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American Morning: Wake Up Call
World Markets Down; Georgia Executes Troy Davis; Up To 23,000 Nurses On Strike; Abbas: Willing To Wait For Decision
Aired September 22, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: "I am innocent." Some of the last words uttered by convicted cop killer Troy Davis just before his execution last night. The controversial case delayed several hours before the U.S. Supreme Court gave the final word.
Plus, why more than 20,000 nurses are planning not to show up for work today.
Here we go again -- Facebook rolling out new changes to user pages. So far, people are pushing back with tons of angry comments.
Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 22nd. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York this morning.
Let's start with some breaking news about the world markets.
It has been a rough day of trading so far. Asian markets finished with losses. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down more than 4.8 percent. The major European markets are down, too.
U.S. stock futures are in the red in pre-trading. A lot of this comes after the Federal Reserve gave a cynical view of the economy. We'll talk more about this with Christine Romans in just a few minutes.
Back to Troy Davis now. He has been put to death. The debate over his guilt or innocence and over the death penalty itself goes on.
The state of Georgia executed Davis last night by lethal injection for the murder of a Savannah police officer in 1989. Davis had supporters across the world. They claimed there was too much doubt in the case. But the original prosecutor says there is no doubt.
Despite protests and last-minute appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay and Davis' time ran out. Media witnesses to the execution say just before the procedure began, Davis told the victim's family he was innocent. He urged them to keep digging for the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JON LEWIS, WSB RADIO: He asked his family and friends to keep praying, to keep working and keep the faith.
Then he said to the prison staff, the ones he said who are going to take my life, he said to them, "May God have mercy on your souls." His last words were to them, "May God bless your souls."
He put his head back down. The procedure began. About 15 minutes later it was over.
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: There were protests at the U.S. Supreme Court, too, in Washington, D.C. as Davis' supporters hoped justices would intervene. As I said, they did not.
There was another execution last night that didn't attract nearly as much attention. Texas put to death Lawrence Brewer. He was convicted in a murder case that outraged a nation, the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, back in 1998. Brewer was a former leader of a racist prison gang with KKK ties. He's the 11th person executed in Texas this year.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas still plans to request full United Nations membership tomorrow. But now, he says he doesn't need a response right away. President Obama met with him last night as well as with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Obama is calling on both sides to get back to the negotiating table.
Earlier, he explained why the United States might veto Mr. Abbas' controversial bid for statehood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Peace is hard work. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations. If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, addresses the U.N. General Assembly today. Thousands of Iranian Americans are expected to protest his appearance.
The Justice Department says the gambling site Full Tilt Poker is more like full tilt Ponzi and cheated players out of hundreds of millions of dollars. One of the company's lawyers is now responding to those accusations. He says, quote, "The fact that there may have been mistakes made by management does not mean that a business becomes a Ponzi scheme," end quote. He goes on to say that the company is trying to attract investors so it can pay back players.
Now, let's head to Atlanta and Rob Marciano. I know we have to talk about tropical storm Ophelia because it is churning through the Atlantic. But you're going to update us on the satellite to falling to earth, aren't you?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And NASA is giving us, you know, a little more narrow timeline, thank goodness, as to where this thing -- when it may start to re-enter the earth's atmosphere.
Let's talk Ophelia, another satellite. This one, geosynchronous. It's up there about 22,000, 23,000 miles away. So, no threat of this satellite falling into the ocean.
But I'll you what? Ophelia is looking healthy against all odds. This thing is almost a hurricane -- 65-mile-an-hour winds, moving west about 14. Still almost a thousand miles from any land mass. And the forecast is encouraging.
You know, we've been saying all week, it's tough this time of year to get a Cape Verde storm all the way to the U.S. But it's trying. It is trying. It looks like it's going to miss the Caribbean and wants to try to recur out to sea.
And the National Hurricane Center keeps it as a tropical storm for its entirety. But, obviously, making an approach towards the East Coast. So, we'll have to watch that very carefully.
Speaking of the East Coast, it's going to be wet. This is a slow-moving front is going to stall out and we're going to see unsettled weather here for a good couple days and for the Northeast really right through the weekend. So, that will cause travel delays as well.
