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Christie to Speak at 1PM ET; Fed Chief Gives Economic Outlook; Amanda Knox Heads Home; Knox Case Sparks Global Interest; Victim's Family "Back to Square One"; 12,000 Inmates on Hunger Strike; Tests: No Threat from Chemical Fire; Hawaii Makes Surfing High School Sport; Apple's Big Reveal; Apple's Newest iPhone; Mario's "Unplugged" Vacation; S&P Officially in Bear Market; Stocks Sell Off; Minimum Wage Rising in Eight States; ESPN Yanks Song Over Comments; Tears Flow on DWTS; Grace Opens Up on Health Scare; "Occupy Wall Street" Protest Goes On; Amanda Knox Heads Home; Christie Won't Run for President
Aired October 04, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has been reporting that Chris Christie is nearing a decision on a White House run. Now we're learning the Republican governor from New Jersey is going before reporters, our Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser has the story. Paul --
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Here's how it played out, Martin. Probably a half an hour ago, we got word from the New Jersey governor's office, they put out a statement that the governor will be holding a news conference at 1:00 Eastern. This was a late edition.
Our John King, our senior national correspondent, anchor of "JK USA" confirmed two GOP sources telling him that, yes, at this news conference, Governor Christie will announce whether he will or won't run for the GOP nomination.
As you know, there have been calls for Christie, the outspoken New Jersey governor, who has taken a stuff stance against Democrats and when it comes to budget cuts, a very tough stance as well. There had been calls for him to run, Martin, all year basically for the GOP nomination.
Those calls accentuated. I guess, has skidded up just in the last two weeks after Texas Governor Rick Perry had a pretty uneven debate performance in the last presidential debate.
Up until now, Chris Christie has been saying no, no, no, I won't run. I'm not ready to run, but at a speech at the Reagan Library in California last week, he didn't say yes. He didn't say no.
Hopefully today at 1:00 we'll finally get an answer on whether he will or won't run for the nomination, Martin.
SAVIDGE: All right, we will anxiously be waiting for that. Paul, thanks very much.
Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke is on Capitol Hill now testifying about the country's economic outlook and a flood of bleak forecasts means he doesn't have a lot of good news to build on.
Members of the Joint Economic Committee will be throwing questions to Bernanke. They are likely to range from the effectiveness of "Operation Twist," a program that's designed to push down interest on government bonds, to the sluggish economic recovery. To U.S. bank exposure to what's going on in Europe.
Christine Romans is live in New York. Christine, what's the big message that we're going to get from Bernanke today?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The big message from the Fed chief is that households in this country face a challenging environment. He says between the stock market and the value of your retirement and the value of financial assets to the value of your home to your security and your job, all of these things are working to make people feel a little uneasy.
He says you still have households that have too much debt that's still a problem and other households who don't have enough access to credit so they can't grow and that's another problem. These are things that we've seen throughout the recession and what is supposed to be a recovery. And they have not improved.
He also said the number one issue facing Americans is the poor performance of the job market and he predicts more sluggish jobs growth in the period ahead. Now, he points out that it's been three years, Martin, since the very worst moments of the financial crisis.
Three years where you've seen the banking system improve considerably, but you don't have the growth of the economy returning to pre-recession levels just yet. And that is a disappointment. He also said the recovery overall has been more disappointing than they thought and the recession was steeper and more painful than we thought.
This is something that I think most American families already know and certainly agree with, but a deeper recession than we thought and a more painful recovery than previously estimated. And he says slow economic growth is leading to slow rates in the increase of jobs and household incomes.
Well, we know all that, so what are they trying to do about it? Well, the Fed of course has been stimulating the economy in a variety of different ways. Most recent is this "Operation Twist." He talks about that a little bit and he'll talk about that to the Joint Economic Committee.
But also he says the Fed can't do it alone and he lays out sort of four goals for fiscal policy. The Fed can do monetary policy. It's Congress that does fiscal policy. And he talks about making sure the country is spending more in line with its means, but not cutting back to quickly to slow growth.
He points out that state and local governments are reeling in their spending and that's hurting growth overall. He talks about the design of the tax code, getting our federal spending priorities in order. But also having long term growth at the core of any of our tax and spend proposals and debt debates.
And also here is something interesting, Martin. He said it's evident that we need a process for making our long term budget decisions that is more predictable and less painful so we don't have the kinds of financial disruptions we've seen over the past months as the Republicans and Democrats are really at odds over how to fix the long term direction of our country.
So all of these is what the Fed chief is saying this morning as the stock market is down another 211 points, Marty --
SAVIDGE: Got nice little footnote there. Thanks, Christine Romans.
