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American Morning
Business Travel Bad For Your Health; Fee For "Call Of Duty" Perks; Energy Drinks & Kids Don't Mix; Cyber War is War; The Fight Against Diabetes
Aired May 31, 2011 - 07:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Cyber-war is war, period.
I'm Christine Romans.
A report this morning that the Pentagon may consider targeting foreign hackers the good-old-fashioned way -- with bombs.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
A congressman from New York now on the defensive as he explains how a lewd photo was sent to a young woman in Seattle from his Twitter account. Anthony Weiner on how he was hacked, ahead.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
With Mexican drug cartel shooting it up outside her school, a teacher turns to Barney and Friends to keep people safe. Now, the whole world is seeing this hero in action on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Good morning, everyone. It's Tuesday, May 31st. The last day of May. Thankfully.
CHETRY: Yes, and we're dealing with a heat wave in many cities in the country.
ROMANS: You could see record heat or within a few degrees of record heat. We'll have more about that for you --
VELSHI: Yes. Hot all around after a long and dreary spring.
We begin this hour with breaking news. A deadly tour bus crash on Interstate 95 in Caroline County, Virginia.
CHETRY: Four people are dead, CNN has been able to confirm. It happened just shortly before 5:00 this morning at the 103 mile marker, this is north of Richmond. There's some of the first pictures that we're getting courtesy of our ABC affiliate, WJLA.
We're told that in addition to the fatalities, there are numerous injuries. I mean, you see the bus completely flipped over. It somehow veered off the right side of the highway, overturned on to its roof and still, as we speak, victims are being transported to hospitals in Richmond, as well as Fredericksburg, Virginia. The northbound lanes of I-95 shut down while investigators deal with the scene.
VELSHI: The Pentagon is laying out a warning to the rest of the world: hacking is an act of war.
ROMANS: The "Wall Street Journal" reporting that the military has its first ever cyber-warfare strategy and conventional weapons are on the table.
Chris Lawrence is live for us at the Pentagon this morning.
And, Chris, this has been something that over the past few years, strategists have really tried to -- struggled with what the response -- the appropriate response should be if another government tries to attack the U.S. on a big cyber-attack.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And, I mean, we have spoken to Pentagon officials and also intelligence officials over the past year or two who have said just that, Christine, that, you know, when you look at attacks like this, sometimes it can be hard to determine exactly where it came from and where some of the attacks are coming from and then also to gauge the amount of damage.
So, what the journalists now are reporting is the Pentagon is trying to come up or has come up with some sort of a doctrine in which it would sort of lay out how to respond to these attacks. But this is significant, because this is saying: if the United States is attacked by computers or in a cyber-attack, then it would retain the ability to respond with conventional military force. In other words, you hacked, we bomb. That's a simplistic way of putting it.
And there would be a lot of things that have to be worked out, including, I think the most important, would be: how do you respond in kind to a cyber-attack. In other words, what would be appropriate level of response if, say, the United States was hit. It could be an attack on our nuclear power facilities. It could be attack on our grid system -- any number of things.
CHETRY: Always paint those worst-case scenarios. But what about cyber-attacks that have already happened?
LAWRENCE: There has been so many. I mean, Kiran, you know, I mean, from the civilian road, you've got the attacks that were launched, you know, supposedly in the name of retaliation against the prosecution of the folks involved with WikiLeaks. You know, you saw MasterCard, you saw Google, you saw a lot of these big companies hit by these cybercriminals.
And on the other side, you know, even the U.S. government is not immune. Back in 2008, the Pentagon itself was breached by a cyber- attack. Probably, I think, most famous in the last few years has been this Stuxnet virus. It has been talked about in a lot of the tech circles. This is the virus that basically setback Iran's nuclear program and invaded Iran's computers there. It hit a lot of countries. But that was probably the one everyone keyed on. And it's still an open question exactly who initiated that virus. CHETRY: Chris Lawrence for us this morning from the Pentagon, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. Meantime, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner says a racy photo sent from his Twitter account to a young female college student in Seattle, this is a work of a computer hacker. This was a prank. The story was broken by the Web site BigGovernment.com, run by controversial conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart.
CHETRY: The 21-year-old woman who got the tweet says that she follows the congressman on Twitter and that she is a big fan, but she's never met him. Weiner spoke with CNN last night, saying the photo of a scantily dressed man was not sent by him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I was hacked. It happens to people. You move on.
This is a prank, not a terribly creative one. And it's a distraction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, it's not clear who may actually have hacked the congressman's Twitter account. A spokesman for Weiner says that he's retained an attorney to look into the matter further.
VELSHI: Former presidential candidate, John Edwards, could be indicted this week if he doesn't reach a plea deal with prosecutors first. A federal grand jury has been investigating Edwards for allegedly using campaign funds to cover up an extramarital affair. Sources tell CNN the Justice Department is prepared to issue an indictment this week.
