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Campbell Brown
President Obama Meets With Generals; Dangers of Distracted Driving
Aired September 30, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tonight, here are the questions we want answered.
Is President Obama going listen to his generals? He just met for three hours with his top guns. They want a lot more American troops sent to Afghanistan or they warn we could lose the war.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think any decisions have been made one way or the other.
ROBERTS: Is the president running out of time?
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If the president is looking for a way forward that doesn't include tens of thousands of more troops, I guess he's right to pause.
ROBERTS: And breaking news, tsunami death toll rising. We have an incredible eyewitness account of the killer wave in the South Pacific that hit Samoa with the speed of a jetliner.
Plus, does playing football lead to dementia and Alzheimer's? Tonight, the NFL comes clean with new research.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For years, they have denied the existence or possibility that multiple concussions or brain injuries could lead to problems later in life.
ROBERTS: It's not just hurting the pros. Our kids are at risk, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What gets me the most angry is everyone's saying oh, it's just a concussion.
ROBERTS: And is distracted driving, like texting or talking on the phone, even worse than driving drunk?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Text messaging is a level of impairment that exceeds what we see with someone who is driving while they're drunk.
ROBERTS: Last year, more than 5,000 people were killed, more than half-a-million hurt by distracted drivers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He never saw the red light. He never saw my mother's car until it was too late. He was talking on a cell phone.
ROBERTS: Do we need to put more distracted drivers in jail?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is your only source for news. CNN prime time begins now. In for Campbell Brown, John Roberts.
ROBERTS: Hi, everybody. Campbell Brown is off tonight. And those are our big questions.
But we start as always with the "Mash-Up," our look at stories having an impact right now and the moments that you might have missed. We're watching it all so you don't have to.
Death and devastation in Southeast Asia tonight as two earthquakes plunge the region into chaos. We begin in Indonesia, reeling after a magnitude-7.6 earthquake hit last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five o'clock in the afternoon and Padang's rush hour is rocked by a huge earthquake. A city with a population of nearly one million is running for safety. There's panic and confusion at every turn.
This is what the powerful 7.6 magnitude quake left behind, destruction and fear everywhere. And thousands trapped in the rubble. In the darkness, they dig in desperation, their bare hands the difference between life and death.
In between the corpses, there are moments of hope. This woman is pulled alive from the ruins of her home and rushed away by rescue teams.
With power and communication down, some of the injured are treated under torchlight. Two hospitals were destroyed, adding to the challenge faced by medical staff swamped by casualties. Thousands were expected to spend the night in the open, while a full assessment of the damage is made. People did what they could to protect their homes, but, for many, it's too late.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Meantime, U.S. military cargo planes are heading to Samoa tonight, still overwhelmed after an undersea earthquake on Tuesday triggered a tsunami there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGH WILLIAMS, CNN PRODUCER: The recovery efforts are -- are still continuing. They're finding bodies still buried in the sand along the coastline and also some bodies that are trapped under debris. But they're still looking for survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ocean so serene and beautiful right now, hard to imagine the force that came through yesterday. So many villages on the south side of Samoa just like this one, boats strewn about, cars, entire villages swept clean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Small wonder the couple who filmed the ocean surging over American Samoa, carrying vehicles and trees before it, started to pray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lord, Jesus Christ, please give us the power to accept the things that are going on here. We understand that this is the power of nature.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of debris on the roads, glass, rock. If you have a look over here, everything is just completely wiped out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Much more on this story coming your way tonight, including a dramatic eyewitness account of the tsunami as it came rolling in.
ROBERTS: In Washington tonight, President Obama huddling with his top security advisers, facing a mounting chorus of criticism over his handling of the war in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Obama and 18 others on his national security team focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, divided on how to proceed. Vice President Biden, Secretaries of State and Defense Clinton and Gates, Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen, U.S. Central Command General Petraeus, and the top commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, beamed in via teleconference.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a 66-page assessment, General Stanley McChrystal calls for a dramatic change in approach, focusing on protecting the Afghan population as the key to defeating insurgents, a strategy that would require a surge of resources, reportedly up to 40,000 more American troops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vice President Biden, National Security Adviser General Jim Jones, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel are said to be skeptical of that proposal, with Biden pushing a narrower focus on counterterrorism, just al Qaeda, with likely fewer troops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line is simple. Prevent Afghanistan from ever again becoming a safe haven from which al Qaeda could launch another 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The president facing a political dilemma as well. His liberal supporters have long urged him to pull back in Afghanistan. He meets with his security team again one week from today at the White House.