Overseas, Amanda Knox's life has made, well, a 180-degree turn in the last 24 hours or so. She is now headed home to Seattle after Italian justice overturned her murder conviction. There she is at the airport, by the way, in Rome.
This is a journey of about 5,000 miles and nearly four years in the making. This story spans three countries. CNN is of course is in all of them with team coverage.
Matthew Chance is in Italy where the story began in 2007. Sandra Endo in Seattle, Knox's hometown and Zain Verjee is in London. The victim, Meredith Kercher was British.
Sandra, let start with you. How is the anticipation there?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the anticipation and the excitement is building. This is the day so many people here in Seattle have been waiting for. Friends, family members, supporters of Amanda Knox have been fighting for four years for her freedom.
And you can take a look at the front page of the "Seattle Times" today, "Nightmare is over. Knox coming home." And that plane is expected to touchdown here in Seattle sometime around 3:00 to 6:00 Pacific Time later today.
And after the plane arrives, we're expecting to hear from Knox's lawyer and her parents. They're expected to address the media. But it's not clear yet whether Amanda Knox herself will get in front of the cameras and make a statement.
That decision we're told is going to be made by her while she's on the plane over here so certainly a big day, a big home coming after four years being imprisoned in Italy, Martin.
SAVIDGE: All right, Sandra, we'll wait and watch for that. Thanks very much. The interest in the Amanda Knox case of course is one that is not only felt in the United States, but also in Europe.
CNN's Zain Verjee is in London and Zain, what's being said about this case in other nations?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So many countries around the world, Marty, were totally gripped by this case and the verdict and the ruling that was ultimately handed down. Let's go straight to the "Daily Mail" here. This is its headline. "Weeping Foxy is Freed to make a Fortune." It says for four agonizing years, the family of Meredith Kercher have had to watch as her murder was picked over. Detailed by horrific detail and the torment will continue after last night's dramatic court decision leaves them still wondering how exactly their lovely girl came to be so horrifically killed.
The "L.A. Times" has this headline, "beauty's Price, The Scapegoating of Amanda Knox." It says Amanda Knox is nothing if not a good story. There was almost no material evidence linking Knox or her boyfriend to the murder and no motive. It became clear that it wasn't facts but Knox, her femaleness, her Americanness, her beauty that was drive thing the case.
And then in Italy, this headline. "The Italian Justice System is a Worldwide Embarrassment." Not mincing words there. It says between rushed investigations and the circus of verdict announcements, each case becomes an unsolvable mystery.
Meredith Kercher's family is still insisting that they're not going to give up until they know what happened to their daughter. Marty --
SAVIDGE: You know, it's very interesting, Zain, the difference in sort of the opinions coming from either the state side newspapers or the ones overseas. Thank you very much for bringing that to us.
While Amanda Knox's friends and family, of course, were overjoyed, as Zain just pointed out, the family of the victim, Meredith Kercher, is very much at a loss.
Until yesterday, they thought that justice had been served to her killers. The Kercher's support an appeal and they are waiting for the judges' report on why the murder convictions were overturned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYLE KERCHER, VICTIM'S BROTHER: If the two who were released yesterday were not the guilty party and we are now obviously left wondering who is the other person or people. And really for us it feels very much almost like back to square one and the search goes on really to find out what actually happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: The family says that they are not open to talking with the Knox's at least for right now.
Our in-depth coverage continues next with a look at an unplugged family vacation. Could you disconnect from our mobile society for a few weeks? Tech guru Mario Armstrong tried. We'll find out how he did it.
The minimum wage is going up in some states. We'll tell you where and also how much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Checking stories now across the country. In California, a hunger strike by state prisoners is growing and it now includes as many as 12,000 inmates. They are protesting what they call harsh prison conditions including excessive use of solitary confinement.
In Texas, environmental officials say initial air quality tests show no threat to the public from that big chemical plant fire. The flames sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Nearby areas were evacuated, including an elementary school.
And then there's this. Hawaii becomes the first state to make sure offing an official high school sport. Next school year students will be able to compete in school sponsored events. Don't look for that in Kansas.
All right, all week long we're going in-depth on our mobile connected society. And arguably Apple has done, well, just about more than any other company. Today, is a very big day at Apple's headquarters where the newest iPhone is about to be unveiled.
Dan Simon is there and we've only had to wait 15 months, I think, Dan, since the last.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you something, in 2007 when the first iPhone was released, I remember Steve Jobs took the stage and said Apple was reinventing the phone and looking back at that, he was not exaggerating. He had a lot of businesses start or be launched as a result of the iPhone and it's obviously propelled Apple's stock price.
