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British Medical Journal Finds Autism Study a Fraud; Focus: Constitution; Gulf Oil Spill Blame

Aired January 06, 2011 - 12:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

Topping our look at the big stories, this breaking news coming from our White House correspondents, confirming that the White House has made a decision about its new chief of staff. An announcement is set for later on this afternoon.

There he is right there. William Daley will become the new chief of staff, replacing Rahm Emanuel, who left that seat in which to seek mayoral office in Chicago.

Much more on that straight ahead and the formal announcement from the White House.

And this --

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REP. ROBERT GOODLATTE (R), VIRGINIA: -- are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people.

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WHITFIELD: House members are reading the U.S. Constitution aloud, start to finish. It's a move by the Republican leadership to recognize Tea Party activists. Tea Party members argue that Congress routinely passes legislation that oversteps the Constitution.

And day three of testimony at a preliminary hearing for Dr. Conrad Murray. He's the man accused of giving Michael Jackson an overdose of anesthesia.

The singer's parents are among those in the Los Angeles courtroom. A Jackson security guard testified Murray didn't know CPR. The guard says Murray bagged up drugs before 911 was actually called, a delay of 21 minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL DOUGLAS, ATTORNEY FOR JACKSON SECURITY GUARD: Well, I certainly think the facts point to the sense of urgency that Michael Jackson needed immediate medical attention. And questions have doubtlessly been raised as to why all of these other things were done before paramedics were first called.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The security guard also told the court that Jackson's two eldest children witnessed the frantic attempts to revive the singer.

And get ready to meet the country's newest millionaires later on today. A family in the small town of Ephrata, Washington, holds one of the two winning tickets in this week's Mega Millions lottery. The family gets half of the $380 million jackpot. A second winning ticket was sold in Idaho, but that person or group remains a mystery.

All right. More now on our other big story, allegations that a study linking autism and vaccines was not just flawed, but an outright fraud.

That's the exclusion of the British medical journal "BMJ." We'll discuss the specifics on the fraud allegations, and you'll also be hearing from the doctor. He, of course, is denying falsifying any data.

We'll examine the impact on public health due to a drop in parents vaccinating their children. And we'll also talk about what this means for parents of children diagnosed with autism.

We begin with Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

So, what exactly did the doctor say?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Well, according to the British medical journal, the doctor who found this alleged link between vaccines and autism, they said that he lied. They use the words "elaborate hoax" to explain what he did.

Now, first, let me tell you, Fred, the basic premise of Dr. Wakefield's study back in 1998. He said he looked at 12 children who were completely normal, no autism. They got a vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella, and he said from just within a couple of days, that those kids developed autism.

So let's take a look again at what he said and about what the alleged hoax was. All right. So we're talking about 12 allegedly previously normal kids who were then vaccinated, allegedly developed autism.

This new report that says actually one, two, three, four -- five of those kids had signs of autism before they were vaccinated. So that completely throws away his entire theory. And the "BMJ" report says that Dr. Wakefield knew this, he knew these kids showed signs of autism before the vaccine, but he made updates to make it seem like the vaccine caused the autism.

Here's another allegation here, sort of this subgroup of nine kids who developed a certain type of autism. That's what Dr. Wakefield said, these kids developed a certain type of autism. But when you look at the facts, according to this new report, one, two -- three of these kids actually never got autism. These children did not have autism.

And so those are just two of the allegations of fraud that are going on here -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, of course, the doctor refutes "BMJ." He's standing by his material?

COHEN: He certainly is. He is standing by his study.

And my colleague, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, had an exclusive interview with him. It's really pretty incredible. Let's take a listen to part of it.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Since 1998, you have obviously been dealing with this. But these charges that are a big deal in the world of science, that you paid patients, that you did not randomize them, meaning you selected patients that you thought would be better for your study, and now the most damning evidence of all, that perhaps these numbers, the dates were all fabricated to sort of make a case.

Did you have some sort of preconceived notion of a link between the vaccine MMR and autism before you conducted the study?

