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Rain, Floods Slams East Coast; Rahm Emanuel Leaving the White House; Video of an Execution; NASA Lays Off 1200 Workers; Senate Passes Bill Regulating Volume of TV Commercials; Conservative "Citizen Journalists" Go After Politicians on Left; Dean Used Students for Labor; What's for Dinner around the Globe?
Aired October 01, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The news continues on CNN with Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
Handsome fellows, yes?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Very handsome. Are they single?
ROMANS: We didn't ask that question, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes, hello?
ROBERTS: It's a strange question for a woman in your position to be asking, isn't it?
PHILLIPS: Oh, please. I was just asking for all the young ladies in the NEWSROOM who are in their mid-20s.
ROBERTS: OK.
PHILLIPS: Yes, about 30 years older than you and me.
ROBERTS: I thought I was being ditched.
PHILLIPS: Never, never. I love you dearly. Bye, guys.
ROBERTS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Good morning, everybody
ROBERTS: They are single.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: OK. We got a busy two hours ahead. Taking a closer look at what's passing for journalism nowadays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I want to know, you drive a taxpayer subsidized Cadillac, use rooms for rent apartment (INAUDIBLE), and fail to pay taxes on rental properties. When you write the tax code. REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: Why don't you mind your god damn business?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Not exactly Mike Wallace but close. He's going after someone, you know, these young interviewers. They're young, they're in your face and they lean to the right.
All right. Today we learn if Rahm Emanuel will leave the White House to run for mayor of Chicago. Running the Windy City could really test Rahmbo's toughness or Rahmbo's toughness.
And Facebook, the movie opens today. It's not just about friends. It's about enemies. We're hearing from two brothers who claimed the multi-billion dollar site was their idea. And was stolen.
I'm Kyra Phillips. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin now with severe weather on the East Coast and if you're anywhere between North Carolina and Maine, you're probably living this news right now and ready for a dry day.
Storms and floodwaters are the story on the East Coast. Days of pounding rain, of flooded streets, stranded cars sent people to shelters and delayed flights. Even some inland areas like Pennsylvania have socked -- socked rather with more rain than places on the coast.
Rob Marciano says that the good news is the storm is actually moving east, not just hovering over the seaboard so relief is in sight.
Now Wilmington, North Carolina, has gotten nearly two feet of rain since Sunday. People in that area looking at rivers and lakes where roads used to be.
Amanda Lamb from CNN affiliate WRAL is just outside Wilmington and Carolina Beach and has a wading boots on.
So, Amanda, looks like the skies may be clearing up a little bit. Finally a chance to dry out?
AMANDA LAMB, WRAL REPORTER: Yes. They are, Kyra. Luckily we haven't had any rain this morning but as you can see, the roads here are still a real mess in downtown Carolina Beach. They have a lake, an 11-acre lake that flooded over its banks and spread into the downtown area.
And, of course, very few people can get around. You can't drive. We've seen some people on kayaks and actually even some people biking through the water this morning.
They're trying to get the water out of this area. What they've done is they brought in a bunch of pumps down the road here. They've got five pumps working and they're pumping it out at a rate of 13 million gallons a day.
But again, a lot of water. It's going to take a while. There are about 18 roads closed in this area. And so, you know, people here are kind of at a standstill. They're in limbo until they can kind of get out and see what kind of damage they have in their businesses and their homes as a result of this flooding.
And it's going to be a while before things get back to normal here.
PHILLIPS: All right. Amanda, thanks.
Let's go ahead and bring in Rob Marciano now. He's watching the system all week for us.
Now, Rob, you said at least the system is moving?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. Finally. You know, the reason that these guys got so much heavy -- actually let's just go over the rainfall tallies here because it's impressive. Not only the totals but also just the wide swath of area that this is covered.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: That's not fun. All right, thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, the West Wing is losing a little muscle this morning. White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is set to step down today heading home to run for mayor of Chicago.
At least that's the word from CNN sources and in just about two hours, President Obama is expected to make a personal announcement. But the White House refuses to confirm that it's related to Emanuel's departure.
We're going to bring it to you as soon as it happens.
Now the man known as Rahmbo has built quite a reputation as a warrior and old-school politician who wasn't afraid to twist some arms to get some things done.