It's their best selling device. So it's obviously been a game changer in the cell phone industry. So today, it's unofficially called the iPhone 5, we'll see exactly what it's called. But this new iPhone is expected to be a bit slimmer, maybe have a bigger screen, a better camera, an eight mega pixel camera.
And in terms of a signature feature, if you look at the invite for this event and you see it behind me, it says let's talk iPhone. Some people think that's suggesting that there's going to be voice command in the new iPhone, voice recognition.
So say might, you know, you wanted to go to a location and it might just pull up the GPS, so you won't have to type anything in, you can just say where you want to go and it will recognize your voice. That's the buzz. We'll know for sure when things get under way here in up a couple of hours, Martin.
SAVIDGE: That kind of a personal electronic ballet. What about the chance that Steve Jobs will make an appearance?
SIMON: You know, there's been a lot of speculation about that. He's surprised us before when he's been very sick and he still made appearances. In this case, I think it seems unlikely, but you know, we'll see what happens. We know that Tim Cook is probably going to be unveiling the phone, the device today. And of course, there will be a lot of scrutiny in terms of how he does because it will be his first time on sort of this grand stage so to speak. Martin --
SAVIDGE: All right. We will look for that. Thanks very much.
So all week we've been talking about what it means to be connected. Right now, though, we want to talk about disconnecting, taking a vacation from smart phones, from the tablets and all those other gadgets that have worked their way into our daily lives.
And that's exactly what tech guru, Mario Armstrong did for two week. He joins us now.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, HOST, "MARIO'S DIGITAL SPIN," SIRIUSXM: That's right, Martin.
SAVIDGE: How did that go?
ARMSTRONG: It was very enlightening, very freeing and also a lot of anxiety in between there. The whole promise was to my family that I would not take a 21st Century vacation, which really means you're going to check e-mail anyway, just more limited maybe.
And really the more present in the now, be more present in family activities and get away from those nonfamily distractions.
SAVIDGE: Were there withdrawals, I mean, did you feel a sense of like electronic jitters?
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely. At first I thought my phone was beeping when I would hear other noises. I thought it was vibrating. I would look to feel my pockets. It really wasn't healthy.
It was a really scary feeling of anxiety. Day two, I wanted to start tweeting and Facebooking and I did not take my phone with me, so I was going cold turkey as they say to really try this experiment out.
SAVIDGE: Were you in someplace where there were others around you had all of their electronic devices and were you're suddenly feeling device envy?
ARMSTRONG: You know, I wasn't feeling device envy. Yes, I was around other devices. There was a moment though when we were on the beach and I saw an e-reader and almost threw the thing in the ocean. I just couldn't take seeing another screen anymore.
You know, I was out there with crossword puzzles and Sudoku and stuff. But it really was an opportunity for me to reflect on other behavior, watching up and down the boardwalk and in other areas and in restaurants. And how much we are with our phones and it was really sad to see how much we're missing out on actually being in the present.
It was really just eye opening that families are not having conversations. They're not having solid communication and many people are looking for a device as an escape.
SAVIDGE: You're right. Maria Armstrong, thanks very much for the insights. I see so many people who were just fixated on their palm rather than looking at the life that is happening around them. Thanks so much for that.
ARMSTRONG: Martin, I had to create a whole new blog for this, "Vacation Unplugged" at my site marioarmstrong.com to give people four easy tips to get life back.
SAVIDGE: Well, hopefully it will catch on. Thanks again.
ARMSTRONG: Hopefully so.
SAVIDGE: Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange, which hit a new milestone this morning and most of those milestones are good these days. The S&P 500 entered bear market territory today. So Alison, tell us, what does that really mean?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, here comes your lesson, Martin. So a bear market actually means the market is in an extended downward trend. So what you're seeing is clearly not just a blip happening here.
So the common definition of a bear market is that it's down 20 percent from recent highs and that's actually the case for the S&P 500 right now. That is the index that your 401(k)s track. It's down more than 20 percent from the high that it reached in April.
Now what I'm watching to see is if we close here because if we close here in this bear market territory, it would be the first official bear market in two years. But I want you to remember this is just the stock market, but it can be a reflection of the direction that the economy is headed.
Also remember that the market is cyclical, the bear and bull markets are all normal, that this one that we're having right now is really more of a response to the slowing economy and the debt problems in Europe. Martin --
SAVIDGE: Alison, we're also here hearing, you know, a lot of workers will be getting a boost next year because of minimum wage, which is getting set to rise. What states are talking about this and what about the critics who are saying that this isn't really going to help the job market? What's their argument?
