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American Morning: Wake Up Call
Killing of Exotic Animals Criticized; Greece Paralyzed; Michael Jackson Death Trial; Fourth Suspect Taken Into Custody; State Dept.: New Talks Next Week
Aired October 20, 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: Right now, the immediate danger is over in eastern Ohio after dozens of wild animals were on the loose. The question now is, will Ohio change its laws? You will hear from the governor.
Live pictures out of Greece. More than 100,000 people are in the streets protesting the government's austerity plan. What it means for you here in the United States.
Plus, researchers are making a connection between the number of your Facebook friends and your brain. Really?
Good morning to you. It is Thursday, October 20th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York this morning.
The state of Ohio coming under fire after the killing of dozens of exotic and rare wild animals. Officials say Terry Thompson released 56 animals from his private preserve about 55 miles east of Columbus on Tuesday and then he killed himself.
We want to warn you, some of the images you are about to see are quite graphic.
Officials killed 49 of those animals, including lions, bears, leopards and 18 endangered Bengal tigers. Six other animals were captured.
Officials say only a monkey has not been accounted for. It might have been eaten by one of the other animals.
The Humane Society lashed out at the governor for allowing a statewide ban on the buying and selling exotic animals to expire in April. The governor says that's about to change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: Obviously, we're going to move faster now. And at the end of the day, there will be legislation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Officials say they had no choice but to kill the animals because of the danger they posed to the public.
Now, the man who owned those animals was released from prison just a few weeks ago. Terry Thompson served a year for possessing illegal firearms. He and his estranged wife kept the animals in cages on a 73-acre private reserve. Friends say they were animal lovers but he, Thompson, had been convicted of animal cruelty. Officials have not said what might have caused him to kill himself.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning for talks with Afghan president and other top officials there. She's expected to assure President Karzai that the United States remains committed to the reconciliation efforts in the nation. They're also expected to talk about Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan. Clinton's visit come as the nation pursues peace with the Taliban after the longest war in U.S. history.
Tens of thousands of angry Greek protesters are jamming the streets of Athens this morning. Take a look. These are live pictures of the protesters gathered outside the parliament building, all part of a second day of a general strike. Protesters are venting their rage over a new tough round of budget-cutting measures aimed at reducing the huge national debt.
The government says the move is imperative in order to secure continued payment from an international bailout fund.
New developments this morning in the deadliest attack on a U.S. military helicopter in the Afghan war. These are the first pictures released by the Defense Department on the downing of a U.S. chopper back in August. All 38 people on board were killed, including 22 Navy SEALs. The SEALs had been called in to reinforce other troops already under fire. Just before landing, the chopper was hit by rocket- propelled grenades fired by the Taliban.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains how it all went down.
We don't have that. I apologize for that.
The report also says the Taliban commander in the United States was -- that they were pursuing, turned out to pose mainly a local threat. In other words, they were chasing another helicopter that did not pose a major threat.
Barbara Starr, we have it now. She'll explain more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The steep mountain valley gave the Taliban the critical edge to see what was coming at them. Investigators were told, quote, "There's two ways in, two ways out, north or south." As was routine even with this area full of Taliban troops and weapons, U.S. military planners were not given critical information about the helicopter's specific route. Information that could have further helped avoid risk. One of them told investigators, quote, "One of the outcomes of this was, hey, we have been asking for it, but we never received it. Now, we are getting them."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right. The report also says the Taliban commander the U.S. was pursuing turned out to pose mainly a local threat. He was killed last month in combat operations. But by the time that the chopper came in for the landing, many of the Taliban fighters had been killed or captured.
Officials are pointing to a possible cause of the deadly listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe. The Food and Drug Administrations says it may be due to unsanitary conditions at a Colorado farm's packing facility. At least 25 people have died from the outbreak.
In another development, the Centers for Disease Control and Development says the number of new cases appear to be diminishing. However, the CDC says it's too early to declare the outbreak officially over.
The cast of the CBS show "Happy Days" maybe singing the blues this morning. A California judge has thrown out their claim that the network committed fraud by not paying them for merchandising sales. The cast was seeking $10 million. The ruling means that the case will go forward only with a breach of contract suit, thus preventing the actors from receiving punitive damages.
