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American Morning
Sisters Released From Prison After 16 Years; New York City Prepares For Another Blizzard; Winning Lottery Ticket Holders Discuss Picking Golden Numbers; House Reads the Constitution; Facebook Going Public?; London Terror Threat; The Mystery of Autism; Tracking the Snow Plows; Maryland's Dime a Drink Tax?; Outdoor Smoking Ban
Aired January 07, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to this AMERICAN MORNING for this Friday, January 7th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us this morning.
Our top stories, two sisters about to receive their conditional release from a Mississippi prison after 16 years behind bars. And the condition, one sister has to donate a kidney to the other for a life- saving transplant. We're live in Mississippi with more on this developing story.
HOLMES: All right. And New York City is going to get another chance to prove that it knows what it's doing and it can handle a snowstorm, because another one is on the way as we speak. Up to six inches could be falling, maybe by this afternoon in some places. This, of course, comes after that huge Christmas day blizzard debacle. Everybody wondering, can New York handle this time around?
CHETRY: And Facebook may soon be open to new friends I guess you could say. The popular social networking site reportedly on track to go public. That's the news that could make a lot of people a lot of money, including one big bank and its investors. We'll break it down for you.
HOLMES: We want to turn to a day that's going to happen today, you actually might see this happen in the next two hours or so -- two Mississippi sisters finally walking out of prison after 16 years. Gladys and Jamie Scott, they're going to be released from prison. Their freedom, though, is coming with a price, an odd condition here.
CHETRY: Their sentences were suspended on the condition that one sister donate a kidney to the other. CNN's Martin Savidge is live outside of the prison in pearl, Mississippi. A bit of a I guess you could say controversial decision on the part of that state's governor and many people with different points of view about how this story is going down.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No doubt about it, Kiran. The governor has received some criticism as a result of what some perceive to be a medical condition, the reasoning for their release having to give a kidney. It was essentially $11, a robbery, that got them into prison and now as many have said, it's going to take one of their kidneys to get out, and that just does not ring right with a lot of people here.
The important thing is to their supporters, is that Jamie and Gladys will be freed today. It's expected they'll get out sometime this morning and then they will take a short drive, about 25 minutes over to the city of Jackson, and there they will hold a news conference, much anticipated.
But more anticipated for them is then they will drive to Pensacola, Florida, and be reunited with their mother and their family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: For years, family and supporters of Gladys and Jamie Scott have pleaded, prayed, and protested for their release from a Mississippi prison. The two were sentenced to life 16 years ago for armed robbery, a crime that netted $11. Governor Haley Barbour suspended their sentences. Their mother got the news in a phone call from a reporter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just went hysterical. I had to stop the car. I was driving at the time he called me and I got so emotional, thanking god that finally this had come to an end.
SAVIDGE: Governor Barbour said he wasn't releasing the sisters because their sentences were too severe but because the prison board said they were no longer a threat to society, and for medical reasons -- 38-year-old Jamie needs dialysis three times a week in prison. Her 36-year-old sister has offered one of her own kidneys for transplant. The governor says the operation is part of the stipulation for their release.
But some believe there is more than just humanitarian motivations at work here. Many expect Governor Barbour, a Republican, plans to challenge America's first black president in 2012.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been asked a lot of questions, did the government do this for political reasons. My guess is, he did do it for political reasons. On the other hand, I want to commend him for a movement which bespoke humanity.
SAVIDGE: Throughout their trial and imprisonment, the sisters have maintained their innocence, as has their mother, who says one of the alleged victims later came back and asked Gladys out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So if somebody robbed you, would you come back to try to date them later?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Now the first thing that's anticipated once the sisters get out, they will work on the medical condition of Jamie, trying to find a donor for the kidney. After that, though, there are many supporters who would like to see a full pardon that be granted to the sisters. The sisters have always maintained their innocence. They were found guilty of armed robbery, but they maintain that they were innocent on that crime, so the next step for supporters, they say, will be to seek some pardon for them. Kiran and T.J.?
HOLMES: And martin, there has been plenty of criticism for Governor Haley Barbour, a lot of people glad he made the decision, sure, but his motivation some people are questioning. He didn't have to make a decision and he didn't make a decision about whether or not the justice was fair, the sentence was fair, the conviction was fair. He said I'm going to let them out because it's costing the state some money.
SAVIDGE: Right. In fact, it was both humanitarian reasoning and then financial reasoning because the treatment for Jamie in prison, he said, costs the state close to $200,000 a year for her dialysis, which is usually about three times a week.