KOSIK: Sure, yes, and if you ask me, this is a bit of bright news on such a gloomy day for the markets. Yes, minimum wage going up in eight states next year. We'll pull up the map. We'll show you exactly what states were talking about here.
These increases, they range from 28 cents to 37 cents per hour. It doesn't sound like much, but it really works out to a pay raise of about 580 bucks to $770 a year if you're a pull full-time worker.
And this is happening because minimum wage in these states is pegged to inflation, so these raises are automatic when inflation heats up. And you talked about the critics. They say that this would limit hiring. They say because a higher minimum wage means that employers are going to have to shell out more money.
But proponents of raising minimum wage say this higher wage is exactly what the broader economy needs that most jobs created this year are low paying, below $15 an hour. So the idea is you get these bigger paychecks, that causes more spending, and you have to remember spending is one of the biggest drivers of economic activity.
So in turn employers may hire because of that rise in demand. So what you essentially see, Martin, is a back doorway to help the economy by boosting incomes so that in turn boosts spending and helps the overall economy, Martin.
SAVIDGE: We can only hope. Alison, thank you very much.
Well, his song has been a staple of Monday night football for 23 years. But last night, ESPN yanked Hank, Hank Williams Jr., that is because of a remark he made about President Obama. We'll give you the details next in showbiz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Well, if you tuned in to Monday night football last night, you may have noticed something was missing. ESPN yanked Hank Williams Jr.'s famous song after remarks he made about the president. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" host A.J. Hammer is live in Los Angeles. A.J., is this a onetime deal or is Hank history?
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, we're not sure yet, Martin. We're actually waiting for ESPN's word on that. The famous are you ready for some football opening was noticeably absent from last night's broadcast of the Indianapolis Colts-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.
Now, that song as you probably know has been a part of the broadcast for a long time, over 20 years now. The trouble began earlier in the day on Monday for Williams Jr. when he appeared on Fox News and he made an analogy comparing President Obama to Hitler.
Now ESPN said, it was disappointed with the singer's comments and announced it was yanking his song. Williams released a statement to CNN saying he was misunderstood and he added that he's always respected the office of the president.
Now ESPN has not said whether or not the song will be back next week. So at this point, Martin, we're going to have to keep an eye on that and we will just have to wait and see.
SAVIDGE: All right, before I let you go, A.J., though, you were at "Dancing with the Stars." So tell us about that. HAMMER: Yes, I was right there in the audience actually, which was a fascinating way to see the show as opposed to watching it from the couch at home. I can tell you there were tears in the ball room at "Dancing with the Stars" last night.
It was the third round of performances and it challenged celebrities to dance to a song of their choosing, which reflected the most memorable year in their life. Now David Arquette was there dancing, of course.
He picked last year that's when he was dealing with alcohol addiction as his marriage to Courtney Cox fell apart. He dedicated his dance to their daughter, Coco, and you got to hear what David told me back stage about the roller coaster ride this past year has been. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ARQUETTE, ACTOR: I've dealt with a lot of stuff in that past period of time and not even just sort of alcohol related or anything, just feelings and you know emotion. This is part of it, too. I mean, this is a crazy, crazy ride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And of course, HLN's own Nancy Grace was right there on the floor last night. She picked "Moon River," the song she walked down the aisle to for her dance. She also said it was the song she used to sing to her twins.
And Nancy really opened up to me and the judges as well about the heart breaking and emotional time in her life just after Lucy and John David were born. Watch what she told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: A.J., you know that for so long after I delivered, I was in a wheelchair and the viewers never knew. And it was a very, very long recuperation. And for so long, it was really day to day as to whether Lucy would make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And perhaps the most emotional story of the night belonged to J.R. Martinez, he's the Iraq war vet who was severely injured during the war. He dedicated his Rumba to America's men and women in uniform and Martinez really impressed the judges with a really soulful take of Tim McGraw's if you're reading this.
Former talk show host, Ricki Lake, scored the highest score of the night. Once again, she impressed the judges with great technique and execution.
But really for me, Martin, the highlight of the night was being their backstage getting to shake J.R. Martinez' hand and just say thank you. We'll see how everyone fairs in the elimination round tonight, Martin.
SAVIDGE: I envy you there. Thank you very much, A.J.
Want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J.s got it this evening on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." That's at 11 on HLN.
