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President Obama in Indonesia; Clinton Shows Lighter Side
Aired November 09, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: What a way to roll in the 10:00 hour. 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
President Obama in Indonesia, the country where he spent some of his childhood years. But the visit may be cut short this morning. We'll have a live report in just a minute.
For more generations, McDonald's Happy Meals, well, the staple of American childhood. Today it could become outlawed. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted on banning the fast food icon. Critics say McDonald's use the toys to entice kids to buy food that's just bad for them.
And then chew on this - junk food could be the secret weapon in your next diet. Not kidding. This college professor says he lost weight and improved his health eating Twinkies, Little Debby's and lots of calorie counting.
One week ago today, voters went into the polls and Democrats went down in flames And this morning, Republican lawmakers are meeting to begin the process of taking over the House of Representatives. Among the challenges, the GOP has to decide how to treat all of the Tea Party winners and whether they'll have a seat in the leadership.
Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is on Capitol Hill. So, Brianna, what's going on with this?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are really interesting pictures that you're seeing here. This is the GOP transition team, Kyra. They just had this meeting, and they are dealing with a lot of you know, some of the housekeeping issues but they're also dealing with important things, like how long does a bill get put online so that lawmakers and the general public can read them?
You see there on the right side of your screen. That is Greg Walden of Oregon, heading up these team. But look at these folks on the left, you probably don't know who they are, why? Because they're new. These are the incoming Republican freshmen and they are seated prominently there by the man in charge of this transition team because they're being showcased.
This is what Republicans are doing. They're trying to say, look, we are putting these new members out there, we are giving them a seat at the table. These new members who are aligned with the Tea Party, giving them a voice, and, Kyra, one of the ways they're doing this is sources tell us the GOP leadership in the House, they are actually going to add a leadership position for one of these incoming freshman aligned with the Tea Party, and this is something that doesn't really happen very often. So that when we do see these press conferences every week, like we do with the GOP and the Democratic leadership, we're going to be seeing one of these Tea Party members, and at this point, we understand that there's a South Dakota representative, incoming representative Kristi Noem that she is interested in this position and she has some backing from GOP Leadership. Of course, there has to be an election but this is how this is playing out with the (INAUDIBLE) with the Tea Party, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes, and what do we know about Kristi Noem? We don't know a lot about her. As a matter of fact, she was supposed to be on AMERICAN MORNING this morning and wasn't able to make it. A lot of questions people have for her.
KEILAR: Yes, Kristi Noem is the mother of three. She ran a really interesting race because she's seen as a very charismatic politician, and she ran a very interesting and contentious race against a very charismatic Democrat, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and she was able to win. She's seen as someone who is articulate. She is seen as someone who could kind of come in here and see her star rise, and if Republicans, Republican leaders, were to give her a seat at the leadership table, assuming that freshman Republicans sign off on it, they could say, look, this is important because we have a woman at the table and we also have one of these brand new Republican members who is aligned with the Tea Party. It kind of would allow them to check a lot of boxes if it does play out that way.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll track it. Brianna Keilar live from Capitol Hill. Appreciate it.
Well, children as young as 12 years of age forced into prostitution, and this morning possible hope for dozens of them. A federal crackdown on child sex trafficking resulted called "Operation: Cross Country V," ended Sunday night and resulted in hundreds of arrests.
Police recovered 69 kids, more than a dozen in Seattle. 884 people were arrested. The director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement actually talked about the kids that were saved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MORTON, DIR., IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: Not adult women in control of their lives, but girls who were moved about and used for sex so that others could profit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: In Tennessee, 29 men and women, many of them legal immigrants from Somalia are accused of taking part in this prostitution ring.
An assistant attorney general in Michigan is out of a job after reportedly targeting an openly gay college student leader. You may remember this story. We were all over it. The state attorney general says that Andrew Shirvell "engaged in border line stalking behavior." The AG says the Shirvell also lied to investigators. Shirvell was accused of targeting university student body pres Chris Armstrong on- line and in person.
And you remember former BP chief executive Tony Hayward. Well, he tells the BBC that BP was not prepared for the Gulf oil disaster. Hayward says that he would still be on the job if the first efforts at killing the Deepwater Horizon well on the first try had been successful.
He was removed as CEO, during efforts to clean up the spill and seal that well. They were told, BBC "The contingency plans were inadequate and they were making it up day to day. What was going on was some extraordinary engineering but when it all played out in the full glare of the media, as it was, of course, it looked like fumbling and incompetence."