So, he is maintaining not only would this be good for her physical health, but it would be good for the fiscal health of the state of Mississippi.
Now, critics have pointed out this is a very good excuse for the governor to do what he's done, because should he run for say president of the United States, he might have been accused by letting these sisters out being lenient on crime, but when he says no, I let them out because of humanitarian reasoning, well, then that criticism is pretty much cut off.
CHETRY: All right, Martin Savidge for us this morning. And again, they could be released during our show, so we're waiting for that development this morning. Thanks so much.
Also new this morning, police are looking for the people behind the mailing of two incendiary devices to government buildings in Maryland. They arrived 20 miles apart at two different buildings. Two employees' fingers were slightly burned when they opened these packages.
One of the devices was addressed to Maryland's governor Martin O'Malley, the other the department of transportation. Officials say that a message was found in at least one of the packages complaining about road signs asking drivers to report suspicious activity.
HOLMES: Also, the military trying to get its spending under control. The Defense Department yesterday called for $78 billion in spending cuts. Troops could be affected here. The cuts include a reduction in the number of Marine Corps and Army personnel.
CHETRY: Also a brand new smoking ban in effect in one village in suburban New York. No smoking on the sidewalk outdoors in downtown Great Neck. The mayor of the long island community says smoke from outside was getting into stores. Customers were complaining, so if you get caught lighting up on their main street it could cost you $1,000. A winter snowstorm bearing down on New York right now, take a look at weather map, you see the area where we could get up to six inches of snow by this afternoon. Actually, that's not us. That's another winter storm down south that's also taking shape. But anyway, after a Christmas weekend blizzard that basically shut down our city, a lot of New Yorkers are saying, are you ready for round two?
HOLMES: Well, I hope so. I'm here this time. I'll be out there shoveling.
CHETRY: You're missing that one down south.
HOLMES: They can handle it. No, they can't, actually. Heads are rolling up here about that last storm. The mayor here is replacing the ambulance chief, two sanitation executives, he's promising a better effort this time around.
Jason Carroll is in New York City for us. Jason, hello. It's one thing, it's easier to promise on a storm that's only going to bring a couple inches versus the last blizzard but hey, he's making promises.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least someone is make something promises to do better this time around. That's what a lot of New Yorkers are saying. There is a new plan in place. Some of the trucks we've seen them go out this morning, 360 poised, ready to go out. 1,700 snow trucks ready to head out on the roads. This time around, the city's mayor says they've learned a lesson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Much of the snow from the holiday blizzard is gone from New York's streets, but not the resentment over how the city and its mayor responded to it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was bad. It was really bad. I mean even in my area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never saw New York like stop that way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I seen the ambulance was stuck right in the middle of the street. So I said this is really bad.
CARROLL: Now that New York is bracing for more snow, the city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, says this time, the response will be better.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (D) NEW YORK CITY: While I realized there were problems with the city's snow cleaning efforts last week, we want to assure all New Yorkers that we are doing everything in our power to make sure we don't experience those kinds of problems again.
CARROLL: Problems such as not knowing the location of salt trucks, not knowing where cars were stuck, an overloaded 911 system, approximately 170 ambulances stranded in the storm. In the fallout, the mayor demoted the former chief of emergency medical services and reassigned two city sanitation chiefs. BLOOMBERG: For nine years we have insisted on accountability from all agencies and from all city employees from top to bottom. And when something goes wrong, we stop everything, we find out what went wrong and we fix it. And we can spend a lot of time, should have, would have, could have. My focus has always been how can we do it better tomorrow?
CARROLL: The mayor has initiated several investigations into the city's response, already coming up with recommendations. Some will be used today, such as equipping more than a dozen salt trucks with GPS and deploying scout teams to trouble spot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: So an improved plan in place. As you guys know, New Yorkers are never short on opinions. We also asked them about whether or not they thought the city really had, in fact, learned a lesson this go-around.
And most of the New Yorkers we spoke to said yes, we believe the city has, in fact, learned a lesson. But many also told us they should not have had to learn the lesson in the first place. T.J., Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, we'll see what happens this time around. Fingers crossed and hopefully they're prepared. They say they are. Thanks, Jason.
Ten minutes past the hour right now.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HOLMES: We're going to head out to Washington State now where it's never going to be a stormy, rainy day again for the rest of the lives of these two folks.
CHETRY: That's right, and their six kids.
HOLMES: Their six kids, 23 grandchildren, and $190 million. Jim and Carolyn McCullough are the names there. They are one half of the winners of the $380 million jackpot. They won. Another group hasn't come forward yet in Idaho. They haven't come forward yet. But these folks wanted you to see their face, know their names, get their phone numbers. But listen to them on how they picked their winning numbers.