Tomorrow, of course, the president jets off to Copenhagen to make his big Olympics pitch. First lady Michelle Obama one step ahead of him. She arrived today with Oprah in tow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mrs. Obama's pulling out all the stops in trying to persuade members of the International Olympic Committee to choose her hometown of Chicago as host of the 2016 Olympic Games. Her message? That the Olympics have the potential to inspire children and transform their lives, perhaps even inspiring them to become the next Barack Obama or Oprah Winfrey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Now the White House tonight delivering a special Olympic slap-down to the folks over at FOX News, the White House Web site trashing FOX for -- quote -- "trying to turn a point of pride into a moment of shame."
FOX host Glenn Beck has been crusading against the president's efforts to bring the Games to Chicago, charging that it smacks of cronyism.
On Capitol Hill tonight, big progress on health care reform, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee declaring negotiations are coming to closure, saying the plan may pass his committee by the end of the week. The White House meantime besieged by questions over whether they will fight for the public option.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs in spin overdrive today, repeating the message we have heard before, but not so often, in a span of less than two minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBS: He favors choice and competition to provide that choice and competition. We're fighting for choice and competition. And the most important thing is choice and competition. You don't have choice, and it tends not to breed competition. Without choice and competition, you won't have health reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Six times, in fact. Of course, the president has said many times that he believes the public option is the best way to ensure choice and competition, but the White House today seemingly ready to settle for plan B.
And in case you thought signs of actual progress on Capitol Hill would quiet the angry voices in the health care debate, well, think again, the fire this time coming from the left, Congressman Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat, proving that no party has a monopoly on over-the-top histrionics. Check him out yesterday on the House floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA: If you get sick in America, this is what the Republicans want you to do.
If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, no surprise Grayson's comments triggered a ton of outrage. And today he went to the floor again to apologize, sort of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAYSON: I would like to apologize. I would like to apologize to the dead. And here's why. According to this study, health insurance and mortality in U.S. adults, which was published two weeks ago, 44,789 Americans die every year because they have no health insurance.
So, I call upon the Democratic members of the House, I call upon the Republican members of the House, I call upon all of us to do our jobs for the sake of America, for the sake of those dying people and their families.
I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: OK, so not an apology at all, and not so helping to restore civility on Capitol Hill either. Congressman Grayson didn't do anything to elevate the debate on CNN's "SITUATION ROOM" either when he called the Republicans -- quote -- "knuckle-dragging Neanderthals."
What is it with obscure congressmen behaving badly this month?
People, your kids are watching.
Well, all that said, these days, nothing helps you get noticed more than a big fat feud. And we may have seen the start of one today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." My guest, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele. I wanted his reaction to a quote from Pulitzer Prize- winning "New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He said -- quote -- "Criticism from the far right has begun tipping over into delegitimation and creating the same kind of climate here that existed in Israel on the eve of the Rabin assassination."
Do you agree with that? I mean, we're going down a road where there's potential violence? MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Where do these nut jobs come from? I mean, come on, stop this. I mean, wait a minute.
ROBERTS: Wait a minute, Tom Friedman is a nut job?
STEELE: Well, I'm just saying to make those kinds of equations, you know, examples, and put that out there that way, to me is just crazy. And yes, I'm sorry, but if you're going to approach this discussion, approach it from a rational position, you're saying because you disagree with the president on policy, that all of a sudden we're going to make this leap into, you know, assassinations and all this other stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: For the record, disagree with Tom Friedman, if you will, but there is no evidence to suggest that the man is a nut job.
And lest you think that politics has turned into reality TV, people, learn from the master. Jon Gosselin basically given the old heave-ho from his TLC gold mine, which will now be called just "Kate Plus 8." That announcement triggered all sorts of talks that Jon wants to put the brakes on his divorce. And that made him an open target for ladies of "The View."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Estranged husband Jon will appear less than before, but Jon has now put a 90-day halt on the divorce proceedings, saying he wants to open the lines of communication, work on co-parenting, and that he regrets stepping out in public with other women so soon after they split.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
GOLDBERG: That just left your pocket, Jack.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: No mercy for Jon Gosselin.
And so we turn from the punching bag to the "Punchline," courtesy tonight of Jimmy Fallon. Behold his take on Sarah Palin's upcoming book, "Going Rogue."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Sarah Palin's 400-page memoir, Sarah Palin...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whew!
FALLON: You're excited about that, ma'am. We can get her a -- we can get you a copy. I just checked.
(LAUGHTER)
FALLON: Well, they're going to release it on November 17, and it's called "Going Rogue: An American Life."
And critics say that it starts out OK, it gets really exciting, then confusing, and then the last 100 pages are blank.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
FALLON: The book costs $24.99, but it has a $5,000 jacket, which is a lot of -- it's controversial. A lot of controversy around that.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Sarah Palin, the comedians' gift from God. But, tonight, she gets the last laugh. Her book doesn't come out for another seven weeks, doesn't come out for another seven weeks, but it has already toppled Dan Brown from the number-one spot on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list. Point Palin.,
And that's the "Mash-Up."