Well, those of you in New England, you better hold onto your hat, the wind is picking up. Rob Marciano in the severe weather center to give us the rundown on what's happening across the country.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It just won't stop. They had the winds yesterday. Still breezy in the eastern parts of New England and the rain just now beginning to lighten up just a little bit. There's the old curlicue. You can see the rotation. Here's your low and things now just beginning to wind down across parts of Cape Cod. Martha's Vineyard in Nantucket beginning to start, well not so much in Nantucket, but those dry out eventually but the damage is done in places like Portland, Maine, where yesterday winds gusted over 60 miles an hour. So certainly enough to take down some tree limbs at the very least and even some big trees, and that took down some power lines.
At one point, 60,000 folks without power up there. So the power crews out and about trying to get that nasty situation fixed. And boy, it was nasty. We had not only the winds but the rain, and couple that with temperatures in the upper 30s. That's not good stuff. Billings to Denver, we got another storm that's rolling through the Wasatch of Utah, getting into the inner mountain west and the Rocky Mountains, the (INAUDIBLE) as well. You could see six to 12 inches of fresh powder. (INAUDIBLE) 7,000 feet, 12 to 20 potentially once this is all said and done plus we got another storm that's coming into the Pacific northwest. There it is.
Rain in Seattle expected there. 46 degrees. Look at the warmth across the mid section, 76 degrees in Kansas City, 75 in Dallas. Even 68 degrees as far north as Minneapolis and Chicago. So if that's not tennis - I heard you and Tony playing tennis together. Boy you really start -
PHILLIPS: Let me tell, I'm not going to tell you what I called it. But it was like boot camp. All right. He took me out with these two pros.
MARCIANO: Really? PHILLIPS: Not only is he tough but these two guys he trains with, holy molly, I was playing with some gals that plays in the WNNBA and there my little self was running around. I tell you -
MARCIANO: Play big or go home, I guess.
PHILLIPS: That's my motto. That's my motto, Rob Marciano.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Did you watch Conan? You were probably fast asleep by then.
MARCIANO: No, but I plan on watching it on DVR.
PHILLIPS: You're going to Tivo, (INAUDIBLE)
MARCIANO: Yes, that's the point of television folks.
PHILLIPS: Darn right.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: This is like the biggest thing. He's paid more than Larry King. You better watch.
MARCIANO: Really?
PHILLIPS: I don't know. I'm throwing that. I have no idea. He actually wandered, as you know, the TV desert for months.
MARCIANO: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Figuring out what the heck am I going to do and he reached the promised land, which was TBS, and he had a hard time saying cable but Larry King helped him out. You're actually going to get a sneak peek of his show last night.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Don't do it, Conan!
CONAN O'BRIEN, TALK SHOW HOST: Larry King?
KING: I'm your guardian angel.
O'BRIEN: But you're not dead.
KING: Never mind that. I have two words for you. Basic cable.
O'BRIEN: Basic cable?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conan, I think you'll find our terms very attractive.
O'BRIEN: I think we have a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, nothing like Larry King as a guardian angel, huh? After 10 months of being off the air, Conan O'Brien launched his new late night show on TBS. (INAUDIBLE) and fun, of course. "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer joining us. So A.J., what do you think? Did he live up to the hype, and do you really think he is getting paid much less?
A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: Much, much less. You know, all kinds of reports have been out there about that. I thought he lived up to the hype. Look, he's been off the air for a while but it's home to him. It's what he does. And he felt very comfortable last night. I thought it was terrific. The reviews have been great.
And he really is back to his old style and a lot of reviews reflecting that, and the feeling he never left. (INAUDIBLE) on-line this morning some of the headlines, "stronger, more self-assured Conan," "looser, goofier Conan." "Like he never left. Returns with guns blazing" So Kyra, I got to say, I think he's off to a terrific start.
PHILLIPS: and he's still got the big hair. He kept the big peacock in front even though he's not with NBC.
HAMMER: Yes. He says there's nothing he can do about that hair.
PHILLIPS: Well, here's the big question, A.J., can he rival David Letterman and Jay Leno, to become the new king of late night? What do you think?
HAMMER: You know, that remains to be seen, obviously, but a lot of people think the time slot being on a little earlier is going to help him out and his fan base, Team Coco, as they're called, they were stronger than ever. All the time he was off the air. They were following him, supporting him, using Twitter. That became Conan's greatest asset, and even David Letterman talking about his own new competition on the show last night. I want to read to you quickly what Letterman said.