CHETRY: That's right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MCCULLAR, MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT WINNER: And I put down the numbers 4, 8, 15, 25. I was going to put 42 and then 47 in the mega ball but there is no 47 in the mega ball. I pulled the 47 back, put 42 over it. Played another line, and swapped the 42 and the 25. So the second game was only worth 150 bucks. That's not right.
(LAUGHTER) (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: They are great.
CHETRY: They put some thought into it. This is what I love. We do the quick picks. Pick it for us. I don't know if you better your chances. The fact that these numbers all meant something and they won is even cooler.
HOLMES: They're birthdays, the month, days, years. He was going to do the years differently but turns out the 47 was not an option, picked the 42, it worked out. Congratulations them. They also previously with their same numbers, they played in Oregon once, won $18,000 at some point on another lottery.
CHETRY: Really?
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: So they were repeat offenders here?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Not offensive at all, folks.
CHETRY: The only cool -- the only thing cooler if the Idaho people came forward and said we watched "Lost" saw those numbers and we mixed it up.
HOLMES: I was lost, I had never seen the show, didn't know what you were talking about.
CHETRY: We showed it. On the show they had this guy, this character that wins the lotto, and I think he opens up a fried chicken franchise or something. But anyway, the numbers were stunningly close to what the real win was.
HOLMES: Close but not exactly right.
CHETRY: A lot were in there. Pretty cool. Happy for them.
Coming up, London is on high alert. There are fears of a possible terror attack to the city's transportation hubs. We're going to get the latest from London on the heightened alert coming up.
HOLMES: Also coming up -- it's supposed to be a simple thing, just going to read the constitution. So how can that end up being controversial. How can that also end up in mistakes, omissions, and also an outburst? We'll tell you what happened.
CHETRY: Also, will he stay in college or leave for the NFL? Stanford's star quarterback Andrew Luck made his decision. We're going to find out in the morning talkers coming up. It's 14 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The hour right now -- House Republicans kick off their rein with a symbolic first ever reading of the Constitution took place yesterday on the House floor.
HOLMES: Symbolic? A first ever? Should have been kind of a nice moment? We can all agree, just read the Constitution, should have been that simple?
Jim Acosta is in Washington and he knows nothing is simple ever in Washington.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, no, no.
HOLMES: This time a bit tricky and a bit partisan.
ACOSTA: Yes. And a bit odd at times as well, T.J., and Kiran.
Yes, they read the Constitution out loud. Historians say this is the first time this has ever happened. John Boehner, the new speaker, started off by reading "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union" and so forth and so on. But there's a little bit of a controversy over portions of the Constitution that were not read, portions in the original text of the Constitution that referred to slaves as three-fifths of a person. That controversy was ironed out later on.
And then there was another moment that caught everybody off guard, that is when Congressman Frank Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, stepped forward to read the portion of the Constitution that talks about requiring the fact that president be born in the United States and somebody up on the House gallery, that's the area where visitors are allowed to come in and watch the proceedings of the House, decided to burst out in protest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. FRANK PALLONE (D), NEW JERSEY: No person, except a natural-born citizen or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to be the office of president. Neither shall --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Except Obama! Except Obama! Help us, Jesus!
(GAVEL BANGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chair would remind all persons in the gallery they're here as guests of the House and any manifestation of approval or disapproval of the proceedings is a violation of the rules of the House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So, Capitol police later arrested that woman and she's been identified online on "Politico" as being a person by the name of Teresa Cao who is well known as a Birther. So, this was a Birther screaming out on the House floor. I don't know if you could hear it there, saying "Except Obama, except Obama, Jesus, help us."
And John Boehner, the new speaker, he's already had enough of this. On an interview on NBC News, he said, "The state of Hawaii says that President Obama was born in Hawaii, that's good enough for me" -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, they got to use --
ACOSTA: Or, T.J. and Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, they got to use the gavels early, right? They start banging those around.
ACOSTA: Right.
CHETRY: Well, the health care vote is set for today, but there's a new report out that could potentially impact what happens with that.
ACOSTA: That's right. Democrats have some new ammunition in this fight over the repeal of health care reform. The Congressional Budget Office, which is the nonpartisan sort of referee on budget matters, came out with a report yesterday saying that if you repeal the health care law, take a look at this, it is going to add $230 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
And so, Democrats are saying, "Go ahead, Republicans, repeal this bill, and we'll tell Americans that you're trying to ad to the deficit even though you told the voters out there in the midterm elections that you were going to do everything you could to bring down the deficit."