CBS says it's thrilled by the court's ruling. The attorneys for the actors say they'll push forward with the lawsuit. The trial is scheduled to start in June of next year.
Now, let's head to Atlanta and check in with Reynolds Wolf.
Any problems at the airports this morning?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're going to see quite a few, especially in Chicago. In fact, as we take a look at the map, you see them stack up one after the other. Let's take the graphics full screen.
And there you see Chicago -- one of the biggest culprits of your delays is going to be the gusty winds, a little bit of rain in there mixed in. In New York metros, wind, morning showers. In D.C. metros, all of them and in Philadelphia, the wind will keep you grounded on the tarmac. Some of the delays just under an hour but they give you a few pains here and there. In Boston, Detroit, basically the same situation, delays under an hour in both those locations.
Now, in terms of your temperatures, a lot of people are waking up this morning with things well below normal. In fact, take a look at the morning lows in the upper 20s, across much of the upper Midwest and Center Plains. We can expect these temperatures remain much in place all through parts of the mid-South and the Deep South, all the way through Friday morning.
Now, keep in mind, something else we have. Of course, the cool temperatures not just across the Northern Plains, but back into Central Rockies, Denver, Colorado, you're waking up with 37 degrees, 50 in Albuquerque, 61 in Los Angeles, 55 in Portland and 60 in Washington, 66 in Miami, 54 in Boston, and 67 in New York City at this time.
Hey, we're waking up also to a neat discovery. Check this out. A Viking warrior grave discovered, this one in Edinburgh, Scotland or near Scotland. In fact, on a remote peninsula on the west coast of Scotland, they found a Viking sword, an ax head and a bronze ring pin discovered. They believe this was actually a warrior. The grave is pretty big, too. In fact, it's about five meters in width, a really big area.
And looking through the checklist of the Viking sword, ax head, and bronze ring pin, I mean, what better way to start off your day with the bronze ring pin. I mean, it doesn't matter what's happening. As long as you got one of those, life is beautiful.
By the way, I wish, Carol, had I known this story was coming up, I would have worn my Viking helmet. But, you know? Hey!
COSTELLO: Oh, darn! Darn!
WOLF: I was looking for an excuse to wear it, too. I mean, hey, come on! Hopefully, we can rerun the story at some point. I'll bring it in. You can see the horns. Good stuff.
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm kind of glad I didn't see that.
WOLF: Oh, come on. It's good times.
COSTELLO: I'm just trying to imagine that right now.
WOLF: A little bit of nightmare in your morning hour, yes.
COSTELLO: Yes. Reynolds Wolf, thank you so much.
WOLF: See you in a bit.
COSTELLO: It's already been one heck of a week in the world of politics. And late-night comedians just can't get enough. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": Things got physical last night. Did you see this? It got physical at one point. At one point during the debate, Mitt Romney put his hand on Rick Perry's shoulder and said, "I'm speaking." Yes.
Later, he put his hand on Newt Gingrich's chest and said, "Are those real?"
Michelle Obama said her daughters watch "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" but that President Obama doesn't approve. Obama said, "If I want to see a giant ass who doesn't do anything, I'll have lunch with Joe Biden." I was shocked, too.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: That was cold.
Researchers make a connection between the number of your Facebook friends and the gray matter in your brain, rather. We'll explain, just ahead.
But, first, our "Quote of the Day." Here's the quote: "You have to make voters hate the other guy to win," end quote. That's an interesting observation on the current state of politics, but it was not from anyone in the political field. Learn who said that in 90 seconds.
It's eight 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 our quote of the day. Here's the quote: "You have to make voters hate the other guy to win." Who said that? That was Kelsey Grammer, the actor. He said that in an interview in "USA Today." Grammer is a staunch Republican and said he's displeased with today's political discourse. He went on to say, in the past, there's a way to make a better choice between the candidates.
Quickly, do you know how many friends you have on Facebook?
Researchers say they've made a connection between the number of friends you have on Facebook and what's really going on in your brain. Really?
Let's head to Hong Kong and Kristie Lu Stout to find out what this is all about. So, does it mean you're smarter if you have more friends? I mean, what does that mean?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, not quite. It's more like a correlation. There is a direct link between the number of friends you have on Facebook and the size of certain parts of your brain, namely the areas of your brain known to play a role in memory and emotional and social interactions.
