Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Pat-Down Backlash during Travel Rush; Mixed Reaction from Travelers; Pope Allows for Condom Use in Some Circumstances; American Music Awards Brings Together Two Boy Bands; CNN Honors Top 10 Heroes
Aired November 22, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, guys.
ACOSTA: And to you as well.
PHILLIPS: All right. Happy turkey day.
Well, it's 9:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m. out West. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
Part of Germany's parliament building is closed to the public because police are denying reports that terrorists might be planning a strike on that building. They insist no specific threat exists but right now the public is not allowed on the rooftop terrace for security reasons.
Officers in Utah tracking a person of interest in a shooting of a park ranger. Lance Leroy Arellano is believed to be armed and dangerous. Officers looking for him now in connection with the Friday night shooting of a ranger who is now in critical but stable condition.
And the Pope talking about condoms. Pope Benedict XVI says they may help in the fight against AIDS. Now keep in mind, the Roman Catholic Church firmly opposes contraception but this is the first time the church has ever talked about it.
We begin with airport security lines. Now battle lines for travelers who say they don't want to sacrifice privacy for the sake of safety. The TSA is feeling major pushback on full body scans and pat-downs. And now even the White House is weighing in. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): You've probably seen or experienced the new pat-down procedures at airports. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says no thanks.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: And I understand how difficult it is and how offensive it must be for the people who are going through it.
BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST, CBS "FACE THE NATION": Final question, my time is up. But would you submit to one of these?
CLINTON: Not if I -- not if I could avoid it. No. I mean, who would? PHILLIPS: It's a question a lot of people are asking when they see videos like this. It's gone viral online. A shirtless little boy getting patted down in Salt Lake City. The TSA says the little boy was searched after he set off a metal detector. So the boy's father took off his son's shirt to move the family through security faster.
But incidents like these are further fuel for critics of new screening procedures.
In North Carolina, a flight attendant and cancer survivor says she was asked to remove a prosthetic breast during a pat-down.
CATHY BOSSI, CANCER SURVIVOR: I had to pull it out and show her the prosthesis which was very embarrassing and very degrading.
PHILLIPS: A TSA representative tells WBTV that that incident is under review, but says agents are allowed to see and touch prosthetics.
In Detroit, a retired special education teacher and a bladder cancer survivor says his urostomy bag broke.
THOMAS SAWYER, BLADDER CANCER SURVIVOR: I had urine dripping down into my underwear, down my leg, on my shorts. This was so embarrassing and so humiliating. I wasn't prepared.
PHILLIPS: So Sawyer plans to file a formal complaint and the TSA promises to review the incident.
The TSA maintains it's sensitive to public concerns about enhanced pat-downs but says the extra security is necessary. Meanwhile, TSA chief John Pistole now finds himself answering to critics who say something has to give.
JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: We're always looking at ways that we can evolve our technology and protocols for how we go about and do this. In the short term, there will not be any changes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The TSA points out that millions of Americans fly every day and that the number of complaints is extremely low. But a lot of those people will be facing the new security measures for the very first time this week as the holiday travel rush kicks into high gear.
Carol Costello live at Reagan National Airport outside D.C.
So, what do you think, Carol? What's everybody talking about?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I've been here four hours. And guess what? I have not heard so far.
PHILLIPS: What is that?
COSTELLO: Don't touch my junk. I haven't -- don't touch my junk. I have not heard that at all.
PHILLIPS: I think somebody already coined that term.
COSTELLO: Not at all.
PHILLIPS: My guess is we're going to hear some other -- some other lovely phrases in the next couple of days.
COSTELLO: Maybe so. But I haven't heard any this morning. In fact passengers seem rather resigned to the fact they have to go through these full body scanners. I'm at Reagan National in Washington, D.C. Right behind me you see the full body scanner.
Very few people have opted out. Perhaps knowing if they opt out of the full body scan they'll have to go through that invasive pat-down procedure.
Passengers are kind of mixed which procedure they prefer. I talked to several. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to opt for the pat-down.