Candy Crowley knows that all too well. CNN's chief political correspondent, host of "STATE OF THE UNION."
I mean, I guess, first of all we'll get into Rahmbo and his whole history of not putting up with very much BS through the years --
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I love it, by the way, that we keep talking about this, you know, aggressive and tough, and so the picture we have of him reading this, you know, children's book to a bunch of little kids, but OK.
PHILLIPS: Yes, we should have used the pictures of him doing -- you know, his hands up in the air, pointing at people. Well, I guess, first of all, let's start with -- you know, what does this do to the Obama White House? And in particular, Barack Obama. I mean, these guys -- this was, you know, one of his closest advisers.
CROWLEY: It is. But he is also known -- Pete Rouse, who we expect to take over on an interim or a permanent basis, one or the other, has been with President Obama since he was a senator, so he was with Senator Obama.
He was there in the campaign. He was in the transition. And he is -- has been there as senior adviser so this is not an unknown quantity here. And it's certainly is within the president's comfort zone as we say. And that's where you want your chief of staff as was Rahm Emanuel.
I think in terms of will the White House change? Does it -- some big policy change here, no, I don't think so. The president sets the policy and Rouse is sort of a comfortable pick. He's been there from the beginning in the White House. He knows the policies. He's been talking about the policies, recommending and not recommending, so his moving over there.
I think the one thing they may feel is inside the White House because it's a personality change. As you say, Rahm is very aggressive. He is an old-school, hardball politics, whereas Pete Rouse is more laid back, more measured. And I will tell you that Rahm Emanuel talks to the press and Pete Rouse rarely does. So, you know, loss for us there.
PHILLIPS: Yes. That's a bummer. Well, OK --
CROWLEY: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Back to Chicago. You know, and Rahm not necessarily a shoe-in. There are a lot of candidates. But if you just look at what the city is dealing with now, I mean we're talking 313 murders so far this year. $654 million deficit. 10.8 percent unemployment.
You know, why would Emanuel even want this job? I mean, we all know he loves a challenge and he doesn't beat around the bush.
CROWLEY: I was going to say -- he does love a challenge. Chicago is one of God's great cities. I mean it's a great place. It has had larger-than-life mayors. I'll give you the Daleys, Harold Washington and it's something that he -- he's a Chicago native.
He was born there. He is 51 years old at this point. He's been at the White House. He's been a congressman. He's been chief of staff. He was with Bill Clinton, as well. So you're looking for your next big thing and he has always said my dream job is to be mayor of Washington -- mayor of Chicago.
So I don't think it's that -- I mean, everyone sort of knew that's what he always wanted to do and openings don't come that much in mayor of Chicago positions. So this one came open and you know you got to take your shot when you've got it and I think this is that time.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Well, we're going to talk more about it, that's for sure.
Candy, thanks so much.
CROWLEY: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: We didn't have time to touch on the whole corruption angle with Candy. That's a whole another angle to Chicago politics. We're going to talk about that at the top of the 10:00 a.m. hour.
All right. Well, we're hearing that Rahm is out and Pete Rouse is in as you just heard from Candy, and you know he's poised to take over as interim White House chief of staff today.
And unlike the man who came before him, as Candy was pointing out, Rouse has kept quiet, mostly avoiding the spotlight. Not a lot of people outside the beltway really know his name until now.
But here's a bit of a primer. He is a 64-year-old White House senior adviser. He is known as a problem solver. He's helped put out political fires over Guantanamo Bay and also top-level appointments. He served as Obama's Senate chief of staff and before that he was a pretty powerful aide to Senator Tom Daschle.
President Obama's personal announcement slated to start in just under two hours from the East Room of the White House. It's on a schedule for 11:05 Eastern Time. We'll bringing that to you live as soon as it happens.
It's video that almost makes your heart stop. Pakistani soldiers lighting up a group of bound and blindfolded men and opening fire. The story and the questions surrounding this horrifying video next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: State of emergency in Ecuador right now after what President Rafael Correa is calling a coupe attempt. Rebel police officers incensed over a new law that they say would cut their pay kidnapped the president at a hospital near the capital.
