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American Morning: Wake Up Call
NYC Pipe Bomb Plot; On the Brink of Failure; 20 Killed in Cairo Clashes; NYC Bomb Plot Foiled; On The Brink Of Failure; Clashes Turn Deadly In Cairo
Aired November 21, 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: He's accused of building homemade bombs and plotting to plant them in police cars. New York City is saying they stopped a terrorist in his tracks days before the holiday season begins.
Peacefully sitting and linking arms and blasted with pepper spray. Two officers now on leave after a video from an Occupy camp goes viral.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: First lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, and Dr. Jill Biden as they deliver the most famous words in motor sports.
CROWD: Gentlemen, start your engines!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: At road rage. NASCAR crowd boos the first lady before the last race of the season.
This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(MUSIC)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you. It is Monday, November 21st. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are this morning's top stories:
An accused terrorist behind bars in New York City this morning. Twenty-seven-year-old Jose Pimentel was a U.S. citizen who was taken into custody on Saturday and arraigned late last night. He's accused of building homemade bombs and plotting to plant them in police cars. Police say he also planned to target U.S. troops who were returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The super committee ending up like all the other mere mortal committees, lawmakers now getting ready to announce that they failed to slash $1.2 trillion from the deficit and the trigger about to go off for across the board automatic budget cuts.
And trying to save back their revolution -- 20 people killed as protesters returned to Cairo's Tahrir Square and things take an ugly square just one week from elections.
Let's head to Atlanta and get a check of today's weather. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is in.
Good morning, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. We are looking at some wet weather for this busy week. A lot of folks getting started with their holiday travels. And we do have rain across the mid-South.
Let's go to radar now and I'll show that plenty of heavy downpours are working their way across Memphis. We'll be watching for that, really, across much of western Tennessee this morning and you'll see also some rain working into its way to Indiana to the north and into Kentucky, southwest Missouri. It's going to be a little stormy out there to get your day started.
Now, with all this rain comes flood threat. Up to three to five inches, possibly up to six inches in some areas, between Little Rock and Memphis. So, be careful for those of you who are going to be driving on I-40, you're going to face those downpours.
If you're flying today, delays where we don't want them. Some of the busiest airports in the country -- New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, all the down through the south and out west due to fog in San Francisco.
We'll talk more about your travel forecast for this busy holiday week in a bit -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. Can't say we're looking forward to it after that forecast but who knows?
Bonnie Schneider, many thanks.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Just as New York begins dressing up for the holidays, the city is announcing that it's foiled a serious terrorist plot. Twenty-seven-year-old Jose Pimentel is behind bars this morning. He was arraigned and denied bail late last night.
Investigators say he was an al Qaeda sympathizer and a Muslim convert who planned to bomb NYPD patrol cars, post offices and returning U.S. troops. And he was apparently doing more than just talking about it. An affidavit shows he was building a homemade pipe bomb with materials he bought at Home Depot.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg playing a video showing the damage the bombs were capable of causing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: The police also constructed a duplicate of an explosive device that the suspect built and then designated it in a way that he intended to use his weapon. We wanted to show you a video about the resulting damage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I'm waiting for it. There it goes. Yes. The city described Pimentel as a lone wolf, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he was apparently inspired by al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in Yemen two months ago.
We're also told Pimentel was following instructions on how to build a bomb from al Qaeda published magazine called "Inspire." CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen says even though he was considered a lone wolf, this is a sign that al Qaeda is reeling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Clearly, this guy didn't have his act together. You know, he was -- there was an informant involved. He obviously wasn't following a particularly sophisticated operational security. He didn't -- he had kind of a -- obviously, he was acquiring the makings of a bomb, but -- I mean, up, there's a natural ceiling to what a lone wolf can do.
You know, we saw Major Nidal Hasan, who was obviously an Army officer at Fort Hood, Texas, kill 13 people. He was a pretty classical lone wolf. He was also in touch with Anwar al-Awlaki. But, you know, 13 people -- each of those deaths was a tragedy at Fort Hood. But this isn't 9/11 or anything, remotely closed. So, if this is the new face of terrorism, you know, it's a sign al Qaeda is weakening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Mayor Bloomberg also said the suspect was motivated by his own resentment of the presence of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the brink of failure, it looks like the so-called congressional supercommittee will not be able to come up with a deal to cut more than $1 trillion from the nation's deficit by Wednesday's deadline. And instead of a weekend round-the-clock of negotiations, members spent the final hours pointing fingers at each other.
