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American Morning
Sheen: "Don't Believe" in A.A.; Wal-Mart Workers Disarm Robber, Get Fired; Human Factor; Home Depot Hiring Binge
Aired February 15, 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: Good morning to you all on this day after Valentine's Day. Hope you had a good one. I'm T.J. Holmes. Thanks for being here with us.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
Well, it is the video that certainly has a lot of people talking this morning. Concerns about Charlie Sheen after he called into a radio program and maybe gave a little bit too much information. He was on the "The Dan Patrick Radio Show," talking about a pep talk that he gave to the UCLA baseball team.
Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: I said, stay away from the crack, which I think is pretty good advice unless you can manage it socially, Dan. If you can manage it socially, then go for it but not a lot of people can, you know.
DAN PATRICK, "THE DAN PATRICK RADIO SHOW": Did you think that you could?
SHEEN: Sorry?
PATRICK: Did you think you could?
SHEEN: Yes, yes. But that kind of blew up in my face. Like an exploding crack pipe, Dan. Sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now some might chuckle at that, but a lot of people taking that quite seriously, that this is a man with a problem here. As you know, he's in hiatus from his show. His entire show, "Two and a Half Men," popular show, is on hiatus right now. But he says he is ready to get back to work.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PATRICK: You want to go back to work?
SHEEN: Oh, yes, man. It's -- I mean, I'm a man of my word. I have a contract. They said, you know, get your act together, and I did. And now, they just -- I don't know, I just think maybe it was a timing thing. They didn't think it was going to happen this fast.
But check it, it's like, you know, I heal really quickly. But I also unravel pretty quickly. So, get me right now, guys!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HOLMES: Sanjay, let me go ahead and bring you in.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us here now.
Sanjay, when you hear that, are you hearing a man who maybe accepts and even making light of his problems? Or this is a guy that seems to be in denial and a little off?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting. I think there's a few different things going on here. And, obviously, when you talk about addiction overall, you're talking about a very serious problem. You know, 23 million people in this country alone have it.
You know, sort of thinking on what exactly is happening in a situation like this -- you know, people think is this just simply a lack of willpower, some sort of, you know, moral problem, or is this more a disease of the brain? And you see some of the manifestations of this. And when I say disease of the brain, I mean, more and more people are sort of pointing to three specific areas that they think about.
And when you hear something like what's been happening with Charlie Sheen -- for example, let me just show you quickly here. Some of this is important. But, you know, when you look at the front of the brain here, you talk about the frontal lobes. The -- this area in here is responsible for your judgment. Someone who's having these sorts of problems typically has some impairment in this area.
The amygdala, which is an area that's responsible for your ability to handle stress, is closer to the center of the brain. Some people simply can't handle the stresses of daily life without some sort of substance, at least that's what they think, and that's the amygdala is the sort of damage in those areas.
And then an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. That's a big name to remember. But, basically, this is an area of the brain which responsible for rewards. You know, how much of a reward do you get from taking substances? For some people, it's not much of a reward at all. For other people, it's such an intense reward that they can't live without it.
But this is -- you know, we did a whole documentary on addiction and this is sort of where a lot of the current medical thinking is when you hear a situation like this.
CHETRY: You know, the other thing, too, is just hearing him talk like this. Like the show, he was taking to Cedars-Sinai at the end of January with the severe abdominal pains and then there were reports, you know, that there was a lot going on there and that drugs were involved. And the next day, he did voluntarily enter rehab. That's when CBS had to say the show is on hiatus.
And now, he's making light of it and asked in the radio show, "Are you sober? And he said, "Well, right now," but I think that -- he went, "I'm not into A.A."
GUPTA: Right.
CHETRY: I mean, is there any way to be somebody who suffered with addiction as much as he has not go cold turkey off of drugs and alcohol? Is that possible?
GUPTA: You know, it's a great question. And it's divisible even with people who treat these types of addictions.
It was interesting that he said, I will not use the term sober and I will not, you know, go to A.A." He's really sort of saying he's refusing a particular type of rehab which is quite common and popular in this country.
There are other things that, again, scientists are sort of pointing toward based on what I was just telling you about the brain. This idea that you can change the brain so the reward, for example, is not as intense when you take a substance. You're not getting that euphoric high and, as a result, people crave it less, also your ability to modulate stress. So, you know, he calls it boredom. Other people say it's just the stress of life.
Well, whatever it may be, you can deal with that more easily without requiring a substance. And there are medications which people talk about now. Naltrexone, for one, is one that's being studied, widely written about right now. But, again, this is a divisive question what you're asking, Kiran, even within the addiction community.
HOLMES: All right. Sanjay, we appreciate you this morning. Again, more concerns here about the health of Charlie Sheen. Sanjay, thanks so much, as always.
CHETRY: More as we're going to be speaking more about this coming up in a few minutes with our HLN host, Jane Velez-Mitchell. She co-wrote a new book "Addict Nation." We're going to take her take on what's going on with Charlie.
