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Food Pyramid to be Replaced; Admiral Mullen's Swan Song; Obama to Visit Arlington National Cemetery; Helping Veterans Find Jobs; After Bin Laden: Relations with Pakistan; Endeavour Undocks from Space Station; Tens of Thousands Without Power in Michigan and Illinois; German to Close All Nuclear Power Plants by 2022
Aired May 30, 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: Violent storms cut through parts of the Midwest again this morning. Thousands waking up this Memorial Day without power.
Plus, revving up, Sarah Palin riding a Harley into Washington, but is she running? CNN catches up with her exclusively on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning. It's Monday, May 30th. And welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Christine Romans.
ALINA CHO, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Happy Memorial Day. Kiran and Ali have the morning off. Though it is a holiday, we do have a lot going on this morning.
Coming up, we're going to pay tribute to the Americans who have served our country. We're going to take you live to Arlington National Cemetery where every president does. President Obama will lay a wreath later this morning. Our Chris Lawrence will join us live with that story.
ROMANS: Also ahead, helping our veterans find jobs. We'll hear from some former service members who are struggling to find work in this economy. We've got a little bit of help for them on this Memorial Day.
CHO: That's right. But first, the race is on. The Republican field of presidential hopefuls will begin to take shape, starting this week. Hard to believe, on Thursday, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is scheduled to officially declare his candidacy. No surprise there. Next week former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum enters the race we're promised an announcement from Michelle Bachmann will come sometime in June in Iowa where she was born.
ROMANS: and this one potential candidate who hasn't signaled her intentions yet, Sarah Palin. The former Alaska governor launched her one nation bus tour yesterday on a Harley attending a motorcycle rally in Washington, D.C. She was decked out in leather talking to bikers about tattoos. Sandra Endo got an interview with her. When the talk turned to politics she became citizen Sarah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel like you're politicizing this event?
SARAH PALIN, (R) FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: No. I'm an American. I have no title, I have no office, and to be an American citizen with the freedom to come out here and assemble and thank our veterans. I can't tell you how honored I am to be to participating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Kind of hard to hear. But politics, Palin has ground to make up. Two of the three front runners in a new CNN poll haven't announced their intentions yet. And 16 percent of the Republicans and independent surveyed leaning towards Rudy Giuliani to be the GOP nominee with Romney one point behind and Palin three points back.
Jim Acosta joining us live from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the next anticipated stop for the Palin bus tour. But Jim, we say anticipated, because there is no official schedule. She has no advance team.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
ROMANS: How in the world do we know she's going to show up there?
CHO: Have we seen a bus yet?
ACOSTA: The only bus I see this morning, guys, is the one behind me, the CNN Election Express. You can say for a politician, a celebrity who likes to fly by the seat of her pants, it's fitting that she came into Washington yesterday on the back of a motorcycle.
That is the big question this morning. What is Sarah Palin up to? We certainly don't know this morning. But one thing that we can say, if she is running for president she knows how to make an entrance. She rolled into the nation's capital yesterday on the back of a motorcycle, part of this Memorial Day weekend and into this week planned bus tour she has with her family to go visit some historic sites up and down the east coast.
The big question, obviously, does any of this have to do with the 2012 election? Recently she said she does have the fire in her belly to run, and when our CNN's Sandra Endo caught up with her yesterday, she basically said this is really about remembering America's history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: the bus tour is to get out there and remind Americans about our foundation, our declaration of independence and our constitution and the historical sites that should be a reminder every day to every American about how important it is to stand strong on our foundation and build upon it. That's what made us -- made this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And she is scheduled to go visit the national archives this morning, that's where they keep the U.S. constitution. She is also supposed to go over to Mount Vernon. As you said in the beginning of all of this, the details of her bus tour are very close to the vest this morning. So obviously we're just sort of following her as she makes her way up the east coast.
And we'll bring every stop. We have the CNN election express behind us and we'll let you know what happens when she makes those stops, guys.
