Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Charlie Sheen Out of Hospital; Dog Becomes Vet's Saving Grace
Aired October 27, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific. Here's a quick look at the stories we're talking about or in this case the story that's chasing a big chunk in the East Coast right now. A violent, massive October storm system that tore through state after state, tore the pages out of record book too. And guess what? It's not finished.
And if you think the TSA makes you jump through too many security hoops at the airport, the chairman of the British Airways agrees with you. Martin Broughton says that things like taking off your shoes and taking your laptop out of the bag are redundant and unnecessary. So he's urging British carriers to stop caving into American security demand.
And a dog that says grace before meals. Yes, a disabled vet wanted to make his mom smile, so he taught his pooch to pray. We're talking to him and his little friend, just a little later in the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN SCHROEDER, WILL CO., ILLINOIS RESIDENT: All of a sudden the wind kicked up. I was trying to hold the glass door shut. The wind blew through the glass door and slid us back into the foyer about five feet, it was like a bomb went off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you live in the eastern U.S., from Delaware to the deep south, watch out. It could be another day of historically bad weather. One of the worst storms in decades pummeled the nation's midsection yesterday and spun off at least 24 possible tornadoes. Now, near Lima, Ohio, roofed peeled off homes as residents race to take cover. At least three tornadoes already confirmed in Ohio.
Across the midwest, as many as 200,000 homes and businesses lost power. Jackson County, Michigan, strongest. The winds strong enough to knock over a semi trailer on internet state 94. Wind gusts of more than 70 miles an hour reported across the span of that storm. At it's overall length is pretty staggering. At one time the powerful low pressure system stretched an outstanding 1,200 miles from north to south.
Surveillance cameras caught this twister in (INAUDIBLE) Indiana, small boat gets tossed, nearby poll barn ripped apart. The weather folks there say the tornado may have been as strong as a category 2 hurricane. At least six tornadoes have been confirmed in Indiana and damage reports coming in from several states.
In North Carolina, this is what remains of a mobile home that was scooped up and just thrown across the roadway. Several homes destroyed across the state, cars overturned. Some of the worst reports coming out of Lincoln County. At least 11 people were injured, a possible tornado being blamed for that.
Same system triggered some ferocious storms yesterday while it's threatening a lot of the country today. Rob Marciano telling us exactly where - what are you looking at?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, this magic wall, when we get a tornado warning, we can pull it up immediately here. So this one came out as I was walking to the wall. I just wanted - I get an update, a tornado warning now for Chilton County. This is in central Alabama, until 9:30 local or 10:30 Eastern time. And that's where it is, just south of Birmingham. This is all moving to the east- northeast at about 30 miles an hour.
The good news is these storms, as opposed to yesterday, is they are moving at half the speed believe, it or not, as we saw yesterday. The storm yesterday was moving 70 to 80 miles an hour, just a monster jet stream powering that system. So then not quite as strong but nevertheless, we got a tornado watch that is in effect for northern Georgia, including Atlanta, back through Birmingham and Tuscaloosa as the storms begin to rumble across a fairly populated area here. So the potential for tornadoes exist in these cells, for the next few hours.
Boston, New York, Philly, getting a big piece of the storm but you're not getting a big piece. Thankfully. Just some wind and certainly some rain and some thunderstorms but we don't expect to see a tremendous amount of severe weather on this end of the system but on the back end, we continue to get hefty winds 50 to 60-mile-an-hour wind gusts potentially here.
Minneapolis, just north of Chicago, high wind warnings remain up and on top of the windy conditions, we got white showing up on the radar scope. So Bismarck getting some snow. This is not piling up to be too much but nonetheless we got blizzard warnings that are up. One more thing, Chicago, almost two hour delays, Minneapolis, over an hour delays, LaGuardia, Philly, and Atlanta, so now the East Coast airports getting into the act here. Tens of millions of people, Kyra, getting affected by this huge, huge storm. Back over to you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Just six days for you voters to decide. And we're cutting down the critical midterm election for all of you. All House seats and 37 Senate seats are at take as well as the direction of the nation. Let's get right to the latest stories from the campaign trail. Senior political editor Mark Preston is with us at the politics.com desk. Hey, Mark. MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra. Good morning. You know, politicians have been able to overcome allegations of infidelity and acknowledgement of infidelity, but being linked to a prostitution ring is that a career ender? One might think but not so for David Vitter, the senator from Louisiana. In fact, three years ago, he is linked to a prostitution ring. He acknowledged having a serious sin. He's up for re-election right now. He's a Republican in Louisiana and he's leading in the polls. He has a fund-raising advantage and heading into Tuesday, it looks like he's going to defeat Charles Melancon, the democratic nominee down there.