HOLMES: Give you the latest developments now coming to us out of Italy, where the prime minister there, Silvio Berlusconi, will stand trial. He has been charge with having sex with under-aged prostitute and with abuse of power. The criminal trial is expected to begin somewhere around April 6th. Berlusconi has denied the charges, saying this case is politically motivated.
CHETRY: Also, the future of the Patriot Act now in the hands of the Senate. The House Republican leaders regrouped and voted to extend the three key provisions of the Patriot Act that would have been expiring at the end of this month. They failed in their first attempt last week. But it extends the government's broad surveillance powers in terrorism cases until December. The Senate needs to approve the provisions before they expire.
HOLMES: Well, it's time to sell it. That budget that the White House put out yesterday, they are about to try to sell it to members of Congress. The president put out that 2012 budget. Now, his treasury secretary, the White House budget director, also, the health and human services secretary are all going to be on Capitol Hill trying to convince lawmakers that this is the way to go.
Meanwhile, Republicans already have come out and criticized the bill, saying it doesn't go far enough to cut deficits.
CHETRY: We, the flyers. Today, California Congressman Mike Thompson officially introduces the Air Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2011. It includes the three-hour rule, limiting how long a plane can sit on the tarmac with passengers aboard before they have to let passengers off if they want to get off. The government began fining airlines for those delays over three hours back in April. Travel analysts also say that some airlines just started simply canceling flights to avoid the potential for those fines.
HOLMES: And we have landed on Mars, so to speak. Six male astronauts have been training. Look at this mission here. This is not a real mission. And they're not really on their way to Mars.
But this is a 500-day mission in Moscow. And what this is meant to do is to test human beings in severely cramped quarters. They are being monitored for psychological and physical progress and they're trying to figure out, the scientists are, if humans could handle an actual trip to Mars.
Yesterday, as part of this trip, they finally landed, if you will, on Mars. They had a simulated mars surface walk. Now, the next tough part of this journey is to get back in that capsule and make the journey, the simulated journey home. But altogether, this is an eight-month simulated Mars mission.
CHETRY: There's no way. There is no way for 500 days I could be cramped. I mean, that's a whole skill or whatever you want to call it in itself. Forget all of the other things that go into being an astronaut.
HOLMES: I think it's 1,700 square feet. Roughly six of them. It is, yes.
CHETRY: Rob M in the extreme weather center. I mean, I know you go -- you visited the facilities and they spin you around on that thing. But it's the whole captivity thing that just would make me go crazy.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. That brings cabin fever to another level, that's for sure, although that's, you know, three times the size of a lot of Manhattan apartments.
Listen, speaking of Manhattan, you're going to be cooler today as oppose to yesterday. So, if you're -- you know, you go out the door and saying, you know, I don't need the winter coat yesterday, because yesterday was just fabulous, it's going to be a little bit different ball game.
Windy and chilly, the warm air still kind of -- still kind of centered across, well, the center of the country and bookended by a couple of spots that have stormy weather, including the West Coast, which is going to usher in some more wind and rain across the Pacific Northwest and through northern California, including parts of San Francisco, could see several inches of rainfall here in the next couple of days, and that will also translate into some heavy mountain snow.
All right. Here are the temperatures. Current temperatures: 26 degrees in New York, actually even dropping over the past couple of hours. It's two in northern Vermont -- parts of northern Vermont yesterday saw a record high temperatures, kind of --been that kind of week, isn't it? Twelve degrees currently in Buffalo and 20 degrees in Pittsburgh.
We are expecting delays at the airports. Some of these have already happened, Boston and the New York metros because of the wind, although it's going to be as windy as yesterday. It will still be blustery at times.
And Atlanta and Charlotte will see some delays as well. A little bit of snow and wind in Chicago, 40 degrees for the high temperature there.
Look at the central part of the country -- 72 degrees in Dallas. Little Rock hit 70 or 72 degrees yesterday, and was just a week ago where Little Rock had half a foot of snow on the ground. How quickly things change.
And, by the way, the high temperature just above the freezing mark in New York today. You will get much warmer than that again tomorrow.
Getting to the time of year, you know, Mother Nature kind of doesn't know what to do and make up her mind. Sun is a little bit stronger, a little higher in the sky, so we get this kind of action. Embrace it, enjoy it, or plan your trip to Mars.
T.J., Kiran, back up to you.
HOLMES: All right. Rob, wait a minute. You know, Rob --
CHETRY: I know. This is Rob.
HOLMES: Yes, wait a minute. This is Rob. Rob, don't go anywhere. Rob and I are both big sports fans, all right? And, you know, it's almost the Bible, "Sports Illustrated," as you know, for any sports fan, Rob. Of course.
So, they have their latest issue out. It's an important issue, one of the most important of the year.
MARCIANO: It's an important time of the year.