About 11:30 in the middle of the show, he said "Right about now Conan is about halfway through his first show, and everything is going fine. And yep, no signs of foul play yet." All right. I do need to move on to another show that is already an institution, Kyra. Of course, the monster hit "Dancing With the Stars" still going strong and we were right there last night. Bristol Palin is speaking out to "Showbiz Tonight," and trying to survive the competition through week number 8.
Palin and her partner Mark Ballas did this downright sexy tango last night. They're obviously hoping to stay in the game. I want to you take a look at what Bristol and Mark told us after their big dance about, trying to keep hope alive and what Mama Sarah has been saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRISTOL PALIN, DAUGHTER OF SARAH PALIN: I had a blast doing the tango. I felt like it was intense and everything was pretty powerful and stuff and it's like we're not being rewarded for hard work.
MARK BALLAS, PALIN'S DANCE PARTNER: I got to see Sarah again. Sarah's great, Todd's awesome and you know, Tripp was there, and her little brother, Trig. You know, they came to rehearsal and Sarah always has encouraging words to say which is really awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, Bristol is going to find out tonight, Kyra, if she survived again. There a lot of people who have been saying all along a vote for Bristol is really a vote for Sarah. There is a pretty general consensus she is not the best dancer in the bunch. And I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before.
PHILLIPS: There's always going to be some sort of political twist.
How about you? Can you tango, A.J.?
HAMMER: Not a bit. I won't even try.
PHILLIPS: Can you cha-cha?
HAMMER: Don't look for it anytime soon.
PHILLIPS: Can you west coast swing? Give me something, A.J..
HAMMER: I can salsa.
PHILLIPS: You can salsa? Oh, you can eat salsa.
HAMMER: I can eat salsa. Yes.
PHILLIPS: Oh, A.J., we love having you in the morning. Thanks. Appreciate it.
HAMMER: Good to see you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we want to see more of Bristol and everything else breaking in the entertainment world, all you got to do is go to A.J.'s show. "Showbiz Tonight" 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on HLN.
And one more note from the showbiz beat, Monday's episode of "Oprah," the children of the late king of pop, Michael Jackson, spoke about their departed father, not the performer but the doting parent that few of us really knew. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARIS JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S DAUGHTER: I kind of felt like no one understood what a good father he was. I'd say he was the best cook ever.
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: A cook, really?
JACKSON: Everyone says, a cook, like they're surprised to hear it.
WINFREY: Yes, I am.
JACKSON: He was just a normal dad except he was the best dad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The segment was the first time Michael's three kids, Prince, Paris and Blanket, spoke on camera about their dad. We got more of that interview on our web site, cnn.com.
Well, if you don't think Hillary Clinton has a sense of humor, we have a clip for you. Evidently, it is possible to get in touch with your fun side as long as you're in Australia.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you're playing word association, the words "Hillary Clinton" probably wouldn't make you blurt out words like warm, sweet, delicate. And that's probably because of moments like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. STATE SECRETARY: I suppose I could have stayed home and bake cookies and have teas. But what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.
I'm not sitting here some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wyneth (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That definitely cost her some warm and fuzzy points during the 2008 presidential campaign. Same deal. Remember this from a debate right on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor Resco, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Ouch. You don't probably think about the secretary of state as basically a laugh ride, either. Conan's job is probably safe from Hillary Clinton but check out this interview she did with a comedy duo in Australia, two guys named (INAUDIBLE) talked with her during her diplomatic trip down under and kind of unleashed the fun- loving, jokey Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We start with a gift. It's potato chips or crisps. (INAUDIBLE) the people of Australia invented it. It's the gravy chip.
CLINTON: I am thrilled. Can I tell you how much this means to me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a collector of chips? Is this your first -
CLINTON: I'm an eater of chips.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We recommend not. It expired two years ago. If you try to eat them, technically, it's an assassination attempt by us.
CLINTON: Should I wait until I'm out of Australian air space?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With a lot of foreign travel in your job -
CLINTON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You must get very good at accepting gifts.
CLINTON: I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And making believe that you love them, like this.
CLINTON: Usually, it is a very happy expression on one's face. Now, sometimes the gifts are really had to do that with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever left one behind? It's possible.
CLINTON: No, no, we take them all. We do thank you notes. You will get a thank you note for this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not necessary. Consider us thanked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: OK. She's got a lighter side. That's our talker today. And let's talk about Dana Milbank, the writer of politics for "The Washington Post." So Dana, what did you think?
DANA MILBANK, WRITER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Kyra, if you asked me two years ago, would Barack Obama be down in the polls, and Hillary Clinton a comic genius, I would have said very low odds on this. You know, I think she is really coming into her own. She is outpolling her boss. She's the one bright spot in the administration.
