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American Morning
Gingrich Gets Glittered; Working to Create Jobs in Illinois; New Leader for Al Qaeda; Interview with Gov. Pat Quinn; Oprah: The End of an Era; Dangerous Chemicals Affecting Your Children; A Look Inside the Strauss-Kahn Case
Aired May 18, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger breaking their silence trying to protect their children as we learn more about the love child that tore the power couple apart on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, May 18th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Christine Romans.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Ali Velshi has the morning off. And we begin with the news that everyone is talking about California's former first family in crisis after Arnold Schwarzenegger's confession that he fathered a child with a long-time member of their household staff more than a decade ago.
Today we have new details. In "The New York Times" reports the child is a boy and yesterday it was unclear about the age, but now it's being reported that he is 14-years-old and that his mother was working in the Schwarzenegger home while she was pregnant. The paper also says that Schwarzenegger's wife Maria Shriver was pregnant at the same time with the couple's youngest of their four children.
ROMANS: Shriver released a statement saying, quote, "This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."
Shriver's not isolating herself, appearing last night at the taping of Oprah Winfrey's farewell show in Chicago. CNN's Jessica Yellin talked to a source close to the family who says, Shriver is an empowered woman who already knows what she wants next out of her life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's been a lot of talk about Maria Shriver lately because once she announced the split there was this YouTube video that came up where she looked emotionally raw and talked about transitions. The people close to her say this is who she is, planning to pursue a journalism activism career next step where she talks about raw emotions like this. And this is what we should expect from her.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Meantime the couple's 17-year-old son Patrick speaking out on twitter. Quote, "Some days you feel like the s word, some days you want to quit and be normal for a bit, yet I love my family till death do us part." He signed that tweet Patrick Shriver, not Schwarzenegger.
ROMANS: What do you think of the way Arnold and Maria have handled this situation? E-mail us, send us a tweet, find us on Facebook and we will be reading your comments later in the hour.
Meantime the latest on the sex assault scandal surrounding the head of the international monetary fund. There are calls now for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to step down after his arrest on charges of trying to rape a hotel maid. This morning, he remains in a New York jail cell where guards are take something extra precautions. Deb Feyerick is here with more on where he is now and he's not with the general population.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's not. They've kept him far away from the general population and that's something they normally do with prison inners who are very high profile. Officials have put Dominique Strauss-Kahn on suicide watch.
He was supposed to be meeting with world financial leaders to discuss Europe's debt crisis and bailout and now facing a different future, one likely thinking about as he sits alone on an isolated wing of Riker's Island where he's checked every 15 minutes. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers declined to talk about their client. They said forensic evidence will show the encounter was not forced and that he'll plead not guilty. When we asked the lawyer about the alleged victim, whether this could have been consensual, here's what he told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY SHAPIRO, ATTORNEY FOR ALLEGED VICTIM: There wasn't any aspect of this encounter which in any way could be construed as consensual or anything other than physical and sexual assault of this young woman. She's frightened, yes, totally frightened. This is a person who assaulted her and raped her and she -- any television program that she turns on, he's pictured on it. She has to relive this. It's a nightmare that keeps recycling in her mind and she can't escape from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Interesting. Everyone wants to know more about the alleged victim, but because it is a sex crime or alleged sex crime, there's a lot prosecutors and police will not tell us about her.
FEYERICK: That's right. Nobody is saying whether the forensic information is back, things they took from the room, what the transmissions of the key cards say going in, going out.
CHETRY: Timing and all that.
FEYERICK: This lawyer was probably the most forceful in terms of describing what happened, calling it an out and out rape. The charge is attempted rape and sexual assault. We have to keep that in mind.
CHETRY: It seems that that's changing and there's also a question about the defense, is it that he was never there? Is it a question of the timeline or a question of that something occurred, but that it was consensual?
FEYERICK: Something definitely did happen. Even the lawyer, Dominique Strauss-Kahn's lawyer has admitted that saying there's forensic evidence but it will not show it was force.
What we know about this 32-year-old woman, she's from Guinea, has a 15-year-old daughter. Lawyer describes her as intelligent, no agenda. The grand jury is still waiting to hear her testimony. She'll be presented. We're not sure whether Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be presented, whether he will speak on his behave. His lawyer is doing a good job of trying to protect him. Like I said, we called several times. They're not returning calls right now. They're letting what they said in court speak for them, at least right now.
ROMANS: Deb Feyerick, thanks, deb, for the latest on that.
CHETRY: New this morning, the new face of Al Qaeda, perhaps. This man, Saif al Adel is set to be an interim replacement for Osama bin Laden. He's Egyptian and a special forces officer. CNN's Peter Bergen says that al Adel has played a leadership role in Al Qaeda and been involved in anti-American activity since 1993.