DR. ANDREW WAKEFIELD, CONDUCTED AUTISM STUDY: Absolutely not. Dr. Gupta, please, I urge you, go and read my book. I will send you a copy. I'm not trying to promote my book, I'm not trying to make money.

Take the book and read it and understand the truth. You will understand it. Many people don't.

The parents understand it. They get it, because they've lived it. OK? And the claims to whether the vaccine caused their children harm or not came from the parents, not me. I didn't have a preconceived notion about this at all. I hadn't heard of autism since medical school.

And this was a clinical examination of children on the merits of their clinical problems by the best people in the world, the best clinical experts in pediatric gastroenterology in the world. And they came to the diagnosis, not me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Elizabeth, now what about the parents, particularly parents who have autistic kids? How might they be responding to all of this now?

COHEN: You know, I think it's interesting, Fred. You and I both know people who I call true believers. These are parents who truly believe that vaccines cause autism, that Dr. Wakefield is right and has always been right. And I'll tell you, I don't think they're going to change their minds. They truly, truly think that vaccines are the devil, and this news today is not going to change anything.

But, Fred, you and I probably know even more parents who are kind of on the fence about this. They wonder, could vaccines cause autism? They have a lot of anxiety. I know they call me, sometimes in tears, worried about whether they should vaccinate their kids. And I know a lot of pediatricians today hope that this news today is the nail in the coffin, and that parents now can say, hey, the whole thing was a trick, vaccines are safe, I'm going to vaccinate my kids.

WHITFIELD: Yes, something tells me this is not going to stop that dialogue.

Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

So, for the parents of children with the disorder, autism, is of course a daily fact of life, regardless of what any study says. So, later this hour, we'll talk with Louis Conte. He's the father of three sons, two of them diagnosed with autism.

Meantime, on Capitol Hill, a first on the House floor happening right now. The Constitution is being read aloud by House lawmakers. You're looking at live pictures right now. Republicans and Democrats are taking turns reading the document in its entirety.

Also on Capitol Hill, CNN Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar.

Brianna, give us an idea, how is it going? It looks like it's going rather smoothly.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's been going now for a little over an hour. It has been going pretty smoothly.

As we talked, Fred, about an hour ago, when they first got started reading the Constitution, there was a bit of -- I guess you could say almost a challenge. There were a few Democrats who came up and said, hey, let's talk about what kind of Constitution we're going to be reading here.

Are we going to be reading the Constitution as amended, or is it going to include the original language, original language like the three-fifths clause which was later taken out, which said that slaves are equal do three-fifths of a white American? And obviously, the point here that Democrats were making is this a document that isn't -- you know, it's sort of something that has changed over time, it wasn't perfect from the get-go, it was something that had some flaws in it, some of which have been dealt with.

And there's sort of a struggle, you sense, going on a little bit between Democrats and Republicans who, yes, are both reading the Constitution, but just over, how do you interpret it? Kind of a struggle here, I think, over what you might want to call constitutional fundamentalism.

How closely do you hew to the Constitution? Do you have some flexibility in interpreting it? Because as you know, a lot of Tea Party voters certainly felt the Democrats have way overreached when they were in control of the House of Representatives with some of the legislation they passed last Congress -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, one day after a swearing in of new House Speaker John Boehner, he has the opening salvo and the reading of this Constitution. And then he has a press conference soon after.

Perhaps the intent was to offer some clarity as to why they're doing the read of the U.S. Constitution. But instead, he spent a lot of time -- because there were a lot of questions -- about the agenda, what will be the priority.

KEILAR: Yes, he was talking about laying out the different priorities for the Republican-led House of Representatives.

The main one is economic, dealing with spending cuts, trying to rein in the federal debt. And, of course, the big one -- and we're going to see a procedural vote on this tomorrow -- health care reform and repealing that. The vote tomorrow will lay the groundwork for that.

And here is what Speaker Boehner said about that goal.