President Obama says that he's no shoo-in for re-election. How's that for confidence. He says that he's an underdog and that America is no better off than it was four years ago. Is this a campaign strategy or political buzz panel? We'll weigh in on it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Checking top stories right now. She is leaving on a jet plane. Amanda Knox took a flight from Italy. She's headed to the U.S. that after a jury overturned her murder conviction of her roommate. Prosecutors plan to appeal that ruling.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has scheduled a news conference for 1:00 p.m. Eastern today. Boy, are people buzzing. Two GOP sources are telling CNN he'll announce whether he plans to run for president.
And the "Occupy Wall Street" movement continues in New York with similar events now spreading to other U.S. cities. Protesters were upset over the disparity between the titans of Wall Street and the folks on Main Street who are simply struggling to get by.
"Political Buzz," this is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing today, Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman, SiriusXM political talk show host and comedian, Pete Dominick and CNN contributor, Will Cain.
OK, first question. A pair of sources are now telling CNN's John King that Chris Christie could announce whether or not he's running for the White House at 1:00 p.m. Now, if Christie jumps into the race, who besides his family probably, suffers, Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Martin, I think he pulls from all three now. We have three frontrunners. That's Romney, Perry and Cain. Substantively, he's not ideologically rigid. He's not doctrinaire like Romney. But he does it without appearing flip-flopper or slippery on it.
So, I think he pulls from Romney substantively. Stylistically, he looks like a leader. He looks authentic and I think his weight contributes to that. He looks authenticate pulling from Perry.
And last, he's charming. He can defend his position. He's articulate like Herman Cain.
I think he pulls from all three leaders, frontrunners and can pull it together for the electorate.
SAVIDGE: All right. Will, do you agree?
CAIN: I agree with myself, yes.
SAVIDGE: Oh, I'm sorry, Robert. Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBER: Thank you, Martin.
Ultimately, the person who gets hurt the most is Chris Christie because as conservative as he is, he's going to find out in this Republican Party of today, he's much too liberal. The fact that he believes is a science is a valuable thought process, a valuable piece of knowledge, the fact that he believes climate change is created by human beings or supports the assault weapons ban disqualifies him from today's Republican Party. If the Republicans are looking for moderate leadership, they better go to the Smithsonian.
SAVIDGE: Pete, same question.
PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS-XM POLITICAL TALK SHOW HOST: Well, listen, I don't think Chris Christie is going to run. I don't think -- we'll find out today. But I'm going to guarantee it to you right now, Martin, Chris Christie announces that he'll run, tomorrow I will shave Will Cain's head right here on "Political Buzz."
I don't think he's running. Who does it hurt the most? Probably Chris Christie. You could argue New Jersey. The governor now won't be the governor effectively if he's running for president.
And like Will said, he's going to take from all the other candidates, especially Mitt Romney. But I'm telling you, he's not running and tomorrow we'll be talking about Sarah Palin.
SAVIDGE: All right. "Political Buzz" is brought by Burma- Shave.
All right. Let's move on. President Obama says he sees himself and I like this, he's full of confidence, something of a long shot in the 2012 race for the White House. Listen to what he told ABC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you the underdog you now?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely. Because, you know, given the economy, there's no doubt that, you know, whatever happens on your watch, you've got --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You embraced that pretty quickly.
OBAMA: You know, I don't mind. I'm used to be an underdog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: He also says that America is not better off than it was four years ago -- self deprecation as a campaign strategy. Will it work, Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: You know, first, the president's senior political adviser David Axelrod said this re-election was going to be a titanic struggle. Now, President Obama starts describing himself as the underdog.
It's starting to sound like a Lifetime movie of the week. The reality is a strategy for a challenger is very different than the strategy for an incumbent president. This president is certainly capable of articulating great vision, has shown great leadership. That's the message that will energize the Democratic base.
And that's the message that ultimately is going to help propel him politically.
SAVIDGE: Lifetime movie of week.
Will, what do you say?
CAIN: Yes, I'm kind of with Robert on this. I understand why he's doing it, but I don't think it's going to work. Look, '08, Obama's election campaign was energized by a base of young people and minority.
And I'm not sure those people are going to be enthused to come back out in 2012 without creating the same magic of '08, the same underdog status. That's what he's trying to do.
On the flip side, look, the presidency carries a lot of gravitas, a lot of weight. Barack Obama is essentially up here while his opponents are down here bickering among themselves and he diminishes himself by calling himself the underdog. I think he gives up something important by saying this.
SAVIDGE: All right. And, Pete, finally to you. Is low the way to go when you're pitching the presidency.