You can see her sort of lightening up. She is more comfortable in her own skin and she was outright funny in parts of that video and I found for the first time I was actually chuckling with Hillary Clinton rather than chuckling at her.
PHILLIPS: Well, were you surprised that she went on this show?
MILBANK: It was a little bit unusual. I wouldn't be surprised to see her do some more of that. You know, she is in a position now where she can lighten up a little bit because she does seem to be comfortable in her own skin. You saw President Obama go on "The Daily Show," and it didn't work out very well because he has to answer all these tough questions about why didn't you achieve thus and such. But Hillary can talk about gravy chips, you know, comment that it seems on TV, that everybody in America is either wrestling or wearing bikinis.
PHILLIPS: Now, Dana - all right, and we'll get into that quote in a minute. The bikini quote because that's pretty darn funny. She actually references the Kardashians. Just a second on that. But why do you think we are seeing this lighter side? Is it because she's been up against such a popular husband for so long that she's felt like she's maybe needed to be the complete opposite of him and now she's, you know, she's doing well? There's even people talking about her possibly running for president once again.
MILBANK: Right, right.
PHILLIPS: What do you think happened? What was the change?
MILBANK: I think it's that the spotlight, the pressure has always been on her. She was always performing, whether it was during her husband's administration or for the voters as a senator or as a presidential candidate and she was sort of painfully earnest, and when she did try to crack a joke, you know, like the one she said about bringing Obama a pillow, as she said during the debate. It always came across as fairly canned and awkward and I think she has reached a point where she does not have to stand for re-election in two years.
If she's going to run for president, it's a long way down the road. So instead of sort of being tightly managed, she's actually there sort of reading the stage directions out, you know, talking about what she actually thinks when she gets these dumb gifts from world leaders.
PHILLIPS: That's right. They will get a thank you note for the potato chips. Now you brought up the bikini. Here's the quote when she was talking about the Kardashians. Well, they brought up the Kardashian reality show. She says if you look at American TV as much as the rest of the world does, you would think that we all went around wrestling and wearing bikinis. I mean, that's what would you think we spent our entire day doing, right? And they had a great back and forth. Whoever thought we would hear secretary of state Hillary Clinton, you know, mentioning the Kardashians?
MILBANK: I wouldn't have expected it at all but then again, you know, if you continue watching the show right after she gets off, one of the hosts is attempting to do some pole dancing. So this is pretty edgy for an American secretary of state but I suspect as it goes viral on the web she will perhaps be attempting to carry her comedy routine into other steps of the foreign state.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it would be interesting to watch. It's definitely a different side to the secretary of state. Dana Milbank, love reading your stuff in "The Washington Post." Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.
MILBANK: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, they called him Barry, a far cry from the commander in chief that we know today. An interesting look at President Obama to the eyes of childhood friends from Indonesia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the stock market, opening bell just rang about an hour ago. Let's go check those numbers. Dow industrials up 12 points.
And if you don't get invited to someone's house for Thanksgiving, just blame the economy. A new survey is out saying that people are actually shortening their list for the big meal. Steph, is a turkey that expensive?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Apparently, it's not just the turkey. It's every else and may it's a good way for some people to avoid some family members. I'm not exactly sure about that, Kyra. But yes, it seems people are cutting back on everything that has to do with thanksgiving, from the decorations to the turkey, maybe the cranberry sauce although that may not be a bad thing either.
But here's what happening, 38 percent of the American families modifying on what they plan on doing because of the economy. Saying it's just too expensive and they want to scale back. And this is actually the Second Thanksgiving in a row that people scaling back, according to first command.
So let me tell you, how people are doing it. The first one is, they are celebrating with just the immediate family, they're not going to go over. They're not going to see Aunt Marge. They're not going to bring over, Uncle Bill. They're not going to do any of that. They're also going to stay closer to home, do a lot less traveling. People also cutting back on what's going to be on the dinner table.
This one actually cracks me up because "hey, it's too expensive to have Thanksgiving at our house, so let's go to somebody else's house for dinner." They don't mid, picking up and then serving a potluck, having everyone do that. Two percent of people going out to dinner, and one percent of people are canceling Thanksgiving altogether. PHILLIPS: That's wrong.
Now that, that is wrong, Kyra. Totally wrong. You need Thanksgiving in your life. And it's good. If you think about it, the economy is rough. You need to have the merriment of your family and friends around, the kind that keep you going through it, right?