(INAUDIBLE) Glass, one of CNN's most talented journalist is down there, covering the race. You can see it more on CNN.com.
Newt Gingrich has advice for President Obama. We'll see if he takes it. Gingrich, the former House speaker is telling President Obama, he should talk to President Clinton. And why is that? Because it was Newt Gingrich back in 1994 that led the Republican revolution and took back control of Congress. He is saying that in fact Obama will get some good advice from President Clinton because Clinton had to work with Newt Gingrich. In fact, listen to these kinds words that Newt Gingrich had to say.
President Clinton did a tremendous job on working with us, on balancing the budget and cutting taxes.
Our own Peter Hamby following the campaign up in Ohio where Newt Gingrich made those comments, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, speaking of Newt Gingrich, who says that he's thinking about running for president in 2012, another familiar name also dropping hints now, right?
PRESTON: Absolutely. Rudy Giuliani, we all remember, he ran back in 2008. He's America's mayor. He's the one that really brought the country together, some would say, back in 2001, during the terrorist attacks. Well, our friends over at "Politico" caught up with him last night and asked if he's considering running in 2012. He said he hasn't ruled it out, which is very interesting. It's a very crowded field that we're looking at right now. I suspect that his campaign will be a little bit different though, Kyra.
Back in 2008, he decided to skip those real important states of Iowa and South Carolina and New Hampshire. He was going to launch his campaign from Florida however he learned it was a little bit too late in the race for him.
Kyra.
PRESTON: All right. Mark Preston, we'll talk more. The next political update in an hour. And a reminder, for all of the latest political news, you can always go to our web site, cnnpolitics.com.
Well, Charlie Sheen allegedly trashes a hotel suite, leaving a path of destruction at the Plaza Hotel. Cops say he was naked and intoxicated. What's next for the Hollywood bad boy now that he's out of the hospital?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Charlie Sheen, out of a New York Hospital, bound for Los Angeles after police say they found him intoxicated and naked in a smashed up hotel suite. His people blamed an allergic reaction. This is just the latest notch in a time line of trouble for the infamous bad boy and it makes this police station scene from "Ferris Bueller" seem like looking into a crystal ball.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a nutshell, I hate my brother. How is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's cool. Did you blow him away or something?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, that was 1986, and his character simply credited as "Boy in police station." As you know, his star rose fast, almost as fast as his reputation for chaos, and yet again, he's living up to that image. So here's what police tell us about what went down in that suite at the Plaza Hotel.
Officers showed up early Tuesday morning responding to a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed man. Sheen was voluntarily hospitalized for psychological evaluation, and our sources tell us he was with an unidentified woman at the time. She wasn't hurt. Keep in mind, Sheen was not arrested. And here's what his publicist had to say "What we are able to determine is that Charlie had an adverse allergic reaction to some medication and was taken to the hospital."
Sheen's ex-wife Denise Richards was in a different room at the Plaza Hotel with the couple's two young children when it all went down. Here's what she had to say to Joy Behar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, HOST, HLN'S "JOY BEHAR SHOW": The police arrived to find Charlie drunk and naked in his room. Tables and chairs were thrown around the room. $7,000 worth of damage to the room.
DENISE RICHARDS, CHARLIE SHEEN'S EX-WIFE: OK.
BEHAR: And he had been out partying and returned with a woman to the room. Those are the reports.
RICHARDS: OK.
BEHAR: So you don't know exactly what happened? Did you go to the hospital with him?
RICHARDS: Um, I do know what happened. I would rather -
BEHAR: Oh, you do know. You just don't want to talk about it.
RICHARDS: I did help him at the hospital.
BEHAR: You did go to the hospital with him?
RICHARDS: Yes.
BEHAR: So how is he doing? Will you tell me that?
RICHARDS: I'll let you ask Charlie.
BEHAR: When is he coming on my show?
RICHARDS: Maybe we'll get him on tomorrow.
BEHAR: Do you think so?
