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American Morning
British Couple Seized by Pirates Freed; Confrontation with TSA Screeners Caught on Video; Freshman Lawmakers Make Capitol Debut, Lame Duck Congress Convenes; Nazis Granted Safe Heaven
Aired November 15, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Monday morning to you and thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. It is the 15th of November. I'm John Roberts.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: It's almost Thanksgiving. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry this morning. Happy Monday. A lot to talk about this morning, so let's get right to it.
ROBERTS: Welcome first of all.
COSTELLO: I know. I'm happy to be here.
ROBERTS: You like what we're doing to the place?
COSTELLO: No. It's like wow, you can see all the people working back here.
ROBERTS: We are a little under construction here.
COSTELLO: But it's cool because I feel closer to them somehow.
ROBERTS: Good.
COSTELLO: Something I really want to. Oh, the sweet taste of freedom. Let's start.
After more than a year at the hands of Somali pirates, a British couple is finally going home. What it did take to finally secure their release? The details and a live report just ahead.
Congress is back and there's a whole lot to do like getting a deal done on tax cuts and keeping government running. But it's a lame duck session and that means we could see a six-week stalemate. We're live on Capitol Hill just ahead.
COSTELLO: And Sarah Palin's excellent family adventure. Her new reality TV show debuts. Is it a slice of her life in Alaska, or one really long campaign commercial? We're digging deeper on that.
ROBERTS: But first, a British couple released after being held by more than a year by Somali pirates is making their way home this morning. Paul and Rachel Chandler were seized from their yacht off of the coast of Somalia in October of last year. After 388 days in captivity, the couple was freed yesterday. COSTELLO: But it came with a price, a 750,000 ransom was reportedly paid. Although the family isn't really saying, CNN's David McKenzie is following developments from Nairobi, Kenya.
David, we're hearing that Chandler's -- they just got some tragic news too.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol, good morning. You know, behind me is the British high commissioner's residence here in Nairobi. And late last night, the Chandlers came here. It was a euphoric moment for them, for their friends and family, that being in the Somali pirate custody for over a year, as you said, and now released safely to Nairobi and onwards to England. But some very tragic news, Carol, coming through this morning.
It was news that they have kept from Paul Chandler for all this. They released a statement saying we had learned that Paul's father died in late July and we obviously need to come to terms with that. They asked for privacy and said that they need to be left alone until they head to England. So very tragic news in light of them just being freed by those Somali pirates.
ROBERTS: There were reports that pirates had sought $7 million in ransom for the Chandlers to be released. What did it take to eventually free them?
MCKENZIE: Well, this was a very many, you know, pits and stops with, John. I mean, in the beginning, there are $7 million. Then at some point, family members managed to give the money.
This is not a rich family. They got together, you know, a few hundred thousand dollars, a lot of money to most people and sent those to the Somali pirates, but they reneged on the deal kind of double-crossing the Chandlers. Then the Somali community really kicked in. They put pressure on the pirates. We're hearing that Somalis living in England especially contributed money and contributed pressure saying this is an embarrassment to Somalia. So in the end, $750,000, a high price to pay, but certainly no price is high enough to get your loved ones home -- John.
COSTELLO: You can't really argue about that, can you? You know, I wonder what the British government is saying about the ransom payments because, of course, it refused to pay any money to free this couple.
MCKENZIE: Well, that's right, Carol. The British government has been pretty strident and, you know, predictable about this throughout this ordeal. They said that they do not pay ransom to any kidnappers in any situation because it might just lead people to try and take more people ransom. But, you know, this was a slightly different case. This was a private couple. They were on their dream vacation around the world in a yacht. Not a big shipping cargo company that had insurance, just a private, you know, ordinary couple. So certainly to get them home, the only thing that would have worked is ransom. And that's what they paid. But certainly Somali pirates still exist in Somalia. They're over the coast of Somalia, and they will take more people unless something is done. COSTELLO: You could say the Somali pirates won, right? It's a sad thing.
ROBERTS: David McKenzie this morning. David, thanks so much.
Former President George W. Bush says his administration did not mishandle the war on terrorism by failing to focus on Afghanistan. In an interview that aired last night on CNN, the former president told our Candy Crowley that he ordered U.S. troops to overthrow Saddam Hussein in Iraq assuming that our allies would pick up the slack in Afghanistan. Allies who he claims had no stomach for war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What happened in Afghanistan was that our NATO allies -- turned out -- some of them turned out not to be willing to fight. And therefore our assumption that we had ample troops, U.S. and NATO troops turned out to be a not true assumption. And so we adjusted. And I completely disagree with the take eye off the ball. I found that to be empty political rhetoric.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Candy Crowley joins us at 7:30 this morning. She asked President Bush about his handling of the economy in his final year in the White House and what he has to say about it just might surprise you.