COSTELLO: Even though some say it's very intrusive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It can't be any more than the full body scan and the image they get.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The body scan.
COSTELLO: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For everyone. Simply because I'd prefer them not to be touched by strangers which I think most -- many parents feel that way.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And parents really are suffering the most anxiety, Kyra, as you could imagine. They have to sort of explain to their children when they're going to through this body scan what exactly it entails. And how do you tell that to an 11-year-old?
I guess you wouldn't tell it to the 2-year-old but the 11-year-old you have to tell her something. And parents definitely don't want the pat-down procedure although I must say after that YouTube video that you showed went viral with the boy with his shirt off?
PHILLIPS: Right.
COSTELLO: Being patted down?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
COSTELLO: The TSA has modified its pat-down procedure for children 12 years and under, so if you opt out of the full body screening for your child, the pat-down is supposedly less intrusive. But if the child sets of the alarm with the metal detector then it doesn't matter how old the child is. They'll get that full invasive -- what some people call invasive pat-down procedure.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's going to be interesting to see, you know, how this all goes through the Thanksgiving break and what more -- you know what more stories we're going to hear, Carol. Should be interesting.
COSTELLO: Well, what choice do you have, though? If you don't go through the full body scanner, if you don't bend, if you opt out of that, you don't do the full pat-down thing you don't get on the airplane. You don't get to see your family for Christmas or Thanksgiving. So what are you going to do?
PHILLIPS: Yes. It'll be interesting to see if there is consistency from airport to airport. We'll track it.
Carol, thanks.
Well, you know you've got a PR issue if "Saturday Night Live" is lampooning you. So we figured one of the better ways to relieve some of the holiday travel stress is with some laughs about the new procedures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spending time with a TSA agent couldn't be easier. Simply book a flight departing from any American airport. When selected for a full body scanner say no. You'll be pulled aside by a TSA agent and that's when the fun begins. And you never know who your agent will be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could be me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or even me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's probably going to be us.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, a serious scare for passengers aboard a Moscow-bound jet out of New York's JFK Airport last night. Just minutes into that flight the pilot radioed rather the tower about trouble with the left engine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delta 30 we're declaring an emergency. Do you see any smoke or fire coming out of the number 1 engine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did see some kind of flash on the departing aircraft.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: The Boeing 767 made it back to JFK with just one engine, dumping fuel over the Atlantic Ocean onto its emergency approach. There were no injuries to 193 passengers and 11 crewmembers on board. They eventually hopped on a jet to Moscow. The FAA is now investigating that incident.
Well, North Korea appears to be at it again with its suspicious nuclear program. Stanford University professor who visited a new uranium enrichment facility says that North Korea's nuclear program is way beyond what anyone had imagined.
The professor says about 2,000 centrifuges at the facility could be readily converted to produce enriched uranium bomb fuel. The Joint Chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen says the development raises concerns. It shows North Korea is, quote, "A very dangerous country."
You could say the weather is spinning out of control in Minnesota. Freezing rain and ice covered roads that led nearly 400 accidents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Local newspaper there reports that it was so bad that even some snow plows were sliding off the roads.
Rob Marciano monitoring not only Minnesota but other parts of the country, right, facing trouble?
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: You know last year at this time we had a very -- a pretty quiet travel week for Thanksgiving. So it feels like we're kind of -- going to pay the piper for the next five days.
PHILLIPS: Yes. It's been beautiful here in Atlanta.
MARCIANO: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Gorgeous.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: It'll continue for the next couple of days.
PHILLIPS: I know. We've been lucky. All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: The Catholic Church and condoms, two things that have never really gone together until now. The Pope quoted in a new book says condoms are OK sometimes. Now that's a talker.
