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American Morning
States Drowning in Red Ink; Astronaut Kelly: "Back At Work"; $8 Billion For New Rocket? Google Exec Freed; Detroit Mayor Offers Housing Incentives For Police Force to Live in City; ReelzChannel to Air Controversial Documentary about Kennedys; A Doctor's Dream
Aired February 08, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour here now, 8:00 Eastern Time here from New York. Good morning to you all. Welcome to this AMERICAN MORNING, I'm T.J. Holmes.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks so much for being with us.
Well, a little bit of a controversy happening in one school district after Arabic becomes mandatory. That's right. Some Texas schools are pushing to make it mandatory out of one district and it's pushing the buttons of a lot of parents. We're going to hear both sides sound off on the major curriculum change in just a few moments.
HOLMES: Also, a new effort to try to revive a great American city. Detroit, the mayor there offering homes to police officers for as little as a thousand dollars. The hope is that there will be a greater police presence with lower crime. But how does the police force feel about this move?
CHETRY: And meet the new Darth Vader. Six-year-old Max Page is a sensation after starring in a Volkswagen's smash hit Super Bowl ad. You get to meet Max in 20 minutes when he joins us live in the AMERICAN MORNING studios.
HOLMES: Also, we turn to what's happening in Egypt, a third week now of the uprising. For the most part, some things have gotten back to normal. You're seeing a picture. You can hear some of the crowds. They continue to gather -- thousands of people forming a human chain refusing to leave Tahrir Square until President Mubarak leaves office.
The military crackdown, some reports say, is ramping up. Beatings and abductions being reported and many international journalists are starting to leave Egypt.
Meanwhile, he was missing for days. Google executive Wael Ghonim, he was abducted by Egypt's military police. He went through 12 days of detention. A Facebook page was set up that tries to help the organized protests. Now, Egyptians consider him a hero. He doesn't agree, though.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAEL GHONIM, GOOGLE EXECUTIVE (through translator): I was going to get a taxi, so I went one way, and I was walking down a straight road. And I found, all of a sudden, four people surrounding me. They were kidnapping me, and I yelled, "Help me." But, of course, I knew they were security forces.
The thing that tortured me the most in detention was that people would find out I was admin of the page that was calling for protests. I didn't want people to find out that I was the admin, because I am not the hero. I was writing with a keyboard on the Internet, and my life was never exposed to any danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Newt Gingrich says that President Obama's handling of the crisis in Egypt has been amateurish. The former Republican speaker of the House spoke with CNN's John King. He's focusing attention on the administration's fractured relationship with its own envoy to Egypt, Frank Wisner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Look, I think the fact that they appointed a very able diplomat, Frank Wisner, and within two days, were publicly contradicting him is -- you know, is so amateurish. Also, John Bolton last night, he said it's inconceivable that they would be this clumsy and this out of sync with -- just with themselves.
Forget the Arab world. They can't get the White House and the special envoy to be on the same page.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Gingrich has been one of the more vocal of the possible Republican contenders for 2012. The White House sent Wisner to Egypt to negotiate directly with President Hosni Mubarak. And when he publicly stated that Mubarak should remain in office for now to maintain order, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, quote, "Wisner does not speak for the administration."
HOLMES: Take you what's happening right now in Texas, a warehouse fire there, a four-alarm fire. The smoke apparently can be seen for miles. This thing started 7:00 Central Time last night.
It has been burning all night long. No word just yet on what caused this. We're keeping an eye.
Also, potential new school requirement causing some controversy. A Texas school district is trying to make Arabic mandatory. Mansfield School District wants two schools making it a required language in class. Other schools, it would be optional.
The classes will also teach Arabic culture and arts. The district is getting $1.3 million federal grant to launch the program. Parents right now split.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BARON KANE, PARENT: The school does not teach Christianity. So, I don't want them teaching the Islam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was surprising, but I think it's OK. And I think it will be fine because that way you'll cut down on the stereotype.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HOLMES: Some school officials say it's the language of the future and there will be a high demand for Arab speakers.
CHETRY: Well, in just a few hours, the government releases a report on problems that led to unintended acceleration in millions of Toyota cars and trucks. It's a culmination of a 10-month investigation conducted by the Department of Transportation and NASA. The report should help resolve the question about whether electronic glitches caused Toyota vehicles to accelerate suddenly.
HOLMES: Let's turn to our Rob Marciano now, keeping an eye on things for us in the extreme weather center. Things are going to get not just cold. I don't even know how to classify what this is.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's cold again and some of the coldest stuff we've seen so far. So, probably not news a lot of folks want to hear. But, you know, very day that we go into February is the day closer to what we technically get to spring. It certainly doesn't feel that way.