CHETRY: What sport are they playing -- what sport are they playing in this issue?
HOLMES: This is bikini sport.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: It's bikini sport, right? Everybody knows. Every fellow over in the studio now has just made his way over to a monitor because they know what's coming up here, Rob.
CHETRY: Now, they're backing up because they think we're going to take a shot of them, they hope their wives don't see.
MARCIANO: It's this issue that gets you through this cold part of winter after the Super Bowl, after Valentine's Day. I mean, what else do you have to look forward to in the next couple of days?
HOLMES: So, let's do this now. We're going to unveil the cover girl for "Sports Illustrated."
CHETRY: Show the picture.
HOLMES: The cover girl for "Sports Illustrated" was actually announced by David Letterman last night. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, TV HOST: One of these women will be represented on the giant billboard and then also we'll have the winner on the show tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's great. Yes. Terrific.
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: I can't do it! I'm sorry. I can't. Let's go back.
(LAUGHTER)
LETTERMAN: All right.
All right. Drop the deal! Here we go.
(APPLAUSE)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Yes, that was Russian beauty Irina Shayk on the cover. Is that really her name?
HOLMES: Yes, it actually is.
CHETRY: All right. She is actually soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend. Boy, that's a power couple, huh?
Dave had all the potential cover girls on the show to read the top 10 list before that unveiling -- top things about appearing in the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit edition and she read number six. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LETTERMAN: Number six.
IRINA SHAYK, RUSSIAN BEAUTY: When police officer ask me for ID, I say check page 47.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That's pretty good. She said they asked her for her ID, she says just look at page number 47. That works as her ID.
Rob, again, as a subscriber to "Sports Illustrated," how does this -- how does the cover stack up?
MARCIANO: You know, I wish you could hear her voice on the cover. That adds a whole new dimension to it, doesn't it?
CHETRY: Sure does.
MARCIANO: God bless her and, you know, God bless "Sports Illustrated," and God bless America, quite frankly, and Russia.
CHETRY: Got bless a couple of other things but I can't say. All right.
HOLMES: Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: They risk their lives to disarm a shoplifter and then they got fired for it. These Walmart employees are scratching their heads this morning, saying, wait a minute, we saved lives. We avoided a much worse situation. And they want to know why they are out of a job today.
HOLMES: Also this morning, Tiger Woods has been fined for what one commentator said is one of the most disgusting things you will ever see on a golf course. We've got the video of it and we'll explain.
It's 12 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back. We're just a quarter past the top of the hour here.
Tiger Woods has been fined now for spitting. He spit on the green in the final round of Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday. This is on the 12th green. You will see it happen here. This -- that was a high powered loogie you just saw there.
The European Tour says this is a breach of tour code of conduct. One commentator even said, I'm quoting here, "One of the ugliest things you will ever see on a golf course." Tiger Woods, of course, after the sex scandal came out and said he was going to be more respectful of the game of golf. Of course, he is known for using a lot of profanity after bad shots, and he'd be more respectful.
A lot of people criticizing him for this move now. Tiger did apologize via Twitter. I read this for you, and it says, quote, "The Euro Tour is right. It was inconsiderate to spit like that, and I know better. Just wasn't thinking and want to say I'm sorry" -- Kiran.
CHETRY: T.J., thanks. Well, it certainly was not a typical day at work for four Wal-Mart employees in Layton, Utah. It's just north of Salt Lake City. They confronted a shoplifter, actually, wrestled a gun away from him, and then held him until police could arrive. But a week later, Wal-Mart fired all four saying they violated company policy.
Lori Poulsen and Shawn Ray are two of the employees who are fired. Laurie is the one who got the gun away from the suspect, and they're both joing us this morning from Salt Lake City. Thanks for being with us.
SHAWN RAY, FIRED BY WAL-MART AFTER DISARMING SHOPLIFTER: Thank you.
CHETRY: Shawn, let me just start with you and ask you about what was going on here. I know you guys are both security guards at the store. You're on duty. You see the suspect by the name of Allan Longten (ph) unwraps a netbook computer, I guess, and puts it underneath his clothing and heads for the door. What did you guys do?
RAY: We stopped him at the door and asked him to follow us to our office which is just inside the grocery doors, and asked him to return all merchandise to us. He pulled it out from underneath his clothing and put it on the desk and then backed up and acted like he was going to sit down, and then, said he need to leave, and we said, no, it's all right, just hang tight, we're going to sit here.
And he goes I have something to get rid of. We assumed it was drug paraphernalia. And we asked -- it's OK. Just calm down. Put it at (ph) the table for us. It's not a big deal. Instead, he reached into the small of his back and pulls out a gun and hold it down to his right side and cocks the hammer back and then says, no, I'm leaving and charged into the three of us.
CHETRY: So, he came at you, at this point?
RAY: Yes, we were standing between him and the door. It'd only been 20 seconds since we got in and close the door, so we hadn't had enough time to clear the door way or to sit down before he came at us.