We're going there right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: I want to update you on a talker from last week about that New Jersey pastor who told married church leaders to get off Facebook. He said it makes adultery too tempting and too easy, and that he's seen too many marriages suffer because of it. Well, here's the news flash. Are you ready for this? Turns out the Reverend Cedric Miller was part of a three-way sexual relationship with his wife and a married church assistant in 2003. The other man's wife was with them sometimes, too. Miller admitted this after the "Ashbury Park Press" dug up the info.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. CEDRIC MILLER, SENIOR PASTOR: For any pain that my past mistakes have caused you I again -- as I did many years ago -- ask for your forgiveness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody make mistakes. Everybody have a past. You know? And he's only human. He's a human being just like anybody else.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, even with that skeleton in the closet Miller is sticking by his commandment to married church leaders to sign off Facebook.
All right, let's talk about condoms and the Pope. How could we not talk about that? Maybe you actually heard about it over the weekend.
Pope Benedict is bending a bit when it comes to condoms. A new book actually quotes him as saying that they are -- they are OK to use in certain circumstances, like to prevent disease, not birth control. It's the first time the church has ever talked about exceptions to the condom rule.
Listen to how some Catholics reacted to the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's like Merrill Lynch, when he talks, we listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's terribly inconsistent. I think it's pretty modern thinking, frankly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm also very thankful for those comments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tackling the social issues of the day. I think as Catholics, we take them one at a time. It's not going to happen all at once, but it's a process, and I agree with what the pope's doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Here's a part of what the pope says in the book. See if your eyebrows raise a little bit. It says, quote, "There could be single cases that can be justified. For instance, when a prostitute uses a condom." Say what? Doesn't it kind of sound like the pope is justifying prostitution, too? Surely not, but what a bizarre analogy. Let's talk more about this with CNN's Atika Shubert in London. Interesting reactions across the country, Atika. SHUBERT: Well, definitely. But some of the best reactions have actually come from HIV/AIDS campaigners who are welcoming the news, because they feel it's going to help them in the fight against AIDS. So, for them, they're saying this is -- they want to see more comments like this from the pope, and they're hoping that it is a shift in Vatican policy.
PHILLIPS: All right, so the head of the US AIDS-fighting group saying this is a positive step forward. But wasn't the pope slammed last year for saying that condoms were not OK to control AIDS in Africa?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was. In fact, when he visited last year in March, he was roundly condemned because he suggested at the time that the use of condoms promotes promiscuous behavior and, therefore, worsens the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
This of course was -- health campaigners were not happy with this at all. So, this most recent statement could be seen as a way of the pope trying to clarify his position, saying that in certain exceptional circumstances it may be -- condom use may be justified. But he also says he doesn't find condoms to be a real or moral answer. He makes that very clear. And he says it's really on very single cases where it may be acceptable.
PHILLIPS: OK. So the comments don't exactly rise to the level of official Vatican policy. So, what's your take? Is the pope kind of going rogue here? Or is he just being realistic?
SHUBERT: He's not really going rogue. It is his personal opinion, of course, but it's a very considered opinion with a lot of weight, and theologians will be studying every word he says in this book.
But it isn't quite Vatican policy, either. What it reflects, Vatican watchers are saying, is basically his thinking of how Catholicism should be practiced in this modern day and age. This book, actually, is an incredible interview. Basically, the journalist who wrote it spent an hour of every day for a week with the pope, and that kind of access is really unprecedented.
He talks about contraception, condom use, but also even the possibility of the pope resigning if he's mentally or physically unfit. So there is a lot of very frank and candid stuff in there. We'll probably be hearing more about it when the Vatican has a press conference on it tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: We'll look forward to it. We'll do a follow-up then. Atika, thanks so much.
What do all of you think? Is this a steppingstone to policy change in the Vatican, or just the pope thinking out loud? I want to hear from you. Leave your comments on my blog, cnn.com/kyra. Thanks.