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REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: We made a commitment to the American people. We're listening to the American people. They want this bill repealed, and we are going to repeal it. And we're going to do everything we can, over the course of however long it takes, to stop this, because it will ruin the best health care system in the world, it will bankrupt our nation, and it will ruin our economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But, Fred, here's what the next rhetorical struggle over the attempt of repeal of health care repeal is going to be. It's going to be the fact that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that it will actually add $230 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years to repeal health care reform.

Democrats, as you can imagine, are pouncing on this, saying, OK, you're going to try to repeal this thing. You're saying that you're being fiscally responsible, and yet, the CBO is saying it's going to cost so much.

The answer that Republicans have to that is basically that they're dismissing these numbers from the CBO. They feel that health care reform is job-killing, and they don't think that repealing it is actually going to add to the deficit. The accused Democrats are using what they call budget gimmickry, and really kind of fudging the numbers by saying that it would actually save money over the long term.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And Boehner specifically disputed that. He said the CBO's numbers may not necessarily be right. Not exactly his words, but the was his message.

KEILAR: Yes, that is, and dismissing it. But, you know, the other thing is, we pay a lot of attention to the Congressional Budget Office. It is nonpartisan, as I said, and there is frequently this struggle over whether you believe their numbers, if they're saying kind of what you want them to, or on the reverse. So, certainly, there's some back and forth over that.

WHITFIELD: OK. It's going to be an interesting year.

All right. Thanks so much, Brianna Keilar, on Capitol Hill. Appreciate that.

Meantime, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi actually sits down for an exclusive interview with John King tonight, 7:00 Eastern. You don't want to miss that.

All right. Not too many politicians moonlight as superheroes, do they? Well, you'll meet one who did when we do the "Random Moment of the Day."

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(NEWSBREAK)

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WHITFIELD: For almost an hour and a half now, there's been a reading of the U.S. Constitution under way on the House floor. Take a look. Live pictures right now.

Lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, are taking turns reading all seven Articles and 27 Amendments, start to finish. Historians say it's never been done before.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- "office of the president more than twice. And no person who has held the office of president or acted as president for more than two years of a term, to which some other person was elected president, should be elected to the office of president more than once."

GOODLATTE: I now yield to the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Nunnelee

REP. ALAN NUNNELEE (R), MISSISSIPPI: "But this article should not apply to any office holding the office of president when this article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of president or acting as president during the term during within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of president or acting as president during the remainder of such term." WHITFIELD: This reading is in great acknowledgement of the Tea Party activists. Republicans say they want to show the new majority in the House that that is committed to the Constitution.

Meantime, we are also watching your money today. Take a look at the Big Board and the numbers there. The Dow down 44 points.

We'll continue to watch it throughout the day for you and see if there's any uptick in the numbers.

Meantime, last year's Gulf oil disaster could happen again unless some serious changes are made. That's the warning from a presidential commission studying what went wrong last April.

CNN Money's Poppy Harlow joins us now from New York with more on this -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Fred, what we just received late last night was a key chapter of the report that we'll get the full report of on Tuesday. This is the presidential commission looking into that BP oil spill.

And I want to get to some of the key findings here.

First of all, what this said is that the problems with deepwater drilling are systemic. They said it's not one company's fault, it's not an aberration.

They also said that the blowout and the ensuing oil spill could have been prevented. They named three main companies here that they're clearly focusing on.

The first, of course, BP, that got all the attention, that drilled the well. But then there's two companies you may not know were very involved in this.

Transocean, they owned the rig and they leased it to BP. So they could have some liability. Halliburton, they cemented the well.

The big question that this reports brings up that they focused on is, did these companies ignore safety precautions in order to gain profit? And I want to read you a report from this report. It's rather damning.

It says, "Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton and Transocean made that increased the risk of Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time and money."

Now, BP, for its part, saying it has cooperated with the commission fully, with the investigation, and also saying the accident was a result of multiple causes and multiple parties, Fred. And these are just findings from one chapter of that full report that we'll get on Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: And what's the expectation of the impact of the commission's findings? HARLOW: That's a great question.

