Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning: Wake Up Call
National Security Showdown; Super Committee, Super Fail; "Million Man Sit-In"; Alabama Immigration Law "Like Jim Crow"; Mom Sues School Over Bullying
Aired November 22, 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: Time to show the voters your commander-in-chief material. We are counting down to the big CNN national security debate. And a new front-runner will take the stage tonight.
Cairo bracing for a million man sit-in. Police beating demonstrators for a fourth straight day of violence there, protesters demanding more resignations, saying the new government is just as oppressive as the last.
And does your carry on luggage suffer from zipper shock? Just ahead, a bill is in the works because you'll write to one checked bag for free.
This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(MUSIC)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you, it is Tuesday, November 22nd. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are this morning's top stories:
Republican candidates gathering in the shadow of the White House tonight for the big CNN national security debate. It's the first test for Newt Gingrich as the front-runner. A new poll shows he leads Mitt Romney by 4 percentage points.
Giving up a lot of the blame, not much shame is the congressional super committee calls it quits. Lawmakers announcing they cannot reach a deal to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the deficit. Now, even more painful cuts loom.
Part of a major highway between Memphis and Dallas reopened this morning after an intense downpour washed it away yesterday. Eighty- eight thousand cars and trucks sat on a 30-mile detour and more rain is on the way this morning.
So, let's check in with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in Atlanta.
Good morning.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, flooding is going to continue to be a big problem across parts of the mid-South this morning. The rain continues to come down in Little Rock. And we have this big system really that's affecting much of the plains, heading into the lower Mississippi River Valley today. If you're traveling, please do not drive over any roads that are covered in water. There you can see the flood watches and warnings which remain along I-30, I-40, up towards 55 and on up into Paducah, Kentucky.
Severe thunderstorms are possible also later this afternoon from eastern Texas, stretching on up into the lower Ohio River Valley, over towards Cincinnati as well.
So, a big issue for travelers all across the East and Southeast. And even though not a lot of rain up and down the East Coast, you're going to be clouded in. So, that makes things tough at the airports.
Strong system in the Pacific Northwest, too. So, from Seattle, along I-5, down into the Portland area, expecting heavy rain and heavy snow. And the temperatures are much colder in the plains. We're pushing 80 in Atlanta.
Carol, we'll talk more about what can you expect for travelers at the airports coming up in about 15 minutes.
COSTELLO: All right. We'll be waiting. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
There will be a new front-runner when the Republican presidential candidates square off tonight live on CNN. A brand new CNN/ORC poll shows that 24 percent of Republican voters now support former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He's pulled ahead of Mitt Romney for first time. Gingrich was at 8 percent in a CNN poll just last month.
For a while, the debates were the only thing Gingrich had with top staffers bailing in key states. His campaign was left for dead. Well, tonight is his first big test at the top. The Republican presidential candidates face off for the 11th time tonight, just a few blocks from the place they hoped to call home, the White House.
The focus tonight: national security -- a chance to convince voters that they will be the best commander in chief. Moderator Wolf Blitzer has a preview to showdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much. We're here in historic Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. We're only, what, half a block away from the White House, a couple blocks away from the Washington monument, the Lincoln Memorial. This is a real beautiful building. Very historic. Every president, by the way, since Calvin Coolidge has been to this building.
And tonight, there's going to be a significant Republican national security debate. The eight Republican candidates, they're going to all be up here together with me on this stage, taking questions on national security, foreign policy, the economy. We have our partners, the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, experts from both of those think-tanks. They'll be asking questions as well.
I'll be directing the questions, making sure that the viewers out there, especially the voters, Republican caucus voters, Republican primary voters, will be a little bit more knowledgeable about where these candidates stand on the most important issues after the debate than they are right now going into the debate. We want to know where the candidates agree, where they disagree. Where they agree with President Obama on critical issue, where they disagree, where they agree among themselves and disagree.
So, we'll have a good strong debate. It's going to be important. I hope you'll al be watching tonight, the CNN national security debate at Constitution Hall here in the nation's capital, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: We'll be watching, Wolf.
After two-and-a-half months and after all that talk about how failure is not an option, the so-called super committee called it quits. The six Democrats and six Republicans on the committee have announced they can't reach a deal to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the budget. And the $15 trillion national debt hanging over all of us is not going to go away.
CNN's Emily Schmidt has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Congress voted back in August to let the government borrow more money, there was a catch, a super committee charged with cutting $1.2 trillion in spending over the next decade. High stakes and by Monday's deadline, low expectations.
SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: We're still talking and we'll see what happens today, but the hours are short.
SCHMIDT: All the six Republicans and Democrats could agree on was they could not agree on how to bridge the partisan divide.
SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: Our Democratic friends said we won't cut one dollar more without raising taxes. I think that tells you a lot about the ethos here in Washington.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: So, the whole deal is really being held hostage to this idea that the wealthiest people in America ought to get a bigger tax cut while everybody else chips in.
SCHMIDT: Without a deal, mandatory budget cuts will be imposed beginning in January 2013, divided equally between defense and nondefense spending.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that these cuts would cripple the military. After the deal collapsed, President Obama vowed to veto any attempt to roll back the required reduction.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only way these spending cuts will not take place is if Congress gets back to work and agrees on a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion.
SCHMIDT: As far as political blame, a new CNN/ORC International poll shows Democratic leadership approval has dropped six points. Republican leadership approval is down 13 points. Neither can claim even 30 percent support.
In Washington, I'm Emily Schmidt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The super committee issued a statement last night. They didn't even face the cameras. But Senator John Kerry did call in to "OUTFRONT" with Erin Burnett last night. And he was hot, laying the blame squarely at the feet of Republicans for the committee's failure. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY (via telephone): Well, what didn't happen is the job didn't get done for the United States of America because what was the deficit reduction committee became a tax-cutting committee. And we got totally hung up by people who were insisting that not only could they not raise any additional revenue from the wealthiest people in the world, but they wanted to give them an additional tax cut. I mean, this is insanity.
And what we couldn't get past was their resistance to doing anything. We had $1.3 trillion in cuts on the table. We put serious things on the table that we were very, very -- you know, very difficult for us. I had thousands of people that are demonstrating against me for the things we put on there.
But we also put $1.3 trillion of additional revenue. They should know that is too much. And then it turned out that $1 trillion was too much, $900 billion was too much, $600 billion was too much, $250 billion was too much. I mean, we wound up not being able to get this because they wanted to know that the tax cut for the wealthiest people in the country was going to be made permanent, protected. And we just couldn't do that in good conscience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, you heard what happens now across the board cuts in spending, I should say. That's what no one really wanted. It was supposed to be the sword hanging over lawmakers heads. Some are already trying to wiggle out.
The president saying: no way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one. We need to keep the pressure up to compromise, not turn off the pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But the president is taking a lot of heat himself for not being more involved before the committee collapsed. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying it's a failure of leadership at all of the highest levels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I just think that the failure of the super committee to come to an agreement is just a damning indictment of Washington's inability to govern this country. I don't know how you'd reach an agreement if you don't sit down at the table and talk to each other. I think it's a failure -- you know, people say who do you blame? Blame is both sides of the aisle and both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, the committee's failure now triggers automatic cuts to almost every level of government. The $1.2 trillion will be split evenly between domestic programs and national defense. But some politically sensitive things like Medicaid and Social Security are spared.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that military cuts could tear a seam in the nation's defense. S&P issued a statement saying it's not going to downgrade America as long as these automatic cuts remain in place.
In other news this morning, calls for changes to Alabama's very strict new immigration law that's been called the toughest immigration crackdown on the state level. Much more harsh than the one in Arizona.
Ten Democrats from Congress heading to Birmingham to begin a campaign to repeal it. The law requires proof of citizenship for any interaction between a person and the state. A Mercedes Benz executive was arrested over the weekend for not having a driver's license.
Birmingham's mayor told congressmen that the legislation smacks of apartheid and Jim Crow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR WILLIAM BELL, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: We have a beautiful Mercedes plant here in Alabama. And then you go and arrest the executive from Germany that come here? I mean, do you want the jobs and the commerce or do you want the stain that comes with the discriminatory legislation?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: One Republican co-sponsor of the law says if the congressman went back to Washington to pass immigration reform, we would not have to do their job for them.
And a standoff in an Air Force base in Colorado has ended peaceful this morning. Air Force officials say an airman with a gun surrendered to authorities more than 12 hours after barricading himself in a building at the base. No shots fired. No one was hurt. Officials say the airman was facing a discharge over legal action in a civilian court.
Still to come, U.C. Davis outraged. Students protesting the pepper spraying seen around the world. The police chief is now on leave. Students say that's not enough.
Around the world:
In Egypt, protesters there are calling for a million man sit-in at Tahrir Square. They're vowing to stay until more resignations are handed in.