ROMANS: And one of college football's more respected figures, Ohio State head football coach, Jim Tressel, has resigned. His decision to step down coming just days after a "Sports Illustrated" article detailed alleged ethics violations under his watch dating back eight years. Tressel says he is leaving Ohio State for the good of the university.
His troubles began when the NCAA began investigating several of his Buckeyes players for selling memorabilia to a local tattoo parlor owner. That is against NCAA rules. Tressel admits he knew about the violations last year and failed to report it.
CHETRY: Well, this morning, we are hearing about another alleged sexual assault on a hotel maid in New York City reportedly by another high-profile financier. The NYPD arrested 74-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar in connection with the alleged attack. Police say he is accused of sexually assaulting a 44-year-old maid at the Pierre Hotel Sunday night.
Now, Omar is reportedly the former head of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria and is now the head of a major salt producer. This comes as the ex- chief of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, awaits trial on charges of attempted rape and sexual assault on a hotel maid at the Sofitel in New York.
VELSHI: New developments this morning as officials in Japan try to contain a nuclear disaster at the Daiichi power station in Fukushima. A powerful explosion was heard earlier this morning at the facility. It happened when robots were being used to haul away wreckage from the plant's number four reaction.
Power officials believe one of the robots may have punctured an underground gas tank. They say no one was hurt. And radiation levels didn't increase.
ROMANS: In Yemen, some of the worst violence since the political crisis began there months ago.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
ROMANS: Sharpshooters firing at citizens in the city of Taiz. Medics there say security forces killed two more protesters this morning.
The U.N. says 50 people have now died in that city since Sunday. This comes after an entire protest camp in the city was crushed by tanks, set on fire according to witnesses -- set on fire with people still inside.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) Moammar Gadhafi makes an appearance as NATO says that his days in power are coming to an end. Gadhafi met with South Africa's president supposedly to discuss a cease-fire with rebel fighters. His public appearances, though, have been more rare in recent weeks as NATO steps up bombing runs on his compound.
VELSHI: And there are some signs that Gadhafi is losing his grip on power. Italian government says that eight Libyan generals and more than 100 soldiers have defected to Italy after crossing Libya's border with Tunisia.
ROMANS: And a disturbing story we're learning more about the horrors of some Egyptian women that they enjoyed during a government crackdown there by the old regime. A senior Egyptian general is now admitting that some of the abuse did take place. A report in Amnesty International said that female demonstrators were beaten, they were given electric shocks, they were strip-searched, they were threatened with prostitution charges and forced to submit to virginity checks at the time the government said this was preposterous and did not happen.
Now, an Egyptian general is saying no, it did happen to women protesters. So, those women -- the claims from those women indeed turn out to be true.
CHETRY: Very horrific.
We're getting a look at some unbelievable video this morning from Mexico.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
CHETRY: It's a school teacher trying to calm her kindergarten class while a gun battle rages outside of the classroom. As you can see, the video is a little bit grainy, but she got all the kids down on the ground. She had them singing a Barney song to distract them.
Thirty-three-year-old Martha Rivera Alanis taped the scene in her classroom. Now, it'd been viewed on YouTube more than a million times. Authorities in Monterrey honored her for showing outstanding civil courage. She says all teachers in the Monterrey area are trained to deal with those kind of situations. She never imagined, though, that the video would become such a hit.
VELSHI: And in between now and tomorrow, a lot of Americans are going to experience extreme weather firsthand. Take a look at the live radar right now. Severe thunderstorms will continue to rumble through the Midwest today before heading into the Northeast tomorrow, dozens of cities from New England all the way to Texas could get record- breaking heat between now and Thursday.
Let's go to Rob Marciano. He's in the weather center for us with this.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Thank you. We had a little club music going on in the background.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: (INAUDIBLE) got to turn it off.
A little rock 'n roll heading across parts of Michigan today. Severe weather threat exists from Storm Prediction Center. This is the same area that had the storms that rolled through over the weekend. So, be on high alert. If you are traveling through Chicago or Detroit, just be aware of that.
The other thing is east of this front, it's going to be hot. And I think you guys mentioned this coming in today. Ninety-four for the high temperature in Memphis, 88 in Chicago. That's not going to be record.
They were near record-breaking yesterday. It was really hot. It felt really hot because of the humidity as well. It will continue to be the case going forward.
Check out this video from New South Wales, Australia. Amazing waterspout here. And when we go close, look at the way that thing is spiraling, all right? You only see that in the southern hemisphere, my friends. That sucker is going clockwise.
Up here in the northern hemisphere, most of our tornadoes go the opposite direction. Nonetheless, a spectacular sight. This is just the coast of suburban Sydney. And there's double waterspout. There are two of them at the same time.
Sydney, itself, was experiencing some severe cyclone that was producing some heavy rains and flash floods there. And, obviously, they continued off of the coast. The tornadoes and water spouts pretty much the same thing. I mean, in some cases, they form differently. But, nonetheless, have the same effect.
They look a lot prettier guys because instead of debris and all the other stuff that comes with the tornado making -- being on land, when it is sucking up water, it just looks a little bit less threatening and more beautiful.