Behind it, there are certainly some cooler air, 58 degrees in Minneapolis and 63 degrees in Chicago. New York metros will see delays of an hour or greater. D.C. and Philly, we'll see an hour of delays, maybe up to an hour.
All right. This is the only -- quite frankly, this is the only graphic we have. And it shows all the satellites that are spinning around the earth right now. Obviously, they're a lot smaller than that and the earth doesn't spin quite that fast. But nonetheless, this -- the UARS satellite is scheduled to re-enter the earth's atmosphere sometime tomorrow afternoon they're saying, Carol. And NASA is also saying they have some confidence that it's not going to be coming over at least North America.
So, at least for our U.S. viewers this morning -- I know this show goes international. At least for our U.S. viewers, you can breathe a bit of a sigh of relief. But this thing is supposed to come in, break into a couple dozen pieces, some of them will be pretty big and most of them hopefully will splash into oceans.
COSTELLO: OK. I'm writing this on my Facebook page now. So, this satellite is scheduled to re-enter the earth sometime tomorrow. And it probably will not fall on the United States or all of North America, but somewhere in the ocean.
MARCIANO: Well, hopefully, somewhere in the ocean, but not in North America. And this is -- this is better than what they've been saying all week, which is tomorrow plus or minus 20 hours. So, we have narrowed the margin of error to sometime like a six to 10-hour period, to sometime tomorrow afternoon. And so, apparently, that takes North America out of the equation. I can't say that for the rest of the world, though. So, we'll have to pinpoint that a little better for you and certainly have a more accurate prediction tomorrow morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, that's a wide warning. Everybody is not living in North America be careful.
MARCIANO: It's so selfish of us to say that. You know what? I'm going to do more digging and see if I can't take a few more countries out of the danger zone here in the next half hour.
COSTELLO: That would be kind of you. Alrighty then. Thank you -- thank you, Rob Marciano. We appreciate it.
Coming up, as I told you, world markets are tanking right now. Futures looking bad this morning. We'll tell you why. We're going to talk more about that with Christine Romans.
Also, many people are waking um to find all kinds of changes on their Facebook pages. Some say it's like waking up and finding your furniture has been rearranged. We're taking a closer look.
And if you want to talk to me about that satellite, it's Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Just saying.
But, first, let's get to our quote of the day. This is the quote, "We're home alone. There's no adult in charge. Clinton would never have made these mistakes."
Find out which newsmaker said that about President Obama. That's coming your way in 90 seconds.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is nine minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our quote of the day. This is the quote, "We're home alone. There's no adult in charge. Clinton would never have made these mistakes."
That quote is contained in a new book called "Confidence Men." It attributes that statement to the former director of the National Economic Council, Larry Summers. But tons of criticism has come out about this book, including a flat-out denial from the White House. The White House press secretary even said parts of the book written by Ron Suskind were plagiarized.
And the outrage posts -- they're up over thousands of Facebook customers not exactly thrilled with the site's changes.
So, let's head to Hong Kong and check in with Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
Ooh, Facebook friends are not happy this morning.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A lot of people aren't happy because there have been so many changes to Facebook, some popular, but many not at all. For example, birthday reminders, they're squished under a ticker-like function. And there's also a new category for close friends, news stories in the news feed instead of posting for your friends. And all this follows other recent updates on Facebook like the real-time news ticker and the subscribe button here on WAKE-UP CALL last week.
But, Carol, expect more changes today at the Facebook's Fate Developers Conference in San Francisco. And one anticipated update, new buttons. That's right. Even more buttons on Facebook. These ones will read listened and read. These are for users to tell friends about their favorite songs or articles.
So, with even more changes ahead, if you're a Facebook user, brace yourself.
Carol, back to you.
COSTELLO: Why do they keep making these changes?
STOUT: Yes. You wonder why, some say it's to forge a better emotional connection with 750 million people who use Facebook. A lot of people use Facebook because it's a necessity, because your friends or co-workers you have already there. But the magic is gone. So, in a way, they're trying to rekindle the magic in the relationship.