It's three right now in Kansas City, eight in Chicago, minus nine in Minneapolis, and this does not include the wind chill and all this cold air is driving a little bit farther down to the South. Temperatures are a little bit more mild on the I-95 corridor, but the cold front is pressing through now with a mixture of rain and snow from New York to Boston.
The snow north of, say, I-84, north of Danbury and Newburgh, north of Poughkeepsie, you'll see anywhere from three to six inches of snow from this system. But it's just pretty much the precursor of the big show, which is going to be the cold air.
And the second storm that's driving across the Plains and Colorado right now, that's going to bring, at times, some pretty wintry conditions across, well, places that already have seen their fair share of winter. Six to 10 inches of snow expected in Oklahoma City. And one of four inches of snow and sleet again in Dallas, if not the five inches they saw before the Super Bowl wasn't enough.
And this is going to drive a little bit farther to the south and east as we go through time, we'll talk more about the specific track of that. It will bring snow to other unusual spots, including northern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and north Georgia.
Fifty in Dallas, enjoy that today because it's going to be a lot colder come tomorrow.
Sorry for the news there, guys. But by this time, I think everybody is used to the cold weather. It's been quite a winter. Back to you.
CHETRY: Sure has. All right, Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
HOLMES: Now, there'll be a big rally today in Green Bay, Lambeau Field in particular. The Packers headed back home. They were welcomed by their fans and they were welcomed with a new piece of hardware, the Lombardi trophy, and went down Lombardi Avenue. Thousands lined to welcome the team back.
CHETRY: And everything -- well, everything did not really go as planned in front of the biggest television audience in history as we know. The boys of late night did not let the performers off the hook. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, TV HOST: They had the celebrities. They had Alex Rodriguez there and then they had Cameron Diaz. Did you see that?
And, first, what is this? She's feeding -- what is she feeding him? She's feeding popcorn. Feeding him popcorn, ladies and gentlemen!
And later in the game, look at this. She's feeding him like a turkey, like a turkey leg. Embarrassing!
Really. Look at that.
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: Can't feed himself? He's got bad hands.
JAY LENO, TV HOST: A lot of the people are saying she flubbed some of the lyrics. I got to admit, I didn't catch it at first, but I've been replaying it. And, well, here, you be the judge. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
(CHEERING)
LENO: Amazing! I didn't see it at first! Yes! What was that?
What was going on with Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez? Well, show that again. Well, look, there she is. Look, she's feeding him some popcorn. OK. That seems OK, but that was the first quarter.
See? Think they were bored. Show what they were doing in the third quarter. This got a little weird. Now, she's actually putting lipstick on.
CONAN O'BRIEN, TV HOST: Everybody had parties yesterday, a lot of people had parties, everybody -- including the president. At the White House Super Bowl party, they had a White House Super Bowl party, President Obama served a menu that featured food from both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania -- that's true -- which explains why this morning, President Obama tested positive for diabetes.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HOLMES: OK. Christina Aguilera, she wasn't that bad -- one little line in front of the biggest audience ever.
CHETRY: The biggest audience ever. That's probably why, you know? I mean, people do blub it but that was a big, big stage.
HOLMES: Poor thing.
CHETRY: I know.
HOLMES: Well, coming up next: some dramatic proposals to cut the budget. How is this for dramatic? Eliminate the Department of Education.
CHETRY: Also a little later, NASA is not sure if it can build a new rocket. They need more money or the space race could be over.
Eight minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Some uplifting music for you today. Eleven minutes past the hour.
A shot of Washington, D.C. The White House this morning, where it's fair, 35, partly cloudy wind, going up to 38 degrees. So, warmer than we have seen it in a while.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just days away from leaving his post, his last day on the job will actually be Friday. He announced his decision to leave a month ago and Vice President Biden's communications director Jay Carney will be taking over. Gibbs will continue on as an outside adviser to President Obama and also to his re-election campaign.
HOLMES: Also, Florida's new governor having to make some tough choices and make some unusual steps to try to close a $3.6 billion dollar deficit. Republican Governor Rick Scott wants to cut taxes, $4 billion worth in property and corporate income taxes. He's a Tea Party favorite.
He was guest on AMERICAN MORNING last hour. He told me he believes in shrinking the size of government and that will attract private jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Businesspeople go where they can get the best return. Florida is going to be the place where you get the best return. We're going to have the lowest taxes. We're going to have a governor that understands that businesspeople don't need a whole bunch of regulation that's killing jobs.