COSTELLO: Things are getting very tense at airline security checkpoints across the country, and that would be an understatement.
ROBERTS: Boy, are they ever.
COSTELLO: Yes. Get this, a confrontation between a California man and TSA officials in San Diego has gone viral this morning. 31-year- old software engineer John Tyner was going on a hunting trip with his father-in-law on Saturday. He refused that full-body scan, and then he turned his cell phone video camera on recording this exchange with security agents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TSA: Come on over here.
PASSENGER: All right.
TSA: Do you have anything in your pockets?
PASSENGER: I don't think so. They had me take it all out.
TSA: No belt, no nothing?
PASSENGER: No, no belt, no nothing.
TSA: Do you have any external or internal implants I need to be aware of?
PASSENGER: No.
TSA: We are going to be doing a standard pat down on you today, using my hands and going like this.
PASSENGER: All right.
TSA: Also, we're going to be doing a groin check. That means I'm going to place my hand on your hip, my other hand on your inner thigh. Slowly go up and slide down.
PASSENGER: OK.
TSA: We are going to do that two times in the front and two times in the back.
PASSENGER: All right.
TSA: And if you'd like a private screening, we can make that available for you also.
PASSENGER: We can do that out here, but if you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested.
TSA: Actually we are going to have a supervisor here because of your statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, oh, Tyner, of course, never made it to that hunting trip. TSA agents didn't really like his response. Supervisors were called in and he's now facing a $10,000 fine and a possible civil suit.
I understand his pain, but you've got to remember the underwear bomber. And he refused to go through the big x-ray check that shows you kind of naked.
ROBERTS: Yes. He didn't want to go through the body scanner. So opted for the security check then didn't like that. So there's a lot of controversy going on with these things.
COSTELLO: And once you go through security, you can't get a halfway security check.
ROBERTS: Yes, you can't say, thanks, I'm going to leave without threatening you, right?
COSTELLO: Yes. Without them threatening you, you're not getting on that plane. Unless they do the whole security check, you're not getting on. So he couldn't go halfway through. So he was out of there. Story is just beginning, huh?
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. COSTELLO: We'll keep you posted. The head of homeland security is pleading with air travelers for patience this morning. I don't think Mr. Tiner is listening, though.
At 8:10 Eastern, we'll talk about that and the state of security at America's airports with TSA administrator John Pistole.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's do a quick pat down of the nation's weather. We'll get some headlines. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center for us this morning.
COSTELLO: It's a good thing you're in Atlanta, because John would pat you down this morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
MARCIANO: You're not getting anywhere near my junk, I'll tell you that now.
ROBERTS: Oh, oh, oh, a little early for that, Rob.
MARCIANO: We'll show you what happened over the weekend. In places like Minneapolis and Minnesota, tremendous amount of snow. Here's the video to get you in the mood for the holidays.
Yes, build that snowman. Pat it down, baby. No complaints from frosty, that's for sure.
K-a-r-e, KARE, thanks for that video. Maple Grove, Minnesota getting pounded. A number of -- well, kids were out there. School wasn't canceled, but tens of thousands of people without power because it was a heavy, wet snow that brought down some tree limbs and power lines and a lot of accidents, about 400 accidents, a couple fatal.
A foot of snow. Here's some of the snowfall tallies across Minnesota and Iowa. And actually there's another little chunk of snow coming across the Midwest later on this week.
Northeast not too bad right now. A little fog in Jersey. And this system that's developing across the gulf coast will bring rain across the southeast and eventually to the northeast, as well.
There'll be a few travel delays because of weather. We'll talk about those later on. Because of weather, probably not because of security.
COSTELLO: We won't touch your junk this morning.
MARCIANO: Thank you.
ROBERTS: OK. Time to throw a lifeline to somebody. Pull us out of this one.
Still to come, Congress returns to work after the midterm elections with a laundry list of things to get done. But how much will they really accomplish?
COSTELLO: Oh, is it is a reality show, a documentary, or just a great big political ad? We'll take a look at Sarah Palin's new reality TV show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: They're back. A new session of Congress begins this morning. And there's a lot to do.
ROBERTS: You may hear the faint sounds of quacking in the hallways though, because a lot of lawmakers already have one foot out the door.
Dana Bash is live in Washington this morning. We've got a long weekend for you, Dana. What can we expect from this lame duck session of Congress over the next six weeks?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it has a very, very long to do list. In fact, you can see the items scrolling I think on the wall there. But the reality in talking to GOP and Democratic sources, John and Carol, is not a lot of this is going to get done, whether it's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the repeal of that, or even ratifying the START treaty. What we can expect Congress to do is its basic function, fund the government and probably fix Medicare payments to doctors so they won't go up. Perhaps a few more things. But, you know, the issue that's really going to take up the most oxygen is figuring out whether and how they can compromise on extending Bush tax cuts that expire at the end of the year.