COSTELLO: It doesn't sound like it's working, at least with some Facebook fans.
Let's switch gears and talk about Amazon, because Amazon just made it easier to go to the library. Explain.
STOUT: That's right. And I like this. I'm a big fan of libraries. I like this initiative. You can borrow Kindle books from your local library.
And this is how it works. You visit the Web site of a library in the U.S. that offers digital services from overdrive. You check out a Kindle book using, of course, your library card. You click get for Kindle and it's yours.
Now, the books are available at more than 11,000 libraries in the U.S. You can read it on any generation Kindle or the Kindle reading app which is free.
So, Carol, something to check out. Back to you.
COSTELLO: Yes, that's awesome -- anything that makes reading easier is good because reading is good. I love the read. So, that's awesome.
Thank you, Kristie Lu Stout. We appreciate it as always.
She isn't saying yes, she hasn't said no either. So, will Sarah Palin make a decision anytime soon about 2012? Her response to the question -- you know, the question that keeps popping up. We'll have it just ahead.
It's 13 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning. It is 14 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Did you ever think math could be funny? When it comes to President Obama, comedian Jon Stewart says yes. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: Monday morning President Obama took to the White House Rose Garden where, appearing in front of the very door knobs that might be hitting him in the ass next November, he talked debt and taxes.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a plan that reduces our debt by more than $4 trillion and achieves the savings in a way that is fair.
STEWART: What we'll do is one at a time, excuse ourselves to go to the bathroom, then we will climb out of the window and in to Canada. Seriously, what's the plan?
OBAMA: This is not class warfare. It's math.
STEWART: Let me say this, Barack Obama knows one thing: you can never go wrong appealing to American's love of math.
That's how you're going to sell your program to Americans? You're going to love it, it's not war, the thing we're best out, it's math, the thing we're 32nd out of 65 in the world at? Or, as we like to think of it, the top 10 percent?
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Hey, he's got a point there.
Time now for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS. He's live from Washington.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS XM POTUS: I hope you're not expecting me to come up with humor based on quadratic equations after that series of humorous jokes from Mr. Stewart.
COSTELLO: I won't ask for an algorithm either.
FARLEY: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about President Obama, though. You're welcome.
President Obama is heading to Ohio today to pitch jobs. Jeez, he was just in Ohio a few days ago.
FARLEY: Yes, I know. Isn't it funny how he's going to wind up being in the backyard of Speaker of the House John Boehner? And he's speaking at a bridge, the Brent Spence Bridge, which just so happens to go over the Ohio River into Kentucky, which is the home state of the Senate minority leader.
Clearly, the president is using this as an opportunity to push what you can call the stimulus package, what you call is deficit reduction plan, the American Jobs Act -- all three of them wrapped into one. And he would like to make case that there needs some work on this infrastructure. This bridge, by the way, was opened up in 1963, about the time that President Kennedy was assassinated. As a matter of fact, that's what put off its dedication.
But that will be the backdrop today as the president makes his pitch and saying Republicans are intransigent. So, why not do it in the backyard of two of the leading Republicans in Washington?
COSTELLO: We'll see if that tactic works. Republican presidential hopefuls are meeting again tonight for a big debate, a two-hour debate mind you. This time, it will take place in Orlando.
But one person will not be on that stage because she just hasn't decided just yet.
FARLEY: I know. It's a tough decision to make.
Gary Johnson does get on the stage. So, that brings it to nine, extra innings I guess for the FOX debate, the former governor of New Mexico. But Sarah Palin, and this is the question that people have asked. James Carville even said it talking to Anderson Cooper saying, on hustings, she's still going to get in. She runs on her own timetable.
The question is: is she going to get in as a Republican? Will she go in as a third party candidate?
I think what we're seeing, Carol, is her currency right now is her influence on the electoral process, whether or not people pay attention to what she's saying. Once she makes that decision, she either becomes an enemy or an antagonist, opponent for the other Republicans or she becomes irrelevant. So, I think she's dragging it out as long as she can. That isn't to say that she won't get in.