Hundreds of troops came to the president's rescue exchanging gun fire with the officers for nearly an hour. Two police officers were killed.
The president who's recovering from knee surgery was able to get out of the hospital in a wheelchair. He says those responsible for the kidnapping will be held accountable.
Militants in Pakistan today torched trucks carrying fuel for NATO troops. Those attackers used firecrackers and gasoline bombs to damage 25 trucks. No one was injured and those trucks were heading to Afghanistan.
Then in a related story, Pakistan is banning NATO supply convoy for using a border crossing into Afghanistan. That move comes after three Pakistani soldiers were killed in fighting between NATO troops and militants.
Well, critics have often accused Pakistani forces of taking the law into their own hands but now a video apparently shows soldiers acting as judge, jury and executioner.
You're gong to see that video and we warn you it's extremely violent.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following it for us out of Islamabad -- Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra. Absolutely graphic and gruesome video that we saw. There is something that is really very hard to watch. And I can tell I've watched it many, many times over the past couple of days.
It's really hard to authenticate where this video came from. We found it on Islamist Web site where it's already being used as anti- American and anti-Pakistani propaganda. Have a look at what you're going to see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): This video shows what looks like a unit of Pakistani soldiers lining up a group of men, some of them quite young, who are bound and blindfolded. It seems to have been shot on a cell phone and at one point a soldier approaches them and speaks briefly in Ordu. Then the soldiers open fire with rifles.
(GUN SHOTS)
As the video continues, the audio suggests some of the victims are still alive. One soldier approaches the victims and shoots again.
(GUN SHOTS)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): CNN has not been able to verify whether the video is of an actual event or when and where it was shot. Pakistan's military says it doesn't know whether the video is real or a forgery, but has launched an investigation into the matter.
Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general, says, judging from the uniforms, the weapons, and the posture of those involved, the video could be authentic.
TALAT MASOOD, RETIRED PAKISTANI GENERAL: And most probably we have to assume and that there is some level of credibility and then go for it and then do a thorough investigation.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Human rights groups have frequently accused Pakistani security forces of extra-judicial killings, especially in the military's anti-Taliban offenses in Swat and South Waziristan. Pakistan's human rights commission says such killings are not condoned by the military leadership, but the chairman of the group also says the military must crack down on anyone involved in human rights abuses or risk losing support of people in areas formally held by the Taliban.
MEHDI HASSAN, CHAIRMAN, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION PAKISTAN: And it can demolish the measure of the armed forces who are being appreciated by the people who are under siege of these terrorists for a long time.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The five-minute video appeared on Islamist websites. While questions about its authenticity remain, groups opposed to Pakistan's government and military are already using the video as propaganda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And Kyra, we do have to say, of course, that this video is very grainy. It's always very, very hard to authenticate videos like this. But this is certainly something that the Pakistani government, the Pakistani army are taking very seriously, they say. Because, of course, they themselves are very much involved in a battle for the hearts and minds of people in the tribal areas here in Pakistan, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Have you been able to get any kind of response from the US on this?
PLEITGEN: We certainly are. We asked both the State Department as well as the US military in Afghanistan for a statement on this. Both of them were kind of sketchy, they didn't want to put out a full statement. However, they did say that they have asked the Pakistani military to launch an investigation into this. They have inquired about what this video's about.
They say, however, that right now they're treating this as an internal, domestic Pakistani matter. However, of course, we do have to keep in mind that, of course, Pakistan and the Pakistani government are very much important allies for the US in the war on terror, so this is certainly something that is raising eyebrows in Washington, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Fred, thanks.
We're about to go to one now. A commercial. A lot of people are saying that they're louder than even the news program you're watching right now. The Senate has heard your complaints.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. Sources say White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will resign today to run for mayor of Chicago. Deputy Chief of Staff Pete Rouse is expected to take over the post on an interim basis. We're going to bring you President Obama's announcement live in the 11:00 hour. Flood warnings in place from the Carolinas to Maine as a tropical depression moves up the Atlantic coast. More than 22 inches of rain has fallen in Wilmington, North Carolina this week. Heavy winds are going to hit the northeast today. They also expect more airport delays.
And NASA is laying off more than 1200 workers today. Many of those employees have worked on the shuttle program, which is scheduled to shut down.