RICHARDS: You know what, the thing is my daughters are five and six years old and at an age where they can start to understand. They have no idea what went on, and I'm - a lot of our stuff happened when they were much younger, which I'm so grateful for. We're in an amazing place. We have been getting along great for the last year and a half, and you know, we're doing our best. So as far as that situation, I'm trying to protect the girls from it as much as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Charlie Sheen is one of the highest paid actors in TV, by the way, reportedly pulling in between one million and two million bucks per episode of "Two and A Half Men." The star has a long history of getting into trouble. In 1990, just 24 years old, he checked into a rehab center for alcohol abuse and in 1995, he was a witness in the trial of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, testifying about his $50,000 tab and his preference for the cheerleader type.
And a year later, he was put on probation in an assault case. But in 1998, his dad turned him in for a parole violation and just last year, he was arrested for brandishing a knife at his current wife. Right now, he is just days from completing his probation in that case, and can I just reiterate, Charlie Sheen is one of the highest paid actors in TV, reportedly pulling in about two million bucks for his show "Two and A Half Men."
Maybe you are not to keen on the security hoops that you have to jump through at the airport. Maybe you gripe about it but one guy is suing the TSA over it, and get this, he's a pilot.
Flashback, today it's a musical tribute. Remember this?
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PHILLIPS: It was 1960, soul singer Benny King recorded his first solo song, including "Stand By Me" and "Spanish Harlem." "Stand By Me," by the way, soared to the top, becoming a number one hit on the R&B charts.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Heading cross country. We'll start in Colorado Springs where a very hungry Bassett hound who swallowed 31 nails, yes, and survived. You'll see the x-rays in a minute. They speak for themselves. Sophie was apparently nosing around the backyard when she just started snacking on the nails and a rabies tag and some siding. She is recovering well apparently after some quick surgery but the munchies. Well, that came with a $3,500 vet bill.
All right. In Tampa, Florida, where a man answered a late night knock on the door to find an alligator at his doorstep, seven-feet long, by the way, and obviously a very unwelcome visitor. A gator trapper had to be called in to wrangle him out of there.
A disabled veteran, we're talking about Steven Boyd. Well, he was just on a mission to make his mother smile when he taught his dog, Jango, to pray. The Facebook video has become an internet sensation. Jango's front paws perched with purpose on his owner's lap, and his head dutifully bowed during grace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father, I do ask a special prayer that you help me to not chase the neighbor's cat and to listen to my master whenever he asks me to do something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the vet found his buddy when they needed each other most. Boyd served for 12 years in the U.S. army as a sniper, paratrooper and counter narcotics officer. He jumped out of planes, rappelled down cliffs, mountain biking across dangerous terrains. But he got sick and he went looking for an escape in an animal shelter. He found Jango, just a day before that dog was scheduled to be put down. Talk about saving grace.
Steven Boyd and Jango join us live from Austin, to talk about it.
Good to see you guys.
STEVEN BOYD, TAUGHT DOG HOW TO PRAY: Good morning. How are you doing, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: I'm all right, Steven. I can tell I'm going to be inspired by the time we wrap this up. But you know, let's not sugar coat this though. I mean, everything is so wonderful now. You look great. This story is so fantastic. But as a disabled vet you were really struggling. I mean, just put into perspective how hard you were suffering through your disabilities and how bad it had become at one point. BOYD: To be quite honest with you, over the past several years I've had 76 hospitalizations from the Mayo Clinic to Baylor University Medical Center. It's you know, literally dozens upon dozens of other hospitals across the nations. Five feeding tubes, seven kidney failures, four cardiac arrests, and I had grown to the point where I was - I didn't want to not live but I was tired of the miserable existence that I was living, and when I found Jango, I had been in the hospital some 10, 15 times at that point, and, like you said, they were going to euthanize him the very next morning and they said he was - and he was very fearful aggressive, very mouthy, and they deemed him untrainable.
And this rowdy little dog and I kind of bonded. And he saved my life inasmuch as I saved his because through owning him, he was my responsibility, and with that responsibility became a hope. That responsibility made me want to aspire to do something bigger and better with my life, and now with this Facebook phenomenon explosion, we prayerfully will be able to -
PHILLIPS: Let's get into that in just a second here.
BOYD: Go ahead.
PHILLIPS: But it's so interesting because the way you describe how Jango was when you first met him. I mean, the name fits perfectly, right? You got to tell our viewers the background of how you picked his name and what it means. It's far from a spiritual name.