Well, breaking news right now, a devastating earthquake, possibly thousands of people trapped in the rubble tonight. Plus, the aftermath of a killer tsunami, eyewitness video of the wave that was traveling the speed of a jetliner when it hit.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news tonight out of Indonesia, where thousands of people are trapped under collapsed buildings after an earthquake shook the island of Sumatra.
The magnitude-7.6 quake struck in the early hours this morning along the same fault line that spawned a massive 2004 Asian quake and tsunami. At least 75 people are known dead, but Indonesia's vice president says the number is -- quote -- "definitely higher than that."
At least two hospitals were destroyed in the quake. And tremors were reportedly felt as far away as Singapore and Malaysia.
Now, this is the second disaster in the region in less than 24 hours. In the Samoan islands, the death toll is rising, at least 111 killed, amid reports of homes demolished, whole villages wiped out, and survivors still searching for missing family members.
The magnitude-8.0 earthquake hit the Samoan Islands early on Tuesday triggering the tsunami, which some eyewitnesses said was like nothing they had ever seen before.
Earlier, I talked by telephone to one of those eyewitnesses. Joey Cummings is the general manager of South Seas Broadcasting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Joey, we have been looking at this extraordinary video that you took of I guess what was the second wave from the tsunami from the earthquake that came in. Where were you? And how would you describe what you saw?
JOEY CUMMINGS, GENERAL MANAGER, SOUTH SEAS BROADCASTING: I was on the second floor of an office building called Pago Plaza, which is deep in the harbor of Tutuila, which is the main island of American Samoa. As the first wave came, it was the strongest.
And we were on the radio at the time warning people to take high ground, and whenever all of our backup systems died, because we had lost power with the earthquake about 15 minutes previous. And it was (AUDIO GAP) destruction. A river of rocks, trees, cars, and boats floated past my second-story window. It was a very unnerving experience.
ROBERTS: So it was about 15 minutes from the time that you felt the earthquake, which, as I understand, lasted three minutes, until the time when you saw that first wave of water come in?
CUMMINGS: That's correct. It -- it shook harder than any earthquake we have ever experienced here on this island.
ROBERTS: Right. You know, we have heard that these tsunamis can travel over open water, at least, hundreds of miles an hour. How quickly did that first wave come in and about how high was it?
CUMMINGS: The first wave came in, and I thought it was just going to be something more like what I have described as a major inconvenience. It was three or four feet high, just enough to mess up everything and ruin everyone's cars and trucks.
The first surge, like I said, was three or four feet high, but then it suddenly gushed up to 15 feet over the period of maybe 30 seconds. It got very high very quick. And anyone that was caught in it was in for major trouble.
ROBERTS: What's the situation like there today?
CUMMINGS: Recovery, search and recovery. A lot of the cleaning of the roads was done within hours after, so that emergency vehicles could get back and forth, people could get back and forth, people could move to wherever they needed to move, people that were displaced away from their homes.
So, today seems to be a period where we're knocking down buildings that are completely, like, totaled, but not all the way destroyed that were in the fringe areas of the worst-hit area. And I know that there were boats in the harbor area looking for bodies that may be floating out there.
ROBERTS: So, still people missing?
CUMMINGS: Indeed, many, many, many people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: That was Joey Cummings, an eyewitness to the Samoan tsunami.
Another big question tonight, will President Obama listen to his generals? They want more troops for Afghanistan -- a big meeting tonight that could decide the fate of the war.
Plus, menace to society, that's what distracted drivers are being called tonight. And the feds are looking to crack down on them. You know who you are. If you text or talk on the telephone while behind the wheel, there may soon be consequences. You don't want to miss this story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: What will it take to win in Afghanistan? President Obama called a strategy session today -- the very latest on that just ahead.
(NEWS BREAK)
ROBERTS: Tonight's big question, will more American men and women be sent to Afghanistan? President Obama needs to make a decision. He needs to make it soon. He just had a three-hour meeting with his security team that could decide the fate of the war.
Plus, just how much brain damage can playing football cause to the players? The NFL comes clean tonight. And it's not just about the pros. This is a story that affects every kid who takes the field.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Just a short time ago, President Obama wrapped up his meeting with top military and civilian advisers, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, as he moves closer to a crucial decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.
General Stanley McChrystal, who is in charge of the war effort there, says the additional forces are vital.
CNN's Michael Ware was just in Afghanistan, and what he heard from U.S. commanders on the ground was not encouraging.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's clear that the way this war is currently being fought, it's simply not working. The Taliban are as strong as ever. Right now, American strategy for fighting this conflict is undergoing a massive review. And it's obvious that there's simply not enough international nor Afghan troops to do the job. That's leading many to call for something that's all too familiar here in Afghanistan, the involvement of the tribes or simply a return of the warlords.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Michael Ware is with me here in New York tonight and in Washington our CNN senior political analyst, Gloria Borger.
Gloria, let's start with you.