ROMANS: Desperation and fear for thousands in the south this morning as the Mississippi River keeps rising. The coast guard now reopening a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River near the town of Natchez. Water levels are so high officials had to close that part of the river on Sunday because they feared any wake from a boat, any boat traffic, could damage the straining nearby levees.
CHETRY: More than 9,000 people so far, both in Louisiana and Mississippi, have been forced to get out, leave behind their flooded homes, pack what belongings they can get on their vehicles. With 15 of the Morganza spillway gates now open, water is being diverted over towns and farmlands at speeds faster than the flow rate of Niagara Falls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm putting everything in the house as high as it can go. I'm sandbagging so I don't get water into the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is five to ten feet of water, and sandbags is not going to help us. Even up to the good lord, that's the only control of the water. The good lord is going to decide where the water is going.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll be here when it's gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The gentleman was saying you do the work sandbags and seeing the water rush over it. It's so discouraging. In 1973, after surviving devastating floods, a 22-foot seawall was built to protect the people of Morgan City, Louisiana. People who live there like to call it the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico. They're hoping they don't become part of the Gulf of Mexico. They hope that seawall holds.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano is live there this morning in Morgan City where some residents are hoping to stay above the incoming floodwaters. When you hear those personal stories, people are, you know, leaving it in the hands of god and people are also saying, we'll be back. I mean you see a resilience that's really remarkable given what they're dealing with.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is their home. I mean that's the bottom line. And you know, nowhere else, I shouldn't say nowhere else but Louisiana, south Louisiana, is special as far as the culture here and the people that are entrenched here. They do not want to get up and move away. That's for sure.
So in the Atchafalaya basin where we are, they know that there's always a risk for flood. Certainly not of this historic proportion, they don't expect it, but they get floods on and off every couple years. You talked about traffic, barge traffic into the rivers if the flow gets to high it gets dangerous. I was talking to a tug boat captain earlier today and he was telling me all the things you wouldn't think about driving your car. When driving a boat it's a different thing especially if you have a big barge.
That same captain grew up in this house. His name is Mario Gross. His parents still live here. We talked about what it's like living outside of the protective flood wall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO (on camera): People say, well they live outside the flood wall. I shouldn't feel sympathetic to them.
MARIA GROSS, MORGAN CITY RESIDENT: Yes. Some people say that because we choose to live here but we chose to live here because it's not -- it's hard to find riverfront property. It's pristine. I love growing up here. A lot of childhood experiences. I love it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: He's been here since way before its family, 140 years old, this house. And they've jacked it up six feet. It should clear the floodwaters as per forecast and say now that it's jacked up they're going to reinforce it and make it a permanent structure. One of the few people that live outside this flood wall, the flood wall should hold with the forecast, the folks that live in Butte Larose and other towns across the Atchafalaya Basin if they haven't got out they will in the coming days.
CHETRY: Rob Marciano, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Meantime Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords possibly going into a critical surgery as early as today. Just days after Giffords traveled from rehab in Houston to the Kennedy space center, she went of course to see the space shuttle Endeavour launch with her husband Mark Kelly in command.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen had a chance to speak with the doctor who will perform this surgery and she joins us from Atlanta. Explain what's going to be happening, as early as today?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Right. As you said, I sat down with Dr. Don Kim, and Dr. Kim is Gabrielle Giffords' neurosurgery, the chair of neurosurgery at the University of Texas.
Take a look at that skull he's explaining to me in wounds like Giffords, what you do is you remove that piece of skull because the brain needs a place to swell right after the injury. But now when the swelling goes down, they can actually put the bone back, or often what they do is put a piece of synthetic bone back. And that's that blue piece right there. It snaps right in there. You see they screw it in with screws in place.
And this really is the beginning of the end. In other words, once that is on there, she is able -- they're able to think about sending her to be an outpatient so she can leave the hospital and start her recovery at home. Kiran, Christine?
CHETRY: And then this isn't the end of some of the physical surgeries as well, right? She still could have to undergo more procedures?
COHEN: Dr. Kim tells me in many times in these situations, they have to do something about the hydrocephalus, which is a fancy word for water in the brain. So Dr. Kim explained you can't have water hanging out in the brain. It's dangerous. And so what they do is they take a drain, and they put -- take the water from the brain, you can see here, that blue thing is actually a tube, so that the water will end up in the abdomen.
People walk around with these things forever. It's very interesting. He says his patients who have them, really most of them forget about it but they need to have it because that water keeps building up.
