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American Morning

Honoring America's Fallen Heroes; Lockheed Martin Cyber Attack; PBS Hacked, Reports Tupac Alive; Saudi Prince Wants Lower Oil Prices; Helping Kids Succeed in School; Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Aired May 30, 2011 - 08:00   ET

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Tens of thousands of people in Michigan are waking up this morning without power after severe storms in the Midwest. And it's not over yet.

I'm Christine Romans.

Coming up, tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds will threaten many this Memorial Day.

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Remembering America's fallen heroes on this Memorial Day.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho.

President Obama will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: And good morning. It is Monday, May 30th. It is Memorial Day.

And many people are checking the weather forecast this morning. But they either don't have power in the Midwest or they're wondering what it's going to look like for them for their barbecue.

CHO: That's right. And many of them want to be spending that holiday outside, of course.

But the big question in certain many parts of the country is: was it a tornado? Whatever it was, it did plenty of damage in Battle Creek, Michigan. People there will spend Memorial Day cleaning up after a violent storm, with 80-mile-per-hour winds.

Across the state of Michigan, tens of thousands of homes and businesses are still without power.

ROMANS: And severe storms forced hundreds of flight cancellations at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Sunday. Passengers could be in for more of the same today. Certainly, they'll be checking the boards, trying to figure out if they can get out this morning.

CHO: And watching CNN, we hope.

Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center with more on that.

So, hey, Rob, good morning. What's it looking like today?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we'll have the threat for storms as well. Probably not over the same area, from Chicago to Detroit yesterday, as you mentioned, that's where the line of storms really fired off. There were a handful of tornado reports across lower Michigan, but the bulk of the reports were wind reports, and that's what did the damage as far as taking down a lot of those trees, power lines, obviously, and also doing some damage to homes.

We also have south of where that trigger point was, the stationary front. There's a lot of heat and humidity, more so than we usually would see. And temperatures have been up in over 100-mark in a lot of spots. Record highs across parts of Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico. That's a little bit too toasty for this time of year. Feeling more like July 4th than Memorial Day weekend.

Storms, or at least a piece of energy that rolled through Michigan, now across parts of the tri-state area, heading off into Long Island now. This has produced some heavier rains, some lightning and thunder, of course, and also, some gusty winds.

It's moving off to the east pretty rapidly. It was severe when it rolled across the Hudson River, and here it goes into Long Island and southwest parts of Connecticut, including Fairfield County. So, the next -- it's only lasting about 20 to 30 minutes, so if it's over your area right now, just kind of hang tough for a bit and let it past and things will get a little bit more calm. But if you are flying out of LaGuardia or JFK, right now, we have some delays because of what's going on there.

All right, we're looking for severe weather to pop again across the Upper Midwest, including parts of North and South Dakota. Moderate chance of seeing severe thunderstorms pop that could produce tornadoes, according to the Storms Prediction Center. We'll be watching that for development later on today.

And as I mentioned, the heat is going to be certainly unusual for this time of year. Ninety-three in Memphis. It will be 92 degrees in D.C.; 88 degrees in New York City; 92 degrees in Atlanta. And it's going to be a good day after you get done with your morning memorial services, maybe head to the beach, and we'll have the beach forecast, guys, later on in the program.

CHO: Great. We may actually have time to go to the beach.

ROMANS: I think we might. I think we might. I hear it's terrible weather outside, but it should be over --

(CROSSTALK)

CHO: We've got high hopes, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, guys. ROMANS: President Obama got a firsthand look at tornado-scarred Joplin, Missouri. He toured that city yesterday, a week after one of the most devastating tornados in American history. He promised the victims that this nation will help the city rebuild.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no doubt in my mind that Joplin will rebuild. And as president, I can promise you, your country will be there with you every single step of the way. We will be with you every step of the way.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Forty-four people remain unaccounted for in Joplin following that tornado. At least 142 died.

CHO: The deadliest U.S. tornado in history.