You had an interesting column that you wrote in which you said President Obama is at a similar point now that President Bush was in, in 2006 in regards to Iraq when he was deciding on whether or not to move forward with the so-called surge strategy.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, you both will remember this. He had a counterinsurgency that wasn't working in Iraq. He had a war that was really losing its popularity with the American people.
And he had a lot of conflicts within his own war cabinet, if you will, about what to do next, which is exactly what we're seeing with President Obama.
ROBERTS: So, Michael, the suggested strategies here that the president is looking at really are polar opposites. One is to pull U.S. troops out and rely on a counterterror -- targeted counterterrorism strategy. The other one is to inject as many as 40,000 more troops into Afghanistan and pursue a broad counterinsurgency strategy.
You have been there. You have spent an awful lot of time there.
WARE: Yes.
ROBERTS: Which to you is the more prudent strategy?
WARE: Well, I would put it slightly differently, John.
I think the strategy is the choice between actually deciding to fight this war or letting it become an American defeat on his watch. I mean, this is a challenge now for the new president. He has to stand up and be commander in chief. And that may mean biting the bullet of public opinion, because, right now, what's happening militarily, the American war effort is not even putting a dent in the Taliban war machine.
And the generals and everyone know you're not going to win this war. You're never going to defeat the Taliban on their home soil. But you don't have to lose. So, it's about finding strategies, given the American domestic environment that will enable them to do that.
Minimum, you need more troops, I'm sorry, just to put the hurt on the Taliban.
ROBERTS: Now, if -- General McChrystal has warned about this -- if you lose the war effort there, you risk a potential return to the bad old days when the Taliban invites in al Qaeda. It again becomes a base of terrorism.
If you were to draw down U.S. forces and rely on the strategy of targeting counterterrorism, using Predator attacks, maybe drop in some special forces once in a while, do you think that that would risk the Taliban taking control? Can you be effective enough...
(CROSSTALK)
WARE: Well, yes, good luck with that strategy. It didn't work before. It's not going to work now.
I mean, A, you've got to have the assets to know where to go. B, your agencies have to be talking together long enough to agree to actually go and do it and find the cojones to pull it off.
Now, that wasn't working then. So, you need to be fighting this war or you need to find a resolution that gets yourself out of there quick, smart. And I think there's a way for him to do both, more troops, but if he starts looking at Afghan solutions, unleash the Afghans. It's going to have risk, but it could work.
ROBERTS: Gloria, go ahead.
BORGER: Well, you know, I think the vice president is trying to find a way to come to some kind of middle ground on this.
But he's not talking about more nation-building in Afghanistan. He's talking about an Afghanistan and Pakistan policy, because his point is that al Qaeda has actually moved into Pakistan and that the goal of their mission was to destroy and dismantle al Qaeda.
And, so, he wants to rely more on human intelligence and special forces in Afghanistan, and also consider the problems in Pakistan. I don't have any idea whether that would work. I would like to know what -- what Michael would think...
WARE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: ... on the ground.
ROBERTS: Go ahead.
WARE: Well, actually, this may by a byproduct if, say, America goes down the path it did in Iraq, which they're looking at doing, which is basically getting U.S.-backed militias.
Now, in Iraq, it was from the insurgency. In Afghanistan, they're going through the tribal system. A pilot program is already under way being run by the Afghan president's brother. Not only would that give America suddenly more forces in the field to actually go out and kill the Taliban, because they know who they are and where they are.
It will also send a message to Pakistan. The Taliban is only able to operate because the Pakistani intelligence agency tolerates it by giving it sanctuary. It's essentially Pakistan's militia in Afghanistan. All of a sudden, America might have its own militia in Afghanistan, and that would send a message to Pakistan.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: But, Michael, you know, the concern here in American political circles is that President Karzai doesn't have any credibility with his own people...
WARE: He doesn't.
BORGER: He's not exactly the kind of partner you want to have. And when they look at what's changed --
WARE: He's not.
BORGER: When they look at what's changed, they say it's Karzai.
ROBERTS: But here's the thing. Do you go with the partner you want? Or do you go with the partner you got?
WARE: Yes, look, listen. All around the world, we're dealing with some pretty unsavory people.
BORGER: Right.
WARE: We're dealing with politicians who aren't exactly --
ROBERTS: And that's nothing new.
WARE: Hello, that's called geopolitics. I mean, it was once said -- there's no such thing as friends in international politics, only national interest. Right?
Well, America is not relying on Hamid Karzai. It would be foolish to do so. In fact, they're starting to look around for more partners in Afghanistan.
Now, does that undermine the original notion of democracy in a strong central government? Yes, but they're no longer the mission objectives. Hold that place together long enough for this election cycle to play out, have something to show the people at the next elections, and then you'll find a way to start pulling out of this war, because the war will keep going after you leave.