Our congressional correspondent Kate Bolduan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The so-called super committee is at best on the brink of failure as talks have all but fallen apart. Evidence of that is the dramatic shift in tone among the committee members themselves, conversations as many members took to the Sunday morning talk shows shifting from they are pushing for a deal, pushing for an agreement and hopeful that they would reach it, to now who should be to blame if and when the committee does fail.
SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: Nothing new came out of this, from the Democratic side, the same thing, raise taxes, pass the president's job deal, no entitlement reform. On the Republican side, you had the one true breakthrough, and that was this new concept of tax reform, which can generate revenue from the upper brackets for deficit reduction.
SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: The truth is at this point today, Democrats have made some really tough decisions and come to some pretty tough choice that we're willing to put on the line, on entitlements, on spending cuts, but only if Republicans are willing to cross the line on the Bush tax cuts and be willing to say, revenues are to be a part of this solution.
BOLDUAN: Both sides clearly blaming the other for not being able to reach agreement of the minimum required $1.2 trillion in deficit savings over the next 10 years.
The talks breaking down, largely on the issue that has held up negotiations to this point, the issue of taxes. Democrats insist real revenue, tax increases need to be part of any balanced approach or a balanced deal as they like to say. But Republicans on the flipside -- they are very much opposed to tax increases, unless they are part of an overall broader effort to reform the tax code that would bring down tax rates.
And with such little time left, it seems likely that the committee has failed and the question now, barring a dramatic shift or a dramatic breakthrough, the real question becomes how and when does the committee make a formal announcement? Many believe that announcement could come as early as today.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: We'll be waiting for it.
Two University of California-Davis police officers are on administrative leave after the video surfaced of cops casually pepper- spraying peaceful occupy protesters in their faces at point-blank range Friday night. The university says the officers were trying to clear out the Occupy camp and felt trapped by protesters. The U.C.- Davis police chief says it was one officer's decision to unload.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ANNETTE SPICUZZA, U.C. DAVIS POLICE: This was a decision made from within that group, from within the -- by the officer who was in charge. I see pepper spray as a tool for officers to use. And like any other tool that we carry and we utilize, you hope and pray that it's used correctly and within policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Eleven people required treatment, two were hospitalized, hundreds of protesters came out calling on the school's chancellor, Linda Katehi, to resign.
A congressman from Michigan denying allegations that he molested a young relative more than 50 years ago. Democrat Dale Kildee says family members are trying to blackmail him and there's not a shred of truth to the claims. Kildee was already leaving Congress. He announced his retirement in July after serving 18 terms in the House.
Egypt erupting again this morning. Protesters filling Cairo's Tahrir Square for a third straight day. Twenty people have been killed in clashes in the past two days, hundreds of army officers and police firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Many in the protesters were brutally beaten.
Military rulers say elections will go on as planned in seven days, but some Egyptians worry they have traded one tyrant for another.
Ben Wedeman reports from Cairo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Much is changed in Egypt in the last 10 months, but Sunday in Cairo was a day of deja vu. Running street battles rage around Tahrir Square between protesters and security forces in a growing revolt against the supreme council of the armed forces which took over from Hosni Mubarak last February.
Tear gas and rocks flew fast and furious. Security forces fired upon protesters with hard rubber pellets like these.
"This is with the police of Egypt are using against us," says Zara (ph). "They're killing the youth of Egypt, shooting them in the eyes."
I tell her, "We were here on January 25th. It was the same scene. What has changed?"
"Nothing has changed," she responds. "We've gone backwards. The military council is garbage. Mubarak is still alive and well, and the people are dying."
Shouts this man, "Mubarak is running the military council and the whole country from prison, Mubarak and all the corrupt businessmen around him."
Motorbikes rushed wounded to a makeshift field hospital, the same one that treated those injured during the uprising against Mubarak.
To the protesters, the new military rulers look an awful lot like the old one.
(on camera): On January 25th, we were on this very street and we were also tear-gassed. Now, months and months later, it's November, and the same thing is happening all over again. So now, of course, here you see some of the services provided by the revolutionaries, they're putting saline solutions in our eyes, giving us Kleenex to wipe it off.