Actually, this could turn out to be pretty good for BP, all things relative. Some analysts are saying that in terms of the issue of gross negligence, how much BP can be fined in the end, this may take that off of BP, because under the Clean Water Act in this country, if BP can be proved to have acted grossly negligent, they can be fined up to $17.5 billion.

But this report spreads the blame really across a number of companies, so it's going to be a lot harder to prove that BP was grossly negligent. If they can't prove it, the maximum fine that BP can face is $4.5 billion.

Now, Fred, in the grand context, that's a lot of money, but let's not forget that BP set aside $20 billion after negotiations with President Obama and his team to pay all of those claims of individuals and businesses harmed because of the spill.

The big question in the end, how do we prevent this from happening again? The report says we need significant change from the oil industry and from the government. The U.S. Interior Department, which oversees those divisions that oversee these oil companies and drilling, say they've already made some changes.

But this is just coming from the first chapter released, really, the first part of that report on Tuesday. We'll see a lot more. But this actually, a lot of analysts are saying, could be better for BP than expected in terms of where the blame lies in the end -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Poppy Harlow, thanks so much.

HARLOW: You got it.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, the debate over vaccinations and autism may have just gotten more complicated. We'll discuss the findings of a new investigation with a parent searching for answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: Also making headlines today, a British medical journal says a retracted British study that linked autism to childhood vaccines is a "elaborate fraud." The journal "BMJ" concludes that Dr. Andrew Wakefield misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients in the 1998 study. Wakefield denies it.

And while the controversy around that autism study rages, it's important to remember that this is much more than a scientific debate.

The CDC estimates that one in 110 children in the U.S. is affected by autism. For the parents of children living with this disorder, autism remains a daily fact of life.

Louis Conte is one such parent. He is the proud father of three boys whose birthday is today. They're 11, triplets. Two of the boys, Sam and Thomas, are autistic.

And now Mr. Conte is joining me now to talk about dealing with the study, the disorder.

What do you with this information as a dad? Do you feel like this claim that it's a hoax offers more complications, or does it offer more clarity for you?

LOUIS CONTE, FATHER OF TWO AUTISTIC CHILDREN: Well, I personally feel that vaccines are implicated in the increase in autism. And frankly, the situation with Dr. Wakefield's study doesn't really alter my beliefs one way or the other. Parents who were observing their children regressing into autism after vaccination before Dr. Wakefield came on the scene. So, whatever occurs with his study is not necessarily anything that influences my opinions on the matter

WHITFIELD: So, how then, might this impact, this day forward for you as a parent of your two sons with autism? How do you use this information or perhaps not use the information to, in any way change your day-to-day life, to in any way alter what kind of hope there might be for more treatments, et cetera?

CONTE: Well, I confess. I think that in terms of my feeling about vaccination is that I think parents have -- should have the right to make their own decisions and to have more choice than is typically given to us right now in the United States. Many instances, vaccines are mandated. I think parents should have choice. I think the parents have an obligation to evaluate any medical procedure that their children are going to be receiving.

And so, I as parents, think of themselves as Americans. We're good at that, and evaluate all information. Not just the recent information, you know, from really -- I will tell you. My opinion of Brian Deer (ph) is not really regarded as an Edward R. Murrow within our community.

WHITFIELD: So, your children are 11 today. And you now have a pretty comprehensive treatment plan for your kids, how your entire family is involved in the day-to-day ongoings that surround your three kids, two of whom are autistic. How hopeful are you --

CONTE: That's right.

WHITFIELD: How hopeful are you that there might be more treatments, there might be other avenues the medical community might take from this day forward?

CONTE: Well, I think one of the things we need to keep in mind here is that the issue of vaccines triggering autism is by no means a closed subject. In fact, the vaccine court recently settled a claim for vaccine-induced autism. The young girl had a (INAUDIBLE) from Georgia.