CHETRY: All right, Elizabeth Cohen for us, we wish her well. I hope that surgery goes well. Thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROMANS: This next story you have all sat next to this person, but probably not for 16 hours. Police in Salem, Oregon, were forced to boot a woman of an Amtrak train after she yapped on the phone 16 hours on her cell. And she was -- she was sitting in the quiet car. That's a car set aside so you can't talk on the phone. Passengers say they pleaded with her to shut up and that she got so aggressive when one passenger approached her -- the woman was charged with disorderly conduct.
CHETRY: Why wouldn't you move to another part of the train where you can talk on the phone? Even though I wouldn't want to be sitting there for 16 hours. Why wouldn't you move? ROMANS: What is there to talk about for 16 hours? I don't know if it's the same person -- I don't know if I have enough people I know to talk to for 16 hours. You and I could probably talk to each other for 16 hours, maybe.
CHETRY: The conversation would change topics 24,000 times but yes.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: That's what Amtrak gets for having all those chargers. The creel phone would die but not these days.
And can you imagine using your cell phone on an airplane? And they're talking about doing that.
Two of the final three episodes of Oprah taped in Chicago yesterday. Star studded, check, really exciting, check, lots of people screaming who love Oprah, yep. We're going to tell you all about it.
CHETRY: Also doctors tell McDonald's to fire Ronald. What? He's bad for kids' health? It's 13 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
It's been a rocky week, one for Newt Gingrich after he officially announced that he's running for president.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: He was glittered by gay rights protesters at a book signing in Minneapolis. Here's that. Somebody just dumping a box of glitter on him and then running out. A liberal blog posted that video. The guy was then ushered out of the room. Gingrich literally brushed it off and said nice to live in a free country.
Then, there's the report that Gingrich may have owed up to $500,000 at Tiffany, the high-end jeweler. "Politico" reports that Gingrich's wife, Callista, listed as her husband's debt on personal financial disclosure forms for 2005 and 2006. She was employed by the House Agriculture Committee and required to report assets and debts at the time.
ROMANS: And may have been a revolving line of credit --
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: So use it, pay it off, use it, pay it off.
President Bush's old Yale fraternity has been suspended for five years on campus recruiting over complaints of sexual hostility toward women. Delta Kappa Epsilon recruits were caught on tape chanting about rape including them saying no means yes. Yale is already under a federal investigation into sexual harassment. George W. Bush and his father are both legacies of this fraternity.
CHETRY: An hour ago, we witnessed the space shuttle Endeavour docking with the International Space Station for the last time. No time for nostalgia, though. In just over an hour, the hatches will open and there will be a traditional welcome ceremony. Then the astronauts are scheduled to begin work installing two radio communication satellites. Also, an ammonia coolant tank and a high pressure gas tank. Also, a spare arm for Dexter. That's the station's two armed robot.
ROMANS: OK. McDonald's under pressure again to fire Ronald. More than 550 health professionals and organizations, they've signed a letter that will run in several major newspapers asking the fast food chain to stop marketing junk food to kids and to retire the character Ronald McDonald. In a statement, McDonald's spokesman says Ronald is not retiring and that he is still the heart and soul of Ronald McDonald House of Charities.
CHETRY: Well, here's a candidate for a new mascot if they decide to do so. How about Don Gorske? A 57-year-old picture of health from Wisconsin who just ate his 25,000th Big Mac. He says he's had at least one every day for the past 39 years and it takes him exactly 16 bites every time.
See, look at that. Styrofoam, that was the old packaging of the Big Mac before they switched to the paper. He also keeps all of the boxes stacked up in his basement.
I don't know. I think that bothers me more than the whole eating of the Big Macs. But he is not overweight and he says his cholesterol is always good. The numbers always come in good. Guinness, by the way, recognized his feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago.
ROMANS: Maybe it's better to have all of the paper waste in his basement instead of in a landfill.
CHETRY: You could look at it that way, too. Or you could say his basement perhaps is a landfill. How many cartons and cardboards and Styrofoam Big Mac holders he's had.
ROMANS: I wonder how many changes in packaging they've had over the past 16 years.
Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, a new study finding hidden dangers in baby products. All parents very interested in this next story.
CHETRY: Also, billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros selling hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of gold. Is that something that people should be concerned about?
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" now. The Dow down for a third day in a row after disappointing figures from Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard. It was down nearly 69 points. The Nasdaq rising about a point. The S&P 500 down less than a point.
Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros dumped nearly $800 million in gold. This during the first quarter as the precious metal soared to record highs. The sale, some says, suggest Soros doesn't expect prices to rise much higher.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warning Congress that failing to raise the debt ceiling is, quote, "simply not an option." Speaking last night, Geithner also said he's optimistic lawmakers will reach a deal to raise the ceiling and to reign in American deficits.