CHETRY: And so Lori, you're the one that actually wrestled the gun away from him. How did this happen?
LORI POULSEN, FIRED BY WAL-MART AFTER DISARMING SHOPLIFTER: One of the other security guards, Justin Richmond, was able to pull his right arm out of his jacket to the point where I could see the gun in his hand. At that point, I just reached up and was able to pull the gun away from him and secure it in the back corner of the office in the drawer so it was no longer an issue.
CHETRY: This just sounds amazing. And then, you guys were able to call 911, and so, you kept him there until police arrived. What was he like? What was his entire demeanor like at this time?
RAY: At first, he was fighting pretty hard. Me and Justin just grabbed him by one of each of his arms and kept his arm away from his body, and we just stood there. Once he realized that he wasn't going anywhere, and he was all right, he calmed down, but once the sirens started coming, he struggled a little bit again, but we just stood there until the police arrived, and they took him into custody.
CHETRY: Yes. When I was reading some of your pre-interview that you did with our producers, Lori, you thought that you might get in trouble for this, right? You thought that you might get some sort of disciplinary action from Wal-Mart. Why wouldn't you assume we're going to be hailed a hero here? Who knows what could have happened if we hadn't gotten this gun away from the guy?
POULSEN: Being with the company as long as I was, I knew that policy violations, they result disciplinary action. I had never seen it go extreme on the first time policy violation. So, I was surprised by the decision to terminate, but I did know that there would be some type of disciplinary action.
CHETRY: What do you think that they wanted you to do, Shawn, because, obviously, they were not happy with how the situation turned out?
RAY: The policy states whenever a weapon is produced, you're supposed to withdraw, throw your hands up, and let the situation go. When the gun came out, we did throw our hands up, but we were all backed against the door, and when he rushed into us, we just stood there and he fought his way through us until he got to the door. Once he had the opportunity to leave, all he had to do is let go of the gun and open the door.
Instead, he turned around and grabbed Gabe by the shoulder and had the gun in his back and continued to make threats, don't make me do this. I don't want to hurt anybody, but he didn't leave. So, at that point, we had followed the policy up until there, but we didn't have an option but to protect ourselves and protect Gabe and that's when we acted. So, I don't know of any other way.
CHETRY: Right. And here's what Wal-Mart said -- no. They contacted us and said we appreciate the intentions demonstrated by our associates, but after a thorough review of what took place, it was determined that the actions put their safety and potentially the safety of our customers and other associate in jeopardy. That coming from Wal-Mart spokesman, Dan Fogleman. What do you think when you hear that, Lori?
POULSEN: I kind of am shocked a little bit because our actions kept everybody safe. Right outside our office is the main entrance where there are hundreds of civilian people who have no self-defense training, no defense mechanisms. They would have been pretty much sitting ducks, in my opinion. They wouldn't know what was coming at them, and yet, Wal-Mart's opinion is that we should have let him knowing he had a gun into the vestibule of all of those citizens.
CHETRY: Well, as we understand, you guys have tried to talk to them about getting your job back. That has not happened at this point, and you're considering what your avenues are potentially legal options as well.
Well, thanks so much for coming on and telling your story. Boy, what a day at work and I'm sorry that it ended up in you guys losing your job. Shawn Ray and Lori Poulsen, thanks for joining us.
RAY: Thank you.
POULSEN: Thank you.
CHETRY: T.J.
HOLMES: Well, Kiran, coming up, it's man against machine on "Jeopardy." IBM's newest computer taking on some big-time "Jeopardy" champs. Who came out on top? It's 20 minutes past the hour. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: One of my favorite songs of all time, by the way. Twenty-four minutes past the hour. "Morning Talker Time." It's the battle of the minds. The battle of the times. Two "Jeopardy" champs facing off. One's a machine, the new IBM computer, and one is, well, two of our former champs.
HOLMES: OK. And the computer is doing pretty well right now. Jason Carroll with this story. Love this.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Fierce (ph) doing really well. It filled folks in on what's going on here. IBM researchers, Fed Watson, that's the name of the computer, encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibles, movie scripts, you name it, more than 200 million pages of data, and they taught it strategy as well. Now, they think Watson is ready to take on "Jeopardy's" best. So, let's take a look in one corner there. You got the challenger. That's IBM's Watson, ten refrigerator sized racks of IBM computer servers, and then, in the other corner, you have legendary champions, Ken Jennings, holder of the longest "Jeopardy" winning streak, 74 games and Brad Rutter, undefeated champion and the show's biggest money winner.
Last night, the three men -- correction, two men and one computer squared off in the first of three nights of competition. How did it come out? Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeopardy, the IBM challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A split personality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is Michael Phelps?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Event horizon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grandell (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last judgment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are the 20s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watson?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is 1920s?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Ken said that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brad?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is 19teens?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watson?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is Sauron?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sauron is right and that puts you into a tie for the lead with brad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Not bad. Well, we spoke to Ken Jennings, and Watson's lead researcher about what it's like to face off against a computer like Watson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN JENNINGS, FORMER JEOPARDY CHAMPION: You can't psych that guy out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you can't.