Meanwhile, later this morning, President Obama will pay tribute to those who served our country and died trying to defend it.

You are looking at a live picture of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where the weather is just spectacular. Just about two hours from now, the president will take part in a Memorial Day ceremony, a tradition, really, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

ROMANS: Chris Lawrence is at Arlington National Cemetery right now. He joins us life.

Good morning, Chris. It's a very full day there today, isn't it?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Alina, very, very full. In fact, they're going to expect about 75,000 people here over the course of the weekend, and I think the thing that you notice most as you walk through this area, section 60, which is where the people who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried are the numbers on the gravestones. These young men, these young women were born in the -- many of them, in the 1980s. How young they are.

Section 60 is also the busiest part of Arlington National Cemetery, because it's where the wounds are the freshest. Many of these young men and women, as we said, fought in Iraq. They fought in Afghanistan. So, the wounds for their families are still very fresh.

It's also changed Memorial Day for a lot of the families out here. A lot of them used to think of Memorial Day as a time for picnics and barbecues, as many Americans do. But losing a loved one in the war, in Iraq, or in Afghanistan has really changed things. And now, they come to really pay their respects.

One of the things that really brings home just the cost of these wars is the fact that section 60 has been filling up so quickly and so fast, they've already started to break ground on section 61, because more room is going to be needed -- Alina.

CHO: All right, Chris Lawrence, live for us at Arlington National Cemetery. Chris, thank you very much.

ROMANS: In just a few hours, President Obama is expected to name a replacement for Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, who is retiring at the end of this summer, after 43 years.

CHO: Forty-three years of service. Mullen just returned from Pakistan on Friday. He was there with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They addressed the relationship that's been strained since the raid on the bin Laden compound.

Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we asked him about concerns that Pakistan's government may have known about bin Laden's whereabouts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Our presence there, although there certainly is a belief that there was some support network in both the United States and Pakistan, specifically believe that. Again, I've seen them focus on this. We've certainly had differences.

But we come from a time in the '90s where we had no relationship. We had a big trust deficit. So, we're working our way back through that.

Certainly, the recent raid put a significant dent in that progress, but both sides are continuing to commit to work our way through it, because we both think it's a vital relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Admiral Mullen would not confirm his replacement. It's expected to be General Martin Dempsey. Dempsey was just sworn in as Army chief of staff last month. His nomination will have to be approved by the Senate.

And, of course, we're expecting the president to make that announcement today, on Memorial Day. Admiral Mike Mullen would not get out in front of his boss, no matter how hard Alina tried.

(LAUGHTER)

CHO: You know, after 11 hours -- 11 days, rather, 17 hours, and 41 minutes, space shuttle Endeavour has finally undocked from the International Space Station. The separation took place just before midnight. The shuttle crew will now conduct a couple of final tests on the space station's sensors.

Endeavour is, of course, wrapping up its final mission and returning to earth at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday morning.

And take a look at this breathtaking photo. It's of Earth, courtesy of NASA. It was taken from the International Space Station as Endeavour" circled high above the Middle East. ROMANS: Meanwhile, down here on Earth, Sarah Palin roars into D.C. to kick off her east coast bus tour. But everyone wants to know, is this -- is she running for president? Is this what this is all about?

CHO: Or, as some have said, is she just trump on the stump? We shall see. But she certainly, as Jim Acosta pointed out, knows how to make an entrance. And she will be, we're told, in Gettysburg later this morning. So, stay tuned for that.

Also, a group of hikers, including former NFL star Chad Lewis, reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, all for a good cause, helping wounded veterans. But not everyone made it to the top. We'll have the amazing details of this adventure when we talk to Chad live a little bit later.

ROMANS: And are you a daredevil? Check out Six Flags new rollercoaster, that will make you feel like you're doing a rolls and tricks on a fighter jet. That's our very own Rob Marciano, who got the awesome --

CHO: Either the short straw or the tall straw.