And it's the number one complaint of airline travelers: too much carry on luggage hauled on by other passengers. A couple lawmakers have an idea on how to stop it.
This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Fifteen minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Here's what's all new this morning. The Republican candidates are ready to battle it out tonight. They'll face off in a debate only a few blocks from the White House. The GOP presidential hopefuls will talk national security and foreign policy. You can watch it live at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
The so-called super committee is throwing in the towel. After 2 1/2 months of debt talks, the 12-member bipartisan panel just could not reach a deal on how to cut $1.2 trillion from the nation's deficit.
A massive rally at the University of California-Davis camp as thousands of students gathered calling for the resignation of Chancellor Linda Katehi, who apologized to the crowd for last week's clash between police and Occupy Davis protesters. The rally sparked by this -- video of cops pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in their faces at point blank range on Friday night. Two officers and the police chief are on administrative leave.
The California board of regents came out last night with a statement. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both President Yudof and I were simply shocked and appalled by these images. We agreed that he will convene all 10 chancellors and immediately begin to develop system wide procedures to insure that students can engage in peaceful protests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In the meantime, U.C.-Davis officials say they are conducting their own investigation.
In money news this morning, Delta is cutting back on international travel, much of the cuts will come from transatlantic flights. The airline says changes to overseas routes are necessary because of high fuel costs and economic uncertainty. Delta plans to trim its flight capacity by 2 percent next year.
In sports, NBA players filed an amended antitrust case against the league to consolidate a pair of lawsuits filed last week and to hopefully speed up the process that could lead to a settlement in the lockout. Labor talks dissolved last week after the players union and the NBA could not reach a deal.
Let's head to Atlanta and check in with Jackie Jeras.
Thanksgiving is shaping up to be kind of a cold holiday for some?
JERAS: Yes. But, you know, much of the weather woes are going to be moving out by Thursday. That's the good news.
The bad news is it's going to be here when everybody is traveling, right? So that's kind of the bummer of it all. So, really, keep this in mind, you know, before you head out the door, especially if you're on the roadway.
Take a look at the national map today because there is so much red on it. We're concerned about the severe thunderstorms developing from Texas all the way up into the Ohio River Valley. There can you see that big focus -- New Orleans, places like Birmingham, Nashville, Memphis, all could see strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon, not to mention the flooding that is on going across the mid-South. It's been a terrible mess in places like Little Rock, as much as five inches to the north and west of there.
Parts of the interstate shut down yesterday. That's back open. So that is good news.
But there were new water rescues that took place overnight. So something we have to continue to monitor and watch.
Now, if you are traveling by the airports, the list is lengthening today, expecting delays, hopefully all under an hour here. Atlanta and D.C. metros, New York City and Philadelphia will see showers this morning and some fog. Memphis and St. Louis, because of the storms.
Chicago and Cleveland, primarily wind issues, and then expecting some fog in San Francisco. Tomorrow, of course, the busiest travel day of all throughout the seven-day holiday week for those of that you have that many days off in a row -- good for you.
Our nation's midsection looks good. So, great traveling from Minneapolis down towards Houston. But up and down the Eastern Seaboard, even though we're not expecting a lot of severe weather tomorrow, there could be some isolated strong storms. And you get that rain in there, Carol, you just know it's tough to get around, especially at the airports.
COSTELLO: I know.
JERAS: You have to remember, it's holiday time.
COSTELLO: That's right. Exactly.
Jacqui Jeras, thanks.
Violent protests in Cairo. Tahrir Square packed with thousands of protesters, at least 24 are dead, hundreds of others injured. The violence is escalating after four days of clashes between security force ands protesters.
So, let's head to Cairo and Ivan Watson.
Good morning, Ivan.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
That's right. Thousands of people slept here in Tahrir Square overnight on blankets that were being brought in to support them. The crowds are swelling throughout the day.
Meanwhile, in the streets leading away from the Tahrir, in the direction of the interior ministry, which is only five-minute's walk away, Carol, that is where the battles are raging between riot police and angry young Egyptians, most of them men. There are clouds of tear gas back there.
We just came from there and we had the good fortune to be equipped with gas masks. The young people in there don't have them. They are spitting and puking from the effects of this gas running up to us with canisters.
One of them I saw today showed that the gas had been manufactured in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. And we can se another cloud billowing up right there and people running away from them. It's really nasty stuff.