You know, the federal government needs to do the exact same thing. As a country, we've got to reduce our taxes. I'm starting here in the state of Florida. But, hopefully, the same thing will happen across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Governor Scott's budget calls for almost $5 billion in service cuts. The Florida legislature still must approve his budget, however.
CHETRY: And it's not just Florida. States from coast to coast are drowning in red ink. That we know. But just how far should the states go to try to reduce their deficits?
Our Jim Acosta is live in Washington.
And, you know, many of the Republican and Tea Party favorite governors, like Rick Scott, don't want to do it in the form of tax increases. And so, we're probably going to see a lot of things we normally expect service-wise to go away.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, they are talking about laying off state workers, cutting education budgets big time. So, this is going to be pretty jarring to a lot of folks out there.
And, you know, all of the talk in D.C. lately has been about the exploding federal deficit, but with the economy plodding along, many states are also facing some steep deficits of their own and that means very deep budget cuts.
Take a look at this map. These are by no means the only states with budget deficits. But just a sample of the big states that are out there. Florida, you mentioned Florida, $3.6 billion deficit. Texas, $27 billion dollars over two years. Illinois, $13 billion. California, $25 billion.
How are these states expected to deal with this?
Well, in Florida, you talked about this earlier -- state layoffs, pension plan changes.
And Texas, they're looking at cuts to education.
In Illinois, this is one of the examples where they went for a tax increase -- a 67 percent income tax increase for residents there. Unbelievable.
California possible cuts in Medicaid and higher education.
So, you know, this is really a sign of the times, guys. And what was interesting about Rick Scott, you were talking to him in the last hour, T.J., Rick Scott announced these cuts at a Tea Party event. Usually, we see governors talking to their state legislatures or unveiling their budget at a press conference. He did this at a Tea Party even event and had applause, you know, almost after every line in his speech, which you have to admit, was a pretty smart move on his part.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning -- thanks so much, Jim.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, coming up, the force is certainly with him. Up next, we're going to meet the boy who captivated the nation with his cute portrayal of mini-Darth Vader in the Super Bowl ad. Obi-wan has taught him well. Here he is. His mom, too.
Can't wait to talk to you, buddy. See you in a second!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. We're so excited. We have a very special guest with us today. Advertisers spent millions, of course, as we know, on their Super Bowl last weekend. A high stakes gamble designed to create buzz and to move product, but it was a six-year-old boy wearing a Darth Vader costume who really wound up stealing the show. If you haven't seen it, here's the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Max Page is the young man behind the mask. He certainly has the force with him now. Twenty million YouTube hits and counting. In fact, we just checked the page views at 4:30 a.m., and they're still racking up.
So, we're so pleased you could join us on AMERICAN MORNING. Max, welcome. Along with your mom, Jennifer. Good to see you this morning.
JENNIFER PAGE, MOTHER: Thank you.
CHETRY: I noticed you two watching the video, the commercial, as it was running. Do you ever get sick of seeing it or you still love it? It still makes you smile.
MAX PAGE, PLAYS DARTH VADER ON VW COMMERCIAL: I love it.
CHETRY: You got the right idea. Now, I know that you're a Justin Bieber fan. Do you know that more people have viewed your video on YouTube than Justin Bieber's Best Buy ad? What do you think about that?
MAX PAGE: I know. My dad said I'm the hit star for like a long time.
CHETRY: You sure are. You're more popular than the Bieb. What do you think about that?
MAX PAGE: I know.
CHETRY: Do you love it?
MAX PAGE: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, I know that you, guys, have an exciting time. You had a chance, of course, to meet the man who played the voice of Darth Vader yesterday. you got to meet James Earl Jones. Let's roll a little bit of video. This was so adorable. How did this come about?
JENNIFER PAGE: We got a call yesterday morning, the PR from (INAUDIBLE) is with us, and she just said James Earl Jones would like to meet Max and have this exchange, and so, they set it up -- we ran it up on the theater stage. And he handed Max an autographed helmet and, I mean, it was just, I mean, it didn't even feel like it was happening. It was so surreal. It was just wonderful.
CHETRY: And Max, did you like getting a chance to meet James Earl Jones?
MAX PAGE: Yes.
CHETRY: What did you think of him?
MAX PAGE: Well, he was really cool. I never he would be so cool.
JENNIFER PAGE: He got a deep voice, didn't he?
MAX PAGE: Yeah. I never know --
CHETRY: And he was tall.
MAX PAGE: I thought he would just have to make the deep voice. I didn't know he already had one.