DOMINICK: Yes. I think, in this case, yes, because he's trying to head off, Martin, that famous line -- he'll be going up against Mitt Romney. I can tell you that right now. In the debate, he's going to be asked, are you better off than you were four years ago? The president is already saving you're not.
And as Will just said, all those voters -- minorities and young people that came out the first time around, he needs to scare them and excite them at the same time -- and this is the way to get them to say this is not a lock, this is not a sure thing. So, you better come out.
But he's also being honest. Things aren't good right now.
SAVIDGE: Yes. He is being honest. There's no doubt about that.
All right. Buzzer beater, 20 seconds each. Here we go, third question. ESPN drops Hank Williams Jr. from "Monday Night Football" after the singer said the golf round between Obama and John Boehner was like Hitler playing gold with Benjamin Netanyahu.
He's talked about running for the Senate in 2012. Does this essentially end his political future or get it kick started? Will?
CAIN: I want to say what political future, but then I remember Arnold Schwarzenegger and Al Franken.
Look, here's the deal. I like Hank Williams' music. I like Morgan Freeman's acting. I like Alec Baldwin's acting. But none of this qualifies them to give their opinions on anything of any import.
We need to start putting mikes in front of their faces, unless they are pretending. In all deference to my friend Pete who has earned respect, these are court justice who got too close to the throne. And now think they have special insight.
SAVIDGE: All right.
CAIN: He has insight.
SAVIDGE: Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: Look, this is not a partisan issue. Not only did Hank Williams show disrespect to the president, but also great disrespect to our country and our Constitution. And he's using the Nazi atrocities and the partisan punchline, demonstrates why he's not only not qualified for public office, he's not worth the dirt on my shoes.
SAVIDGE: True ignorance of history no doubt.
Pete?
DOMINICK: To be fair, Robert's shoes are very clean.
Hitler versus Netanyahu -- first of all, that's an entertaining hypothetical. I love to see that match. I think the first swing Netanyahu would bludgeon Hitler to death.
You know, I would rather watch that hypothetical than ever listen to a Hank Williams song. Sorry, Will Cain, I'm not a fan. I've seen this guy perform before every "Monday Night Football" game. It's never ever encouraged me to seek out any of the rest of Hank Williams' entire body of work. All I know is he's the football guy -- and now an idiot.
SAVIDGE: You're not a fear of there's a tear in my beer and I'm crying you dear. OK.
CAIN: That's his dad now, guys. That's his dad.
SAVIDGE: It was a duet. They sang it together. I mean, it's a beautiful duet.
CAIN: Sorry, Martin. Isn't that the cars?
SAVIDGE: All right. We got to go. Thanks very much, Robert Zimmerman, and also, Pete Dominick and Will Cain. Thanks for playing along. We'll talk to you again.
All right. Something more serious now. Overseas, Amanda Knox's life has made a 180 degree turn. So, now, she's headed home to Seattle after a justice overturns her murder conviction. This is her at the airport in Rome. She's expected to land in Seattle later today.
While Amanda Knox's family and friends are overjoyed, of course, the family of the victim, that's Meredith Kercher, they are at a loss. Until yesterday, Lyle and Stephanie Kercher thought justice had been served to their sister's killers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYLE KERCHER, VICTIM'S BROTHER: We find that we are now left obviously looking at this again and thinking how a decision that was so certain two years ago has been so emphatically overturned now.
STEPHANIE KERCHER, VICTIM'S SISTER: Waiting another year now to get the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Matthew Chance is in Perugia, Italy.
And, Matthew, the family feels that they're really back to square one in this case now, don't they?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They do. They've been very disappointed, indeed, they say, about the decision by the court here in Perugia to overturn the murder convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.
Because, you know, they said they thought the police investigation initially was very thorough. They were anxious, of course, to find the culprits behind the killing of Meredith Kercher, the sister of Lyle and Stephanie.
And, you know, the fact that these people have now been let out, the fact that hair murder convictions have been overturned, has opened all sorts of questions for them. Like if there were other people involved in the killing of Meredith back in 2007, who are they? Are there still killers out there responsible for this terrible, terrible murder, that haven't been brought to justice? These are the concerns that the Kercher family have right now.
SAVIDGE: And they have said that they're not open to talking with the Knoxes, is that right?
CHANCE: Well, there was some speculation that, you know, the Knoxes and Kerchers may kind of reach out to one another and, you know, try and sort of reconcile their differences. But the Kerchers were saying earlier is that it's not time for that yet. There's still going to be a Supreme Court appeal here in Italy to find out whether this appeal here in Perugia is satisfactory when it comes to Italian law.
