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American Morning
Endeavour Completes Final Mission; Lewd Photo Fallout; Making Science Sexy; Chef Turns Profits in Food for Poor
Aired June 01, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: They have questions, he has no answers.
I'm Christine Romans.
New York's Congressman Anthony Wiener losing it with reporters. It's the latest fallout from a lewd photo sent from his Twitter account to a female college student.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Cell phones and cancer.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
This morning, new questions about the safety of cell phones after world health experts say they might increase your risk of brain cancer.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And only one more shuttle mission to go.
I'm Ali Velshi.
Space shuttle Endeavour is now home and will never fly again on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right. Good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Wednesday, June 1st and there's one more mission but this one will never happen.
VELSHI: Right. I always planned I could do it.
There's one more shuttle mission. Space shuttle Endeavor, though, coming in for a perfect landing to end an era. After traveling more than 122 million miles over 25 flights, the shuttle Endeavor landed safely overnight at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is always beautiful when that happens.
CHETRY: I know. Just dramatic pictures and knowing we are seeing that for the last time.
And as it was touching down, Atlantis was rolling out for the final, final flight in the history of the space shuttle program.
John Zarrella is live for us at Kennedy Space Center.
Certainly, bittersweet for a lot of people. I mean, this is very sad, especially because we wonder, you know, what's next. How are we going to space now?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, you know, it's sad from an economic standpoint probably much as anything here at the Kennedy Space Center where 6,000 to 8,000 workers who have spent the better part of their lives on the space shuttle program are going to be out of work. That's the bottom line. And that's just one of the realties of this program basically being over in about a month and a half.
It's hard to believe we're saying a month and a half. But that's it, when the last shuttle flies in July. But last night, this morning, very early in the morning, 2:35 Eastern Time, a very grand and glorious return to Earth by the space shuttle Endeavour, making that approach to the Kennedy Space Center.
And you can see with the thermal imaging cameras still, you know, white hot from re-entering the Earth's atmosphere there, the underbelly of the shuttle's tiles, and then the touch down and flaring out over the runway and the parachute coming out.
Of course, after the shuttle Endeavour came to a complete stop, the crew did get out and they walked around the vehicle, inspected it. And Commander Mark Kelly, he was very pleased with how the entire mission went.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK KELLY, COMMANDER, SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR: I want to thank my crew members who did such a spectacular job on this flight. I could not have done this without them. They all, every single one of them, just performed flawlessly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our commander, we want to thank him, too.
KELLY: So, thanks for coming out. Great to be back. And have a good -- have a good morning. So long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: As you folks mentioned, you know, that Atlantis rolled out to the launch pad and was still on its way out to launch pad endeavor was landing back here at the Kennedy Space Center, certainly a sight that will not be repeated in our life times.
And, again, in just about five weeks from now, the shuttle Atlantis scheduled to lift off from here at the Kennedy Space Center pad 39A, in what will be one momentous event. A million people expected here to watch that final launch in the history of the space shuttle program. A vehicle that, let's say it, none of us will ever see fly again -- Kiran.
VELSHI: John, Kiran and Christine and I we were just talking about this, this space program, this idea of shuttling things into space, going to the International Space Center and orbiting, that's sort of being taken over by a commercial -- a group of commercial enterprises. That will be taken over by companies.
What does NASA do after this?
ZARRELLA: Well, that's just it. (INAUDIBLE) with SpaceX and Orbital, those two companies, primarily taking over in about three years, getting astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA's grand vision is no longer worrying about lower earth orbit. They can concentrate on building a heavy lift rocket, putting this Orion capsule on the top, sort of like they did in the old Apollo days --
VELSHI: Right.
ZARRELLA: -- and being able, with the limited money they have, pursuing those deep space missions and asteroid mission, perhaps 2019, and then eventually Mars or one of the Martian moon or maybe back to Earth's moon. So, that's the grand vision for NASA.
VELSHI: All right. John, we'll keep you out there the whole time watching all of it as it developing.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: All right. Now, it's politics now, and the fallout from a lewd photo sent to a college student -- a photo from New York Congressman Anthony Weiner's Twitter account.