A new study finds toxic flame retardant chemicals in 80 percent of baby products. Baby products like car seats and diaper changing pads. Researchers say a third of those products also contained a chemical that was removed from kids' pajamas because of cancer concerns.
Netflix is now the largest source of Internet traffic during peak evening hours. Only about a quarter of homes with broadband subscribe to Netflix but watching videos takes up more bandwidth than other on- line activities.
Now if you believe this Saturday marks the day of rapture, the beginning of the end, then some entrepreneurial nonbelievers are offering to take care of your pets should you be taken up to heaven. The cost about 135 bucks payable up front, of course.
And if you're doing some spring cleaning, don't toss out the old flip flops. Instead, take them to Old Navy. The retailer collecting flip flops, recycling them into playground equipment. You have until Saturday.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. You know, all this week, CNN has been taking an in-depth look at America's job hunt. Many are on it. And many need one. This morning, we're digging deeper into one state that's taking a pretty unique approach to try to boost their economy and keep jobs in their state.
ROMANS: That's right. Illinois is betting that dramatically raising taxes will solve a budget crisis that's threatening to cripple the state's government. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn joins us now to talk about it.
You know, Governor, job creation is something that every governor is struggling with right now. I mean, in Illinois, you've got I think 8.8 percent unemployment. You'd like to lower it but you've got -- you can't cut spending anymore. So what is the strategy that the state is taking and is it working to try to create jobs that also get budget deficits under control? GOV. PAT QUINN (D), ILLINOIS: Well, we have to do that. If you're able bodied and breathing, we want you working in Illinois. And we believe in education, we think that's the best way to create jobs. Jobs follow brain power, and we invest in education in Illinois because we have a skilled workforce and we've had 14 straight months of lower unemployment and we led the Midwest by far in job creation last year.
We have very strong agriculture in Illinois, very strong manufacturing. And we have a company here, Groupon, that had eight employees in 2008.
ROMANS: Right.
QUINN: They have 6,000 today. And so we believe in technology and making sure we have smart workers who are very productive.
CHETRY: You said that you led the Midwest in job creation. You did in terms of raw numbers, 46,300 jobs, which is more than any other state, but when you take in the population of your state which you're far more populace than some of your neighbors like Wisconsin, you're only ranking eighth out of 12. Where do you see areas of potential improvement?
QUINN: Well, you know, Google is a company that's located in Illinois and the revenue that Google makes in our state is far higher than other places around the country where a place that really does believe in high-speed Internet and technology. We understand that it's important to have productive workers.
We have good community colleges. It's the third largest community college system in the whole country. And when our workers get a bad break in the economy, when they get laid off or they don't get as many hours, they go back to school. We have a million students in community college in Illinois right now. They're improving their skills and they are very productive. And that's what businesses like. In addition to our location where the inland port of America, last year we doubled our -- we had 20 percent increase in exports from Illinois and our companies are very, very productive and competitive.
ROMANS: Governor, you mentioned that's what business is like. What businesses don't like is they don't like their taxes going up and that's something that maybe with a friendly rivalry, the governor of Wisconsin yesterday -- you know he said that what they're doing in Wisconsin is much different than what they're doing in Illinois. Listen.
QUINN: Well, our tax --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER, WISCONSIN: Illinois, since the beginning of the year has raised taxes on corporations. They've now got a higher effective tax rate than we do in Wisconsin and they raised taxes on individuals. We've actually lowered the tax burden, passed major tort reform to cut through the litigation costs, pushed major regulatory reform to cut through the red tape. Even things as simple as repealing the state tax and health saves accounts so that employers can put more of their money into putting workers to work and not into other government bureaucracies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There, can I get your response?
QUINN: Yes. We're the number one state in the union with high-speed rail. There are companies from Wisconsin that came to Illinois because of our high-speed rail and our tax rates are lower than Wisconsin.
Our workers can outperform anybody in the Midwest. Our agriculture, by far, is better than any state in the Midwest. So we know what we're doing in our state. We don't want to kick our neighbors in the shins.
I don't believe in that. You know, some of these governors in other states think the way you get ahead is elbow the other guy. That's not the way we do it in our state. Everybody in, nobody left out.
CHETRY: You just said your taxes are lower. It says the corporate income tax rate 8.5 percent in Indiana. It's 7.9 percent in Wisconsin. How about you guys?
QUINN: Our corporate rate is 7 percent. You know, and the bottom line is, in Illinois, we believe in investing in education. We believe in the green economy. Investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy, making sure we have water conservation. That's the jobs of the 21st Century.
CHETRY: You guys are investing billions into your infrastructure, which is also interesting, you know, because that's a debate back and forth as well. I mean, you know, do you spend that type of money to hopefully make gains and put people to work.
