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Robots on the Battlefield?; Mitt Romney Lays Out Foreign Policy Agenda; Man Uploads YouTube Video of Child Abuse; Financial Planners Give Advice; Connecticut to Pay Medicaid Recipients to Quit Smoking; Afghanistan War Reach 10-year Anniversary; 1985 Super Bowl Champion Bears Visit White House
Aired October 07, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, top of the hour right now. I'm Don Lemon. Brooke is off today.
The jobs report for September is in. The military reveals new robots for the battlefield. New video of Prince Harry's visit to America. And a meteor shower is coming.
Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
LEMON: Next on "Reporter Roulette," new robots -- that's right, robots -- that could one day be used on the battlefield.
Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence got a first look at them.
So, Chris, show us what you saw.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, this is really interesting video.
We got a peak at a new robot that is soon to be on its way to the troops. It's a larger, tougher version of robots that have been out there before. It's specifically designed for some of that rough terrain like you see there in Afghanistan, because if this robot falls over, it's got the ability to sort of right itself.
It's equipped with two cameras, can go about five miles per hour. And really one soldier could lift this robot. Probably most importantly, because what happens out there is they lose communication a lot. In this case, this robot has got the ability to back up on its own and reconnect that communication link with the man who is actually controlling it.
Price tag, about $100,000, but it does keep troops from going out to investigate some of those IEDs or getting caught in some of those ambushes that they normally would be in.
LEMON: Well worth the cost. Thank you very much for that, Chris Lawrence.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," Britain's Prince Harry is polishing up on his helicopter flying skills with some tips from the U.S. military.
Our Max Foster is in London. He's in keeping tabs on the young royal's training.
Max, exactly what kind of advanced training is he getting?
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, I'm going to show you a picture of Harry arriving late last night to El Centro in California.
It's the base interestingly where "Top Gun" was filmed. But he's not going to be flying any planes. He's going to be flying the Apache helicopter. It's a deadly machine. He's going to firing live missiles for the very first time and this is all preparation, really, for him going back to Afghanistan.
This is the last part of his Apache training. Once he's completed this, he may be deployed to Afghanistan next year. It is a serious course. It's all work, work, work. We will not get media access to him, but he has arrived.
LEMON: Listen, he has a reputation of being a bit of a partier. So is there going to be any downtown for the party prince?
FOSTER: Well, he does like the odd drink, doesn't he? He is often photographed at nightclubs and the like. A bit of a tradition, we're told, people in the course going to Las Vegas for a night out. So I know there are photographers there waiting.
Also, the Chamber of Commerce has advised local restaurants around his base to treat him with respect. I don't know what you think of that, but also to be aware of the security issues, not to gossip too much about him. But I think he will be all right. He's surrounded by soldiers after all. He's a soldier himself.
LEMON: All right, thank you, Max Foster. Appreciate that.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
LEMON: And that is today's "Reporter Roulette." Thanks to everyone.
Still ahead here on CNN, I have got some outrageous video to show you. It's a man. He is seen shaving a young boy's head, along with his eyebrows. Then he beats him. You have to hear the point this guy was trying to make. You're still not going to believe it.
Plus, should the government pay poor people to stop smoking? That's what a health expert from Yale is suggesting. Find out her reasons coming up when I speak with her live.
Also:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I'm not your president. You have that president today. (APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Those are fighting words from Mitt Romney. Usually, the Republican touts his economic chops, but today he is talking foreign policy and he is revealing what President Romney would do in his first 100 days. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Ten years ago today marked the start of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, driving the Taliban from power. More than 100,000 troops are serving there. More than 14,000 have been wounded. And 1,790 of our service men and women have died.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began when they landed in Bagram, and here it goes on.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed --
WALSH: Ten years of jet fuel, faith, and now fatigue. Here, you can see what it takes to carry on through this decade's wars.
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Albertson is chaplain to thousands, but in his several months here, affected by the very few.
LT. COL. ERIC ALBERTSON, U.S. ARMY: A number of our soldiers are around their third, fourth, or, in some cases, their fifth tour. There is a fatigue factor -- emotionally drained, physically tired. We've had instances where soldiers have taken their own lives here, and that's tragic. We've had about six or seven since I have been here.
When someone takes their own life, there's almost a sense of, you know, you've reached out to me for everything else. Why didn't you reach out to me for this?