You always know when some commercials come on television because the volume is noticeably louder. Finally, the Senate has heard your complaints. Before heading home for recess, it passed a bill that prevents commercials from being played louder than other program. Right now, the FCC does not regulate the volume of programs or commercials. The bill is called the Calm Act, and it will move to the House, which passed similar legislation last December.
Well, they are young, they're conservative, and they're fed up with the government. They go after politicians with a vengeance, getting in their face and demanding answers. We'll have an inside look now -- as I look at the wrong camera -- at a new generation of political activists.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, they're a new generation of political activists, young and conservative, and they call themselves investigative reporters using social media to get their message out. More than six months, CNN followed a group of rising stars in the conservative movement. Special Investigations Unit Correspondent Abbie Boudreau here to talk about the upcoming documentary, "Right on the Edge." So, tell us about 27-year-old Jason Mattera.
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Jason Mattera, he is a "New York Times" best selling author of the book called "Obama Zombies." He's best known for videotaping those ambushes with the liberal lawmakers in the hallways of Congress and then posting them on YouTube. He told us he has no problem confronting the left.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON MATTERA, AUTHOR, "OBAMA ZOMBIES": This is really citizen journalists who are fed up with the direction of the country, and they are going out there and doing something about it.
Congressman Rangel, Jason Mattera.
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: How are you?
MATTERA: I'm from Brooklyn, New York.
I love buttering them up in the beginning.
Great to meet you, sir. RANGEL: What are you doing in Brooklyn?
MATTERA: I'm your young kid, so you're a young leftie, you're fan of his. And then, once they're buttered up, you just -- you just go in for the kill.
Why the hell do you drive a taxpayer-subsidized Cadillac, use four rent-controlled apartments below market rate, and fail to pay taxes on rental properties when you write the tax code?
RANGEL: Why don't you mind your goddamn business?
MATTERA: No, I'm serious! Why are you such a disgrace?
BOUDREAU (on camera): You look proud.
MATTERA: Oh, it's an adrenaline rush when you're doing it. Yes, I knew I caught him.
BOUDREAU: Do you think you cross a line of just being disrespectful at a certain point?
MATTERA: I am fine disrespecting the left, honestly.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Jason's confrontation with Congressman Rangel was shot more than a year ago, before the mainstream media was covering the story. Some of the issues Jason grills him on would become the subject of an ethics committee investigation. A full-blown Washington scandal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So, what kind of access did you really get to this movement?
BOUDREAU: You know what? It took a while to really gain the trust of a lot of the young people in our documentary. But we ended up getting great access, and really had a great glimpse inside this young conservative movement. Because remember, a lot of the young people that we profiled, they -- they didn't really think that CNN was going to do, necessarily, a fair piece. They thought it was going to be some sort of gotcha piece. And, so, it took a long time to build that trust.
PHILLIPS: It's because they're into that whole gotcha journalism. But I'm curious. Did you -- did they seem really well- read on the issues? Really into this? Or was it more of, "OK, it's kind of fun to nab these people and have it on tape and put it on the web and create a buzz"?
BOURDREAU: No. I mean, for someone like Jason Mattera, for example. He is the editor at humanevents.com. It's the largest conservative -- or it's the oldest conservative publication in the country. And so, he absolutely knows the issues, and he is a very strong conservative. Some of the other people that we talked to in the documentary have one specific passion that they're really excited about and that they target in and focus on. But someone like Jason Mattera, more of a well-rounded conservative.
PHILLIPS: And so, how far are these young activists actually willing to go?
BOURDREAU: Well, they're -- what we learned is there are few rules and few boundaries. What happened with James O'Keeffe just a couple of days ago, which we reported, the young man who dressed up as -- posed as the pimp in the ACORN videos, he was willing to go pretty far to try to punk me on his boat, and you know all about that story. But for the young movement as a whole, very few rules. Truth at all costs is something we heard over and over and over again.
PHILLIPS: Looking forward to the documentary for sure. Appreciate it, Abbie. Thanks so much. It's this weekend, it's called "Right on the Edge" this Saturday and Sunday 8:00 PM Eastern and again at 11:00 PM. Thanks, Abbie.