But despite that, these people show no signs of leaving. They're demanding that Egypt's ruling military council which took over after protests forced the former president, Hosni Mubarak, out of power last February, they're demanding that the military council step back. They're furious that at least 24 of their compatriots have been killed in these battles since last Saturday -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I understand tourists have not escaped this kind of thing, either. Two tourists have been placed under arrest? Tell us about that, Ivan.
WATSON: Yes. Let me just say, you know, we're zooming in right now on what you can see are people running away from the gas which appears to be being fired from some of the roof tops here, Carol, just to give you a sense. And the fact that these kids keep running into battle shows that they are not going to give up this symbolic ground here. They're not run ago way from this standoff with the authorities.
As for the people who have been detained, we talked to Egyptian authorities, they say they've captured three Americans that were shown on television, state television last night. One of them appeared to have an Indiana driver's license and they also appeared to have ID cards from the American University of Cairo. The U.S. embassy is looking into these reports and the authorities here are accusing them of saying they were caught, quote, "throwing Molotov cocktails and had in passports on them when they were picked up."
Also the U.S. embassy telling us that a female American student was detained by Egyptian police yesterday and later released.
I've talked to what seems like at least one American tourist who was mixed into the crowd down there.
So, it's likely that foreigners are going to be caught up in these running street battles -- Carol.
So, Ivan, just to be clear, these three Americans were apparently charged with hooliganism. Were they taking part in the protest? I know one of them is charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail. But was that person, that American taking part in these protests?
WATSON: I'm going to quote here the general prosecutors office's spokesman, Adel Saeed. Quote, "The three boys were throwing Molotov cocktails and had no passports on them when they were picked up." That's about all we know about their (AUDIO BREAK) identity right now. And the U.S. embassy says they're looking into this case.
The much bigger drama taking place right now, Carol, is a massive political crisis in Egypt just days before the country is supposed to go to the polls in the first phase of parliamentary elections. Egypt is the most populous Arab country, some 70 million people. A lot is on the line right now. And those elections are up for question right now, whether they can even be held when the center of the Egyptian capital right now is the scene of a running street battle -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ivan Watson, thanks for filling us in. We'll get back to Egypt because, as you can see, developments are happening rapidly there. Thanks very much, Ivan Watson, reporting live from Cairo this morning.
We're taking a short break. It's 23 minutes past. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: That's right.
The sharp decline in stocks at the closing bell. The three major indices closed down yesterday. The Dow tumbling 249 points. Investors remain worried about the lack of progress in solving the U.S. and Europe's debt problems.
Time now for a check -- a quick check on global markets. Investors took quite a hit yesterday when the world learned U.S. lawmakers had failed to reach an agreement on the debt deficit.
CNN's Nina dos Santos is live in London.
Hit us with those numbers.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Carol, it seems as though the markets here, at least where I am, there's a little bit of optimism there. But it won't go anywhere near raising the 2 percent plus losses that's we've seen for many, many days in a row.
I can also say that U.S. futures are also showing perhaps a little bit of a positive open. But, again, a number of hours before the United States markets get close to trading. It seems as though some of these markets particularly where I am are shrugging off the kind of debt issues that the United States is having. And economists are saying they are the elephant in the room but we still have our problems to deal with when it comes to the Eurozone, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. I hear you.
Let's switch gears a little bit and go back to the days when we were able to check in bags on flights for free. Some lawmakers are dreaming of those days. They may do something about it.
DOS SANTOS: Yes. That's right. It seems as though Congress may consider now limiting the charges that some of these airlines imposed on checked baggage. Because, of course, those charges that they brought in about five or six years ago on checked baggage, particularly for budget airlines here, we're talking about, it has prompted a real glut in carry-on luggage.
A number of passengers cited this as their number one complaint. So, we had tourists for thanksgiving and holiday season crushed when everybody gets on these planes, trains, and automobiles, don't they? It seems as though for the airlines, what they could be in store for is a bill proposed to see each passenger being allowed to now carry on one item of carry-on luggage, without pushing the limits, but also one checked bag with no fee. And that could in turn bring down the amount of carry-on luggage that people are trying to stuff into their overhead bins.
I must point out, Carol, you know, extra carry on luggage does have significant drawbacks. On the one hand, it means longer lines at security. It takes an awful lot longer to get people on and out of those aircrafts.
And these airlines made about $3.9 billion back in 2009, just on these fees. They need them to try and counter balance the rise in fuel price. And it's unclear as yet as to whether this particular bill does go through could mean higher ticket charges going forward.