Back to you guys in New York.
CHETRY: Just some perplex little fish.
MARCIANO: Fish aren't too excited.
CHETRY: And boats should stay clear. But other than that, it is amazing to see.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Stay away from energy drinks. The kids actually should do that, according to pediatricians. We want to know what you think. Should energy drinks be regulated? Some new warnings coming out from kids' doctors about the dangers of energy drink.
E-mail us at CNN.com/AM. Give us a tweet @CNNAM. Or tell us on Facebook, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. We'll read some of them a little later on the show.
ROMANS: Also, do you travel for work? What is life on the road like? And what is it doing to American workers' health? You might be surprised what your health looks like if you're a road warrior.
VELSHI: Yes. I might want to skip that one. I don't want to know. It looks like I may be on the road a lot.
Hey, Representative Steve Israel, a Democrat from Long Island, we are going to talk to him. He's going to be here on the other side. We're going to talk to him about this debt ceiling debate that's going on and other matters having to do with politics in this country when we come back.
It's 10 minutes after hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That's a beautiful shot but you may want to stay inside and enjoy it today, because Washington, D.C, is right now partly cloudy. It also means partly sunny and 81. Later on, sunny and 92.
VELSHI: I don't see a cloud in the sky.
CHETRY: I know. It must be cloudy somewhere else. It's certainly in the Capitol.
VELSHI: Yes, behind the cameraman.
ROMANS: That's the kind of sunshine in Washington we like, I guess. But it means you could get sunburned.
So, Congress back to work this morning. And today, the House expected to introduce a vote against a bill to raise the federal debt ceiling.
VELSHI: Now, the Republicans are holding the vote in the first place to prove that raising the debt ceiling isn't going to passion without conditions like spending cuts.
CHETRY: Those cuts the Republican leadership says must come from Medicare. Here's a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: I can assure you, David, that to get my vote to raise the debt ceiling for whatever that's worth, my one vote, Medicare will be a part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Joining us now from New York is Democratic Congressman Steve Israel. He is the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Welcome. Good to have you with us.
REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Great to be with you.
CHETRY: So, you know, it's an ideological argument at some point that we can't continue to borrow if we aren't promising at least to make some future cuts. So, does the GOP have a point there?
ISRAEL: Well, look, everybody agrees that our levels of debt and deficit are unsustainable. This is a choice. This is -- if you are going to reduce debt, are you going to do it on the backs of middle class Americans or are you going to ask the wealthiest of the wealthy to do a little sacrifice?
What the Republicans are saying is, we got this debt and we want to reduce it by ending Medicare. But we are still willing to fund tax cuts for big oil companies. Under their budget, we can reduce debt. If you're a millionaire, if you're making over $1 million, you get a $100,000 tax cut. But if you're a senior on Medicare, you get a $6,400 increased Medicare bill.
(CROSSTALK)
ISRAEL: It ought to be balanced differently.
ROMANS: You say ending Medicare. The Republicans will say they're reforming Medicare. They're fixing Medicare so that it is there for everyone. You say they're ending Medicare. Medicare, Medicare, Medicare, Medicare. This is going to be the big, big debate as we head into this next round of elections.
ISRAEL: It should be the big debate. And of course, the republicans are going to back pedal. They're going to sidestep. They're going to flip-flop. But all you have to do is read their bill. Their bill says that, right now, if you're a senior citizen, you get sick, you go to the doctor, and right now, the federal government pays a doctor. Under their bill, if you're a senior citizen and you get sick, you get a voucher.
(CROSSTALK)
ISRAEL: And you go to the insurance company, and the insurance company decides what they're going to pay and what they're not going to pay and you get stuck with a $6,400 increased medical bill. Now, what part of that equation shouldn't concern senior citizens in United States?
VELSHI: You said we all sort of agree that our levels of deficit and debt are unsustainable, but everybody was talking in great generalities until Paul Ryan came out with this proposal, and guess what, as soon as he gets specific, Republican approval ratings start to plummet. Now, the Democrats are going to have to come back with some very specific response to it.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: The fact is, once you start telling Americans the truth about what they have to give up, they're not going to want to vote for you.
ISRAEL: Well, there's no question that we have some hard choices. And both parties have an obligation to fix this problem and to solve it. Look, the deficit, $7 trillion of the deficit was accrued under the Bush administration, $1.7 trillion accrued under the Obama administration. We both have an obligation to fix this, to do the responsible thing. The problem with the Republican plan is balances it on the middle class.
CHETRY: But what, sometimes, frustrates people is it's an either/or proposal. You guys continue to say it's tax cuts for the wealthy. They continue to say these are unsustainable social programs. I mean, at some point, there is a happy medium, right?
ISRAEL: There is a happy medium. In fact, we have supported --
CHETRY: Why can't it come out a little bit out of both?
ISRAEL: And we've done that already. Democrats supported $40 billion in spending cuts off the Obama budget.