ROMANS: Look, that is an assignment -- guys, come on. Can you just send us like to do something nice (ph)? That's an awesome assignment.

Nine minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Thirteen minutes after the hour.

Hip hop star Sean Kingston was hospitalized this morning after apparently crashing his jet ski into a bridge in Miami Beach. Now, police say that Kingston had a female passenger on board when he had the accident, which happened last night. He's reportedly in stable condition and police are investigating what happened.

ROMANS: A bizarre accident at a hotel in Atlanta leaves a model dead. Police say Lashawna Threatt and another woman were, quote, "play fighting:" when they crashed through a tenth story window at the W Hotel Saturday and then fell to the ground. They were apparently celebrating Threatt's 30th birthday. The other woman who fell is in critical condition.

CHO: Politics now. Sarah Palin appears to be revving up for a run at the White House, or is she? She's simply not tipping her hand just yet. The former Alaska governor kicked off her bus tour yesterday at a biker rally in Washington.

ROMANS: That's where CNN's Sandra Endo caught up with her for an exclusive and asked her to explain the purpose of the bus tour. And this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: The bus tour is to get out there and remind Americans about our foundation, our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and the historical sites that should be a reminder every day to every American, about how important it is to stand strong on our foundation, and build upon them. That's what made us the greatest country on Earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Standing strong on our foundation and building on them. That's what makes us the greatest country on Earth. That's what she said.

CHO: As for whether she will run, she told Sandra, "I don't know yet."

So, is she running? That is the question everyone's asking, and it appears that Sarah Palin just doesn't mind keeping all of us waiting for an answer.

ROMANS: Even the man who introduced her to America, John McCain, says he doesn't know exactly what her intentions are. But if she does decide to run for president, the Arizona senator, John McCain, says he has no doubt she can beat President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Of course she can. She can. Now, whether she will or not, whether she'll even run or not, I don't know. But, you know, a lot of things happen in campaigns.

You'll remember, I was written off a couple of times and we were able to come back. She certainly is a major factor and I believe that she can be very competitive.

CHO: That's if, of course, she runs. So, we want to know what you think? Do you think Sarah Palin will run for president?

ROMANS: It's our question of the day. And here are some of your responses. It's interesting because a lot of people were going to come in, you know, and saying, it's going to help the president, or she absolutely should, we need change.

CHO: But @Jonathanav10, "As a vice presidential nominee, she didn't make it. As a governor, she quit. Do we really think she can make it as our president? No."

ROMANS: This one from Twitter. "I think @SarahPalinUSA might make a run for the White House in 2012. She thinks she can change America for the better. Only time will tell."

CHO: Kathy Williams Jones writes, "We can only hope."

ROMANS: And Darlene says, "After all these years of men in the office, we can only pray that Sarah Palin will run for office, and I know she can win. Go Sarah. We love you." She's got a very fierce set of supporters. And also you can look at her unpopularity ratings, too. There are people who just like, no. No, Palin. CHO: No doubt about it. She's very polarizing.

ROMANS: All right. Be sure to catch "John King, USA" at 7:00. He's aboard to CNN express closely following the Palin bus tour where (ph) we see her.

CHO: On a ballot.

ROMANS: We will see the bus. Some inside tonight at 7:00 eastern on "John King, USA."

CHO: And on Monday, June 13th, CNN will host the New Hampshire presidential the debate as Republican hopefuls gather to go for their party's nomination. Hard to believe it's coming up, but that is Monday night, June 13th, only on CNN.

ROMANS: And we will be there.

Coming up, word that Germany will shut down all its nuclear reactors. What prompted the government's decision to get rid of nuclear power, completely?

CHO: That's right. And get ready to fork out extra cash to pay for this year's Memorial Day barbecue. But just how much more? We'll tell you. It's 17 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: It's 19 minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin falls victim to what it describes as a significant and tenacious cyber-attack. It happened earlier this month. The company says no customer data was compromised.

