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American Morning
Casey Anthony Murder Trial; Saving Youth Programs at Risk; Weiner Calls It Quits; Romney: "I'm Also Unemployed"; Trapped! Tram Stalls in St. Louis Arch; Lucky on Long Island; Alien Adventure
Aired June 17, 2011 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The morning after, brand new information about the future of Anthony Weiner. CNN has the inside story of the phone call he made that set the wheels in motion for him to step down on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. It's Friday, June 17th. I'm Christine Romans.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us this morning. Up first, a CNN exclusive, some new information this morning on how Anthony Weiner's decision to step down actually went down.
ROMANS: That's right. CNN has learned the wheels were set in motion for Weiner's departure on Wednesday night. The disgraced congressman placing a phone call to fellow New York lawmaker, Steve Israel. Israel was at the White House attending a Congressional picnic. That's the moment when Weiner broke the news. This is something you'll hear only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEVE ISRAEL, (D) NEW YORK: He had already made the decision to resign, and he spoke with me. He said that he wanted to deliver that news to Leader Pelosi, and when he delivered the news to me and to Leader Pelosi, he did talk about the fact that it is important now to go back to the issues and the challenges that this country faces.
He made the right decision. He reached the right decision for himself, his wife, for the Congress and for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So now that Congressman Weiner is out, there are several key questions to ask this morning. How much of a distraction was he in Washington? Does he have a future in politics? And what is his next move?
ROMANS: Mary Snow has been following the snow since the beginning and attending all of the bizarre news conferences that have gone with it. Good morning, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bizarre they were. It gives you an indication, this happened in New York, the media capital, and this story would not go away over the past few weeks. It was a constant drumbeat of new pictures or details, keeping it in the news.
Democrats were eager to move away from it and advance their agenda. Congressman Steve Israel, his job is to get Democrats elected to congress. He said on "JK USA " the distractions were discussed in the conversation he had with Anthony Weiner the night before he resigned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL: One of the things Congressman Weiner talked about over the past week, on Wednesday the Republicans introduced a bill to privatize Social Security after a month before they tried to end Medicare. And he realized that this had become a huge distraction from some serious challenges that we confront and from some important fights that we need to have. And now that he's made that decision we can go back to addressing those challenges and, quite honestly, fighting those fights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: One of those fights is over Medicare and until a few weeks ago, Democrats thought or they were touting as some success. Worries over a House Republican proposal on Medicare, to help the Democrat win a special congressional election last month in Republican district in New York State. It was quickly forgotten as the Weiner scandal dominated the headlines.
ROMANS: We're hearing some predictions about when he will return back. This is what is I love about American politics. He's -- the plaque is still on the door and people are saying, he will make a comeback.
SNOW: You know, many of the pundits as you know have written him off for his hopes of becoming mayor in 2013. He was seen as a front contender. But not everyone is closing the door on a potential comeback. Dan Abrams, he's the founder of Mediaite.com, he is not questioning whether a comeback could be in sight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN ABRAMS, FOUNDER, MEDIAITE.COM: By the way, I do think that he will be back in New York City politics within three years. He will have a leading role, I predict, in New York City politics. I'm not saying he's necessarily going to be a married man. I have no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's the web site that focuses a lot on the, I guess, ins and outs of what goes on in the media and also in politics.
SNOW: If you listen to what Anthony Weiner said in his statement yesterday, he said he was looking for other ways to contribute his talents, and he was talking about middle-class values and he was from a middle-class background. And we may wonder at least is this some seed he's dropping for a potential down the road. It would take a while, but even some of his constituents say look, you know, anything is possible, it's not looking very good, but --
CHETRY: Others who say he has to complete this -- he talked about getting professional help.
SNOW: Right.
CHETRY: He has to sort of complete that psychological journey, heal, you know, the personal stuff, and then maybe think about it. As you said he still has a huge war chest, $4 million for a potential mayoral run.
SNOW: Over $4 million that he had raised for the 2013 race. He could give that to other people, you know, other candidates, and he can return the money. There are a couple of options. Obviously he can't just go and spend it.
ROMANS: And he just lost a six-figure, high six-figure paying salary. He has a baby on the way. You wonder what kind of financial considerations in general are going on in his family?
SNOW: He's limited. He doesn't have a law or business degree.
CHETRY: The heckler, Howard Stern show heckler, asking him if he was going to maintain his physique and that odd questioning.
SNOW: It was. There were two hecklers I saw, but the prime one was from the Howard Stern show. I had seen him earlier at the news conference when Anthony Weiner came out to say he was lying, he was there as well.
