Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning: Wake Up Call
Perry, Romney Spar in GOP Debate; Hockey Players Die in Plane Crash; Nebraska Plant Named Among The Worst; Accused NASA Spy Pleads Guilty; Second Chance For Ohio Mom
Aired September 08, 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: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 8th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
You're probably going to hear a lot and read a lot today about the latest Republican presidential debate. Eight candidates went at it at the Reagan Library in California. Governor Rick Perry, the newcomer and the frontrunner, got his first chance to debate his rivals.
He and the ex-frontrunner Mitt Romney clashed over job creation. Romney, remember, was governor of Massachusetts. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Texas is a great state. Texas has zero income tax. Texas has a right to work state, a Republican legislature, a Republican Supreme Court. Texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground. Those are wonderful things.
But Governor Perry doesn't believe that he created those things. If he tried to say that, it would be like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt.
ROMNEY: Well, as a matter of fact, George bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did, Governor.
PERRY: That's not correct.
ROMNEY: Yes, it is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It was certainly spirited and that was 33 seconds of barbs.
There were six other candidates there but the debate looked like the Mitt and Rick show. We'll talk about that with Tim Farley. That's coming up in just a few minutes.
One thing all eight of those candidates agree on is President Obama. None of them thinks the president understands how to fix the economy.
Tonight, the president will had put his jobs plan before the public and a joint session of Congress. One Democratic source says the plan could top $400 billion. It includes a lot of infrastructure spending, money for state and local governments, and targeted tax cuts.
We're told it would be paid for in part by closing corporate loop holes and raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The president's address is tonight at 7:00 Eastern. CNN's live coverage begins an hour earlier at 6:00 Eastern.
Today, the so-called super committee holds its first meeting in Washington. That's the deficit posse, set as part of last month's debt ceiling agreement. Twelve members of both houses of Congress, half Democrats, half Republicans, assigned to come up with a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction plan by November 23rd. They get started at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
A Medicare fraud posse has its hands full. Federal agents have busted 70 alleged Medicare crooks in the last couple days, including doctors and nurses. They're accused of ripping off the government to the tune of $300 million in bogus claims. The assistant attorney general said this, quote, "From Brooklyn to Miami to Los Angeles, the defendants allegedly treated the Medicare program like a personal piggy bank," end quote. Officials say the schemes involved services like home health care and psychotherapy, as well as medical devices.
Authorities in Carson City, Nevada, have released 911 calls from the shooting rampage Tuesday at an IHOP restaurant. A gunman shot 11 people with an assault rifle, including several members of the Nevada National Guard. Three Guard members died along with a civilian woman. The suspect killed himself in the parking lot.
Listen to one of the frantic 911 calls.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: IHOP. Get there right now. Automatic weapons.
911: How many? Is it inside?
CALLER: I don't know. Saw one guy going in. He's coming back out with a gun. He's shooting people in the parking lot. He's got an automatic weapon. Get out of there.
911: We're on the way.
CALLER: Ryan, move!
(GUNFIRE)
CALLER: He's shooting at us now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Authorities are still trying to figure out a motive. The suspect did not have a criminal history. His family members said he had a history of mental health problems, though.
And in Texas, an elite search team is helping to look for people who might be trapped in the huge wildfire near Austin. The fire has killed two people and destroyed 576 homes so far. One county official expects more homes will burn.
The cause of the fire still unclear, but a separate fire about an hour away could have been caused by arson. Investigators think four teenagers started it in a wooded area. That fire reached the subdivision and wiped out 11 homes.
Just more than a week after Irene came through, what's left of tropical storm Lee is hanging over the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. It's bringing heavy rain and more potential flooding from Washington to New England.
So, let's head to Atlanta and check things out with Rob Marciano.
Oh, I'm tired of hurricane season.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, it's -- we're already into the end and we've really only had two impactful storms in the U.S. but they've been big impacts including Irene and tropical Storm Lee which has kind of wandered onshore. But we knew the moisture from this thing would be a big deal and it has turned out to be that way. Video for you out of eastern Pennsylvania where flooding is becoming a huge issue.
This is shot from yesterday and the pictures I'm sure we'll get out of other places this morning will be much, much worse because it's done nothing but rain nonstop overnight.