BOYD: Yes, very far from a spiritual name. I was in the Army and I was serving with Long Range Surveillance and went to Australia and served with or trained with the 3rd Australian Airborne, and after a couple of days there, they kept saying you got to go jango, mate. Didn't know what jango truly meant. They explained it was a time to get out, get rowdy, get drunk, chase women, you know, get into a bar fight. And when I adopted him from the animal shelter, his name was Chip, and I didn't like that. So I called him dog for a couple of weeks until I remembered the name Jango, and because of him being very aggressive and rowdy, the name kind of fit.
PHILLIPS: So why did you teach him to pray?
BOYD: Like you said, I'm a disabled veteran and I live on a very limited income and this past Christmas instead of presents for the family, mom had suggested that we do something or make something for one another, and just as a fluke, because I knew she would just adore it, I decided to teach him to pray as his Christmas present to her. So at the dinner table on Christmas, I had him come up and give the Christmas dinner prayer and she started crying.
PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. And it's become a phenomenon now. I mean, pastors are using this video in sermons. A grandmother I was reading about watches this video as she's dealing with chemo. You have gotten tons of getting marriage proposals now, which I think is fantastic. So I tell you what, as we wrap this up, Steven, I think it's apropos. Why don't we end this segment in prayer. Shall we? BOYD: Please do.
PHILLIPS: Take it away.
BOYD: Come on, Jango. Come say grace. Jango, can we do it. Come say grace. Well now, he's not interested, of course, his national debut. Come say grace.
Dear lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this day and everything you've given us. Please be with our soldiers - still, be with our soldiers, be with their family and friends and just guide and guard them. In your name we pray, Amen. He didn't make it all of the way through.
PHILLIPS: It's all right. Everybody get nervous on national television. You can go on line and see the video. It's so heart- warming. You can actually go to our belief blog on cnn.com. And Steven, it's just remarkable. You are a true soldier. You have powered through some pretty devastating complications, mentally and physically and you've really come out on top. You're a true inspiration. Thank you so much for your time today.
BOYD: Thank you, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
BOYD: Thank you, Kyra. And have a blessed morning.
PHILLIPS: Thank you so much. I will now. Once again, cnn.com/belief. You can see the video and Steven's story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess what we do is just drive around the circle here. Second left, exit, there's a hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, look, kids. There's Big Ben and there's Parliament.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There it is, there it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. I can't seem to get over to the left, honey. Sorry. We'll get out of this jam in a minute. Kids, Big Ben, Parliament again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: This is your manic Clark Griswold? His questionable driving skills and clueless sense of direction hold you hostage in the passenger seat? Well, a new study backs up this stereotype. Men really will drive aimlessly before they ask for directions, and wait until you hear for how long.
Stephanie Elam joins us to talk about that and other business top issues.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We already knew this.
PHILLIPS: We deal with this on a regular basis.
ELAM: All the time. In fact, I would just rather drive myself. But let me tell you just how bad it is, Kyra. Because according to this one study, apparently men will drive an extra 276 miles a year because they're lost. That's a lot of miles. In fact, let me tell you how far that is. That's like driving from where you are in Atlanta to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. Kyra, that's how long that is. I'd rather have the time at the beach, driving that long.
PHILLIPS: I agree. So, OK, so it takes them what? Up to 30 minutes to ask for directions, and you know, if you add that up in gas money and a bad economy, they're costing us a lot of money.
ELAM: Oh, yes. In fact, we decided to do a little math for you.
PHILLIPS: OK.
ELAM: They're wasting about 25 bucks a year because let's say you are driving a car that has about 31 miles to the gallon. So that's an average car, right? And then based on the average prices of gas right now. But think about how much that is over a lifetime, how much money you are just throwing out the window and on top of it, how about the time factor of just being lost and just driving around forever and ever and ever.
Now here's the thing 74 percent of women, they say they don't have a problem asking for directions at all. Not a problem at all. Men, they will wait a half an hour, 26 percent of men will wait that long. And 12 percent of men, these our favorite kind, refuse to ask a stranger at all. At no point were ask for directions. They'll just keep (SINGING). "Yes, I think it's over there. Should be that way, over there."
But 30 percent of men will ask as soon as they're lost, and 37 percent of women as soon as they're lost will ask for some help. In the day of GPS, it should be a lot easier to not get lost.
PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly, but no. They've got too big of an ego for GPS at times, too.
All right. Holiday airfares. Unfortunately, that's going to be costing us a lot of money as well, right?