ROMANS: Thanks, Mary.
At 7:30 Eastern we're going to talk about Weiner's resignation, distraction and damage it caused in politics and where he goes from here, joined by a Democratic strategist Kiki McClain and former Republican presidential adviser Robert Traynham.
CHETRY: Developing this morning, the leaders of Germany and France say there's no time to lose when it comes to securing a rescue plan for Greece. That country is facing a financial crisis unlike any it's confronted before. If Greece doesn't get a second bailout, there are fears it could default on its debt and trigger other European economies to go under as well.
In recent days, thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets in Athens. They are outraged over the budget cuts that the government says are needed to secure that bailout.
ROMANS: A New York Senate vote on a same-sex marriage bill could come as early as today and this morning we're hearing surprising words from one of its Republican supporters. Right now the Senate is split, 31-31. The measure needs one more Republican backer to pass. It already has the support of Republican state senator Roy McDonald. He said he's fed up with conservative groups, anti-gay marriage groups, and religious leaders pressuring him to vote against the marriage equality act. Listen to this quote from him, quote, "You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn't black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing. You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well "f" word that. I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing."
Governor Andrew Cuomo supports the gay marriage bill. He met last night with supporters as well as several opponents who are asking him to re-write the measure.
CHETRY: Also new this morning in southern Arizona another wildfire is burning dangerously close to some neighborhoods near Mexico. Authorities have evacuated 1,700 additional homes. The monument fire, as it's called, is about 17 percent contained.
ROMANS: A new poll shows president Obama could be in for a serious challenge if he wants to win reelection. According to the Gallup poll, this poll shows if the election were held today, 44 percent of registered voters say they would vote for an unnamed Republican candidate, 39 percent say they would vote for President Obama.
CHETRY: New York Congressman Charles Rangel is selling his villa Dominican Republic that was the focus of a House ethics investigation. He was found guilty of among other things failing to pay taxes on 17 years of rental income from this villa. Rangel reportedly bought the home for $89,000 decades ago and sold it in December for up to $500,000.
Democrats are taking issue with what they call an insensitive joke made by Mitt Romney. The Republican presidential candidate who's worth about $200 million was in Florida talking to a group of unemployed folks when he weighed in with a predicament of his own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I should also tell my story. I'm also unemployed.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you on LinkedIn?
ROMNEY: Yes, actually. And I'm networking.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: You see he was joking, holding a book about how to get a job, everyone was laughing. But Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz put out a statement saying that joke -- being unemployed is simply not a joke. It was inappropriate.
That brings us to our question of the day. Mitt Romney's joke, is he connecting with voters or out of touch? Send us an e-mail, tweet, tell us on Facebook. We will read your thoughts later in the hour.
CHETRY: We're also getting a better picture about how widespread the violence was and the riots in Vancouver, British Columbia. The city virtually exploding after the hometown Canucks lost game seven of the Stanley Cup final. We now know about 150 people went to the hospital for their injuries and there were reports of a stabbing and multiple head injuries as well.
Police say nearly 100 people were arrested. Two of their police cruisers were set on fire. And check out this amazing time lapse video. It puts this event into a unique perspective. It shows the city skyline from the beginning of the riots in the early evening to later on that night. You can see the black smoke billowing out of different parts of the city.
ROMANS: The cleanup still going on in downtown Vancouver this morning. The rioting estimated to cost the city millions of dollars in damages. And the signs of regret and support are visible this morning. This CNN iReport shows some of the messages posted on the plywood board covering up broken and smashed store fronts, many posting messages like "We love Vancouver" and "All you need is love." There's still anger this morning. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so disgusted with the way Vancouver acted. I've never been so embarrassed of the city in my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I live here. I'm a true fan. Vancouver did an amazing job getting as far as they did, and we have this.
CHRISTY CLARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA PREMIER: I'm really angry to see this is my city. It belongs to all British Columbians, all Canadians.
MAYOR GREGOR ROBERTSON, VANCOUVER, CANADA: It's shameful. It's absolutely disgraceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Another iReporter captured this image that speaks volumes about the incident. One resident wanting people not to get the wrong idea about Vancouver. It says "On behalf of my team and my city, I'm sorry."
CHETRY: Vancouver's police chief is blaming criminals and anarchists not hockey fans for the rioting. A Facebook page has been set up to help identify those inciting the violence, one asking readers to report the "riot morons."