The Susquehanna, the Schuylkill and Swatara (ph), some of the smaller creeks just getting into record flood stage.
Upstate New York, up the Susquehanna Valley through Binghamton, they're seeing big-time flooding as well. Middleburg seeing it also and the rains continue.
All right. Here are the flood watches and warnings posted for the Northeast. The green means you got river flooding and -- where is my clicker?
All right. If we can take GR-107 that would be sweet and get the right source up there. We've got flash flood warnings posted for a good chunk of the I-95 corridor, including Philly is under a flash flood warning right now and New York City getting a fair amount of rainfall at the moment.
Here's the radar. Looking for some big-time rain across parts of the Northeast and as that happens, we're going to see some travel delays as well. There you go.
The other issues we're looking at Maria, named yesterday. That's way out there in the Atlantic Ocean. Maria is going to make a run at the U.S. after it skims the Caribbean Islands. There are some of the rainfall totals we expect today and your delays across the Northeast, Detroit, New York and Boston. And here is your forecast track form Maria.
Nate, though, was formed yesterday afternoon and last night. This is one is a little bit closer to home and through the southern Gulf of Mexico. This, you know, a long shot, Carol, but, you know, in an ideal world maybe we'll get some of the moisture from this through Texas. But right now, our computer models aren't showing that. We'll keep you updated on Nate which right now preliminary forecasts bring it into Mexico over the weekend.
COSTELLO: Did you find your clicker?
MARCIANO: No.
COSTELLO: Just like a man.
MARCIANO: And even the school old way of just hitting the space bar is not working this morning. So, we're off to a good start here, Carol. We'll see you in a half hour.
COSTELLO: I was going to say, just like a man to lose his clicker, but I won't make fun of you this morning even though I just did. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you, Carol.
COSTELLO: The top GOP candidates debated last night, but it's not what they said that has comedians talking. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, COMEDIAN: I don't know if you've seen all the candidates together in one place, but they look like castaways on an old sitcom. You know? Yes, the billionaire, the movie star, the professor, the skipper there.
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: It's not the most impressive field of candidates. Watch these candidates. It's kind of like when Apple unveils a new iPhone, party is going, maybe if I wait a while, a better one will come out.
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: It's hard to keep track of what all these candidates stand for. Even for them. Because there are a lot of them right now and -- look at this.
ANNOUNCER: Tonight, from the Ronald Reagan Library, a Republican presidential debate. Michele Bachmann. Newt Gingrich. This guy. There he is. Yes. He might be one. And Mitt Romney.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Oh. Surely people know Ron Paul.
The story of the Apple iPhone 5 lost in a bar is far from over. Find out why police in San Francisco are now launching a new investigation.
But, first, check out the quote of the day. This is the quote. "If Barack Obama remained roughly where he is now, sure, I think I could beat him," end quote. Find out who said that coming up in 90 seconds. It's probably not who you're thinking it is.
It's nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 10 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to your quote of the day. Quote, "If Barack Obamas remained roughly where he is now, sure, I think I could beat him," end quote.
That was former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He said that to our own Piers Morgan and he said it just last night. He was talking about a presidential bid and if he might, you know, kind of ran, he could probably win.
Apple and Nike are making our high-tech headlines at this hour. So, let's head straight to Hong Kong and Kristie Lu Stout.
This Apple thing is getting weirder and weirder.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Weirder and weirder. And new twist in the story, Carol. Now, police in San Francisco, they have launched an investigation into the search of a man's home by Apple employees. Last month, two Apple investigators, they searched a man's home looking for what is believed to be a prototype of the next iPhone, which was lost in a bar.
Now, the man told "S.F. Weekly" that he consented to the search when the investigators identified themselves as police. And he said it was not clear the pair searching his home were from Apple and he would not have authorized the search if he had known. The police, they are not adding any comment. Apple has declined to offer its side of the story. It's not going to go away, this story -- Carol.
COSTELLO: No, I don't think so either. Let's talk about something really, really fascinating, though. Nike is going to introduce these self-lace-up shoes. It just sounds so back-to-to the future for me. Remember that movie? Let's remember together, shall we?
STOUT: Of course. Let's remember together. It's one of the best movies ever.