This is according to researchers at the University of College London. But they add that there's a "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" dilemma here. They're not sure if a people have a higher brain density because they have more Facebook friends or they're simply predisposed to be savvy social networkers.
So, the next step for the researchers is to see how a brain on social media changes over time. So, a lot more study, a lot more brain scans ahead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm just glad it doesn't make you dumber, because we always hear that. But, yes, I'm heartened.
You really have this really cool camera to tell us about. And this could be groundbreaking in the world of photography.
STOUT: That's right. And it was unveiled this morning here in Hong Kong at the AsiaD Conference. It's called the Lytro. It shoots first and focuses later. And it works by recording all available light in a particular scene. The design is very consumer friendly. The Lytro has two buttons and a zoom slider.
And it's a social camera, meaning you just press a single button and you can instantly share your snaps on Facebook. The price point is about $399. You could order them now on the company's Web site for delivery early next year.
And for the hard-core gadget geeks out there, you got to move pretty fast because it's first come, first serve.
Back to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Three hundred and ninety-nine dollars?
STOUT: For a first generation high-quality camera, that's a pretty good price. But --
COSTELLO: You would say that, you techno geek.
(LAUGHTER)
STOUT: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Kristie Lu Stout, live in Hong Kong.
He's not even the Republican nominee, at least not yet. The Democrats are already Mitt Romney's own words against him. So, what does this say about their strategy heading into 2012? We will tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Fourteen minutes past the hour.
Some people call Tuesday GOP presidential debate Vegas fight night -- and rightfully so because things got heated and fast.
So why not have comedian Jon Stewart recap a few of those moments?
Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": Congresswoman Michele Bachmann who having apparently untangled the arms of her straitjacket set out to show that even in a tight field, no one puts crazy in a corner.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I suggest that if you want to become president of the United States, you got to let both people speak. So, first, let me speak.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love you, brother.
STEWART: I don't think you should do the brother thing.
I don't know if you remember a couple of weeks ago, there was disclosure that you leased a ranch called --
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The name of the place was called nigger head.
STEWART: So, I'd go easy on that, brother (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Time now for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of morning briefing on Sirius POTUS, live from Washington.
Good morning, Tim.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS POTUS: I assume your presence this morning is evidence that you did not win big at the tables in Vegas, Carol. Good morning.
COSTELLO: No, I tried. I even played at the airport and nothing happened. Bad luck, don't you know it.
Let's talk about the Democrats, because they are out already with a new ad targeting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and they are using his own words against him. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I don't think that I've ever hired an illegal in my life.
We hired a lawn company to mow our lawn, and they had illegal immigrants who are working there.
We said, look, you can't have any illegals working on our property. That's -- I'm running for office for Pete's sake, I can't have illegals. I'm running for office for Pete's sake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, first of all, Tim, it's interesting, because, you know, Mitt Romney is not even the nominee yet, yet the Democrats are making ads about him. I guess this gives you a hint of what strategy they will use if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee for president.
FARLEY: I think you're right. It does indicate that they are believing he will be the man. It's also interesting because they are already portraying him, in that two-hour debate, they come up with that line.
But this is not something new. The Republicans had a problem with Mitt Romney and the Democrats are picking up on it and taking advantage of it and is that they see Mitt Romney as a political opportunist, political policy based on a foundation of (INAUDIBLE). I mean, he's just not somebody who is vetted through a particular philosophy. He's somebody that finds the right way to go, like water running downhill and goes that way. And that's what Democrats are trying to do.
As a matter of fact, at a conference call last night, it immediately went to Mitt Romney and the discussion. And when somebody asked a question about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, he went back to Mitt Romney. So, it's clear right now, Carol, that Mitt Romney is the man that the Democrats are assuming will be assuming the nominee. And number two, they're going to portray him as a flip-flopper and opportunist and that's their philosophy right now.
Let's talk about Vice President Joe Biden. I'll ask you this question after, of course, we listen to Joe Biden, because he was pushing the president's job bill and he got into a little trouble with a reporter from a conservative outlet afterwards.