ROBERTS: We've got to leave there. Michael Ware, Gloria Borger, thanks for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it.
BORGER: Sure.
ROBERTS: And, of course, this is going to go on and on.
Thousands of Americans died last year because of drivers who were texting or talking on the phone while behind the wheel. Many more were seriously injured. Today, some of the victims of distracted drivers told their stories in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERYL ADAMS, VICTIM OF DISTRACTED DRIVING: In the blink of an eye, my legs were pinned between the car and the base of a lamppost. I remember lying on the concrete and hearing a woman scream. She lost too much blood. She's not going to make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Are drivers with cell phones unsafe at any speed? Last year, nearly 6,000 people were killed and half a million hurt in accidents involving so-called distracted drivers, people texting, talking on the telephone or taking their eyes off the road for any reason. Today at a Department of Transportation summit in Washington, some of the victims told their heartbreaking stories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERYL ADAMS, VICTIM OF DISTRACTED DRIVING: I've undergone hundreds of hours of physical therapy. And each time I've focused on my disfigured leg, I am constantly reminded of the dangers of distracted driving behavior. Today, I'm still walking. I'm a pedestrian safety advocate, and I'm spreading the message about the consequences of inattentive driving behavior.
GREG ZAFFKE II, MOTHER KILLED BY DISTRACTED DRIVER: May 2nd, 2009, just a week before Mother's Day, my mom was killed at a stoplight -- a motorcycle. The driver behind her that rear ended her at 50 miles per hour admitted afterwards to painting her nails while driving. There's also reportedly nail polish all over the air bag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Of course, distracted driving happens all over the world. A public service video in the U.K. put a graphic face on the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not even funny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's going to remember?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So what will it take to solve the problem? Do we need to put more drivers behind bars? Joining me now is Dave Teater of the National Safety Council. His 12-year-old son was killed by a driver who ran a red light while talking on a cell phone. Also with us tonight, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Gentlemen, good to be with you tonight. And, Dave, I know that you told your story today. Maybe you can share it with us this evening. What happened with your son?
DAVE TEATER, NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL: Well, thanks, John. On January 19th, 2004, my wife was taking our son to an after school activity about 4:00 in the afternoon. She crossed a divided suburban highway in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was crossing with a green light. She was about the fourth or fifth car to cross through the intersection.
There were two northbound lanes that were stopped for the red light for them, but when she crossed through the median in the southbound lanes, there were four cars and a school bus stopped in the right hand lane. There was nobody in the left hand lane.
And a young lady who was talking on her cell phone, looking straight out the windshield. We know this because the people in the cars and the cars in the school bus saw her, blew by the cars and the school bus. Didn't see the red light, didn't see them. Didn't see the vehicles crossing directly in front of her and hit our vehicle at 48 miles an hour. Never touched her brakes according to the crash recorder on the vehicle. That's the power of the distraction associated with a cell phone call.
ROBERTS: And Mr. Secretary, we hear these stories again and again and again. There was a story of the young students in New York State that were texting while driving and got into a terrible crash.
Researchers have found that driving while texting is more dangerous than driving drunk. There are plenty of laws across the country dealing with drunk driving. Why aren't there similar laws dealing with distracted driving, whether it be talking on a cell phone, texting on some sort of electronic device, doing your nails, putting on make-up as you're driving down the street, so many of these stories. Why aren't there similar laws?
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: John, we're about at the point where they started with 0.08 and seat belt laws many years ago. We have a long way to go. We need public awareness. We need personal responsibility. We probably need some good laws.
We need help from Congress. We need help from the advocacy groups that gathered here. Over 300 people gathered in Washington today to talk about this. We're at the starting point.
This is an epidemic in America. It needs to be solved. It will be solved, and I have no doubt. The rallying cry came out today, something needs to be done.
ROBERTS: You call it, Mr. Secretary today, a menace to society. What is your department prepared to do to try to eliminate or at least control this menace?
LAHOOD: Work with advocacy groups, work with law enforcement, work with Congress, get all of these groups working together so the goal is to eliminate texting while driving. This is an epidemic and we need to deal with it. Safety is our number one priority at DOT, and we're going to coordinate these efforts along with a lot of other people.
ROBERTS: Dave, you heard what the secretary just said there, eliminate texting while driving. And another -- you know a little bit of bone to pick with that being the big problem. You think that perhaps texting while driving is not necessarily the number one problem.
TEATER: Well, yes and no. Texting while driving if we don't address it now is going to become a huge issue. I mean, the kids who are learning to drive right now today text 5,000 times a month or some of the numbers we're seeing. They're addicted to texting.
So I compliment the secretary. I think we're doing the right thing getting out ahead of texting. But texting is a little bit of an easy issue now. We have numbers like 90 percent of the U.S. population support laws on texting. I'm not aware of any group that opposes texting laws.