COSTELLO: You know it will. Nina, thank you.
Still ahead, small plane makes a crash landing. But by the time police get there, the people onboard made a run for it. Details on this late-night mystery coming up.
And we're counting down to the CNN GOP presidential debate. But this time, things are different. Newt Gingrich is leading the pack this time.
It's 27 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI VANDERHEYDEN, SUING SCHOOL DISTRICT: Found her and trying to choke herself. We took her to the hospital, and we got her admitted.
COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: They called her daughter names, racial slurs, then got physical, then came a suicide attempt. A mother is now suing her daughter's school for letting her bullies get out of control. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL for Tuesday, November 22nd. I'm Carol Costello. Here are this morning's top stories.
The Republicans who want the president's job are set to debate tonight. The focus, national security and foreign policy. CNN, the Heritage Foundation, and the American Enterprise Institute are hosting. Our Wolf Blitzer will moderate. You can watch it right here on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
More now on our breaking news on Cairo. Clashes between protesters and the military continue for a fourth straight day in Tahrir Square. Egyptian police responding with tear gas and rubber bullets. Protesters are calling today's event a million man seat in. At least 24 have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured since the clashes began on Saturday.
A major interstate in Arkansas reopened this morning after flash flooding forced officials to shut it down. 88,000 cars and trucks were sent on a 30-mile detour around Interstate-30. That connects Memphis, Tennessee, to Dallas. A key route for cross country truck drivers. More rain is expected today. Oh, Jacqui Jeras, how much?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. Well, the good news is maybe just a couple of inches, and most of that is going to stay south of Little Rock. So, that's the good news is that we do see an end, but it will take a while for all that water to go back down. So, today will be a rough one across parts of the mid south.
There you can see the radar picture where we have showers from Iowa stretching all the way down into parts of Texas. Nothing severe at this hour. Outside of just that heavy rainfall and that flood threat. There you can see the watch area up from Little Rock on up towards Paducah. And storms could be severe later on today as well.
Big system in the pacific northwest bringing windy and wet conditions there and just cold on the backside of that system, Carol. We'll talk more about your travel forecast coming up when I see you again.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you. Thank you, Jacqui Jeras.
There will be a new frontrunner when the Republican presidential candidates square off tonight live on CNN. A brand new CNN/ORC poll shows that 24 percent of Republican voters now support House speaker, Newt Gingrich. He's pulled ahead of Mitt Romney for the first time. Gingrich was at eight percent in a CNN poll just last month.
Once again, CNN national security debate airs live at 8:00 eastern tonight on CNN.
The Super Committee issued a statement last night, didn't even face the cameras, but Senator John Kerry did call in to "Outfront" with Erin Burnett last night and he was hot. Playing the blame squarely at the feet of Republicans for the committee's failure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Well, what didn't happen is the job didn't get done for the United States of America because what was a deficit reduction committee became a tax cutting committee. And we got totally hung up by people who were insisting that there had not only could they not raise any additional revenue from the wealthiest people in the world, but they wanted to give them an additional tax cut.
I mean, this is insanity. And what we couldn't get passed them was their resistance to doing anything. We had $1.3 trillion in cuts on the table. We put serious things on the table that we were very, very, you know, very difficult for us. I had thousands of people demonstrating against me for the things we put on there. But we also put $1.3 trillion of additional revenue.
They should know that's too much. And then, it turned out that a trillion was too much. 900 was too much. 600 was too much. 250 was too much. I mean, we wound up not being able to get this because they wanted to know that the tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the country was going to be made permanent, protected. And we just couldn't do that in good conscience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, you heard what happens now across the board cuts in spending. That's something no one wanted and was supposed to be the sword hanging over lawmakers' heads. Some are already trying to wiggle out. The president saying no way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts, domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one. We need to keep the pressure up to compromise, not turn offer the pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But the president is taking a lot of heat himself for not being more involved before the committee collapsed. New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, an independent, saying it's a failure of leadership at all of the highest levels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) NEW YORK: I just think that the failure of the Super Committee to come to an agreement is just a damning indictment of Washington's inability to govern this country. I don't know how you reach an agreement if you don't sit down at the table and talk to each other, and I think it's a failure, you know, people say who do you blame? Blame is both sides of the aisle and both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, the committee's failure now triggers automatic cuts to almost every level of government. The $1.2 trillion will be split evenly between domestic programs and national defense. But some politically sensitive things like Medicaid and Social Security are spared.
Defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has warned that military cuts could tear a seam in the nation's defense. S&P issued a statement saying it's not going to downgrade America as long as these automatic cuts remain in place.
In other news this morning, calls for changes to Alabama's very strict new immigration laws. It's been called the toughest immigration crackdown on the state level, much more harsh than the one in Arizona. Ten Democrats from Congress headed to Birmingham to begin a campaign to repeal it. The law requires proof of citizenship for any interaction between a person and the state.
A Mercedes Benz executive was arrested over the weekend for not having a driver's license. Birmingham's mayor told congressmen that the legislation smacks of apartheid and Jim Crow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR WILLIAM BELL, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: You have a beautiful Mercedes plant here in Alabama, and then, you go and arrest the executive from Germany that comes here? I mean, do you want the jobs and the commerce or do you want the stain that comes with discriminatory legislation?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: One Republican co-sponsor of the law said if the congressmen went back to Washington to pass immigration reform, we wouldn't have to do their job for them.
A Florida mother launches a fight against bullying. Randy Vanderheyden filed a lawsuit against her daughter's middle school in Coral Springs. She says her daughter, Breanne (ph), was called names, racial slurs, and even shagged by other students. Breanne (ph) is so upset, tried to take her own life. Vanderheyden says the school didn't do anything to stop it. And that the superintendent even blamed her daughter. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANDERHEYDEN: I felt sad, hurt that, one, they weren't protecting her. Two, I couldn't do nothing about it. I was shocked that she was putting the blame on my daughter. She was saying maybe your girls would like to talk. Maybe she started it. She needs to be get thicker skin. That this is what teenagers do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Breanne (ph) is now taking online courses and seeing a therapist.
A plane with marijuana, yes, it was packed with marijuana, touched down at the Houston executive airport. It happened last night. And here's where it gets really weird. No pilots were found onboard. Airport officials say the aircraft made a hard unscheduled landing which caused some damage to the front nose gear. Police are trying to figure out when exactly the pilots bailed.
National security will be the focus when Newt Gingrich and his Republican rivals meet up tonight for another debate hosted by CNN. Joining me now is "Washington Post" political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson. Nia, welcome.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, THE WASHINGTON POST (on the phone): Hey there. It's good to be here this morning.
COSTELLO: We're glad to have you. You've been working on this article about the five things to watch during the debate. So, run them down for us.
HENDERSON: Yes, indeed. I hope I can remember all five. The first one I think is going to be will anyone attack Newt Gingrich? He is now one of the frontrunners in some of these early polls. He's ahead of Romney and certainly benefited from his performance in debates, so far. He has, so far, not attacked his Republican rivals and sticking close to that Reagan rule of being kind to your fellow Republicans on the debate stage.
Tonight, we'll see if anybody steps up and takes him on and tries to gain some ground in some of these early states. I think another issue is Herman Cain and Libya. We saw him flub over the last couple of days with that Libya response what he seemed to not know what Obama's policy was and not be certain of his own policy, at least, for a couple of seconds there.
And then, come and out say, hey, it's important for America to have a leader, not a reader. It seems to me it's probably important that America have both of those things, but he is certainly downplayed of the importance of knowing a foreign policy specifics and will he try to reverse that impression that he might not be up to being commander in chief tonight.
The other, I think, is going to be, will Ron Paul get more than 89 seconds? His followers were so upset that he only got 89 seconds. He is now one of the frontrunners in these races, specifically in Iowa. A co-front-runner in some of those early polls. Does he get more time? This article is going to be up at 6:30 on postpolitics.com.
I think another question is going to be, which I actually don't raise in the piece, but I'm just thinking about now is -- and this is no knock on CNN -- but will people tune in for this debate? I think the last debate got about five million viewers, but we're two days ahead of Thanksgiving. Folks are thinking about turkey and macaroni and cheese and they're traveling to see their families. And I think that's going to be a question, too.
COSTELLO: That will be a great question. But, if anybody can pull it off, Wolf Blitzer can.
HENDERSON: That's right. That's right.
COSTELLO: Absolutely. Nia, thanks for waking up early with us. We appreciate it. It's 41 minutes past the hour. Let's get a check on what's coming up at the top of the hour on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Alina Cho is in today. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol. Good morning to you. Coming up in about 20 minutes on "AM," we're keeping a close watch on Egypt all morning. Protesters there erupting in rage right now, planning a million man seat in. It's been absolute brutality over the past four days in Tahrir Square. We're going to ask Ambassador Nicholas Burns if the revolution is unraveling.