So, let's listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only thing I've heard from my friends who oppose this, this whole jobs bill and this, this is just temporary. Well, let me tell you, it's not temporary when that 911 call comes in and a woman's being rape, if a cop shows up in time to prevent the rape. It's not temporary to that woman.
It's not temporary to the guy whose store is being held up and a gun pointing at his head if a cop shows up and he's not killed, that's not temporary to that store owner.
Give me a break. Temporary? I wish these guys had some notion what it's like to be on the other side of a gun or a 200-pound man standing over you, telling you to submit.
Folks, it matters.
(EDN AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So, Tim, is Joe Biden doing the president a favor or making things worse?
FARLEY: Well, it's one of those piece of strong language and Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader, did something similar, indicating that pretty much tarring with the Republicans that they are in favor of killing women on abortion issue.
I want to go back to a quote from the 1800 election where -- this has a long history of being used. Murder, rape, robbery, adultery and incest will be openly taught and practiced. The air will be rent with the cries of the distressed, the soil will be soaked with blood and the nation black with crimes.
That was a newspaper editorializing against Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in a rather testy election in 1800. So, this has a long political a tradition.
But, one of the things about this, Carol, that I think is dangerous to the administration is not so much a gaffe by Joe Biden, as it is a change in strategy. When you replace vision with derision, when you start using this approach, you are going away from that brand that the president has established so successfully in 2008.
And whether or not that is the pathway to success, it has been for candidates before. Can it be for this president who was above all that in 2008 remains to be seen. And I think that is something we'll see plenty of.
COSTELLO: Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS Radio -- thank you very much this morning as usual.
FARLEY: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Drug cartels in Mexico are targeting teenagers in the United States. Not as clients but as employees. We'll have details for you, next.
But, first, get out a piece of paper, grab a pencil and jot something down. That's today is National Day on Writing. The U.S. Senate actually passed a resolution making that declaration. It's a day men to the help us recognize the importance of writing, including poems, essays and stories in our lives.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-three minutes past the hour. Welcome back.
Mexico's drug wars cross into the United States as we learn that drug cartels are now recruiting kids in Texas. Let's head round the world with Zain Verjee. She's reporting live first from London.
Good morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, this is a disturbing new strategy and basically, it's coming out of the fact that a lot of these cartels think that they can give a minimal amount of money to teens and they'll take it, something like $50 for an operation to get them involved in something like that. And also, the laws are more lenient with minors. So, that's become attractive as well.
What happened earlier this month actually was that a 12-year-old boy was caught in a stolen truck with something like 800 pounds of marijuana. That just gives you an idea of how young the people that they're going for are now. Here's what the former U.S. drug czar had to say about this development.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY (RET.), FORMER U.S. DRUG CZAR: The dominant criminal enterprise in the United States, more than 260 cities, I was just in Portland, Oregon, talking to their police department, is elements of Mexican cartels. And they're moving hundreds of metric tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, high THC-content marijuana across that border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The U.S. Border Patrol, Carol, launched a pretty intensive campaign in high schools to educate the students there and warn them of the dangers of doing any kind of drug smuggling -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow. OK. Let's talk about something good. A new little baby girl for the French president and his beautiful wife.
VERJEE: And that's all we know, because we're not getting too much information from France, because essentially Carla Bruni is saying she wants to keep the baby girl out of the public spotlight. She's also been quoted in a French newspapers saying that she just couldn't wait to have the baby so she could get back to having a few drinks every now and then and one or two cigarettes as well.
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy was actually in Germany for a pretty important meeting on the Euro zone economy. And he came back for about 30 minutes or so to check and see if everything was OK.
So, good news. Baby girl, mother and baby are doing well and Carla Bruni doesn't even want to talk about it.
COSTELLO: I was just thinking if an American first lady said she couldn't wait to get back after being pregnant so they could have a few drinks and a couple of cigarettes, that would be -- people would find that outrageous here.
VERJEE: Well, at least Carla was honest.
COSTELLO: Yes. I admire that. I do.
Zain Verjee reporting live from London -- thank you.
Coming up, a prosecution witness says Dr. Conrad Murray, if he had performed one simple move, it could have saved Michael Jackson's life.
Another jobs bill showdown in the Senate could happen today or tomorrow. But can it pass?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, October 20th.
This is your "A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York this morning. It is -- oh, just turned 30 minutes past the hour.