WALSH: The ripples of a suicide reach far. Master Sergeant Guadaloupe Stratman is in this war so her three sons won't be. Her three tours, marred by the recent loss of a friend in Iraq.
MASTER SGT. GUADALOUPE STRATMAN, U.S. ARMY: It was actually she overdosed. And, like, she was younger than me, so I thought she had a lot to live for. I don't know why it happened. I wasn't necessarily talking with her frequently at that time, but it hurt me a lot.
And how? Because I knew her. I knew what some of her dreams were, and now she didn't get to live those dreams. It's like it ended.
WALSH: This was a dirt road a decade ago. Now it's home to one in nine of America's troops in Afghanistan.
(on camera): When the Americans landed here 10 years go, it was on this Russian-made runway. And now they have been here nearly a year longer than the Soviets.
(voice-over): The cost to the Soviets, huge. The total cost to America, still unknown. Although signs of sadness and change are everywhere, the prison here now gone, it's Afghan prisoners elsewhere. Soon, troops will leave for good, but will carry away with them the scars of here and Iraq.
LT. COL. JAMES DAVELL, U.S. ARMY: What I do every year is I call the family, either the spouse or the parents of the individual that has been associated with me, that was lost in combat. And then I also call a very close friend of mine that was injured, severely injured, on the day that that occurred. Like I said, I make three calls a year -- actually, four. I'm sorry, four calls a year to family members.
I wouldn't say it makes me feel good or bad. I just think it's something that I need to do.
WALSH: The closing stages of a war longer than anything America has ever coped with before.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Bagram.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Nick.
It's a shocking word that is pretty offensive, but it's in the news today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLLY MEYER, SLUTWALK NEW YORK CITY ORGANIZER: ... police officer's comments telling a group of college women after a rash of sexual assaults on their campus that in order to not be victimized, they should stop dressing like sluts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Those words sparking a global movement to prevent violence against women. The problem is, these protests are causing controversy of their own because of what they are calling the movement. That's next.
Plus, a new twist in the desperate hunt for a missing 10-month-old who we're told was snatched from her crib in the middle of the night. Police say the parents are no longer cooperating and the couple is now responding. We're on the case straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, pay attention to this next story because I want to know what you think. Women outraged over the idea that what they wear could be responsible for a sexual attack, they are taking to the streets. But not everyone likes the way their message is delivered.
Now, I have to warn you that this story has language that some viewers may find offensive. The so-called SlutWalk movement is growing globally.
And our Brooke Baldwin talks to protesters about their controversial approach to ending violence against women.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Almost 3,000 supporters lining the streets of New York City chanting, carrying banners, and standing in solidarity for a cause known as the SlutWalk movement.
HOLLY MEYER, SLUTWALK NEW YORK CITY ORGANIZER: The name originated in Toronto in response to a police officer's comments telling a group of college women after a rash of sexual assaults on their campus that in order to not be victimized, they should stop dressing like sluts.
BALDWIN: Those words sparked a global movement in 70 cities from Berlin to Philadelphia, South Korea to Grand Rapids, a diverse group all carrying one message.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blaming a victim, shaming a victim is unacceptable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rape in our society and in our world has been used as a tool of torture, a tool of genocide.
BALDWIN: While the name has sparked controversy, the organizers defend it as a vehicle for getting their message out. Some see it as a revival of feminism.
BETTY MALONEY, SLUTWALK NEW YORK CITY ORGANIZER: In different times in society, women have stood up. And burning bras at one point was considered provocative. Not wearing a bra was considered provocative. I at different times to meet what is going on in the culture and in society, women have taken different avenues to do that.
BALDWIN: Caroline Turner says that clothing is never supposed to be an excuse for an assault.
CAROLINE TURNER, MARCHER You can't ask a woman not to wear what she wants to wear and say that that will prevent rape from happening. Rape happens to women who are in military uniforms. It happens to women wearing sweaters and jeans.
BALDWIN: Not everyone agrees with the SlutWalk's approach. In an open letter to the members of the SlutWalk movement, founders of the advocacy group Black Women's Blueprint says they cannot self-identify with terminology meant to dehumanize, words these young organizers are cognizant of even as they plan their next steps.
MEYER: It's about an entire movement of people who want to come together all around the globe who don't want to see sexual violence occur any longer. And it's not about the name. It's about the message.
BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, so critics of the movement the exhibitionist nature of many of the marchers detracts from the message.
I would really be interested in what you think. So you can reach me on Facebook at DonLemonCNN. Or you can tweet me or Brooke. It's @DonLemonCNN or @BrookeBCNN. Reach out to us.
She was behind one of the bestselling groups of all time, but when the member of TLC started feeling weird symptoms, she went against one doctor's advice and it saved her life. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains her condition.
Plus, get this -- 47 percent of Americans can't name one Republican presidential candidate. That's according to a new poll. And as one of those candidates sinks in the polls, well, Rick Perry has a message for voters. That's next.
But, first, the 1980s gave us Nintendo, big hair and the Rubik's Cube. Remember that? It also gave us some very good music and some very, very bad music. "Rolling Stone" just asked its readers to vote for the worst songs of that decade.
Here's what they decided. OK, so the top eight, this song that you're listening to right now. Remember that? "Mickey." Bobby McFerrin, "Don't Worry Be Happy." Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus." "The Safety Dance." And Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go."
Can you guess which ones made the top three? Find out right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I was just Googling some stuff to see if I knew the answers. Worst songs of the '80s. We asked you about that before the break.
"Rolling Stone" readers weighed in. Do you agree with their top picks?
Here's number three. "Lady in Red," the worst song. Number two, "The Final Countdown," and claiming the top spot, you can hear it, Starship's "We Built this City." I like that song. You young kids know what Starship was before, Starship? Jefferson Starship. Oh, well. I'm old.
All right. Let's talk some politics now.
Texas Governor Rick Perry last hour burnished his conservative credentials at the Value Voters Summit in Washington, D.C.
And CNN's Jim Acosta is there. And he joins us now with an America's choice 2012 politics update. That's a mouthful.
So, Jim, did Rick Perry -- well, he did. He talked about his views on immigration and he had some very strong language about them.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did. That's right, Don.
This has been an issue for Rick Perry ever since this whole matter of giving in-state tuition to the children of undocumented workers. That is a big issue down in Texas. It's something that they do down in Texas. And his Republican rivals have given him all sorts of grief for it.
And Rick Perry made it very clear in this speech at the Value Voters Summit that he is very much against amnesty for illegal immigrants. But he seemed to take this debate one step further. In talking about the drug war down in Mexico, he called it a clear and present danger to the U.S. And he said you can't take military options off the table when it comes to dealing with that issue.
Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And let me say this about border security. I have lived and breathed this issue for over a decade as a border governor. I have signed budgets that contain a total of $400 million of state security operations along that border. I have dealt with the carnage caused by those who traffic in drugs and weapons and people.
As a border governor, I know firsthand the failures of our federal border policies. And I know the answers to those failures is not to grant amnesty to those who broke the laws to come into this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: You know, one thing that we did not hear from Rick Perry, Don, is he did not apologize for that policy down in Texas where they give the tuition breaks for the children of undocumented workers.
So Governor Perry is not backing away from that, or at least he did not in the speech today, and he gave what was a very well-received speech here today. Obviously, Republicans, conservatives would like to see him do well in the next debate to sort of put these other debate performances behind him.
LEMON: Yes, we watched it here live on CNN, lots of applause there and lots of -- a very accepting crowd there.
Here's the question. He hit the president hard. Did he go after any other candidates and did he mention them by name?
ACOSTA: You know, he didn't mention any of the other candidates by name.
But I don't think he left any doubt who he was talking about when he talked about the issue of life, which to this crowd is talking about abortion. And he basically said during his speech that for him, for Rick Perry, being pro-life is not an election year conversion. It's not an election year issue for him. It's something that he has always felt strongly about throughout his political career. That is a not-so-subtle dig at Mitt Romney, whose position on abortion has changed over the years. He says he's pro- life now. But back in his days in Massachusetts, he very much ran as a pro-choice candidate to the voters there.
And it has been an irritant for Mitt Romney. That is, perhaps, Don, a preview of what we might be hearing in this debate that is coming up on Tuesday up at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. Rick Perry may decide to go on the offensive on the issue of abortion at this debate. That mention in that speech might be a sign of that.
LEMON: Yes, 4:00, Herman Cain speaking at the same event. We will carry it for you here on CNN.
Thank you, Jim Acosta.