(voice-over): What has changed is the once coward and silent people of Egypt have found their voice.
"Whoever ends up running this country will have to contend with a politicized, vocal and demanding population that has learned to fight back."
In a statement, the government said people have the right to protest peacefully as long as they don't commit acts to threaten Egypt's stability.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting.
Still to come, McDonald's and Target take action after an activist group releases disturbing video of what it says are animals being mistreated.
And this week, the investigations on allegations of phone hacking in London enter a new phase. We're expecting to hear from witnesses and some are celebrities. Details in a live report from London.
Then in today's money news, the link between women's heels and what they say about the economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 15 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Here's what's all new this morning:
A terror plot busted. New York City police say 27-year-old Jose Pimentel planned to blow up NYPD cruisers, post offices and U.S. veterans. The city's mayor says an al Qaeda -- says he's an al Qaeda sympathizer but appears to be a lone wolf. Pipe bombs and materials were found in his home.
Disturbing animal cruelty caught on tape. Hidden cameras captured hundreds of hens crammed into small cages or swung around on ropes at facilities at Sparboe Farms facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado. The farm supplies eggs for McDonald's and Target. Both have since dropped Sparboe as a supplier. Sparboe Farms has launched its own internal investigation and it has fined four workers.
In money news, sending packages will cost you more. UPS announcing they're boosting its base rates for ground and air shipments almost 6 percent. The company blames demand and its investments in new technologies for the increase. The new rates begin January 2nd.
In sports, the University of Miami bans its -- bans -- is banning its football team from bowl consideration this year. The school is still under investigation by NCAA over allegations that a former booster and convicted Ponzi schemer gave cash, jewelry and even supplied prostitutes to players. The team plays its last game on Friday.
Let's get a check on today's weather, head to Atlanta. Bonnie Schneider is in.
So, on the subject of flight delays --
SCHNEIDER: Well, so far we're OK, Carol, but it's so early out there. Unfortunately, there's a lot of rain in the mid-South. So, if you're getting in your car and you want an early start, maybe you're driving to Memphis or Little Rock, you're probably going to encounter some wet roads. Not only that, we're also looking at the threat of severe storms in Texas, some strong thunderstorms with lightning and some heavy downpours working their way across I-20. And then north and east towards Memphis, that's where the rain is going to be pretty heavy. Storms moving through on our future cast there just north of Dallas into Oklahoma City, but heavy rain that will accumulate through Wednesday.
So, whether you're traveling on Tuesday or Wednesday, you're going to face some downpours on I-40, heading from Little Rock to Memphis. That's where the rain is right now. It's also across Paducah, Kentucky, into Louisville and we'll see that across areas into Nashville, as well as the system slides continually to the east.
So, a little wet weather in the mid-South and that will impact air travel. And some of the other busy airports, they're also facing airport delays. So, getting an early start on your Thanksgiving travel.
We'll tell you more in just a bit -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Bonnie, thank you.
Another big hit for Penn State's Joe Paterno. The former coach announced he's battling lung cancer only a couple weeks after a sex abuse scandal rocked the school's football program. In the meantime, we're waiting to hear from a special investigative committee expected to hold a news conference in Philadelphia later this morning.
A report from CNN's national correspondent Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the second week in a row, game day giving Penn State fans something to cheer about. But a lung cancer diagnosis for their already embattled coach is one more cross to bear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very unfortunate. And certainly not needed at the end of what we've been dealing with for the last couple of weeks.
CANDIOTTI: Outside Joe Paterno's home, a quiet day, visitors and strangers stopping by.
Someone leaves an inspirational book by Reverend Billy Graham. One woman drops off comfort food, sharing a smile and a hug. This couple takes snapshots after driving 100 miles from home to pay their respects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For all he did for the university, you know, I really looked up to him. Still think a heck of a lot of him. I think he did good. He just made a mistake.
CANDIOTTI: This woman is a cancer survivor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so sad because all he had brought to, you know, the university. And as far as his health, I just wish that, you know, he could go into it with a positive mind.
CANDIOTTI: There isn't much positive news these days. Jerry Sandusky's accusations may have dealt a fatal blow to the Second Mile charity he founded. Because donations are drying up, the charity announced Friday the program that's helped thousands of underprivileged kids might have to shut its doors.
Sandusky is charged with recruiting his alleged victims from the Second Mile. He denies he harmed anyone.