I don't see a path to the nomination for her, nor a path to the presidency. But that's aside from the fact that she wants to have some sort of seat at the table right now. And I guess we'll have to see. I don't think she's going to get into it. But, you know, James Carville is a lot smarter than I am about these things.
COSTELLO: Hey, you never know. Most Republicans don't want her to get into the race. But I'm not sure she really cares about that.
FARLEY: No. I think you're right. I think she doesn't care what anyone thinks except what works in Sarah Palin world.
COSTELLO: And it's working for her because she remains part of the political discussion, and every time she gives a speech, people do come and listen to her. And, you know, maybe she's traveling down the right road, Tim.
FARLEY: Yes. She energizes people. There's no question about it. She can bring in a crowd. She can raise a lot of money. She gets people to pay attention to what she's saying.
But I don't know that that translates into getting votes and voters at the booth, because as you and I discussed the other day with some of the polls, we've seen electability is important. Plus, she's fishing from the same lake that Governor Rick Perry is. And I'm not sure that she would be able to withstand the kind of onslaught he might be able to throw her way. We'll have to see.
COSTELLO: Yes, we will. We're on pins and needles. Thank you, Tim Farley -- Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS radio.
Protests greet the Pope in Germany, probably not the homecoming the pope was expecting. What the demonstrators want, that's just ahead.
But, first, today is the National Day of Hobbits. Really, I'm not kidding. It's celebrated on September 22nd. That's because it is the day that Bilbo and Frodo -- you know, the Baggins -- they were born on this day in J.R.R. Tolkien's book, "The Hobbit."
It's 20 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Twenty-two minutes past the hour.
Pope Benedict is back in his homeland of Germany today. But it's not the warm and fuzzy homecoming he might have been expecting.
Let's head around the world with Zain Verjee. She's live in London.
So, why are so many Catholics in Germany so angry at the Pope?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Carol.
They want reform basically. They're looking for change in the Catholic Church. They want discussion and reform on things like women in the church, celibacy in priests, the sexual abuse scandal obviously, as well as dealing with gay rights.
So, what they want to see from the Pope who is from Germany on this trip is some kind of symbol, some kind of signal that there will be that kind of change. It's unlikely many critics say that that will happen.
The Pope is actually going to be giving a speech to parliament as well. But there are suggestions that so many people in parliament may just walk out in protest of Pope Benedict XVI.
I just want to give you a little flavor from one of the newspapers in Germany. It's called "Ders Spiegel." And its headline this week read, "The Obstinate." It said, "A pope lets the Germans fall away from belief."
So, essentially what's happening in Europe, you're seeing a lot less attendance in the church, less membership in the church. And the society has become a lot more secular. And so, what people want to see is reform and change on key issues that are central to the Catholic Church.
COSTELLO: Wow. It's the same sort of sentiment among Catholics in America. But I can't imagine lawmakers walking out during the Pope's speech. That's pretty -- that's pretty radical actually.
VERJEE: It is, absolutely.
It is --I mean, it's something that is rare to see, but there is also a big amount of support for the Pope, too. In Germany, he's got a sold-out mass of something like 70,000 people at the Olympic Stadium. And he's also going to be meeting with Jewish and Muslim leaders on this trip, too.
But here you're looking at live video of some of the welcoming ceremonies of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI in Germany.
COSTELLO: Well, it looks like a nice welcome anyway.
Zain Verjee, live in London this morning -- thank you so much.
It's 25 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Here are three things to put on your radar:
A New Jersey man has filed a formal complaint over toll increase. It is at New York City bridges and tunnels. He claims the higher tolls violates his rights and unfairly target poor commuters.
In Washington state, at noon Pacific Time, striking teachers are expected to vote on a new contract proposal that was brokered late last night. More than 20,000 students have been out of school since last week.
And in just a few hours, the U.S. embassy in Libya is set to open. We're expecting the U.S. flag to be raised at about 8:00 a.m. Eastern.
We're going to check on the markets, and frankly not looking very pretty this morning. We're going to do that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 22nd. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York. It is half past the hour, 5:30 Eastern Time.
The big story right now, the world markets are taking quite a dive. Take a look. At Asia, the Hang Seng down nearly 5 percent. And in Europe, a similar scene.