Only after that was it suggested by Lyle Kercher that might they sort of consider kind of reaching out to the Knoxes perhaps or receiving the call from the Knoxes to discuss what they've both been through, these families both devastated by what happened this 2007 when Meredith Kercher was killed.
SAVIDGE: Matthew Chance -- joining us from Italy -- thank you.
American Airlines could be headed towards bankruptcy and then fears about the company's money situation are being felt all the way to Wall Street.
Plus, they're loud. They're annoying to some. But should leaf blowers be banned? Well, they will be if some college students get their way. We'll have the details after the break.
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SAVIDGE: If you haven't heard about it, you will. The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is in its third week and still going strong. Unions, celebrities, other cities are all joining the rally cry. But the agenda is still a little bit fuzzy. Protesters say that they are upset over Wall Street excess.
But our Erin Burnett visited the base camp and asked one basic question about the Wall Street bailout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: So, do you know that taxpayers actually made money on the Wall Street bailout?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was unaware of that.
BURNETT: Not on G.M., but they did on the Wall Street part of the bailout. Does that make you feel any differently?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I would have to do more research about it.
BURNETT: If I were right, it might.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: By the way, the bailout has made about $10 billion for the American taxpayer. That's so far.
Hip-hop star Russell Simmons is just one of the celebrities who has stopped by in support of the demonstration. And he is joining us now live on the phone from Miami.
And, Russell, we just heard from one man who obviously doesn't represent the movement as a whole. But in your experience, do demonstrators really grasp what it is they are fighting about?
RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP HOP STAR (via telephone): These are some of the most sophisticated -- and I'm an activist, I've been to many marches. They know exactly what they're upset about. They're upset that corporations and special interests run this country.
And so, if you asked about the bailout. I heard -- you know, I'm listening. I heard the bailout question.
It's just the wrong thing to do. So the idea that these guys have so much influence over the lives of the people and the people have less influence than they should have, that's what the underlying reason that they're at Wall Street. People say they don't they what they want. They want power back to the people, very simple.
SAVIDGE: OK. That's a simple idea.
SIMMONS: Let me make this clear, they may have a lot of demands as individuals, but all of them agree that special interests and businesses run this country, have too much control and you have to bring back a balance that allows the people to be represented properly by the politicians that they elect to office.
SAVIDGE: Well, do they offer a way to make this change come about?
SIMMONS: Anybody -- John McCain, Joseph Lieberman, anybody can write legislation to limit this money in Washington.
The money controls this country. The reason I have a tax break, is the reason my corporation has a tax break. This is pretty simple, and it's going to get big.
I'm just saying, you know, I think it seems the media is a little bit disingenuous when they say they don't understand why these people are upset. Many people in the media are. Some are just not smart.
It seems pretty simple. What they want is the power to the people, and not to the corporations. The corporations have too much power and special interests have too much power and the 1 percent have too much power.
What they would like is for the people to be represented, decent health care, they have decent -- they would have decent education. They would have a government that represented them and not special interests. And the rich would the not be getting so much richer while the poor are suffering.
SAVIDGE: Russell, let me ask you this -- are you planning to join or have you already joined?
SIMMONS: I've there eight times. I'm going to keep going. I don't live there. I live down the block from there. I'm there all the time.
I send water and resources. I'm going to continue to get more activists and sometimes celebrities to support their effort. I think they have a valid case and I think some politicians will -- as it grows -- will realize that there's a legislation to be written and they can get out in front of it and represent the people.
SAVIDGE: All right. Russell Simmons, we thank you very much for joining us via the telephone.
SIMMONS: My pleasure. I'm not angry. I'm just making a point. It's pretty simple what they want. They want the money out of Washington.
SAVIDGE: Got it. And we appreciate it. Thank you. We'll continue following the story.
Let's turn now to another one. This is interesting, turning into a health story, about a hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana. It's telling staffers: don't come to work smelling of smoke.
"The Daily Mail" of London reports on that policy switch at the Christus St. Francis Cabrini Hospital. Staffers will no longer be able to take cigarette breaks and they cannot come in smelling of smoke. That new policy will begin next July. They, hope it gives workers enough time to adjust or hopefully just quit.
NASA has released new pictures of the sun and it's not bob. In other words, take big orange ball we've come to know. This is a whole different look.
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SAVIDGE: Let's go straight to Paul Steinhauser with breaking news from our political desk in Washington -- Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Martin, I know, we're doing this all morning. But here's what we're learning.
Our John King, our chief national correspondent and anchor of "J.K., USA," just spoke to a source in New Jersey who confirmed to us that Chris Christie will announce he will not be running for the GOP presidential nomination this afternoon.