COSTELLO: Oh, it's going to be pretty lame, except maybe for that tax cut discussion. I know you're following the incoming freshmen leaders who are in town for orientation. So at what point will they become really cynical?
BASH: I don't know. Maybe five, 10 minutes from now. No, look, they were fresh-faced as you could imagine, bright-eyed. They rolled in yesterday to start learning Congress 101, what it really means to be a congressman basic things like how you set up an office, or how do you actually cast a vote. But, you know, for the 80 or so Republicans who were just elected, they're already thinking about what's really important to them, which is how to make good on their campaign promises, things like smaller government and less spending. Now, some I talked to tried to manage expectations. Others said we really have to deliver fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), ILLINOIS: You can't come in a month or two, and I want to make sure the people in my district know this too. You can't come in a month or two and solve all the world's problems. But we have to be vigilant. We have to begin that process.
BASH: The expectations are pretty high.
KINZINGER: Expectations are very high. And I think it's important to stress to people that we're going to work as hard as we can, but this is a long process. This takes time.
REP. JEFF DUNCAN (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I was a Tea Party-endorsed candidate. And so they've gotten behind conservative Republicans and they expect us to govern differently, and if they don't, if we don't, then you may see the rise of an independent third party. But I think they're going to give us a chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Yes, that congressman-elect you just saw there, Jeff Duncan, in particular told me he's already decided to give back at least 10 percent of the operating budget that's going to be allotted to him to run his office. John and Carol, he said that's something he can do right off the bat, in his words, lead by example.
ROBERTS: OK, but here's the question. If he gives it back, what are they going to use it for?
BASH: You know what? That is a great question. I mean, that is -- it would be nice to say that they're going to, you know, add or take it away from the deficit, but -- we'll find that out.
ROBERTS: OK. All right. Dana Bash this morning, thanks. And I know, Dana, it was a real long weekend for you so thanks for getting up early for us.
About 10 minutes time, by the way, we're going to talk to Democrat Terri Sewell and Republican Reid Ribble, two of the newly-elected members of Congress. Can the two sides work together? What do they hope to accomplish? And just how long before they become cynical?
COSTELLO: I know.
ROBERTS: We'll ask them this morning.
COSTELLO: I hope things really are different. But I don't know.
ROBERTS: I'd like to think every two years we hope things are different. We'll hope again. We're hoping again today.
COSTELLO: Also still to come this morning, former President Bill Clinton, he has a new movie role in "Hangover 2." So what's that about? We'll tell you at 6:14 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning. Here are the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning.
They're directing me to another camera.
ROBERTS: This one, right here.
COSTELLO: Oh, there it is. Sorry about that. It's early.
Anyway, these are the stories that have us talking in the newsroom this morning. We're talking about Bill Clinton. He's going to star in "Hangover 2." You know, since Mel Gibson couldn't do it, Bill Clinton steps in to fill the gap.
ROBERTS: Well, remember, Mike Tyson starred in the first one. He was the celebrity (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: Oh, it was a great appearance.
ROBERTS: He was. He was -
COSTELLO: I don't think Bill Clinton will have the same sort of role. I guess they taped it in Thailand. We're not really sure what exactly his role will be specifically in "Hangover 2," but hopefully it wouldn't involve drinking.
ROBERTS: Oh. Interesting.
Well, there's something else that happened over the weekend. At sports stadiums, you know how you can do this with your -
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROBERTS: -- with your phone? You can have a little light going on it? People had to use their cell phones as flashlights because the lights went out at the New Meadowlands Stadium last night more than a few times.
Officials trying to figure out exactly what it was that caused the outages during the Cowboys/Giants game. Players and fans in the dark for about 12 minutes' time. The fans did stay calm, but, ultimately, it was the Cowboys who turned the lights out on the Giants for good.
COSTELLO: Can you imagine how scary that would be? The lights going off in a stadium, you don't know what's going on.
Some of the players said they just sat down on the bench. One of them put his helmet on in case, you know, something was incoming and he had to protect his head, but some of the players were really frightened by this.
ROBERTS: Well, it's a new stadium. I guess they're working the bugs out of it just a little bit and they've discovered that they've got a problem with the lighting.
COSTELLO: Well, I do - I have to hand it to the - the fans for staying calm, because I would have freaked out.
ROBERTS: Really?