So, let's head to Christine Romans. She's live here with me in New York.
So, Christine, why?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Three little words: serious downside risk. That's what the Fed said the economy faces. And that is strong language from the Federal Reserve, a Federal Reserve that is careful to parse its language and its words very, very closely. Also, this "Operation Twist" where the fed is shifting $400 billion from short-term treasuries into long-term treasuries. What does that mean? It's an effort to keep the economy going, to keep interest rates low all along the, quote/unquote, "yield curve."
That's exactly what the market had expected. The fed did exactly what the market expected. And so, no big surprise in there. No big extra stimulus push even though it's $400 billion. That's an awful lot of money. Markets worldwide focusing in on that serious downside risk to the economy. They're worried that even with this action the fed is still concerned that there could be recession in the U.S.
You have everything down here. You have gold down. You have oil down. You have stocks down. When you look at the stock 600, it's one of the European stock indices, all but one of those stocks is lower. Hang Seng and Hong Kong down some five percent. That was a big move. Five percent in any given day is a very big move for a stock market average.
So, look out below today. We'll see how things shape up in the U.S., but at this point, it looks like it's selling just about everything across the board, Carol.
COSTELLO: I was hoping you'd put a happy twist there on the end, but no.
ROMANS: The economy is in a dangerous position, you know? Everyone says that the world economy is slowing. The U.S. economy is slowing, even in more static position, I would say. I mean, the IMF yesterday said they expect 1.5 growth for the U.S., Carol. That's not enough to make anyone who lives here feel better to spend money. It's not enough to create a significant number of jobs. So, we haven't gotten out of this dangerous period for the economy, and markets are responding.
COSTELLO: All right. Christine Romans, I'll see you in a little bit.
ROMANS: Sure.
COSTELLO: Joe Darger says he and his family live a typical, suburban American except he has three wives, 24 kids, and a new book. Meet the polygamist family that says they are the inspiration behind "Big Love".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-three minutes past the hour. Good morning to you.
Troy Davis, a man convicted of killing a police officer, has been executed. He died by lethal injection in Georgia at 11:08 p.m. eastern time. Until the very end, Davis insisted he did not do it. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world believed him. His supporters included former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict, the NAACP and many celebrities and politicians.
But all the attempts to save his life failed including a last- minute appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Davis was convicted in the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. He was shot to death outside of a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia. MacPhail's mother says that after 22 years, she feels justice has finally been served.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has justice been served?
ANNELIESE MACPHAIL, MURDERED POLICEMAN'S MOTHER: In my mind, yes. In my mind, it has. It took a long time to get some, but it really does in my mind. There's no reason to celebrate or do anything, because it is not good for both families suffering all of this. I'm sure his family is suffering terribly right now, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining us now, Atlanta criminal defense attorney, BJ Bernstein. Good morning, BJ.
BJ BERNSTEIN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY (on the phone): Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: This case galvanized people around the world. Oddly enough, another man was put to death. He was executed on the same night, and nobody mentioned his name. So, why this case?
BERNSTEIN: There were a lot of factors. I think a lot of it had to do with the primary evidence against him, was evidence by eyewitnesses. And there has been so much proof now that many times that type of evidence is not reliable. And in this case, seven out of nine witnesses recanted what they said.
And when we live in an era for The Innocence Project to have shown that over 200 people have been imprisoned, and they were innocent and freed by DNA, I think, it causes people question, you know, why are we putting to death someone when we're not sure whether he did it.
COSTELLO: Well, there were 20 separate court reviews of his case, and in every instance, the courts came to the same conclusion, that he was guilty, including the U.S. Supreme Court who reconsidered the case until the very end. It took them three hours, but they said, you know, his execution should go forward.
BERNSTEIN: Well, at the same time, over 200 people who spent 15 to 20 years in prison, had a similar review, and review by appellate courts in their cases, and it turned out they were wrong. That's the problem with the ultimate penalty of death is, you know, we have a system that says beyond a reasonable doubt to incarcerate you, but, do we want to incarcerate or take the risk to put to death someone who may be innocent?