So we need to do that, we need to do it quickly. But the bigger issue is that any time on the road there's approximately 10 percent of the people on cell phone calls. So it's much more prolific. There's much more of it going on.
When we drive home tonight, we're more likely to get hit, injured, killed by someone on a cell phone conversation than someone texting...
ROBERTS: Right.
TEATER: ... just because of the proliferation of it. So we need to be very careful that we don't get distracted by just looking at texting. I don't want to diminish that. It's extremely important. We're doing the right things, but we need to keep moving this forward. It's a lot more than just texting.
ROBERTS: And Mr. Secretary, public awareness, of course, is a big part of the campaign, a big part of the way that you drive the message home. And we saw at the beginning of this that public service announcement that was done in Britain, very graphic public service announcement, but it's something that has captured people's attention like nothing else in the past has. Can you foresee a similar campaign here in the United States?
LAHOOD: Absolutely. I think the advocacy groups, I think the stakeholders, I think the safety groups are going to step up here and really pay attention to this and highlight it.
And John, I don't want people to leave -- I don't want to leave the impression that we're not concerned about cell phone use. We are concerned about it. We think it's a serious, serious matter. Here in Washington, D.C., cell phones have been outlawed in automobiles and you can drive all over the city and everybody's on a cell phone.
ROBERTS: Yes. Same thing here in New York City, as well.
LAHOOD: Yes. I mean, look, John. We're going to try and address this issue too.
ROBERTS: OK.
LAHOOD: This is a serious matter. And we're going to look at it too.
ROBERTS: Gentlemen, thanks for being with us tonight. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Dave Teater, again. Dave, our condolences for your loss. Such a terrible thing that happened.
TEATER: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Appreciate it.
Thousands of professional football players are at risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease according to new research. It could be because of concussions, all those hits that they suffer on the field -- the players.
And kids who play sports face many of the same risks that the pros do. So, what should we do about it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to, as much as we can, I think take the hit out of the game and move this forward to make the greatest sport in America, in my opinion safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A new study commissioned by the NFL is adding to the fear football teams have long faced that some of those hard hits could be causing serious long-term consequences.
This past Sunday, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez walked away after getting roughed up by the Titans. But on the college level, Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida was hospitalized after suffering a concussion on Saturday night.
The report finds that former NFL players have much higher than average rates of dementia and other memory-related diseases. How much higher? Nineteen times the average among men between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.
Dr. Julian Bailes is a former team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's conducted his own research on the subject. He's in Morgantown, West Virginia for us tonight. And in Philadelphia, journalist and sports analyst Stephen A. Smith.
Doctor, let's start with you tonight. This incidence of brain function problems 19 times higher in people ages 13 to 49 and among the general population. This is data that the NFL really hadn't wanted to talk about.
DR. JULIAN BAILES, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Very possibly not. They have denied the existence of the fact that head injuries, concussions could lead to problems as one gets older. And this is their own research. They've said for years they're going to do it. They've done it, and now we've got to see how they respond.
ROBERTS: So, Steve, I take it that with this research they can't go ahead and deny it anymore.
STEPHEN A. SMITH, JOURNALIST: I don't think they can. I don't think they can deny it at all. And I'm willing to bet every dollar I've got that the National Football League Players Association is not going to let them deny it out. Because right now, I just got off the phone with a couple of officials from the NBA Players Association and what they're trying to do now is to try and link this study to see how relevant it is to the current retired players who've been making a lot of noise about the lack of support they've received, not just from the players association themselves, but from the NFL as a whole, as well. So it's going to be very interesting to see what takes place within the next weeks and months.
ROBERTS: Dr. Bailes, you had, as we pointed out at the top, done your own research on this going back to 2002. In fact, in 2007, at an NFL meeting you presented similar findings. You said that you were basically ostracized by the people in the room. There were all kinds of eye rolls when you were presenting your data, even anger. Why did they treat you like that?
BAILES: I'm not sure. You'd have to ask them.
SMITH: I know.
BAILES: I think there was resistance. I think there has been a strong resistance. But hey, if they will come along now and recognize and accept their own studies, maybe we can move the argument beyond accepting this. And let's look now at prevention.
ROBERTS: Steve, you said you know why they treated him like that?
SMITH: Oh, yes, it's about the dollars, John. It's just that simple. The fact is is that when you address the dollars, if you recognize this as being a viable issue the way that it is being presented right now, this is something that could potentially cost the NFL money.
And the reality is this, you don't want to cast the spurs on the leagues. You don't want to say that they don't care about human beings or anything like that. That would be irresponsible to go that far. But at the same time, you're talking about a league where players' contracts for the most part are simply not guaranteed. It's really about their signing bonuses.
If you had guaranteed contracts all of a sudden, the importance, the focus on making sure that you're alleviating these kind of problems take on a whole and different dimension entirely. And that's something that's going to cost dollars and cents. And even for a league that makes billions upon billions of dollars, that's just something that they're a bit hesitant to address because it may end up affecting their bottom line. Welcome to America.
