers and some accumulation will continue across the usual spots upstate. Down to the Southeast, looking at rain. Some of these are going to be heavy at times, New Orleans across the I-10 through Mobile, Alabama, and heading towards Pensacola and Tallahassee. Up stretching to about the I-20, Atlanta will get a little bit of rainfall with this, as well.
As far as snowfall is concerned, it's certainly cold enough for snow in Minneapolis. You will see some there as another weak clipper-type of system drops in from (INAUDIBLE) and scoots across the Great Lakes. It will be 35 degrees in Chicago and 29 degrees in Salt Lake City.
Check out some of this YouTube video. I'm not sure where this came from, probably somewhere in the Northeast, maybe somewhere in the Poconos or some place that got a lot of now. There was obviously a hill and wooded area and, boy, is this a homemade luge run or what?
Serious tobogganing, you haven't seen this in other media outlets, this is worth -- I can't get enough of this. Jim and Kiran, I mean, if this doesn't bring out your inner child, I don't know what does.
CHETRY: I can't believe how long the luge hill is. I mean, they spent some time get that thing working.
MARCIANO: You know, and obviously, some sort of trail and then, I don't know, maybe they had some sort of snowmobile plow thing going on. I don't know.
CHETRY: Just remember, kids --
MARCIANO: There are some ski resorts have similar runs. Not quite this rough. You get -- you get of one of those banks and, you know, you're kissing some evergreen.
CHETRY: Oh, yes.
MARCIANO: And put a lot of hurt on you, that's for sure.
CHETRY: Good thing you have a padded snow suit to help you out. Thanks, Rob.
ACOSTA: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Thanks, guys.
ACOSTA: We got new details this morning about the big royal wedding this spring.
CHETRY: Yes, how the bride-to-be Kate -- soon to be Catherine Middleton, plans to make her grand entrance at Westminster Abbey. And also what Prince William plans to do immediately after the "I dos."
Let's check in with Matthew Chance with all the royal details. He's live from Buckingham Palace this morning.
Hey, Matthew. MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Buckingham Palace right behind me. And that's where the parties will be held. Perhaps the most important part of the day for the guests, because they'll be two parties held in the Buckingham Palace. One immediately after the wedding, reception held by the queen for some select few guests. And then in the evening the prince of Wales, Prince Charles, of course, Prince William's father, much bigger party with dancing for Kate Middleton and his son's friends and members of the family, of course.
But earlier in the day, there will be a procession. Kate Middleton arriving by car at Westminster Abbey, going down this road right behind me, the Mao (ph), it's a horse guards through White Hall/Parliament Square unto Westminster Abbey.
She'll come out probably a duchess. A title isn't announced yet. She's going to come out a duchess and go here to Buckingham Palace and to that reception held by the queen and again in the evening, to the party being hosted by the prince of Wales -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, how is the news of the royal wedding resonating with the British public? I mean, how excited are they? There was some talk that, you know, concerns about austerity and the recession sort of putting a damper on it.
CHANCE: Well, there's been an opinion poll put out in one of today's main newspapers, "The Independent," saying that 66 percent of people are underwhelmed is the word of the opinion poll by this latest royal wedding. And I have to say the weeding isn't until April.
And so, obviously, as media attention begins to focus on it more and the date draws closer, I expect that the public will get much more behind it. But at the moment, the majority of people not that bothered about it currently.
In terms of how much it costs -- well, you know, it is not a big, glamorous affair, state affair like it was in 1981 when Princess Diana -- when Lady Diana was married to Prince Charles. It's going to be a much more low-key affair they say. Heads of state aren't invited unless they're members of the families.
But, still, tens of thousands of people, Kiran, are going to be out here in the streets. I expect lines the procession way. It's going to a big security operation. And that operation, of course, in itself is going to cost millions of dollars.
CHETRY: Yes. You're right. All right. Matthew Chance outside of Buckingham Palace for us this morning -- thank you.