ELAM: Yes. Holiday airfares, we know, are going up. A lot of people are staying at home or maybe staying with family and friends. But it's also going to be more expensive next year, too, Kyra. In fact, we are taking a look at the this study from American Express Business Travel. They put together an analysis of what we will look at next year. And they're saying for North American flights, they're going to rise by about 2 to 7 percent. And hotel rates are going to go up 1 to 6 percent because economy is getting better, demand is increasing on those planes. There's less seats, because you know, they cut down the number of planes in the air now, so it's really hard to find the seats on planes. And then when you're on there, you're all sardined up.
And rental car rates are going to be one place where it could get better is about flat to drop about 2 percent, but the fact that there may be more fees involved for cancellations and also higher taxes may also neutralize that effect. But overall, it's going to be more expensive. But in a weird sort of way, this could be a good thing because it means the economy is getting a little bit stronger.
So, I guess if you are going to get lost and drive for 276 miles a year, at least you can start doing it now before things get more expensive next year.
PHILLIPS: Good tips. Thanks, Steph.
All right. 10:30 in the East, 7:30 in the West. Time now for some stories that got us talking today.
Much of the nation abuzz about the massive storm system that raked across the Midwest and Southeast yesterday. More than two dozen possible tornadoes touched down, including this twister that ripped apart a building in Indiana. Remarkably, no confirmed deaths.
Laura Healy in Montgomery, Illinois, captured these images of the approach. She said it was like a wall of wind and horizontal rain. Once the winds started swirling, tornado sirens went off. So, she grabbed her pets and ran to the basement.
Those winds also kicked up towering waves on Lake Michigan. Weather experts say some measured up to 16 feet tall. Boaters were told to stay off the water until the storms were finally lifted.
If you think the TSA makes you jump through too many security hoops at the airport, you have a friend in Martin Broughton. He's the chairman of British Airways, and he's railed on some of the security measures that the U.S. demands. Broughton says that things like taking off your shus - shoes, rather -- and putting your laptop into the bin, well, it's just redundant and unnecessary. And that technology should take care of checks like that. And he thinks it's time for British carriers to stop caving into American security demands.
Well, one American pilot isn't just slapping the TSA over security measures. He's suing. He says some of those steps are far more than just redundant and unnecessary. He claims they're unconstitutional.
Michael Roberts is with us from Memphis. Also, his attorney John Whitehead joins us from Charlottesville, Virginia. Michael, let's start with you. And your problem is with the body scans and the pat- downs. Tell me what made you think this was just too much? MICHAEL ROBERTS, PILOT SUING TSA: Well, it is just too much. It's - I'm sorry. You know, we talk about unreasonable search and seizure, and it is unreasonable that I should have to be strip searched every time I come to work or just travel as a normal citizen. It's unreasonable that I would have to have a government agent put his hands on me and, you know, fondle my crotch and feel my buttocks and all up and down the rest of my body.
It's scary. It's Orwellian, to say the least, and I'm kind of curious why people put up with it at all.
PHILLIPS: So, here's -- well, a lot of people are frustrated with it, as you well know. And that is why this is such a talker today. But let me ask you -- I would have assumed -- and I guess you should never assume -- that a pilot would want as much security as possible nowadays. Do you not feel that way?
ROBERTS: I'm absolutely in favor of airline security. This isn't about security because it's not secure. It's not safe what they're doing. It's actually a very dangerous encroachment of the federal government into the, you know, privacy of American citizens.
Safety, airline safety, you know, needs to be handled professionally by professionals who have a vested interest in the quality of the work they're doing. That's not what the TSA represents. That's not what they're doing, you know.
So, I'm absolutely in favor of security. I understand there are threats out there. I'm not the kind of guy that doesn't like to follow the rules. I used to teach the rules at the airline. I was an instructor there. And in my role I didn't teach how the airplane worked. I taught how the rules work and how the rules keep us safe. So, I'm not the guy I've been portrayed to be in some cases. I understand --
PHILLIPS: Well, since you have been involved with training and rules, etcetera, I'm going to get to you in a second with regard to your solutions.
But John Whitehead, let me ask you this. You're Michael's attorney in this case. The TSA did release a statement saying they weren't going to talk about it pending litigation, but they did say, "Advanced imaging technology is optional for all passengers. Passengers who decline to be screened using advanced imaging technology will receive alternate screening to ensure the safety of the traveling public. Anyone who refuses screening will be denied access to the secure area." So if there's an alternative, then why sue?