So, you know, that is something that we're going to be hearing over the next week or so. And the final vote on health care repeal could happen on Wednesday. So, this is going to get interesting, guys.
HOLMES: This is just day three, right, Jim?
ACOSTA: This is day three. We're just getting warmed up, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Jim, good to see you as always this morning. Thank you so much.
Well, coming up this mystery, this concern for parents with an autistic child, a lot of people are still wondering, what should we think of it now? There's a new study, you probably heard, a study that's linking the disease to vaccines just being called fraud.
Not a new study, I shouldn't say that -- an old study that kind of started the debate. Well, now, that's being called a fraud. Parents are wondering what are we supposed to think of.
CHETRY: Because the autism rates are sky rocketing, if not a link with vaccines, what is it? We're going to try to get some answers for you on some of the most trusted theories or ideas out there about autism research.
Also, the world's fastest golfer, he's taking it up a notch. He's trying it to do something with a golf club that's never been done before.
Twenty minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, he was the odds on favorite to be really the top pick in this year's NFL draft.
HOLMES: He was going to be.
CHETRY: There was no doubt.
HOLMES: No doubt in anybody's mind.
CHETRY: Well, now, he's not available anymore. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is staying in school.
Luck's father, a former pro quarterback, says the possibility of a player lockout as well as the possibility of being drafted by the Carolina Panthers, which I guess is not a good thing, didn't affect his son's decision to stay in school. He says his son's old school and wanted to commit to get that degree before worrying about going pro. Luck, though, is leaving a lot of money on the table.
HOLMES: Yes. Up to $40 million to $50 million, that's what last year's number one got, $50 million guarantee. That's not your daily salary, your average salary.
CHETRY: Right.
HOLMES: You're going to get that money no matter what happens.
CHETRY: No matter what happens.
And so, this is a gamble. I mean, some people would say this is noble. He wants to complete his degree first and others say, "Oh, man, should have gone for the money. You can always go back."
HOLMES: Man, he did not call me before he made that decision.
Let's take a look at this guy. This golfer, suppose he's a good golfer, but not the kind you would think. Golf is kind of a slow game. It takes a while.
But look at this -- he's considered the fastest golfer on the planet. Actually holds five world records in the sport of speed golf. Who knew?
Two of those records certified by "The Guinness Book of World Records." He's going for another record tonight in Houston. I know you're fascinated by the guy --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes. Well, the ball handler should be getting a record, too. I mean, the placing of the balls as quickly as he is. Look at that. I mean, he's got a method to it, right? Not going to get tricked, or hit with that club.
HOLMES: He holds the record for the most broken fingers, because you know he has gotten tagged a bunch of time.
But the record the guy is going for tonight, he has to hit more than 50 golf balls in 30 seconds and they all have to travel 100 yards at least at a minimum 30 degree arc to qualify for that record.
CHETRY: Wow.
HOLMES: We shall see.
CHETRY: He has to do it in hibiscus pants.
HOLMES: Why are you on the guy's outfit? He spends all this time golfing, not shopping, all right?
CHETRY: No, he had to spend a lot of time finding those pants, I'm sorry, OK? You can get your run-of-the-mill jeans anywhere.
HOLMES: All right, 25 minutes past the hour. We'll see how he does in that record.
But coming up as well, we're going to let you know what's happening in London this morning. Police are stepping up security in London after reports of possible terror attacks aimed at the city's transportation hubs. A report live from London coming up.
CHETRY: Also, the rumors gaining steam that Facebook is on track to go public and that could mean big money, especially for one of the big banks. Christine Romans joins us with details.
It's 26 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOLMES: All right. Wherever you're waking up this morning, bottom of the hour -- thank you for being here with us.
Facebook already has what, 550 million friends that could be opening up to some new ones. Rumors swirling this morning that that social network could go public next year.
CHETRY: Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." She joins us now.
So, what does this mean when we talk about this? And what are the implications?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The drama, right? Well, it means you probably have a lot of initial investors in Facebook who want to figure out how to get their money out of this.
Right now, it is a privately held company. We don't know about its sales. We don't know how much money it makes, if it makes money at all. All we know is this company is growing and changing -- literally changing the world.
Initial investors to get their money out, will need to be paid back, right? So, if they get more than 500 investors overall. So, initial investors selling their stake, and another investor is coming in. More than 500 people as investors.
Then they have to disclose more of their financial information and most companies decide to go public become publicly traded. So, Facebook is expected to pass the 500 shareholder mark, this according to "The Wall Street Journal" and some documents that the company is circulating with Goldman Sachs, its investment banker. It's got a $50 billion value according to a -- according to reports looking at this, initially this plan to try to raise money.