(CROSSTALK)
ISRAEL: But we did it because we realized -- no, actually, this is when we had the majority.
CHETRY: No, I'm talking about the latest cuts. It would have been closer to $6 billion, right, if the tea party didn't sort of say that they were demanding more.
ISRAEL: We agree that there need to be some cuts. And so, why don't we do this? Why don't we say that if you're earning over a million dollars a year, you don't get $100,000 tax cut? Why don't we, instead of ending Medicare for senior citizens, why don't we direct the secretary of health and human services to negotiate volume discounts with the pharmaceutical companies?
Those are common sense cuts that we're willing to support, and we need to broaden revenues. The Republican mantra is end Medicare and do these cuts on the backs of middle class families, and it's fundamentally unfair
ROMANS: Well, they would say reform and fix Medicare because we can't afford the life we are living and the life we've lived for a long time. We were talking about a happy medium. It might have to be an unhappy medium if everyone has to give up something. It's the politics of it that start to really muck it up about what we're going to give up in what ways, shape, or form.
You know, ABC picked up on something interesting that President Clinton actually said about this, a behind-the-scenes conversation with Congressman Paul Ryan, and we're talking about a gain in New York, a win in New York on this very Medicare issue. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told them before you got here. I said I'm glad we won this race in New York, but I hope the Democrats don't use it as an excuse to do nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: This race in New York, we're talking about a New York race where a Democratic challenger beat the Republican because she said, look, they're going to cut Medicare.
ISRAEL: Well, first of all, we won that race because of huge buyer's remorse. Independents, Republicans, and Democrats may have voted for a Republican in the past, but they didn't vote for a member of Congress who was going to support the ending of Medicare. Now, with respect to President Clinton's views, I don't think that there's any disagreement with President Clinton.
We have said consistently, we will negotiate to strengthen, reform, and improve Medicare. As Democrats, we will not negotiate the end of Medicare. And we hope that the Republicans have learned from New York 26 that this is an opportunity to put an end to that policy of ending Medicare to fund tax cuts to big oil companies, come to the table, and talk about common sense steps we can achieve.
VELSHI: I like what you're saying about the oil companies and Medicare, but they don't equal out. The oil company tax cuts don't come anywhere close to Medicare, but I hear what you're saying. Congressman Israel, thanks for joining us.
ISRAEL: Thank you.
CHETRY: A lot of tough choices ahead. Thanks so much. VELSHI: And President Obama, by the way, getting a big balance in his approval ratings. Some of that has got to do with the capture of Osama Bin Laden. We'll tell you more about that when we come back.
ROMANS: And a monthly fee to play video games at home. Call of Duty, the biggest videogame franchise ever. We're going to find out if customers are willing to pay to play.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Home prices could hit a new low in the 20 largest metropolitan areas. That's according to "The New York Times." The Standard and Poors/Case-Shiller index will show existing home prices in March dipped below those lows reached two years ago.
The wear and tear of traveling for business, Ali Velshi, may be taking a toll on your health. A study from Columbia University found those who travel more than 20 nights a month were nearly 2 1/2 times more likely to be in poor health than those traveling 1-6 days a month.
The makers of the popular videogame, "Call of Duty," are planning to roll out an online service. According to "Wall Street Journal," the service will cost just a few dollars a month and give fans access to extra content like new levels of play.
The markets look into start the trade in week in the green (ph). Right now, futures, the Dow, NASDAQ, S&P 500, all up as investigators wait for new information on home prices and consumer confidence.
The "L.A. Times" is reporting Americans last year put $9 billion into government Run College saving plans. This thing known as 529 plans. That's up from 5 billion in 2008. Experts say one reason for the pick-up, parents fear their kids won't be able to pay for college.
Coming up in a little more than ten minutes, listen up, grads, want to land that job, should you wear a nose ring to the interview? We'll talk to author, Ellen Reeds (ph) about what college grads need to do and not do to get an edge during interview? AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Beautiful sunny sky in Philadelphia this morning. It is 80 degrees right now. Wow. It's 8:30 and 80 degrees. It's going up to 89 in Philly later today.
ROMANS: Beautiful, right? Nice and sunny.
VELSHI: Beautiful, hot.
CHETRY: It's going to be very hot.
VELSHI: Yes. It's going to be hot here, too.
CHETRY: It is. And so, what do you do when it's hot? You should drink lots of water, but oftentimes, people reach for the sports drinks. Some warnings coming out from pediatricians to watch sports drinks and also energy drinks that are pretty popular with the kids. Nation's pediatricians say these drinks really have no place in the child's diet.
Energy drinks, they say, tend to be heavily caffeinated, full of sugar, and herbal stimulants and can actually lead to high blood pressure, high heart rate, and insomnia in kids. Sports drinks like Gatorade contain sugar, and all that sugar can contribute to obesity and tooth decay, according to pediatricians. So, they say for most kids, water is the best thing to quench their thirst.