And online hackers also hitting the PBS website. They posted a story, saying that rapper Tupac Shakur is alive and in New Zealand. The hackers said they did it in retaliation to the network's program called wiki secrets. Tupac Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas back in 1996.

Germany announcing it will shut down all of its nuclear plants by 2022. Those nuclear plants provide a quarter of Germany's power. To make up for the loss, Germany will rely (ph) on renewable energy. Japan's nuclear prices prompting the government to take its own nuclear plants offline.

A member of the Saudi royal family calls for lower, lower oil prices. Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal tells CNN that oil should be selling for around $70 a barrel, so that the U.S. won't speed up its search for alternative energies. Right now, it's about $100 a barrel.

More relief for drivers on this Memorial Day. Gas prices are down for the 18th day in a row. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.79.

This Memorial Day, it's going to cost you about 29 percent more, though, than last year to fire up that grill. Rising food prices mean the average party will set you back about $199, and that's before soda and alcohol.

Americans are spending this Memorial Day with a second hangover. The sequel "Hangover 2" was number one at the box office with an estimated $86 million in ticket sales. The best three-day opening for a live action/comedy. "Kung Fu Panda" came in second with $48 million.

When we come back, artifacts left in tribute to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial may get a museum of their own. We'll tell you why. AMERICAN MORNING'S back right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most visited and moving sites in Washington. Ever since it was dedicated, people have been leaving behind personal letters and mementos, items that are gathered at the end of each day and then placed into a storage facility.

Joining me live from the facility where those artifacts are currently being stored is Jan Scruggs. He conceived the idea to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. He's the founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Jim, thank you for joining us.

I just want to tell you, on a very personal note, as a young girl in Iowa, when I would go to Washington, D.C., when this wall with was first built and see it as a tourist, we would take a list of names of our friends and family, the people that they knew, they wanted us to get etchings or wanted us to take a picture of the name on that wall. This is a place that is so moving and so important for so many people in this country, and to think of all those things that people leave there.

They come and they see the name. They get the etching on the wall, but they leave something, whether it's dog tags or it's a clip from a newspaper, or it's -- even what I've seen what I was there was a six- pack of PBR, you know, anything like that.

JAN SCRUGGS, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FUND: It's a great educational device to Vietnam Veterans Memorial. School kids come from all over the country, they make etchings, they bring tributes there, and that's why we're building the education center at the wall.

ROMANS: I know that you're wearing gloves right now, because you want to preserve all of these things forever so that we can have a living, breathing, some kind of an example about what these people meant to all of us. Tell me some of the things that people leave there?

SCRUGGS: Well, at the education center, at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, which we'll be building in the next couple of years, we're going to remember people like Jimmy Dolan. You see, when you go into the education center, you're going to be given that dog tag, and that dog tag may belong to this guy, Jimmy Dolan. He gave his life actually by absorbing the blast from a hand grenade to save the lives of his friends.

So, these are the types of values that we're remembering, and this was left there by some of his fellow veterans. We have here a very nice photograph left by the daughter of this marine, Roger K. Jones, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968. Everything you can imagine has been left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, ranging from guitars.

And I'll tell you one of the most moving things are graduation tassels from high school and college, so that people will bring them to let their father know, you know, symbolically, that they graduated.

ROMANS: I know this is so emotional for you, as well. This has been a real mission for you, for many, many years now. In the very beginning, when the wall was built, I guess, you could really have predicted that so many people would bring something else there and that those artifacts would tell a story about these 58,000 Americans who gave their life in Vietnam.

SCRUGGS: You know, there's no sociological or anthropological precedent for this. It's an extraordinary and very democratic sort of collection, and anyone can be a part of it by leaving something there, but the things that really matter are these items that are connected to the individuals on the wall, because it is their values of loyalty, duty, service to our country that we're commemorating, and indeed, at the education center, this entire experience will be about citizenship, and what are your duties to our country as a citizen, and how do you compare yourself to someone like Jimmy Dolan, for example --

ROMANS: To make it positive and make it something that people can take with them as an American. And what about the Harley Davidson -- is that a motorcycle behind you? Did someone really leave a motorcycle there?