CHETRY: I know. I thought that as well, but that's just how he talks. It's pretty amazing. Well, you know, we also heard that you didn't get a chance -- you didn't see "Star Wars" before. We want to give you a little present because even running around and all that for you and your brothers to have a blast with your brother and sister, the entire "Star Wars" collectors edition. I don't know what age they can see them all.
JENNIFER PAGE: Yes, exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNIFER PAGE: Haven't seen "Star Wars." The reason is because he's a little scared, still. So, in time appropriate, he will definitely watch all of them, and now, we have this special series. That's fantastic. Thank you so much.
CHETRY: You're welcome. It was 1977 when the movie came out. It's just amazing that over all of these years, Darth Vader is still, you know, such a huge part of our culture, and that he's, you know, getting to be the mini Darth Vader.
MAX PAGE: Maybe, the two movies.
CHETRY: Well, there is more than two in there. It's three and three, I think, right? There's three in that one and three in that one, so don't worry.
MAX PAGE: One is "Star Wars" and one is "Clone Wars"?
JENNIFER PAGE: Yes. That'll be perfect.
CHETRY: He seems to know a lot.
JENNIFER PAGE: Well, he knows a lot about it. Yes, we just -- before the Volkswagen spot, with all the audition process, we went ahead and like YouTube's Darth Vader so he could kind of see the mannerisms, but Lance (ph), the director side, what he brought to the spot when they were filming was more of an authenticity because he wasn't mimicking Darth Vader. He was just tunneling Darth Vader and doing what he thought Darth Vader looked like.
So, Lance was able to work with his hands and get them exactly how the force (ph) should look and some stuff. And I know the Volkswagen people at deutsche are huge "Star Wars" fans, so, they were like, OK, Max, do this and do this whenever they would take the break. So, they helped to coach him, but he was able to bring his own energy to it.
And so, it was just great. It was so much fun to watch. We just laughed and laughed for two days. And hopefully, deutsche will put together like, I believe, first rule or behind the scenes.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNIFER PAGE: And then the five or 10 minutes, there still so much that they weren't able to fit into these two spots. So, that'd be really fun to see what comes of it.
CHETRY: Well, it was brilliant they were getting a lot of play. The only thing after I saw how adorable he was. I thought, wow, what a shame that he did this whole commercial, and you didn't get to see his face because he had a Darth Vader mask on.
JENNIFER PAGE: I think the feedback we're getting from him as an actor is how -- and other actors are about how they able to make it come alive, and you could actually see expression. Even though it's a hard plastic helmet, you could see the expression.
And so, I think that credit has talent, and he was (INAUDIBLE) on "Young and the Restless" on Friday he was there Friday morning when all this hoopla was getting started, and everyone was having just a great time watching the ad with him, so it was really fun.
CHETRY: And so, what's it like as a mom to, you know, to have your six-year-old just out there, everybody is talking about him? I mean, it must be a whirlwind for you.
JENNIFER PAGE: It's a whirlwind. We're just trying to, you know, deutsche is directing us where we need to go. We hop in the car and go somewhere else. It's just so much fun. Just trying to live in the moment, enjoy the moment, support Max. I mean, his story being born with a congenital heart defect, and the surgeries he's gone through, what he's endured. We're just so proud of him and just so proud to share this part of his life, too.
And we have a huge support group of fans that we're just already Max fans before the acting thing even started. So, you know, his little brother is a huge part of his life, and they get to pal around. And what was so great even after meeting James Earl Jones last night, Max was excited. He did so great, and then he was just excited for room service and ice cream.
CHETRY: Enjoy it while you can. Exactly.
JENNIFER PAGE: Exactly.
CHETRY: Well, that sounds like fun. And his prognosis is great?
JENNIFER PAGE: He's great. He has a pacemaker that does some ongoing things, ongoing checkups and different things but, yes, he's able to live a full life and be a great kid, and you know, once these kids get mended, they can go and live full lives. And that's been a huge inspiration for others already. We're getting a lot of e-mails.
CHETRY: Good for him. He's just adorable. Too bad he's so shy, though. It's going to be tough for you to try to bring him out of the shell, right?
JENNIFER PAGE: Exactly. Especially in costume.
CHETRY: Max, it was wonderful to meet you. What are you going to be for Halloween, by the way? Not Darth Vader, are you?
MAX PAGE: This.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Milkit (ph). Go for it. All right. It was so great to meet both of you. Good luck. I know that you're a big star now. So, if I meet you next time, you may not even remember me, but I'll remember you, buddy. And have fun watching your "Star Wars" trilogies.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNIFER PAGE: Thank you.