And what do you got going Thanksgiving night? How about paying tribute to those everyday people who are changing our world for the better?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARIO SEGOVIA, RESCUED MINER (through translator): I'm not feeling like a rock star but, of course, my life has changed, and I'm going back to Chile with one of the best impressions of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Chilean miners, just the tip of the star-studded iceberg of celebrities making our gala tribute to CNN Heroes. We've got the preview next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the 2010 American Music Awards are in the books, and congrats to the winners. No real big surprises, but did you stay up late enough to see the awards show closer? A bit of boy band history was being made. Roll that beautiful bean footage, Scotty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AJ MCLEAN, BACKSTREET BOYS: Oh, my God, we're back again.
(CROWD CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: It's a first. The Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block performing together on the stage for the very first time. And new artist Ke$ha gave a futuristic performance, but it was 16-year-old Justin Bieber who stole the show. He became the youngest performer ever to take home Artist of the Year awards.
Now to Thursday. After you and your family gobble all of that turkey stuffing and pie, you can join us Thanksgiving night for our "CNN Heroes" special presentation. Brooke Anderson has the star-studded highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Chilean miners, the most inspiring story of the year, kicked off an evening dedicated to people from around the world who are changing the world.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "CNN HEROES": They are warriors against injustice, doing battle for all of us.
ANDERSON (voice-over): CNN'S 2010 Top 10 Heroes include a Cambodian man dedicated to clearing the land mines he was forced to plant as a child soldier, and a Scotsman whose program feeds hundreds of thousands of children in 15 countries.
MAGNUS MACFARLANE-BARROW, TOP 10 CNN HERO: Every child in the world should be able to receive at least one good meal every day.
ANDERSON (voice-over): An ex-con and former drug addict who helps other women just out of prison stay out and stay clean. And a 74- year-old grandmother whose hospital in Juarez, Mexico is an oasis in that violent city.
GUADALUPE ARIZPE DE LA VEGA, TOP 10 CNN HERO: Do not be afraid, and never, never, never give up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seeing it through. That commitment, with no fear.
ANDERSON (voice-over): A host of celebrities were on hand to pay tribute to each hero.
AARON ECKHART, ACTOR: It is inspiring for our young children and for me and for all those people out there who want to do good for the world.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Sugarland, John Legend, featuring Common and Melanie Fiona, and Bon Jovi provided the music, and nearly two million online votes provided the Hero of the Year.
COOPER: Anuradha Koirala.
(CROWD CHEERS)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Anuradha was awarded an additional $100,000 for her work in Nepal rescuing thousands of girls from sexual slavery.
ANURADHA KOIRALA, CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: We need to do this for all our daughters.
ANDERSON (voice-over): All ten heroes received $25,000 each, but the examples they set are priceless. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And you can watch "CNN Heroes" Thanksgiving night, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
Before you go over the river and through the woods for the holidays, you might have to get cozy with a TSA agent. You've got to hear one cancer survivor's pat-down story. He's thinking the agents need a lot more training.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's 9:30 on the east now, 6:30 out West. Here are some of the stories that we're talking about.
Should defendants in the U.S. courts be able to use Islamic law in their arguments? A federal judge is actually taking up the question today. Oklahoma voters approved an amendment banning the Muslim law in state courts. The Council on American Islamic Relations has sued arguing that the amendment violates the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. And it looks like the case against Bishop Eddie Long may not go to trial. Atlanta affiliate WAGA reports that lawyers for the bishop and the four men suing him want to reach a settlement.
And we've been telling you about heightened security in Germany due to concerns about a possible terrorist attack. Now the Germans closed off public access to part of their parliament building. Police are denying a report that terrorists may have been planning to hit that site.
Security here in the U.S. is sure under fire in some corners. People like Secretary of State Clinton included. Not happy with the TSA's body scanners and pat-downs. We're hearing more passenger horror stories as we enter the busy holiday week. The head of the TSA tells CNN don't expect changes in the security line either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: In the short-term, there will not be any changes, but what I'm looking at is how can we best use the information we have, both the intelligence from overseas such as what we saw this weekend from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula about how they design and conceal the toner cartridge bombs in cargo flights out of Yemen. That coupled with the thoroughness that we believe is appropriate. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: He's talking about thoroughness. But the bigger message is that privacy takes a back seat to security. Pistole told CNN's Candy Crowley some of the horror stories he's heard are inaccurate.