SCRUGGS: That is a magnificent motorcycle made by hand from some really great guys in Wisconsin and attached to the motorcycle are the dog tags of the Wisconsin missing-in-action serviceman. This engine has never been started, and it never will be started until all the POWs come back.

So, it's a great symbolic gesture. It travels around the country as well, but it's a magnificent educational device as well to keep the memory alive of those who are missing.

ROMANS: We were looking at section 60 in Arlington where many of the young men and women who have fallen were born in the 1980s. It's an important reminder that we have families that are still mourning men who died 20 years before that. Thank you, Jan Scruggs, founder and president of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Thank you, sir, and best of luck to you.

SCRUGGS: Thank you.

CHO: So great that he's doing that. And what a monumental effort it will take to put that museum together, but so great. ROMANS: A monument in stone, how it became something more and different than what the organizers thought it would be in the beginning. And all the things that Americans bring to it, a monument in and of itself.

CHO: So great they'll all be preserved in the way they will be, in a museum.

Our top stories now. The president remembering fallen heroes on this Memorial Day. We'll take you live to Arlington National Cemetery. That's a live picture. President Obama later this morning will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. The president will also host a breakfast at the White House for families who have lost loved ones in war.

ROMANS: President Obama calling it a national tragedy and promising to be with the people of Joplin, Missouri, every step of the way. Exactly one week after one of the most powerful tornadoes in history killed 142 people, and 44 are still missing.

CHO: And the Midwest is getting battered again by spring storms. Parts of Michigan and Illinois are littered with downed trees and power lines. Some 100,000 homes and businesses in Michigan alone lost power. More than 400 flights were canceled yesterday, at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

(WEATHER BREAK)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: By the way, Six Flags in Jersey has the tallest or rollercoaster in the world.

CHO: Let's go.

ROMANS: And being the smart man that you are, Rob, you went up twice, right?

MARCIANO: I did, actually, several times. It was a good day to ride. I love roller coasters and what a way to start the summer.

ROMANS: We do too. I love roller coasters too. That's a lot of fun. All right, Rob, thank.

CHO: The 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 featured one of the wildest finishes in the history of the big race. You've got to check this out. Rookie JR Hildebrand was leading on the final lap Sunday when he crashed, you see it right there, and that allowed Dan Wheldon to take the checkered flag.

ROMANS: Earlier on "American Morning," we asked Wheldon about this stunning win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN WHELDON, INDY 500 WINNER: That's what's fantastic about the Indianapolis 500. It's so unpredictable. It's the biggest sporting event in the world, certainly the biggest motor race in the world, and I'm very happy to be a two-time winner, especially this year, with it being the 100th anniversary of the race itself. So it was a great day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: After the race, Wheldon doused himself in milk, the traditional drink of Indy champions. This is his second Indy 500 victory. But when you hear them talk about fuel management, everything is like an economic decision around those corners.

CHO: It's not just beginning 200 miles an hour, there's a big strategy behind these now. And he's cute as a button too. Anyway, congratulations to Dan.

Well, he dropped the kid then he dropped the ball. Check this out. A dad holding up his daughter at the Dodgers game -- did you see that? He let go of her when a foul ball comes that way in order to catch the ball, then he went back to the kid --

ROMANS: See, the commentators are talking about it.

CHO: A little bruised on the inside. She throws him a, whoa! Come on, dad. And she throws him an elbow when he goes in for a hug. Not like the dad who caught the foul ball at the Phillies game and gave it to his kid and then she threw it back.