And the big thing, this whole big deal about trying to raise money right now through Goldman Sachs is: is this a precursor for this company going public? A lot of people this morning think that in 2012, that it will do that. Once they pass that 500-investor mark, they got 120 days to release more of the information. Most companies decide to go public after that.
HOLMES: OK. How can we all -- can we all get a piece of Facebook? You could today if you are a wealthy client of Goldman Sachs or a wealthy client of a client of Goldman Sachs you can ask to pony up millions of dollars for an investment right now. So that's not any of us.
CHETRY: So our couple hundred bucks (INAUDIBLE) isn't going to do us any good?
ROMANS: No. If the company goes public some time next year, then at some point after that you would have a chance to buy shares of this company on the open market or through your mutual fund or through your retirement plan. Now the question is, does the stock keep going up, what is it worth? Does the company already have this, you know, stratosphere of growth and how do you monetize, that's a Wall Street word, but how do you get money out of this company because how is it going to make money on us being friends together, advertising is the answer to that.
But there are lot of still questions about this. Everyone is fascinated about Facebook go public. Remember when Google went public the stock went up and up. And a lot of people made a lot of money when Google went public.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll talk more about that and some crying foul with the Goldman Sachs connection and we'll talk about that -
ROMANS: Goldman is making money from the bottom of the food chain to the top of the food chain. Goldman and its investment banking finest right now making money on this whole deal one way or the other.
HOLMES: All right. Christine.
CHETRY: How far up from the bailout? How far out from the bailout? Making all this money? Sorry.
ROMANS: Less than two years, I think.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Christine.
HOLMES: Bottom of the hour here now, folks. Here's a look at some of the stories we're keeping a close eye on.
A storm we're keeping a close eye on, in particular, is coming this way, you see it there, going to be affecting some parts of the northeast. Remember that.
CHETRY: Our weather watchers say it's already falling, yucky out there we're hearing for the people just making their way in.
HOLMES: Philly - yes, you can see Philly already getting some stuff there. Coming to New York, could get up some places to six inches we are hearing. The question is, at least about New York, can the city handle it after that whole Christmas day blizzard debacle.
CHETRY: They're making changes. We'll see what happens.
A security scare kept a lot of emergency workers on edge. These incendiary devices as they're calling them are mailed to two government buildings in Maryland yesterday, about 20 miles apart. Two people suffered minor burns when they opened those packages. One addressed to the governor, the other to the state's Department of Transportation.
So far no reports of any suspects. Officials say that a message was found on at least one of the packages complaining about road signs that urged drivers to report suspicious activity.
Also there's increased security this morning at schools in Bay City, Texas, near Houston, after a second message threatening students. Now almost half of the students in the district have not attended class since Tuesday after school officials disclosed an anonymous letter threatening to kill students. The latest threat was a text message. The superintendent of Bay City Schools says they are not planning to shut the schools down.
Well, we have a developing story out of London this morning. Police are stepping up security at airports and rail stations following reports of a possible terror attack.
HOLMES: CNN's Matthew Chance live for us in London with the details here. Good morning to you, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you as well, T.J., Kiran. That's right, the threat level for a terrorist attack here in the British capital has been raised to its second-highest level to severe. The security forces are saying that it's just a precaution, they don't have any information, any intelligence suggesting that there's an imminent attack in London, but they're just taking these measures because there's a general concern in Europe because of intelligence operations that have been producing some information suggesting there could be some kind of Mumbai-style gun attack on a European location some time pretty soon.
And so this is a, you know, what's happening is they're putting extra police outside the airports, outside key transport installations like train stations, as well. They're asking people coming to work either by train or, of course, traveling in and out of the country in the airports to remain as vigilant as possible.
CHETRY: How about travelers, how are they reacting to this? Any change in what they're doing and how they're going about their business today?
CHANCE: Well, it's added an extra layer of anxiety. I was at this morning - coming to work myself on the Metro, the tube here in London, most people saying that it's not going to affect them, they just put their heads down trying to get to work without worrying about the threat.
Some people saying it does make a little bit them anxious. Of course, (INAUDIBLE) anxious about. 2005, London was hit with a series of bomb attacks by militant groups, terrorists here in Britain, and so obviously it's in the back of everybody's mind as they come to work on the transport system.
CHETRY: Of course. Of course. We'll keep following this story. Matthew Chance for us in London this morning, thank you.