This weekend, someone broke a second window at Sandusky's home.
Investigations are mounting.
The NCAA ordering Penn State to answer pointed questions about its oversight and policies in handling sex abuse allegations.
The federal Department of Education wants to know how the university reports sex assault crimes. Results could impact student aid.
(on camera): So many investigations, so many questions, so few answers. But some might come by December 16th when Penn State must respond to the NCAA.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Susan Candiotti reporting.
Here's what we're working on this morning: we're finding out more about the officer caught on camera shooting pepper spray at a group of college students.
Plus, what do shoes say about the economy? Shoes! A group of researchers say they have established a link between high heels and the economic climate. Find out what they are predicting for the U.S. economy, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Stocks ended mixed on Friday after a shaky week. The Dow finished up with a small gain of 25 points. The S&P and NASDAQ both closed down. But three indexes closed at their worst levels in nearly two months. Investors remain nervous about debt talks overseas and, of course, here at home in Washington.
It's all about the U.S. debt deadline, jobs, Italy and Spain this week. Right now, overseas, all the markets, as I say -- all markets are down as are Dow futures.
Nina dos Santos joins us live from London with our money headlines.
So, Nina, this supercommittee in the United States, if somebody comes out and says, we failed, what will this do to stocks?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Obviously, we saw all the wrangling back in August, didn't we, over exactly what to do about the debt ceiling in the United States, and it seems as though we've come back to square one again, at least that's how investors here in Europe are viewing this situation. And it really is affecting the markets. As you saw, in Asia, closing down on the day and markets here in Europe down to the tune of in excess of 2 percent. And U.S. futures are poised to open, roughly speaking, about 1 percent, if not more, lower, when they start trading later today, at least on the latest indications we're seeing from the futures.
So, there's a lot of concerns about the debt lock and stalemate surrounding the super committee and that impending deadline when it comes to cutting the U.S. deficit. But we should also mention that political and -- politics as well is affecting the markets here in Europe, too, because we have a new government in Spain which is center-right government and it's a government that says that it's going to be doing plenty of deficit-cutting itself. The jury is out on exactly what they could be cutting first.
But those are things moving the markets at the moment, including a statement by a Chinese vice premier saying to the world's economy: brace yourselves because we're in for a recession now.
COSTELLO: So, in the end, this means that women won't be wearing high heels much longer? I say that only because we're going to talk about this new study that supposedly the height of a woman's heels is an economic indicator.
DOS SANTOS: Yes, this is really interesting, Carol. This is a study that was conducted by those computer buffs at IBM. It had been devising some software that monitored special media postings about footwear.
And it came to the conclusion that broadly speaking when the economy sinks and economy goes down, well, heel heights go in the opposite direction, and they soar to the stratosphere.
And it's got some evidence for previous trends here. In the 1920s, it says that low-heeled flapper shoes eventually gave way to much higher heels for the Great Depression. And then we saw a similar situation when relatively benign economic times of the 1960s gave way to enormous platform heels in the 1970s following the oil shock.
So IBM is saying, brace yourselves, eventually heel highs will come back down if the economy gets better. But I brought a little barometer of my own, Carol, I thought you might like this.
This is the kind of thing I wear on my business shows today. For the moment, that's not going anywhere any time soon.
COSTELLO: No way. This is mine. So, mine's an indicator of the economy is going down.
But you're the business gal.
That's right. Nina Dos Santos, thanks so much.
Coming up at 5:30 Eastern Time, detective describe him as a lone wolf, young man accused of plotting to detonate pipe bombs around New York City.
And a Michigan congressman claims he's being blackmailed after relatives say he sexual assaults a family member.
It's 26 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): OK. Did you see this? Two cops on leave after blasting peaceful protesters with pepper spray on the campus of UC-Davis. Students are saying the failure goes all the way to the top. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (on-camera): And good morning to you. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL for Monday. Happy Monday. It's November 21st. I'm Carol Costello. Here are this morning's top stories.
An alleged terror plot in New York City has been stopped. A 27- year-old Jose Pimentel, a U.S. citizen was arraigned late last night. He's accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City and kill American soldiers returning from returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Officials they've been watching him since May 2009. Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls Pimentel a lone wolf and an al Qaeda sympathizer.