BOURDREAU: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Facebook, the movie opens today. "Social Network" actually has a page on Facebook. Nearly 43,000 people like it. Mark Zuckerburg, the founder, probably isn't one of them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. We heard now -- head over now to Wall Street where stocks are poised for a higher start on the first day of the new month and the corner - or new quarter, rather.
Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Hey, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Thanks to the rain, it is pretty dreary and soggy outside in New York. But here inside the Stock Exchange, Wall Street is basking in the sunshine.
This is the first trading day of October. And investors would be really happy if it's even half as upbeat as September was. Two of the three major averages, they posted the best September gains since 1939. And while the Dow added 7.7 percent and the S&P 500 gained almost 9 percent, the NASDAQ even jumped a whopping 12 percent. And that's significant because September is historically the worst month of the year for stocks.
Continental and United Airlines have wrapped up their combination, created the world's largest carrier. Shares of the company, which are going to be trading under the ticker symbol UAL right now are trading higher, up about 6 percent.
Meantime, we learned before the bell that the amount of money that Americans made in August rose by half a percent. That's the fastest pace this year. Also, how much consumers spent also increased by almost half a percent, and that's important because it's a huge driver of economic growth.
Both numbers came in better than expected. We have got some better-than-expected numbers to start off with. The Dow right now up 63 points. The NASDAQ higher by 20. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. Alison, thanks.
KOSIK: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of our youth, even young adults work at McDonald's for the benefits. However, the fast food giant's bosses say that the new health care overhaul threatens thousands of McDonald's workers now. It all comes down to one regulation they say will now make it too expensive to continue them.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sounds like McDonald's is telling the government it needs a waiver from a new health care mandate or else. "The Wall Street Journal" reports it obtained a memo from McDonald's to federal officials saying if the company doesn't get an exemption, its hourly workers may lose the minimal benefits they have.
The company's talking about a rule expected to take effect that will tell insurance companies to use at least 80 percent of the money they take in to pay for treatment, not overhead or salaries. "It would be economically prohibitive for our carrier to continue offering basic coverage," McDonald's says and, "it would deny our people this current benefit that positively impacts their lives and protects their health."
McDonald's workers don't belong to unions, but I asked Damon Silvers of the AFL-CIO what he thought about the McDonald's warning.
DAMON SILVERS, ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, AFL-CIO: McDonald's is saying, we want to try leverage the administration to not enforcing a law by threatening them to cut off health care to these low-wage workers who pay for it with their own money.
TODD: Contacted by CNN, neither McDonald's nor administration officials deny the memo was sent. But McDonald's in a statement to CNN says no decision has been made, and, "Media reports stating that we plan to drop health care coverage for our employees are completely false. These reports are purely speculative and misleading. Tegardless of how the regulations evolve over the next several months, McDonald's is committed to providing competitive pay and benefits and the strongest employment opportunities possible."
How do McDonald's workers feel about this?
(on camera): I got a cheeseburger and fries, but what I don't have are any employees of McDonald's to talk to us about their health care benefits or how they feel about potentially losing some of them. This is the fifth McDonald's in the D.C. area where we've gone to try to get comment from any McDonald's employees, any hourly employees about the prospect. Each time we go into one of these places, they tell us that they can't let us film inside, that the managers can't talk to us, that we can't talk to the employees without permission from some regional or corporate managing office of one of these facilities. When we call them, they say either no or we'll get back to you. And so far, none of them have.
(voice-over): A number of other major companies with hourly employees offer the same kind of health plan as McDonald's. But administration officials tell CNN the rules McDonald's asked about haven't been finalized yet. And if McDonald's does request a waiver, officials say, they're committed to finding a solution.
Brian Todd, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you're a Facebooker, you might want to check out a movie that's hitting the theaters to. "The Social Network" is the story of how Facebook got started, and it's not so much about friends as enemies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE EISENBERG, ACTOR (acting): You guys were the inventors of Facebook? We invented Facebook.
ANDREW GARFIELD, ACTOR (acting): Is there anything that you need to tell me?
EISENBERG: Your actions could have permanently destroyed everything I've been working on --
GARFIELD: We have been working on.
EISENBERG: Do you like being a joke? Do you want to go back to that?