PHILLIPS: Amen. Exactly. Nothing better than good conversation, family, friends and lots of good food.
ELAM: Just do the potluck thing. You have everybody bring something.
PHILLIPS: That's the easy answer, right?
PHILLIPS: It seems to me the easy answer.
ELAM: There's obviously, still one house, but most people, you know, you get the kids to pitch in and clean the dishes up. That's what we had to do. All the youngsters (INAUDIBLE) kids have to do the kitchen detail afterwards.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if your little Simone who is less than a year is going to be able to do the dishes yet. But OK, we got (INAUDIBLE) All right. Google, free holiday gift here? Free wi-fi.
ELAM: Yes, maybe if you are one of the people who is traveling, this is something that's good for you for the holidays, Kyra. We're talking about free wi-fi service on select domestic flights for people flying on AirTran, Delta and Virgin America's flights. You can get free wi-fi from November 2nd - I'm sorry, November 20th through January 2nd. That's the window that we're talking about here.
Now, they partnered with Go-Go, which offers the most in-flight wireless service. And they estimate this is going to be on 700 planes and that 15 million people will take advantage of this free service. Now, you may remember last year Google was offering free service in dozens of airports around the country. They are not doing that again. But they did work with Virgin America last year, and Virgin America said they saw an uptick, so they expect more people will probably be logging on in the skies. So, taking advantage of that - especially you and me, Kyra. If you're from are on West Coast and live on the East Coast, not a bad thing to have something to do in flight.
PHILLIPS: That's right. You can handle a lot of business in four hours. Now, but there was something that came out yesterday we were reading about the wi-fi in the sky. Is it safe and secure?
ELAM: Oh, right. This is something that comes up a lot. And basically, if you are going to surf the web and you just see what's out there, check out your Facebook page, maybe send a tweet or two. Not you, Kyra -- I know. I know you don't do that.
But for someone who may want to do that, that's cool and fine. But if you are sharing the personal data make sure you are logging onto the correct site because it's really easy for someone to make something look like the hot spot that you're logging onto. So, make sure you're doing the right thing. And if you see an 's' after the http, then you know your stuff is secure. But otherwise, the personal data stuff - do that at home. Don't do that up there.
PHILLIPS: All right. Good advice. Thank, Steph.
Well, it's half past the hour. Time to check on some other stories that had us talking this morning. A cruise ship stranded off the coast of Mexico today after an engine room fire shut down most of the power system. That fire broke out yesterday morning aboard the Carnival Splendor about 150 miles south of San Diego. Nobody was injured, and 3,300 people are aboard that ship and are without air conditioning, flushing toilets, even and hot food.
And chew on this. Junk food could be the secret weapon to your next diet. One college nutrition professor said he lost weight and improved his heart health with Twinkies, Little Debbies and lots of calorie counting. We're actually going to talk to him live in just a few minutes.
And from London to Loredo (ph), video gamers lining up to buy "Call of Duty: Black Ops." The military shooter game went on sale at midnight and is a follow-up to last year's record breaker. That "Call of Duty" game sold 4.7 million copies just the first day.
Just minutes ago, we learned President Obama is going to cut his visit short in Jakarta, Indonesia. The White House is citing a lot of concerns now that the volcanic ash spewing from Mount Merapi could have grounded Air Force one. The president's trip to Indonesia has been more than just a return to the country where he spent several of his childhood years, by the way. He was reaching out to Muslims and the world's largest majority Muslim nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our efforts have been earnest, sustained. We don't expect that we are going to completely eliminate some of the misunderstandings and mistrust that have developed over a long period of time, but we do think that we're on the right path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Earlier today, President Obama reflected on just how much Indonesia has changed since he arrived there as a gradeschooler in 1967. Today, his former classmates are marveling at just how much Barry Obama has changed himself.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Barack Obama lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, he was Barry Soetoro, the big kid with a big smile, always running around with the neighborhood boys. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Running and bicycle.
MALVEAUX: Indra Madiwa (ph) was his friend who lived around the corner from Obama's first home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barry is very energetic boy.
MALVEAUX: Obama's first house in Jakarta where he lived for three years is largely hidden behind concrete.
And they're paving the street now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think --
MALVEAUX: His home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The street --
MALVEAUX: For his arrival, yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so.
MALVEAUX: Yes, for the last 40 years, a dirt road leading to Obama's home. Now, a makeover with friendly neighbors eager to see the 6-year-old who grew up to become the American president. Just down the street is Obama's first elementary school, a catholic school, St. Francis of Asisi. Obama's first grade teacher remembers a sweet kid who helped her erase the black board.