JENNINGS: It's never going to get cocky, it's never going to get stage fright. It's just implacable. It's like the Terminator. It keeps coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can the creator beat what was created?
DAVID FERRUCCI, IBM WATSON RESEARCHER: Absolutely not. I'm one of the worst "Jeopardy" players on the face of the planet. Not good at it at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So, you did put it to the test to see what it was like to go against Watson?
CARROLL: Sure did. You can take a look and see how well I did. I use that term "well" loosely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our contestants are Jason from CNN and Watson from IBM.
CARROLL: I'll take those animals frighten me for 400.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For petophobia, Watson, what is reptile?
Watson, what is Baghdad?
Correct.
Watson, what is Birmingham?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watson, what is Buffalo?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buffalo, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you ran that category, Watson. I have no idea!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Question mark was not what we were looking for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much did you wager, Watson? $26,599! Bringing you up to just a dollar short of $60,000!
CARROLL: I want you to know I did know a lot of these answers, but I couldn't --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The buzzer is hard.
CARROLL: I couldn't figure out how to buzz in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: That's humbling. That was a slaughter.
HOLMES: You looked so defeated.
CARROLL: Absolutely slaughter, but you know, the researchers there were a good sport. They really helped me out. And they really want you to think of, you know, Watson is being less sort of like, if I can kick out for a moment, how, you know, from 2001 space on (ph) and see more like the computer on board the "Enterprise." Think of it that way.
CHETRY: That's just right. He likes sci-fi. That's his, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: All right. We will see what happens, right? You said he's in the leader? He's behind the --
CARROLL: He's tied right now, 5,000, and so, we'll see tonight and again tomorrow night is the finale.
HOLMES: Please, let us know.
CARROLL: All right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jason.
HOLMES: Going up next, pretty big day happening at the White House. We got a baseball star, a poet and the president all receiving the highest civilian honor in this country.
CHETRY: Also a little later, Charlie Sheen opening up about crack cocaine, but he is not the only one with a problem. We're going to be speaking with Jane Velez-Mitchell about how America has a problem with addiction and doesn't necessarily matter what you're addicted to. She explains coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's the bottom of the hour here on this "AMERICAN MORNING." We are "Minding your Business" now. After years of concession GM handing out bonuses of at least $4,000 to employees. That is the largest bonus the automaker has ever paid to some of its factory workers. The automaker says it's an example of how we are sharing in the success of the new GM.
But some are saying it's not time to share anything right now because GM received a bailout of some $50 billion from the U.S. government and the U.S. government still owns about a third of GM.
CHETRY: Also, the nephew of the Dalai Lama -- this is a sad story -- was struck by a car and killed in Florida. He was in a 300- mile walk for Tibet from St. Augustine to West Palm Beach when he was hit by an SUV along the highway. He was walking to raise awareness of the Tibetan struggle for independence from China.
HOLMES: The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been indicted on charges that he paid for sex with a teenage prostitute, and a judge says, yes, the Italian prime minister must stand trial. Also he is accused of abusing power. The judge has fast-tracked this case. A criminal trial is scheduled to begin April 6th.
CHETRY: Iranian lawmakers inside parliament shouting for the execution of opposition leaders. This is reaction to an uprising on the streets, one inspired by the successful revolution in Egypt. Iran put down violent protests yesterday. There are reports that at least one person was killed.
HOLMES: Let's turn now to our Kate Bolduan over at the White House. Good morning to you. We're expecting to hear from the president's budget folks about the president's budget today trying to defend it, but also we will be hearing from the president as well today? Why?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We just got some guidance from the White House that the president will be holding a press conference here at 11:00 here at the White House. You can assume with the budget coming out yesterday the president is probably going to be speaking about that as well as at a press conference. He can take questions on many other topics.
But the last time he president held an extended press conference more than a couple of questions was back in late December so this will be a welcomed opportunity for many reporters to speak directly with the president and get answers from him, of course the budget being a very big topic today.
HOLMES: You can imagine. Also we are expecting the big ceremony to take place at the White House was for the Medal of Freedom and certainly some names on that list that a lot of people will recognize.
BOLDUAN: Definitely quite a few names on the list. This is the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor that someone can receive. It's presented according to the White House it's presented to people who have made exceptional contributions in the areas of security or in the national interest of the country as well as to world peace or other culture and other endeavors.
And it would be no surprise probably to you or to anyone that this year's 15th recipients have quite an amazing list of accomplishments between them. Some of these people include the 41st president George H.W. Bush and Warren Buffett and Maya Angelou.