JOHN WHITEHEAD, ATTORNEY, THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE: Well, the only alternative they are giving people is full-body frisk.
The key here is the Constitution. The Constitution says if you are going to have a full body frisk or be strip searched, which is what scanners are, the person that you are doing the strip search of or doing the body scanning or whatever you are doing to people, patting them down by police or government agents, there needs to be some suspected criminal activity suspected or it violates the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. And that's the issue here.
The key is Michael did go through a metal detector. He passed all the tests. So they knew he wasn't a criminal. So, why force him through a body scanner. Why force him through a full-body frisk?
And by the way, the head of the Israeli airport security, Rafi Selius (ph), they have come out against body scanners. They don't work. The question is, why are they being foisted on the American public, and why are we going through invasions of our privacy and denial of our civil liberties?
PHILLIPS: So, Michael, as a pilot, as someone who knows the whole airline system back and forth and knows all the issues of security very well, what's your solution? As we are going through the airports, what should we be -- what should we be held accountable for? What should we do?
ROBERTS: Travelers, you mean?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
ROBERTS: You should not allow federal government agents to put their hands on you because your body does not belong to them. It belongs to you. You should not allow federal government agents to see underneath your clothing. Your body belongs to you. It does not belong to them --
PHILLIPS: But what would be the security measure you would suggest? What would you suggest as I'm checking in, I'm going through security, what would you suggest I go through?
ROBERTS: Metal detector --
PHILLIPS: Just go through a metal detector?
ROBERTS: I mean, honestly, in most cases, that might have been even unnecessary at times. I think security needs to be science- based, it needs to be based on intelligence. It would be nice if they get to know travelers a little better before they try to just go straight to second base. It would be nice if they asked questions and kind of get to know who these people are.
I wouldn't call it profiling but just intelligence-based security. But that's their policy, and we don't have control over that. But I'd be perfectly willing, and for the last four-and-a-half years, I have gone through the metal detectors and run my bags through the screener and all of that.
PHILLIPS: Michael Roberts, John Whitehead, we'll follow the case. Appreciate your time today.
And that brings us to our blog and today's question. Are current security protocols such as taking off your shoes at U.S. airports just part of a dog-and-pony show? Well, this is what some of you had to say.
Joey writes in, "I travel with two laptops, two iPads, two iPods and several other electronic devices, along with their power cables, etc. All in my carry on, and it can be quite a task removing and replacing them every time I go through airport security. However, if this is minor inconvenience is the price I have to pay to help assure a safe flight for me and my co-fliers, I will gladly endure the hassle."
Nancy says, "British Air chairman Martin Broughton is absolutely right. The security process can be streamlined and safety still maintained. The U.S. has wasted billions of dollars and made flying unpleasant with the implementation of these security regulations."
And Bill writes in, "It's all in the name of security theater, designed to scare us, bully us, make us compliant and give the appearance that they are in charge. Travel once was a wonderful experience, and now has become just a stressful task."
Remember, we always like to hear from you. Just log onto CNN.com/Kyra and share your comments. I sure appreciate you weighing in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Scanning our "Morning Passport." We're taking a look at what's happening in three cities around the world. Who is better to come and join us than talk about it? Our Michael Holmes. Shall we start with the outrage in France?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm a foreigner, I can do that for you.
PHILLIPS: You're a foreigner. You know international news! We're going to stereotype you!
HOLMES: I am international.
PHILLIPS: This is not the time to go to Paris right now -
HOLMES: It's not.
PHILLIPS: Let me tell you, that trash is piling up. You can't get gas.
HOLMES: The transport (INAUDIBLE) have been rolling strikes, I guess, people are following this a little bit. But this is D-day, if you like, for these reforms they're having in France. You can see some of the pictures of the strikes going on for days now. As you say, Kyra, covering so many various areas.
This is all about -- it's a reform package, a financial reform package, but the key and most controversial element is they want to raise the retirement age from 60 to a whopping 62.
PHILLIPS: Isn't that amazing, though? For two years? It brings out all of these people fighting two years.
HOLMES: And let's think about it. Sixty-two? Are you kidding me? The rest of Europe is 65. Germany is 67.
PHILLIPS: We're working till we're 80.
HOLMES: I'm going to be 97 by the time I pay off college bills for a couple of kids that aren't even in college. So, yes, it does seem a bit silly, doesn't it, going nuts for 62.
PHILLLIPS: It's shutting down the country.