Perry's rival, Republican Mitt Romney, laid out his foreign policy views this morning in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Without American leadership, without clarity of American purpose and resolve, the world becomes a far more dangerous place, and liberty and prosperity would surely be among the first casualties.
Let me make this very clear. As president of the United States, I will devote myself to an American century. And I will never, ever apologize for America.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Romney also said he wants America to be the strongest nation on Earth and he questioned whether President Obama shares that view.
Still ahead on CNN, it's a stunning story. A man tapes himself shaving a kid's head, his eyebrows. Then you can hear the child being beaten in the background. Police slapped the guy in cuffs after he sends the video to a radio station. And you're going to see this and hear what lesson he wanted to teach the kid.
Also:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just want our baby back. Please, bring her home. Our two other boys are waiting for her. Please, just drop her off anywhere. We don't care, just somewhere safe where she can come home, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Their ten-month-old is missing. As the desperate search continues, police are now saying the parents are not cooperating and revealing her lie-detector results. Sunny Hostin on the case. She's next.
But, first, she's one of the stars of TLC, a big-time R&B group behind millions of records and millions of fans. But Tionne Watkins began seeing warning signs very early on that something was terribly wrong inside of her.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta sat down with her in "The Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long before she became famous as T-Boz, lead singer of the bestselling female hip-hop group TLC, Tionne Watkins knew she wanted to be a performer.
TIONNE WATKINS, MUSICIAN: I always had the same dream, and I was seeing myself in baggy pants running from the left side of the stage, bending down to the right, shaking someone's hand, and a whole bunch of people were screaming for me.
GUPTA: Now, success did not come easily, because T-Boz has a chronic illness. She suffers from sickle cell anemia. It's an incurable blood disorder that leaves people exhausted and in constant pain.
WATKINS: Doctors, they did not give me a very happy ending. You won't live past 30. You will be disabled your whole life and you will never have kids. And I'm looking around the room like, I don't know who he's talking to, because that's not my story.
GUPTA (on camera): That's a lot for anybody to go through, but you were dealing with this as a young child.
WATKINS: Yes.
GUPTA: And at the same time, you were having these grand dreams.
WATKINS: Yes.
GUPTA: It sounds like you turned it around in some way.
WATKINS: Yes. I think it had to do a lot with my mother, too, because she never made me feel different.
GUPTA (voice-over): Then, just five years ago, after having achieved so much success, her life was turned upside down.
WATKINS: I started having headaches but they were so frequent, something was wrong. My doctor called and his voice sounded funny. And I said, you're going to say something like I have a brain tumor or something, right? And he got quiet.
GUPTA: And while the tumor was not cancerous, her doctor said surgery was not an option because of her sickle cell disease. He suggested radiation therapy, but that could have put her career and quality of life at risk. So T-Boz found a surgeon who successfully took the tumor out.
GUPTA (on camera): It sounds like you're one of these people who thinks of something, visualizes it, and then makes it happen.
WATKINS: I go for it.
GUPTA: T-Boz is back in the studio these days working on a solo album. She's also using her celebrity to encourage people to become bone marrow donors.
WATKINS: What I'm trying to do is get more African-Americans to step up.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a debate is raging online over discipline and at what point it becomes a crime. The conversation started with a video this man posted online showing his discipline lesson with a young boy. He starts out lecturing the boy about his behavior at school, then shaves of the boy's hair and his eyebrows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your hair is gone. You can't get hair back until you decide that you're going to behave in school. All right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then after I cut your hair, we're going to put you back in the room and put this belt back to work. And then after --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The man tells the boy to go in the next room and drop his pants and you can't see what happens next but you can certainly hear it. You can hear the smacking and the boy screaming. The man in the video has been arrested and has been charged with child abuse. Sunny Hostin is on the case. What is your first reaction when seeing this video? I couldn't believe it.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, unfortunately, in my career as child sex crimes prosecutor and child abuse prosecutor, I've seen videos like this, before, don. My first reaction when I first saw this was child abuse plain and simple. When you mistreat a child physically, verbally, or emotionally, it is child abuse. And it was so clear to me and I'm shocked that it wasn't clear to other people.
LEMON: Are you surprised by some of the reaction online? Because some people argue that adults have the right to discipline children to keep them in line.
HOSTIN: I am surprised. I am surprised. What's interesting to me is what I used to always say to abusers, defendants, people who were in trouble with the mistreatment of children, you can't do to a child what you can't do to an adult.