ISRAELLA PAREIRA DHARMAWAN, FORMER PBAMA SCHOOL TEACHER: His mother took him to school every day. She walked him to the front gate. Obama was a good listener.
MALVEAUX: She likes to think his success now has something to do with his Indonesian experience.
DHARMAWAN: His attitude, his leadership maybe comes from the neighborhood he used to live. (INAUDIBLE) is a small area but full of diversity in every aspect. That might affect his personality as a president.
MALVEAUX: When his family moved into a more upscale neighborhood, 9-year-old Barry went to the masuki (ph) school. It's a public school that during the U.S. presidential campaign, some news outlets incorrectly labeled as a madrassa or radical Muslim school. His classmates here recall Obama stood out in many ways.
They say he was a boy scout, couldn't stand kids who cheated in sports, and he could hold his own.
(on camera): I understand he was teased a little bit because he looked different?
CITRA DEWI, OBAMA CLASSMATE: Yes. Some of the kids tease him but he like to tease also. MALVEAUX (voice-over): Four years in Indonesia, and it seems everyone who knew Barry Sotoro has a story to tell. For childhood friend Indra, it was a fight over a toy gun.
INDRA MADEWA, CHILDHOOD FRIEND: He take me very high and lifted me and --
MALVEAUX (on camera): Dropped you?
MADEWA: Yes.
MALVEAUX: If you see him, will you remind him that he picked you up and dropped you?
MADEWA: Of course. Still pain, no?
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Still hurting?
MADEWA: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Well, Unfortunately, Indra and the others that had been hoping to see President Obama during his visit will likely not see him this time. He is only scheduled to be on the ground for less than 24 hours. And now with the erupting volcano, the president's trip is going to be cut short about two hours or so.
Many of Obama's friends I talked with really wanted to see him but also the first lady, Michelle, the daughters Sasha and Malia to welcome them back to the Obama family home, the neighborhood. And White House officials say that might happen next year when Obama attends the East Asian Summit back in Indonesia. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: We enjoyed your piece yesterday, too, going through his childhood home. And we pointed out - Tony and I were ribbing on you a little bit, showing you were a New Orleans girl. You called it a shotgun house. So, we had to explain it to those e-mailing saying, what is a shotgun house? So, we got it fixed up there, New Orleans girl.
MALVEAUX: Oh, OK. There you go. Straight through the house, shotgun.
PHILLIPS: Exactly. All right. Thanks a lot, Suzanne.
PHILLIPS: Eating Twinkies and losing weight. Sounds pretty outrageous, wrong and impossible, right? Well, sounds like a vending machine urban legend. But one smart professor says he did it, and we're talking to him next.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let's say this Twinky represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. According to this morning sample, it would be a Twinkie 35 feet long weighing 600 pounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a big Twinkie.
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PHILLIPS: That's your clue we are talking about Twinkies, and Zingers and Little Debbies and other processed vending machine cuisine. A Kansas State professor said he ate that stuff every single day and actually lost 27 pounds. Take a look. How on earth could a person polish off this stuff and actually lose weight? I mean, nothing against Duncan Hines Family Style brownies, Cool Ranch Doritos or Little Debbie's extended family of individually wrapped goodness, but aren't we told to avoid this stuff?
Let's talk to the guy who claims that the so-called Twinkie diet worked for him. He's a nutrition professor, not just some crazy guy that tried this diet. Mark Haub joins us from Manhattan, Kansas.
So, Mark, I see all of these postgraduate degrees that you have in exercise and medicine. Didn't this diet seem counterintuitive to you?
MARK HAUB, NUTRITION PROFESSOR, KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: It's definitely counterintuitive, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to take it on as a class project to give the students a live look at metabolism in action.
PHILLIPS: So, it was obviously an interesting experiment to take on, but explain to me how this would possibly work and be good for you -- or maybe I should say how did it work? Because I think we know it's not good for you with all of the sugar and fat and calories.
HAUB: Yes. Those are the two primary principles that we tried to touch on in class. One is energy deficit. If we decrease caloric intake relative to expenditure, weight loss should and typically in most cases, does occur. That was the quote, unquote "easy" part. The other part, the health aspect, that was the unexpected outcome that as you noted, Kyra, the sucrose sugar, high fructose syrup, saturated fats, trans fats, are all supposed to increase cardiovascular disease markers, and in my case it did the opposite.
PHILLIPS: So, you lost the weight, but how did you feel? Did you feel zapped of energy and just gross eating all of this stuff?