ROMANS: Jim, John McCain was out on the Sunday talk circuit making a prediction about the 2012 race. If she runs she could beat the president.
ACOSTA: That's right. I mean, no surprise that John McCain would say that. She was his running mate in 2008. He took a lot of flak for it. A lot of political experts believe he could have won that election had she not been picked as his running mate. He thinks she could beat Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Of course she can. She can. Now whether she will or not, whether she'll run or not, I don't know. A lot of things happen in campaigns. If you remember I was written off a couple times and we were able to come back. She certainly is a major factor and I believe that she can be very competitive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And John McCain has a point there. Don't write off Sarah Palin. Even though she's just a few points back in the polls she has the ability to generate a lot of media attention, generate a lot of buzz. She's going to be doing that over the next several days and we'll watch every move for you.
CHO: I know you will. Jim Acosta, thank you for being live for us from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. That leads us to our question of the day, do you think Sarah Palin will run for president? We want to hear your opinion, e-mail us at CNN.com/am, give us a tweet or tell us on Facebook, facebook.com/AmericanMorning. We will read your responses later this hour.
ROMANS: After the barbecue catch "John King USA" at 7:00. He's aboard the CNN express closely following the Palin bus tour, 7:00 eastern on "John King USA."
CHO: We're heading to the Midwest where they're cleaning up. Some of the worst damage, Battle Creek, Michigan, which may have been hit with a tornado. Winds exceeding 80 miles per hour brought down trees and power lines. Power knocked out -- was knocked out for about 100,000 people at one point.
ROMANS: Severe weather also raked the Chicago area with storms uprooting trees, pushing them on top of cars and homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The trees just doubled. It was the strongest wind I've seen in a long time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the important part, nobody got hurt. Houses can be rebuilt. People -- takes a long time for them to get rebuilt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The severe weather grounded 450 flights at O'Hare airport on Sunday. Forecasters say it could be more of the same today. If you're one of the people who your flight was canceled yesterday, now it's Memorial Day, you're trying to figure out how you're going to get home.
(WEATHER BREAK)
ROMANS: President Obama visiting tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri, and delivering a message of hope. The president promised the nation would be behind Joplin every step of the way as it rebuilds. Meantime a moment of silence was observed in Joplin Sunday at 5:41 p.m., that's the moment the tornado struck exactly one week earlier. Dozens of people are still missing. Authorities say they're not giving up the search for survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a matter of continuing all of the search and rescue efforts to continuing looking for individuals and taking every step possible to find each and every person. We will not give up until all people are accounted for or laid to rest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Let's get more on President Obama's message to the people of Joplin. Ed Henry is live at the White House. And Ed, you know, he was in Europe when the first days and frantic hours of the tornado rescue began. How do the people greet him a week on?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Christine. There's certainly a lot of pressure on the president. Several days, just about a week had passed as you note since this terrible tragedy. This is an area of the country where the president lost to John McCain in 2008, and so he had to make that extra special effort to show he was going to get on top of this.
I can tell you it seemed like there were a lot of standing ovations at that memorial service a lot of people grateful for the president coming in, and this is just utter devastation. I mean the president himself noting that he had just been in Alabama where there had been tornado devastation. This eclipsed even that which had been so awful.
And a reporter on air force one with the president said that as they came in and saw it overhead, it almost looked like a giant had come in to this city with a lawn mower and shredded it and so when the president spoke at the memorial service, he wanted to convey a message that the federal government would be there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no doubt in my mind that Joplin will rebuild. And as president, I can promise you, your country will be there with you every single step of the way. We will be with you every step of the way.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Important message for the president to send, obviously limited resources for the federal government right now, but from Alabama, Oklahoma, now Missouri, they're doing all they can to help right now.
ROMANS: Ed Henry at the White House this morning, thanks.