HOLMES: Nicolas Sarkozy -- it's going through the final legislative hurdle, the lower house Parliament today. If that goes through, the president signs the bill, and it's law. So, they're protesting. They're not going to win this one.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're changing gears, James Bond. We love our James Bond movies.
HOLMES: Goldfinger. And in fact, it is "Goldfinger." The car from "Goldfinger", the beautiful -- do you like Aston Martins? I love Aston Martins.
PHILLIPS: You know what I call these kind of cars?
HOLMES: What? No, don't, don't. Don't go there.
PHILLIPS: Big ego cars.
HOLMES: There you go. That will work. This is the first of the Bond cars, it's a DB-5. The first of the Bond cars, it actually had gadgets that worked as opposed to being fake. A machine gun, they've got the bulletproof thing in the back. Fortunately, the only thing that doesn't work is the ejector seat. Although that could come in handy, depending on how the date is going, I suppose.
The current owner, Jerry Lee. He's actually from Philly. He's American. He bought it for $12,000 back in 1969. And he's selling it. Guess what he's going to get, do you think?
PHILLIPS: How much?
HOLMES: Five million dollars. Five million dollars. He hopes.
PHILLIPS: Gold digger is coming after his "Goldfinger" car.
HOLMES: It's going to be on 5 p.m. Eastern is the big auction. So, we'll see how much he gets.
PHILLIPS: Now, you're not an ugly dancer.
HOLMES: Oh, are you kidding? I am!
PHILLIPS: You can bust a move. You've got a little something something going on. I have seen you on the dance floor. HOLMES: It looks a little epileptic when I dance. So, it's not good.
PHILLIPS: This is in Germany.
HOLMES: Hamburg, and what you are seeing the Ugly Dance Contest. (INAUDIBLE) would call it the Ugly Dance World Cup, which is giving it a bit of gravitas it probably doesn't deserve.
PHILLIPS: And of course, no beer involved, right?
HOLMES: I would hope so. Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Yes, this is - these guys won. Teams from Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The whole thing being that they say it's easy to dance nice; it's difficult to dance ugly. I don't necessarily agree with that.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my. OK.
HOLMES: You are not going to see me doing any of that. I do look like that when I'm dancing sensibly, so yes.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Great to see you, Michael.
HOLMES: Good to see you again!
PHILLIPS: Come back and visit again.
HOLMES: Will do.
PHILLIPS: Bring us up to date.
HOLMES: OK.
PHILLIPS: All right. Terrific.
Internet voting being scaled back in some places. Here's why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nine million voters vote on a machine just like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FEYERICK: And yet you programmed it to play Pacman?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Half the challenge (ph) as some election officials rethinking the way ballots are cast.
And with just six days to go, well, it's an issue.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Just six days until the most important midterm election in a number of years, and there are questions about the security of your vote, whether you use electronic machines or vote via the Internet. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: In order to test the new Internet voting system for military and overseas ballots, the Washington, D.C. Board of Elections publicly challenged outsiders to hack in.
J. ALEX HALDERMAN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: And 36 hours after the server went public, we were in. We had complete control.
FEYERICK: For Professor J. Alex Halderman's team at University of Michigan it was like picking a cheap lock.
HALDERMAN: We could steal all the ballots, find out how everyone voted.
HALDERMAN: A security guard was unable to tell by looking at the box that we had hacked into it.
FEYERICK: They also discovered apparently they were not the only hackers.
HALDERMAN: We found evidence that real hackers from China and from Iran were also trying to penetrate the system.
FEYERICK: D.C. election officials quickly suspended Internet- based voting days before the election, but only for the time being.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found some vulnerabilities so we scaled back.
FEYERICK: Those who support Internet voting and voting by electronic machines say it's more efficient, more reliable, and easier to use.
HALDERMAN: A lot of voters are flocking to the touch screen voting equipment.
FEYERICK: But computer scientists like Halderman and colleague Ariel Feldman say electronic machines are just as easy to tamper with as the Internet.
FEYERICK (on camera): And nine million voters vote on a machine just like this?
ARIEL FELDMAN, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Yes.
FEYERICK: And yet you programmed it to play Pac-man?
FELDMAN: That's right.
FEYERICK: That's right, Pac-man.
FELDMAN: When you have a general purpose computer, if you replace its software you can completely change what it does.
FEYERICK: The brain of the touch screen machine --
FELDMAN: Take it out and this is just an ordinary memory card.
FEYERICK: And if that gets infected, watch out.