COSTELLO: I guess, perhaps, the ironic thing about this, there were all those protests and all this outcry, but probably, nothing much will change as it applies to the death penalty.
BERNSTEIN: I'd like to think not because I know a lot of people are saying that, but this exposed a new generation to seeing and feeling and discussing this issue. And so, yes, maybe the hearts and minds of other folks who went through that conversation, but social media again has raised the conversation in an age group that has never really considered it.
And so, it may not be immediate, but, I think, with time and continued conversations, this case actually could be a movement to reexamine a lot of factors in our criminal justice (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: BJ, thanks so much for waking up early. We appreciate it. BJ Bernstein joining us this morning.
Some 23,000 registered nurses at more than 30 hospitals are putting down their stethoscopes and grabbing picket signs in California today, the strike against two of the biggest hospital chains in the state, Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health. The unions says it will not accept health care and retirement cuts or limits all nurse's ability to advocate for patients. The hospitals say they're ready for the walkouts, hiring replacement workers, and rescheduling nonemergency procedures.
The CEO of Hewlett Packard may be shown the door less than a year after he took the job. The tech giant has stumbled under this CEO with stocks falling 47 percent on his watch. That's more than $40 billion. But rumors that he may be replaced by former eBay chief executive, Meg Whitman, made the stocks pop. HP ended the day up 6.7 percent.
Want to know what it's like inside the world of polygamy? Just ask the Dargers, the Utah family that says it inspired the HBO series "Big Love." Husband Joe and his wives, Alina, Vicky and Valerie have 24 kids total, and they say they written a memoir, "love times three," to give the world a fuller view of the polygamist culture, one that isn't filled with child brides and prairie dresses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE DARGER, AUTHOR: We have Warren Jeffs and that is the image out there, but the largest contingent of fundamentalist Mormons is really people just like us.
ALINA DARGER, AUTHOR: Another purpose for writing the book is to show that diversity and show that -- and define ourselves as who we are and we are not, you know, in acceptance of forced underage marriage, sexual abuse, and those kind of things, and it does take some education.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Polygamy is a felony in Utah, punishable by five years in prison, and it's been outlawed by mainstream Mormons.
Republican frontrunner, Rick Perry, blasts President Obama in a brand new ad, but is it good enough to win over voters?
But first, our "Get Smart" question of the day. Forbes is out with its brand-new list of the 400 richest people in America. Who do you think top the list? Was it Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Christy Walton of the Wal-Mart family. We'll have the answer in two minutes. It's 39 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 42 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Get Smart" question of the day. Forbes is out with its brand-new list of the 400 richest people in America. Who do you think top the list? Was it Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Christy Walton of the Wal-Mart family? The answer is Bill Gates. You have to be a billionaire to make it on the list.
Here are some of the highlights for you. The biggest money gainer this year was Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. The biggest money loser was Warren Buffett who was down by $6 billion, but he still came in second on the list. There are only 42 women out of the 400 listed, and there are two women in the top ten list.
Now, it's time for our "Political Ticker." So, let's bring in our D.C. bureau chief, Sam Feist. He is live for us from Washington. Good morning, Sam.
SAM FEIST, CNN D.C. BUREAU CHIEF (on the phone): Good morning, Carol. Where do you fall on that list?
COSTELLO: Certainly not in the top ten, but I wish I did.
FEIST: Like 347?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, right. Oh, yes. That's right. I do. I wish. Let's talk about Rick Perry now. He's the Republican frontrunner, of course, and he's released this brand-new campaign ad going after President Obama. Let's look at a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No jobs created. Zip, zero.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are demoralized. What had happened?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zero new jobs.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Change has come to America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One in six Americans are living in poverty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's one in six Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had an all-time low.
OBAMA: We're pointed in the right direction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Headed in the wrong direction.
OBAMA: I'm just getting started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, I wish we could see the rest of that ad, because at that point, it gets really interesting, but the beginning of the ad is sort of President Obama has created this terrible situation in America where nothing is working economically. And then, the ad switches over to color and Rick Perry and talks about Rick Perry and being American, speaks about patriotism and love of country. What is Rick Perry trying to say in this ad, Sam?