CHO: Keeping Americans hooked on cheap oil, that is the goal of Saudi Arabia. In fact, Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal telling CNN his country would like to see oil prices which are currently at $100 a barrel, drop by up to 30 bucks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE AL-WALEED BIN TALAL, SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia, we want the price to be between $70 and $80, not only to help the west but ourselves. We don't want the west to find alternative its. The higher the price oil goes the more we have incentives to go and find alternatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: The prince blamed political uncertainty in the Middle East and North Africa for the current high price of oil.
ROMANS: Back in this country where they burned an awful lot of oil yesterday, the 100th running of the Indy 500 featured one of the wildest finishes ever. Rookie JR Hildebrand this close to victory, but with the checkered flag in sight he crashed his car stunning the crowd and allowing Dan Wheldon to win the race.
CHO: Hildebrand's car is sponsored by the National Guard. The heartbreak as you see there could be felt from Indianapolis to Iraq where troops were watching the big race. It's too bad. Hildebrand was so close, almost made it there. Across the finish line first on three wheels, but didn't quite do it.
But later this hour we'll talk to the winner, 7:35 eastern, the accidental winner some are calling him, but I don't think so. He worked hard for it. Dan Wheldon will join us at 7:35 a.m.
Still to come, the U.S. government introducing a new way to help us eat healthier. It is getting rid of the food pyramid and swapping it out with something new. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details coming up. ROMANS: And this Memorial Day you need the burgers, the buns, ketchup, the whole -- and some extra money with that, please. Find out just how much more it's going to cost you to fire up the grill this holiday. It's 12 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Well, it's no secret Americans need to start eating healthier.
CHO\: That's right.
ROMANS: No question. So the U.S. government is making some new moves to get us to eat a little better.
This is the old food pyramid. There it is. It's out. Out. They're going to do something completely different.
CHO: That's right. The Department of Agriculture says it's swapping the pyramid for another symbol to make it easier for Americans to make the right food choices. It's a plate apparently. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now with a sneak peek at what we're going to see on that plate. But as I've been saying, don't call it a pie chart, right, Elizabeth?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You don't want to call it a pie chart. That would get the USDA very upset because they want it to be a little more user-friendly than statistical. So as you said, the pyramid is going away. We say R.I.P. It's been nearly 20 years that it's time for it to go dramatically. And what they're going to introduce instead is something -- ta da -- is something like this -- a dinner plate. It won't look exactly like this, but CNN has gotten some advanced word that it's going to be a dinner plate that will be divided basically into four sections. Fruit, veggies, some form of protein and a grain and then as you can see, a little bit of dairy on the side. But the emphasis here, ladies is that they want those fruit and vegetables to take up half the plate. Now this is not how Americans eat and they want this to be how Americans eat.
CHO: You're absolutely right. It's not. I think I'm a pretty healthier eater.
ROMANS: You're a very healthy eater.
CHO: But I don't eat --
ROMANS: She's a very healthy eater.
CHO: But I don't do that. So that's the goal.
Elizabeth, you know, I'm curious to know what is wrong with the pyramid. I was reading something about how it didn't differentiate between, say, whole grains and fish and white bread and bacon and that was part of the problem with the pyramid. Is that right?
COHEN: Right. That was one of the problems. And let's take a look at it right here.
Here's one of the big problems. The stuff that you're not supposed to eat which is sweets, that's at the top of the pyramid and it's sort of counterintuitive, because usually you think the top is best. But here the top was worse. And also, you're supposed to start eating from the bottom. So this pyramid really emphasizes lots of breads and crackers and rice and puts less emphasis on fruits and vegetables which, of course, we know is not really how people ought to be eating.
Now, Alina, you raise a really good point and it's going to be an issue even I think with this one to some extent, that Americans need to know not all protein is created equal. There's a difference between bacon and a bowl of beans. Not all grains are created equal. There's a difference between white bread and wheat bread. So that is going to be a challenge even with this one is to tell Americans what protein is good and bad and what grains are good and bad.
ROMANS: I mean, I think of it as a symbol might help, you know, that half that plate has to be fruits and vegetables. That's a lot of fruits and vegetables. I think our whole life kind of has to be reordered around it, our grocery stores, everything, how we eat. Half a plate of fruits and vegetables is a lot.