So for example, I can't go to Atlanta and shave your head against your will. I can't go to Atlanta and hit you with a belt because I would be abusing you. Plus, you could fight back. So people who do these things to children are abusers, but they don't seem to realize that. Of course, you can discipline a child but you can't abuse a child physically, emotionally, or verbally.
LEMON: Or verbally.
HOSTIN: It's very, very clear. The law is very, very clear.
LEMON: For this 25-year-old man, what is the potential punishment?
HOSTIN: Well, you know, it depends. I think if he gets found guilty of child abuse, he is going to jail, and let's hope that that is the case. Oftentimes when there is not a prior conviction, sometimes they are put into counseling.
I don't think that's appropriate here. If you listen to the entire tape, it's clear that he has done this to the child before. He has beaten the child before. So this is someone that has taken him out of society and put in jail for this type of behavior, because if he's abused this child who is not even related to him, who knows what else he has done?
LEMON: And then he takes him out to do this very hard exercise regimen. You can hear "Give me 10, and now do bear crawls" and all of this stuff.
HOSTIN: It's ridiculous.
LEMON: We're going to be hearing a lot more about this and about the case number two, the 10-month-old baby missing in Missouri. Her parents allege that she disappeared from her crib in the middle of the night. The police say that the parents have stopped cooperating but the mother says that is not true. She told ABC's "Good Morning America" that police shifted their treatment of her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH BRADLEY, MISSING BABY'S MOTHER: Once I couldn't fill in gaps, it turned into, you did it. And they put the picture down of her on the table and they said, look at your baby and do what is right for her and tell everybody where she is so she can come home. I kept saying, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know. And 11 hours of it and I just sat there and -- I mean, I didn't even ask to leave. I didn't ask for it to stop. I wanted it to, but I didn't ask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so is this back and forth between the police usual in the case of a missing child, especially in the case of a missing baby?
HOSTIN: That's the thing. Bottom line is they are investigating the disappearance of a child. So police have to do everything that they can do in the best interest of this child to try to bring the child home. If that includes interrogating the parents to make sure that they have no involvement in her disappearance, then I think that this is appropriate.
The tough questions must be asked and answered, because ultimately, all anyone wants, especially her parents, I would imagine, is her return, her safe return. So while it's perhaps a bit unusual to sort of shift things and start attacking the parents, it's a tactic that these are questions that must be asked in a case like this, in any case like this.
LEMON: Sunny Hostin on the case for us. Thank you.
What if the government paid you to stop smoking? Yes. We're talking about taxpayer cash to help kick the habit. Does it sound like a good idea or a terrible one? One health expert from Yale says it is a great idea and she's here to give me her reasons. Don't miss this interview.
But first, free money advice from the CNN's Help Desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. With me now is John Ulzheimer, the president of consumer education at smartcredit.com, and Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert.
So Mike in Mississippi says he's recently retired and he's got significant savings. He has no debt except his mortgage. He wants to know if he can put the money in his retirement account or is the market still too volatile?
MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: If he is retired, unfortunately the government requires you to earn income in order to contribute to an IRA or other type of retirement account. So right now the question that is more appropriate to ask is how to allocate his investments in a volatile market. Question number one is how much do you need in your emergency fund. Set that aside. Question number two, how much do you need for nearer term expenses for one to five years. There you can use very short duration bond funds.
After that depending on your risk of appetite, you can start stepping into the market, and I recommend target date retirement funds. Nice set it and forget it age appropriate asset allocation.
EVANS: OK. Paul in Boston says he graduated with a master's degree but he's currently unable to find work in his full-job in his field. His student loans will come due at the end of November, but he's not going to be able to cover the cost of loans and living expenses. He has $46,000 in a 401(k) from a former job. It will cover almost all the loans. Should he cash out?
JOHN ULZHEIMER, SMARTCREDIT.COM: I never, ever suggest that you cash out your 401(k) and I'm not going to start now, absolutely not. However, since the six-month deferment window is about to expire and he's going to get invoices for those student loans, he's got to figure out how to make the minimum payments while he figures out to get on his feet and get a job with sufficient income so he can continue to make those payments without tapping into his future retirement nest egg and stealing essentially from his 401(k). Leave it off limits.
EVANS: That's the absolute last resort.