Now, Weiner claims his account was hacked. This was some sort of a tweet that was a prank. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Weiner snapped as he was pressed for direct answers. At one point, he went off on CNN producer, Ted Barrett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're here, which we appreciate. But you're not answering the questions. Can you say why you haven't asked law enforcement to investigate what you are alleging is a hack?
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: You know, Dana, if I was giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back of the room threw a pie or yelled out an insult, would I spend the next two hours responding to that? No. I would get back.
TED BARRETT, CNN PRODUCER: This is not that situation, though.
WEINER: I would get back. You want to do the briefing? Do you want to do the briefing, sir?
BARRETT: You sent from your Twitter account a lewd photograph was sent to a college student. Answer the question: Was it from you or not?
WEINER: Do you guys want me to finish my answer?
BARRETT: Yes, this answer. Did you send it or not?
WEINER: If I were giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back threw a pie or yelled out an insult, I would not spend the next two hours of my speech responding to that pie or that insult.
BASH: But you are the one that said you were hacked. And that's a criminal -- potential crime --
WEINER: Dana, let me -- I am going to have to ask that we follow some rules here. And one of those, you ask questions and I do the answers. That would be reasonable?
BASH: I'd love to get an answer.
WEINER: That would be reasonable. You do the questions. I do the answer and this jackass interrupts me. How about that as the new rule of the game?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Clearly, a frustrated Anthony Weiner. He was making his point about if I'm giving a speech to 45,000 people and there's a heckler in the back or someone throwing a pie, the 45,000 -- he has 47,000 followers on Twitter. I guess. He is trying to show, you know, the similarity between the 45,000 people who listen to him and this is just one voice in all of that.
VELSHI: And the jackass he was referring to was CNN producer, Ted Barrett.
President Obama inviting Republicans to the White House today to discuss increasing the government borrowing power. The meeting comes just one day after the Republican-controlled House rejected a bill that would raise the debt ceiling. Republicans insist they will not raise the debt ceiling without spending cuts. The White House however saying there are two sides to this and they're both making progress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are committed to reducing the deficit. That's we move so aggressively and seriously with these negotiations. Why we're encouraged by the fact that they have produced positive results so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Senate Democrats now say that if Congress fails to boost the debt ceiling by August 2nd, they want Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to stop paying Congress.
CHETRY: All right. Well, military prosecutors recommend new charges be filed against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and four alleged co-conspirators. It will allow them to be tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay. The move comes after the Obama administration scrapped a plan to prosecute them in federal court in New York City.
ROMANS: The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating yesterday's deadly tour bus crash on I-95 near Richmond, Virginia. Four people were killed when the bus ran off the road and rolled over. Investigators blame the accident on driver fatigue and say unspecified charges are pending. The bus was on its way from Greensboro, North Carolina, to New York.
VELSHI: All right. Here's a story I continue to not fully understand. The number of people stung by jellyfish on Florida's Atlantic beaches now ballooning to more than 1,600 in the past week. Most victims are being treated with vinegar. In fact, officials say they've already gone through about 25 gallons of vinegar. Scientists say these small but potent species often appear in large numbers after climate changes.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: OK. Here's why I don't understand. We've been reporting this. Have 800 more people. We reported it was 800 people. Have 800 people now reported that they were also stung or have 800 people been newly stung. Because if it's the latter, then I don't have a lot of sympathy.
ROMANS: You're saying, if they know a lot of people are being stung, why not there.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: There are a whole lot of jellyfish in the water.
ROMANS: He has no sympathy for jellyfish victims.
VELSHI: No, I have no sympathy for jellyfish victims who have been warned.
CHETRY: They also come out at different times. I mean, there are more of them at different times of day. So, you think it's safe. You get in.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I'm just telling, I'm not getting stung by jellyfish. I am 100 percent sure I am not going to get stung.
CHETRY: The question I have, there are 1,600 people lining up and there are some sort of vinegar stations. I mean, who go -- where do you go? I mean, if you get stung by a jellyfish, you usually taking care of it on your own, right?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: The whole thing is really crazy.
CHETRY: Line up and get vinegar dump on you.