What should you do if your child is in danger of failing out of school? Education contributor Steve Perry traveled to Atlanta to help a family whose 14-year-old son was struggling, and shares his story, next. It is 37 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Good morning, Atlanta, Georgia, on this Memorial Day. Sunny and 74 degrees right now going up to a very hot 93 with more sunny skies.

What can parents do to help a child who's struggling to succeed in school? CNN is looking for answers. Education contributor Steve Perry traveled to Atlanta to help family whose 14-year-old son was in danger of failing the ninth grade. He recounts his experience in the CNN special, "Education Makeover," with Principal Steve Perry. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I want you to meet three teenage brothers. They're involved in a lot of activities. But one of them is struggling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I'm looking at three F's and a C minus.

PERRY: Is he in danger of failing that grade?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's up in the air.

PERRY: And then his divorced parents. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you were able to be there in the beginning --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you say that, it's like you're punishing me --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm not --

PERRY: What can we do to cut down on some of the communication breakdowns?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Steve is also the founder of capital preparatory magnet school and joins us now. Hey, Steve, good morning. You know, we were talking about this earlier, when we've seen all kinds of makeovers, including clothing makeovers, you name it, but not an education makeover. So, tell me about this family. How did you find them? Why did you choose them?

PERRY: We chose them because they are the traditional family of today. They're divorced, which so many families are, like some families are single parented or not married ever. And they're trying to find a way to raise their children and get them to be successful in school.

I'm not a marriage counselor, I'm a principal. And very often I find myself working with parents to get over their parent issues, so that we can get to the kid issues. And here we have a child in Jacob who is struggling mightily.

Now, divorce has a different impact on different children. That's why this is very, very interesting, because they have three biological children, and then by extension four on one side, another two on the other side. There are a lot of people involved in this. And when I watch that, my stomach tightened up because I remember how I felt when I first walked into the house and thought, oh, my god, we're never going to figure this out.

CHO: So Steve, what was the biggest problem or biggest problems, and what did you do to help?

PERRY: We did a lot. The biggest problems were the parents in this case. They're divorced for a reason, and they had some real issues with being able to communicate with one another. They had some practical impacts on the children's lives.

But most specifically, we have a teenage boy in Jacob who's 14, and he's beginning to make decisions that are not necessarily the best decisions for him, or his family. So he's failing virtually all of his classes, and he's a very bright kid.

So you have a mom whose job it is to work with parents in her school to help them help their children be successful, struggling as a parent herself. It's a compelling piece. And I'll be honest with you, I was surprised myself by the ending. It's a stunner. CHO: Steve, we don't want to give away the ending, but do tell us. For those parents out there who are with watching, who might have a child who's struggling in school, what was the biggest takeaway for you, in terms of the advice to give others?

PERRY: Yes, the biggest takeaway in this one was when the parents find a way to remove the discord, the children are happier. And that's whether you're married or divorced or have never been married and you're raising a child by yourself -- or raising a child alone in your home but you have a biological parent. These parents, they were at loggerheads. And they like each other, but the level of discord, the level of discontent between the two of them had permeated into the child's lives.

CHO: But, Steve, you can't change your circumstances. You're born with these circumstances, but what can be done? What can the parents do separately to help these children, or together? And what can the kids do on their own?

PERRY: We talk a lot about that. What the parents can do in this case, they can set up a special, as well as they can help the children with regards to time management. The children can do a better job of making better decisions. These kids are making -- well, at least one of them, was making very, very bad decisions.

And in fact, you'll see, he -- just after we left, he got suspended for three days. So when I -- when I got the report that we had left -- we've let and things were put in place and then he gets suspended for three days, I just drop my head in my hand.

This is a real story, this is real TV. This is what I do as a principal. This is what I love to do and what many educators would love to do is to follow the kids home and see what we can do to make an impact. I often talk about the impact that educators make but here, you get a chance to see how I feel about what the parents can do.

Parents can make a difference and here's an example of just how much of an impact a parent can make on a child's life.

CHO: Steve Perry, we thank you.