There are indications that vaccines play a role in it. Are vaccines the only part of the story here? I think not. I think what's emerging more and more is an understanding about the fact that this is really an environmentally triggered disease. And it's part of a larger array of symptoms in terms of toxicity for our children. We --

WHITFIELD: But isn't it difficult still, there isn't anything conclusive about these things. It is in large part still a great mystery to so many people, which is why there are so many studies, there are so many disputes about the triggers of autism.

So, I wonder, do you spend less time on investigating or looking for the answers of triggers of autism, given the fact that your children are 11, and right now, your focus ends up having to be more on how to address their needs? Or are you worried about that next generation and what can be learned about the triggers of autism?

CONTE: Well, we have to do both. We have to investigate and study what works now. What therapies are effective. Whether restrictive diets help. We need better case studies of children who are dealing with autism now.

I have two sons with autism, and they're affected differently. And different approaches have worked differently with each boy. And you have to constantly try to tweak the treatment regimen or the supplements we give them, and try diets and other things. So far, not cures for my sons but positive impact.

And in terms of the implications for, you know, the ongoing increase in autism, we also need to get a handle on that. Quite clearly, the environmental triggers are playing the role as they never have before with this disorder. This is not a genes-only disorder as is commonly put out there. Emerging science is telling us that this is a disorder that's triggered by toxins and pollutants and perhaps vaccines as well.

WHITFIELD: Louis Conte, thanks so much. And all the best to your boys. Happy birthday to them on their 11th.

CONTE: Thank you. Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for you time.

All right. Favorite celebrities. Our live showbiz update has the big winners of The People's choice Awards. And some may actually surprise you.

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WHITFIELD: All right. It's a pretty blustery new year. Chad Myers is in weather center now. Get used to the snow. More of it!

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEORLOGIST: Winter has really just started!

WHITFIELD: It is really here in a big way!

MYERS: It's here.

(WEATHER REPORT) MYERS: Stay with me, please.

WHITFIELD: They don't want any more!

MYERS: I know!

WHITFIELD: What a drag! All right. Thanks so much, Chad. Appreciate that.

MYERS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Well, the people have spoken and they have chosen "Twilight," the teen vampire saga to win big at last night's People's choice Awards.

"Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is live in New York with all the highs and lows of one of this season's, I guess, Hollywood awards show. So, how did this happen? I know it's popular --

A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, Fred, I'm here to tell you, do not ever underestimate the power of vampires. Very popular.

Twilight fans are really, really passionate about their stars. And the People's Choice, hey, they're all about the People's Choice. Now, Twilight's Kristen Stewart was named favorite movie actress. She beat out Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. And that is huge. They're two of the biggest stars in all of Hollywood. And the most recent film in the series, "Eclipse," picked up four awards. That includes Favorite Movie. Some of the nominees were "Social Network and "Inception," who it beat out.

But it wasn't a total shutout. Twilight's male lead, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner lost out to Johnny Depp for favorite movie actor. So, Fred, I'm thinking there, as happens with the Oscars, maybe Team Edward and Team Jacob kind of cancel each other out.

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK. Let's talk about behind-the-scenes stuff that you have, as it pertains to reality TV. Is there anything behind the scenes when it's reality TV? I thought it was all out there!

HAMMER: Yes, I guess. It is and it isn't. They try to keep a little thin veil over some things.

We're talking about a very memorable moment that took place on the bachelor that is full of memorable moments. I spoke to "The Bachelor," a show that has been full of memorable moments. And I spoke with the host of "The Bachelor" Chris Harrison, because I needed to find out what really happened in this situation.

Now, this controversy that I'm talking about started when current bachelor Brad Womack got smacked in the face by Shawntell O'Brien. That's one of the women on the show. Womack is a repeat bachelor. This is the guy - you may remember him - he became infamous because he turned down two women at the conclusion of the first time he was on the show.

Now, Shawntell, taking it on for women everywhere, apparently a little upset with him for that. Gave him the smack, and here's what Harrison said about the slap and the rumors that the whole thing was staged. Take a look at this.

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HAMMER: Look. You've seen the reports as well that the whole slap thing was set up. The producers knew it was going to happen. And the whole thing was kind of rehearsed. What about that, even if Brad himself didn't know that. Was she put up to that?