But interestingly the White House is announcing in the recipients is the philanthropic efforts. He has pledged to give away 99 percent of his network to charity which is a pretty amazing thing. Also on the list world renowned cellist and former Boston Celtics captain Bill Russell. He was the first African-American coach of the NBA and has also since become a very impassioned advocate for human rights.
I think we have a little graphic of some of what the president said when announcing the honorees. He noted they come from a broad range of backgrounds but he said "All of them have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us, enriched our culture, and have made our country and our world a better place." So that will be a ceremony that will happen later today and it will be very interesting and quite an honor to receive one of these awards.
HOLMES: Yes, and quite a diverse group as well.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely.
HOLMES: We look forward to that and the press conference as well. Kate, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Can you live without the Internet, without your blackberry and iPhone, a good cheeseburger?
HOLMES: Of course, you can. You don't want to, but of course, you can.
CHETRY: Jane Velez-Mitchell joins us. She says we are a nation of addicts. She wrote a book about it, "Addict Nation." Pick your poison. Is it time for an intervention? We will also get her take on that odd radio interview that Charlie Sheen gave yesterday.
It's 35 minutes past the hour. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 37 minutes past the hour right now. Charlie Sheen is certainly not holding back. He was recently hospitalized after a reported night of partying with porn stars. Yesterday on "The Dan Patrick Radio Show" he says he is clean and doing it on his own. He called into the show. Here's a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN PATRICK, RADIO SHOW HOST: How long have you been sober?
CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: I don't use sober any more. I don't believe in A.A. I don't believe in that. It's off and on. I was sober five years ago and bored out of my tree and decided, you know, this isn't who I am. I didn't drink for 12 years. That first one, Dan, wow!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Joining us is Jane Velez-Mitchell, HLN host and co- author of "Addict Nation, an Intervention for America." Jane, good to see you. I know you've been very open about your own struggles with addiction and trying to beat it. Does this sound like somebody who is on the road to sobriety?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, CO-AUTHOR, "ADDICT NATION": No, this is a train wreck waiting to go off the rails big-time. This guy is a total mess. He is even talking this interview about doing crack socially and how you can do crack socially and implies he feels he has done crack socially. We know that crack is an addiction on steroids, so it's very, very frightening.
But actually it's a good thing because the one thing about Charlie Sheen, he is not hiding the addict mentality. He has laid it out there for all of us to see. It's about defiance and denial, and most of all it's about entitlement. If I want it, I have a right to it. I don't care what wreckage I create. I don't care how many people lose their jobs. I don't care how many hotel rooms I trash.
And in a way he is a metaphor for America because in my book, "Addict Nation," which I call for an intervention for America, I'm saying basically we are all acting like this in a different way with different drugs.
CHETRY: If you had five minutes with him and you feel like you could try to do some convincing, what would be, you know, for him what is the upside of throwing all of this away and trying to get sober?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, he said when he wasn't drinking, he was bored out of his tree. The fact is that when you're doing things like crack or hard drugs, you really have numbed yourself to the point that any other pleasure doesn't even register. A walk on the beach or the sunset, doesn't register because you've numbed yourself.
I would say to Charlie Sheen and to America, stop numbing yourself with all of these addictive substances and allow them to leave your body and then restore yourself, for example, for food. We are so addicted to fast food we can't taste a piece of fruit and know what it takes like. I say get rid of that stuff and surrender the fact you're perilous to it and let it go and eventually fruit will taste like something to your palette.
CHETRY: It is scary to think about it. He also talked about the show being on hiatus. You mentioned how many people could lose their job. After he was briefly hospitalized the end of last month the show did go on hiatus. And this is what he said when he was asked about whether or not he is able to go back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK: Do you want to go back to work?
SHEEN: Oh, yes. I'm a man of my word. I have a contract. They said get your act together, and I did. And now they just -- I don't know. I think maybe it was a timing thing. They didn't think it was going to happen this fast. Check it. It's like, I heal really quickly, but I also unravel pretty quickly, so get me right now, guys! Get me right now!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: He is white-knuckling it. He is saying I'm clean right now but I can't maintain this sobriety if you want to call it that. I can't maintain this not using, so let me do my lines now while I'm still coherent so I can go out and party because I can't hang on to what I'm doing much longer.
This is just classic addict thinking. And it really is only a matter of time. All it takes it one car accident, Kiran, for his world to crumble. So he thinks he is not feeling the wreckage because he is so wealthy, and it won't hit him like he is thrown out of his house, but something bad will happen.
CHETRY: Are different people more predisposed to addiction? Do you think he was predisposed to addiction?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I was genetically predisposed because my dad was an alcoholic and I saw him drinking and I thought that was normal. But what we have in America is and addicto-genic (ph). This is the first time in the history of humanity we are bombarded with thousands of ads every day tell us if we eat this, drive this, if we wear this and if we consume this and that we will become better people and become complete and happier.
And the fact is it's a lie. There is not one material thing you can purchase or use that is going to alter your inner state. Happiness is an inside job.