Still ahead, there are some new clues into the investigation on a death of a former Pentagon official. A parking lot attendant is talking about an encounter that she was very troubled with when she met John Wheeler just two days before he was found dead in a landfill.
ACOSTA: And she's a star among people who study the stars. A fifth grader from New Brunswick, Canada, now the youngest person ever to spot an exploding star known as a supernova. CHETRY: Also, the rating of the best and worst diets. We're going to keep that New Year's resolution. We're going to try to help you do the same. Which ones work the best?
It's 12 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: There are new leads in the case of the former Pentagon official whose body was discovered in a Delaware landfill. Investigators have now located John Wheeler's car and we're also learning about a parking lot attendant's bizarre encounter with Wheeler just two days before his body was found. The attendant says Wheeler was disoriented and carrying one of his shoes while trying to find the car.
CHETRY: Well, he produced and starred in those offensive training videos. And now, he's been relieved of the command of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Admiral John Harvey says that Captain Owen Honors demonstrated a profound lack of good judgment. The videos were made public last week, including antigay slurs, simulated sex and what appears to be two female sailors in a shower. Honors has been reassigned to administrative duties.
ACOSTA: This is a remarkable story. A Texas man free at last after more than 30 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. DNA evidence helped exonerate Cornelius Dupre of rape and murder, and a Dallas judge made it official in court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. Sorry for everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Barry Scheck from Innocence Project. Dupre called it a joy to be free.
CHETRY: I mean, how could -- I mean, sorry, sorry that 30 years of your life you're never going to get back.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: I mean, it's a tough situation and thank goodness they were finally able to exonerate him.
ACOSTA: And his name is cleared.
CHETRY: And that means there's still a killer out there. So, I mean, you know, this DNA evidence has really opened up a whole new world in terms of solving crimes.
ACOSTA: It really has.
CHETRY: Well, fire turning through a row of three-story apartment building. Here's a picture of it from our affiliate WABC. This is in Patterson, New Jersey. Right now, it does look like everybody made it out safely. Firefighters, though, are still on the scene trying to get the situation under control. It's not clear what started the fire, but it ignited about two hours ago.
ACOSTA: And coming up, we love this story. She is a star among people who study the stars. Ahead, a fifth grader from New Brunswick, Canada, who's now the youngest person ever to discover a supernova.
CHETRY: And it's not all fun and games for penguins, you know? Wait until you see this obstacle to deal with while just trying to go for a walk. He thought it was a rock. It's actually a sea lion. Rocks don't get up and roar.
Sixteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Welcome back. "Morning Talker" time.
She's just a 10-year-old astronomer --
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: -- but she's discovered something quite amazing that's made her a sudden celebrity in the world of stars. This past weekend, Kathryn Aurora Gray from New Brunswick, Canada, spotted an exploding star. It turns out she is now youngest person ever to discover a supernova.
Here's what she had to say about it to the CBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHRYN AURORA GRAY, 10-YEAR-OLD DISCOVERED SUPERNOVA: A supernova is a star that is blowing up. We have a program at home that takes an older picture and the newer picture and puts them together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And that's how she used it to discover the supernova.
ACOSTA: Smart little girl.
CHETRY: Yes, she had help of a father and family friend, as well. But she's fascinated. Her middle name Aurora, I love that.
ACOSTA: Good for her. And check this out -- chaos in the cockpit, coffee on the console. United flight from Chicago to Germany had to make an emergency landing in Toronto on Monday. Apparently, the pilot, get this, spilled some coffee on the plane's radio equipment cutting off all communications and causing to send out a hijack alert. That is a major oops and I guess probably worse than when I spilled the coffee on the keyboard and IT has to come out. I mean, that would -- it makes you feel better.
CHETRY: You're only inconveniencing 10 people, not 250-plus.
ACOSTA: That's right.