But the other question, what's North Dakota doing right? Because they're adding 9.5 jobs per thousand residents, they're number one in the region. You guys right now are adding 3.6 jobs for every thousand residents. This is an AP analysis from 2010.
QUINN: Well, I think a lot of people want to come to Illinois, come to Chicago. Just last year, for example, our film and TV industry, 8,000 jobs. We have the largest studio outside of Hollywood. So there's all kinds of opportunity in Illinois.
That's why people come here. That's why they grow here. We have companies that are -- small companies and large companies. Ford is building an energy efficient SUV that's had a huge increase in sales, and our workers are the ones who are building that.
We understand the importance of energy efficiency. Those are jobs in your own backyard that don't get exported to a foreign country. We believe in made in the USA and we have great companies like Fiat, Chrysler, Ford, Caterpillar, John Deere, all of them are doing very well.
ROMANS: All right. Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois, thank you so much for joining us.
He mentioned the corporate tax rates and what tax foundation, people who are advocates for lower taxes. They point out that when you add two different taxes together.
That 7 percent tax rate he was talking about and also 2.5 percent tax on income called property replacement tax, together that's 9.5 percent. That's what the corporations focus on.
CHETRY: Right, so, I mean and that's where you can -- fudge the numbers a little bit, but, I mean, you know, it's clear as we've been talking to these governors. They're trying what they believe is best to try to generate jobs for their state.
It's a huge challenge right now. That's why we're continuing to talk about it this week. We're partnering with cnnmoney.com, "Time" magazine digging deeper on America' job hunt, learning where the jobs are, how to get them and how to keep them. You can check it all out on cnnmoney.com.
Well, it is the end of an era. Two of the final three Oprah Winfrey episodes are now shot and they're ready for air next week. And boy, it was quite a scene at the taping in Chicago yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Speaking of Illinois, the United Center packed with 20,000 passionate fans and A-list celebrity guests all fit for the queen of daytime talk.
MADONNA, MUSICIAN: She's just all heart. I mean, she's an incredible woman. To be -- to be near her and to, you know -- I mean the great thing about Oprah is even if you don't know her personally, you feel like you know her personally. That's, you know, a talent that she has. She's very accessible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Kareen Wynter is live in Chicago this morning following this for us. So what did you see yesterday? What was the feeling like there?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It was electrical, it was electric, magical. It went on until around midnight, so there are a lot of people probably going to be playing hooky today or sleeping in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WYNTER (voice-over): That's right. They partied until around midnight. Oprah Winfrey, some of her closest famous friends and fans alike, they packed the United Center in Chicago for the spectacular affair. What was so great about it, Oprah, she's always in charge, right? Well, not last night. She had to sit back and be surprised. It was so great to see as one guest arrived on stage, you could just see her taking it all in.
Saying wow, you're here for me from Tom Cruise to Tom Hanks. And the music last night was simply amazing. Jamie Foxx sang, the wonderful talented Beyonce Knowles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WYNTER: And then the tributes. We caught up with so many stars back stage. For example, her longtime friend, TV host, interior decorator Nate Berkus. Here's what he had to say how special Oprah is to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATE BERKUS, HOST, THE NATE BERKUS SHOW: I think the one moment I won't forget was when I came back from Asia after the tsunami and lost my partner. And I sat on the show on a stage that was so comfortable to me. It was like anyone's watching.
It would be like them sitting on their sofa in their home, that's how comfortable it was to me, to be back on the stage of the Oprah Winfrey show. And I looked at Oprah in the middle of the interview and she had a blank stare at me because she completely understood how I was feeling at that moment.
And if anyone, anywhere, ever asks what the magic of Oprah really is about. It's about that level of empathy. I'll never forget that moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WYNTER: So many personal emotional stories shared by all the stars there last night, an incredible night.
ROMANS: Told us that Maria Shriver was there and she looked absolutely stunning. What do you know about Maria Shriver, you know, 30-year friendship with Oprah Winfrey. What can you tell us about that?
WYNTER: Well, you know, Christine, it took a lot of courage, first of all to come out in light of the public scandal, her big separation from Arnold Schwarzenegger, but she did. She did it for Oprah because they are that tight.
In fact, they reportedly had dinner earlier this week at a restaurant in Chicago and her children were there. But anyway, she came out on stage. She thanked Oprah for her friendship over all of these years.
She thanked Oprah also for teaching her the truth. Oprah jumped in and said, here's to the truth. You know what the audience really, really embraced Maria. They applauded. They felt what she was going through. There was no specific mention, you know, as to the scandal, but you could tell that everyone in that room was really rooting for her and grateful that she came out to be a part of that special night for Oprah.