But we've heard one horrifying story this morning from a bladder cancer survivor who has a urostomy bag attached to his kidneys. His TSA encounter earlier this month in Detroit, left him feeling violated and humiliated.
CNN's Jim Acosta talked to him last hour. Jim, I tell you, what he went through, it was horrifying to listen to his story.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stunning. Absolutely stunning, Kyra. And you know, for all of those folks who may doubt that there is an issue here with these security pat-downs at the airport really ought to listen to the story of Tom Sawyer.
He went to the airport on November 7th to head to a wedding down in Orlando. He was going through security at the airport in Detroit, when he was asked for an enhanced pat-down. And you know, he told the security agent there, look, I've got a medical condition, do you mind if we go the a private room. He eventually got to that private room.
But he describes this encounter that is just horrifying. This gentleman, Mr. Sawyer, suffers from bladder cancer. He wears a urostomy bag, which is a bad that essentially holds his urine. And essentially what happened is, is that this agent in doing this enhanced pat-down ruptured the urostomy bag, causing urine to spill all over this man and as you said, he felt humiliated. And I think what we really hit our finger on here with this story, Kyra, is perhaps some of these agents just aren't trained in dealing with people with medical conditions and special cases like Mr. Sawyer.
Let's take a listen to what he had to tell us earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM SAWYER, BLADDER CANCER SURVIVOR: I don't think he was trained to deal with me. As I reflect back on it now, I think maybe he was as much shocked as what he had done than what I was and that's why he didn't apologize at all. He didn't apologize, didn't offer me help. I don't think he was trained for -- he didn't know what a urostomy was. These people need to be trained on medical conditions and emotional conditions of some patients.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And he makes such a good point because from airport to airport, it seems like there's no consistency in how we, the passengers, are handled, Jim. I mean, this is just -- this is awful.
What did Mr. Sawyer say --
ACOSTA: That's right.
PHILLIPS: -- in regard to the TSA, John Pistole, you know, saying to Candy Crowley that they're going to continue these pat-downs as long as they feel it's necessary.
ACOSTA: Well, Sawyer says he absolutely disagrees with that position. He thinks the TSA needs to take a look at this policy and whether or not each individual passenger who goes to the airport is somehow going to be subjected to all of this. We should mention that not everybody who goes to the airport is going to be put through this process. But if you set off some kind of alarm among the agents you could be pulled aside for this.
And he brings up a very good point and that is, is that we sort of have a one-size-fit-all cookie cutter approach to this enhanced pat- down procedure, and there is no wiggle room for people who have medical conditions like this gentleman here. Here's a guy who has a urostomy bag that is obviously very susceptible to any kind of touching in an overly sensitive way and he tried, as he said in this interview, to explain this to this TSA agent, and the agent was essentially you know, sort of like, so what.
And I think if there's any lesson to be learned here, Kyra, is that there needs to be additional training to some of these agents to make sure that they know that they may be dealing with people with medical conditions that are very, very sensitive.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Probably won't be the first time we hear a story like this.
Jim, thanks. There is a story about Jimmy Carter being attacked by a killer rabbit. The former president is actually talking about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We know during Christmas we have Christmas carols. New Years, old (INAUDIBLE). But, what about Thanksgiving? Leave it to the cast of "SNL" to make sure there's a song for every holiday.
(VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")
PHILLIPS: All right. There are three players talked about for a possible White House runs, he wasn't one of them, by the way, and they're now looking like they're not going to play.
Senior political editor Mark Preston at the CNNPolitics.com desk.
Hey, Mark. What do you have for us?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra. There's been all of this talk about whether Hillary Clinton is going to leave her job as Secretary of State. Is she going to challenge Barack Obama? It's one of these parlor games that we play here in Washington, D.C., and what all of the political junkies do well.