There's a study that links vaccines with autism, it's now been widely discredited. But what does that change for either parents of children with autism or people concerned that their child may be diagnosed with the disorder. Does anyone really know what causes it? Still to this day searching for answers, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to The Most News In The Morning.
Trying to unlock the mystery of autism, despite yesterday's bombshell report finally discrediting the link between the disorder and the MMR, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Well, today, we're still no closer to understanding what causes this disorder and we do know that the number of cases continues to rise. Growing almost 60 percent between 2002 and 2006 alone. Joining me this morning Alison Singer, founder and president of Autism Science Foundation and a mother to a daughter with autism. Also joining us is Dr. Bradley Peterson, he is the chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. Thanks to both of you this morning. One of the things, I mean, and this was really the bombshell out yesterday which once and for all disproved Dr. Wakefield's research even though he continues to defend it.
What do you think the net effect of all of that news out yesterday is today?
ALISON SINGER, PRESIDENT, AUTISM SCIENCE FOUNDATION: I hope that the result of the news is that we can finally put the question of autism and vaccines behind us. I mean the science was in long before we got the news yesterday. Several labs, several studies tried to replicate the findings that Dr. Wakefield found. None were able to.
We've had over two dozen studies looking at whether MMR caused autism, looking at whether vaccine preservatives, mercury-based preservatives called thimerosal could cause autism, looking at whether vaccines in general caused autism. There are no studies that indicate a causal link between vaccines and autism. So I think what we learned yesterday is maybe why none of the labs have been able to replicate the findings because they might have been based on fraud, but we really didn't move the science forward.
That's what we have to do now. Now we have to put this behind us and say, how can we invest in studies that will help us understand what does cause autism. Because I don't think the question will go away until we can answer that question.
CHETRY: No and it certainly not going away because we've seen the cases continue to rise. I mean, as we just said this 57 percent increase in the latest four years that they've got out there. Dr. Peterson, do we have any clearer idea of what may not necessarily cause but contribute to autism?
DR. BRADLEY PETERSON, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Right. I think the science has made dramatic progress in the last 10 years or more. We know very clearly that genetics have a major contributing factor to, you know, producing autism, which is really a group of disorders with very specific genetic problems, mutations and changes producing various kinds of sub forms of autism.
So we know that that's a major contributor. Identifying those genes that contribute to autism will lead the way forward to developing rational therapeutics that ultimately can help to prevent and ultimately even either attenuate or even cure autism down the road.
CHETRY: And you've been a tireless advocate, Alison. Of course, you have a daughter with autism. Did you ever wonder whether or not vaccines contributed to the diagnosis?
SINGER: I think when this paper was published in the "Lancet," all parents took it very seriously because it was published in the "Lancet." And I think another thing this points out, the journals have to take their responsibility very seriously. Parents really trust what we read in those journals and subsequently, the "Lancet" retracted the paper.
But yes, when that paper was published, for my second daughter, I separated the vaccines. I gave her separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, instead of a combined MMR. Looking back I feel very betrayed by that paper because separating the shots and delaying them for her did absolutely nothing to reduce the chance that she would be diagnosed with autism but what it did do was it left her vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases for far longer than she needed to be.
CHETRY: How much of an impact has the fear of autism and the desire, of course, that every parent has to do all that they can think of to prevent their child from getting it, how much has that impacted public health?
PETERSON: Well, I think as Alison was referring to, it did impact public health in a very significant way with people either delaying or declining vaccinations for their kids. And that was really dangerous. There's no question that kids and families have been harmed very substantially by that across the world. So I hope that at least one very concrete outcome of yesterday's report is that families now will get their kids vaccinated for their overall physical as well as, you know, psychological health down the road.
CHETRY: You talked about the genetic component. It doesn't necessarily, though, address the rise that we've seen. You know, a lot of people are wondering are there environmental factors that we're looking at that may in some way contribute to how far has the research taken us on that issue?
SINGER: Well, I think certainly we know that prevalence of autism has gone up. The Centers for Disease Control have reported over the last few years an increase in prevalence from one in 2,500 to one in 500 to one in 166, to now one in 110.
CHETRY: Is this spotting signs and symptoms more, meaning that we understand it better, or is it truly a rise in actual cases?
SINGER: Well, we don't know that. We need to do more research there. We don't know if it's better diagnosis or broadening of the diagnosis. The latest research out of Columbia says that you cannot attribute the total increase in prevalence to broader diagnostic criteria.
So we do need more research to look at it if there is a true increase in incidence, what is behind that increase in incidence.
CHETRY: Besides the genetic component what is going to be the next, I guess, big thing in terms of treatment and potentially moving toward a cure?