CHETRY: Well, the mystery surrounding thousands of birds dying in Arkansas is no laughing matter unless, of course you're a late-night comic. Here's Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
DAVID LETTERMAN, TV HOST: Well -- oh no. Ah.
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: I think it's delivery for Rupert G.'s place. That -- huh oh. Terrible.
Who wants a phony dead bird?
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: He went on to say that he actually beat Oprah in the audience giveaway department handing out the dead birds opposed to free cars and trips to Australia.
CHETRY: Oh, they'll be on eBay in the week.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
And this video got our attention this morning. We love animal videos here on "Morning Talkers." Check out the little penguin taking a stroll along the rocks. Seems peaceful enough.
But wait a second, that rock is actually a sea lion. Who is not very happy about a penguin hopping over him.
CHETRY: Though the penguins walking away like, OK, what, what? I didn't see you. I thought you were a rock. Sorry, that friend says, look, forget it. Not going to make that same mistake twice.
ACOSTA: We're not exactly if this video playing on a loop.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: This is the other guy. This is the original guy. He's going to do it again.
ACOSTA: So, let's watch it again. Just to see -- oh, there it goes. My goodness.
CHETRY: I love how the sea lion just goes back to sleep, though, after all that roaring. Good night.
ACOSTA: Good to know when you go for a walk on the beach with rocks out there, step on a sea lion.
CHETRY: It might not end so well for us.
ACOSTA: That's right.
CHETRY: All right. Well, that's going to do it for us for "Morning Talkers" this morning. Coming up next: Christine Romans joins us with the best and worst jobs of the New Year.
Grab a pen, coming up: What you should know before you make that career move.
ACOSTA: And horses ripped from the natural habitat forced to live in holding facilities. We'll take you inside and tell you how much it's costing you the taxpayer and it's an AMERICAN MORNING original, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-six minutes past the hour this morning. Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business" with some news about potentially a brightening employment picture.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Earlier, I said that there are three or four gauges of jobs picture that come out this week, before the big jobs report, Friday.
We got another one. ADP's national employment report, this is a private -- it's a payroll service. ADP, it might be on the bottom of your check. So, they see a lot of paychecks and they see a lot of the payroll processing in the country.
They say that in the month, there was an increase of jobs of 297,000, and they say that that gain in service producing jobs in particular 270,000 jobs was the largest monthly increase in the history of the report. It's been around for about a dozen years or so.
So, this will be a suggestion that were some hiring in the most recent month, in December. Sometimes, this doesn't always track exactly the jobs report that we see on Friday, but it's more evidence that the mass layoffs are behind us and we could see some job creation in December.
ACOSTA: That's great.
ROMANS: I know. I mean, so, we'll see if it pans out.
But just another little -- and I'll be watching to see the futures turn up this. Meanwhile, we have another survey from CareerCast, the best and worst jobs of 2011. If you are good in math -- ah, the sky's the limit. The future is bright for if you're good in math. And if you're not in math, not so much.
So, number one, software engineer. Anything that has to do with iPads, iPods, application, development, all of these different things that are people are coming up with. Software engineer is number one of this list. Followed by mathematician, actuaries --
CHETRY: When you say best is because you have the best employment picture? You make the most money?
ROMANS: That's employment picture. It's a mixture of employment picture, of the stress, of the outlook for your career and how much money you make and education and just on the job satisfaction.
Mathematician is number two. Actuary number three. Statistician number four, computer systems analyst -- gosh, a lot of -- a lot of people tell me that's a very good career to be in right now, computer systems analyst, the top 10, last one on the top 10 is dental hygienist.
But here, let me show the worst. The worst are very dirty, dangerous, physical kinds of job: Roustabout, ironworker, lumberjack, roofer and welder.
ACOSTA: Correspondents not in there?
ROMANS: No, I mean, that 201. I didn't put it on this week.
ACOSTA: OK.
ROMANS: But the pay for the top five is twice as much as the pay for the bottom five. The top five jobs all require math skills and a college education. Grandmas and grandpas, moms and dads, listen up -- if you're trying to direct your child, in principals and teachers listen up, because science and technology is very key for how we're training the kids for the economy.