FEIST: First of all, this is a web ad. So, as far as we know, they have no plans, at least right now, to buy TV time. So, this is a web ad. They're trying to -- they hope goes viral on the internet that their supporters will pass around to each other. But the most interesting thing about this ad is that it doesn't mention the Republican candidates for president.
It only mentions Barack Obama, and what this suggests is that, at least, for now, Rick Perry has a general election strategy. He's hoping to just dismiss his seven or eight Republican candidates, those candidates who'll be on stage tonight, and just move on to the president and suggest to the voters that, hey, I'm a Republican and I'm running against Barack Obama and here's how we contrast with each other.
So, it really suggests a general election strategy by Rick Perry, which is something he can do while he's the frontrunner. If he isn't the frontrunner at some point in the campaign, he may have to turn his attention to his fellow candidates who are Republicans.
COSTELLO: But Mitt Romney is sort of catching up to him now. So, is it a smart move?
FEIST: Well, right. You know, right now, Rick Perry is still ahead in the polls. The latest Gallup Poll had Rick Perry at 31 percent and Mitt Romney at 24 percent, but that's an improvement for Mitt Romney. I think he can run the strategy. It's similar to the strategy that MITT ROMNEY ran when he was the frontrunner.
It's something that frontrunners like to do. They simply look ahead to the general election, and they'll do that for a while and they'll do that as long as they can, but at some point, he may have to look to his side and see what's going on with his fellow candidates as he will tonight at a Republican debate.
COSTELLO: Speaking of the Republican debate, Rick Perry, will he talk a lot about the Mid East peace process now that President Obama yesterday came out seemingly supportive, strongly supportive of Israel?
FEIST: Rick Perry has been very critical of the president on Israel. You know, there was an old adage, politics stops at the water's edge. Not so much this year. In fact, that hasn't happened for quite awhile, but Rick Perry has been extremely hard on the president on Israel, but his position doesn't really differ from the other Republicans.
Mitt Romney accused the president the same day of throwing Israel under the bus. So, they're both trying to score points with their base. You know, Israel is an important topic, not just for the Jewish vote, but also, for evangelical Christians which is very important to Rick Perry's campaign. So, if given the opportunity, tonight, he will certainly go after the president on Israel.
I'm not sure how much they'll talk about Israel, mostly because the candidates agree. I suspect that they will spend a fair amount of time tonight talking about issues where the candidates might disagree such as Social Security or immigration. Rick Perry likes to call himself the human pinata at these debates because as the frontrunner of all the other candidates go after him. So, we'll see what happens.
COSTELLO: It will be interesting, as usual. Sam Feist, thanks for joining us this morning.
FEIST: Thanks, Carol.
TSA agents can look through your bag, make to empty your pockets, and pat you down, but checking your hair? This woman says her afro was searched thoroughly after she passed through security.
But first, on this day in history, back in 1893, the first American-made car was displayed. It was made by two bicycle makers who were also brothers. They showed off their invention on the streets of Springfield, Massachusetts. It's 47 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 22nd. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York. It is 50 minutes past the hour.
Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, still plans to request full United Nations membership tomorrow, but, now, he says he doesn't need a response right away. President Obama met with him last night as well as with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Senior state department producer, Elise Labbot is live in New York this morning. So, Elise, President Obama wants both sides, Israel and the Palestinians to get back to the negotiating table, but Abbas, he seems determined to, you know, submit his proposal to the United Nations.
ELISE LABOTT, SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Carol, yes and no. Right now, he is making good on his promise to put this proposal before the United Nations for full statehood for the Palestinians, but he's not going to call for a vote right now. What he wants to do is strengthen his hand for those negotiations. He's going to put that letter before the U.N. Security Council, give his speech on Friday, and then, get on a plane.
And this is what he told President Obama last night. What he's waiting to do is look for the international communities who will be called The Quartet, which is compromise of the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, to come up with a kind of terms of reference for negotiations with the Israelis to start.