She emphatically again said yesterday during an interview with FOX News that she's not going to run. She has no intention to run. She said I am not in any way interested in pursuing anything in elected office. So will it put this whole storyline to bed? I'm afraid not. I think we'll continue to talk about it as long as we have these advisers. Every once in a while kind ever raising the specter that Hillary Clinton might, in fact, run for president, if not in 2012, certainly in 2016.
As you said, a lot of talk about 2012 yesterday. We had Rick Perry, the Texas governor who just won re-election. He said he's not interested in running for president either, which is kind of interesting because a lot of people thought that Rick Perry was trying to put together an operation where he would in fact try to do so. He's going to head the Republican Governors Association. Says he has no interest in coming to Washington.
And Bobby Jindal who's running for re-election this year, rather in 2011, said he's going to focus on his own re-election, and he has no desire necessarily to run for president, or I should say, he didn't say he had no desire, he just kind of deferred the question in general.
So we have those three talking about it. And Mike Huckabee who won the Iowa caucuses back in 2008, he was in Iowa yesterday. He said he's still considering a run. So, certainly a lot of 2012 talk. We're still in what now, 2010. So, Kyra, there you have it.
One person that's getting a lot of talk about running in 2012, and in fact she's generating some of it is Sarah Palin. In fact, she said just recently that she thinks that she could defeat President Obama. Well, she has a book that's going to come out tomorrow called, "America by Heart," and a web site gawker had gotten excerpts of this book, Kyra, and they had posted it on their web site. Well a federal judge ruled over the weekend that they have to pull down those excerpts. As they were pulling those down, Sarah Palin put the excepts up on her Facebook page. She talks about what she thinks makes America strong and why America is under assault. The book gets released tomorrow. She kicks off her book tour in Arizona. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. What is this story about Jimmy Carter attacked by a killer rabbit?
PRESTON: Well, you know, a lot of people say that Jimmy Carter didn't have it in him, he wasn't strong enough. But, in fact, he was attacked by a killer rabbit, or so goes the story.
Well, yesterday on "Reliable Sources" with Howie Kurtz, he really explained what happened. Back in 1979, he was out fishing in Plains, Georgia. He said that hounds were chasing a wild rabbit. The rabbit jumped into the water, started coming toward his boat and as it got close, the former president said he took his paddle, knocked on the water a little bit and pushed the rabbit to go the other way.
So at the time it was big news that the president had been attacked by a killer rabbit when it was this wild rabbit trying to get away from the dogs -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, I'm glad we have, finally, after all of these years set the story state.
Thank you, Mark.
We're going to have your next political update in an hour. And a reminder, for all of the latest political news, just go to our web site CNNPolitics.com.
"PARKER SPITZER" takes on controversial topics and the newsmakers behind them every night. And like John Yoo, the Bush administration lawyer who wrote the memos saying torture is OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN YOO, DRAFTER BUSH "TORTURE MEMOS": Part of the job of being a lawyer is defending sometimes unpopular decisions that your clients make. And I'm willing to put that -- do that part of the job.
But I also think that there's no escaping responsibility of people who make the policy decision. I mean, just because a law says you can drive 65 miles-an-hour doesn't mean you have to drive 65 miles-an- hour. There is still a lot of discretion and choice that elected leaders of our government had the make. And I'm prepared and confident in saying that I think my legal judgment then was right under the circumstances. But that doesn't mean that you had to -- that the President Bush or anyone else had to choose a policy they did either.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: "Parker Spitzer" airs every night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
A woman loses both breasts to cancer but doctors say she can't get reconstructive implants. Now she's found a new way to feel whole again. We'll tell you coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, for women who have lost one or both breasts to cancer, reconstructive surgery is a whole -- is a way actually to feel whole again. But not all breast cancer survivors actually qualify for those implants. Now a relatively new procedure is helping those folks measure up.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here, with more on "Health for Her".
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, can you imagine like you're diagnosed with cancer, you get through that, and then you're told you can't have implants. So that these -- these breasts that were taken from you, you can't do what a lot of women do.
So we met a woman who had to find out on her own how to get her body back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH ANDERSON, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: I had many looks going through chemo.