CHETRY: I promise you there are six movies in there -- T.J HOLMES: He kind of looks like a little Anakin Skywalker from the movies, actually. He could actually probably could have played that role. Congratulations. Well, 24 minutes past the hour in this AMERICAN MORNING.
Coming up, the commercial space rates just got a little more intense.
Also, renovated homes for as little as a thousand dollars. Would you take that deal? We'll tell you where it's happening and actually why it's happening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Mark Kelly is back to work. The NASA astronaut and the husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords started his training on Monday. He is, of course, the commander of shuttle "Endeavour's" final mission. He was debating going back and forth whether or not he was going to take this personal leave, and instead, stay by his wife's side, but he did decide he was going to fly on this final mission which is set to launch in April.
CHETRY: Also, NASA was told to go out and build a new rocket, replace its retiree space fleet, of course, but the agency says the money is just not there. Officials say that the $8 billion budget is not enough to meet a 2016 deadline, and by law, unless, NASA proves that there is not enough money, the rocket must be built. So, that will be interesting to see where that fight goes.
And a fight for NASA'S cash, by the way, ATK Alliant Texas owns a company out of Utah now announcing that its building a rocket that it hopes will one day take astronauts to the international space station. Right now, we have to hatcheck (ph) from the Russians. So far, NASA's already signed a contract with space X to fly cargo at the station once its shuttles are retired.
HOLMES: Let's turn to our Christine Romans now. Christine, "Minding Our Business." We always hear that small business creates so many jobs in this country. What you got for?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: By some estimates, 60 percent of the hiring is from small business. We saw the president go and extend the olive branch to big business, but what is the state of small business? Well, a key, key gauge of small business optimism just came out in the last hour, and it shows small business optimism has climbed out of the hole created by the recession and is now the highest it's been since December 2007.
That is according to one analyst I follow. A clear step in the right direction, but still more needs to be done. So, improving small business optimism, but the report points out that small business owners are still scared to expand. They are still scared to hire. So, the hiring hasn't followed suit just yet, but there you go.
A key gauge of small business optimism, you guys, climbing out of the hole of the recession. Now, the next thing is to flip that switch so the confidence allows them to begin to hire. What's holding them back, so far? Weak sales. Demand just isn't there yet. When their sales improve, hopefully, after this lazy ground (ph) work for some of the hiring.
HOLMES: There is no demand whatever it is you're making, you're not going to. No matter how optimistic anybody is.
ROMANS: That's right.
HOLMES: That's the bottom line. All right. Christine, good to see you. Thank you so much. We're at the bottom of the hour here now.
Google executive, Wael Ghonim, has been freed. He was missing, you may remember, for several days, abducted by Egypt's military police. He's spent 12 days in detention. He was the one that helped set up a Facebook page that helped organize some protests.
Egyptians call him a hero. He says that is not the case. He is giving an interview talking about his kidnapping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAEL GHONIM, GOOGLE EXECUTIVE (via translator): I was going get a taxi, so I went one way. I was walking down a straight road. And I found all of a sudden four people surrounding people. They were kidnapping me. And I yelled "Help me!" But of course, I knew these were security forces.
The thing that tortured the mow in detention people find out I was the admin of the page that was calling for protests. I didn't want people to find out I was the admin because I am not the hero. I was writing with a keyboard on the Internet and my life was never exposed to any danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He does say he was blindfolded for the entire time. He was not tortured, however and says he was treated with respect.
CHETRY: Italian prosecutors are now pushing for immediate trial for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He's accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute. The young woman says she didn't have sex with Berlusconi and Berlusconi himself has characterized these allegations against him as "political mudslinging."
HOLMES: The Navy is announcing a breakthrough in drone technology. The latest drone can do something others could not do, which is considered one of the most difficult feats in aviation, which is take off and land on an aircraft carrier. More testing needs to be done but the Navy hopes to have the drone on carriers by 2013.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Maybe that is the way to get home sales going up, maybe one way to do it. We'll see if it works out. The big question for places like Detroit is how do you revitalize a city when you can't get people to live there? In Detroit the mayor is starting with its police officers. More than half of the force live outside the city. The mayor is offering them an incentive to move back. For as little as $1,000 dollars, police officers can buy an abandoned home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BING, MAYOR OF DETRIOT: Police officers living in their neighborhoods have the potential to deter crime, increase public safety, and improve relations between the community and our sworn officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Not only is the mayor, Dave Bing, offering low cost housing, he is willing to put federal stimulus dollars there, as much as $150,000 towards fixing up the homes. The incentive is being offered to fill some 200 abandoned houses currently owned by the city in Detroit's Boston, Edison, and East English Village neighborhoods.