COSTELLO: Because you don't know what's going on. And a big football stadium full of people and the lights suddenly go off for no apparent reason? I mean, how often does that happen in - in the NFL?
ROBERTS: Not very often, but you'd - you'd think the worst immediately? You wouldn't just say, oh, the power's gone out?
COSTELLO: Yes. I'm a cynical news person.
ROBERTS: Oh, OK.
COSTELLO: I'd be like, incoming.
Airlines. Let's talk about airlines again. Not security pat down checks this time, but let's talk about baggage fees.
The top 20 airlines collected nearly $1.7 billion during the first half of the year. So who made the most off your bags?
ROBERTS: Yes. Oh, guess. It would probably be the largest airline, right?
COSTELLO: Yes. That would be Delta. They made lots and lots of money. I guess they made half a billion dollars in luggage charges.
ROBERTS: So they're not about to go away any time soon.
COSTELLO: I don't think they're going to go away. American and U.S. Airways weren't that far behind, either.
ROBERTS: Well, if you've got a problem with failing classes, you might want to go to a high school in Virginia. The West Potomac High School is now using incompletes to show students are missing work. They can still get a failing grade, but that will only happen if they don't complete assignments in the following months.
The principal says he hopes the change will encourage students to work on learning the material instead of simply moving on. So, you don't want a failing grade? Here's a place where it's pretty difficult to do it.
COSTELLO: But aren't there two schools of thought? I mean, some people think you should do away with grades altogether because they're meaningless in this environment. Like everybody gets an A now, right? So why award an A?
ROBERTS: The best thing to do is just prepare students for college. That's the best thing that a school can do.
COSTELLO: And does that have anything to do with grades, or...?
ROBERTS: No. But - I - well.
COSTELLO: Don't you have to teach kids to fail?
ROBERTS: Regardless of what comes out of my mouth, somebody will jump on it. So I just -
COSTELLO: Oh, well.
ROBERTS: Let me just stay with the idea that if you can adequately prepare a student for a four-year college after high school, you've done a great job.
COSTELLO: Chicken.
ROBERTS: We've got ducks, we've got chickens -
COSTELLO: I know. Coming up on -
ROBERTS: -- lame chickens and lame ducks.
COSTELLO: Talking about lame ducks, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, freshmen member of Congress arrive on Capitol Hill today. They're not really part of the lame duck Congress. That's the people who are already in office until January.
We're going to talk to two of the freshmen congressmen, though, and ask them how they plan to break the gridlock in Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 25 minutes after the hour.
The Class of 2010 in Washington this weekend, and ready to shake things up. Among the new faces, Democrat Terri Sewell, she is the first black woman to ever represent the State of Alabama in Congress; and Republican Reid Ribble of Wisconsin. He won in a district that went for President Obama back in 2008.
Terri Sewell and Reid Ribble join me now from Washington. Folks, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for getting up with us.
Terri, we should just - as a matter of a little background here, you are an attorney specializing in finance. Reid, you ran the family's roofing business. I want to start by asking you - and maybe Terri, you can start this up. Why did you want to go to Congress?
TERRI SEWELL (D), ALABAMA REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: Well, I thought that I had something to offer my home district. The number one issue is job creation. And so I've spent the last 15 years of my life working in economic development and finance. I also have a strong - having grown up in this district, a real passion for the people in this district, and really want to make sure that this future is - is on solid ground.
So a mixture of both my passion and - and really feeling like I had something to offer in the areas of economics and finance and helping to create jobs.
ROBERTS: Got you. Reid, what's your story?
REID RIBBLE (R), WISCONSIN REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: Well, you know, I spent my entire life in the business world, and jobs is really - jobs are job one for this new Congress. And so, having created hundreds of jobs in my own career, I have a little bit to say about it and I'm looking forward to getting to work and helping - helping the American public and - and the folks of my district get back to work.
ROBERTS: All right. So jobs are your first priority. But what do you think the first priority, Terri, in Congress is going to be in this lame-duck session - or not maybe in the lame-duck session, but what's the first priority going to be in the new session beginning in January?
SEWELL: It has to be turning this economy around. I think that jobs across the board is the number one issue that folks are facing and especially in my district where there's double-digit unemployment. So, trying to create economic opportunities on day one will be our challenge.
ROBERTS: And Reid, you know, if you look at the Republican side of the equation, looks like they - obviously jobs are a priority, but they've got a couple of other pieces of business they want to get to first, tax cuts being one of them.
RIBBLE: Well, we'll see what happens on the tax cuts on the lame duck session first. There - there might be some work to be done there after the session actually starts in January.
But in talking with some of my peers last night and yesterday, it's pretty clear to me that this new Republican Congress is concerned about jobs and the economy and we're going to stay focused on that like a laser.