COHEN (voice-over): When Liz Anderson was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in 2009, she had to act fast. She had both breasts removed, the very next month.
ANDERSON: This is zero. This is two scars on your chest. This is absolutely nothing. To look in that mirror and not see anything it just isn't -- it doesn't feel right.
COHEN: Anderson, who was 46 when she was diagnosed, says it's time to get her girls back.
ANDERSON: My goal is to reconstruct myself, to be whole again. To be a whole woman again.
COHEN: She's leaving her home in Florida and heading to a surgeon in New Orleans for a new type of surgery she found out about on her own.
Doctor Frank Dellacroce, will take fat from Anderson's hips and form it into breasts. It's a procedure that's particularly helpful to her because she had radiation and therefore, can't get implants.
(on camera): You don't need your breasts. You can live quite nicely without them. Why go through all this?
DR. FRANK DELLACROCE, SURGEON, CENTER FOR RESTORATIVE BREAST SURGERY: Erasing some of what is the injury of a very difficult event and that is a diagnosis of breast cancer and then the devastating deformities that can occur with mastectomy.
COHEN: How do you feel?
(voice-over): I met up with Anderson the next day. For the first time in a year and a half, she has breasts.
(on camera): All right, so you haven't seen them yet?
ANDERSON: I haven't them yet, no. No.
COHEN: Do you feel ready to see them.
ANDERSON: I am ready yes. I'm excited, yes.
COHEN: Ok, well, go ahead?
ANDERSON: Wow. It's amazing.
COHEN (voice-over): What's really amazing is that Anderson got this surgery at all. Her cancer doctor never told her about it, and that's actually pretty common. Out of every ten women who have their breasts removed and qualify for reconstructive surgery, only three are fully informed of their options.
(on camera): When a woman has her breasts removed, does the doctor immediately say ok, let's talk about giving you a new breasts now.
DELLACROCE: Well, unfortunately, what we found is often not.
COHEN (voice-over): Anderson had to do her own research in her quest for breasts.
ANDERSON: Gotcha, cancer. That's what I thought. You took it from me. I got them back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So why did she have to find out about this on her own?
COHEN: The way this works is that when you have cancer, an oncologist -- oncologist treats you, and oncologists they don't do breast reconstruction, and so they don't necessarily know what all of the different ways are. And they are very focused on getting the cancer out of you, and so it's not sort of their thing, so to speak, to get you new breasts.
So they may know about all the basic things like implants but they didn't know about this surgery, which is much more unusual. She had to find out about it by talking to other breast cancer survivors and going on the Internet. And sort of you know, making her own path basically.
PHILLIPS: So how expensive is it? And did she had to pay completely out of her own pocket? COHEN: It definitely is very expensive but insurance by law is supposed to cover breast reconstruction. So she had to do her co-pays and her deductibles and all of that. But insurance is supposed to pay for breast reconstruction.
PHILLIPS: Now, we should follow up. And see how she's doing, you know.
COHEN: You know she had -- this was a month ago that I visited with her in New Orleans --
PHILLIPS: Right.
COHEN: -- and we did talk to her recently and she says she's doing great. Now she does have to go back for another surgery but she says she's definitely loving her new look.
PHILLIPS: That's great, thanks Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're following a lot of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and check in first with Alison Kosik in New York -- Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time to shop until you drop, Kyra. Black Friday is just a few days away. But how many people are actually going to be spending money this holiday season? A new survey is coming out in just a few minutes. I'll have the details next hour.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Severe thunderstorms or at least rough -- rough ones are heading right through Chicago now. And just up the road in Minneapolis, the second of three ice and snowstorms hitting that city right now. The weather at the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks guys.
And if you missed the American Music Awards last night, no problem. Maybe it should have been called the Justin Bieber show. All right we had David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman, Leif Garrett, kids today have J.B. We're going to take a look at the big night next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there.
PHILLIPS: See, this is what happens when Tony goes away.