When you look just as pay, worst pay is a dishwasher. Best pay is a surgeon. But $365,000 a year for surgeon but when you put in stress and happiness on the job and those other factors, surgeon doesn't make the top five list.
ACOSTA: But more proof to the saying, be nice to that math whiz in school because one day, you're just be going to be working for him or him or her.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Geeks of the world unite, I know.
ACOSTA: Christine Romans, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
It is 8:28, time for this morning's top stories. Just hours from now, 87 new Republicans take the oath in the House and incoming speaker, John Boehner, takes the gavel back for the GOP. And right away, a rematch of the health care reform fight between President Obama and the Republican Party.
A programming note here, special coverage of all of this starting at noon right here on CNN. Wolf Blitzer, Candy Crowley and John King lead "The Best Political Team on Television" as the 112th Congress convenes.
CHETRY: Nine new Democrats, too, right?
ACOSTA: Yes. The "mighty nine" is what they're calling them this morning.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Well, $355 million, the mega millions jackpot, someone won it -- actually, two people won it matching tickets sold in Washington state and Idaho. Who knows? It could have been (INAUDIBLE). But could be many more than two.
ACOSTA: OK.
CHETRY: But the winning number: four, eight, 15, 25, 47 and mega ball 42. So, everyone's waiting for the winners to step forward.
ACOSTA: And I wasn't even close.
And more legal trouble for Toyota. The automaker is being sued by seven insurance companies who are trying to recover money paid out in claims for car crashes blamed on a sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles.
CHETRY: We've seen the heartbreaking pictures of helicopters chasing down and rounding up wild horses as the government tries to force them into captivity. Animal rights groups have called this roundup cruel and unnecessary, but what happens to the mustangs after the government collects them?
ACOSTA: That's where your tax dollars come in. Their holding facilities cost millions to run and they're changing the lives of animals that spent their lives running free. John Zarrella live from Miami this morning with an "A.M." original, a story you will see only on "AMERICAN MORNING." Good morning, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim, Kiran. You know, those horses that we showed everyone yesterday being rounded up in Nevada, well, the very next day they arrived at a holding facility outside Reno. And for those horses and all the others at that facility, it is only a midway point along the journey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: As she stood on her porch watching Nevada's wild horses, country singer songwriter Lacy Dalton wrote the words -- "let them run." Dalton is one of many advocates who passionately believes wild horse sanctuaries are needed.
LACY DALTON, COUNTRY SINGER: Get these horses in a place where they're the primary species of wildlife.
ZARRELLA: But for now, sanctuary for many horses rounded up in Nevada is the palomino valley holding facility.
JOHN NEILL, PALOMINO VALLEY: Some years depending on our budget there's less horses, other years there's more.
ZARRELLA: John Neill runs the place with the BLM, Bureau of Land Management rounding up more than ever. Neil's facility is at capacity, nearly 1,700 horses. They'll stay here an average of 200 days while the BLM tries getting them adopted.
NEILL: On a national level, six or seven years ago we would adopt over 8,000 animals throughout the nation.
ZARRELLA (on camera): In a year?
NEILL: In a year. Now, I think we're under 3,000.
ZARRELLA: Wow.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): The economy is hurt. You can adopt a wild horse for $125. But long-term, a horse is expensive. In fact, half of the BLM's annual $60 million wild horse budget goes to run facilities like Palomino.
ZARRELLA (on camera): And with the increasing difficulty in getting the horses adopted out, the amount of money spent on feeding and caring for these animals is not likely to go down.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Who's paying? You, the taxpayer, $5 a day per horse at facilities like Palomino going for care, antibiotics, vaccinations. Here, a foal with a sole abscess, and feed, 17 tons. That's just per day.
The BLM says there's no choice. The horses will destroy the land if the herd sizes are not reduced. Lacy Dalton says there is -- sanctuaries where the horses can run free.