Nike has reached out to a few select shoe nerds with a most interesting invitation. It came in a box and inside the box, a number of things but 1980s candy and a personal message on an iPod from Doc Brown. Now, these shoe nerds, they have been invited to, quote, "an unveiling that could change the course of time."
Carol, one year ago, bloggers caught on to Nike filing a patent for self-lacing sneakers like the pair Marty McFly wore in "Back to the Future 2." Now, if this invite is any indication, seems the year in the movie, which is 2015, is now closer than when think. And everything will be unveiled tonight at a private reception in Hollywood. Carol, if only we could be there.
COSTELLO: I know. I wish I could. That seems so lazy to me, but still kind of cool.
Kristie Lu Stout, thanks as always.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Eight candidates debated, but two seemed to steal the show at last night's GOP debate. So, has it really come down to a two-person race? We'll take a closer look.
It's 13 minutes past the hour.
Oh, but first, today is your day to ask for forgiveness. I'm sorry. I forget to say this.
September 8th is National Pardon Day. Actually started back in 1974 when President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.
Thirteen minutes past the hour. And I'm sorry you have to wake up this early.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Washington, D.C. Good morning to you.
New polls have shown President Obama isn't doing so hot when it comes to his approval rating and comedians certainly have taken notice.
Your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
KIMMEL: This has been a rough summer for President Obama. Once again, his approval rating has hit an all-time low. Right now, his approval rating is somewhere between "Teen Mom" and "Sex in the City 2."
LENO: Things are not looking good for President Obama. He's getting hammered in the polls. And, you know, for a couple years there, nobody touched him. Now, I think these people who do the polls, I think they are starting to pile on.
Take a look this lady.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Obama is expected to speak about the economy and job creation on Thursday. But a new "Washington Post" poll shows confidence in his abilities has hit a new low.
Sixty-two percent say they disapprove of his handling of the economy, 47 percent can't stand the president's painting, 41 percent say his jump shot is terrible, 37 percent disapprove of how the president consumes a chili dog, 27 percent dislike his pre-golf ritual, and 34 percent don't care for his treatment of flies.
LENO: It just seems --
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Oh, I really enjoy that, Tim Farley. Tim Farley joins us now, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS. Did you watch the big GOP debate last night?
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS XM POTUS: Here for every minute, did a postgame wrap-up, if you will. Quite an evening of I think dynamic discussion, wouldn't you say, Carol?
COSTELLO: Absolutely. I was -- I thought it was really quite interesting. Before we get down to our debate, let's talk about their debate.
The Republican frontrunner Rick Perry made his debate debut last night. He clashed with Mitt Romney over Social Security and called it, again, a Ponzi scheme. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: It is a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today you're paying into a program that's going to be there. Anybody that's for the status quo with Social Security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids and it's not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. Tim, that probably played to the base, but not so much to other kinds of voters. What do you think?
FARLEY: Well, even Republican strategists that I've spoken to in the brief period of time between the debate and now seem to think this would be a problem for Rick Perry in some of those Republican states where there are significant numbers of retirees. For example, Florida, which is a big state, and if he needs to get the nomination he's obviously going to have to do well in states like that, Pennsylvania and so on. It is something that I think he's going have to do a little more explaining about, the word Ponzi scheme and monstrous lie, which the other term that Governor Perry used.
And Mitt Romney was quick, by the way, to sound almost Reagan- esque, if you will, in his defense of Social Security, not necessarily as a handout, but rather as a safety net which is the original design of the program.
So, I don't think Americans are against Social Security. Polls don't seem to indicate that. Rick Perry may be flying in the face of those polls even among Republican faithful. It could be a problem for him moving forward, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. Mitt Romney also says maybe we should fix Social Security, not annihilate it, something like that.
Another hot topic both men talked about and sparred over was the jobs creation issue.
Here's Romney challenging Perry on that issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Texas is a great state. Texas has zero income tax. Texas has a right to work state, a Republican legislature, a Republican Supreme Court. Texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground. Those are wonderful things.
But Governor Perry doesn't believe that he created those things. If he tried to say that, it would be like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And then, of course, Perry responded by saying, Michael Dukakis created more jobs in Massachusetts than you did, Mitt Romney. It was an interesting exchange, though. Which side won?