VELSHI: All right. Unto another topic which I understand a little bit more.
CHETRY: Yes, this question about cell phones -- a lot of people have asked over the years, is this dangerous? And I'm on the cell phone all the time.
Well, now, the World Health Organization is coming out with a report saying that there is a cancer risk associated with cell phone use. But what does that mean for us? Do we change our habits? And how big of a concern is it? We're going to talk about it, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. A new report by the World Health Organization says cell phone use could lead to cancer. It raises the risk. The report classifies cell phones as possibly carcinogenic, placing them in the same category as engine exhaust, certain food dyes and the pesticide DDT.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Dr. Michael Hansen, senior scientist for Consumers Union had some advice on these serial cell phone users.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MICHAEL HANSEN, SENIOR SCIENTIST, CONSUMERS UNION: The pragmatic things that people can do is text more, talk less, use hands-free. So, that means keep the cell phone away from the head. And this is also a wake-up call that the government has to more seriously look at this issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Someone disputes the WHO claims, a statement from the Wireless Association saying, quote, "This classification does not mean cell phones cause cancer. The WHO finding is based on, quote, 'limited evidence.'"
VELSHI: So, why don't they come out and tell us what they have? Come out -- or get in front of that. Why doesn't the cell phone industry say, we'll do the studies? We'll engage --
ROMANS: Or if they have done the studies --
VELSHI: Show us what it is. It's a strange -- as a business guy, it is a very strange follow statement.
CHETRY: Do you think it's strange? I mean, would you think that cigarette companies would have --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: You are right.
CHETRY: Do you think alcohol makers would have put warnings on it if they weren't forced to?
VELSHI: Yes, you are probably right about that.
ROMANS: But we want to know what you think. So, will the risk of cancer change the way you use your cell phone? It's our question of the day.
Here's some of the response.
VELSHI: On Twitter, I don't even know what that name is. But saying, "Cell phones may cause cancer? Cigarettes do cause cancer and that didn't change behavior. People will risk it."
I beg to differ with you. People, we've seen a remarkable decrease in the number of people smoking.
ROMANS: But also because government has really step in and make it harder for you to smoke, too.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: Randy on Facebook says, "I've used a Bluetooth device for the past few years out of convenience and because of laws, but I don't always use it. I will use it more."
CHETRY: And that was one of the recommendations, to use a Bluetooth device or a hands-free device.
Well, Lisa Lacombe from Facebook writes, "I figure this long ago and my kids who are 17 and 13 still don't have cell phones." I personally found that amazing, I mean, that your 17 year old doesn't have a cell phone.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: "Sometimes I feel a little guilty and they can't text but I got over it quickly yesterday. Just seems obvious cell phone must do something physical to the head."
VELSHI: We did say that texting is not the most dangerous part. It's keeping it close to your body.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. So, e-mail us at CNN.com/AM, or you can send us a tweet @CNNAM. Go to Facebook.com/AmericanMorning.
We'd love to hear your thoughts and we'd read some more a little bit later.
ROMANS: OK. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, something a lot of you are talking about today, your home value. It's not looking so good for homeowners. Prices continue to fall in a number of cities.
But if you are looking to buy, if you are looking to buy -- wow, is this a once in a lifetime opportunity with prices this low and frankly, still going lower? We'll have more for you on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Bad news for people looking to sell their homes. Home prices in this country have fallen back to their lowest level since the housing market collapsed a couple of years ago. Now, this news comes from the just released Standard and Poor's Case-Schiller home price index.
Now, this is the leading measure for U.S. residential housing. Let me just explain to you. These aren't home prices. These are the change in home prices. How much in any given year?
In 1988, you can see, they're up 8 percent. And in the early '90s, there was a drop. It was down a little bit.
Take a look at the drop now that we're looking at. This was the first dip, this was the reception, 2009. Then we saw an increase in home prices or a slower decrease. Now, we are seeing another drop, about 5 percent in the first three months of this year. That means gains made in recent years have largely been wiped out.
Now, of course, all of this local. Let me give you a sense of what home prices are looking like across the country -- Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, those are all places we've already seen big drops. Miami is another one. They continue to hit the lowest points since home values started dropping more than four years ago.