CHETRY: She did look fantastic. Good for her. Good for her, not holding up and isolating herself, but getting out there. Kareen Wynter, thanks so much.
Still ahead, we're going to be talking with legal analyst Paul Callan, lawyer, prosecutor and defense attorney. He's going to be telling us more about what could be shaping up, the IMF sex assault case, what we may hear from the accuser in front of the grand jury and more coming up. It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Now to today's question of the day. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver separately trying to manage the scandal over Arnold's love child with one of the family's household staff member.
CHETRY: Trying to deal with this private struggle and pain at the same time, of course, it's public. So we asked what do you think of the way Arnold and Maria have handled the situation?
ROMANS: Cindy Moore says on Facebook, they are public figures so they really didn't have a choice, but to come out and make a statement. Keeping silent would have only made the story that much harder on the entire family. I'm glad Maria has not stayed hidden. The fact that she kept her planned appearance on the Oprah shows that she has pride.
CHETRY: That's right and Ruth Comar wrote to me on Twitter, there were no surprises to the story. Maria equals dignity and class, Arnold equals self-entitled to the world, kids equal hurt, and California voters equal nuts.
ROMANS: John on Twitter says they have handled their situation much better than the public has handled it by name calling, speculation and finger pointing.
CHETRY: And Lady Big Mac, maybe she should get together with that dude in Wisconsin, by the way, Lady Big Mac says, I think they did the best they could with the bad situation. She's taken the high road, good place to be.
By the way, your first e-mailer said that she kept up her planned appearance on Oprah. We did get our hands on the pictures she looks great. These are some of the pictures from her appearance with Oprah.
It's, of course, the big finale, the taping of Oprah's final episodes. They're longtime friends and Maria Shriver did come there. She did not speak about Arnold, but there was a moment of cheering when she talked about their friendship and Oprah always telling her the truth.
ROMANS: This is a strong woman who is quite - both of them actually, strong women who are quite opinionated, but given her activism in so many women's issues and also her history as a journalist, it's clear that there is a next chapter for Maria Shriver that will be public and will be strong. I mean, there's no question. No doubt about that.
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: And there's going to be a next chapter for Arnold as well. Interesting "L.A. Times" did a story today about what people believe, will he be able to recover from this --
CHETRY: Do you think he will recover?
ROMANS: Yes, I think that this is a nation that forgives transgressions. I think that we've seen it time and time again. America loves the rebound story.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: But this is - I mean, the jokes out there, you know, I can't even say them. I mean, he now when you say Arnold Schwarzenegger, you don't say "Terminator" or you don't say "Governator." It's just scandalous what everyone is talking about.
CHETRY: Very true. Well, keep your comments coming, send us an e- mail, a tweet or tell us on Facebook, we'll read some of your thoughts a bit later in the show.
ROMANS: Meantime, we're going to talk about toxic baby products. Car seats, high chairs, even the changing mats that you change your baby's diaper on, Dr. Gupta on a study that shows the pervasive of these potentially toxic chemicals in the things that are touching your children every day.
CHETRY: Also an amazing new view of the tornadoes. This is Alabama from outer space. We'll show you more of that coming up. It's 43 minutes past the hour.
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ROMANS: Here's what you need to know to start your day. Barges are moving again on the Mississippi River. The coast guard reopening a 15-mile stretch near Natchez, part of the Mississippi farther south though remains closed.
Al Qaeda has a new leader. Saif al Adel is said to be an interim replacement for bin Laden. He is Egyptian with a military background, having serving as a special forces officer. He's wanted by the FBI for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania.
Amtrak's president appeals to Congress for money for security on the rails. He says new technology can provide advanced warning if tracks have been tampered with.
In defense of the french fries. Some U.S. lawmakers are questioning the Agriculture Department's plan to reduce the amount of potatoes and other starchy vegetables in school meals. They say the federal government shouldn't be telling kids what to eat.
Sales of an app that allows users to locate police sobriety checkpoints have soared after efforts by Congress to restrict them. The head of Buzz Alert says his companies sales have doubled and he insists the application is not intended to help people drive drunk.
And some incredible images of tornado damage from space. These satellite images show the path of destruction of twisters that tore through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, recently.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back in 60 seconds.
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ROMANS: OK. Nursing pillows, car seats, high chairs, they may all contain a chemical linked to cancer.
CHETRY: There's a new study warning 80 percent of baby products may contain this chemical. Sanjay Gupta joins us from Atlanta.
You know, we talk about this all the time. You have three little girls, three little boys, two kids, and we always worry, are the products that we're using putting on them safe?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And one of the things that we've been researching this for a long time, as you mentioned is that, you know, we're surrounded by chemicals all the time, about 80,000 chemicals. And a very small number of them have been tested.