CHRIS HARRISON, HOST, "THE BACHELOR": Yes, not only that, I also heard that we took three or four tapes where Brad just sat there and I guess got slapped all night. No, he did no idea what she was going to do. You can see by the look on his face.

HAMMER: We got that. But was it set up that she was going to do it?

HARRISON: She probably knew she was going to do it before she got out of the limo. And that's the thing, too. They realize, this is their big first impression. So, people come up with, how do I stand out from the crowd? What do I do?

You look at Keltey (ph), another girl that came out and kicked her leg over her heading because these a Rockette. Well, this is what Shawntell decided to do to get Brad's attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: It got everybody's attention, didn't it?

WHITFIELD: Yes, it did!

HAMMER: Now, there are rumors that Shawntell, who is the slapper here, the rumor is that she's actually engaged to Womack. Now, obviously knowing that information would kind of ruin the whole show. So, the host, Harrison, understandably woudn't talk about that. I did press him, but we're going to have to wait and see, Fred, who the bachelor will pick in the end here.

But there's always drama. It's reality TV. It's what it's about.

WHITFIELD: Cliffhanger! Oh, yes, it's working. OK, that's a nice little tease. People will be watching, A.J. Thanks so much. Good to see you.

Of course, if you want anything breaking in the entertainment world, you know where to go. "Showbiz Tonight," 5:00 and 11:00 on HLN.

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WHITFIELD: All right. It took nearly two hours for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to read the 4,400 words in the U.S. Constitution. It had just ended just moments ago. Historians say it was a first in U.S. history -- that the U.S. House read the entire document from start to finish right there on the House floor.

So, let's take you back -- listen to some of the final moments of that reading.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: --27 - Originally proposed September 25th, 1789, ratified May 7th, 1992. No law bearing the compensation for the services of the senators and representatives shall take effect until an election of representatives shall intervene.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, the applause ending it, punctuating the reading of the U.S. Constitution. So, more precisely, it took one hour and 24 minutes to read the entire document on the house floor. That was after they also discussed the derivation of this document and why it was important to stick to certain language before they did begin the reading there, starting off with the House Speaker -- the newly elected House Speaker -- who had the opening salvo on the reading of the U.S. Constitution today.

All right, meantime, fewer Americans are lining up behind the Democratic Party banner. Shannon Travis, part of the best political team on television, joining us now from Washington at the political desk. So, what, exactly, is crossing right now? Explain.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Yes, this story may be an actual downer to democrats today. Gallup, the polling company, they took a look at about 21 surveys from 2010 from last year and one simple question: how many people are willing to say that they are democrats? Well, the numbers don't look good for that party. According to Gallup, 31 percent -- only 31 percent -- of Americans are willing to say that they are democrats. That's the lowest that it's been in seven years.

Now, just when you think that that might be bad news for President Obama and the democrats, look at this other number. Gallup says that only 29 percent of Americans are willing to say that they are republicans. That's actually up a little bit -- two points from last year, but still very low numbers for both parties as they start this 112th Congress.

Let's go from a story that might be a downer for democrats to a story -- a warning -- a Tea Party warning to the new House Speaker, John Boehner. This is a major Tea Party group, it's called "Tea Party Nation" -- the founder of it, the head of it, Judson Phillips, has a letter out. And he basically is warning Speaker Boehner: "Hey, we put you in there -- we put all of these law makers in there -- not because we love you or love republicans so much, but because we really want you to take hold of our message of cutting spending." And take a listen at one thing, one quote that has jumped out at me. He says in this letter: "You can simply be a nice guy and compromise on legislation and the agenda and you might not be Speaker in two years, or you can stand firm for a strong conservative agenda. If you fight, it will be a bloody fight, but when you look at the great leaders of the past, they did not compromise. Which will it be?"