FARLEY: Yes. Mitt Romney hit back and said George Bush created more jobs in Texas than you did or at a faster rate. One thing that did strike me about this, because this discussion about jobs is very germane to what president is talking about tonight, and that is that both Governor Romney, former governor, and Governor Perry, and former Governor Huntsman were able to point to their record of job creation. That left people like Michele Bachmann somewhat out of the mix and Ron Paul, Washingtonians.
And in a sense, it's sort of separated Rick Perry and Mitt Romney from the pack. You mentioned this at the top of the show, turned into almost a two-man show. I did talk to a lot of, again, people who follow this very closely and there seems to be an agreement that we saw the eventual Republican nominee on the stage last night, although there are not too many people who are willing to say it is just a two-person race but it seems to be closer to that, Carol.
COSTELLO: Just briefly on the subject of Michele Bachmann, she did so well in her first debate appearance. This time she just seemed, I don't know, she just paled when it came to, you know --
FARLEY: They didn't ask her the questions either. I mean, they didn't direct questions to her, number one.
And, number two, I think there was a sense people now expect a little more of her. When she first appeared, it was a sense that she was kind of a cartoonish character and she dispelled those myths fairly quickly. But now, perhaps, they expect a little more than some of the talking points and she seems very adept at delivering those and looks good. But there seems to be a lack of depth and that's one of the things.
But the big problem she just didn't get the questions last night, so she didn't get a chance to respond.
COSTELLO: Yes. The first question posed to Michele Bachmann came 14 minutes into the debate. So, you're right about that.
FARLEY: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Tim Farley, enjoyed it as always. Thanks so much.
FARLEY: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Remember CNN's Tea Party Republican debate is coming your way this Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Several hockey players with ties to the National Hockey League killed in a plane crash. We'll have more details on what happened. That's coming up after this quick break.
It's 21 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 23 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Thanks for joining us this morning. Let's head around the world now with Zain Verjee. She's live in London.
Good morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Carol.
We want to focus a little bit about what happened in Russia. There was that really tragic plane crash and most of the victims that were killed were actually team members of a hockey team and it was -- it's just so sad. It's unclear exactly what the cause was.
We want to show you pictures, too, of a vigil, Carol, that's being held by fans that went to a stadium. They lit candles. They put the hockey team scarves there, placed flowers, too.
You know, part of the problem with some of these Russian planes, there's always a question about their safety of these passenger planes. So that's being thrown into question. But it's a really tragic story for Russia and the Russian leader gave his condolences -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And for hockey fans in the United States, three of those players played on the Detroit Red Wings. So, we're grieving here as well.
Let's talk about Mexico because the Mexican government, correct me if I'm wrong, but they're training their residents to use guns to protect themselves?
VERJEE: Yes. That's exactly right. They're doing this in Garcia in Mexico, and it's a course they're offering. It's a new one and it's free.
And so, anyone who has a weapon, who has a permit, can be trained how to use it effectively because a lot of people just want to defend their families because of al the violence that's been going on in different parts of Mexico. So, what they're doing is that they're offering these courses and they've got something like 3,000 people that have already signed up, engineers, school teachers, and even housewives, who have handguns.
So, this is a new project that they hope will be effective and that will allow people to use guns effectively.
COSTELLO: Wow. Zain Verjee, reporting live from London, thanks so much.
It's submerged in floodwaters for days. Now, a Nebraska nuclear power plant has been rated among the worst in the country. The big concern about that just ahead.
It's 25 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 8th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me this morning.
It is just about half past the hour.
Just more than a week after Irene came roaring through, what's left of tropical storm Lee is hanging over the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. It's bringing more heavy rain and more potential flooding from Washington to New England.
And a pair of tropical storms have now popped up on the radar. Maria is out in the Atlantic and Nate is in the southern Gulf of Mexico. It's likely to hit Mexico by this weekend.
A Nebraska nuclear power plant has been named one of the worst in the nation for its safety systems. There have been concerns about the Fort Calhoun plant since it's flooded back in June. Now, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released a report claiming the plant doesn't have adequate procedures in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE RANNISTER, CHIEF NUCLEAR OPERATOR: We will not restart that plant until it's safe to do so, until we've inspected every system, we've looked at every, you know, structure system and component to ensure that plant is safe before we start it back up.
(ENDVIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: On a scale of A to F, the NRC gave the plant a D, as in dog, putting it in the bottom two of the nation's 104 nuclear power plants.
A Former NASA scientist has pleaded guilty to attempted espionage. Stuart David Nozette was accused of trying to sell classified information to Israel about American military satellites in 2009. The crime was caught on FBI undercover surveillance. He pleaded guilty in exchange for a 13-year sentence.
A Washington state man has pleaded guilty to planning an explosive device during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day march. Kevin Harpham was accused of placing the device along the parade route last January in Spokane, Washington. Authorities describe him as a white supremacist. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
One drink a day may improve the overall health of older woman. That's according to researchers at the Harvard Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston. They based their conclusion on the study of more than 100,000 females (ph). The thing to keep in mind, moderation is the key.
All right. This next story will definitely be a talker today. It's another black eye for pageant moms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here comes pretty woman, Paisley.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Who watches this stuff, anyway? This is three-year-old Paisley. Her mom, Wendy, dressed her up as a prostitute for the hit reality show "Toddlers and Tiaras." The outfit is based on Julia Roberts character in "Pretty Woman." Mom tells TMZ she sees nothing wrong with it, adding her toddler has no idea that she was actually dressed as a prostitute. Wow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A new report is out that shows the United States is slipping when compared to other world economies. We'll talk about what categories are causing the United States to slip. It's 32 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 33 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. For morning money news, let's head to Christine Romans. She's here in New York with me. So, Christine, the president's big speech slated for later today, tonight, at 7:00 p.m. eastern or 7:30 p.m. eastern to be exact. So, what do investors want to hear from the president tonight?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They want to hear there's money moving throughout the economy. They want to hear that the government has got some efficient and targeted ways and means to get the jobs market growing, and they want to hear that there's not going to be a complete political disharmony and discord in Washington to get it done.
And there were some hopes yesterday in the market that that would happen, and that's one of the reasons why they were higher. Hopes that the president can find some things that -- and some ways, I guess, to get Republicans on board with his plan and get money moving again and get jobs created -- Carol.
COSTELLO: There's already been some movement in the stock market because things have been slipping out about the president's speech. Is that heartening?
ROMANS: It's heartening to those who want to see money flowing. And here's something interesting, from the AFL-CIO, right, on the left, all the way over to the Chamber of Commerce on the right, you've got agreement for infrastructure spending, agreement for some kinds of targeted tax cuts. You've got the big business community in terms of some of the lobby groups on board with the president, some of the things that he wants to do.
The question is, does politics get in the way and campaign trail politics get in the way. Are you starting to find some common ground on some ways we can get jobs growing. Remember, Carol, the stimulus, it promised -- the White House promised if we passed stimulus and all that money spent that the unemployment rate would stay below eight percent, but that didn't happen.
And that's something that is going to be one of the criticisms, I'm sure, of anything the president comes up with, because they promised before that it would work and it didn't.
COSTELLO: Well, at least there's some agreement between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO.
ROMANS: I know. Can you believe it?
COSTELLO: I know. That's a little bright note before we get to this next topic. This new report that shows the United States is slipping when compared to other world economies. Explain.
ROMANS: Well, in 2008, the U.S. was the world's most competitive economy, and after the financial crisis, it has now slipped to number five. The bottom line here is that below as you can see, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, and Finland, way down the list to number 26. China is moving up. The bottom line here is that developed economies are moving down the list. Developing economies are moving up the list and becoming much more competitive. The problem in the U.S. is economic vulnerabilities according to the World Economic Forum who put this together, Carol. And some aspects of low public trust in our politicians and our institutions and concerns about government inefficiency, anemic growth. The very things that we're fighting about and the gridlock we're talking about in Washington also at play in these numbers.
I'm going to tell you, I think that the way that Congress -- the way that Congress is behaving now is hurting America, and this is another example of that.
COSTELLO: Christine Romans, I'll see you in a bit. Thanks so much.