Prosecutors in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor are expected to wrap up their case today. CNN's Ted Rowlands is in Los Angeles with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When court resumes, Dr. Steven Shafer will be back on the stand. He's an expert in propofol. In fact, he helped write the label that appears on propofol bottles. He told the jury that Dr. Murray's care of Michael Jackson was egregious. He documented what wasn't in the Jackson home which should have been.
In fact, he showed a video of an operating room going through all of the different things in an operating room which would be normally used to administer propofol, and then, would also be there in case something went wrong. He says that Murray missed the mark on every single point. In fact, he said Murray's first mistake was giving propofol in the first place.
DR. STEVEN SHAFER, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: The very first time Michael Jackson said I need propofol to sleep, a doctor would say, you have a sleep disorder. And you need to be seen by doctors who specialize in sleep disorders. Not by having me show up with propofol. Every night, when Michael Jackson was expecting to see Dr. Murray with propofol, Dr. Murray should have said, Michael Jackson, I am not giving you propofol.
I'm not giving you anything. You have a sleep disorder, and you need to be evaluated by a sleep doctor. That's what a responsible doctor would do.
ROWLANDS: The defense is expected to start its case on Friday. They'll try to convince the jury that Michael Jackson accidentally killed himself by administering that fatal dose of propofol when Dr. Murray was out of the room. The jury could get the case as early as late next week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A fourth suspect has now been charged in the case of four mentally disabled people who are locked in a Philadelphia boiler room. Jeanne McIntosh is the daughter of the suspected ring leader. Her bail now set at $1 million. Police believed the victims were held captive so the suspects could steal their Social Security checks. Investigators believe a 19-year-old woman and six children were also held prisoner. The Philadelphia mayor calls the case sheer madness. A preliminary hearing for the suspects is set for Monday. After President Obama's $447 billion jobs bill stalled in the Senate, the new plan is to chop up the bill and get Congress to swallow the bite-size pieces. Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is hoping to get a vote today on one piece of $35 billion teachers and first responders job bill. Democrats want a half percent surtax on millionaires to pay for that. analysts say it's unlikely they have the 60 votes needed to move forward.
The State Department says the United States and North Korea are gearing up to restart negotiations designed to end Pyongyang's nuclear program. Special envoy, Stephen Bosworth, will lead a team of U.S. officials and meet their counterparts in Geneva, Switzerland next week. The meeting is being framed as a precursor to full-blown six- party talks which stalled back in 2008.
A new food recall to tell you about. More than 3,200 cases of Taylor Farms bagged salad could be contaminated with salmonella. Look in your fridge for the brand names, H-E-B, Marketside, and Taylor Farms. Best buy date October 18 to the 21st. The salads were sold in supermarkets in 14 states and Puerto Rico. No illnesses have yet been reported.
You may have seen the controversial online want ads (ph), "apply only if you already have a job." Now, a group of senators are trying to put a stop to it, but it won't be easy. It's 33 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-four minutes past the hour. An update now on a story that affects millions of Americans. Senior citizens will soon get their first Social Security raise since 2009. The government says they'll get a cost of living adjustment of 3.6 percent that will start in January. The government says that's because of the low rate of inflation in recent years, but rising Medicare premiums could eat up part of that raise.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday. Many saying investors are worried about the three Es, Europe, the economy, and earnings. For morning money news, let's head to Christine Romans. She is live here with me in New York City. Good morning, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, it's the three Es and then there's this other little drama yesterday with Sarkozy where, believe it or not, he was rushing from the bedside of his wife, back to Frankfurt where talks were falling apart about a European rescue fund.
I mean, imagine that drama, having a baby, the first French president I think in years to have a baby in office, and then, also trying to give birth to this rescue fund with the Germans, and it really -- it's really contentious moment about how they're going to go forward. So, that's one of the reasons why stocks are down this morning. It paints a picture of kind of just, I don't know, the European drama happening right now about the banks. Meantime, another story we're following this morning, Carol, that you and I have talked about before, these few little words, the unemployed need not apply. These are words that are showing up on job applications on career builder and other places as well. Companies and recruiters that are saying if you don't have a job, we don't want you to apply for this job, because you will not be considered.