ROMANS: That's right. And specifically, the sports drinks even -- you know, don't give to your kid with a meal. I mean, they can have sports drinks when they're playing sports. Should energy drinks, though, be regulated is our question of the day. Here are some of your responses.
This one from @kaylafen (ph) who apparently knows more than the entire American Academy of Pediatrics says, "Oh, great. Something else for helicopter parents forgot as a kid. I drink Dr. Pepper like water and I survived."
So, even Dr. Pepper has nowhere near the amount of caffeine that some of these energy drinks do.
ROMANS: It's a mix of caffeine and other stimulants and sugar and other things. It's not sort of straight (ph) soda.
CHETRY: Back in the day, all we could get way with was Mountain Dew, remember? That was supposedly the most caffeinated --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Well, Marylou writes on Twitter, "Absolutely energy drinks should be regulated. I would step in front of a moving car to save my kids, would every parent? Now, (INAUDIBLE), then you can regulate it, right?
ROMANS: That's right. You can set in front of a refrigerator and make sure that the things aren't in your refrigerator.
CHETRY: Todd Hail on our blog writes, "You shouldn't feed your kid sticks of butter. Should that be regulated? Let's face it. Parents are increasingly detached from many things than a 13-year-old life and that includes the diet."
ROMANS: But I think it's an interesting point from the pediatricians that, look, because they're everywhere, you can see them all the time. Your kid cease them all the time, they think it's OK you're drinking it like it's a regular, you know, glass of water and it's not.
CHETRY: Right. And the other point that pediatricians were making is that asking about caffeine consumption should be one of the many questions they ask when kids are going for a physical. You don't even think about that. VELSHI: We want to bring you up to speed on some breaking news.
Four people are dead, victims of a tour bus crash on Interstate 95 north of Richmond on the northbound lanes of I-95. It happened shortly before 5:00 this morning, look at these pictures coming in. This is at the 103 mile marker north of Richmond on I-95.
We are told there are numerous injuries. The bus veered off the side of the road, overturned on the roof. You can see it on the left side of the screen. The northbound lanes of I-95 are shut down while investigators worked the scene. The southbound lanes are unaffected because there is a wooded median between the north and southbound lanes.
Fighting cyber-war with conventional war, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that the Pentagon has put together the first formal cyber- strategy that leaves the door open for the military to response with traditional force if a computer attack comes from another country.
And New York Congressman Anthony Weiner says a hacker used his twitter account to send a lewd photo to a young female college student in Seattle. He's calling it a bad prank and suggests it might be politically motivated. The story was broken over the weekend by a controversial conservative blogger.
CHETRY: A bounce for president Obama after the death of Osama bin Laden. His approval rating is up six points since early April after the raid to 54 percent.
ROMANS: The numbers show that he has Republicans to thank for that. Ed Henry live at the White House, good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You are right, a 12- point bounce among Republicans for the president. Why would that be? If you look at his numbers on terrorism, which has traditionally been more favorable for Americans, his numbers are way up. He is clearly getting some kind of a bounce here.
Look at this, his handling of terrorism. Our latest poll shows a 65 percent approval among all voters. And even on taxes the president has a 46 percent approval rating, only a 53 percent disapproval rating. Why is that significant? Traditionally, a very good issue for Republicans. It is close to a 50/50 split for this president. It should goes what you noted, among Republican voters, this president doing better in the wake of the bin Laden raid, and also maybe the fact that he doesn't have an opponent yet.
VELSHI: How big of a deal is that, among Republicans and conservatives? They don't have somebody clearly carved out in that field. Once they have somebody emerging as a clear-cut challenger, could that change and take away some popularity?
HENRY: I think so. The president in Europe had the international stage all to himself while the news about the Republicans are like, look, why are all these top tier guys getting out and not getting into the race? When you look beyond the headline of the poll numbers, on handling the economy, approval 41 percent, disapproval, 58 percent. On gas prices, 25 percent approval, 73 percent disapproval. So once the Republicans figure things out on their side, once they have a nominee down the road, if the economy and the jobs picture is still bleak, this president is going to be vulnerable.
Right now, he is riding high on national security and the handling of terrorism after bin Laden. Republicans have a muddled field. He is doing pretty well.
ROMANS: When he does have a challenger or opponent, maybe that will be Sarah Palin.
CHETRY: We don't know that but she is kicking off day three of her one-nation bus tour. The former Alaska governor visited some of the country's biggest landmarks, including George Washington's home in Mt. Vernon.
ROMANS: She is still keeping everyone guessing about whether she will run in 2012, but she says there is still plenty of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, (R) FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: The Republican field is already quite strong. It is going to change up a lot. More strong candidates will be jumping in. There is still a lot of time for folks to make up their mind and jump in and get their campaigns together. The field isn't set yet, not by a long shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: It sure looks like a route that a presidential candidate might take. She was in and around the nation's capital, Fort McHenry and Baltimore and Gettysburg and headed to Philly and possibly Iowa. If she gets to Iowa, I think we can say that.
ROMANS: Sarah Palin or no Sarah Palin, on Monday, June 13th CNN will host the Republican presidential debate.