HAUB: Day one was the toughest. I have done low carbohydrate and low fat, and the first day, it was one of those things where during that day, I didn't know if I would make it through the weekend. But I started on a Wednesday. By Friday morning, when I woke up Friday morning, I felt fine and I felt normal. Since then, I think with the weight loss, sleep apnea and snoring-related issues have decreased, which has, I think, kind of enhanced quality of life and energy levels. So it may not be directly related to the food I'm eating but more due to the weight loss.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, just in layman's terms, because I'm looking at all your degrees here in exercise science, in exercise physiology and geriatrics and oh my goodness -- I'm sorr of trying to comprehend the breakdown and how your body develops certain things as you eat all of this. But in layman's terms, explain to me how you could eat so much sugar and fat and still lose weight.
HAUB: Yes. I think the issue, the definition and terms is used so much -- it's not really so much. I ate roughly - I would keep my snacks to about 400 to 500 calories and have about four of them. So, basically, it's a Twinkie or a snack cake, a Zebra cake, what have you, and then a glass of milk with a multivitamin once or twice a day. And then I'd throw in some carrots, celery tomatoes for some added nutrients. And that's what it is.
So, it's not the amount of carbohydrates I consumed. It was less than what I was consuming before. But the amount of fat, although the contents in some of these food is high, the actual amount on a daily basis is lower than what I was consuming as well. So, as an overall 24-hour nutrient intake, the numbers have actually decreased relative to what I was consuming before. I was just eating too much. I was eating good things before, but I was eating too many.
PHILLIPS: Got you. So, you could just eat less good things and throw in a little garbage and you're going to be okay, bottom line?
HAUB: Well, I think that's the issue. I think we're trying to remove all of the bad things out of people's diets when maybe a few of those quote, unquote "bad things" actually may have positive effects mentally or socially to allow us to maybe feel a little better. You talked on your show about Thanksgiving dinner. I totally agree. That's coming around the corner, and the positive mental aspects may be as important as some of the physical aspects if you remove some of those things.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Now I see where your psychology degree comes into play. Mark, it was interesting --
HAUB: Touche.
PHILLIPS: What a talker. Yes, there we go. It all makes sense now. Mark, thanks so much.
Well, as you can imagine, we got a lot of responses to the junk food diet. And Josh Levs has been getting all kinds of feedback on Twitter. So, what are folks saying? Because now he clarified it a little bit. He did have healthy food in there when he was chowing down on the Twinkies and the Little Debbies.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And look, it really sounds like the lesson here is learn portion control rather than go stuff yourself with all the Twinkies you possibly can. Viewers are weighing on this like crazy. Take a look here. "Just because he didn't gain weight doesn't mean his arteries aren't clogged because of his decision. Junk food is not healthy."
Let's look at another tweet here. "I don't doubt the weight loss from junk food, but he will prematurely die due to lack of proper nutrients in the body." Now, he won't prematurely die because he knows what he were doing, but obviously, if someone were to only eat Twinkies and the like, you can imagine how that would go.
"Twinkies and Little Debbies diet and you lose weight?! Give that guy the Nobel prize!"
And we can go out on this one, which is pretty much the opposite. "Twinkie diets is as wise as using cocaine in the early 1900s as the panacea to all medical ailments. Only we know better, they didn't." Keep them coming. KyraCNN. Kyra, your Twitter page lighting up over this.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, Josh. Because of you.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And we always want to hear from you. Go to my Twitter page. Twitter.com/KyraCNN to share your comments.
Quick break. More from the CNN NEWSROOM, straight ahead.
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PHILLIPS: California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger raising a few eyebrows this morning. He's saying smoking pot is no big deal. CNN congressional correspendent Brianna Keilar joins us from the Hill.
Well, you knew that was going to get attention, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely. It's getting a whole lot of attention on the CNN political ticker, Kyra. This was outgoing governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and he said, quote, "No one cares if you smoke a joint or not."
So, what is he talking about here? Well, Proposition 19, which did just fail in California, would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. He didn't actually back it. He told Jay Leno that it went too far, that it was written badly. But you know, overall here, he's saying what's the big deal about smoking a joint.
Then here's another story on the ticker. This has to do with Darrell Issa. He is the incoming Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. What does that mean? It might as well be abbreviated to thorn in the side of the Obama administration.