There are three Democratic senators who are asking career builder to stop allowing companies and recruiters from using what they call discrimination in these ads. You'll remember the president's jobs bill had a measure in there to make it illegal to exclude the unemployed from consideration for job postings. Of course, the president's jobs bill went nowhere.
So, these Democratic senators are trying to force career builder to just voluntarily do something about it. We asked career builder whether they would be telling employers and recruiters, you can't use those few little words, the unemployed need not to apply or the jobless need not to apply.
Career builder said that they encourage recruiters and employers to consider everyone, but they still are using those postings -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh! That's despicable, isn't it? It's just despicable.
ROMANS: When you think that there are 9.1 percent unemployed and you look at 16 percent unemployment for African-Americans, 11.3 percent unemployment for Hispanics, you look at certain sections of young people where the unemployment rate is 24 percent, and those people are excluded from consideration, that means you're talking about structural -- you're talking about companies that are -- and recruiters -- who are saying there will be structural unemployment in our economy.
We're just not going to consider any of those people. Only the people who currently have jobs will be considered. You know, it's an interesting and fascinating discussion, but so far, in terms of legality, it's gotten nowhere. This is perfectly legal to do.
COSTELLO: Christine Romans, I'll see you in a second. Thanks so much.
A monster storm tears through South Florida, roofs ripped off, homes torn apart, and cars sent into living rooms. Not kidding. We'll have more on this just ahead.
But first, it is time for your "Get Smart" question of the day. The Centers for Disease Control released a new report detailing what percentage of Americans over the age of 12 take anti-depressants. Is it A. 11 percent, B. 23 percent, or C. 45 percent? I'll have your answer in two minutes. It's 38 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 40 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, to answer the "Get Smart" question of the day. The Centers for Disease Control released a new report detailing what percentage of Americans over the age of 12 take anti-depressants. Is it A. 11 percent, B. 23 percent, or C. 45 percent? The answer is -- I actually guessed 45 percent, but I was wrong, thankfully.
The answer is A. 11 percent. The other information from the study, women are 2 1/2 times more likely to take anti-depressants than men, but researchers say the surprising information, only one-third of people with severe depression actually take antidepressants.
Let's head to Atlanta and Reynolds Wolf who's a happy guy. No need for drugs.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: None whatsoever. Not at all. And some happy things actually channeled (ph) about this morning. We had a tornado that struck South Florida. On the face, it might sound kind of bad, but the good news is, no injuries, no fatalities, but some amazing video to share with you. In fact, let's go with it right now. This is from western Broward County.
There was a -- they weren't quite sure as of yet. National weather services now said this was an EF-2 tornado that came through, causing substantial damage, but again, anytime you have a tornado that plows through a populated area and you have no fatalities and no injuries, you know what, that's a good thing. Hey, something that will not be so good for some of you today, your travel troubles.
You're going to have quite a few delays out there. In fact, as we hop over to the weather computer, major delays expected in Chicago, gusty winds, also some scattered showers, maybe a boom of thunder a little bit farther to the south. And New York metros, the windy morning shower is going to be expected. This can give you some delays under an hour.
Same story for D.C. metros, Philadelphia, Boston, and into Detroit, home of those Detroit Tigers. Another big story we have, weather wise, the freeze threat that will extend all the way through Friday morning for parts of the upper Midwest, Western Great Lakes, central plains, and even to the southeast. Here in Atlanta, we expect the chilly temperatures to continue as we round out the workweek.
Forty-eight degrees, Carol, in Dallas, 37 in Minneapolis, 59 degrees in Washington, 67 in New York, and 61 in Los Angeles. Your forecast of the day, it looks like you're going to see that rain in parts of the Great Lakes and Upper Ohio Valley drift its way to the east. Nice and cool for you, the southeast. Warm in the desert southwest. Plenty of sunshine for the central plains.
And, for the World Series, here's what you have for tonight, Rangers and Cardinals first pitch. We can expect around 8:05, 52 degrees, clear skies, a little bit of a breeze out of the west at 10 miles per hour. That pushes the ball to the outfield. So, if you get something that's kind of flies close to the warning tracks that might give it the old heave-ho if you're looking for the long ball. So, there you go.
COSTELLO: And the Texas Rangers, boy, did they need the long ball last night, but --
WOLF: Yes, they did.