COHEN: Right. And I think everybody recognizes that a symbol is not going to do it. You can show this to schoolchildren every day of the year and still it's not going to make a difference unless other things happen to make that plate half fruits and vegetables. An icon is great but it's not going to do everything.
CHO: You're right about that. But we can try.
COHEN: Right.
CHO: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for that. And for all the latest news in health and nutrition, go to CNN.com/health.
American astronaut Cady Coleman is back home after spending 159 days in space. She's going to tell us what it's like to be, oh, 220 miles above the earth.
CHO: I never get tired of looking at that hair.
ROMANS: I know.
CHO: Do you think that Sarah Palin will run for president? It's our question of the day. E-mail us, CNN.com/AM. Send us a tweet, @CNNAM or Facebook, facebook.com/American Morning. We will read some of your responses later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 23 minutes past the hour. Here are the morning's business headlines.
Investors turning their attention to the debt crisis in Europe and the job market here at home this week after stocks extend their losses to four weeks in a row. Markets are closed in the U.S. today, but we're looking ahead to get a new read on job growth and unemployment this Friday when the Labor Department releases its all-important jobs report for May.
The American dream is still a reality despite these tough economic times. According to a new poll, 68 percent say they have or will achieve the American dream.
Blockbuster hoping to lure customers back by lowering prices. The one in your neighborhood is still open, you can now rent new movies for just one night. It will cost you $2.99 and then 99 cents for each additional night.
This Memorial Day, it's going to cost you about 29 percent more than last year to fire up the grill. Rising food prices mean the average party is going to set you back about $199. That's before soda and alcohol.
Lady Gaga's new album "Born This Way" is expected to sell a million copies in its first week. That's thanks in part to Amazon which priced the album for 99 cents for two days last week.
And Americans apparently love a good hangover. The sequel "Hangover 2" took in an estimated $86 million over the Friday through Sunday holiday weekend. That makes it the best three-day opening for a live action comedy. Don't forget for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNmoney.com.
Coming up, Admiral Mike Mullen talks about his trip to Pakistan with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
In just a few hours, President Obama is expected to name a replacement for Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen who is retiring at the end of the summer.
CHO: That's right. Mullen just returned from Pakistan where he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the relationship that's been a bit strained since the raid on the bin Laden compound. And we're getting a chance to talk with Admiral Mullen live on this Memorial Day. Lucky enough that he woke up early to be with us and he joins us this morning from the Pentagon.
Admiral Mullen, thank you for joining us. You had a four-hour meeting with top Pakistani officials. Of course, this is in the wake of the unilateral U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. How much of this meeting was about mending fences?
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Well, in fact, we had a very good, frank, open discussion that touched on a wide range of issues. We thought it was important to have the meeting face to face to reaffirm the commitment to the relationship and certainly there are very difficult challenges as a result of the bin Laden raid. That specifically is something that I know the Pakistani military, the Pakistani intelligence agencies are focusing on. At the same time, it's a very critical part of the world. The border area still houses terrorists from many organizations. We have common interests, and it's important that both sides continue to commit to eradicating those terrorists.
ROMANS: Are you satisfied, sir, that they are working as well as they can, with the money that the United States gives them, to eradicate those terror elements?
MULLEN: Well, I think one of the things that doesn't get enough focus is the sacrifices that the Pakistani military has -- have made over the course of the last several years. They've had -- they've lost thousands of soldiers in this fight. They've had 10-plus thousand wounded as well. They've lost many citizens. They have a significant internal threat and I think it's vital that we continue to try to figure out a way ahead, even through these most difficult of times.
CHO: Admiral Mullen, it's long been said that we have an interesting, to say the least, relationship with Pakistan. There have been allegations for a long time that Pakistan harbors terrorists.
And yet, you said this meeting was very, very frank and you discussed the Osama Bin Laden raid. Can you tell us, did they express their dismay that they weren't told beforehand about the raid?