If you have a question you want answered, send us an email any time to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, a lot smokers out there I'm sure are watching, or you want someone to quit if you know a smoker, pay attention. The question is, should Medicaid patients be paid to stop smoking? A professor makes that proposal, saying it could save taxpayer dollars or possible the lives of people on Medicaid.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Medicaid patients are, get this, 53 percent more likely to smoke than the rest of the adult population. And nationwide 11 percent of adult Medicaid expenses are smoking-related.
Joining me now is Yale professor and health economist Jody Sindelar. I understand that at least one state will soon pay Medicaid patients to quit smoking.
JODY SINDELAR, YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, in Connecticut we will soon be paying Medicaid patients to stop smoking.
LEMON: Here's the thing --
SINDELAR: A demonstration project --
LEMON: I want to know how this program would operate. How exactly does it operate?
SINDELAR: Well, the plan is that we will be paying individuals both for their attempts to smoke or the process of smoking, trying to quit, as well as actually quitting. Because quitting is hard to do, we are going to pay them for both to try to quit and how they try to quit by whether in fact they use a nicotine patch or go to counseling for the smoking cessation.
LEMON: I was going to say, what is the evidence? How do you know if someone has stopped smoking? Do you know because someone has stopped smoke and their teeth are no longer yellow? What is the evidence if they stop?
SINDELAR: Well, the premise is that we are only going to pay for verifiable events. We will see if in fact they have south counseling through Medicaid and only pay them if they pass the breathalyzer test and so if they have tried and in fact quit. A lot of people go right to the quitting, but most of the population quits on their own. But it's hard to quit. So we are providing incentive to try by using these counseling and nicotine patch replacements.
LEMON: Who would be eligible for the smoking cessation programs?
SINDELAR: In Connecticut, it will only be the Medicaid population. So all smokers on Medicaid but we're putting a special emphasis on pregnant smokers.
LEMON: Does it work?
SINDELAR: Well, pregnant smokers, many pregnant workers quit on their own when they're pregnant because they are concerned about their children, but then start smoking again as soon as their child is born, which is bad for their own health and their children's health. So we think that these mothers have already quit. So I think the incentive to keep them off tobacco will be quite effective.
LEMON: So my question again, have you found any evidence that this works?
SINDELAR: Well, we don't have direct evidence on this program because we're just starting it right now. There is evidence -- I've worked on other projects that actually helped cocaine smokers, cocaine abusers to quit using cocaine with very small financial incentives and there's lots of evidence that that kind of program, small incentives, well- designed program has been very effective, even in cocaine abusers and have been found to be effective for tobacco smokers in these kinds of trials.
LEMON: All right, we'll see.
SINDELAR: There is also other kind of evidence --
LEMON: We've got to run. I know you have a lot to say about this but we've got to run. Doctor, we're going to see if it works, and come back and report to us on your findings.
SINDELAR: OK.
LEMON: Still ahead on CNN, President Obama welcomes a group to the White House and they showed up extremely late. We're going to show you what happened here.
Also, 10 years ago today, the longest war in American history began, and CNN's Wolf Blitzer delivered the news live to viewers all over the world. We're going to ask him what it was like on that day. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's hard to believe it's been 10 years ago today that missiles rained down on parts of Afghanistan, starting what has become the longest war in U.S. history. A decade later, we're seeing the toll of war in the number of dead and wounded U.S. troops. More than 100,000 troops serving there. More than 14,000 have been wounded. More than 1,790 of service men and women have died. A recent Pew Research Center poll shows half of post 9/11 veterans say the Afghanistan war has been worth fighting compared to 41 percent of the general public.
CNN was there as the news broke, and we want to show you a bit of our coverage that day.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": President Bush, when he spoke out on television to the American public and people all over the world, I want you to listen to what excerpt of what he said, because it indicates that air power won't get this job done.
GEORGE BUSH, (R) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Initially, the terrorists may borough deeper into caves and other entrenched hidings places. Our military action is also designed to clear the way for sustained, comprehensive, and relentless operations to drive them out and bring them to justice.
BLITZER: That suggests ground troops might be necessary to go into those caves.
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LEMON: Let's bring in now CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, I said at the beginning of this, it's hard to believe it's been 10 years since the start of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. I remember in the satellite truck in Times Square watching that at another network, but I remember as clear as it was yesterday. What are your thoughts on that day?