COSTELLO: For some reason, their bats have like died down. Who knows?
WOLF: Sorry about your Detroit Tigers. I heard about that.
COSTELLO: I know. Thanks for reminding me.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: But, I still love the Tigers. And the Lions are doing great, right?
WOLF: Yes. Very much so. Let's keep (INAUDIBLE) continue.
COSTELLO: Exactly. They played the Falcons, by the way, just so you know on Sunday.
WOLF: Good deal.
COSTELLO: Let's get to the day's sports headlines now, shall we? Let me talk about game 1 of the World Series, because it is in the -- St. Louis hosting Texas in the best of seven series. The Cardinals got of to an early start with a Lance Berkman two-run single in the fourth inning. They hold on for a three to win. Game two tonight in St. Louis.
More talks today between the NBA players and the owners. There were long negotiating sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The owners locked out the players in July because of a labor dispute. Both sides arguing over several issues, including salaries and revenue sharing. The NBA already canceled the first two weeks, excuse me, of the regular season.
Police say a women's shelter in Mexico was turned into a brothel. Those seeking help were instead forced into sex with strangers. Details for you just ahead.
But first, on this day in history, October 20th, 1968, former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, marries Aristotle Onassis in Turkey. He was 62. She was 39. It's 44 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, October 20th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York this morning. It is 47 minutes past the hour.
A heartbreaking story. Police say a women's shelter in Mexico was turned into a brothel. Let's head round the world with Zain Verjee live in London. Zain, I almost don't even want to talk about this. So, women would go to the shelter seeking help, but instead, they were forced into prostitution?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. It is absolutely awful. This is in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Women would go to the shelter for violence against women that they thought they were being protected, were taken way from the situations that they were in before, but it turned out that the female director of the center was actually forcing the women again into having sex with strangers.
Now, the woman, Soledad Griensen Porras, is in police custody. Apparently, what happened was one of the women from the shelter was just walking down the streets, and she just grabbed a police officer and said, please, please, please, help us. And the woman was consequently arrested. An investigation is taking place right now and an interrogation of this woman who is with police.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable. Let's head to Cameroon now, because a woman gave birth there, and the birth is seen as a bad omen, and they're talking about -- you know, this woman gave birth to conjoined baby girls. Why is it a bad omen?
VERJEE: It's just seen as a superstition by this village. It's very poor. It's very remote. And a lot of different African tribes, their real stigmas associated with things like this, you know? So, these are conjoined twins, that they're joined at the chest and the abdomen. The parents are pleading for help, because the situation is that they don't have the money.
The health care is not good enough, and then, they're dealing with a lot of stress from the villagers who aren't happy about the fact that these twins were even born. The hospital that they're in is a Presbyterian hospital. It's a pretty basic one. They don't have the level of sophistication to conduct an operation to separate these two twins.
So, the father and the mother is saying, please help. And I hope that these baby girls can be separated, but I mean, it's Cameroon, a teeny little village there, and time is of the essence.
COSTELLO: Such a sad story. Hopefully, someone will come through with help.
VERJEE: Yes.
COSTELLO: I'm sure they will. I'm hopeful. Thank you, Zain. We appreciate it.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is in Afghanistan this morning, holding talks with the afghan president, Hamid Karzai. At a news conference, Clinton said Washington is calling for a new three- way partnership between the United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to fight insurgents.
She said the plan also calls for bringing back into society those fighters willing to accept specific guidelines. Clinton also announced that she will leave for Pakistan later today for talks with the Pakistani foreign minister and other officials.
New developments to tell you about this morning in the deadliest attack on a U.S. military helicopter in the Afghan war. These are the first pictures released by the defense department on the downing of a U.S. chopper back in August.
All 38 people on board, including 22 navy S.E.A.Ls were killed. The S.E.A.Ls had been called in to reinforce other troops already under fire. Just before landing, the chopper was hit by rocket- propelled grenades fired by the Taliban. A military investigation says the steep mountain valley where the chopper was shot down gave the Taliban a critical edge.
The state of Ohio coming under fire this morning after the killing of dozens of exotic and rare wild animals. Officials say Terry Thompson (ph) released 56 animals from his private preserve, about 55 miles east of Columbus on Tuesday, and then, he killed himself. We want to warn you, some of the images you are about to see are quite graphic.