As for Detroit police who already live in the city, they could also get in on this deal. The mayor says he'll offer these officers the opportunity, albeit a smaller one, to improve their existing homes with some of those stimulus dollars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BING: You got to reward the ones that did stay. I never left. I never had a plan to leave. I make Detroit work for me. It's my home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Well, the mayor's office told us 50 calls have come in from officers wanting to participate and eventually incentives will eventually be offered to the city's firefighters. The mayor's office also told us that they hope this might catch on with some of Detroit's large corporations, offering incentives to employees to live where they work.
These homes are incredible, huge, old Victorian homes. I've been in some of these places. If someone could get in there and renovate them, they could turn a neighborhood around.
ROMANS: Some of the beautiful old homes from the heyday of Detroit and has some potential.
Check back us and let us know how it works. Somebody has to pay the heating bill.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: The renovation will be more than 150 grand in some of those places. CHETRY: Thanks, so great to see you this morning, Jason.
HOLMES: Well, coming up, they are one of the most storied and celebrated families in American history, the Kennedys. But a new miniseries that chronicles the series got the ax from the History Channel and now has a hard time finding a home. We will tell you about the controversy on the miniseries that many did not want you to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: There is a controversial proposal in one state to punish parents when teens "sext" each other. Lawmakers in Texas introduce a bill that would make parents more accountable for teens in Texas sending sexual images or messages by phone. "Sexting" would be classified as a misdemeanor and allow a judge to sentence parents and teens to attend an education program on the harmful consequences of sexting.
Well, if you have to confess your sins, there is an app for that. There is an iPhone app designed to help Catholics through the confession process and not replace it. Catholic Church has given its blessing. The app is supposed to help you along the process, but Catholics must still go to a priest for absolution.
And Disney looking to corner one part of the kiddie market that it doesn't already dominate, but what would that possibly be? Newborns. Last month Disney launched a baby line in maternity wards across the country. They offer moms a onsie. It will be available on Amazon with more items to follow.
HOLMES: Kiran, it is the television miniseries you almost could not see. History Channel commissioned "The Kennedys" and then they dropped it, taking issue here with its dramatic interpretation, they say.
The series, though, has found another TV home. It's going to premiere on April 3rd on ReelzChannel. Joining us now, Michael Prupas, executive director of the Kennedys, and Stan Hubbard is the CEO of ReelzChannel. Thank you both for being.
Let's define this thing. What is it, a documentary, a docudrama, or what is this thing?
MICHAEL PRUPAS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE KENNEDYS": It's a historical fiction greatly researched, carefully acted, and meticulously designed so that we really could reproduce what really happened at the time in a fictional environment -- a scripted environment is what I want to say.
HOLMES: Is that the problem maybe we had from the beginning, is people didn't understand what it was? Historical fiction is a lot different from a docudrama and History Channel has a certain channel. Do you think people misunderstood what it was from the beginning?
PRUPAS: Certainly the network went through the scripts, carefully gave us notes. We followed those notes. We were very meticulous in following what they had asked us to do and we were following history as far as we were concerned.
HOLMES: Let me put up a statement from the History Channel, when they said we are going to drop this and it will not have a home on our network. They said "While the film is produced and acted with the highest quality, after viewing the final product in its totality, we have concluded this dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the history brand." How many networks turned this thing down?
PRUPAS: I couldn't tell you. A lot of them were reported in the newspapers that we haven't seen spoken to, so it's not really clear that that many turned it down to be honest with you.
HOLMES: Let me turn to you know, Mr. Hubbard. Your network, ReelzChannel, has picked building up. It seemed like nobody wanted to touch it and many saying it wasn't historically accurate and kind of looked down on the Kennedys. Why are you taking it up at your network?
STAN HUBBARD, CEO, REELZCHANNEL: I think it found it more than we found it as an independent network. Nobody could make a decision as quickly as they had to have a world premiere on April 3rd. I do think, having seen all eight hours and how riveting "The Kennedys" is, when people see it, even the historians who have made some comments publicly and privately to hurt this movie event are going to have to look in the mirror and do some soul-searching.
This is a drama and it is a movie, but I think it's historically accurate and it is really, really good.
HOLMES: Let me take a quick look here at a scene, Joe Kennedy talking to two of his sons. We'll run a quick clip and ask you about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You boys don't remember anything else I say, remember this.