Members of the Congressional Super Committee appeared to have come up short. The six Democrats and six Republicans were tasked with coming up with a deal to reduce a $1.2 trillion deficit. Now it appears they're simply working on the best way to say they failed without a deal. Automatic across the board spending cuts will go into effect in 2013. Protesters and security forces are clashing for a third straight day in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Hundreds of army officers and police firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Twenty people have been killed and more than 1,700 injured since Saturday. Egyptians are frustrated at the slow pace of reform and are demanding that the military transfer authority to a civilian government.
Let's head to Atlanta now and check in with meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider. Good morning, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. Well, outside your window in New York City, we have rain this morning. And you can see a lot of it, sliding across into Long Island and up towards Massachusetts to the north and down through south, plenty of rain on the Jersey Shore. Now, all this moisture is impacting travel today.
Look for early rain and fog to slow you down in New York and Philly. And fog, it's a foggy start here in Atlanta. We're also looking at storms, and that will hold true for Dallas and Memphis. That will cause delays possibly over an hour. Seattle out west facing delays as well as San Francisco, Carol. So, this is a busy travel week.
And so far, for this Monday, the weather's not cooperating. Hopefully, we'll get a little better as we get closer to Thanksgiving.
COSTELLO: Of course it will. It's the holidays.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Thank you very much, Bonnie.
He's accused of building homemade bombs and plotting to plant them in police cars. New York City announcing that it's foiled a serious terror plot. Twenty-seven-year-old Jose Pimentel is behind bars this morning. He was arraigned and denied bail just hours ago.
Investigators say he was an al Qaeda sympathizer and a Muslim convert who plotted to bomb NYPD patrol cars, post offices and returning U.S. troops. And he was apparently doing more than just talking about it. Ynez Ferrer has the latest.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this is the neighborhood where Jose Pimentel lived, and authorities say that they had been monitoring him for the last two years. Mayor Bloomberg described Pimentel as an al Qaeda sympathizer even though they do not believe that he had any type of training by the terrorist organization.
Pimentel is originally from the Dominican Republic. According to police, he moved here at a very young age and lived in New York for most of his life. Now, police believe that he learned how to make pipe bombs by reading an online al Qaeda propaganda magazine, and they moved in on him Saturday afternoon.
That's when they arrested him because police say that he allegedly was drilling holes into a wood-be pipe bomb. Now, authorities say that he was allegedly going to be testing out these pipe bombs in the mailboxes before using them against other targets -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ines Ferre reporting.
On the brink of failure. Congressional leaders getting ready to announce the Super Committee could not put their differences aside and find $1.2 trillion in cuts to the nation's deficit. CNN's Congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins takes a look at how we all could end up paying for the gridlock in Washington.
LISA DESJARDINS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this isn't just another annoying political mess. Super Committee failure could have consequences across government and the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DESJARDINS (voice-over): Take a look at where Super Committee failure could fall. John Langford's 400 person aviation business in Manassas, Virginia.
JOHN LANGFORD, DEFENSE CONTRACTOR: From the outside, it looks like a normal airplane. And then on the inside, this is the equivalent of R2D2.
DESJARDINS: So, it's a drone made for U.S. defense, and across the board cuts hitting the Pentagon in 2013 could hit this aircraft and this business, too.
LANGFORD: The employees are incredibly nervous. I think everybody is. In a small business, it is a very hand-to-mouth kind of thing.
DESJARDINS: So, let's stop here a sec. Specifics. Super Committee failure triggers about eight to nine percent in automatic cuts for the defense department, but cuts would also hit here, social programs that help the poor and other places like border patrols and hurricane readiness, because the nondefense side of government also gets an eight to nine percent cut. Some call that catastrophic. Dan Mitchell from the conservative Cato Institute, he says something else.
DAN MITCHELL, CATO INSTITUTE: If there's no deal, taxpayers actually win because we get a sequester, and that means in Washington budget talk, there are automatic reductions in the projected growth of government spending.
DESJARDINS: How much red ink would automatic cuts stop?
STAN COLLENDER, FEDERAL FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY ANALYST: Well, the maximum amount it can be under the law is $1.2 trillion over nine years. And obviously, $1.2 trillion is a lot of money.
DESJARDINS: All right. Hold it there. That's Stan Collender, federal budget expert. He said $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts. Sound like a lot?
COLLENDER: But over a nine-year period, it's not that great.