So, who has the national security chops? We are counting down, of course, to tonight's critical CNN national security debate. The first showdown with Newt Gingrich at the top. And signs. Are aliens sending us a message? Did we miss any because we ran out of money? NASA is, apparently, restarting a program to listen for life in outer space.
We'll have those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour, but first, this is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 45 minutes past the hour. Here's what's all new this morning.
The so-called Super Committee is throwing in the towel. After 2 1/2 months of debt talks, the 12-member bipartisan panel just could not reach a deal on how to cut $1.2 trillion from the nation's deficit.
A birthday party may have turned into a flash mob in Washington. Police say about 50 teenagers swarmed a 7-11 on Saturday Night, swiping snacks and drinks before running away. Six teenagers were stopped who had items from the store. None could show receipts. Police say the suspects may have come from a nearby birthday party.
In money news, bad news for bargain hunters this holiday. Companies are cracking down on online shopping at work. A new survey finds that 60 percent of companies interviewed have blocked shopping sites. That's up from 48 percent last year. And even if you do have access, nearly a quarter of companies track your every online move.
In sports, Rex Ryan's emotions got the best of him, and it will cost him. The NFL fined the Jets coach $75,000 for telling a fan to shut up while using a profanity at half time of New York's loss to New England last Sunday. Ryan has since apologized and says he will not appeal the fine.
Let's head to Jacqui Jeras. For some reason, that story makes me laugh.
JERAS: I can tell.
COSTELLO: You would have sworn (ph), too, wouldn't you?
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: A lot of people might be swearing about the weather today, too, by the way, Carol. It's not going to be great out there for a lot of travelers. We're concerned about severe thunderstorms, and the flood threat continues across parts of the mid south. We're talking to lower Mississippi River Valley all the way up towards the Ohio River Valley.
Large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes will be possible. So, it is going to be tough for traveling. Just make sure that you don't drive over any roads that are flooded. Here's where you expect the delays. Really primarily across the east at one western city though, Carol, San Francisco, little fog this morning. Back to you.
COSTELLO: Got you. Thank you, Jackie.
The Republican presidential candidates will face off for the 11th time tonight. The focus tonight, national security. Moderator, Wolf Blitzer, has a preview of the showdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much. We're here in historic Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. We're only, what, half a block away from the White House, a couple blocks away from the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial. This is a real beautiful building. Very historic.
Every president, by the way, since Calvin Coolidge, has been to this building. And, tonight, there's going to be a significant Republican national security debate. The eight Republican candidates, they're going to all be up here together with me on the stage taking questions on national security, foreign policy, the economy.
We have our partners, the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, experts from both of those think-tanks. They'll be asking questions as well. I'll be directing the questions making sure that the viewers out there, especially the voters, Republican caucus voters, Republican primary voters will be a little bit more knowledgeable about where these candidates stand on the most important issues after the debate than they are right now going into the debate.
We want to know where the candidates agree, where they disagree, where they agree with President Obama on critical issues, where they disagree, where they agree among themselves and disagree. So, we'll have a good, strong debate. It's going to be important. I hope you'll all be watching tonight, the CNN national security debate at Constitutional here in the nation's capital, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I think Wolf sold it, didn't you? Tune in tonight on CNN.
Chaos in Egypt. Thousands of protesters taking over Tahrir Square. It is the fourth straight day of violent demonstrations. Zain Verjee is live in London, and it's pretty nasty out there. Police are lobbing tear gas at the crowds now.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tear gas, yes. And they're also throwing back at the police Molotov cocktails as well as rocks and stones. Just take a look at the scene in the Tahrir Square, because, Carol, it looks like they're back to square one. This could be scenes back in February with what's going on there.
Basically, everyone out on the streets is really mad at the military. They're angry because they feel they're holding on to power and just won't give it up. They're upset because there are not enough jobs. The economy has gone down. And also, they feel like they would have had more changes since Hosni Mubarak left, and they feel the pace has been really slow.
MS (ph) International, by the way, had a report come out and they said the human rights abuses under the Egyptian military leadership now is worse than under Hosni Mubarak -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Let's switch gears and talk a little bit about what's happening in South Korea, because I understand chaos absolutely broke out in parliament chambers. So, what happened?