MULLEN: Well, I think one of the most important parts of the meeting was the fact that Secretary Clinton and I both said we've seen no evidence of the senior leadership had any knowledge of Bin Laden's presence there.
Although there certainly is a belief that there was some support network in both the United States and Pakistan, specifically, believe that. Again, I've seen them focus on this. We've certainly had differences, but we come from a time in the '90s where we had no relationship.
We had a big trust deficit, so we're working our way back through that. Certainly the recent raid put a significant dent in that progress, but both sides are continuing to commit to work our way through it because we both think it's a vital relationship.
CHO: You mentioned there were people in some circles who believed that Pakistan had some knowledge that Bin Laden was where he was when he was killed. What do you think?
MULLEN: Well, I really speak to that in terms of he had to have some kind of support network. I haven't seen any specifics on what that is and I haven't seen any evidence that the Pakistanis have either.
It's just a belief. I mean, he couldn't just be living there alone. So certainly there was some kind of network that was insuring that he had the necessary support that enabled to be able to sustain an existence. ROMANS: And the Pakistani's hear America's displeasure over that loud and clear I assume.
MULLEN: Yes, they do certainly.
ROMANS: Let's talk about your retirement at the end of the summer. I know you can't get out ahead of your boss and confirm for us that Martin Dempsey is the president's choice to replace you as Joint Chiefs of Staff. Like what can you tell us about him as a soldier and as a leader?
MULLEN: Well, one of the things about this time as chairman, I've been blessed to serve with some extraordinary individuals and my colleagues who are committed -- every bit as committed to what we stand for and trying to get accomplished as any.
I've known General Dempsey for a significant period of time. He's as chief, there couldn't -- as chief of the Army, he was a great selection. I knew him when he was the deputy down at Central Command.
So like many others, I have the highest regard for him as a soldier and someone who is very, very committed to our young men and women and their family.
CHO: He has no political baggage we know of, no vocal critics. In fact, your support of him apparently was a significant factor in President Obama choosing him.
He said to note the art of combat and the power of diplomacy. What kind of advice would you give him going forward? What is his biggest challenge?
MULLEN: Your question presumes that the president will make the selection and as you indicated earlier, that hasn't --
CHO: Let's say the president does.
MULLEN: That hasn't occurred and we need to see what, you know, what the president's final decision is.
CHO: But what -- if this does happen, as we believe it will, what advice would you give him in terms of challenges ahead?
MULLEN: Again, I'm just not going to get out in front of the president on this and quite frankly, the advice that I give him I would give my relief would be private advice that I wouldn't share publicly.
ROMANS: I know this is an important day, Memorial Day, 10 years of war in this country. Can you just quickly tell us sort of what your hope is for our men and women serving the country today?
MULLEN: Well, I just would send them a message of how special they are and in particular, this Memorial Day, the losses that have occurred over the course of these wars over 6,000 now. And the sacrifices of their families, and through those losses, we as a country can commit to them, commit to our veterans, to commit to those who have sacrificed so much that we make sure we take care of them for the rest of their lives.
As for those who continue to serve and our veterans and that we remember those who sacrificed and made such a difference for such a great country.
CHO: Well put. Admiral Mike Mullen, we thank you for your 43 years of service. It's just extraordinary. And again, we thank you for joining us this morning.
MULLEN: Thank you.
ROMANS: He's not going to get out in front of his boss.
CHO: That's right.
ROMANS: Thank you, sir.
CHO: After 11 days, 17 hours, 41 minutes, the space shuttle "Endeavour" has finally separated from the International Space Station. Now the undocking took place while we were all sleeping, just before midnight.
The crew will now conduct a couple of tests on the space station sensors. Then "Endeavour" will wrap up its final mission and return to earth at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday morning.
ROMANS: After a 159-day voyage to the International Space Station, American Astronaut Cady Coleman is now back on earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: She and two other ISS crewmembers undocked and returned home last week landing without incident in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz spacecraft.