DESJARDINS: The bottom line? Well, back at Aurora Flight Sciences, John Langdon worries Super Committee failure looks like across the board cuts that will knife defense but barely scratch the debt problem.
LANGFORD: Even as we're talking about bringing overall spending down, you have to do it wisely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DESJARDINS (on-camera): And there's another possibility. Across the board cuts coming from Super Committee failure wouldn't go into place until 2013, so Congress could have a year to try and water them down. If that happened, it could have consequences on Wall Street and it could extend this messy debate into a messy campaign year -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Lisa Desjardins, thanks.
The University of California-Davis is now put two campus police officers on administrative leave after this video surfaced of cops casually pepper spraying peaceful occupy protesters in their faces at point-blank range on Friday. The university says the officers were trying to clear out the occupy camp and felt trapped by protesters. The UC-Davis police chief says it was one officer's decision to unload the pepper spray.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ANNETTE SPICUZZA, U.C. DAVIS POLICE: This was a decision made from within that group, from within the -- by the officer who was in charge. I see pepper spray as a tool for officers to use. And like any other tool that we carry and we utilize, you hope and pray that it's used correctly and within policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Eleven people required treatment, two were hospitalized. Hundreds of protesters came out calling on the school's chancellor, Linda Katehi, to resign.
A congressman from Michigan denying allegations that he molested a young relative more than 50 years ago. Democrat, Dale Kildee, says family members are trying to blackmail him, and there's not a shred of truth to the claims. Kildee was already leaving Congress. He announced his retirement in July after serving 18 terms in the House.
Republican frontrunner, Mitt Romney, picks up another major endorsement. To talk about this and what's happening on the campaign trail today, our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, joins me live from Washington. Good morning, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR (on the phone): Good morning, Carol. It looks like Mitt Romney is just stacking them up in New Hampshire. This is a state where everybody knows him as he was governor of New Hampshire. So, today, he is going to get the endorsement from Congressman Charlie Bass, Republican, obviously.
Yesterday, he got the endorsement from the senator, Republican senator up there, Kelly Ayotte, pretty popular, just elected last year. Look at the polls in New Hamsphire, Mitt Romney, by far, the front-runner in New Hampshire. It's been that way for over a year. Hey, he's got some company up there today, though, in New Hampshire and that is Newt Gingrich.
You know all about the former House speaker. He's been rising in the polls. Got a big event up there. He's going to lay out his plan, he says, to reform Social Security. So, yes, it's all about Iowa, but, you know, right now, at least today, there's a lot of action in New Hampshire.
COSTELLO: Well, and at least Mitt Romney can say, somebody really, really loves me, and it's apparently the voters of New Hampshire. We'll see.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the big debate, I guess, it's tomorrow, right?
STEINHAUSER: It is tomorrow. Tomorrow -- remember, tomorrow is just six weeks until those first votes in the Iowa caucus so the times are clicking, no doubt about it. Our debate right here in Washington, D.C., Carol. We've got all the major presidential candidates showing up. It's going to be a foreign policy, national security and economy. You cannot forget about the economy, all those topics.
CNN is teaming up with the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. There's two conservative, two Republican, you could say, think tanks and guess who's moderating? That good looking man who anchors the "Situation Room," Wolf Blitzer. He'll be hosting and giving questions, but they'll also come from the audience members and from social media, of course. So, it should be very, very interesting.
COSTELLO: We'll be watching. Paul Steinhauser, many thanks to you this morning. Once again, CNN hosting tomorrow night's debate on national security. You can watch live right here live on CNN at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
It's 39 minutes past the hour. Let's get a check of what's coming up at the top of the hour on "AMERICAN MORNING." Alina Cho is in this morning. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Carol. Good morning to you. And coming up in about 20 minutes on "American Morning," we'll be joined by the man many blame for holding up the budget talks in Congress. His name is Grover Norquist. He's the man who got Republicans to sign that no tax pledge.
Critics are calling him Gridlock Grover. So, what does he think now that the Super Committee's doomed to fail?
We'll have new details on the New York City pipe bomb plot. A man called an al Qaeda sympathizer now under arrest. CNN national security contributor, Fran Townsend, will tell us what this means about the state of al Qaeda.
And CNN goes in depth this week. Who is Newt Gingrich? New political baggage emerging for the former House speaker, including ties to the health care industry and a mortgage giant. Can he convince the Tea Party that he's really an outsider? We'll ask his former spokesman and a Democratic congressman, who served with the Speaker.