And don't miss Steve's special, "Education Makeover with Steve Perry," airs this Saturday June 4th at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

It's 46 minutes after the hour. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A lot going on this morning. Here are your headlines.

President Obama honoring America's fallen heroes on this Memorial Day. You're looking at a live picture of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where he'll lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns in just a couple of hours. General Martin Dempsey is set to become America's top military officer. Later this morning, President Obama will nominate him to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Admiral Mike Mullen when he retires in the fall. The choice does need Senate confirmation.

Germany announces plans to shut down all of its nuclear plants by 2022. Germany says it will make up for the loss of power with / renewable energy instead. Germany would be the first major industrialized nation to take all of its nuclear plants offline.

Sarah Palin kicked off her one nation bus tour at a biker rally in Washington, D.C., yesterday. She's expected to stop in Gettysburg today. She's still not saying whether she is running for president.

A few hundred people are being urged to evacuate because of a wildfire -- a wildfire burning dangerously close to some neighborhoods in Amarillo, Texas. So far, the fire has burned about 700 acres and destroyed several homes.

The Midwest battered again by spring storms. Parts of Michigan and Illinois littered with down trees and power lines. About 1,000 homes and businesses in Michigan are without power. More than 400 flights were canceled yesterday at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Now, the food pyramid is out and the food plate is in. The Department of Agriculture says it's swapping the pyramid for the plate to make it easier for Americans to make the right food choices. More details are expected in an official announcement this Thursday.

You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back. It's ten minutes before the top of the hour.

A group of wounded U.S. soldiers and former NFL players say they never felt so high -- literally and figuratively -- until the day they reached the top of the Mt. Kilimanjaro. They climbed the highest peak in Africa, nearly 20,000 feet high, to raise awareness and money for injured service members.

ROMANS: Former NFL star Chad Lewis and Nancy Schiliro are back with us this morning to tell us about their trip to Tanzania and their incredible climb to the top of Africa's tallest peak.

Nancy is here in the AMERICAN MORNING and our morning studio in New York, Chad joins us live from Salt Lake City. Let's start with you first, Nancy. It was more mental exhaustion than physical exhaustion. What was it like? Five days, just ten hours, just to climb to the peak.

NANCY SCHILIRO, WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT, CLIMBED MOUNT KILIMANJARO: Oh, it was really mentally exhausting, especially going through the rainy season, so we were damp the whole time. So it was a little bit -- a little bit miserable, but you had -- you have that team there, and they just keep you going.

CHO: What was the toughest part about it?

SCHILIRO: The toughest was the last day to the summit. I was walking at night with just your head lamp on and just trying to get up there. And you never think you're going to reach the summit.

ROMANS: Were you short of breath? I mean a lot of people talk about headaches and short of breath, and how you just -- you can't get a breath as you get closer and closer to the top, how the -- you really can feel a difference?

SCHILIRO: Oh you can definitely feel the altitude. The air is so much thinner up there, so now you're walking basically vertically up and it's even ten times harder to breathe. So it was very challenging at one point.

CHO: I want to ask Chad a question, because you're a former NFL player, clearly in great shape. How did you find the climb?

CHAD LEWIS, FORMER NFL PLAYER, CLIMBED MOUNT KILIMANJARO: It was unbelievable. There was absolutely no air at the top, and as a team, we were team hard target. And as it happens in a football -- in a football game, sometimes you got to get on each other.

And right near the top, Nancy's feet were freezing. And she was talking about her feet and she had no air, and Teddy Brewski (ph), as a middle linebacker from the Patriots finally said, Nancy, sit down on that rock right now, we'll take off your shoes, we're going to put on some warm socks. We did it, and as soon as Nancy had some warm socks on, she was a different girl. She was like, ok, let's go and we went to the top. But the whole thing was amazing.

CHO: Wow.

How long were you there, by the way?

LEWIS: We were there -- it took five days to climb up and two days to climb down. The whole trip was 11 days, but it was seven days on the mountain.