ROMANS: And then there's the kiss, this picture of a couple lying in the street in Vancouver seemingly locked in a passionate kiss. The couple appears to be oblivious to what's going on around them. It was captured by a photographer covering the postgame riots. This picture has been tweeted around the world and even the photographer who took this picture, he says he isn't sure if the couple is kissing or one is hurt. Either way - in fact he got back to his newsroom and didn't even notice that part of the picture until his editor said something to him. Look at that. He says it is a memorable image either way.
CHETRY: Still to come this morning, you loved him in "ER." Now actor Noah Wiley is back on TV in a new Si-Fi series produced by Steven Spielberg. He will join us later in the hour.
ROMANS: And it is day two of the defense's case in the Casey Anthony murder trial, how her lawyers are trying to turn the tables on the prosecution's expert witnesses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We have new video to CNN right now. This is outside of the courthouse where the Casey Anthony murder trial is taking place, literally people fighting over public seats. Today this was taken about 5:45 this morning by local Channel 6 there. They say apparently according to a reporter, local reporter, two men cut in line who were approached by other members in the line, and then you see this fight breaking out. Apparently the men were questioned, but police did not make any arrests.
But this is not an unusual scene. It's quite a statement on exactly what people are doing outside of this Casey Anthony trial. This is about the second or third time that police have been called for fights.
ROMANS: And it's getting worse every day. It's getting worse. There are only 50 seats, and it's very tense to get a spot in that courtroom.
In just a few hours in the Casey Anthony murder trial the defense is expected to call the prosecution's forensic witnesses to the stand. Day one featured seven crime scene investigators and forensic scientists. Their testimony exactly three years to the day since little 2-year-old Caylee Anthony was last seen alive, and the defense was able to establish that there is no conclusive DNA evidence on any piece of evidence that links Casey to her daughter's murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you test the adhesive side of the duct tape?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And was there anything that you were able to find there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The information that was generated was inconclusive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Sunny Hostin joins us this morning. She's a legal contributor for "In Session" and a former federal prosecutor.
So, this is, of course, this is what happens on cross- examination. The defense is trying to chip away at the prosecution's witnesses. But is this a big deal, the fact that they didn't find Caylee's DNA, given that they found the duct tape on the baby's skull?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION": Well, it certainly could lead to reasonable doubt. I was really interested, Kiran, but this defense strategy because it's usually one of two things. Right? The defense attorney will say that his client is not guilty. And so it's really about poking holes in the prosecution's case. And then the other theory usually is my client is innocent. Let me tell you what really happened. And that's what he sort of led to in opening statements. My client did not intentionally murder her daughter. This was an accidental drowning. So I think we all thought that either Casey Anthony was going to get on the witness stand and say it was three years to the day that my little girl drowned in the swimming pool, but instead of doing that, he decided to go with the sort of, my client isn't guilty and poked holes in the prosecution's case.
CHETRY: I still don't understand -- I don't understand the duct tape part because they literally showed photos saying no one is doubting that that was Caylee Anthony's skull.
HOSTIN: And then the duct tape was around her face.
CHETRY: Around her face.
HOSTIN: But no DNA found on the sticky side, none of Caylee Anthony's DNA found on the sticky side. That is pretty significant evidence and that is really what the defense has done so far, poking holes in this prosecution's case. Many people are not really convinced that this is the right theory. People think something criminal happened, I tend to think something criminal happened, but did she really intentionally murder her daughter which is what they have to prove? I'm not so sure they got there.
ROMANS: So you saw this moment for the prosecution and now it feels as though the tide has shifted a little bit. Is that natural because now it is the defense's case again?
HOSTIN: Well, it better be. It better happen that way, because this is the defense's case in chief. The defense's turn to really shine the light on their theory, either my client is not guilty or my client is innocent and I think he's got a long way to go but Jose Baez did a pretty decent job again of poking those holes in. I mean, not having Caylee Anthony's DNA on the duct tape. The black trash bags, no DNA found.
ROMANS: And the paternity test.
HOSTIN: The paternity test I thought was a bombshell. Let's face it. The defense theory is the reason she acted this way for 31 days, not reporting, partying all this type of thing, is because she was sexually abused by her father. He also said, Jose Baez in the opening statement, that she was also sexually abused by her brother. Without Casey Anthony having to get on the stand, we find out that the FBI conducted a paternity test to determine whether or not Lee Anthony was the source -- was the father of Caylee.
CHETRY: What they left out, which was brilliant is that the prosecutor said -- I mean, the prosecutors then after the recess said no, they did DNA testing, right? They did paternity testing and it's neither the father nor the brother's child.