ROBERTS: What about the issue of earmarks? Terri, will you seek earmarks for your home district?
SEWELL: Look, I'm going to be governed by what the - what my home district's needs are. And frankly, looking at the poorest district in the State of Alabama, the needs are definitely jobs and roads and bridges -
ROBERTS: Right.
SEWELL: -- and other opportunities. I mean, I think that our classrooms are willfully understaffed. And we just have to work hard on education, as well.
ROBERTS: OK.
SEWELL: So this district is about jobs, education, and health care.
ROBERTS: So if it takes earmarks to create some of those jobs, would you seek them?
SEWELL: Well, I do what I can do to bring home the bacon.
ROBERTS: So - so you would seek earmarks then? Is that a yes or a no?
SEWELL: Oh, I didn't hear what you said, I'm sorry.
ROBERTS: I said so - so you will seek earmarks?
SEWELL: Well, I'll seek to provide the best opportunities for the Seventh Congressional District.
ROBERTS: OK. Reid, what about you?
RIBBLE: I'm going to - I'm going to support the moratorium on earmarks, John. I - I just really believe it's part of the problem we have in the political world. I come into this whole process never having served in any public office before, a little bit cynical myself.
ROBERTS: Yes. That's the same with Terri.
RIBBLE: Yes. And I'm a bit cynical of the - of the process for earmarks. And so I'm going to support a no earmark policy. And hopefully we can create a little better transparency in our legislation going forward.
ROBERTS: Yes. And, Terri, where do you come down on the cynical issue? Are you cynical at all about the way Congress has been doing business? And - and how long before you potentially become cynical, as well? Can you maintain that fresh ideology? The fresh, you know, ideals coming into Congress?
SEWELL: Well, the folks in the Seventh Congressional District elected me because I think they wanted a fresh, new face, someone who is non- associated with Washington, not a Washington insider, and so perhaps could provide a fresh new perspective on - on how to do business in Washington.
And so, frankly, I'm just going to stick my nose down, roll up my sleeves and do the very best I can to make sure their agenda is addressed in Congress.
ROBERTS: And Reid, just finish this off here because we started with Terri. The big question is to whether or not Republicans and Democrats will be able to work together in the next two years. What do you think?
RIBBLE: Well, I think in the House we have a real opportunity here because the American people spoke so loudly. We'll see whether the - I'm more concerned about whether the House and Senate can work together. I would welcome Terri into my office at any time. She wants to do the best for her district. I want to do the best for mine. I think it's time we roll up our sleeves and get to work for our district and for the American people.
SEWELL: Exactly.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, from your lips to God's ears, let's see how things go.
Terri Sewell, Reid Ribble, good to talk to you this morning. Thanks.
SEWELL: Thanks.
RIBBLE: Thank you very much, John.
COSTELLO: I hope they get together. That was refreshing, wasn't it? It was good to hear. ROBERTS: Yes. Come on. Let's get together. Have coffee, starting this morning.
COSTELLO: Starting this morning, I bet they will.
It's 30 minutes past the hour. Time for a check on this morning's top stories.
They're exhausted, excited to be alive. Paul and Rachel Chandler freed after being held hostage for more than a year by Somali pirates. They're a retired British couple sailing around the world when pirates seize their yacht in the Indian Ocean back in October of last year. Chandlers going back home to Britain today.
ROBERTS: Mexican resort rocked by a gas explosion. Six people are dead, 15 more injured at the Playa del Carmen hotel. Authorities say it looks like yesterday's blast was caused by a natural accumulation of gas from a swampy area under the hotel.
COSTELLO: And the Obama administration reportedly is drawing up plans to end combat missions in Afghanistan by 2014. "The New York Times" reporting the plan includes transferring security in some areas to Afghanistan forces over the next 18 to 24 months. The four-year plan will reportedly be presented at a NATO summit later this week.
ROBERTS: It is billed as an insider's look at Alaska with a little bit of far off glance at Russia with former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as your guide. Palin's reality show debuted last night on TLC. Here's a sample in case you missed it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always wanted to be a rock climber, Sarah.
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: A rock climber or rock star?
Alaska, America's last frontier.
You can see Russia from here, almost.
See this gate is not just for Trig, it's for no boys go upstairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That's pretty funny, I think. But some say, you know, funny or not, Sarah Palin is turning on the frontier charm just in time to get a leg up on the 2012 presidential campaign. I know Jim Acosta was watching. He had his beer and his feet kicked up.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: You were watching "Sarah Palin's Alaska." So I'm asking --
ACOSTA: I was.
COSTELLO: See? I'm asking your expert opinion. Did we -- ROBERTS: He even had his (INAUDIBLE) shirt on.