Remember, the New Jersey governor has been under a lot of pressure to jump into the race. At the last minute this morning, he announced a 1:00 news conference in Trenton, New Jersey. We're learning now he will announce he is not going to run for the GOP presidential nomination, Martin.
SAVIDGE: All right, Paul Steinhauser, thanks very much.
Now let's bring in CNN Will Cain.
First of all, Will, were you surprised? What do you think of this news?
CAIN: I think the major reaction I have, Martin, is a disappointment. I'm openly conservative, Martin, and I feel like a real opportunity has been missed here. I think what we'll see now on the next month or two is , first, the establishment and then the electorate gravitate towards Mitt Romney. In fact, David Brooks wrote about it in the "New York Times."
There's been a reluctance to move over to support Romney. There's a perceived lack of trust in his positions. There's certainly no love for the fact that he created the model for Obama care. But he does seem to be the most competent candidate.
And the opportunity that's missed now is that in a year when populism played such a strong role in the Republican Party, there was a chance a guy like Christie or a Jeb Bush or a Paul Ryan could harness that energy and bring real ideological positions to make changes in Washington. I think they've missed their opportunity. I think Mitt Romney will be the nominee. And there's a good chance he beats a very vulnerable Barack Obama.
And so, what do these guys do in 2016? The Christies and Ryans and Bushes of the world, you have a Republican incumbent president possibly in 2016.
SAVIDGE: And I just missed that last thing you said. I'm sorry. But my question was -- do you think he could be vice presidential material?
CAIN: You know, I think about the job of vice president. I'm like is that a good job to aspire to? I mean, Chris Christie, yes, he might be vice presidential material. Truthfully, I think that Marco Rubio's name has been on that ticket as vice presidential candidate for quite some time.
Chris Christie is certainly somebody you can look at putting there. He carries a lot of positives. But I don't know if he'd want a job either. I say, is that a desirable to have? He's got a strong position as leader of New Jersey and if Barack Obama wins, he'll be positioned to run in 2016.
SAVIDGE: You say you are disappointed. What about the base of the Republican Party, do you think they're truly disappointed?
CAIN: The base -- I think when we say the base Republican Party, we talk a lot about the Tea Party. I think the Tea Party's relationship to Chris Christie was just forming. So, there will be some disappointment.
But as we talk about on this channel, on CNN, a lot, Chris Christie's positions didn't fit a rigid position that fit all the Tea Party's positions. He was a little bit iconoclastic on immigration, on climate change. So, there will be some who liked the style of Chris Christie and his commitment to fiscal conservativism and they'll be disappointed, like me.
But I think many of the Tea Party base will look to Rick Perry and now to Herman Cain.
SAVIDGE: Why do you think he chose to say no? Is it simply is there's just no time or is there something else going on at the back of his mind?
CAIN: You know, I don't know, Martin. The best I can do is offer you the answer that he's given us over and over, that he has said -- the one thing we can say is Chris Christie, from the beginning, has said, "I'm not going to run for president." Now, we know did he flirt with it after that, but he's said that over and over -- and reason he has given is that he doesn't feel it inside himself. He doesn't feel like he is ready.
Look, he's only been governor for two years. And I think one of the lessons of Barack Obama's presidencies regardless of your political persuasion is there's some hesitancy to elect somebody with a lack of experience. That doesn't reflect well for Christie, it doesn't reflect well for Herman Cain. We want to look for people at this point to have some competency.
And I think Chris Christie realized some of that in himself. Maybe he needs more experience, maybe he wants to spend time with his family. But from the beginning, he said, I don't feel it inside for me, that it's time for me to run.
SAVIDGE: And he's politically a young man. He's 49. So, there is still time to do that.
Will Cain, thanks very much for the insights. We will be talking again, guaranteed.
CAIN: Thanks, Martin.
SAVIDGE: Well, he didn't exactly run for president on his foreign policy credentials. He never portrayed himself as tough on terror when he's still a candidate. But now as commander-in-chief, President Obama has rid the world of some of the biggest terrorists. So, why aren't we hearing more about that?
In the next hour, we will talk about why Obama doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention for his national security successes.
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SAVIDGE: And here are the stories that are making news later today.
At 11:30 Eastern, a group of Republican freshmen in the House hold a new conference calling on the Senate to pass a budget.
Apple's new iPhone, it will be unveiled at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
And at 3:55 this afternoon President Obama speaks at a community college in Mesquite, Texas. He will urge Congress to pass his jobs act.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Joe Johns right after this break.
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