GARFIELD: Mark!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the movie's tag line is "you don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies."
John Roberts actually talked to a couple of those enemies this morning. The two brothers who claim that Facebook was their idea and that Mark Zuckerberg stole it.
So, John, how did it all start? How did they know each other, and when did the accusations start flying?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss had been working on something at Harvard University, which is where they were all attending called Connect You. It was supposed to be a sort of a Harvard-wide social networking Web site.
They were having some problems with programming. Mark Zuckerberg known to be a crack at programming, so they invited him to come in. They had him work on it, and their allegation is in their 2004 lawsuit against him he was taking an awful lot of time, wasn't delivering the results. And all the meantime, he was stealing their idea. And then he launched Facebook. 2008, they successfully sued him for 65 -- what's believed to be $65 million.
PHILLIPS: All right. You asked him about that lawsuit, you know, hey, look, you've already got $65 million. Why do you want more? Because they're appealing it.
ROBERTS: They are.
PHILLIPS: Let's take a listen to that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You guys sued the company. You settled. The figure's been redacted out of the new court filings, but it's taken to be around $65 million, which a lot of people think that's a tremendous amount of money.
But you're going back. You're appealing that. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, basically, Facebook played dirty with us during the litigation and at mediation. So, we don't want to be defrauded into a settlement agreement, so we're appealing and trying to rescind it.
ROBERTS: What are you looking for? More money?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, essentially the agreement that we entered into them, there's an equity component of that, and they misvalued that.
ROBERTS: The equity component being what? Being what the company was actually worth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The equity -- being, yes, exactly.
ROBERTS: And it's worth, what? $24 billion now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm not sure exactly what the exact valuation is today, but it would --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty shrewd.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With respect to our situation, we were given equity that was valued considerably higher than what they were valuing their own equity internally and a board-approved number. So, once we sort of determined that difference, and we found out about that, we have since trying to challenge it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: : So what is Zuckerberg said about all this recently, or is not commenting?
ROBERTS: Well, he's not commenting directly but certainly he is through spokespeople for Facebook. And spokesperson on this particular appeal that the Winklevosses have launched, saying "We have considered the Winklevoss dispute closed for years. We wish them well in their future endeavors." So, basically not getting another nickel out of us.
They're going to try hard. Do they have a case or do they not? I don't know what the original valuation was of the company when they got their $65 million. But it's somewhat fluid now. It's valued anywhere between $14 billion and $33 billion, depending on who you talk to. Some projections of valuation go as much as $100 billion.
Exactly what they're entitled to? It is going to be up to the courts in Connecticut.
PHILLIPS: Interesting. Well, the movie's getting a lot of buzz, that's for sure.
ROBERTS: Sure is.
PHILLIPS: And really, bottom line, we don't know really what happened, right? It's just accusations flying back and forth at this point.
ROBERTS: It's definitely he said/he said, but there was some sort of acknowledgment because they got $65 million. And nobody gets $65 million to go away unless there's some substance to their claim.
PHILLIPS: That's a good point. John, thanks.
Well, Republican voters choose who they want to run for the White House in 2012. Sarah Palin is on the list, but she's not leading.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. Dangerous weather hammering the East Coast again. Flood warnings and watches start from the Carolinas to Maine. At least four people have been killed in a weather related accident.
Sources say White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will resign today to run for mayor of Chicago. Sources say that long-time Obama adviser Pete Rouse in line to be interim chief of staff.
New files could be charged in connection with the Rutgers University student who jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Tyler Clementi died by suicide after a secret video of his sexual encounter with another man was streamed online by another student. Two students have been charged with invading his privacy, but prosecutors are trying to determine if bias played a role. And a program note. Bullying in our schools and online. Why kids do it, and what can be done to put an end to it? "ANDERSON COOPER 360" special report you don't' want to miss. It begins Monday night, 10:00 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Time now for our political update. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Washington at the desk. When's crossing, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, I got some new stuff for you, Kyra.
Let's walk about West Virginia. If the Republicans take back the Senate, still a big if, one of the places they're probably do it is West Virginia. This seat has been in Democratic hands for over 50 years. This is Robert Byrd's old seat, but he died earlier this year.