PETERSON: There are really promising leads to developing new treatments, medications that are based on some of the genetic findings. So there are really very promising leads in that area. I understand the environmental contributions to autism is also very important because those are things that you can potentially intervene to either prevent or - and decrease the rates of autism in the population.
But even those will be statistically based. There are various kinds of exposures to medications or pregnancy complications, for example, that we think contribute to autism or the development of autism, but not every single exposure leads inevitably to autism. So by addressing some of those exposures we can hopefully have an impact on the overall prevalence. But it won't be - it won't be a cure all for preventing problems.
CHETRY: Which is why I know the research continues and the funding continues and we wish you both the best of luck as well. Dr. Bradley Peterson and Alison Singer, thanks for joining us this morning.
SINGER: Thank you.
PETERSON: Thank you.
CHETRY: T.J.
HOLMES: All right. We are coming up on another storm. But it's not going to be as bad, we don't think, as the one we saw on that Christmas Day weekend. Yes, the northeast getting ready, more snow, ice, we got winter weather watches and warnings going to be in place.
Rob Marciano is going to let us know just how disruptive this thing is going to be.
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HOLMES: Good morning. New York City. New York City is getting snow as we speak. Going to accumulate on the ground, we could get up to six inches in some places. This is a look outside of our building here at Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle. People get going this morning. Not too much on the roads yet. We hope it stays that way, but another storm bearing down.
CHETRY: Yes, because last week when this happened you could not find any of those yellow vehicles we call cabs. It was impossible. I mean --
HOLMES: Last week.
CHETRY: Last week.
HOLMES: Don't think --
CHETRY: Feels like yesterday.
HOLMES: Yes. You all went through it up here. Rob Marciano is standing by to let you know whether or not you will be necessarily going through it like last time. Not quite, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. It's not going to be nearly the blizzard that we had a week and a half ago. That's the good news. You showed that picture out of New York City. This is the picture out of Philadelphia so drastically different. Certainly coming down heavily here, nearly whiteout conditions.
WPVI is our affiliate out there giving us this shot accumulating not only on the rooftops, but on the roadways as well. So a bit of a messy commute for the folks in Philadelphia that's where the heaviest pulse right now is going through.
This is a pretty large system, very broad, very complex system. The forecast has been difficult to say the least. It stretches all the way back to the Midwest. A little sliver of moisture kind of riding the jet stream driving some of the cold air down to the south and then another trough is developing across parts of the northeast and that's what's giving the northeast some snowfall.
It's out of Baltimore already, getting in through Philadelphia. This is where the heaviest is from Trenton back to Wilmington and moving fairly rapidly up towards the north and east. That's the good thing. At one point, we thought this would hang around 6 to 12 hours and probably not going to set up shop like that.
So that will keep the accumulations down just a little bit. New York is starting to see the snowfall begin to intensify and accumulate at least on the sides of the roads and on rooftops. By the time rush hour happens and if you're leaving work early, it may not help you because you're going to have enough accumulation on the road by noon or 1:00 or 2:00 that it will be kind of a slick go.
But it won't be paralyzing and certainly the NYC Sanitation Department is on their game, I would think, after the debacle last week. Two to five inches potentially in spots here across the tri- state area. The purposing is winter weather advisories.
It hasn't been upgraded to a winter storm warning with the exception of some counties through the Adirondacks and through parts of the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Down south, could see two to four inches in places like Knoxville and just north of Knoxville and part of western North Carolina, maybe one to two inches and higher amount in the higher elevations.
We already have ground stops at Newark and Philadelphia right now until 8:45 and 8:30 respectively. Travel is going to be a bit of a pain if you're doing it today throughout any of the northeast airports, likely over an hour, just about everywhere, including Laguardia and JFK. Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, you'll see 30 to 60 minute delays, Chicago 30 to 60. A little bit of wind here in Atlanta may slow things down, but I fear the bigger threat will be as we get over towards the weekend.
Everybody east of the Rockies is going to feel the cold air behind this system. So that's the other big story and what that does as we get later into the weekend is it sets up shop for potentially this cold air to mix with something coming out of the Gulf Of Mexico in the form of moisture.
So this is the set-up for seeing an icy mix and potentially a paralyzing in spots ice storm for parts of Dixie, Arkansas through parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and through Tennessee and the Carolinas. That would be Sunday night through Monday so as it stands right now that scenario setting up more firmly than the big snow for New York City here so we have a couple of things to watch.
Be careful this afternoon. It will be awfully white and slick an enough to get the kids excited again. Back to you.