What he wants to do is let this kind of resolution at the U.N. Security Council hang like a sword over the head of the international community so they can come up with the best terms. And he thinks that's going to strengthen his hand for negotiations, Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Let's talk about the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He's getting ready to address the world at the U.N. General Assembly today, just one day after Iran released those two American hikers. What do you suppose he'll say?
LABOTT: That's right. Well, the timing, obviously, not a coincidence, Carol. We've been waiting to see what was going to happen with these hikers, and just as President Obama was giving his speech, those hikers were released, and President Ahmadinejad walked into the United Nations. But, you know, at the same time, President Ahmadinejad never misses an opportunity to be very controversial here at the United Nations.
In previous years, he's denied the holocaust. He said that homosexuality doesn't exist in Iran. And then, last year, he talked about the Bush administration being responsible for the 9/11 attacks. So, he never misses an opportunity to be very controversial. And certainly, this year, with everything going on with the Palestinians and what's going on with the U.S. economy, he's certainly going to take the opportunity to put the -- to give President Obama a hard time.
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, CNN will be covering his remarks. And, you're right, they're controversial, yet entertaining in a dark way, as well.
LABOTT: Always, always.
COSTELLO: Always. Elise Labott, many thanks to you.
Troy Davis has been put to death, but the debate over his guilt or innocence and over the death penalty, itself, will go on. The state of Georgia executed Davis last night by lethal injection for the murder of a Savannah police officer in 1989. Davis' supporters claim there was too much doubt on the case, but the original prosecutor says there is no doubt. Despite protests and last-minute appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant Davis a stay.
Google's CEO has gone before the Senate antitrust panel. Eric Schmidt defended the company against accusations that it violated the anti-trust act. The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation in June to see if Google is not playing by the rules. It's believed the FTC is looking to see if Google favors its own products and its search results, and whether it prevents smart phone manufacturers that use (ph) android from using rival services.
A hairstylist says she was brought to tears at the Atlanta airport when a security officer chased her down to search her afro for weapons. Isis Brantley was rushing to catch a flight home to Dallas when she was stopped after she went through the security check point. She said she was humiliated when an officer dug through her hair in public looking for explosives. The TSA released a statement saying, it had not finished screening when the woman left the check point.
Global markets taking quite a hit at this hour. Right know, in Europe, all the markets are down as much as four percent. Gold and oil also way down. We'll have a live update from the NASDAQ MarketSite just ahead.
But first, let's take a look at the word of the day. It's papilledema. Find out what it means and why you need to know what it means right after the break. It is six minutes until the top of the hour.
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COSTELLO: Two minutes until the top of the hour. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our word of the day. Papilledema. According to Princeton's word net, it's the swelling of the optic disk. What's the optic disk, you say? Well, that's where the optic nerve enters the eyeball. You need to know this because NASA hopes to send astronauts to Mars, but that has some researchers worried. They say long missions could lead to blurred vision and even blindness from the condition called papilledema. According to the "L.A. Times," NASA is taking this very seriously. They've asked researchers to look into the problem, and they've even put special glasses on the International Space Station for the astronauts.
Now, let's head to the NASDAQ MarketSite. I don't really want to, but we must. Carter Evans, it's not looking good this morning.
CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There's really no way to candy coat this one, Carol. We do have reports today on leading economic indicators. We'll get the housing price index, and it's Thursday, so we'll get those weekly unemployment claims. In the meantime, yes, the future is looking ugly today. Dow futures on the CNNMoney.com pre-market page down 177 points right now. NASDAQ off about 37. S&P 500 down about 19 points, not looking good.
COSTELLO: Oh, it looks terrible. Let's talk about something else kind of grim. Moody's has downgraded three U.S. banks. Tell us about that.
EVANS: Yes. Take a look at this. We're talking about Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and CitiGroup, all downgraded by ratings firm, Moody's, yesterday. And one of the reasons is the government is less likely to step in now if one of these banks comes close to failing. And that's one reason that Moody's downgraded these banks. Their credit watches on negative outlook, it's just not a good situation for banks right now, either.
COSTELLO: You got that right, but I'm sure taxpayers will be happy that the government won't be stepping it immediately to save those banks.
EVANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Carter Evans live from the NASDAQ MarketSite, thanks so much.
"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