And so what is happening in this country we think our consumption and materialism are the answer, but it's actually the problem because materialism is the antithesis of spirituality which is the basic of happiness. So we are consuming like crazy and destroying the planet in the process. We are using almost 30 percent of the world's resources creating all this wreckage, kind of like Charlie Sheen. And yet it's not making us happier. So we've got to find another way.
That's why I call my book "Addict Nation, an Intervention for America," because America needs a wakeup call. We cannot continue behaving this way.
CHETRY: And you also say it's not just drugs and alcohol. There are a ton of other things. You're very worried about the use of the -- of porn, actually, gaming and gambling.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sure. The Internet is supersizing all of our addictions, because in the old days you'd have to go actually to somebody's place of business.
CHETRY: There's a shame factor. It's easier now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now the porn and gambling 24/7, 365 on the Internet.
CHETRY: Well, you also call it a "blueprint," so if somebody out there thinks I can learn a few lessons, check it out. It's a great book, "Addict Nation, an Intervention for America," Jane Velez- Mitchell. Always great to see you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks for having me on. Appreciate it.
HOLMES: We're about 43 minutes past of the hour. A quick break, and Rob Marciano up next. We have a winter thaw finally to tell you about. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, good morning once again New York City and all parts across this country. We're quarter of the top of the hour here on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Ah. Maybe not needing the gloves today in New York; that's a big deal, I suppose. It will be around 34 degrees and a bit windy but -- that's better than what it has been in many parts of the state.
CHETRY: Yes and also if the winds have changed and blowing in some warmer weather, thank goodness. Rob Marciano is keeping track of that for us. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning guys. Try to do that but yes you kind of took a couple of steps back today back into the chilly stuff after a brief warm-up yesterday. But this air mass has been building, you know, the sun this time of the year, the middle of February; a little higher in the sky and a little stronger so it does heat things up quite a bit.
So some areas that still got some snow are definitely on the melt right now. And across parts of the northwest we are seeing some heavy snow and heavy rain and certainly some wind. A couple of strong systems rolling through this area, we had some damaging winds yesterday again across western Washington. There are high wind warnings that are posted for the Cascades and the Sierras.
Heavy rain especially across northern California; we could see anywhere from two to five inches of rainfall over the next three to five days and a lot of that is going to be heavy snow up in the mountain maybe one to three feet of snow there.
All right, let's talk about the temperatures across the northeast: it's 23 degrees right now in Boston; 26 degrees in New York. The temperatures have actually cooled down in the last couple of hours so it's much chillier today than it is -- was yesterday so don't be fooled by that and dress correspondingly. 11 for a current temperature in Albany and 30 degrees right now in Philadelphia and we'll see temperatures rebound I think more so tomorrow than today.
We do have delays right now in Philly and at LaGuardia because of wind. So be aware of that if you are traveling. And D.C. metros and the New York metros will have issues, too. And San Francisco will see a little bit in a way of some rain so that will do it as well.
Some of the warmth across the midsection will make its way towards the northeast around about tomorrow and especially on Thursday; Dallas high today right around 70 degrees.
That's a quick check on weather. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That's one of our Phil mug shots. He likes to get himself in there every morning.
Hey, you know on Sunday NASCAR's biggest event of the year will be held you know what that is, right even if you don't follow it.
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: Oh I love it.
CHETRY: It's at Daytona International Speedway.
HOLMES: Yes, the Daytona 500 it's very -- some people who follow NASCAR yes, they do have their biggest event. Their Super Bowl is on day one.
(CROSS TALK)
CHETRY: It's the beginning of the season. Right.
HOLMES: Yes, but -- you -- you love it. But one driver is attempting a comeback but he's doing it after a life-threatening illness put his career in jeopardy.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live with us from the CNN Center with this story. The today's "Human Factor". Good morning once again. How bad off was this guy, Brian Vickers?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He was pretty sick. I'm surprised by the way, T.J., that you don't like NASCAR. I thought you're a lover of all sports.
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: No, no, I do love --
(CROSS TALK)
CHETRY: He likes NASCAR.
HOLMES: People are surprised I love NASCAR.
GUPTA: Ok, I thought there was a little sarcasm.
HOLMES: No. GUPTA: You know, Brian Vickers, you know I've following his career for some time. We did a documentary a few years ago about NASCAR drivers and just you know, is this is a sport, how physically challenging is it.
This is a young driver who was really sort of the beginning of his professional career and he started to develop these medical problems where he developed blood clots in his legs and they started to travel around his body.
Here is what we found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Brian Vickers fell in love with racing at the age of eight. By age 20, Vickers had driven his way into the record books not only becoming the youngest nationwide series champion in NASCAR history but also starting in the Super Bowl of stock car racing, the Daytona 500 but a mere six years later, Vickers' racing career came to an abrupt halt.