ROBERTS: Let's take a look at the NFL response. The NFL has said, "The survey found that playing in the NFL was a very positive experience for most retired players and that overall they are in very good physical and financial condition."
Addressing specifically this issue of memory problems, the NFL said, "The survey did not diagnose dementia but relied on self- reporting. It also noted that diseases of memory are rare in both the general population and NFL retirees. The survey makes no link between concussions and memory disorders."
Doctor, what do you make of that?
BAILES: Well, our study four years ago said there was a direct link. That if you had three or more concussions during your career that you had a five times increased risk of having cognitive problems when you retired.
So I do think there's a link. It's almost common sense. But we have to get beyond that. We have to see what this and other studies can help us to improve, change the game. As I said, let's take the head out of the game, for instance.
ROBERTS: Well, what do you think, Steve? Is it likely to change the game to protect the players?
SMITH: I think that ultimately if it becomes too much of a heated issue, they will have to because they're very, very smart and adroit about doing what's in the best interest of their bottom line. So you can't take that away from them.
But I'd also like to point out this. You've got Dr. Ira Casson, the co-chairman of Concussions Committee who's been the league's primary voice denying any evidence of connecting this kind of stuff to the NFL. And this is the person that the NFL is going to have according to reports conduct their own rigorous study of 120 retired players in the very near future.
ROBERTS: Gentlemen --
SMITH: Don't you see a little bit of conflict of interest there?
ROBERTS: Gentlemen, we've got to leave it there. Obviously, we're going to hear a lot more about this.
Steve Smith, Dr. Julian Bailes, great to have you on tonight. Really appreciate it. SMITH: No problem.
BAILES: Thank you.
ROBERTS: One of the biggest bans of the 1980s was just as famous for their fights as for their music. "The Police" ruled arena and stadium rock for years. Now, drummer Stewart Copeland has the truth of what was really going on behind the scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART COPELAND, FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN FOR "THE POLICE": A Police rehearsal is like bathing in sharp diamonds, toweling down with a rosebush, and putting on a Prada hair suit. It's beautiful, absolutely wonderfully artistically beautiful, but there is blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: And now the "Breakout," the story that you've just got to see. Tonight, it's a backstage story. One of the biggest bands of the 1980s, The Police were legendary for their music. Songs like "Roxanne," "Walking on the Moon," "Every Breath You Take" and Message in a Bottle.
But the band was just as well known for their battles behind the scenes. I first interviewed drummer and band creator Stewart Copeland back in 1980, just as those problems were beginning to reach a peak. And earlier today, I caught up with him again to talk about his new book "Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo and the Pygmies."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Stewart, I've been thumbing through the book and going over some of the -- the memories of The Police reunion tour a couple of years ago. And I remember a quote that you had from an interview you did with "The Associated Press" where you called that tour, "a soup of utter misery."
Was it really that bad?
STEWART COPELAND, FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN FOR "THE POLICE": Well, that's over dramatizing just a bit. And that's the classic rock star feeling sorry for himself in our plush, silk-lined dressing room, surrounded by handlers and manicurists and -- we had a guy called the dressing room ambiance coordinator.
So it's -- I couldn't say it was that much of a cup of misery, you know.
ROBERTS: Yes...
COPELAND: It had its moments.
ROBERTS: It was also good for the retirement account, I'm sure, too. But, you know...
COPELAND: Yes. Well, the worst misery was there was the rest of the band. I mean we were surrounded by everybody whose job was to make us happy and to shine us up for public consumption. And it was the other members of the band who were the main hazard.
ROBERTS: Yes, well, you know, in particular, you know, the historic relationship -- and I guess it's got to be 35 years now between you and Sting. And there is an incident that you recount in -- at the show in Turin, where it was his birthday. You bought him a tuba for his birthday.
COPELAND: Yes.
ROBERTS: He was all happy about that. And then you say by the end of the night, the two of you were at each other's throats.
COPELAND: That's right. Well, we didn't actually make it to each other's throats, because our handlers are very careful. They can see the signs and so they keep us apart from each other, even though they understand -- the people who are close to the band -- that when we're shouting and screaming, that's when the stuff happens. That's when we burn the house down.
ROBERTS: Let me take you back 25 years to -- to Montserrat (ph). You're in this -- you were at AIR Studios. You were in this idyllic setting cutting "Every Breath You Take" and -- and that was just about the worst of times for The Police, wasn't it?
COPELAND: It was pretty miserable. You know, Police -- being in The Police is not a comfortable experience. You know, U2, they get along really well, they grew up together, you hang out with those guys and you sense the warmth within all the different guys in the band.
It's not like that in The Police. You know, a Police rehearsal is like bathing in sharp diamonds, toweling down with a rosebush and putting on a Prada hair suit. It's beautiful, absolutely wonderfully artistically beautiful, but there is blood.