(SINGING)
DALTON: So let them run, let them wild ponies run.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, once they leave this short-term holding facility, most of these horses that aren't adopted out end up in long-term facilities. There are 40,000 horses in Oklahoma and in Texas at those facilities.
Now, the Bureau of Land Management says this year they may not have to round up as many because they'll try a fertility control vaccine on some 900 mares and the population of the horses won't grow as quickly and see how that all takes shape. Jim, Kiran?
CHETRY: Hopefully they'll make headway there, absolutely. John, it's been a great series. Tomorrow, we look forward to seeing this continue. You'll be taking us to a prison, this is where the inmates learning from the horses. It is another "A.M." original that you'll see only on "AMERICAN MORNING."
ACOSTA: Are you looking to lose weight in the new year? A lot of us are. We are here to help. Coming up next, breaking down the diet options to finally find one that just might work for you.
CHETRY: And fallout over the big dig out, how New York's blizzard cleanup could become a federal case. It's 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back. Today we begin a new segment, "Perry's Principles." Each week we will be joined by Steve Perry, CNN education contributor and founder of Capital Prep Magnet School, to talk about the problems facing our schools, a big important issue, and what we can do about it.
This morning we'll talking about the black-white achievement gap and how to close it. Steve, thank you for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
And there are some numbers to put up on the screen to talk about this because they're rather startling. Only 11 percent of African-American male fourth graders are proficient in reading versus 38 percent of white male fourth graders according to the most recent statistics from a report of the Council of Great City Schools. And over 50 years since brown versus board of education, that famous case before the Supreme Court, we still have this large gap. What's behind it, do you think?
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: What's behind it is the fact that many African-American children attend some of the worst schools in America. Their schools are the lowest performing, have teachers who come from some of the lowest performing school themselves, and, in fact, likely to be absent. So these kids are not just in school that is are poorly performing, but they're also in schools that are not meeting their needs.
I also think what's important to note pulling back for a second is not just that the African-Americans that are at 11 percent but that the white people are at 38 percent proficiency in the fourth grade. This shows that the American system of education is failing our children, not just black children, but all children.
ACOSTA: Yes. It is a large gap but not necessarily good news for any American at this point. And, you know, you talked about schools and teachers driving success. What about environmental factors? What about the neighborhood that these kids may grow up in? What about the families that they come from? Could that also be a contributing factor?
PERRY: It has absolutely nothing to do with the child's success. We cannot change where a child lives, who the child's parents are, the race or the socioeconomic status is of this child. So if the belief is that that's what is driving this, then we might as well pack our stuff up and go home. There's nothing more to discuss. Schools won't work. What will happen is what's going to happen.
I don't believe that to be true. Putting children in great schools with solid educators with high expectations, structure, and build relationships with children so the children trust them, amazing things happen regularly.
ACOSTA: And Steve, we should mention the Council of Great City Schools which conducted that study on the achievement gap says to help close the difference Congress needs to appropriate more money for education.
And this is a brand new day up on Capitol Hill, the power shift has begun. Do you think Congress will listen to the call because a lot of people over the years said, you know what, we have thrown a lot of money at education and it just hasn't worked.
PERRY: They're right. You can't spend yourself out of this problem. The way we're going to get out of the problem of student performance is to put the brightest, most compassionate and compelling educators in front of them. That's it. And we have to put the children in front of the teachers now.
We have to decide now that we're going to put the children in the schools with the best teachers, which may mean to open our eyes up to notions such as vouchers and regional schools as opposed to children go to schools in their local -- in their neighborhoods.
We have to throw all of the ideas in front of us because our children are all we have. The children are in many ways the greatest example of what we as a people value. When we value education and high performance, we get children who perform well in school. When we don't, we get what we have now, 38 percent of white children in the fourth grade at proficiency. Proficiency isn't even mastery. It is approaching mastery. So in fact it is worse than 38 percent is telling us.