Those stories and much more coming up in about 20 minutes on "American Morning," including an interview with Christie Turlington, the supermodel, about her latest project. But first, this is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. We're back after this.
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COSTELLO: It is just about 45 minutes past the hour. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Here's what's all new this morning.
A terror plot busted. New York City police say 27-year-old Jose Pimentel planned to blow up NYPD cruisers, post offices, and U.S. veterans. City's mayor says this guy is an al Qaeda sympathizer but appears to be a lone wolf. Pipe bombs and materials were found in his home.
Penn State University celebrating a win on the road at rival Ohio State over the weekend, the first win since the sex scandal rocked the program two weeks ago. The team also hit with news that their ousted coach, Joe Paterno, is now battling lung cancer. A special committee appointed by Penn State trustees to investigate child sex abuse claims will hold a news conference today.
It wasn't the warm welcome they were expecting. first Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden were greeted by a chorus of boos by Nascar fans as the Ford 400 in Florida yesterday. They were the grand marshals of the season's last race. The two were also there to honor U.S. troops and their families and bring awareness to the first lady's joining forces program.
In money news, a potential new tax hike in California, some billionaires hope to get a $10 billion tax increase on the ballot in 2012. About half of that money would go to the state's public schools and the rest divided among public universities and local governments. The tax proposal is expected to move forward in the coming weeks.
In sports, a dramatic face-off between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo for the MLS title in what could be David Beckham's last U.S. game. The superstar led the Galaxy to a 1-0 win. The only goal happened in the 72nd minute. Beckham's $32 million contract is set to expire at the end of the year.
Let's head to Atlanta and check in with Bonnie Schneider. Good morning, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Carol. We are looking at wet weather in the northeast and the mid-south. Both of these areas will impact your travel for today. Some heavy downpours flooding across New York City into Long Island as well as into Connecticut. So, much of the tri-state area facing a wet start to the day. So, that will impact your airport delays today.
Not just in the northeast, but in Atlanta it's a foggy day. We're looking at strong storms in Dallas and in Memphis. Seattle faces rain and wind. In San Francisco, early fog could slow you down. Temperature, though, are on the rise after a chilly weekend in the southeast. Atlanta today will climb to 77 degrees. That may break a record.
Eighty-two in New Orleans. It's even mild in Dallas after those storms roll through. We'll see temperatures cool down, but look for some cold weather, and there was some snow in Minnesota. So, temperatures today, 36 degrees, New York City 51, in Boston, 46 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Not bad.
SCHNEIDER: Not bad at all.
COSTELLO: Bonnie Schneider -- no, I'll take it. Thanks, Bonnie
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
COSTELLO: It's a chance to turn the tables. Big stars will confront the tabloid who poked into their personal lives for years. Actor, Hugh Grant, is among the celebrity witnesses testifying this week in the UK phone-hacking hearing. The father of the missing girl, Madeline McCann, will also give evidence against the now defunct "News of the World" tabloid.
Atika Shubert joins us live from London with the latest. So, These hearings could be very interesting now.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly could be. The first people that we've heard from were actually Bob and Sally Dowler. You might remember their daughter, Millie Dowler (ph) went missing about nine years ago, and it was really her case that uncovered the extent of the hacking scandal.
The reason is because when she went missing all those years ago, there was a frantic search for her by police, by her parents. They had no idea where she was. And then, when her mother accessed her phone -- her daughter's voice mail messages and found several of them to be deleted, this gave the family false hope that she was alive.
And we've just heard inside court now of that sort of euphoria her mother felt only to learn years later that, of course, her daughter had, in fact, been abducted and murdered, and that the people who had deleted those voice mail messages were, in fact, "News of the World" who were simply hacking into her voice mail to try and get a scoop.
So, really, what we're looking at here is not just "News of the World," but British tabloid journalism on trial, and we've just started hearing from those witnesses today.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert live in London for us, thanks so much.
Here's what we're working to bring you at the top of the hour. Outrage and violence in the streets of Cairo. Protesters claiming nothing has really changed since they took to the streets earlier this year.
But first the debate is on about who should play Steve Jobs on the big screen. Yes, there's a movie in the works already.