From gold medal -- from a gold metal to steel handcuffs, I should say. In two minutes, we'll tell you about the former Olympic gymnast who lost his balance in the back of a police car.
But first, check out our "Get Smart" question. According to a survey done by IBM, which U.S. city ranks the worst for commuting? As in in your car commuting. Is it A. Los Angeles, is it B. New York City, or C. Chicago? We'll have the answer coming up in two minutes. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 39 minutes past the hour. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Now, back to our "Get Smart" question. Which U.S. city ranks as the worst city for commuting? Is it A. Los Angeles, B. New York City, or C. Chicago? The answer is -- Los Angeles.
IBM did a global survey of 20 cities around the world. American cities didn't even make it into the top ten of the worst city. The worst city for commuters around the world is Mexico City. If that makes you feel any better.
Presidential hopefuls squared off in a debate last night at the Reagan Presidential Library in California, but, it was Mitt Romney and Texas governor, Rick Perry, who stole the show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We created more jobs in the last three months in Texas than he created in four years in Massachusetts.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Texas is a great state. Texas has zero income tax. Texas has a right to work state, a Republican legislature, a Republican Supreme Court. Texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground. Those are wonderful things, but Governor Perry doesn't believe that he created those things. If he tried to say that, it would be like Al Gore saying invented the internet.
PERRY: Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt. ERICK ERICKSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF REDSTATE.COM: It's very clear that this is a two-man race now. Perry stumbled. It's very clear he wasn't that comfortable with the format. Mitt Romney has been in the dog and pony show like this since 2007. Perry is just getting in, but there wasn't a major stumble, I think, to throw Perry off.
And, I, for the longest time, hesitated saying he actually is the frontrunner just because the polls say so, but, clearly, the pile on tonight by everyone else shows that they all perceive him as the frontrunner, and I don't think they knocked him off tonight, but he definitely needs to get on his game a little better than he did tonight.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Cornell, I mean, Governor Perry, himself, said he felt like the pinata there. Were his opponents effective at stemming his momentum?
CORNELL BELCHER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think there are a couple of things about this. I think the lead will be Ponzi scheme. I think the Romney camp is jumping on it.
COOPER: Explain that what Romney said because --
BELCHER: He -- Perry referred to Social Security as a giant Ponzi scheme, and basically, you know, when given opportunities, say, well, Dick Cheney doesn't even think it's a Ponzi scheme, he thinks it's an important program, he didn't back away from it. He went all- in on the idea that Social Security has been bad from the beginning as a giant Ponzi scheme, which quite frankly, you know, it is just the Middle America doesn't think that it's a Ponzi scheme.
And I think, when you talk about his electability, I think the Romney camp has got a real opening here to say to Republican voters, look, this guy is not electable with this sort of thinking that is outside of American mainstream. I think that was a major stumbling block.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Candidates will meet up again at CNN's Tea Party Republican debate, and you can watch that live right here next Monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
Let's take a quick look at sports, shall we? Starting with the big news out of Indianapolis. Star quarterback, Peyton Manning, injured and possibly done for the season. The Colts have said Manning will miss Sunday's opener for sure. It will be the first time he's missed a start in his 13-year career.
Boxer, Oscar De La Hoya, stirred up some eyebrows when pictures of him dressed in drag surfaced a few years ago. That, obviously, is not the picture of him in drag. He denied he was the guy wearing fish nets and lingerie, but "The New York Post" reports that Oscar De La Hoya now is admitting that, "yes, that was me." He says he had been drinking and taking cocaine. De La Hoya checked himself into rehab in May. An Olympic gold metal gymnast, Paul Hamm, the star of some police dash cam video out of Columbus, Ohio. Hamm was arrested after he allegedly smacked a cabbie, refused to pay him, and damaged his cab. Then, he gave police a hard time as they arrested him. Hamm works as an assistant gymnastics coach at Ohio State. The school plans to wait to see how the criminal case goes before deciding his fate.
Coming up in a few minutes, we'll tell you about a couple of new tropical storms that have popped up on the radar.
And before we go, on this day in history, back in 1664, the Big Apple got its name. It was originally named New Amsterdam after it was purchased from the -- purchased by the Dutch from Native Americans, but once it was -- once it was overthrown by the English in 1664, the name was changed to New York. It was named in honor of the duke of York who led the mission to overthrow the Dutch. Now, you know. It's 43 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 8th. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. It is 46 minutes past the hour.