Take a look at the green spot on here, Washington, D.C., that whole northern Virginia Tech area continues to drive that economy. It's a diversified economy with health care and education. It's notched an increase.
Now, what does this mean for you? Should you wait for prices to drop more before you buy? The answer is no.
Now is a perfect time to buy a house because of the lower interest rates that we continue to get. We just saw this morning. They are down again.
If you have a 20 percent down payment and you are taking a 15 or 30-year loan, your interest matters more than your price.
Let me take you back to 2009, which was our last low. Median price for an existing single family home, median means half of all homes were sold for higher half or sold for lower, $175,000. Mortgage rates at 5 percent. So, over the time, the duration of that mortgage, it would have cost you $270,000.
Take it to 2011. Right now, median price, way down, $163,700. But mortgage rates are lower, too, 4.58 percent. So, your total cost of owning that house today for 30 years, $241,000, versus $270,000.
Now, we think interest rates are going up. They are going to get higher. It's likely. So, let's take a look at the same median price right now, $163,700. Let's say home prices don't appreciate for the next two years, but interest prices go up just about 1.5 percentage points, to 6 percent. Thirty-year cost of owning that home, $282,000.
So, remember, unless you are buying a house for cash, the mortgage, the interest rate that is historically low, probably matters more than whether or not you probably have 5 percent or 10 percent lower to go on your housing price. That's a good way to take a look at it -- Kiran, Christine.
ROMANS: You know, it's interesting, too, because so many people are doing, paying cash for the house. One-third of all home purchases are cash. It's interesting stuff.
CHETRY: Right. And he pointed the reasons why it might be a good time to buy right now.
ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: Good stuff.
Well, on day three of Sarah Palin's One Nation bus tour, she met with Donald Trump on his home turf right here in New York City. Trump, as you know, decided not to run for the Republican presidential nomination. And Sarah Palin is still mulling it over, it appears.
So, after the meeting, the two broke bread. They went out for a slice of pizza in New York's Times Square. And later, CNN had a chance to speak exclusively to Palin about what they talked about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARHA PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Talk about specific candidates, presidential candidates. Just about what our perception was of each of these folks. It was interesting. Yes. We are kind of on the same page.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was dinner?
PALIN: The dinner was great. Great pizza. Wasn't that good? It was fun to get to be there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Kind of on the same page about the other candidates.
CHETRY: That's right. And previously, it was interesting, she praised Donald Trump about trying to, quote, "get to the bottom" of the long-form birth certificate released by the president. But she has said that she believes the president was born in the U.S.
ROMANS: And Donald Trump says that she's a smart woman, a wonderful woman.
VELSHI: But did not endorse her.
ROMANS: That's right. He said that she didn't ask.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. The debate is raging after the resignation of Ohio State football coach, Jim Tressel. Should college athletes be paid? Or do they already have the golden ticket, free education and, you know, a way to a big future? We're going to have (INAUDIBLE).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
The stunning resignation of Ohio State head football coach, Jim Tressel, raising a lot of questions about college athletics. Tressel was forced to step down after admitting he knew his players were selling memorabilia to a local tattoo parlor owner and he didn't report it. That's a violation of NCAA rules.
Some are suggesting that it might be time for an overhaul of the entire system. Let schools finally pay their student athletes.
L.Z. Granderson writes a weekly column for CNN.com and he's also a senior writer with "ESPN," the magazine, and ESPN.com. He joins us live from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Good morning, L.Z.
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM: Good morning.
ROMANS: Let me ask you first about this resignation. I mean, do you think -- you know, a respected coach basically loses his job over something that is a perennial debate, you know? These kids want compensation. They are always looking for a kind of -- some kids are looking for a way to be compensated for their status on the field.
GRANDERSON: Well, absolutely. This brings us back to the conversation of, should these players be paid?
You know, Jim Tressel found himself in a situation where I don't think he at his core is a bad person. But he definitely illustrated or demonstrated bad judgment. And I think he got caught in the cycle and didn't know how to get out of it.
And part of me believes that his resignation is a bit of relief for him.