ACOSTA: Steve, with this new day up on Capitol Hill, you have hope that the members of Congress out there are listening to this and looking at these statistics, because Democrat, Republican, independent, no matter what political stripe you come from, this is an issue that affects all of our children. And Steve Perry, thank you for joining us this morning to break it down for us, really startling numbers and thanks for your input on that.
PERRY: Thank you.
ACOSTA: Kiran?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: Welcome back. In New York City, criminal investigations are now under way into a badly flawed cleanup effort following last week's blizzard. We've been hearing about this nonstop up here in New York City. District attorneys and both Queens and Brooklyn are now looking into allegations of a slowdown by sanitation workers who were supposed to be plowing. Published reports say a federal investigation has also been launched by the U.S. attorney's office in New York.
It's getting serious.
CHETRY: Wow. Oh yes.
Well, its 45 minutes past the hour right now. It's time to get a quick check of the morning weather headlines. The good news is hopefully we're not going to see snow like that for a while in places like New York and up and down the East Coast.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, like that.
CHETRY: Like that.
MARCIANO: And for a while.
CHETRY: We'll see some snow, right?
MARCIANO: For a couple of days, right?
CHETRY: Come on, Rob. Work with me.
MARCIANO: No, we got a little something. But it's not going to be like that. That's for sure at least this week. Now there's something brewing next week. We're into an actively cool and wintry weather pattern now across the eastern half of the country.
Finally, southeast -- southeast is getting a little bit of rainfall from Mobile east towards Tallahassee and Pensacola, up towards Montgomery. Basically between I-10 and I-20 where the heaviest rainfall is going to come down along Atlanta, right now it's chilly. Temperatures just above the freezing mark and moisture trying to make its way into the Atlanta metro and through Memphis and Knoxville, as well.
Mostly -- again, the heavier precip will be closer to the Gulf Coast where it will be a little bit warmer.
And lake-effect snow is again streaming off Ontario and Erie. Some of this trying to reach its way all the way into the Hudson Valley, maybe getting to Poughkeepsie (ph) in the form of a flurry or two but that is about it.
The temperatures along the I-95, right around the freezing mark and certainly cold enough to support snow but I don't think you'll see much; probably the most of sunny skies for you folks. But upstate yesterday, Scriba got 16 inches of snow. Oswego got 13 inches. So the lake-effect snow machines cranking for -- for these folks. A quick check on some of the numbers: 41 for the high in D.C.; 59 degrees expected in Dallas; another dry day in Los Angeles, 65 degrees.
And speaking of where they like it to be more dry, Australia. Queensland, Australia. Rockhampton that town that been inundated with water from the main river that's flowing through there. It is about cresting right now so that's the good news there.
However, it will be a major flood stage for probably a couple of weeks and now there is a forecast for a little bit more in the way of rainfall here through Friday so they've had their fair share of rain down under. That's for sure.
Jim and Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: It's been a harrowing season for them right now. Something they have not seen in a long time. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right guys.
ACOSTA: Thanks Rob.
Still to come, an incredible story we have been talking about this one all morning. He lost his home but not his voice. Wait until you hear the special gift that has made this guy an Internet sensation and only Jeanne Moos can find a story like this. So that's coming up.
CHETRY: Also the best and the worst when it comes to diets. Which one's really work and which ones are the easiest to stick to? We're going to talk about that right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifty minutes past the hour right now.
On our "AM House Call", many of us are making it our New Year's resolution, you want to lose weight or at least get healthier but only a few actually make it to the end of the year.
Actually a few actually make it to the end of the month. But -- so is there a diet though that can actually help you get to that year-end goal and enjoy yourself in the process?
Joining me is Keri Glassman, a registered dietician. Thanks so much for being with us. This is an interesting study we're talking about where they sort of ranked some of the most popular diets on how well they work.