CHETRY: I got them one of those big blow-up, you know, the circular sleds. You know, you know?
HOLMES: Yes. You know, be careful. Nice wide open spaces.
CHETRY: We're not going to do it down the driveway. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
Well, if a few snow plows do happen to go MIA today New York City's on it this time. They're actually bringing GPS systems on to those snow plows. Mayor Bloomberg ordering devices for the plows in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens today, those neighborhoods were buried for days after the Christmas weekend blizzard and a lot of those plows assigned there could not be located.
HOLMES: Just lose a snow plow?
CHETRY: You have to look along the west side highway. They were all parked along there.
HOLMES: Well, we're talking about flight delays possible because of the storm today. No flight delays probably going to be as long as this one.
The shuttle "Discovery" delayed again. It's been delayed since November. It was supposed to take off. It supposed to take off again in February. That was the latest launch date. That's scrubbed now. The problem here is they have cracks in the shuttle's external tank trying to get that worked out. The next launch date, which would be the last for the shuttle "Discovery," which is retiring, the whole fleet is retiring. But it would be February 27th, the next possible.
CHETRY: I'm sure they want it to be as smooth and perfect as possible if it's the final flight for the shuttle.
It is a dream come true for Edison Pena, the Elvis-loving Chilean miner. He's going to Graceland. That's right. Pena led his fellow miners in Elvis sing-alongs during their 69 days trapped underground. Pena will be a special guest in Elvis Presley's annual birthday celebration this weekend. Elvis would have turned 76.
HOLMES: My mother loves the music. CHETRY: Just -- it's just really strange to think he would be 76 years old.
HOLMES: Still can be considered young.
CHETRY: Top stories moments away. The most important December jobs report out in less than three minutes. We're expecting the numbers to go in the right direction, fingers crossed. Wall Street seems to know it. Our Christine Romans standing by to break down the numbers.
HOLMES: Also, we're standing by keeping our eye on a state prison in Mississippi where two sisters are expected to walk out possibly in the next hour or so. They've been in jail for some 16 years. For a crime they said they didn't commit. People say they shouldn't have got the time they got. One sister has to donate a kidney to the other. Talking to their attorney this morning.
CHETRY: Also, it's paradise for gadget geeks. Consumer electronics show, you have to wear the thing around the neck and check out the cool, new devices or the glasses. What's the big next thing or the small next thing? We are on the floor of the largest gadget show on the planet.
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CHETRY: If you booze you lose and that has new meaning in Maryland. They're adding a ten cent drink tax in the state, my home state. So dime on a bottle of wine, 60 cents on a six pack. Why do we have -- a dime on a bottle of wine, 60 cents on a 6 pack? OK.
Switching to -- supporters say that the dime a drink tax raise $250 million in new revenue for Maryland. Bar and restaurant owners don't want people on the wagon while they're still trying to recover from the recession.
HOLMES: If it helps out in some way, you know, one bottle of wine, people drink no matter what.
CHETRY: I know, that's why the syntax is an easy way to go because people are going to do what they do.
HOLMES: People also going to smoke no matter what. How much is a pack of cigarettes here in New York now?
CHETRY: I think it's $46 or something?
HOLMES: Twelve bucks, I'm being told here now. All right, so people are going to smoke no matter what, but there are some places you just can't smoke in one New York suburb, at least. Outdoors, yes, on the sidewalk at least.
We're talking about the Village Of Great Neck. It's on Long Island banned smoking on sidewalks along its main street could cost you $1,000 if you're caught. The mayor said the smoke from outside blowing into the shops and stores affecting other customers. They complained and did something about it.
CHETRY: This is interesting. Guys hate to see women cry. Just in general, right?
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: And actually they say there's scientific backing behind it that you can't help it. Researchers of Israel found a woman's tears of sadness are a turnoff. They send a chemical signal that temporarily lowers a man's testosterone.
HOLMES: Do we need a study for this? Telling people that men don't like to see a woman cry an turns off?
CHETRY: Scientific reason behind it.
HOLMES: We didn't need it.
CHETRY: Wow. Researchers don't know if that's the same is true for a man's tears that they admit that it's harder to find men who will volunteer to cry in a lab. I know what you're thinking.
HOLMES: Do you really?
CHETRY: There's some men who are not afraid to cry in public all the time.
HOLMES: All the time? Were you about to go after Boehner?
CHETRY: No! I thought you were.
HOLMES: I was not.
CHETRY: I think there's nothing wrong with a man showing emotions.
HOLMES: Nothing at all. I cry all the time. Quick break. I'm going to shed a few tears and see if I can get ready for the next hour.
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