BRIAN VICKERS, NASCAR DRIVER: I was having some tingling and numbness, loss of color on my hand and then I sort of becoming short -- short of breath.
GUPTA: Suddenly, the 26-year-old was in the race of his life.
VICKERS: And I had a clot into my left leg and I had a pulmonary embolism in both lungs. And then, I had a clot on my left hand.
GUPTA: Vickers was also diagnosed with May-Thurner syndrome, a condition where a vein in the pelvic area is compressed increasing the risk of blood clots. A battery of tests found something else, a hole in his heart. It was the perfect storm; a hole in his heart and May- Thurner syndrome and the cramped quarters of his race car for hours on end. His health was at stake. And so was his career.
VICKERS: There were times that came along where it didn't look too good. It didn't look like I was ever going to race again.
GUPTA: Vickers had heart surgery and he was put on blood thinners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back, man.
GUPTA: Now eight months later, he is clot-free. There's a stent in his left leg keeping the vein open, but his doctors have cleared him to race. Vickers says he made one of the most difficult decisions of his life, to get back in his car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well see the 83 out there, Brian Vickers, glad to have him back.
GUPTA: Back on the track, he's about to race in his eighth Daytona 500.
VICKERS: You can't give up. You just got to keep digging and -- and you've got to find your own path.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: So he will be out there racing in another race; quite a bit that he's been through and that he's overcome. Clotting issues, obviously, it can be a significant issue. He -- he's more at risk because of the sort of lifestyle that he leads. But this is going to be part of a new -- new awareness campaign for him as well.
CHETRY: So is he in the clear now for good?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, he -- so he has to be on these blood thinner medications. And you know, that -- that will keep the clots from forming. There are some potential risks to these medications including you know, if he gets in some sort of accident or something like that he would be more likely to bleed.
Also you know, just being in a car. You know, when I did that documentary, I got in the car myself just to see what that was like racing around for some time. You guys are going to make fun of this I have a feeling right now.
But -- but anyway, you get in the car and you spin around for a long time. I just did it for a few laps. You do it 500 laps and you increase your likelihood of -- of developing these blood clots as well.
CHETRY: Yes, I mean, you're seated in that same position and you're sweating and it's hot, it's loud you're --
(CROSS TALK)
GUPTA: You're dehydrated.
CHETRY: Yes and you're trying to keep this car straight. I know it's -- it's challenging. That's -- that's unbelievable. Well, good for him.
HOLMES: Yes and we weren't going to make fun of you. You look like you knew what you were doing there. You look right at home.
GUPTA: I was surprised the cameras could keep up with me actually as fast as I was going.
CHETRY: You are so fast.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: Blink and you're done. Thanks, Sanjay.
HOLMES: Sanjay thanks so much.
GUPTA: Good morning, guys.
HOLMES: We're getting close to the top of the hour. A quick break; we're right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. This sounds like good news. Somebody is hiring. Christine Romans is here. Who and how many jobs?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Home Depot, 60,000 temporary jobs. Home Depot this morning saying spring is our Christmas and they are hiring 60,000 seasonal employees to gear up for the biggest selling season for them of the year which is mid-march to June. So March to June -- that is what they are looking for there, 60,000 temporary employees.
But also saying for the second year in a row, they will be adding permanent employees. This is in all markets according to the company in a press release. They are looking for 60,000 seasonal associates in all markets to train them up for this big selling season and they're going to be pushing some sort of Black Friday --
CHETRY: That's amazing.
ROMANS: -- spring Black Friday kinds of promotions and the like to get stuff out of the door because the economy is slowly improving. We have been telling you for months that many companies are adding seasonal and permanent workers so that they can gear up and gauge just how well the demand is sticking but 60,000 temporary employees and probably no doubt that some of those employees will be able to translate that into full-time jobs.
HOLMES: For them, how temporary is temporary?
ROMANS: It may be just the season, quite frankly, and might depend on how well the economy improves after that, but 60,000. They are saying they are temporary jobs but they are adding some permanent jobs as well.
CHETRY: It's amazing though because 60,000 is how many the entire economy added some months this past year. And you know this is one company.
ROMANS: I know. They have 300,000 employees overall, Home Depot does. And remember, it wasn't very long ago, they were axing the Expo brand and laying off 7,000 full-time workers. So this is a -- this is the time of the year they always do their seasonal hiring but 60,000 is what we are seeing here. So, there you go.
HOLMES: Christine.
ROMANS: Sure.
HOLMES: Christine, thank you so much.
CHETRY: Also a reminder, President Obama is going to be holding a news conference in just a couple of hours at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. You can see is right here on CNN. Of course, likely to be talking about his 2012 budget that was unveiled yesterday that would cut into programs but with the aim of getting this at least being able to hack about $1 trillion off the deficit over the next decade.
HOLMES: All right. But for now, we'll hand it over to the "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips which starts right now. Hey there, Kyra.
CHETRY: Hey, Kyra.