HOSTIN: Right. But the question is why would the FBI even conduct the test if the allegations of sexual abuse were not true? I can tell you from experience the FBI doesn't do a paternity test unless you ask them to do it.
ROMANS: And this is why you have hundreds of people lining up and fighting to get into this courtroom like they did at 5:45 this morning.
HOSTIN: Well, I think they want to see Casey Anthony on the witness stand. So now the tickets are golden tickets.
ROMANS: And you say social media has made people feel like they know these players.
HOSTIN: Yes.
ROMANS: They feel like they know these characters and these players and people want to be close to it.
HOSTIN: It's unbelievable.
ROMANS: The pictures of the fighting, it's weird and creepy.
HOSTIN: I'm getting Facebook hits like, just unbelievable. People feel that they know this little girl, they know this family, they are part of this trial.
ROMANS: Sunny Hostin. Thank you so much, Sunny. We'll talk to you again soon.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Eighteen minutes after the hour. That's mean it's time to check in with Rob for the weather.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Had some boomers roll through the New York City area last night and early this morning. They're beginning to move away, thankfully. But some ponding on the roadways certainly across parts of southern New England as this cluster of thunderstorms makes its way towards the Boston area. Associated not with any real big storm. We've got kind of an upper low that's over here and some pockets of convection will fire up again across this warm front today. Last night, we had rough thunderstorms across Memphis, Tennessee, and I think we'll see similar action today.
Critical fire danger out west again with winds and low levels of humidity there. So that's not good news as those fires continue to grow almost at a half a million acres is the Wallow fire and the heat is certainly not helping. 109 in Childress, Texas. Midland seeing 109. Amarillo seeing 107, and Dodge City 104. So it's tough to find a place to cool off. It will be 95 in Memphis today and 94 degrees in Atlanta. But some geese out in Colorado found a place to cool off. Along the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs where the river is running high and these geese are taking advantage of it.
Surfing the CO river. Check that out. Have you ever seen anything like that?
ROMANS: That's --
MARCIANO: This is actually a water park, guys. They've actually enhanced some of the underbelly of the river there to create these waves for kayakers and surfers, but the geese are saying hey, I want in on this action as well. So, I've never seen anything like this.
CHETRY: All right. They want to get food, right?
ROMANS: Do you think they're having fun or do you think they're looking for a little minnow under there?
MARCIANO: No, I think they're just cruising. I think just having fun.
CHETRY: Really?
MARCIANO: Why not? Listen, they don't get waves like that in Canada.
CHETRY: I guess not. I didn't know that Canadian geese were such great suffers. But bring on the wave pool.
ROMANS: All right, Rob Marciano. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Happy Friday, guys.
ROMANS: You too. Have a good weekend.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the budget act falling on youth initiatives across the country. Now supporters and teens calling now for help. We're going to take you inside one of these life-changing programs. We're back in just a couple of minutes. A quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.
U.S. markets close mixed following stronger than expected reports on housing and jobs. A little bit better there but still a tough situation for both of those markets. The Dow, S&P 500 making gains. The Nasdaq dropping just a few points yesterday. The leaders of Germany and France announcing support for reform amid continuing talks on a second bailout for Greece this morning. The Greek government also appointing a new finance minister, amid increasing pressure from protests outside parliament in Athens this week.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan weighing in on the financial crisis in Greece, saying the country is, quote, "almost certain to default." In an interview with Charlie Rose, Greenspan saying the financial crisis in Greece could help drive the U.S. economy into recession.
And Capital One Bank winning the bid for ING's online banking unit in a $9 billion deal. Capital One known for its credit cards and the acquisition signals an aggressive move into the on-line banking business.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all new CNNmoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Twenty-eight minutes past the hour.
It's an opportunity and also some hope for at risk youths. We're talking about social programs that are designed to take teens off the street, to get them back into the classrooms and also learning skills.
ROMANS: And today, those programs are crumbling under budget cuts. You're going to see this only on CNN, YouthBuild, one of the initiatives in jeopardy. We're taking you inside the program to introduce you to some of its success stories. Allan Chernoff brings us the story this morning.
Good morning. Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Indeed, this is for kids who just have failed out of regular high school. They're not succeeding. Many of them fall to the streets. But this program takes those kids, builds their self-confidence through individualized attention and it works very often. But, federal budget cutting is now threatening YouthBuild.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Donovan Bruce dropped out of two different high schools. Today, he's getting paid to learn home construction while studying to finish his high school education. Where traditional high school failed, the federally funded YouthBuild program is succeeding for Donovan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just learned today that Donovan passed his GED. CHERNOFF: He now plans to attend college in the fall.