BLITZER: I was thinking about it, exactly 10 years to the day, if someone would have said that 10 years later, 100,000 U.S. troops would still be in Afghanistan fighting and that many would be getting killed and injured severely, I would have thought that would be impossible, because, remember, I was coming until aftermath of the 1991 first Gulf war Operation Desert Shield which led to Operation Desert Storm. Desert storm lasted six weeks. There were a few days of air war and ground war. Basically, in six weeks, it was over.
And I was simply assuming as a Pentagon correspondent that President Bush's decision to go into Afghanistan would last a few weeks, maybe a few months. If someone would have said 10 years later, U.S. troops would still be there -- and let's not forget, 100,000 troops are still there, but until the end of 2014 another three years plus, U.S. troops are still supposed to remain in Afghanistan. Eventually, we're told they will be leaving, but they're staying for another three years plus.
And as you point out, this is the longest war and there's no guarantee at this point it's all going to have a positive outcome when all the dust settles. So it's a surprise to me as someone who covered that war from day one.
LEMON: Wolf, we will be watching at the top of the hour. Thank you very much. See you in a few minutes in "THE SITUATION ROOM." BLITZER: Thank you.
LEMON: Still ahead, polls show the Senate race in Massachusetts is close, but the battle between Elizabeth Warren and Senator Scott Brown just reached a whole new level, and it includes nude photos. Joe Johns has the Political Pop next.
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LEMON: It's time now for our political pop. The Massachusetts Senate race is already heating up and involves a lack of clothing controversy. And da Bears finally make it to da White House. I meant to use that bad English.
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LEMON: Joe Johns is here.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It's really good.
LEMON: Yes. I lived there. Da bears.
JOHNS: Yes, I know. Don, you know, we here on Political Pop like to give you all the bear facts.
LEMON: In more ways than one.
JOHNS: Yes, exactly. Elizabeth Warren, she's the take no prisoners professional, professor, financial expert, who ripped into the Troubled Assets Relief Fund in Washington to the delight of a lot of people around the country. She's running for the Senate seat in Massachusetts currently held by Republican Scott Brown. Senator Brown known for a lot of things, not the least of which is that he posed almost, almost in the buff in Cosmo magazine.
Warren got asked how she paid for college and she said, "Well, I didn't take off my clothes." So then Scott Brown comes back, gets asked about it on the radio, and he says, "Thank god." It's clear this one is going to need a referee up in Massachusetts. We're all looking forward to a very interesting campaign. Needless to say, both candidates, Don, are likely to keep their clothes on, at least we hope.
LEMON: I'm blushing here. Can you show that at almost 4:00 in the afternoon?
JOHNS: Almost.
LEMON: Let's move on in talking about other bear facts. The '85 Chicago Bears finally got their visit to the White House after all these many years.
JOHNS: A good story, right? Are you a Bears fan? I'm a Bears fan. You know this story. Here it is for everybody else. The '85 bears won the only Super Bowl in team history, but never made it to the White House to visit with President Reagan at the time during the shuttle Challenger disaster. That's what happened. They weren't able to go.
So now, president Obama, being from Illinois, is in the White House. He's a bears fan of course. Somehow, the White House staff managed to squeeze the team into the schedule, if you will, and this team of course was coached by the quintessential bear himself, Mike Ditka. The president had a special thank you for the coach that had very little to do with football and everything to do with politics.
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OBAMA: Some of you may remember that back in 2004 when I was running for the Senate, some people were trying to draft Ditka to run against me.
(LAUGHTER)
I will admit I was a little worried because he doesn't lose. Coach, I'm glad you didn't run because I have to say I probably would have been terrible on ESPN.
(LAUGHTER)
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JOHNS: I mean, you never know, right? A lot of history, a lot of history could have changed if Ditka had actually run for the Senate because that '85 bears team is still really popular if Illinois.
LEMON: They are. And they don't say Coach Ditka. They say coach. Everyone knows who you're talking about. He's a great guy. But I wonder if the president could do the Super Bowl shuffle as well as they did it?
JOHNS: He probably wouldn't want that at least right now because I'm sure it would turn up in a campaign attack ad.
LEMON: All right.
JOHNS: Think of it, the presidential shuffle. It wouldn't work.
LEMON: Two stories about baring it, Political Pop. Thank you, Joe Johns.