So the answer to the question is, you know, as Christine said before, potentially toxic chemicals, is we just don't know the truth about some of these chemicals. We don't know the cause and effect relationship that people are really looking for.
But you're absolutely right. It's been this balance for some time when it comes to flame retardants in particular. They want to find good flame retardants for obvious reasons and part of that involves using some of these chemicals.
So in this particular study they found that out of about 100 products surveyed, 80 of them had some of these flame retardants in them and one of these flame retardants in particular, called TDCPP, that's been studied -- it banned back in the '70s or at least removed from children's pajamas in the 1970s and it's back now because people use it as a good flame retardant with real concerns about potential effects on your DNA, potential effects causing cancer.
So, you know, children are being exposed to more of these chemicals than ever before, again, because of the risks and benefits. You want to get some of the benefits of flame retardants but the risk potentially, these chemicals.
ROMANS: You know, and Sanjay, our lives have changed so much from the '70s. So now we are surrounded by consumer products. Our kids are sitting on -- you know, maybe there's testing for the exposure for one part of that. But they're being surrounded by so many different ways to be exposed.
Why are kids so susceptible?
GUPTA: Well, you know, part of it is that there are just a lot more chemicals. A lot of them are not tested. And kids are being born even pre-polluted. This is something we found in the documentary, as well.
Umbilical cord blood, Christine, to your point, before a child is even born, has up to 200 of these chemicals in that blood. So they're getting exposed more than ever before.
They are not just small adults, children, don't think of them that way, but they're more susceptible because they metabolize a lot of these chemicals more quickly. Their organs are still developing so they're more susceptible to these chemicals. And, obviously, they're going to have a much longer impact. If you've been exposed to these later in life the impact will be less.
One of the big things -- this is just a practical point. You mentioned that I have three small children. A lot of these types of chemicals end up accumulating close to the ground. On the ground floor of your house. Children spend a lot of time on the ground. They put their hands on the ground, they touch their hands to their mouth. That's a route of exposure and it's a significant one.
Simply taking off your shoes when you enter the home, that can actually significantly reduce the amount of chemicals that you're dragging into the house from the outside, obviously cleaning up a lot of the dust.
Also, that new sort of furniture smell that you often smell and think that's -- people like that, off curtains, off of furniture. Oftentimes that can be a sign of these seem chemicals. So making sure you ventilate around that furniture really well. Or, you know, you're not necessarily finding or wanting that new furniture smell. Household plants can help absorb some of these chemicals, as well. These are some simple things we do in our home because we are surrounded, as you say, by so many of these chemicals.
ROMANS: Sanjay, I opened a playpen yesterday, brand new and out of the box and I could smell it. It smelled like plastic. It smelled brand new.
CHETRY: And I told you, you've got to off-gas it. You got to take it outside.
GUPTA: Off-gas it. Yes.
ROMANS: Talk about off-gassing. I dragged it into the dining room and opened the windows, you know? Maybe I'm crazy but I'm not putting the baby in it yet. GUPTA: I don't think so. And let me just say, really quick, inside your home is oftentimes more dangerous than outside your home for some of these same reasons. You think you go inside to get away from some of these exposures. Open up the windows, let the ventilation, as you say, occur. That can help, as well.
CHETRY: Oh, man. And allergy season, it's like you don't know which way is worse.
ROMANS: I know.
CHETRY: All the pollen coming in.
GUPTA: That's another risk benefactor (ph).
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CHETRY: All right, Sanjay. Great to talk to you, as always. Thanks.
ROMANS: Sanjay's got a special CNN report, too, Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern. Senator Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick Kennedy comes clean about Dr. Sanjay Gupta about addiction, what he learned from his father and his new dream of curing brain disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports "Patrick Kennedy Coming Clean" Sunday at 7:00 here on CNN. Another great Sanjay Gupta doc.
CHETRY: Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing it, for sure.
ROMANS: The doc's doc.
CHETRY: Well, certainly a startling fall from grace. One of the most powerful men on the globe, he's on the global economics stage, sits on the IMF. Well now he's sitting in a jail cell accused of attempted rape. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is accused of assault, at least trying to assault a maid in a hotel in New York. This morning, his job as head of the IMF is in jeopardy and so is his freedom.
Joining us now with more is Paul Callan. He's a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.
Thanks so much for being with us, this morning.
PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning.
CHETRY: You're familiar with Rikers Island, right? I mean, you --
CALLAN: Well, I've never been incarcerated there, but, yes --
CHETRY: You're familiar with it -- Rikers Island. So people are making much of this suicide watch, that he's on suicide watch. That doesn't necessarily mean that you're trying to take your own life when you're on suicide watch there.
What does it mean?