CROWD: Kennedy! Kennedy!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not what you are. It's what people think you are. And with the right amount of money, you can make them think whatever you want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You say it's historically accurate, but some historians have had a problem with it and said it publicly and privately. But it takes a lot of liberties. How many liberties did you take? Behind the scenes things it depicts some would say philandering frat boys, a couple of the Kennedys.
PRUPAS: The amount of events that happened during that time. We weren't in the bedrooms of the family when these things happened but we know happened. There are 2,000 books have been written by the Kennedys in the last 40 years. We are just repeating what had been said previously. This is not -- this isn't a controversial film. It's a film about a controversial family.
HOLMES: But when you say you weren't in the bedrooms, you take some liberties, some are not comfortable with the liberties you do take.
PRUPAS: Well, I think the mere fact that we have been able to reproduce a story that reflects what this family really was is -- when people watch it, they will come away with it knowing that this is really a great representation of that family and they will come away thinking it's a great family.
HOLMES: Mr. Hubbard, to you finally here, there are plenty reports out there that some of these networks, executives were directly lobbied by members of the Kennedy family not to have this on the air. Were you, at any point, lobbied?
HUBBARD: We are not lobbied by anyone. We are an independent station. We stepped up to the decision and this is a terrific movie and people can see it April 3rd on the ReelzChannel.
HOLMES: You think the Kennedys don't want it on the air?
HUBBARD: I don't know.
HOLMES: They haven't contact you?
HUBBARD: They haven't contacted you.
HUBBARD: This is not Russia doing the Putins. This is the Kennedys. People will be darn proud of it. The leadership in the civil rights and particularly in other areas, but don't be surprised if it's a family with some demons.
HOLMES: All right, appreciate you both being here. For folks who want to see a clip, you can go to reelz.com and enter your zip code on the channel finder on left side there to get a sneak peek of a clip. Thank you both for being here and we'll follow up with you. April 3rd, see what happens.
CHETRY: It looks very interesting, T.J.
All right, we'll get ready for a cold plunge in dozens of states in the east and south and heavy snow behind these frigid temperatures and intense wind chills. Rob Marciano is going to be joining us with an update. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And good morning. We're about a quarter at the top of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Lovely shot of New York City today where it's going to be 39 degrees, it's got a little rain, snow and wind. They call that Tuesday here in New York. CHETRY: Yes, the ice pack is slowly melting around the area. It's now slush. Keep melting, please. A long way to go until you can see the sidewalks or see the grass again.
HOLMES: Oh yes.
CHETRY: Hey, Rob Marciano, tell us just how long. I know that we're expecting another deep freeze, right? 48 percent of the country is going to be dealing with these bone-chilling temperatures?
MARCIANO: Yes, luckily for folks who don't like the grass, the melt is slow and you got a pretty big decent snow effect and you're right, we're going to get more cold air behind this system.
Check out the current temperature, it kind of tell the story right here: 39 in New York and 37 degrees in D.C.
So just barely warming up to start melting some stuff but it's eight in Chicago and three degrees in Kansas City and minus nine in Minneapolis. This is all driving south and east. So a lot of folks are going to get a little piece of this.
We've got a couple of storms that are -- we're dealing with. The first one moving across the northeast today; that is bringing some rain and some snow to the area and with that, we're calling for maybe three to six inches of snow across parts of the Northern Tier and also some snow across parts of Oklahoma could see six to 10 inches of snow there.
Denver seeing some snow as well and Dallas could see one to four inches of snow. The problem with the snow across the northeast, we've seen about 150 roof or structure collapses because of the weight of the snow on these things. And on top of that, the snow sliding off of buildings and that's been dangerous as well.
Here is some video out of Charleston -- or Charles Town in Boston where some couple of cars were damaged just from snow and ice that were moving, obviously, downward and no -- no injuries here but a dangerous go and more wet snow on the way for tonight.
All right. This particular map shows the -- the storm that's going to be rolling from Texas all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and it's going to spread snow from Texas across parts of Arkansas and through Mississippi, Alabama and through north Georgia as well. So, everybody getting a little taste of winter here.
The longer range forecast, I think next week will be a little bit warmer; and even though they're going to see a couple of inches of snow in Dallas, they'll probably see temperatures that will be warm enough to melt that snow as we get towards the weekend.
But for them, the melting will occur a little more quickly. 40s and 50s versus the 30s that you'll see today; 20s for our day time highs tomorrow across the Big Apple.
T.J. and Kiran, back up to you. CHETRY: All right, Rob, thanks so much.