We are going to be talking to Ellen Reeves, an author that wrote "Can I wear my nose ring to the interview?" It's 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: I am pleased to report that the class of 2011 is walking into something college grads haven't seen in years, an improved job market.
VELSHI: Companies say they are going to hire 19 percent more graduates this year compared to last year. There is also less competition. The number of applications per job opening has fallen from 41 per job to 21 per job.
CHETRY: Does that mean less applicants or more jobs or a combination of both?
ROMANS: You have to beat out 20 people for a job.
CHETRY: If you are a college graduate, how do you stand up in the field? Ellen Reeves is the author of "Can I wear my nose ring to the interview?"
ELLEN REEVES, AUTHOR, "CAN I WEAR MY NOSE RIGHT OT HE INTERVIEW": This is a question that my students have asked me.
ROMANS: The answer is?
REEVES: Everyone has a nose ring but they are not on air. It depends on what you are applying for.
ROMANS: Know your audience. Something the average 21-year-old does not know. If in doubt, leave it out.
REEVES: Don't leave it out. Go to the interview, get hired and put it back in and wonder why they are not taking you on client calls.
VELSHI: One of the things that you view is really important is not just looking for a job that's out there but finding a person that can connect you to that job. Explain that.
REEVES: Exactly, because 80 percent of all jobs exist in what we call exist in the hidden job market. So you have to stop looking for a job and start looking for a person. Your job is not in your house, your apartment or your parent's basement.
ROMANS: It is pointless to do the mass mailing of resume?
REEVES: You are using 100 percent of your time to get 20 percent of the jobs. You have more chance if you get out there, have internships.
ROMANS: It is a distraction.
REEVES: And it is depressing. If you are sending your resume hurdling into the black void of cyberspace, it is depressing. You have to be out there.
VELSHI: How do you do that?
REEVES: Internships or a temp job in a company or industry which you are interested, volunteer, talk to the people on the bus. Be out there, connecting with people, sharpening your classes.
ROMANS: The gap on the resume is something you have mentioned before. If you have an internship, it ends, you have nothing and nothing and you have to take a class and do something. You have to volunteer to fill it up so you can tell a hiring pan jury what you have been doing.
REEVES: You show you are always active, you are always out there, taking initiative, at the top of your game.
CHETRY: There is a debate going on about old school versus new school in terms of how much of your private life is out there on the internet. These Facebook pages and e-mail accounts -- so do you need to sort of clean up your cyber world or do employers in this day and age realize kids operate in a different world of sharing, in this world of social media sharing that is just different from what we did?
REEVES: It is different. I am still old school. I believe you have to clean up your professional persona if you want to distinguish yourself in this economy. Even if the numbers are a little better, it is not great. So you have to have that professional edge and show that you care and that you know what a professional persona is.
ROMANS: First name dot last name at something.com, it doesn't mean I raise horses. It also means the picture, the sorority pictures, you don't want a higher manager to see that.
REEVES: It has become a professional space. It might be your social media, but the reality is employers are looking.
ROMANS: Can they start a linked in profile?
REEVES: You can manage your social media image and you to have do that.
ROMANS: Scrub the pictures, kids, don't have a stupid e-mail address.
REEVES: Ellen Reeves is the author of "Can I wear my nose ring to the interview?"
ROMANS: And the answer is no.
(LAUGHTER)
All right, confidence may be returning to Wall Street. They sold away in May and went away.
VELSHI: It's 43 minutes after the hour. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 44 minutes past the hour. A look at your headlines this morning.
Four people killed and many other injuries when a commercial tour bus veered off of I-95 and overturned north of Richmond, Virginia. We are getting reports of numerous injuries. The northbound lanes of I-95 shut down for hours while investigators continue to figure out what happened to help those wounded.
ROMANS: The Pentagon reportedly drawing up its first cyber-war strategy, saying hacking is an act of war. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting that the military could retaliate with conventional weapons if a computer attack comes from another country.
Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York says it was an unknown hacker who sent a lewd photo to a young woman in Seattle from his Twitter account. Weiner calls it a bad prank and says he's hired an attorney to investigate. Officials in Joplin, Missouri say the number of people still unaccounted for after last week's deadliest U.S. tornado is down to 29. Originally, more than 200 people were listed as missing. The number of deaths stands at 142.
The markets open in 45 minutes. Right now, the Dow futures are up nearly 100 points. The Nasdaq and S&P, well, actually those pictures are showing the close. But we're telling you that futures are up right now as investors wait for new information on home prices and consumer confidence.
And the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks tip-off tonight in game one of the NBA championship series. It's a rematch of the 2006 final. The Heat won that series in six after dropping the first two games and they didn't have LeBron James at the time.
All right, you're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING will back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Seventy-six degrees, it's a beautiful morning in Atlanta.
(CROSSTALK)
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: But it's going to be a big, bake (ph) and switch.