Let's head around the world with Zain Verjee. She's live in London. First up is this strange new home video of Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, or should I say ousted Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. He's frolicking with his grandkids.
VERJEE: Yes. Let's just take a look at the video, Carol. This was shot around 2005. It's home video in his compound that was known as Bab al-Aziziya, and, here we see a doting grandpa Gadhafi playing with one of his grandchildren there. And you can't hear the banter on this video, but basically, he says don't you love me, and his granddaughter says no, and then, he says, why, do you hate me? Am I not good? Am I not sweet? And she goes, no.
The rest of the tape just shows him being very affectionate and one portion of the tape cutting some food for one of his grandkids. One of his sons also appears to be in this video as well, but this is a totally different side to Gadhafi that we've seen. He ruled with an iron fist and was a very brutal regime that he presided over.
COSTELLO: So, why did this pop up, this video?
VERJEE: More than likely it was actually found by Reuters, and this was exclusive video by them. It probably popped up just the way everything else has popped up, just sifting through a lot of the stuff in the bombed out remains and destroyed remains of his home.
COSTELLO: Got you. OK. Let's talk about this story. This story out of France, where --
VERJEE: Let's talk about it.
(LAUGHTER) COSTELLO: I'll let you talk about it.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: Let's talk about sex. So, basically, Carol, what happened is, this woman was upset that her husband wasn't having enough sex with her, so she took him to court, and yes, it's in France. And the French judge citing article 215 of France's civil code said married couples have to agree to communal life which means having sexual relations.
And so, he made the man pay damages to his wife, something like more than $10,000. She said that she was married to him for 21 years and wasn't getting enough. He says that he had health problems, and he was also too tired sometimes -- Carol.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: And I bet he really wants to have sex with her now.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Zain Verjee.
VERJEE: Yes. Important stuff I'm following. Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes. OK. Let's talk about Ohio governor, John Kasich, because he's giving a mom who lied to get her kids into a better performing school, he's giving her a second chance. The governor has reduced Kelly Williams-Bolar's two felony convictions to misdemeanors. He says the punishment just didn't fit the crime. The mom's attorneys say the reprieve will let her finish college and become a licensed teacher.
Federal agents have busted 70 alleged Medicare crooks in the last couple of days, including doctors and nurses. They're accused of ripping off the government to the tune of $300 million in bogus claims. The assistant attorney general said this, quote, "from Brooklyn to Miami to Los Angeles, the defendants allegedly treated the Medicare program like a personal piggy bank," end quote.
And in Texas, an elite search team is helping look for people who might be trapped in that huge wildfire near Austin. That fire has killed two people and destroyed 576 homes, so far. One county official expects more homes will burn. The cause of the fire still unclear, but a separate fire about an hour away could have been caused by arson. Investigators think four teenagers started it in a wooded area. That fire reached a subdivision and wiped out 11 homes.
Just more than a week after Irene came roaring through, what's left of tropical storm Lee is dumping its leftover rain on the mid- Atlantic and the northeast. So, let's head to Atlanta and check in with Rob Marciano. When will it stop?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Boy, you know, we're hoping it would be stopped by now, but it certainly has at least another 12 hours to rain itself out. Take a look at some of the rain totals across parts of the northeast. We're seeing some serious flooding right now across Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, upstate New York as well, and D.C. had a horrible rush hour yesterday afternoon, and it's not getting any better this morning.
Eight to nine inches in some of these spots, and it's still coming down. So, flash flood warnings in the red there. A good -- a lot of the Shenandoah, Susquehanna Valley, and even east of there, we're seeing some heavy rain including some of the major cities. So, there you go. There's the radar. A lot of it coming down right now. Be prepared as you head out the door. It's going to be a slow go.
Notice, it's not really making much progress to the east, so it will be with us for at least 12 hours, maybe more than that. Delays at the airports as well. Detroit, New York, Boston, D.C., and pHilly, everything you saw there on the radar still, plus, San Francisco. All right. Let's break down the tropics. We've got Katia, a hurricane going to miss us, but big waves. We've got tropical storm Maria, which probably will remain a tropical storm, but that may make a better run at the U.S.