And --
(CROSSTALK)
KERI GLASSMAN, AUTHOR, "THE O2 DIET": Exactly. What I like what they did, the Daily Beast took all these different popular diets and what I like that they did was they only looked at diets that had clinical studies behind them.
So there are some other popular diets out there that were not included in this study but what they did was they looked at diets that had clinical studies. They looked at people's weight after six months, 12 months, their BMI and then their retention. How long they stayed on the diets and then they ranked them.
CHETRY: So let's go through a few of them. I'm sure we've -- you know, a lot of us know about Jenny Craig, some of the high-profile celebrities that have talked about Jenny Craig. This has a very high dropout rate. This is the problem. Even though at the end of the year, people lost an average of 16 pounds, it seems that would be an upfront weight loss because it looks like 93 percent dropped out after a year.
GLASSMAN: Well, here is a thing. You have to remember that all of these diets we're talking about are still in the top ten so all of these are more successful than most plans out there.
CHETRY: Right.
GLASSMAN: However, one of the reasons I think that people may drop out from let's say a Jenny Craig is that it really changes your lifestyle completely. For some people, that's good if they can obviously stick with it. It's good because you know all the packaged food at the beginning may make it easy for people to commit to it --
(CROSS TALK)
CHETRY: Right.
GLASSMAN: -- they don't have to think about anything. But then if they're the type of person that goes out to eat, has to be social for work or with friends and family, it becomes harder to stick to, which brings up the point that you have to adopt a diet as a lifestyle and you can -- you should go on a plan that you can make a lifestyle. That's when you'll be most successful.
CHETRY: Right. It seems if you feel too restricted and you can't live your life it doesn't just become part of your life. It's harder. Slim fast --
(CROSS TALK)
GLASSMAN: Exactly.
CHETRY: -- people lost 11 pounds. The drop-out rate, 27 percent after a year, as well. And a similar -- you know you supposed to replace two meals. You can eat one regular meal, I guess, usually they recommend it at dinner.
GLASSMAN: Exactly. But that -- just like the Jenny Craig thing, it becomes difficult to stick with. Easy at the beginning because there's no thinking but difficult to stick with long term.
CHETRY: Let's talk about the ones who -- this is easiest. The easiest diets to stick to, the ones with the lowest drop-out rates. You may not have lost the most amount of weight with these but they did rank well because of that.
The Mediterranean diet as well as a -- a low-fat diet, just you know trying to cut out the fat, Weight Watchers. Those are the three that seem to have the lowest drop-out rates.
GLASSMAN: And because those are all especially let's say, the Mediterranean diet and the low-fat diet, those are the lifestyles, those aren't hard core diets, those are really changing your lifestyle. The Mediterranean diet incorporating healthy fats, legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. You're changing your lifestyle. So you're not looking for that quick fix -- you're really making and you're committing yourself to these long-term changes.
The same thing with the low-fat diet, a low-fat diet still provides you with adequate amount of fat. It still provides you with fat to be satisfied. It's not taking out fat completely. It's just that most of us eat a high-fat diet. You're changing your lifestyle.
And then I think the reason that Weight Watchers is so successful for so many people is for people that really need that community support and that accountability, it becomes very easy for them to stick with it because they like going every week and they like that community support.
CHETRY: Right. They also like not having to count calories, points seem to be easier.
GLASSMAN: It becomes fun -- a little bit of a game, exactly.
CHETRY: This was interesting. The number one diet, volumetrics. And this is basically, for people that don't know, you just eat foods that water rich. And they recommend either having salad or a bowl of soup before you start your meal and they found that people because they're more satisfied tend to eat less calories. What do you think of it?
GLASSMAN: Which is absolutely something that everybody should do with any plan, whether on a diet, making small lifestyle changes, whatever type of plan you adopt; you want to be satisfied. Obviously, when you're hungry and you have intense cravings, it is going to be more difficult to stick with any plan or lifestyle.