He is actually backpedaling from some comments he made on Rush Limbaugh's show where he said that Obama is one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times. He was talking to Wolf Blitzer on "THE SITUATION ROOM" last night, Kyra, and he really parsed his words, saying it's not that he thinks Obama is personally corrupt. His point was more that when you have hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus money, that allows a president to make favors. He certainly was back pedaling a little, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, also Republicans getting set to take over the House. They're sure making the Tea party -- bringing up the tea party voice, rather. What can you update us on that?
KEILAR: We're seeing a lot of this. This will be on the ticker very soon coming to us from our veteran Hill producer, Deirdre Walsh. She's working on a story as we speak. The GOP transition team is gearing up to take over the House of Representatives. They just had a meeting this morning. And you can see the pictures, they speak volumes.
That's Greg Walden. He's in charge of the group, but all those other folks next to him are brand-new. You probably don't recognize their faces. These are incoming Republican freshman. Some of them associated with the Tea Party. The message here? the Republicans are paying very much attention to the Tea Party, trying to give them a seat at the table, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill. Brianna, thanks. We'll have your next political update in about an hour. And a reminder, you can always go to CNNpolitics.com 24/7.
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PHILLIPS: Every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan for us, and we call it "Home and Away." Today we're lifting up Corporal Jason Hernandez from Streetsboro, Ohio. He died following a roadside bomb attack in Mosul, Iraq, in September 2007.
His mom sent us a tribute. She said, "My son was killed in action on his 21st birthday. We're reminded every day that he gave his life. We'll never forget his sacrifice. I hope that Jason will be remembered for trying to make this world a better place. He was an amazing person who always had a smile on his face."
Well, if you've got a loved one that you'd like us to honor, here's all you have to do. Go to CNN.com/homeandaway, and we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive.
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PHILLIPS: We showed this to you yesterday. It's this woman on the TV game show "Wheel of Fortune" solving a 27-letter puzzle with just one letter showing. Our Jeanne Moos actually introduces us to this amazing puzzle solver now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She was excited then. And she's still excited. You'd be excited, too, if all you needed to solve this "Wheel of Fortune" phrase was a single letter.
CAITLIN BURKE, CONTESTANT, "WHEEL OF FORTUNE": "L."
PAT SAJAK, HOST, "WHEEL OF FORTUNE": One "L."
MOOS: one "L" and an apostrophe don't help most folks. What is this phrase?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Um, can I buy a vowel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea. I'm stumped.
MOOS: But fashion editor Caitlin Burke wasn't. Host Pat Sajak was rendered momentarily mute when Caitlin asked to solve the puzzle so soon.
BURKE: Can I solve?
SAJAK: Ok.
BURKE: It is a prize puzzle.
SAJAK: Yes.
BURKE: "I've got a good feeling about this."
SAJAK: That's right.
MOOS: No one looked more shocked than her fellow contestant. Look at his face.
BURKE: I had a good feeling about it. I had a good feeling about it.
MOOS: This transplanted New Yorker is such a fan of the show that she got tears in her eyes the first time she spun the wheel.
BURKE: If you're a long fan of the show, there is a strategy a little bit, like always the apostrophe helped.
MOOS: It helped her know the first word was "I've" or "I'll".
If you think Caitlin is a one-letter wonder, what's really amazing is she says she had the phrase figured out before there were any letters up.
So you knew it when it was empty?
BURKE: Yes. I do this all the time at home. I call it before there's any letters or a there's only few and half the time I'm right.
MOOS: Skeptics called her a witch. Said it was staged, rigged.
BURKE: I think that's just funny. I mean, obviously, I didn't -- I don't know how you would cheat.
MOOS: Caitlin won a total of around $53,000 which includes a Caribbean trip, plans to pay off her student loan.
BURKE: I have a bucket list of things I want to do and number one was be on "Wheel of Fortune." Somewhere in there is own a Chanel bag.
MOOS: This Chanel bag runs about $3,000. The fact that Caitlin solved this with only one letter prompted someone to post I can't even solve it when there's only one letter remaining. We doubted that until we saw contestants blow it with no letters remaining.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.
MOOS: Leaving us with a bad feeling.
BURKE: I had a good feeling about it.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
BURKE: I've got a good feeling about this.
MOOS: CNN --
BURKE: I had a good feeling about it.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. She paid off her student loans, Tony. That's pretty smart.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: No, that's good.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
HARRIS: I would have been so greedy, and I wouldn't have paid off a doggoned thing. I would have lost. I would have been so greedy.
PHILLIPS: Oh, that's not true. You would have taken your kids on a trip. I know you better.
HARRIS: You know, and I've got a Caitlin (ph). Hmm.
You have a great day, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You too, Tony.
HARRIS: See you tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: All right.