We're hoping that peels off as well. More immediate concern is what happened overnight last night, tropical storm Nate, which is brewing down there in the southern Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Campeche. Forecast to become a hurricane and likely go into Mexico some time over the weekend, but I should warn you that our computer models are all over the place with that one. So, that is not a slam dunk and not -- hoping to get some of that moisture into Texas, but there are certainly no guarantee of that.
All right. Rocket fans, space fans, GRAIL going to be going up, hopefully, at 8:37 eastern time. There it is on the launch pad down there at KSC. It is -- everything's got an acronym, Carol. So, GRAIL stands for gravity, recovery, and interior laboratory. I don't know how they get interior from something that's going to be orbiting the moon, but basically, this puppy goes up, and then, two spaceships kind of separate from it, and they orbit the moon in tandem, and they're basically going to x-ray the moon.
We know so much about the surface of the moon, obviously, from manned missions and the like, but we don't know much about the core of it, what it's made of. So, they're going to take measurements over the next few years and try to figure that out. So, who doesn't love a rocket launch there, Carol. We hope to cover it live for you at 8:37. Hopefully, everything pans out. Of course, there's a lot of variables that go into that.
COSTELLO: Yes. They all have to do with weather. So, it's up to you, Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: We're working on it.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much.
MARCIANO: All right. You bet. COSTELLO: Time to take a look at the word of the day. Actually, it's an acronym. You heard Rob say it, everything is an acronym, right? The acronym, is UARS. Find out what it means and why you need to know right after this break. It's 52 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Four minutes until the top of the hour. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Now, back to our word of the day. Actually it's an acronym this morning. UARS. It stands for upper atmosphere research satellite. The 60-ton piece of equipment from NASA is scheduled to fall through earth's atmosphere sometime late this month or early next month, but the kicker is NASA doesn't really know exactly when it will fall back to earth or where.
Most of the satellite will reportedly burn up in the atmosphere, but not all of it. NASA will release more information to the public tomorrow, but they tell us the risk to your property or your person is extremely small.
The post office could be facing a default. Although, it's bad news for many people, it's good material for comedians. Here's what Jon Stewart and David Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: The post office has come up with its own plan to fight back against the e-mail. Let's see if it works. Watch this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The post office is giving customers what they want with our own quick, efficient new e-mail service. It's easy to use. First, type a text of your e-mail on your computer, save it to a USPS approved floppy disk, which then must be packed in an official e- mail disk shipping box, and bring it to your local post office along with the recipient's address.
Select, priority, first class, second class, or medium mail for deliveries to the USPS central e-mail processing center in Eugene, Oregon. Within three to 14 business days, the e-mail disk will be hand delivered to your recipient's homes or business address. The recipient then inserts the disk in their own computer, opens the file, and read your e-mail. It's just that simple.
Without major and fast Congressional action, some suggest the postal service could shut down altogether by winter.
JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART: All it takes is major and fast Congressional action? Well, let's just shut that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) down now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: All right. Let's head to Carter Evans for a look at your money this morning. He joins us live from the NASDAQ MarketSite here in New York. Good morning, Carter. CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Nice to have a little comic relief. Hey, so, we've got a couple of reports coming up this morning, couple of very important. The weekly unemployment numbers, consumer credit, that's very important, also the trade balance today. We're going to find out what that is.
So, ahead of all of that and the president's speech, let's not forget. Look at this, futures just barely on the positive side. Dow futures up 5, NASDAQ up a fraction, S&P 500 up about 3.5. So, things kind of hanging in the balance right now.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about Bank of America, because there's something of a shakeup --
EVANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: There's a lot of things shaking up at Bank of America, but this may signal something bigger. Tell us what.
EVANS: Well, there are very big changes going on right now in Bank of America. It could look very different when this is all over. Right now, the company is shaking up the executive ranks. It effectively split the bank into two units, one for its business and the other for its consumer units. It's making a lot of changes right now. It could lead to more layoffs, perhaps, hundreds of bank closures, one of the big stories this morning on CNNMoney.com -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Carter Evans live from the NASDAQ MarketSite, thanks to you as always.
"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