DONOVAN BRUCE, YOUTHBUILD STUDENT: You are just learning in a good environment and everybody is helping each other out. And everybody gets a chance to succeed.
CHERNOFF (on camera): YouthBuild does keep kids off the streets and in school, where they can prepare for a career, especially important in today's economy.
(voice-over): But in the past two years, Congress has cut the program's funding by more than a third. Among those hardest hit is Brooklyn's Dreams YouthBuild where Donovan is among 35 students getting second or third chances.
It's one of 121 youth build programs around the nation that have lost federal funding administered through the U.S. Labor Department.
DOROTHY STONEMAN, CHAIR, YOUTHBUILD COALITION: The idea of cutting this program, to even fewer young people, rather than opening the doors to all of the young people who are looking for a way back into a productive role, is really bad policy.
This program works and we have young people ling up outside the doors. They call it the Harvard of the hood because there's such a high demand for it.
CHERNOFF: That demand results from a nurturing environment, which Yanique Eubanks couldn't find when she quit high school last year.
YANIQUE EUBANKS, YOUTHBUILD STUDENT: They like a family, like the mother, the aunts and cousins and stuff you never had.
DITASHIAH KOHN, DIRECTOR, DREAMS, YOUTHBUILD: There's always someone to listen to them, to respect them, to show them that they care and you believe in them and that you want them to succeed. I think that makes the difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Politicians have been searching for a way to help troubled kids continue their education. Youthbuild advocates say the government is already funding one.
The answer, they argue, is to expand, not contract Youthbuild, so that we can help dropouts turn their lives around.
ROMANS: All right, an important story. Allan Chernoff. Thanks, Allan.
CHETRY: Thanks, Allan. Back to our top story this morning, it is over for Congressman Anthony Weiner. This is day one of his new life as a former elected official. He resigned yesterday, just hours after calling a colleague at the White House to break the news. ROMANS: Here to discuss the distraction he created, the damage he did and where he goes from here, Democratic strategist, Kiki MClean and former Republican adviser Robert Traynham both joining us live from Washington.
First, Kiki, what was the distraction he was, I mean, was it debt negotiations, was it Medicare and attacking the Republicans on the Medicare plan, what was he overshadowing?
KIKI MCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, frankly, it's what we're doing this morning. We're on the air talking about this and we're not talking about the fact that we need to come to a bipartisan solution for the debt ceiling. I think as of today, and maybe this last conversation this morning, we'll be past that.
CHETRY: What about you, what do you think, Robert? Does he leave any scorched earth behind when it comes to Democratic leaders or did everybody sort of do the best they could with this?
ROBERT TRAYNHAM, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, COMCAST NETWORK: Well, I think everyone did the best they could with this. You know, I keep saying this over and over again, as far as we know, Congressman Weiner did nothing illegal.
What he did was extremely seedy and very, very immoral, but, you know, it was a huge distraction and a big national conversation, obviously, was happening at water coolers across the country at least here in the beltway.
The real question, I always think about this, what is the person outside the beltway thinking? The person who is living paycheck to paycheck? The person who has been looking for employment now for the past two years?
When they sit down and turn on CNN, and they look at this type of stuff, they're scratching their heads and saying, why aren't the people of Washington, D.C., thinking about me?
Why are they not working on the issues I care about, as opposed to a sex scandal that quite frankly, really is between he and his wife and the people he had a quote/unquote relationship with on the web?
ROMANS: Well, it is, until he stands up in front of a bunch of people and lies about it and lies to a bunch of reporters all day long and then it becomes a story that continues to have legs.
I mean, you've heard the drip, drip, drip. Everyone thought that every day of this was the last day of the story and it wasn't. Kiki, maybe you're right this is finally the last day. But he has money set aside, polls in the city that show that he's still popular, his constituents think he should still have that job. Is that campaign money he has, is that an issue? What does he do with that?
MCLEAN: Well, it's not so much about the money. It's about the kind of advocate that Anthony has been for the community that he served. That's what will be there for him if he finds another way to serve over time.
You know, this is a great demonstration of the concept that our elected officials are human beings and they have great strength and great weaknesses and they come with exceptional gifts and they come with flaws.
As we know, people have the chance to remake themselves and find the multitude of ways to serve again and again. Look, I'm just going to say it, because we're on CNN, you have a member of your on air talent who was a flawed politician who came back and now serves in a different way as an on air commentator.
CHETRY: I think you're right. There are a lot of people who believe in the political comeback.
MCLEAN: It's not just the political comeback. It's the human comeback. It's what is your role in life and what will you do?