John Zarrella live from Miami this morning with the first interview with Cady Coleman. So John, what did she tell you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting because we followed Cady for a year of her training, some of the video we see of the year we spent with Cady. And I asked her, I said, geez, it's amazing, isn't it, you were gone five and a half months and it really didn't feel like it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): But, you know, she told me that the landing was a bit hard coming down in Kazakhstan as you mentioned, because the Russian spacecraft always come down and land on land and as she got out, she was waiting for her flight doctor to catch her as she's coming out of the capsule.
And he was standing down there ready and eventually said, okay, and she just went ahead and jumped. Her flight doctor told me she was in better shape than anybody he has seen come back from the space station so far. I asked Cady, what is the single visual memory you take away from that five and a half months?
CADY COLEMAN, ASTRONAUT: The view of New England, coming and going. I would -- every chance I had, I would go and look and Cape Cod has this distinct shape and in it. I'm so excited to see it and as it comes closer and you're over it.
I can look down and see practically where our house is and take pictures and then it goes away so quickly. All this happens in a space of two minutes. And then it's gone for another couple orbits and -- which makes me wistful for home and at the same time I know it will be back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: You know, I also, now that she's back, she has to undergo all kinds of tests and right away, while we were out there, they were drawing blood from her, took a bunch of viles of blood and then she went through an extensive eye exam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Where they check everything from changes in your eyes to the pressure in your eyes and asked her if she was wearing her glasses because your eyes are, you know, do very, very different things while you're up in space.
And the way they act at that zero gravity. I also asked her, I said well, was this difficult, a difficult place, for you to leave?
COLEMAN: To me it was like that book "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" where the kids go through the wardrobe and they enter this magical world and when they come back, you know, to where they really sort of live, nobody understands that world is out there. When they're in that world, that world is very real and that's a little bit what the space station was like for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Of course, she said to me it was like flying, not like floating. I had to ask her would you go back and her answer, absolutely in a minute she would go back. Ladies --
CHO: Go with her too.
ROMANS: Right. I love the way she talks about Cape Cod. She's poetic in her descriptions of what it's like talking about Cape Cod.
CHO: It's sure great to hear from someone who has been there because there's so few who have.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHO: John, thank you. Talk about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHO (voice-over): Yesterday's Indianapolis 500 had it all. Take a look at this. Rookie J.R. Hildebrand was leading on the final lap when that happened. Suddenly, crashed and that allowed Dan Wheldon to take the checkered flag.
ROMANS (voice-over): It's his second Indy 500 win and Dan Wheldon joins us from Indianapolis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Good morning, and congratulations. I guess, it is proof that every single turn, every single mile, every single lap really counts?
DAN WHELDON, INDY 500 WINNER: Yes. That's what's fantastic about the Indianapolis 500, it's so unpredictable. It's the biggest sporting event in the world.
It's certainly the biggest motor race in the world and I'm very happy to be a two-time winner especially this year with it being the 100th anniversary of the race itself. So it was a great day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS (voice-over): Take us through that final moment, at what point did you know you had it?
WHELDON (voice-over): Well, that's a good point. I actually was trying to -- I was overtaking a car through turn four myself, a lap car, and the team had told me on the radio to make sure that I didn't let up because the chances of J.R. running out of gas towards the finish line were incredibly high. He was on a different fuel strategy to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHELDON: And, you know, as I cleared that car that I was overtaking I noticed that just in the corner of my eye he had got up in the gray and made contact with the outside retaining wall.
At that point, I just focused on making sure that I didn't get caught up in any of the debris, made sure that he didn't come back across the track in front of me.
And then, you know, I just drove that Honda Indy car across the line like I stole it. I wasn't letting up until I saw either the caution or the checkered flag.