Forty-eight minutes past the hour. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
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COSTELLO: Well, just about ten minutes until the top of the hour. GOP presidential candidate, Jon Huntsman, used his last in the poll status to go for a few laughs on "Saturday Night Live". Here's your punch line.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't it true that nationally you're currently polling in the low single digits?
JON HUNTSMAN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is true, Seth, but only a few months ago, I was polling at margin of error, so to have any digit at all is a pretty big deal.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for coming.
HUNTSMAN: Are your parents registered voters?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mom's a Democrat and my father's an independent.
HUNTSMAN: Say hi to your dad for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Actress Mila Kunis, kept her promise to a Marine who recently returned home from Afghanistan. She attended a Marine Corps ball in Greenville, North Carolina Friday night as the date of Sergeant Scott Moore. Isn't that cute? He asked her out via YouTube this past summer and she accepted.
Kunis' "Friends with Benefit" co-star, Justin Timberlake, attended a similar ball in Virginia a week ago, and the pictures were just as lovely as this. It even looked like they were having a good time. Although, they didn't like look they were exactly talking to each other, but I bet they did at some point during the night.
Forget Black Friday. This Christmas shopping season is well under way but before you buy anything, Christie Romans takes a look at the most common and costly mistake shoppers make in this week's "Smart is the New Rich".
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol and Alina, hello to the holiday hype machine. Retailers will do whatever they can to separate you from your money whether you have it to spend or not. So, holiday buyers beware. Here are five steps to outsmart them. Don't open a store credit card. Most have very high interest rates and credit limits are too low.
Even applying for them hurts your credit score. That one-time 10 percent off may not be worth it. Now, if they aren't pushing the store credit card, they're pushing the extended warranty. Don't waste your money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In fact, you really very seldom should take the extended warranty. Probably never is OK.
ROMANS: Consumer reports, Mandy Walker, says your credit card may already cover you. Plus --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seldom break during the extended warranty time period which is probably only two or three years past the time you bought it, and the manufacture warranty will probably last the first year.
ROMANS: Gift cards are not always a great gift. A quarter of all gift cards are still lying around in your purse or your desk drawers ten months after you get it. This is according to "Consumer Reports." And two-thirds of people who get them, spend more than the card's face value so they're basically paying for their own present.
Unless, you know for a fact the recipient wants it and will use it, you're probably buying the retailer a gift. Also, be leery of layaway. There are up-front fees. What if the item goes on sale? And if you miss a payment, the retailer could cancel the layaway and you lose money.
And finally, do not pay full price. Beware of retailers who jack up a price before lowering it again. And hunt through the online sites like retailmenot for coupon codes that you can plug in for online shopping. Make it your mission never to pay for shipping. There are always free shipping deals just around the corner, and don't buy the hype. Black Friday prices are not always the lowest of the season.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: That's right, but you can bet thousands -- hundreds of thousands of people will wake up on Thanksgiving Day ready not to eat but to go shopping. So, Black Friday is approaching. Some stores are opening on Thanksgiving. Bonnie Schneider is in the weather center. What kind of weather may we expect?
SCHNEIDER: Well, if you're driving to the store, I think most people probably wait until Friday, usually turkey's on your mind, but if you are going shopping, of course, yes, you need to have good weather, whether you're inside or out. So, we're looking at not so great weather to start off the week. In fact, today, it's pretty stormy out there.
In Memphis, Tennessee, heavy rain, and we may even see flooding because the system is going to bring some strong downpours. It's a stationary front so it's really not going anywhere. Severe storms may fire up today in Dallas, Texas. Watch out for that with lots of lightning. This will move into areas of Northwestern Louisiana. We're going to check that out.
Unfortunately, chilly conditions across much of the Midwest to the north and cold temperatures. In fact, Minneapolis only 36 with the high, 50 in Chicago, 51 in New York City. it will be much warmer in the southeast. It was a real chilly weekend here in Atlanta, for example, but we'll see a high today of 77 degrees.
So, so far so good in terms of air travel, but we are anticipating lots of delays as I mentioned, and we'll be tracking that throughout the day for you here on CNN -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, I hope your flight -- I hope your flight takes off early. That's the ticket to --
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: -- not experiencing a delay today.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
COSTELLO: OK. Bonnie Schneider, many thanks to you. We appreciate it.
That's it for this Monday edition of A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. "American Morning" continues right after a short break. You can make it one great day.
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