It's clear that congressman has chosen to step back, give his family a chance to heal, and to move forward. He's young. This is not by any means a person for whom life is over.
TRAYNHAM: If I could just chime in quickly, Kiki is absolutely right. I mean, if you take a look at Bill Clinton, if you take a look at David Vitter, if you take a look at Newt Gingrich, I mean, there a lot of folks out there that have reminded us, politicians out there, that have reminded us that, A, not only are they human, but also, B, because of the human comeback, they're able to come back and frankly are a bit stronger because of it.
CHETRY: All right, let's leave that on the table and move on to another potential controversy, at least. Frontrunner for the GOP, for trying to get to the White House, is Mitt Romney.
He made a remark when he was meeting with some unemployed folks that was meant to be as a joke. It seemed that they took it as a joke.
But other pundits are saying and some Democratic elected officials like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz are saying this is in poor taste. I want to show it to our audience and get you guys to weigh in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I should also tell my story. I'm also unemployed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you on LinkedIn?
ROMNEY: Yes, actually and I'm networking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So this is tough, Robert. I'm sure he was trying to joke around with these people. I'm one of you, but when he has a net worth of $200 million, does it come off as insensitive?
TRAYNHAM: Yes, and no. I mean, clearly in looking at that footage, everyone was laughing. It didn't seem to be uncomfortable. I guarantee you that this will be a campaign ad if, in fact, Mitt Romney becomes the Republican nominee.
We also need to remember as I said before, 9.1 unemployment rate. Mitt Romney's unemployed because he chooses to be unemployed. He's worth several hundred millions of dollars.
So it is in poor taste, but in fairness to him, it appears no one in the room was offended by that. I think we need to put that in context.
ROMANS: Sounds like he was reading the crowd pretty well.
MCLEAN: Yes. But the reality is when running for the president of the United States you have to stand by the things you've said. Do I think he woke up that morning intending to be thoughtless, no. Was he thoughtless?
Absolutely and I think, again, this is the other end of the spectrum of human behavior. Candidates are human beings. Here's the difference when running for office, you have to be prepared to live with the fallout and the multiple translations of what you've done.
This is what lives on and particularly in the world of social media today, these moments don't go by with just the people in that room. You know, I guess when you're worth as much as Mitt Romney, which is a great thing. I would like to be worth that much some day.
TRAYNHAM: Me too, Kiki.
MCLEAN: You have room to have humor about that job.
CHETRY: This is a couple of our e-mails, this is why no one runs for president. This is why you can never get a straight answer out of anybody because everything you do is micro analyzed and played endlessly.
MCLEAN: That's true. What's interesting though about a presidential campaign, let's say that Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee. You're looking at essentially an 18-month campaign and what voters will do by the time they get to the general, get to a major primary, they look at these things in collection.
If he does it once and it doesn't happen again, no big deal. If he does it again and again and again, then voters begin to recognize wow, there's a consistent pattern here. He had a one off really bad moment, but he shouldn't do it again.
ROMANS: All right, KiKi MClean, Democratic strategist and Robert Traynham, thank you so much, former Republican adviser. Thanks both of you.
MCLEAN: Have a good weekend.
ROMANS: Here's what's new, trapped high above St. Louis, crammed with little air, no way down, one of the trams in the famed St. Louis arch, stalled yesterday.
CHETRY: This is why I can't go on these things. I'm afraid of heights.
ROMANS: It happened in New York as well. More than an hour they were stranded. Hoist the tram to the top and rescue the tourists. No word on what caused that glitch.
CHETRY: Can you imagine? I do it for other people because if you're already terrified of heights and being trapped, can you imagine what a peach you are if you get stuck?
ROMANS: Scared of heights and claustrophobic.
CHETRY: Well, it was all smiles for 20 Costco employees on Long Island yesterday. They collected their Powerball jackpot winnings, an impressive $202 million, which they chose to take in a slump sum. The co-workers chipped in for lottery tickets in May and they remembered that exciting day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM KARKOTA, LOTTERY WINNER: We started as a group about when the Powerball hit about $144 million and as a group we decided to put $5 a week in and we said, you know what, group of 20, got a month now, we've been playing, that's how we came as a group.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The morning I checked the ticket, went through the numbers one by one, shaking my head, clearing my eyes, couldn't believe what I was seeing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, believe it. How do they plan to spend all that cash? Well, some of them say they want to buy new cars, new homes and even plan a big family trip. A lot of them said they want to make it last, they want to spend it wisely. One of them said she wants to move out of her mom's house.