ROBERTS: But -- but when you were recording that -- that album -- and it was an album back then. I don't think we had CDs back then. I mean you weren't even in -- in the control room and they had your drums set up upstairs. The control room was downstairs. And I know you're getting a big sound like John Bonham did for "Led Zeppelin IV," when they were recording it at Headley Grange.
But I mean, how bad were the tensions?
Could the two of you really not be in the control room at the same time?
COPELAND: I was actually in the next building, as far away as possible. And, yes, the tensions were severe. But, you know, it's sort of -- we don't give each other -- we don't cut each other's slack. You've got to man up to be in The Police. And we'd give it to each other and we'd get it from each other. And I suppose, you know, we've come to realize -- we didn't understand this back in the day, which is why we were so angry all of the time. But we understand it now, that we kind of -- we need that tension, we need that dichotomy.
It doesn't stop us getting real mad, occasionally, and occasionally the hands are going for the throat. But we -- at least we understand what it's all about. And, really, there is a deep, deep bond and admiration and love for each other.
ROBERTS: This book covers a lot more than just your time with The Police. You know, it traces, obviously, your -- your history in growing up. And -- and for a lot of people, they might not know that you're the son of a -- or he's deceased now, but you -- you grew up the son of a CIA agent.
What's it like to grow up with your dad as a spy, particularly living in the Middle East?
COPELAND: Well, I felt under privileged at the time. We were in Beirut, where, you know, all the folks back home had color TV and we barely had television at all, and it was all in Arabic. I grew up watching "The Virginian" in Arabic. And when the first time I heard any of these shows in English, you know, Hoss (ph) had like this Southern Lebanese/Palestinian accent. It was really manly. When I saw it in English, that's not what he's supposed to sound like.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: By the way, they had to get out of Beirut very quickly when his dad's cover was blown. But as you can see, he lived to survive another day.
"LARRY KING LIVE" just a few minutes away. His guest former child star Mackenzie Phillips. And up next, tonight's "Guilty Pleasure," the video that we just can't resist.
You will not believe this until you see it. The 5-year-old who battled a 12 foot, 800-pound gator and won.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes with former child star Mackenzie Phillips. But first, Mike Galanos has got tonight's "Guilty Pleasure." The video that we just couldn't resist.
Hi, Mike.
MIKE GALANOS, HLN PRIME NEWS: John, you're not going to believe the picture. You mentioned it. 5-year-old Simon Hughes goes gator hunting with his dad, a game warden. This gator, 12 feet, 800 pounds, and the little guy won. Here's more from Krystal Phillips (ph), East Texas News 9.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRYSTAL PHILLIPS, EAST TEXAS NEWS 9 (voice-over): Dad says Simon was a born hunter so an 800-pound alligator was no match for him.
SIMON HUGHES, KILLED AN ALLIGATOR: I got my gun out and shot him.
PHILLIPS: And when they pulled him out of the water, they were shocked to find a 12-foot long gator, but the size didn't matter.
HUGHES: I wasn't even afraid.
PHILLIPS: But mom doesn't feel the same when she sees her son standing next to a massive reptile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a mom it sort of scares you to death because they're alligators, they're snakes. There's all of that sort of thing out there.
PHILLIPS: We were hard-pressed to find anyone who wasn't stunned by this little guy's big catch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said I'm glad we don't have to mount this one life size because I will have to build a body to fit in. You couldn't buy a mannequin. He was so big.
PHILLIPS: And, of course, even with this impressive catch under his belt, Simon is setting his sights even higher.
HUGHES: Next year, I'm going to (INAUDIBLE) a baby alligator.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GALANOS: Still can't believe the smile on his face.
John, I had a chance to call his dad, Scott, and talk about this a little bit. I'm like, come on, dad, when you see your 5-year-old and the kid was 5 feet away from this thing while dad is 20 feet away. Dad said he's retreating, he's looking for a tree to climb. The little guy, Simon, shoots the gator once and they're yelling Simon, get back. The little guy's reloading again. He's fearless.
ROBERTS: Pretty amazing. Well, he'll grow up to be a big game hunter.
GALANOS: Yes, I think so.
ROBERTS: I don't know where he's going to find bigger game than that, though. Mike, thanks so much.
GALANOS: OK. John.
ROBERTS: And there's a secret lurking on college campuses across America. A secret giving students an extra boost to study or party well into the night. It's Adderall, a prescription drug meant for kids with ADHD. We're tracking it in the CAMPBELL BROWN special investigation "New Addictions" tomorrow night right here.
And that's going to do it for me. For Campbell Brown, I'm John Roberts. Thanks for joining us this evening.
Campbell Brown's back again tomorrow night and I'll see you at 6:00 a.m. Eastern on "AMERICAN MORNING."
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