ROMANS: Now, you are talking about should these athletes be paid, these student athletes be paid. There are kind of two schools of thoughts, one that these guys get the golden ticket, they get a shot at a free education, free travel, free room and board, free tutoring. Then, the other side of it is that they are exploited by colleges who just want to make money off of them.
Is it as simple as that?
GRANDERSON: Well, I think, first of all, we have to look at the fact that they are getting scholarships. But it's not free. The travel is not free. They are working for it. The scholarships, the room and board, the travel -- that's actually compensation for the effort that they are putting forth on the field.
And so, it's not just they are getting something without having to work for it. And if you look at it that way and then you ask yourself, if a handful of star players are getting compensated, say, a few tens of thousands but they are making the corporations billions because of broadcasting rights, is that equitable? I think that is the question you should be asking.
And if you look at it that way, then, you say, you know, come to think of it, maybe we should be giving these students more because they make so much more for these universities.
ROMANS: Is the whole idea of a student athlete then essentially just a charade?
GRANDERSON: It's not entirely a charade. You have to keep in mind that there are a great deal of sports, both male and female, that the NCAA is responsible for, division I, division II, and division III that the NCAA is responsible for. So, by and large, the majority of student athletes are indeed student athletes.
The scandal comes when we have the two top sports that make the biggest dollars in terms of broadcasting, and that's being college basketball and college football. And a handful of those make bad choices. But, overall, I think the NCAA has a right to be a little defensive because it's not as if the entire system is in shambles. There are students who are following the rules and who are pursuing an education.
ROMANS: Yes. I was going to ask you: how widespread do you think it is? I mean, the Ohio State coach, I mean, it's a pretty high profile resignation. They have been following this sort of ticket -- this memorabilia for tattoo, you know, paying for tattoos with memorabilia -- I mean, how widespread is it do you think in college sports?
GRANDERSON: Well, I think that is -- when it comes to again these top two sports, I have a hard time believing that there are clean hands in the top 25. You know, we have seen -- you know, looking back even before Tressel, Pete Carroll in the situation at USC, you know, John Calapari's name has come up several times in terms of violations.
It's widespread if you're going to have -- if you're going to compete for the championships, you know, coaches are either going to aggressively look for or have willing blindness and ignorance in terms of what's being done to attract the best athletes and to keep them in those schools.
The NCAA has a big problem on their hands because the system isn't going away. This problem isn't going away.
ROMANS: OK. L.Z. Granderson, thanks so much, senior writer and columnist of "ESPN," the magazine, also a columnist for CNN.com -- nice to see you this morning.
GRANDERSON: You too. Thank you.
VELSHI: Crossing the half hour, here are the morning's top stories.
Congressman Anthony Wiener getting into a heated exchange with reports over a lewd photo sent from his Twitter account to a college student. He said his account was hacked, but he wouldn't answer any direct questions about it. He even called a CNN producer a jackass.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating yesterday's deadly tour crash on I-95. Four people were killed when the bus ran off the road and rolled over. Investigators blame the accident on driver fatigue and say unspecified charges are pending. It was on the way to New York.
An invasion of jellyfish in Florida, 1,600 people stung in the past week. Most victims are being treated with a vinegar solution. Officials say they have already gone through about 25 gallons of vinegar, a story we are going to continue to getting to the bottom of. Why is there a community vinegar dispense operation?
CHETRY: We solve all your jelly problems.
VELSHI: One new fact per day.
CHETRY: Tomorrow, was it the wind or was it the temperature? Stay tuned.
It is a problem that's not going away. Also going beyond mom and dad's medicine cabinet. We're talking about addiction to certain over-the-counter medications that can be used to make drugs like meth. It is on the rise, rising quickly among teens. A big business among teens on the black market.
ROMANS: Poppy Harlow is going to go in depth on that.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It is amazing when you look at the numbers. This is a $1 billion business, the black market of prescription drugs. Pot is no longer the gateway drug. For two years, it has been the prescription drugs that you may very well have in your cabinet trying to keep them away from your kids.