COSTELLO: I'm sure he did.
ROBERTS: Sitting there watching.
ACOSTA: That's right.
COSTELLO: Did you see a different side of Sarah Palin? Or do we see -- only the Sarah Palin we see on the campaign trail?
ACOSTA: Well, I think the big question with this reality show, John and Carol, is whether she can see the 2012 presidential election from her house because that might be what all of this is about. And, you know, this is sort of a revealing look at the Palin family. "Sarah Palin's Alaska" debuted last night on the Learning Channel.
You know, you do get to see Governor Palin. You also get to see and hear more from the first dude as he's called, Todd Palin, the Palin children. This is really about the Palin family taking in the great outdoors. Not a whole lot of politics going on here.
You do hear a little bit about the journalist, Joe McGinniss, who moved in next door to the Palin family to observe them for a book that he's working on. But mainly this is the Palins taking in what is really some stunning scenery, quite frankly. That is when the former governor is not on her BlackBerry.
Here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: I guess I have to leave my BlackBerry here, huh? Oh, boohoo.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: My mom is super busy. She is addicted to the BlackBerry. She's like -- hang on, I'll be there in a second.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Explains all those tweets and posts to her Facebook page. Now, the timing of this is pretty conspicuous because this runs eight weeks, which takes us into the middle of January when we're probably going to start hearing about some top Republicans throwing their hat into the ring of the 2012 race, guys.
ROBERTS: So, do we -- do we think that the show is going to help her out? A recent poll shows she's -- while she's very popular in Republican circles, she's still a pretty divisive figure across the country.
ACOSTA: Yes. You know, last night, there was not a whole lot of news that was made. And that's probably the goal here. And you're right -- I mean, according to some recent polls, she's still not viewed very favorably by the American people. Take a look at some polls that are just recently come out. The "A.P." did a poll on her favorability, 47 percent of Americans view her favorably versus 49 percent who say they have an unfavorable view. That's not good, two years after the 2008 race.
But here's the number that really matters, guys. Check this out. Among Republicans -- this is why this is so important -- 79 percent of Republicans view her favorably, 17 percent unfavorably. Why is that important? Because if she's running for the GOP nomination, it's Republican votes that count.
That is why there are a lot of political observers out there right now who think she is going to run for president, and she will be very formidable, especially in those early primaries, Iowa, South Carolina. Those are states that might be tailor-made for her.
ROBERTS: It's always good to be popular in the Republican Party if you want to run to be the party's nominee.
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Jim Acosta this morning -- Jim, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You betcha.
ROBERTS: Congress returning for a lame-duck session. And among the things it has to take on -- tax cuts, if they are extended for both upper income and middle class. How will Washington pay for them and at what cost? We'll bring it all down for you, coming up.
It's 35 minutes now after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Thirty-eight minutes now after the hour.
Massive tax cuts set to expire in just over six weeks. Everyone wants to keep the tax cuts for the middle class. And now, some at the White House are hinting at a possible compromise on the upper income tax cuts.
So, what would this all cost to maintain tax rates as they are now? And how would Washington pay for it?
Our Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business."
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
In a perfect world, we'd all have lower taxes. We wouldn't be fighting over middle class income tax cuts or higher -- upper end tax cuts -- but we don't live in a perfect world. So, let's take a look at what it would cost us.
For the upper income tax cuts, 46 days before these expire for people who make $250,000 or more. A one to two-year extension of these things would be about $70 billion to $140 billion. A permanent extension would be $700 billion over 10 years. Many people are thinking that for middle-class Americans, there will be some sort of compromise. There will be a short-term extension of those cuts.
But what about the upper-income tax cuts? Will they be extended?
Let's take a look at how much it would cost to extend the middle class tax cuts, $383 billion for a short-term patch -- a one or two-year extension, but $3 trillion over 10 years.
So, to extend all of these things, it would be just about $4 trillion over 10 years. For the upper end, you'd have to find a way to offset it. There are -- there are rules in Congress. You'd have to find a way to make up that money. That's where you think the fight will come in.
ROBERTS: You know, when you look at it, $383 billion a year, versus what our deficits have been running over the last couple of years, $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion, it doesn't seem that much compared to the deficits we're running.
ROMANS: Well, we're running --
ROBERTS: Why is there such a cry about maintaining these tax cuts?
ROMANS: We're going in the wrong direction on these deficits. If you look at the deficit commission last week and how they're trying to cut it by $4 trillion over 10 years, just an extension of all these would be $4 trillion. You see what I mean? I mean, this is a big chunk of money that the government is basically giving back to taxpayers, we have to find a way to pay for.