HOLMES: Thanks Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
CHETRY: Well, he invented the new style of hard rock. And now Eddie Van -- oh of -- of hard rock, I'm sorry, the Hard Rock Cafe, hard rock.
HOLMES: Oh yes, the actual --
CHETRY: Yes, the actual --
HOLMES: Music.
CHETRY: -- wonderful sound. Eddie van Halen's guitar is not headed to -- not the Hard Rock, not the Cleveland Museum of Music, no, Rock 'N' Roll Hall of fame but rather the Smithsonian. He'll be on display at the National Museum -- Museum of American History. It's red, black and white and it's beautiful. He actually played it on tour in 2007 and 2008.
HOLMES: All right.
Well, coming up it's probably not the best idea to eat bad food, but does eating it actually lower your I.Q.? It's 10 minutes at the top of the hour. Stay with us for the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And we're getting close to the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
There's a new study out parents might want to hear about. It says that introducing food -- solid food too early puts babies at risk for early obesity. Researchers found that formula-fed infants or infants who stopped breastfeeding before four months of age were six times more likely to be obese by age three than a baby who started solid food at a later time.
Also your child's diet could affect how smart that child is. It could affect their I.Q., this is according to a study we're getting out of England found that young kids who had a diet high in fat, sugar and processed foods tended to have a slightly lower I.Q. by the time the child was eight. Children who ate a healthy diet had a slightly higher I.Q.
Researchers say a kind of a weak link here but a reminder that what happens early in a child's development can have an important impact later in life -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, this week as part of our "Human Factor" series we're going to meet Dr. Lynne Holden. She's an Emergency Room physician that can literally say she's been in some of her patients' shoes. Holden suffered from a rare medical condition, overcame the odds and is now helping others.
Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. LYNNE HOLDEN, MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER: Well, I always wanted to be a physician since I can remember since I was six years old.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Lynne Holden has achieved her dream. She's been a physician in one of the busiest Emergency Rooms in the United States for the past 15 years.
HOLDEN: What brings you in to the hospital today?
GUPTA: Without any doctors in her family to look up to, it was Dr. Marcus Welby from the '60s TV series who inspired her.
HOLDEN: I always admired the way Marcus Welby went in and took care of patients and made them feel better.
GUPTA: Another driving force? Gray's Anatomy. No, not the current TV show that's probably inspiring a whole new generation of doctors, but the book "Gray's Anatomy" which she first saw on Marcus Welby and then under the Christmas tree.
HOLDEN: The book for me was a constant reminder of what my goals and what my dreams were.
GUPTA: A dream achieved only to be surpassed by the arrival of her daughter in 1997. But a week after the birth of her baby, Holden became seriously ill.
HOLDEN: I started to experience shortness of breath. Twelve hours later, I realized that something was really wrong. I had to seek attention.
GUPTA: the diagnosis? A rare and serious condition called peripartum cardiomyopathy. Holden survived but feared she wouldn't be able to return to the emergency room.
HOLDEN: It was during that time that I thought, about, wow, if I can't continue to realize my dream, why can't I help others do it? I've been through the journey. I know what it takes.
GUPTA: After nearly a year of therapy, she overcame the heart problem and went back to work in the E.R. And a chance meeting on the subway led her to start inspiring young people with the same dream she had many years ago.
HOLDEN: The mentoring program really was started out of the need to help students who have a dream, but don't know how to attain that dream. GUPTA: Now she is helping the next generation of health care professionals realize that dream.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Good for her. Amazing.
Well, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. It's 56 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Just getting word in about developments happening in Cairo in Egypt right now. You know that protesters have been there for -- going into a third week now. The word we're getting is that a small group of the protesters have left Tahrir Square together and have headed to the government neighborhoods they call it but have gone in front of the parliament building and are chanting "fraud". This has not escalated, gotten out of hand or gotten violent to this point but again something we have not necessarily seen where they are breaking off into a smaller group from the larger group of protesters that's been collected in Tahrir Square for quite some time now.
CHETRY: Yes. Still a lot of questions about whether or not they can force the Mubarak government to step down or whether he's going to remain in place as he said until September. Seems that they are not taking no for an answer right now.
And there is some of the new video that we just got. Again, largely peaceful but wanting to get their point across that they are still going to try to come out there day after day and make sure that they are heard.
And of course, this comes as there are some reports of new casualty numbers of protesters who may have been killed in some of the demonstrations.
We'll get an update on all of that from Kyra Phillips. "CNN NEWSROOM" starts right now.
Good morning, Kyra.