HARRIS: My, my, my music hits me so hard.
PHILLIPS: When Tony appears on BET like, you know. You can't touch this. Welcome back.
HARRIS: How are you? I was out there for the CNN Heroes show, the taping of the show that airs on Thanksgiving night. Right. PHILLIPS: Right. Right.
HARRIS: I totally picked the hero of the year. I won't go beyond that because I think there are disclosure forms.
PHILLIPS: Really?
HARRIS: Yes, nondisclosures. How are you lady?
PHILLIPS: Good to see you.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
You want to see some football.
PHILLIPS: Big comeback win, huh?
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Here's the thing. The Jets were leading this game -- we're going to start with the Jets, some cool highlights. Get to some best video.
So, the Jets were leading this game, and then they lose the lead. Ok. So check this out. This is with about ten seconds or so left in the game. Here we go again. No, that's the play that (INAUDIBLE) sets it up. This is it. Ten seconds to go. This is ball game on the line. Santonio Holmes again, second week in a row.
Here's the thing Kyra. The Jets --
PHILLIPS: I thought the 42-yard pass was pretty hot.
HARRIS: That was pretty hot, wasn't it?
Phillips: That was pretty nice.
HARRIS: The Jets really have something special going on right now and they're rocking that new stadium. And we're going to keep it -- They made it all the way to the AFC championship game last year. Maybe they can take that extra step and go to the Super Bowl this year. But they're a great story so far this season.
You know another great story that's taking shape?
PHILLIPS: Michael Vick.
HARRIS: Here's the thing. What's setting be up right now, was that these teams -- we're talking about the Atlanta Falcons, our hometown Falcons, playing tremendous ball, 8-2, right, leading the NFC. Here's Michael Vick last night against the Giants, running for a touchdown, again, playing really, really clean football right now.
PHILLIPS: Passes off the football, too.
HARRIS: Yes. So, here's the thing. We could have a scenario where the top two teams in the NFC, Kyra -- you're with me -- are the Falcons, Michael Vick's former team and the Eagles. You could have a situation where they play in the NFC championship game. Where? Right here in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: In Atlanta, Georgia.
HARRIS: How cool would that be? You know how we watch and keep an eye out for big events, that would be huge in the city. There would be as many Michael Vick jerseys in the dome as anything else you would see.
PHILLIPS: He's got quite a comeback story, doesn't he.
HARRIS: It's really taking shape right now.
How about Jimmie Johnson?
PHILLIPS: Oh, Nascar action.
HARRIS: Nascar, a bit of a parting shot here -- Nascar, Jimmie Johnson, fifth year in a row, the chase champion. All right, so a great race -- I'm totally faking this because I was at the heroes thing, I didn't see any of this race. I didn't see a single snap at the NFL. How am I doing? How am I doing?
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: I'll help you out. Yes.
HARRIS: Am I doing ok?
PHILLIPS: I'm a Nascar fan so I'll help you out here.
HARRIS: So here it is and he's a tremendous story. I believe he's on one of our shows this evening. Jimmie Johnson fifth year in a row is your chase champion. We haven't seen that kind of dominance before in so, so very long.
A couple of other sports where you get dynasty teams. But this is a one-man dynasty, Jimmie Johnson. And there you go.
PHILLIPS: Give the Nascar thing to Jimmie Johnson.
How about this new kind of World Cup?
HARRIS: What?
PHILLIPS: Have you heard about this new sport?
HARRIS: Tell me about it.
PHILLIPS: Ok. This is actually Canadian students taking part -- this is for real. International stack-up competition.
HARRIS: You know what this looks like?
PHILLIPS: Ok, I'm not kidding. This is a world sport stacking association.
HARRIS: So teams from all over the world are participating?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
HARRIS: Young people involved in this?
PHILLIPS: Yes. This is what your kids grow up to do. This is the next scholarship to college -- cup stacking.
HARRIS: And certainly to be an Olympic sport in Brazil, right?
PHILLIPS: Exactly.
HARRIS: There you go.