Dave Jenkins, our cameraman, take a look at this. Brand new on the CNN Political Ticker this morning. Is West Virginia now up for grabs? Well, one of the top political nonpartisan handicappers, "The Cooke Report" now says yes. The state is a toss-up. The race is now between the governor there, popular Democrat Joe Manchin and a guy called John Raci (ph) a businessman.
And just yesterday, when that new rating came out, one of the top Republican independent groups called American Crossroads, announced to put money and effort into get out the vote efforts there. So, Republicans think this is a place to win, where they can grab back a big seat.
OK. Let's move ahead and talk about 2012. You know, we still have four weeks until this election, but let's move right ahead to the next one, Kyra, and that battle for the Republican presidential nomination.
Check out the brand-new poll from Gallup, and it shows what I guess a lot of people saying. Right now, in the early stages of the race, names matter. Right now, the big names, people you remember. Mitt Romney, who ran last time at 19 percent. Sarah Palin. Of course, everybody knows her on the Republican side. Sixteen percent. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor. Of course, he ran last time -- at 12 percent. And Newt Gingrich at 9 percent. This is what Republicans and independents who lean Republican are saying about a hypothetical race. Remember, nobody's announced yet. That's still to come.
And one other thing. If we're talking about 2012, Obama versus Clinton? No, we did that already. That's so 2008. But you know what? Outside chance that maybe the secretary of state wants to take on the president in the Democratic presidential nomination challenge. Probably not going to happen, but Gallup asked the question anyway among Democrats. Fifty-two percent said they would back Obama. Thirty-seven percent said they would back Clinton in a very, very, very hypothetical match-up. And you know, other people saying maybe Clinton and Biden will swap places and Biden would become secretary of state, Clinton the vice presidential nominee.
A lot of what ifs, Kyra. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Paul, thanks. We're going to have our next political update in an hour. And a reminder, you can always go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.
All right. Flashback 1962. On this day, the music that became America's late night theme. Remember that? Johnny Carson started his long run as the host of "The Tonight Show" on this date. A run that lasted 1,914 shows. Thirty years of razor sharp monologues.
Unforgettable characters, like Aunt Flabby (ph), Manic the Magnificent (ph), Art Fern. And of course, the show that launched or cemented countless -- countless careers.
So how many times did you fall asleep watching Johnny Carson? Well, guess what, you're not alone. For a generation, he was just simply Mr. TV.
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(CLIP FROM THE MOVIE, "ANNIE")
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PHILLIPS: Well, talk about a hard knock life. When we read this next story, we couldn't help but think of Annie and those orphans doing Miss Hannigan's bidding. Only in this case allegedly the orphanage was St. Johns University in New York and the orphans were students and Miss Hannigan, a dean. Well, she's a former dean now. Thank goodness.
Prosecutors say that Cecilia Chang made students do things like cook and clean at her place in Queens. That part sounds like Annie. But even mean Miss Hannigan never made Annie drive her son to the airport at 3:00 a.m. or drive up to a casino to deliver more cash. That's actually part of the complaint against Chang.
It also says that most of the student's servants were from overseas and that Chang threatened to take their scholarship money away if they didn't serve her. Nice dean, huh?
Chang is charged with forced labor and bribery. Oh and she's also accused of embezzling about a million dollars from the school. The upside of that, well, at least she didn't make the students take that for her.
All right, let's push forward and see what's happening in the next hour. We are checking in with our reporters and see what they are working on. Let's begin with White House correspondent, Ed Henry.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I'm in Chicago, because that's where Rahm Emanuel is headed to run for mayor. Emanuel out as White House chief of staff; Pete Rouse in.
Who is Pete Rouse? We'll have that story at the top of the hour.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center, the storm that's rolling across the eastern seaboard finally starting to press offshore but we still have at least a day left in New England to deal with. Run down the record rainfall totals and the airport delays in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, guys.
Also ahead, the economy taking a toll on tying the knot. We're going to talk to couples who say the recession is forcing them to put off their marriage plans. That's ahead at 10 a.m.
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PHILLIPS: Well, CNN is taking a cross-country food journey all this week and we've sent reporting teams to every corner of America and beyond. Our mission to get fresh answers about how our food is grown and how the choices we make impact our health, our state of mind, our budgets and of course, the pure joy of eating.