WHITFIELD: All right, a serious warning to the new House Speaker. Shannon Travis, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

And, of course, for the latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. More after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right, you're online and so are we. We're tracking all the stories that are trending for you. That's when we call upon our Sandra Endo in Washington, who is quick at the finger there. Letting us know exactly what people are talking about online, et cetera. Beginning with an app store.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh yeah.

WHITFIELD: Everybody loves the app stores these days. But this is a new one? What's going on?

ENDO: Yes, well app fanatics now have their one-stop shopping. Check it out. It's trending on twitter and on all the tech blogs -- the Apple Store has opened its app store today and it really is one- stop shopping. You can get more than 1,00 apps available. And you can buy your apps pretty much like iTunes. So, I have to give a plug there -- iPad users, you want to make sure you get our CNN app if you don't have it already.

WHITFIELD: Of course. It's beautiful, too. So Mac -- they already had an app store, but now this one's like, bigger, better, more improved? Something special?

ENDO: Yes, more than a thousand -- yeah, one click, you get it. You don't have to deal with all the mumbo jumbo of downloading it and getting it and installing all that stuff. Very streamlined. Very good.

WHITFIELD: Making it easy. We like simplification, don't we?

OK, let's talk about Josh Groban -- what's up with him?

ENDO: Oh, my gosh, this is hilarious. Because this is what you get when you take two popular singers, different genres, both with a lot of personality -- well take a look and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH GROBAN: (SINGING) Classical music is tight, yo... ... French fries are the devil... ...black is the new black...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And many, many more. Includes 752 original songs on 48 CDs.

GROBAN: (SINGING) I love me...

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ENDO: That was obviously a funny spoof. Josh Groban, using his beautiful voice. But you're kind of thinking "what the heck is he singing?", right? Well, he was actually singing Kanye West tweets.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy. I'm seeing a fight ensuing.

ENDO: It was a spoof on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and yes, it is hilarious. Trending on YouTube if you want to see the whole version. But, I guess if you're a celebrity out there, you'd better be careful what you tweet. Make it interesting.

WHITFIELD: That's right, that's right. And sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it. And Josh Groban making it all sound so beautiful. OK. Sandra Endo, thanks so much. Appreciate that on all things trending.

And we, of course, will be right back with more news after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Some call it paradise, some say it's a big candy store for gadget geeks. The Consumer Electronics Show, opening today in Las Vegas. And CNN's Dan Simon is there with the hottest new products.

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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tablets, tablets, and more tablets. It is the theme of this year's Consumer Electronics Show. 50 new tablets being unveiled. All of them chasing the iPad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This year, it looks like there are a lot of major manufacturers that have tablets really targeted at that iPad market that are adding some features, even, that the iPad doesn't have. So, it's looking like, by the end of 2011, we'll have a lot more tablets -- viable ones -- for consumers to choose from.

SIMON: Next, 3-D television. Consumers have not gotten excited yet, but that might change with these newer, more comfortable glasses. And no glasses? That technology has arrived as well. I think that sign says it all -- no more goofy-looking glasses to watch 3-D. That may just be enough to get people excited about this new technology.

We got to see glasses-free TV first hand courtesy of eLocity. If you were here, you would really see these images in 3-D and they think that this technology will be commonplace within the next few years.

CES always has its share quirky stuff. This is the Coz-E -- a Snuggie with a heating pad. And the family of Bob Marley coming out with a unique line of audio accessories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, we're launching the House of Marley. A collection of electronic products, which is headphones, docking stations, things that relate to music. Electronical, you know? Ecofriendly, environmentally friendly, you know?

SIMON: How do you think your dad would feel about these products.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he'd love it, because he'll be able to play his own music in his own stuff, you know. So he would love it, he'd love this.

SIMON: But, perhaps, the most unique thing we've seen may help you live a little longer. It's a device from a company called "WiThings" that uses your iPhone to take your blood pressure. Snap the device into the iPhone. Obviously, you load the app. Just click the start button, and there you go -- your blood pressure right on your iPhone. Then it will email the result right to your doctor.

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WHITFIELD: All right. From Dan Simon there to one of our own gadget guys. There he is right there, Ali Velshi.