VERJEE: Well, this isn't a scene that you would have seen in the Super Committee, Carol. Let me just show you some of these pictures here, OK, because there was a free trade agreement that was being discussed and the opposition based if they (ph) want to block it and look at what happened here. There was a huge scuffle, and the, one of the opposition candidates threw a tear gas canister in parliament.
They were really angry. They really didn't want this deal to go through, because they argue that it would really hurt South Korean farmers, but you can see the hostile scenes breaking out there in South Korea. This is actually good for the U.S. in spite of the scene, because this deal basically means $10 billion of additional exports from the U.S. to South Korea. What do you think of that video, Carol?
COSTELLO: I can't believe a lawmaker brought in a tear gas canister and just lobbed it at this fellow lawmakers?
VERJEE: He lobbed it in the building in parliament. And, eventually, you know, the scuffle broke out, but they made a deal. The agreement was eventually paused, and it was hammered out and that was the law of the country. I don't know if it would have worked in the Super Committee, Carol. What do you think?
COSTELLO: I think that maybe more than a few members of our viewing audience would say, why not? Give it a try!
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Zain. We appreciate it.
VERJEE: All right.
COSTELLO: Here's what we're working on for the 6:00 a.m. our of "American Morning," that 06:00 a.m. eastern. The Super Committee fails to come up with a plan to cut the deficit. So, where does this showdown go next?
And when we come back, we're leaving holiday stress. Yes, there is an app for that. Details in today's tech headlines. It's 51 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: It is that time of year again. Holiday shopping, holiday parties, and for many, that means one thing -- stress. But, lucky for you, there are apps to help you get through the season. CNNMoney's Laurie Segall is here with the details. Well, come on, Laurie. There's an app for dealing with stress?
LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. Well, you know, the idea, Carol, is that we're all stressed out. We're spending a lot of money during the holiday season. And we should keep track of our finances a little bit better because that will help relieve the stress. So, if you're an online shopper, which I know I am, there's a great app. It's called slice.
And what it does is it connected with your Gmail or your Yahoo account, and it will automatically go through all your online purchases in your e-mail receipts and track everything you're spending online. So, you know, look at it this way. You have a great idea of seeing exactly where your money is going online. I've been testing it out. I tried it. I'm spending a lot of money on iTunes, and that was pretty eye opening for me.
So, you know, during the holiday season where all your money counts, it's great to know exactly where you're spending your money. So, that's a really cool app. And there's also something pretty cool about it which is there's a way to track your packages. So, you know, during the holiday season, you order something online and, you know, you really want to make sure it gets there in time.
The idea is that it will send you a push notification because it will assess your tracking numbers. So, when your package is about to be sent, you'll get a notification on your phone and you'll automatically be able to be at your doorstep when they deliver that package. So, that's definitely a perk.
And, you know, let's say you're not exactly an online shopper, there's something called lemon which is a great app. Let's say you collect receipts. All you have to do is use the app which is free to download and you can take a picture of your receipts and will automatically digitize that information, and it will categorize it.
Say, you go to the grocery and, you know, instead of keeping that receipt and keeping a bundle of paper in your wallet, take a picture. It will categorize that's information as, you know, as food and you'll get a better idea of what you're spending money on during the holidays and, you know, it's very important to do, and it's so easy with these apps. I've been testing them out. They really are pretty easy.
COSTELLO: Sounds awesome. OK. So, we're days away from Thanksgiving, and of course, you pig out during Thanksgiving because that is the tradition. So, there's a good app to what, help keep our calories in check?
SEGALL: Yes. OK. So, let's be honest. We're being a little bit ambitious by saying we're going to try to keep our calories in check on Thanksgiving. But, if we want to do it, there's, you know, we might as well be as easy as possible. So, instead of actually, you know, adding and typing into your app what exactly you're eating, there's an app called meal snap.
And all you do is you download it for 199 in the app store, you take a picture of your food. And what it will do is it will automatically deliver an estimated calorie count of what you're eating. Right now, you're looking at -- I tested that. You're looking at a picture of pears and that kind of thing.
And actually, it gave me a really spot on calorie count. So, you know, they say it's magic. That's how they do it. Really, I think it's people in a room kind of accessing that information for you, but at the end of the day, it's someone else doing it and not you and that might make you actually stick to that, you know, that list in check during the holidays, you know?
COSTELLO: Maybe so or just might be depressing. Thank you very much, Laurie. We appreciate it.
SEGALL: Thank you.
COSTELLO: That's it for this Tuesday edition of A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. "AMERICAN MORNING" continues right after a break. Have a great day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