ROMANS: If we could only stay just like this in Atlanta all day. But oh no it will be sunny and 94 later this afternoon. We know it's going to be some record high.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I know.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: -- it's close to record heat in a lot of places.
CHETRY: I mean, boy it's going to be a scorcher. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, guys. Not only in Atlanta but a lot of other spots where the east of the Mississippi is where temperatures are going to be more like I don't know, middle to end of July or the end of March, end of May here. And we're looking at temperatures. They are going to be in the upper 90s in some spots. We had records yesterday that were -- one was in the 90s as well.
Severe storms expected across parts of the lower Great Lakes today. Michigan, which got hammered on Sunday with severe weather -- and this is going to be where the bull's eye is today. Right now the thunderstorms that are -- that caused severe weather yesterday in Nebraska, 20 reports of tornadoes there. That's pushing off to the east about to get in Chicago in the next three or four hours. And that's where you'll see your delays for travel today. Over an hour expected in Chicago eventually, once those storms get in there. Minneapolis, 30 to 60-minute delays. The good news with the Chicago storms is that it will help cool down what was a really, really chill -- a hot day yesterday.
88 degrees is the expected high temperature for the Chicago land area; 94 expected in Memphis; 93 in Atlanta; and 84 degrees in New York. Heat advisories out for D.C., Baltimore and Detroit.
In other spots, other urban areas, we are looking at some air quality issues, so not only today but tomorrow. And look at the big, bright, magenta red there; 96 degrees is expected in Atlanta and 99 degrees is expected in Jackson tomorrow. And then -- getting up in over the century mark as we go through Jackson itself.
Heading to the beach now we've got some jelly fish issues but -- so maybe the safer place to go is to the mountains. I mean come on, they've got so much snow, they are going to be skiing on to July fourth in places like Aspen, which is where this video is taken. Squaw Valley also expected to open up on July 4th.
So not a bad way to spend the Memorial Day weekend there. They had twice as much snow at the top of Aspen Mountain as they did January 1st. So amazing amounts of snow the past few months that have fallen. And you know, just put on some suntan lotion in some cases, some folks are wearing the swim trunks and just kind of cruise down the slopes is one way to stay cool in this already a record-breaking heat.
VELSHI: I'm wearing mine.
CHETRY: I'm just -- I'm just picturing Rob out there in July. You're going to be on the slopes in July. I mean, there's a good chance there still be snow up there.
MARCIANO: Yes there'll be -- there'll be snow, I mean, I've got to get out there early before it turns to marshmallow but --
ROMANS: But Rob is really in Atlanta where it's going to be 94 later this afternoon.
VELSHI: It's crazy. It is crazy.
MARCIANO: Thanks for that reality check Christine. I appreciate you.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Enjoy -- enjoy the air conditioned CNN Center Rob. Thanks very much.
MARCIANO: All right.
VELSHI: Rob was just talking about those jellyfish by the way. Let me tell you about those, up to 800 people were stung by jellyfish in central Florida over Memorial Day weekend. Swimmers from Cocoa Beach to Cape Canaveral came across -- look at them, swarms of purple jellyfish. None of the stings are believed to be serious --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: It's irritating.
VELSHI: -- because, yes I mean itching and burning and rashes and--
ROMANS: We got a couple of people who went to the hospital with them with some respiratory problems --
VELSHI: Kiran you're -- you're a bit of a jellyfish expert.
CHETRY: I feel like I have been stung no matter where I have been, from Jamaica to New York Beach.
VELSHI: Maine.
CHETRY: Yes. I tried to -- it's highly uncomfortable.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: The moral of that story is you don't go swimming with Kiran.
CHETRY: It's the worst feeling to be, you know, A, sopping wet, freezing, a sting and then sand everywhere.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: It's not fun and then you've got to break out the meat tenderizer.
VELSHI: Better or worse than bees.
CHETRY: I would -- I would actually -- I would pick bees over a jellyfish.
VELSHI: Wow. You must really not like them.
All right, well, there are bees go ahead, there's bees around.
CHETRY: It's an invasion at one K-Mart. This is outside of Pittsburgh, check this out. It was so bad that people actually thought it was perhaps a pothole until it was buzzing.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: 15,000 of them swarming in this parking lot.
ROMANS: They thought they were looking at this pothole that was -- that was in the ground until it moved. And then, others saw it and said it was more like a cloud approaching.
VELSHI: Check out this guy. He got called in to take them away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a mini-cyclone. Because they we're going into funnel-like shape and we've got to stopped and thought it was leaves or tobacco or something. And when we got up on it, you could kind of hear them buzzing and realized it was bees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The store manager, who is allergic to bee stings apparently kept every one safe inside while experts collected all the bees. They say that swarms are common this time of the year.
CHETRY: I love how easy it is -- how these collectors know what to do, the bee keepers.
VELSHI: Oh yes.
CHETRY: They are just like come on guys.
VELSHI: I could watch bee keepers endlessly.
CHETRY: I know.
VELSHI: Because it seems like the most fun, easy job in the world.