ROMANS: Keep shopping at Costco for the volume discounts.
CHETRY: Why not.
ROMANS: Next on AMERICAN MORNING he's not a doctor, but he played one on TV for 15 years, you know this face, Noah Wyle was Dr. John Carter on "ER."
Now he's heading back to TV in a brilliant sci-fi series. He's here to tell us all about it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 43 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. When aliens invade earth on TNT this weekend, actor Noah Wyle will be there to fight them.
Wyle, who spent 15 seasons, of course, as one of our favorite doctors on "ER" is starring in a new series executive produced by Steven Spielberg. It's called "Falling Skies." Here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can make it too costly and too painful for them to stay then they'll leave. They're wolves. We got to be porcupines. If we can hurt them, they'll leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That hasn't worked so far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will because it has before. History is full of inferior forces creating so much trouble that the invading army leaves. The Scotts against the British, Sterling Bridge, our revolution fought right here. Red Sox/Yankees, '04. We can beat them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's clever and exciting but no battle quite like this one. The two-hour series premier of "Falling Skies" is Sunday night 9:00 Eastern on TNT. The star, Noah Wyle joins us now. It's an exciting project. What drew you to this one?
NOAH WYLE, ACTOR, TNT'S "FALLING SKIES": Combination of things. Chance to work again for Mr. Spielberg who's one of the executive producers of "ER," long-standing relationship now with TNT having worked with them for a while and as we were discussing before a chance to look heroic to my 8-year-old son.
ROMANS: Cool.
WYLE: Fairly significant as well.
CHETRY: Did he get to see it yet?
WYLE: No. He was on the set. Got to run around with my machine gun and work the animatronics alien head and everything to brag to his second grade class.
CHETRY: That's very important as a dad, you know that, of course. But it's interesting in the clip you do get a sense that you're not the typical action hero. This is sort of an unlikely hero and he's a history teacher and dad and working in history there.
WYLE: He's an academic by and large, but given the fact that the aliens have invaded and decimated the military it's the civilians leading this ragtag army. So he's a guy that has an academic background being forced into a military leadership role.
ROMANS: Bad guys going after the children. You're trying to protect the children in the series.
WYLE: Yes, we don't know quite why they want the kids but they do, and they seem to be pressing them to some kind of slave labor force. And those are some of the big overriding questions about -- that we deal with over the course of the first season, why are they here, want the kids, how do we defeat them, you know?
CHETRY: It's exciting that this new series, "The Falling Skies," and I was wondering about personally, whenever you played the kind of character like you did on "ER" for all those years, people ask you about that. Why is this your first big project or thing after? I mean, do you love still being associated with "ER" or is it --
WYLE: Oh absolutely. No, no, no. I'll be grateful to that job for the rest of my life. That job opened every door I could have ever wanted opened for me, and the most defining job of my career certainly. And it was great. I still keep in touch with all those people, get nostalgic often for those times.
But the big difference, that was 22 to 24 episodes a season, which left little quality of life to be a parent. And TNT and a lot of other cable channels do a much shorter season.
ROMANS: You're a different actor and a different person today than you were, though, when doing "ER," aren't you? I mean, how are you different? You've got kids. You -- you've got different kinds of priorities, I would expect?
WYLE: I think that's probably true. I took a little time off after "ER" to really focus on being a presence around the house, and that got really annoying and I had to get out of here.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: For the kids or you?
WYLE: Mutual. It was mutual. They wanted know go back to work, and I was about ready.
CHETRY: You did something unique as well. You decided to live a little bit out of the L.A. bubble, as they call it. You're north of L.A. on a farm. You have farm animals for the kids. Why was that an important aspect for you and your wife?
WYLE: Well, I'm a product of the Los Angeles school system, and look how I turned out, so -
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: You're an actor.
WYLE: I was lucky to have the next generation go a little farther. My grandfather is a cattle rancher. I grew up working for him on vacations. It's just a great way to grow up. Sort of the only chance the kids get these days to have a Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer existence where they go out and get dirty and fire their imaginations. And there's something about the responsibilities and chores that go along with living on a farm that I think really puts you in good sted later down the road.
ROMANS: I grew up in the country. I believe the same thing. I mean, it's just --
CHETRY: You don't trust people that haven't owned chickens.
ROMANS: Exactly! If you haven't had to go and get an egg from an angry hen, you don't know what --
WYLE: True enough.
ROMANS: It's true, right? Oh, gosh, well, it's great to meet you. And one thing is, you're so known for "ER," but this is a pretty incredible series so, you know, who knows. People will be saying, you know, Noah Wyle from "Falling Skies."