That's a good idea. There is a huge black market out there for them. Hugely profitable business on the streets of major cities like L.A., New York, Miami, Chicago specifically. Take a look at what these pills are selling for on the black market. OxyContin, oxycodone, hydrocodone -- OxyContin, $50 to $80 per pill. Percocet and Vicodin, you see how much it is marked up on the street.
Gangs are more now selling these drugs on the streets of major cities than they are traditional drugs like marijuana, crack cocaine, et cocaine, et cetera. They are making more money. We talked with a sergeant at the LAPD that bought bags and bags of prescription drugs off of craigslist. That's one way they get them. They get tips and bust these rings on the streets.
When you talk about who is taking these pills, it cuts across all demographics. People on skid row buying OxyContin for $20 a pill and folks in Hollywood, more wealthy people buying those same pills for $80. Look at these numbers in terms of how bad the problem is. In 2009, it's estimated seven million Americans abuse prescription drugs. It is up 13 percent from the year before. When we get the 2010 numbers, the DEA expects we will see a double digit increase. A huge problem they don't have a handle on. Let's get a sense of where they are all coming from. Where are these drugs that are being sold on the black market, on Craigslist, on the streets, where are they many could go from?
HARLOW: One thing I find fascinating, a lot of the counterfeits are coming from China, 99 percent are coming from China and sold illegally. A lot of the drugs are coming from elderly people being abused. Traffickers go to elderly people they know need money. They say, we will give you cash for your monthly Medicare prescriptions, and then they sell them. And so that's where it is coming from. Then, when you look at what it does to Medicare fraud, billions and billions every year in Medicare fraud just because of this.
VELSHI: Those ones coming from China are not going through the pharmacy system.
ROMANS: They are going to the black market.
CHETRY: This is a dangerous game. When you are taking counterfeit and having gone through the rigor --
HARLOW: You don't know what's in them. You can go to the home page of CNNmoney.com, you will see a video behind the scenes at LAPD.
ROMANS: Even if they are not counterfeit, they are dangerous enough. Poppy Harlow, thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: Thank you.
CHETRY: It's been called the "Wal-Mart of weed," a big box store donated entirely to selling marijuana growing equipment. It doesn't set pot but equipment to grow it yourself. It is expected to have a customer base of 100,000 people with medical marijuana I.D. cards. There are a couple of these stores already in California. Dan Simon had a chance to look inside one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a 15,000 square footwear house. When you come in, you can see all the products on display to grow marijuana. You have all of your chemicals over here. To my right, you have all the soil. You have the containers and the lights. It is a one-stop shop to get your supplies to grow marijuana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: It's like the geek squad for Best Buy, they have a grow squad that teaches you how to grow medical marijuana. And 16 states and the District of Columbia now allow for some sort of marijuana. Federal law does continue to ban it.
ROMANS: A judge says there cannot be any praying at a Texas high school graduation ceremony. We will let you know what school officials plan to do now.
VELSHI: Could your job be making you fat? (LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: What's your job? Eating donuts.
VELSHI: I have been eating Kiran's potatoes all morning. A new study says yes. Well tell you about that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finest kind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like mother used to make.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know you have got to do it someday. Throw away all the guns and invite all the jokers from the North and the South in here to a cocktail party. Last man standing on his feet at the end wins the war.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We have been talking about this a lot lately, schools not doing enough to teach our kids math and science and not enough about focus in our country.
VELSHI: We will give you the connection in just a second. If this country wants to outcompete and out-innovate, we must talk about this a few times a week. We may need a scientific renaissance in the United States.
CHETRY: That's what the World Science Festival hopes to accomplish. It kicks off today here in New York.
Joining us, here is the little thread that puts it all together, actor and author and director, Alan Alda and theoretical physicist Brian Greene. He's the cofounder of the festival. Welcome to both of you.
Alan, you are best known for your role in M.A.S.H. and being a successful actor.
ALAN ALDA, ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT: You saw my ability with technology, making the still. I have had this for a long time.
CHETRY: Why are you so passionate about kids, making sure that kids learn math and science?