So, it's going to be a fight and you're going to see it starting here. And it looks as though -- it looks as though there'll be a short-term extension for everyone. Most budget analysts are expecting a short- term extension for everyone right here; how to pay for it is the question.
ROBERTS: Two ways to pay for it. You borrow more money or you cut spending.
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Let's bring in Carol now at the big vista wall. And she's got a look at how much money you could be saving and potentially spending if these tax cuts either expire or are extended.
COSTELLO: We wanted to break down the numbers and answer the questions. Those tax cuts -- should they expire for everyone or just the rich? And if that's the case, is that fair? You'll find out, it all depends on your perspective.
So, what if you're married with two kids and you make $70,000 per year. Right now, you pay $2,300 in taxes. If the Bush tax cuts expire, you'll pay $4,900. That's $2,600 more per year.
Put it another way, that's $7 per day. Put it another way, that's roughly three gallons of gas.
OK. So, if you're married with two kids and you make $325,000 a year, you now pay $63,000 in taxes. And if the tax cuts expire, you pay $71,047 extra.
Put it another way, that's $20 a day, which would be what? Two movie tickets and a small popcorn.
But just for fun, I wanted to like break it out even more. What if you made $5 million a year? You pay $1.3 million in taxes. If the tax cuts expire, you'll pay $1.6 million, that's $276,000 more.
Break it down, that's $757 per day, which would be a 32-gig iPad with Wi-Fi.
Now, $757 a day, that sounds insane, doesn't it? I'm going to walk back over here and talk to you guys about it. That sounds unbelievably insane, $757 a day. But if you make $5 million per year --
ROBERTS: How much are you actually making a day?
COSTELLO: A week -- a week, you make, after taxes, $70,000 per week.
ROBERTS: So, $10,000 per day.
COSTELLO: So, is that $757 a day really that much to you?
ROMANS: And then there's this other deeper conversation, too, about what kinds of spending injects money into the economy more quickly. Is it a rich person? Is it a middle class person? Or is it the very lower end where food stamps, for example, get money right into the economy immediately? Or unemployment benefits many economists say many say people have such a slim margin they're living on, that money goes directly to the economy.
How do tax cuts juice the economy? Because that's the whole point here, you don't want to take away the tax cuts at a time when --
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COSTELLO: Isn't the bottom line -- I mean, if you let these Bush tax cuts expire, that's the fastest way to pay down the deficit.
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: People say why don't we cut government programs, right? But that takes a long time. You can't just cut a government program.
ROBERTS: You're going to go through the entire budgeting process.
COSTELLO: Yes. So the fastest way to decrease the deficit would be to let those tax cuts expire for someone on those spectrum.
ROMANS: There's the fastest way and there's the political way. And those are two different things, aren't they? ROBERTS: And they'll be talking about this for weeks to come. You can bet on that.
Good to see you this morning, Christine.
Forty-four minutes after the hour. And still to come this morning, we're going to do another weather pat down with Rob Marciano. He's got the travel forecast right after the break.
COSTELLO: Oh! And providing a safe haven for Nazis, say what? New revelations that the United States helped -- actually helped members of Hitler's party start new lives in the United States after World War II. We'll break down that for you after a break.
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ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines with Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center. How are we looking today, Rob?
MARCIANO: Not too shabby. Maybe a sprinkle and some fog this morning across the New York City area up through Boston and through Philly. Some rain on the radar right now, but it's very, very light. So, some light showers, that's about all you're going to deal with today. But again, there's some low-level moisture especially in Jersey, a little bit of fog this morning.
Down across parts of the big easy, New Orleans through Baton Rouge, and much of the southeast. This is the developing low pressure that's tapping into substantial Gulf moisture. It's already been raining for the good chunk of the last 12-18 hours across the southeast and that will continue throughout the day as this wave of low pressure kind of makes its way up this front which will hang around for a day or two. And this will get up towards the New York City area, as well.
A little bit of snow, more snow, and colder air rolling behind the system. Thirty to 60-minute delays potentially in Boston and New York because of the low clouds and some fog. The rain in Atlanta will slow you down, as well and a little bit of snow showers across parts of Denver. It's going to be 57 in New York, 58 in Atlanta, and 71 in New Orleans. Much colder in places like Iceland.
Check out these shots. Love it. Northern lights, the aurora borealis at Reyjavik. There you go. A couple of shots from an iReporter out there. We'll take them. Not a huge solar storm, but just enough when you're that far north this time of year to see the northern horizon light up like angels dancing in the sky. It's quite a sight. Hope to see more of those kind of shots as we go throughout the winter. John and Carol back up to you.
COSTELLO: Like angels dancing in the sky. That's poetic.
MARCIANO: That's the only way I know to describe it. If you see them in person, it's much like that.