ROMANS: Now, you didn't all make it, right, Chad? I mean, the whole -- the whole group -- the whole group didn't get a chance to summit?

LEWIS: Correct. That was the hardest part of the whole thing. We had four Wounded Warriors and there were two lower leg amputees, Nancy lost her right eye and Mike Wilson a Marine had a post-traumatic stress disorder, so as we were going up the mountain, two of them, Ben Lunac (ph) who lost his lower leg and Mike Wilson were not able to summit. And that was by far the hardest part of the whole trip, even -- even tougher than the lack of oxygen at the top, was losing two of our guys as we were going to the summit.

ROMANS: Oh it looks cold, it looks wet. And I've got to tell you, there are a lot of people who are not Wounded Warriors who try to go up that -- that mountain and they don't make it. They don't make it for a lot of different reasons.

CHO: And Nancy, obviously, there was a dual mission here. You wanted to make it to the top, but you were also -- you had another mission, which was to raise awareness about Wounded Warriors. And you had a slogan, 19k for those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You know, we talked to Admiral Mike Mullen earlier, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. How do you think the government is doing in terms of taking care of wounded vets?

SCHILIRO: I think, so far, so good. And each day, they're getting better, as well. They are taking -- they're realizing all the men and women coming home that are injured, mentally and physically. And they're really looking towards the mental part now to. Because everyone sees the physical disabilities, but no one ever sees the inside scars and the hidden scars that we -- we come home and carry with us.

CHO: PTSD?

SCHILIRO: PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

ROMANS: Chad, you've seen in the NFL, obviously, discipline and hard work. I mean what do these warriors -- what kind of a glimpse did you get into the military discipline and hard work of these people you were climbing with?

LEWIS: Oh just how much absolute courage they had, to get to the top. Nancy was walking without any depth perception. Brian Wagner, who was walking as a lower leg amputee, he had to dig so deep to get to the top of the mountain. And then once we got to the top, we were only halfway, and he had to come down, and walking down on his stump, on his prosthetic leg, was excruciating.

So for two days, he was grinding out, digging so deep to get to the bottom. And Jeff Fisher, Teddy Brewski and I, as we were walking behind and we kept shaking our heads, the whole trip going, these guys are absolutely heroes, this is amazing.

And for us to get an up close and personal look at our living heroes and the people serving in our military and what they're doing and what it means to stand in harm's way, it was -- it was an unforgettable experience.

ROMANS: Well from Chad Lewis, former NFL player, you climbed it and you can put -- you did it, congratulations; Nancy Schiliro, Wounded Warrior Project -- congratulations to you too.

SCHILIRO: Yes.

ROMANS: It's a really great -- a really great way to raise awareness and try to raise the money as well.

SCHILIRO: And just -- you know, if any warriors that are out there and they need the help or if they -- they want to know how to get a part of the Wounded Warrior Project, they can go to our Web site at www.WoundedWarriorProject.org.

ROMANS: I got it. Great. Thanks Nancy Schiliro.

SCHILIRO: Thank you.

CHO: Best of luck.

ROMANS: Fifty-six minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Good morning, New York City, scattered showers and 70 degrees. You're looking at a live picture of the "Intrepid," where there will be Memorial Day ceremonies there later on, after, I think, the next couple of hours, probably. There could be thunderstorms, 88 degrees, later on in the day.

But it looks -- it looks nice. There'll be -- there'll be a lot of folks there for Fleet Week.

CHO: There will be. My gosh. And you've seen all the men and women in uniform, here in and around New York City, so that's been great to see.

That does it for us on this Memorial Edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm still waking up, three hours later. I'm Alina Cho. Thanks for joining us.

ROMANS: Yes, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts right now.

Hi there, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi. Alina, do you want some coffee?

CHO: I do. Another cup, please.

COSTELLO: I'll get you some. Thanks, guys, have a great day.