ROMANS: It must be when you're running a race like this, you can't get overly confident. I mean, what does it feel like, those last laps when you're so close? You just don't know what's going to happen. WHELDON: Well, I have to tell you, with 20 laps to go, there was a couple of different strategies different drivers and different teams were playing out and for me, it was incredibly important to make sure that I really maximized the potential at the race car in every one of those laps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHELDON (voice-over): It's incredibly intense around this racetrack. We're doing speeds in excess of 220 miles an hour. With this race you never know what can happen. It's about staying focused and you really don't ever let off the power unless you have to and you know that's what I wanted to do yesterday and that's what I did. Fortunately, I was able to drink milk in victory lane.
ROMANS (voice-over): I was going to say, we have video of you drinking that milk. I was expecting a spray of champagne but this is a long time tradition at the Indy 500, right?
WHELDON: Well, that's what makes the Indianapolis 500 so great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHELDON: There's, you know, a very rich history and there's fantastic traditions. That's certainly one of them, but it was a very emotional day for me for many reasons. Just proud to be driving the car and getting it in victory lane for what was a very special day for a lot of people.
ROMANS: You mentioned emotional reasons. You're raising awareness for Alzheimer's. Your mother was recently diagnosed. That was on your mind as well?
WHELDON: Yes. I'm truly honored and privileged to represent the Alzheimer's association. Obviously it's, you know, touched myself and my family. I'm very close with my family it's like I say an honor and privilege to represent them.
And for me to get the word throughout, there's a lot more people diagnosed with the Alzheimer's disease than, perhaps, people think certainly because we're living longer now. To get that word out there, to raise awareness.
And hopefully, you know, maybe we can with this awareness we can raise more funding for potential cures would be very, very special. My thoughts and prayers are with everybody out there that has the disease and those loved ones that surround that person.
CHO: Dan Wheldon, congratulations. We wish you all the best. To do it, on the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500, wow. What a special win. So we congratulate you and thank you for joining us.
WHELDON: Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
CHO: A great guy. ROMANS: Really. And nice he's dedicating this to raising awareness to Alzheimer's, a disease that quite frankly affects every race fan, must know somebody in their family.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING," from the battlefield to the work place. Why American veterans are struggling to find work and what we can do about it.
Do you think Sarah Palin will run for president? It's our question of the day. We want to hear your opinion. We're getting some e-mails and tweets so feel free to join in the conversation, cnn.com/am if you e-mail us, tweet @cnnam or tell us on Facebook, facebook.com/americanmorning. We will read some of your responses next.
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ROMANS: Sarah Palin's "One Nation" bus tour has begun. And while no one has actually seen the bus, the former Alaska governor was seen in Washington yesterday all decked out in leather on a Harley attending a Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally and discussing tattoos with bikers.
CHO: But she is not discussing her plans for 2012, not yet anyway. So we want to know what you think. Is she going to run for the GOP presidential nomination?
We're getting lots of responses including this one, John Moody on Facebook. "I sure hope so. We need a real change."
ROMANS: And Scott Miner tells us on Facebook, "I pray that she runs. She's very smart, very committed and a great woman."
CHO: @jaypie612 (ph) on Twitter, "I hope Palin does run. It will help Obama win a second term. She's the female Trump, another unqualified reality TV actor."
Ouch.
ROMANS: And DuShawn on Facebook reached out to say to us to say basically the same thing, "The best thing for President Obama is Palin running."
CHO: And keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail, a Tweet or tell us on Facebook. We will read more of your thoughts throughout the morning.
ROMANS: OK, still to come, we're going to check your Memorial Day grilling forecast with our legendary griller, Rob Marciano.
CHO: And stay tuned for a sneak peek at a new CNN special that's airing next week. CNN contributor Steve Perry is giving one family an education make-over. He will join us at 8:00 a.m. to talk about it.
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CHO: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your Memorial Day.
President Obama is hosting a breakfast at the White House for families who have lost loved ones in war. Then he heads to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns.
Tens of thousands of people are without power in Michigan and Illinois after another round of powerful storms. Hundreds of flights out of O'Hare canceled with more cancellations expected today.