Volumetrics teaches people to eat foods that are going to fill them up with less calories. So you're eating less calorie-dense food and more filling foods for less calories.
CHETRY: So you feel satisfied.
GLASSMAN: Exactly.
CHETRY: And the bottom line is you don't feel restricted, you seem to be able to stick to it more. So this is a good rundown of some that work. We wish everybody luck.
GLASSMAN: Exactly. CHETRY: Keri Glassman, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
GLASSMAN: You're welcome.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. By the way, if you'd like to find out about Keri's own personal diet tips, she wrote the book "The O2 Diet: Cutting edge, anti-oxidant based program that will make your health, thin and beautiful". Who doesn't want that?
Fifty-four minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: It's 8:56. This next story deserves a wow. A man with no home but a great set of pipes.
CHETRY: Yes. . And now that golden voice is going to be heard by millions and it could help turn his life around. Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He may be homeless but he's not voiceless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been a guy with an interesting sign at I- 71.
MOOS: A panhandler sign saying "I have a God-given gift of a great voice. Wait until you hear it."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make you work for your dollar. Say something with that great radio voice.
TED WILLIAMS, HOMELESS MAN: When you're listening to nothing but the best of oldies you are listening to Majic 98.9. Thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you. And we'll be back with more right after these words.
MOOS: And folks wanted to hear more. The homeless man with the golden voice blew up on Web sites like Reddit. "I just had an eargasm. He should be a northbound announcer. He should do audio books. Get this man's voice on everything. The man is Ted Williams."
WILLIAMS: The voice just became something of a development over years and I went to school for it. And then alcohol and drugs and a few other things became a part of my life. I got two years clean.
MOOS: A videographer for the "Columbus Dispatch" Web site is the one who shot and posted the video.
The first thing that went through your mind when you heard his voice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's good. He's just really good.
MOOS: Next thing you know, job offers are being posted including one from the Bo Radio Show in Meadville, Pennsylvania. SCOTT "DJ BO" WOLOSZYN, MAJIC PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Absolutely, yes. He'd have his own show live on the air. He already has radio experience, obviously. So he would just need a little tweaking.
WILLIAMS: Don't forget tomorrow morning is your chance to win a pair of tickets to see this man live in concert.
MOOS: How much is the station willing to pay? Well, they say at least minimum wage. But there may be a bidding contest through a Columbus radio station. The Ohio Credit Union League is offering up to $10,000 in voiceover work saying, "We are all amazed by Mr. Williams' gift." He may not end up being the next James Earl Jones.
JAMES EARL JONES, ACTOR: This is CNN.
MOOS: But Ted Williams has dreams.
WILLIAMS: So, you know, I'm hoping one day, watch "Family Guy" weeknights 7:30 on Fox 28.
MOOS: Watch homeless guy find a home behind a microphone.
WILLIAMS: When you're listening to nothing but the best of oldies --
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
WILLIAMS: You're listening to Majic 98.9.
MOOS: CNN --
WILLIAMS: Majic 98.9.
MOOS: New York.
WILLIAMS: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Amazing, amazing. We do have an update on Ted Williams. He is coming to the big apple. Earlier this morning, the man with the golden voice talked to the CBS "early show" about getting a chance to see his mom again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: You know, one of my biggest prayers that I sent out was that she would live long enough for me to see me, you know, rebound or whatever. And I guess God kept her around and he kept my pipes around, you know, to maybe just have one more shot that I would be able to say, "Mom".
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And it's so great to see a happy ending like this. I mean, we hope it's a happy ending that just continues on because that voice is a gift. CHETRY: It's amazing.
ACOSTA: I hope this is the beginning of many good things for that man.
And we appreciate you joining us this morning here on AMERICAN MORNING. Kiran, it's good to be with you here this week.
CHETRY: You too. You too. And now we're going to toss it over to the "NEWSROOM", Kyra Phillips. And "NEWSROOM" starts right now. We're hoping for the best for Ted Williams, but wow, just an amazing story.