We have teamed up with the new CNN.com Food Destination Eatocracy.com to bring you "Eatocracy: Mind, Body and Wallet" and this morning we're looking at the American diet, not just what we're eating but how much of it.
First up, the Texas state fair, where the deep fryer isn't just for solid foods anymore.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fried beer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fried beer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fried beer.
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PHILLIPS: I guess it's 5:00 somewhere. Fried beer is the new addition to this year's menu. The beer is frozen then tucked inside a pretzel then the pretzel is thrown into the hot oil. Love it or hate it, it's a matter of taste, I guess.
But growing portion sizes in the U.S. are a matter of fact. Check this out, a typical cheeseburger and fries 20 years ago packed about 685 calories. The meal has ballooned and so has the calorie count, up to 920 calories. Well, that got us thinking, what people around the world eat and how much of it do they eat?
So we used CNN's worldwide resources to send our reporters out to dinner. Here's a taste of typical meals in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL: I am not proud of this but as a Chicago-bred American, I like food and the more the better whether it be jumbo-sized hot dogs or personal pan cookie desserts, topped with ice cream, of course. In America, when it comes to food, size matters.
Not so much in Japan. This is a classic Japanese dinner, sushi. What is valued here, it is beautifully presented, made with fresh, natural ingredients and you may notice it is much smaller than the American dinner out.
When I first moved here, I would eat all this and say that was a delicious appetizer. So, it has taken some adjusting. There is a saying here in Japan that you eat from the eyes. Beauty is appreciated. Fresh, locally produced food. People here grocery shop almost every single day so very little is processed food.
And for your health, you don't stuff yourself. You only eat until you're about 80 percent full. And as far as dessert, two pieces of fruit. That's what they offer.
So, food here though is much more expensive than the United States. All of this costs about $26 and this is all before the sake.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
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DAVE MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dave McKenzie in Nairobi, Kenya. Now in Kenya, the butchery and the restaurant are often in the same place. If you want an evening meal, you do it a bit like this. How is it going?
Could I have one kilo chomanbuzi (ph)? So he is going to now cut our meat to get our food. This is just over a kilogram of goat, just over two pounds. On the surface of it portions in Kenya are pretty big.
Take the ribs, throw it on the fire, like that, grab a fistful of salt. So, the food has arrived. The goat you just saw there -- basically this is like a Kenyan meal.
When I first arrived here, I was quite surprised at the scale of the food here. You have got the goat here. You have got the maize meal over here, the sokuma wiki (ph) which is basically like local spinach. You have the roasted potatoes and the tomato, which is called katsambari (ph) but the catch is, in the U.S., you often eat, you know, on your own in a small group but this is all shared with a big group of people. Enjoy.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESONDENT: Oh, excellent. You really can't get a more typical Cuban meal than this one. I'm Shasta Darlington in Havana and we have an enormous leg of pork. We have got yucca with garlic sauce, some fried plantains, rice and beans which are called sombri (ph) here. Well, it is a feast. And all of this is produced in Cuba.
But not so much because Cubans are concerned about eating local. It is because it is so much cheaper than importing food. Cuba, like so many countries is in the middle of an economic crisis. So deep, in fact, that the government has declared that slashing imports is a matter of national security.
Now a lot of Cubans prefer beef but they really can't afford it. It is expensive here, which is why pork has become sort of a national dish. It's cheap and it is everywhere. In fact, a lot of people raise their own pigs.
My neighbor, for example, here in Havana, has a pig in his backyard. I have been to an apartment where they were raising a pig in the bathroom.
As you can see the portions in popular restaurants like this one are big, verging on huge, but at the end of the meal, you will see that most of the plates are pretty clean. And this is due to a kind of post-war mentality that grew out of the last economic crisis in Cuba in the 1990s. When protein was scarce and often, people didn't know when they would get their next meal, so they ate what food they have.
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PHILLIPS: "Eatocracy: Mind, Body, and Wallet" continues next week. Remember cnn.com/eatocracy for more stories on healthy eating. It's also where you can learn more about how to unlock the CNN healthy eater badge on Four Square.