Germany announcing plans to close every single one of its nuclear power plants by the year 2022. Government officials say renewable energy will take its place as they ramp up investments in energy research.
One third of U.S. high school students entering college need some sort of remedial or developmental course in English or math. That's according to a report published by the policy Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington.
Politics, a big part of this Memorial Day. Sarah Palin's commemorating the day with a stop in historic Gettysburg. Michele Bachmann's in New Hampshire, and presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty will be attending a pancake breakfast in Iowa.
And the top beach in America? Siesta Key near Sarasota, Florida. That's according to Dr. Beach, also known as Florida International professor Steven Leatherman. He says Siesta Key's almost 40 acres of pure quartz crystal sand is like sugar. Beautiful.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. After the break, job help for our veterans. Get your pen and paper handy. We've got some ideas for you. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
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ROMANS: On this Memorial Day, more than 2,500 Boy Scouts paying tribute to those who died fighting for our freedom. Over the weekend, they placed an American flag at each of the 138,000 grave sites at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Francisco.
CHO: This morning, there are new calls to help veterans suffering from PTSD, that's posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. And there, of course, a lot of them out of work and they're looking for work. U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli says the number of soldiers with mental health issues has jumped from 30 percent to 65 percent in just the past two and a half years.
And on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," he, along with Washington Senator Patty Murray stressed the importance of making sure these veterans are taken care of.
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SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON : If we don't make sure that we help those men and women who are coming home today get a job, help with their physical and mental injuries, get through the benefits claim process, 20 years from now, our country will have on its conscience a high number of veterans who we've lost because of suicide, who are homeless on the streets, and who have been lost and I don't want to see that happen.
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ROMANS: Senator Patty Murray, she's actually sponsoring a bill that would give tax breaks -- if it's passed -- it would give tax breaks to companies to help them hire veterans, to make it worth their while to hire veterans.
To give you a better idea of the battle our veterans face finding work, our national unemployment rate is nine percent. For post-9/11 veterans, it was 11.5 percent last year, and for male veterans between the age of 18 and 24, it's 21.9 percent. This video we're showing you is from a career expo here in New York for vets. And some veterans told us why the job hunt has not been an easy one.
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BELINDA PICKNEY, VETERAN: Veterans are very proud individuals. They serve selflessly. So when they get out and they're looking for a job, it's hard, because, number one, we've never worked in corporate America, so we don't really know how to package ourselves, pretty much, and so we don't have the right tools to help prepare us to exit.
GABRIAL BOTTERO, VETERAN: Personally, as a veteran, I thought it would be easier, because we have veteran's preference. For example, government jobs, I thought it'd be easier to get one, and right now, haven't been too lucky.
SHANNON MIAN, VETERAN: Trying to break into that private sector now has become a challenge, with someone like myself that had to spend time rehabilitating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sometimes it's just learning how to speak the language of corporate America, taking your professionalism and your discipline and translating that into corporate jobs.
There are some job resources for veterans, some great web sites out there to make you aware of. Woundedwarriorproject.org, Military.com, hireveterans.com, employerpartnership.org, and esgr.org.
We're going to put this full list on our web site to link you up with these great job resources. There's great resources for career intervention for everyone in my new book, "Smart is the New Rich."
But, Alina, what's really important here is to take those things that make someone a really great soldier and figure out how to translate that into the workplace, to say, look, discipline and professionalism, results, this is what I get in the Military, this is what I can give to you in corporate America. CHO: But when you look at those numbers you pointed out earlier so aptly, you know, when you look at -- it's tough, and how do you get people to sign up to join the armed forces when they're looking at the at the other end?
ROMANS: Right.
CHO: It can be a challenge and so definitely good resources to go to.
ROMANS: And we'll link those up on the blog so everyone can see those again.
CHO: Top stories, minutes away. Also, former NFL stars and our nation's wounded warriors back from their voyage up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the fourth tallest mountain in the world. Not everyone made it to the top talk. We will talk with former Eagles star Chad Lewis live about this adventure.
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