CALLAN: Well, not necessarily. This hospital wing -- and I've had clients incarcerated there. People who are in danger are put there because it's a protective custody place. And people who are ill, psychiatrically or medically are put there, as well.
It is not uncommon for somebody to be put on suicide watch in that facility but he could actually be suicidal, as well. It's not clear from the press reports as to why he's on suicide watch. He is protected when he's out of the cell. It's a very grim place, I have to tell you that. He's gone from his luxury apartment and his luxury lifestyle to a tiny cell in a grim industrial background with people screaming in the night. The worst of the worst criminals in New York, murderers, kidnappers.
ROMANS: And he was not granted bail. I mean, what happens if you're his attorneys and if you're the government, what happens in bail negotiations? Could he be out anytime in the near term?
CALLAN: Well, here's what's happening. On Friday, the prosecutors have to announce an indictment in the case. The case is being presented to the grand jury now. And it's 23 people who hear the evidence and really only the prosecutor's side of the evidence. And if they think there's enough for the case to go to trial, an indictment is announced.
If that happens, it gets transferred to the main trial court in New York, the supreme court, and there will be another bail hearing at that time. Now, I have to say if prosecutors don't finish the presentment by Friday, he would have to be released in his own recognizance.
CHETRY: Right. So they're up against it. I mean, they have -- are -- is the alleged accuser going to testify before the grand jury or is that not necessary?
CALLAN: Oh, she would have to testify, Kiran, because if -- she's key to the case and so she will be appearing before the grand jury this week, I guarantee you that. But it's a secret proceeding. I'm sure the press has the courthouse surrounded. But no one will know except prosecutors what she says in the grand jury.
ROMANS: We don't very much about her. That's because of laws to protect alleged victims of sex crimes, right?
CALLAN: Ironically, Christine, we actually know a lot more about her than we normally do. You know, usually -- the Central Park jogger case, for instance, we didn't know the identity of the Central Park jogger until 15 years after the incident.
We already know that she's an African immigrant. She is 33 years of age. There was a report today that French newspapers have already revealed her name.
CHETRY: Well, some of her family members are apparently speaking out to some papers, as well, so that's when it gets difficult.
CALLAN: Well, not only that, but apparently, she has her own lawyer who's been doing the rounds talking about her and that raises the spectrum of a civil case.
ROMANS: What's the role of her own lawyer because there are clearly prosecutors who are right now prosecuting this case on her behalf?
CALLAN: Well, I suspect that prosecutors are upset her own private attorney is in the mix because prosecutors kind of like to control the dissemination of information carefully and they really don't give much to the defense. If she's going to sue him civilly for millions of dollars, her own civil attorney is now sort of mucking the situation up, making statements that may be inconsistent with what the prosecutor wants to do. And also giving her a motive, economic motive.
CHETRY: This morning, at least, in what I've read of some of the accounts, he's not even going there in terms of any type of civil litigation.
But I want to ask you a quick question about the possible defense theories, that one lawyer in the court saying that there was forensic evidence, but he said it was not consistent with a forcible encounter. But then there are also apparently some reports that they might suggest the timeline doesn't work, that he was not there when he was there.
Those are startling, conflicting theories.
CALLAN: Yes. They look like they're totally contradictory, almost as if they're floating trial balloons much as politicians do. Of course, he's said to be a French presidential candidate in the future, so they do this.
But here's how I think this plays out ultimately. I think the defense attorney Brafman is saying this. It was a consent encounter. She consented to the sex and the timeline indicates that he acted like an innocent man afterwards. He had dinner with -- or lunch with his daughter. He called for his cell phone when he went to the airport, revealing his location. Doesn't sound like a guy who raped somebody.
But here's the fly in the ointment of that defense. You would have to believe that a 63-year-old man comes out of a bathroom naked and all of a sudden, a 33-year-old maid is overcome with lust and has consensual sex with him? I don't know.
CHETRY: Right because she is the key cart (ph) of when she's entered the room.
CALLAN: Well, supposedly, she thought the room was empty and she went in and he came out. So, where did this relationship develop? I've got a problem with the consent theory if that's what's it's going to be.
So I understand why Mr. Strauss-Kahn is feeling a little depressed in his cell at Rikers Island because frankly, if there's evidence of a consensual encounter, if the forensic evidence shows the presence of like of a blue dress like Bill Clinton had to deal with, he's got a major problem, a career ending problem. ROMANS: Paul Callan, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor. Thanks, Paul.
CALLAN: Nice being with you.
CHETRY: Good to see you.
Well, this morning's top stories are minutes away, including the new head of al Qaeda, choosing a temporary leader. Already doubts that he'll have the same pull as Osama bin Laden. We have a live report on who he is ahead.
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