COSTELLO: That's awesome. Thank you, Rob. You know what I forgot. We were doing that tax story. I was like demonstrating -- like should the Bush tax cuts expire for everyone or just the middle class. I forgot to drive you to our blog, cnn.com/AMFix. I want to know what you think this morning. Please comment, and we'll read some of your comments later on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: There will carpooling (ph) to the blog this morning.
This morning's top stories just minutes away, including an airport security showdown. A traveler who refuses to undergo a body scan and a pat down. TSA agents were called in. Wait until you hear what the traveler was told about his rights.
COSTELLO: He didn't have any.
In his own words, former president, George Bush, defending the way he handled the war in Iraq and the economy. We'll have his one-on-one interview with our own Candy Crowley. That's straight and much more at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Secret government report says American intelligence officials went out of their way to help former Nazis and their collaborators after World War II. "The New York Times" obtained a full copy of the reports which also says, quote, "America, which prided itself on being a safe haven for the prosecuted became, in some small measure, a safe haven for the prosecutors, as well." (INAUDIBLE) surprised what a "New York Times" reporter, Eric Lichtbau broke this story, and he joins us now from Washington.
Eric, another great gut in your part. Congratulations.
ERIC LICHTBAU, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: This report was done in the DOJ's office of special investigations was commissioned in 1999. Who is it commissioned by? What was the purpose? And what was hoped would happen with this report?
LICHTBAU: Well, this was the brain child of a senior official at the justice department at that time in 1999, Mark Richard, who had overseen a lot of the Nazi-hunting efforts for decades at that point after the office was created. And he thought that this was a critical part of the justice department's history and that there needed to be a comprehensive historical look at both the successes and some of the failures of the department.
ROBERTS: Right. And the intent of this report was to, eventually, at least according to the guy who commissioned it, was to make it public?
LICHTBAU: Absolutely, yes. He saw this as a document that the public had a right to see and a need to see.
ROBERTS: Yet, that hasn't happened? The justice department has been sitting on it for four years, why? LICHTBAU: That's right. Mark Richard finished the document along with the author, Judith Fagan, and since 2006, was trying to get the report published, get the final sign-off from the justice department and got, for the most part, blank stares and unwillingness to do that. And in fact, he passed away sadly last year, and until his dying days was telling people that it was one of his -- he would tell them his bucket list essentially. One of his three wishes was to see this report published and that never happened.
ROBERTS: Let's tell people, Eric, why this report is so fascinating because in it, there are some amazing disclosures, including the fact that one official at the Department of Justice kept a piece of Dr. Joseph Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor's scalp in his drawer. What was that about?
LICHTBAU: Right. Beginning in the mid-1980s, there were reports that Mengele might still be alive, might had even entered the United States surreptitiously after the war. This, of course, was the angel of death, probably the most infamous fugitive from the war. And this set off a furious effort within the justice department's Nazi-hunting unit, the OSI unit, to determine just what had happened to him, where he ended up, whether he was still alive.
It turned out there was an intense forensic examination by the justice department's investigators. They used dental records. They took them back to Germany. They were using phone books in Munich. With the help of the Brazilians, they found and examined letters and diaries from Mengele of who come to find out had, in fact, made it to Brazil, had never entered the United States.
But they still were not absolutely certain that the person in Brazil was Mengele. And the Brazilians turned over a piece of forensic evidence, a piece of his scalp, this was in the days before DNA (INAUDIBLE), and it remained in this desk drawer until -- until in the late 1980s. They were able to work the forensic experts to establish this was Mengele.
ROBERTS: Wow. Pretty (INAUDIBLE) that was being kept inside of his desk. What about this idea that we started off the segment with that the United States served as a safe haven for some Nazis? This was the CIA that was involved here?
LICHTBAU: This was the CIA. I mean, there had been parts of this story out there before. The idea that the intelligence community in particular was -- was willing to take on former Nazi and Nazi collaborators for their scientific and military intelligence value. In fact, some of them were critical to the development of the space and rocket reprograms.
What this report, this secret report reveals is that the level of complicity and deception that, as you say, created the safe haven for former persecutors, whether you can really say they're ever former is arguable. And you had CIA officers, and to some extent, justice department officials actively working to conceal their identities.
ROBERTS: Wow. LICHTBAU: To fool immigration officials, to concoct cover stories, to deal with the questions what if this person is ever confronted? It was in the words of the report, it was a collaboration.
ROBERTS: My goodness. I mean, there are just some stunning things that are revealed in this report. Again, another great story from you, Eric, and we'll see if there's more pressure now on the Department of Justice to release this report, to make it public. Eric Lichtbau, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks for coming in.
LICHTBAU: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: Fascinating. Top stories coming your way just after the break.
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