CHETRY: Oh yes.
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE) with bees all the time.
CHETRY: Exactly.
VELSHI: All right, another side of progress by the way Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' recovery from that near fatal gunshot wound to the head back in January. Well, her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly from space, informed us that she had stitches removed yesterday. Kelly delivered the news during an interview with the shuttle "Endeavour" crew last night.
By the way he is scheduled to return to earth tomorrow.
CHETRY: All right. Well, J.R. Hildebrand could practically taste the milk in victory lane when he crashed on the final lap of Sunday's Indy 500.
VELSHI: Unbelievable.
CHETRY: I know. I mean all of that.
VELSHI: I've been watching it.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, it turns out he was trying to pass another rookie driver, Charlie Kimball, when he hit the wall. Kimball finished 13th at Indy but just getting to the (INAUDIBLE) is a major victory for Kimball.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has his story in this morning's "Human Factor". (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHARLIE KIMBALL, RACE CAR DRIVER: Growing up, I wanted to race professionally. I wanted to race in the Indianapolis 500.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is 10.9 seconds behind the race leader.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This year, Charlie Kimball finally fulfilled his dream. In order to get here, though, he had to overcome a big hurdle.
You see, four years ago, he was told he had diabetes. So Kimball took time to figure out how to cope with his diagnosis and figure out if he could race with diabetes, something Indy car officials said was a first.
To qualify for these races, he not only had to be fast, he had to be healthy.
KIMBALL: If I go to high, my reaction time is slow and I'm not competitive. If I go too low, I get lightheaded. Go low enough, I could pass out and cause an accident.
GUPTA: His diabetes led him to a sponsor, the maker of his insulin pump. Kimball's pit crew consists of mechanics, engineers and his doctor. He has to make sure his body is ready along with his car, which now has special equipment.
KIMBALL: I wear a continuous glucose monitor, which is a sensor that I have on my body. It reads blood glucose and wirelessly transmits to a pager-like display that I have Velcro to the steering wheel.
GUPTA: And he has a backup system designed by his father just in case.
KIMBALL: I have a drink bottle mounted in the car, fill it with orange juice which is full of sugar. The tube runs into my helmet. Without having to take my hands off my steering wheel, I can drink that orange juice, bring my sugars up and I don't have to stop.
GUPTA: Kimball is determined to get the message out that diabetes doesn't have to stand in the way of your dreams.
KIMBALL: I am living proof you can do almost anything you want in life with diabetes. You can even drive a race car a couple of hundred miles an hour.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Well, there is the Chicago River there.
ROMANS: It's my favorite time of the year in Chicago.
VELSHI: It's beautiful. Well, I guess -- (CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Every shot we've taken today --
VELSHI: I was there on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and Monday and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were rainy and cold and now, it's crazy hot. It's 78 degrees right now in Chicago. Going up to 87 with storms and wind again.
CHETRY: Yesterday was a pretty strange day, actually. We had thunderstorm -- at least from the East Coast. Crazy lightning and thunderstorms in the morning, cleared up, beautiful, sunny.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: In the meantime, stay away from energy drinks. That's what doctors say for children. According to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, energy drinks contain big amounts of caffeine and other stimulants that can cause a variety of health problems in kids, high blood pressure, high heart rate and insomnia.
CHETRY: For our question of the day, should they be regulated? Right now, they're not. Here are some of your responses this morning.
From Facebook, Shelly Lloyd, "It doesn't matter because whatever parents don't like, the kids are going to want even more.
ROMANS: Chelsea (INAUDIBLE) in Twitter, Energy drinks for kids should be banned. They lead to an early addiction to caffeine that continue this to adulthood.
VELSHI: And this one on our blog, "Why do kids need energy drinks at all. Government regulated or not, their bodies produce so much energy normally, what's the point. It's a ridiculous argument. Parents should do their jobs so government can focus on -- let's see -- their jobs."
ROMANS: It's a good point. How do you bottle a little kid's energy and sell it to the rest of us.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Although this 16-year-old that wrote in to us said, "Hey, you give us eight hours of homework, we are bogged down. We don't get enough sleep. How are we supposed to function?
CHETRY: I think the point of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that they think that maybe people don't realize these things are ubiquitous. It doesn't mean they're good for a kid --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Two glasses of low-fat milk and water.
CHETRY: That's what you can have every day
ROMANS: And good luck with that.
CHETRY: Our local high school, right by a Starbucks. Forget it. The line's around the block.
VELSHI: No fun as a parent.
No your kids will be healthy just a little Missing fun.
Thanks for all your great comments on that, however. It definitely falls into two categories. There are people who think it is not for the government to be interfering in those things and other -- those are things parents should take to heart.
ROMANS: I might not be fun but I do believe everything in moderation.
VELSHI: There you go. Not very exciting.
CHETRY: One Red Bull a week. That's it for her kid.
ROMANS: That's it for us on AMERICAN MORNING today. We're going to be back tomorrow bright and early. Meantime "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts right now.
Hey Carol.