HALDERMAN: We have found that we can make a voting machine virus that will spread machine to machine and change the election outcome across all county, all state. This is very, very scary and it's a realistic threat today.
FEYERICK: And unlike the University of Michigan hackers who deliberately left the fight song as a fingerprint -
(MUSIC PLAYING)
FEYERICK: -- real hackers would strike, disappear, and likely leave no fingerprint at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And Deb Feyerick joining us live from New York. So, Deb, how long will it take to get the system security again?
FEYERICK: You know, this is what's so interesting is that they estimate it will take decades for Internet and electronic voting to really be secure. Right now, there are just too many ways in. Even though there's encryption, there are major people checking security, it is still just too difficult to keep everyone out. And that's why they were so surprised to find China and Iran in the same system they've been asked to crack.
PHILLIPS: Deb Feyerick, thanks so much.
And we're less than a week away now from the huge, potentially game changing midterm elections, and this means that the campaigner in chief has less than a week left to work his trusty metaphors. Have you noticed that he loves to talk about cars, ditches, Slurpees and lattes when he's slamming Republicans?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. The tornado warnings are continuing. This one in our hometown.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, getting a little closer to Atlanta within this watchbox. In effect again until 1:00, but the tornado warning out for Carroll, Coweta, Douglas and Fulton County for this cell that just moved to the south and east of Carrollton. And it's moving to the east at 30 miles an hour, so if it holds together, that would put it in the southern quadrant of Atlanta metro in the next 30 or 40 minutes.
And right now, the radar indicating it has some rotation. We don't have a tornado spotted on the ground, but strong rotation on this one, and those who live in the counties south and west of Atlanta, especially, should keep on the lookout and get inside until the storm passes.
We'll have more on the record-breaking storm throughout the morning. "AMERICAN MORNING" - or CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, listening to President Obama slam Republicans can make you kind of thirsty. Slurpees, lattes. Just a few of the weapons in his arsenal of metaphors. He's even got a thing for ditches. Jeanne Moos tries to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you want to see cars going into ditches, watch YouTube. But if you want to hear about them...
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They drove our economy into a ditch.
MOOS: ... listen to the president in speech after speech. Rescuing the car he says the Republicans crashed.
B. OBAMA: We put on our boots...
It's muddy down there.
It's dirty and dusty.
Bugs everywhere.
We're down there pushing, pushing.
Uh, shoving it.
MOOS: The Secret Service may not let the president drive more than a few feet, but he's been driving home this metaphor for months.
B. OBAMA: The Republicans are up there looking at us, sipping on their Slurpees.
MOOS: It's the big laugh line.
B. OBAMA: Sipping on a Slurpee.
Fanning themselves. Sipping on a Slurpee.
Saying you're not pushing hard enough.
MOOS: And we in the media are sucking it up.
(SOUND EFFECT: SLURPING)
MARK KNOLLER, CBS WHITE HOUSE RADIO CORRESPONDENT: President Obama is portraying a Slurpee as the official beverage of obstructionist Republican leaders.
MOOS: The folks at 7-Eleven, who sell Slurpees say, "We really appreciate President Obama giving the Slurpee free publicity." But they note the Slurpee is bipartisan.
(on camera) The next thing you know, the president changed gears by changing drinks.
B. OBAMA: You'd see the Republicans standing there, having a latte.
MOOS (voice-over): Then comes the president's punch line about the Republicans.
B. OBAMA: And then they got the nerve to ask for the keys back!
No! You can't have the keys back! You don't know how to drive.
MOOS: Critics say it's President Obama who's digging a deeper ditch: "I don't care if Bush drove you into the ditch. Stop digging!"
They say he's driving his analogy into a ditch. That he's driving the country off a cliff, as in "Thelma & Louise."
Lately, the president has embellished his story by telling Republicans...
B. OBAMA: We'll give you a ride if you want, but you got to sit in the back seat!
MOOS: As for what's on the Republicans menu...
(on camera) Slurpees, lattes, what's next?
(voice-over) A campaign condiment perhaps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But of course.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN...
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That does it for us. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
Tony, I used to love Slurpees as a kid.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Look, I still love a good Slurpee. Are you kidding me?
PHILLIPS: Yes. Got to do it half and half, though. Coke and cherry, that's the best.
HARRIS: Coke and cherry, that's right.
All right, Kyra. You have a great day.
PHILLIPS: All right. See you.
HARRIS: Take care.