Officials killed 49 of the animals, including lions, bears, leopards, and 18 endangered Bengal tigers. Six other animals were captured. Officials say only a monkey had not been accounted for, and the monkey might have been eaten by one of the other animals.
The humane society lashed out at the governor of Ohio for allowing a statewide ban of the buying and selling of exotic animals to expire in April. The governor says, that's about to change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: Obviously, we're going to move faster now. And, at the end of the day, there will be legislation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Officials say they had no choice but to kill the animals because of the danger they posed to the public.
Officials are pointing to a possible cause of that deadly listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe. The food and Drug Administration says it may be due to unsanitary conditions at a Colorado farms packing facility. At least 25 people have died from the outbreak.
In another development, the Centers for Disease Control and development says the number of new cases appear to be diminishing. However, the CDC says it's too early to declare the outbreak over.
It's a wireless carrier you probably never heard of but that is about to change now that it's made a deal with Apple.
But first, let's take a look at the word of the day. It is troika. Find out what it means and why you need to know right after a break. It's 52 minutes past.
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COSTELLO: Five minutes till the top of the hour. Good morning to you.
Some people call Tuesday's GOP presidential debate Vegas fight night and rightfully so because things got heated and fast. So, why not have comedian, Jon Stewart, recap a few of those moments. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann who having apparently untangled the arms of her straitjacket set out to show that even in a tight field, no one puts crazy in the corner.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I suggest that if you want to become president of the United States, you got to let both people speak. So, first, let me speak.
GOV. RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Herman, I love you, brother.
STEWART: I don't think you should do the brother thing.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: I don't know if you remember, but a couple weeks ago, there was this disclosure that you leased a ranch called --
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The name of the place was called niggerhead.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Right. See, I'd go easy on that brother (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Now, let's head to the NASDAQ MarketSite and Carter Evans. He's got a look at your morning money. How is it looking, Carter?
CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I love that I come after that segment, because it's always something crazy, and let's go to Carter.
COSTELLO: I know.
(LAUGHTER)
EVANS: OK. So, let's talking about what's going on today. It's Thursday, so we're going to get the weekly unemployment numbers. We're also going to get a reading on existing home sales. And ahead of those reports, our futures are actually looking pretty good today. Dow futures from the CNNMoney.com premarket page up 73 points, NASDAQ up about 15, S&P 500 up about six points.
COSTELLO: OK. You're going to tell us about this teeny tiny company that's about to make lots and lots of money, at least, it hopes so.
EVANS: It's called C-Spire. Have you ever heard of them?
COSTELLO: No.
EVANS: Neither did I until it landed the iPhone 4s, and everybody is wondering how did this small carrier, only in the south, with less than a million customers, land the iPhone? Well, there's speculation right now that Apple really wants to try and compete with Google in these smaller markets, because Android is all over the place.
And this could potentially open the door to other small wireless carriers carrying the iPhone as well. So, there's a possibility that everyone can have the coveted iPhone, if you can get one.
COSTELLO: I know. I know. I know someone who she got an e-mail message that her phone is going to be shipped, and she was so happy. I thought she was going to like pass out.
EVANS: And all of that over the 4s. I mean, I can understand all of this over the 5, but it's just a little upgrade.
COSTELLO: No, people like Siri.
EVANS: I know. Well, Siri is pretty cool. Siri is pretty cool. I must say.
COSTELLO: Thank you. Carter Evans live at the NASDAQ MarketSite.
Now, back to our word of the day. Today's word is troika. What does it mean, you ask? Well, it's the word Greeks use to describe the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank. Troika is in the news because of the Greece austerity story.
The group says Greece must adopt even harsher measures to keep receiving billions of dollars in international bailout loans. Now you know. Troika.
Here are three things to put on your radar today. Lawmakers could vote as early as today on the first part of the president's job package. The $35 billion aid package is geared to avoid layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers.
At 2:00 p.m. Eastern, it's back to the negotiating table for NBA players and owners. The league has already canceled 100 regular season games because of the lockout. And today is spirit day. Millions of people will be wearing purple as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and to speak out against bullying.
"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