WYLE: You know that guy from "Falling Skies." Yes. I wouldn't mind that.
CHETRY: You know, one other just quick note about the whole L.A. situation, I mean, all these in California, especially, but all these states and schools and local districts are facing a lot of problems right now, and it doesn't seem like there's an easy answer for that situation. All of us have young kids, and know what are we -- are we educating them the right way and what's the solution when there's no more money?
WYLE: I agree. Well, I tell my son all the time when he's complaining about his homework, it's not so much what you're learning, it's - you're learning how to learn. If you can learn how to learn, then you can teach yourself the rest of your life. All you need to know is the, you know, those key things.
ROMANS: Yes. Truer words.
WYLE: Learn how to read, learn how to add, learn how subtract. I'll take care of the rest.
ROMANS: Excellent. All right, Noah Wyle, really great to meet you. Thanks for dropping by. Best of luck with the series. "Falling Skies" premiers Sunday night on TNT. Noah Wyle, of course, "ER" fame, now "Falling Skies."
CHETRY: And we'll be watching.
ROMANS: We will, we will.
CHETRY: Congratulations.
ROMANS: All right. Still to come this morning, our question of the day pegs off Mitt Romney's joke that he's unemployed too. What do you think? Is he connecting with voters or out of touch? Send us an e-mail, a tweet, tell us on Facebook. We will read some of your thoughts later on in the program.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifty minutes past the hour right now. Here is a look at your morning headlines.
We start in Vancouver, where authorities are now turning to social media sites to track down the Stanley Cup rioters. There's a Facebook page where people can post pictures and videos of the chaos that broke out after the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins. Police are asking for help through Twitter as well as other blogs.
Day one of Anthony Weiner's life as an ex-Congressman. He stepped down in the wake of the sexting scandal yesterday. Well-known legal analyst Dan Abrams telling CNN he predict Weiner will be prominent in New York politics again within three years.
And this just in. Police in Orlando needing to breaking up a brawl that took place outside of the courthouse where Casey Anthony is being tried for murder. The fight reportedly started when two men cut the line where dozens of spectators were waiting for one of 50 public seats at that trial.
In Arizona, authorities have been forced to evacuate 1,700 more homes as flames burn dangerously close to neighborhoods. This one's called the Monument Fire. Only 17 percent contained and has now scorched about 700 square miles of the state.
And Rory McIlroy has soared to the lead in golf's U.S. Open. The young Ir - are you guys laughing at me? Am I saying it wrong? All right. Cool.
The young Irishman also had the lead in the last major (ph) of the Masters, but he shot an 80 on the final day to cough it up.
Well, you're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING will be back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Question of the day this morning. Some are upset over Mitt Romney's joke that he was also unemployed. He made the joke while speaking to a group of unemployed Floridians yesterday.
ROMANS: So, that brings us to out question of the day. Mitt Romney's joke, connecting with voters or out of touch. And let's be clear. The people in the room were laughing. He was saying, yes, I'm on LinkedIn. I'm networking to try to get a job.
Shane Stein said on the blog, "Give me a break. Is this the nit- picking we have to look forward to during election 2012? I'm a Democrat, and I honestly found what Romney said funny. It's not as if he was belittling the unemployed. If anything, he was making himself look easygoing and personable."
CHETRY: And that's what people say, it's difficult. You're in a room and you have a certain exchange and then when it plays endlessly on videotape, perhaps it loses its intended purpose.
Well, Geet writes on the blog, "If you belong to a middle-class family struggling with bills, having to make difficult choices, I'm sure the basic struggle to survive wouldn't seem like a joke to him."
ROMANS: Ooh. Mary Shipman on Facebook said, "Out of touch and in very poor taste. A man with millions to rely on cannot have a clue as to what it takes for those struggling to get by in this economy."
CHETRY: Karen on Facebook: "Usually I can take a joke, but speaking to a group of unemployed who I'm sure have a lot of worries, this just isn't funny. I don't think he is a bad man. I think he just seems not to have a clue."
Well, keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail or tweet or tell us on Facebook, and we will read more comments later on in the hour.
ROMANS: All right. Well, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, mext time you're stuck in a traffic light, you may see something new. How about a fourth signal? A fourth flashing yellow arrow?
CHETRY: For left turns. Yes, we need that! Do we need that?
ROMANS: I don't know. Have you watched people trying to make left turns? I mean, maybe they need to sit where they are until they actually have a green arrow. We will tell you what it means right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