ALDA: It is beautiful because it is fun. It enriches your life. It enriches my life. I'm not a professional scientist by any means but I read it all the time. I'm always asking Brian questions, because I want to know more. It is like not teaching kids how to listen to music or poetry or to read a book. It is our lives. Our lives run on science. How can we not run ton? ROMANS: Spoken like a true English major.
VELSHI: Brian, this is interesting, we talk so much about how people should be whatever they want to be and whatever they are good at. The reality is if you want to be employed for a long time, there are certain professions in the science, technology, engineering and math that will get you there. The first thing you asked him what his kids should be. You said they should be anything they want to be.
BRIAN GREENE, PHYSICIST: You have to do what you are passionate about. That's number one. We can get kids to be passionate about science if we teach it in a different way. If we show that science a dramatic story of adventure, not member or rising facts and figures that you have to spit back on an exam. The world science fair is about creating experiences with science where you go and leave with a different experience of what science is about.
CHETRY: You guys are sort of merging art and science in a way that gets people interested. You wrote this play that's going to be read tonight as well. Is it a way to get people who might normally be frightened or feel that math and science are very technical, not so exciting things?
ALDA: I think it is. It is something else too. Science is a great detective story. It is something very exciting about watching people use their brains to figure out this incredible problem. What is this stuff? How do we make this save lives? All the problems that we face that are solved by science. That's a great detective story, just understanding the universe better.
The Marie Curie story that I wrote this play about called "Radiance," that tonight, when those people go there, they are going to have a human experience of science. It is going to empathize with Marie who had an amazing tumultuous life.
ROMANS: For liberal arts, you have to be really smart with the science and technology and put yourself in a place that's going to be upwardly mobile in our economy.
GREENE: That's absolutely the case. I think what we in the festival are trying to show is it isn't such a sharp difference between the two. We are all out there searching for meaning and searching for truth. Whether it is true theater or film or drama or poetry or writing or science, we are all in it together.
There is a way in which the experience of all those fields can be melded so that each benefits from the other. Alan's play is a pinnacle example of that, bringing together theater and science in a wonderful, organic union where you go to this play to get excited to get moved by the drama and you leave with an understanding of certain basic ideas of science that won Marie Curie two Nobel prizes.
VELSHI: You are not new to this. You have been covering and reporting on science for a very long time?
ALDA: For 11 years, I did a science program on public television where I interviewed about 700 scientists. That's probably more than you have.
(LAUGHTER)
GREENE: I am the first, right?
ALDA: You know, it is not just where we mix our science. One of the events at the world science festival is going to be where neuroscientists get together with musicians and examine what goes on in the brain during improvisation. What is improvisation?
GREENE: We have a program on longevity.
CHETRY: All right, you convinced us. We want to go.
ALDA: Get this. One of the people talking about longevity makes the point, it's a little controversial, but he makes the point that the person who will live to be 1,000 years old has already been born.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: This conversation when he said he's about to have a longevity.
ALDA: Get this. Get this one of the people -- one of the people talking about longevity it makes the point, and it's a little controversial, but he makes the point that the person who will live to be 1,000 years old has already been born.
VELSHI: So it will happen in our -- wow.
ALDA: I think it's me.
GREENE: It's hugely controversial.
VELSHI: It's great to see you both.
ROMANS: Alan Alda and Brian Greene, at the World Science Festival here in New York.
CHETRY: Great -- great to talk to both of you.
ALDA: Thank you.
CHETRY: A pleasure to meet you in person.
VELSHI: Very interesting stuff. All right, we'll -- we will continue to follow the World Science Festival --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Which starts today.
VELSHI: -- which starts today, along with hurricane season that starts today, right.
ROMANS: Yes, six-month long Atlantic hurricane season. Today is the official start to that. Find out how strong scientists are expecting it to be when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Look at this. It's real; that's not fake. That is a 300 and some odd flip jump on four wheels, making a record. The most amazing driving at the Indy 500 didn't happen at the race. That was Hollywood stunt driver, Tanner Faust. He broke the record, longest jump in a four-wheel vehicle, 332 feet in the air.
He reached 105 miles an hour before going airborne in an 875 horsepower Hot Wheels truck, by the way, it's a life-size Hot Wheels truck if it looks familiar to you.
ROMANS: It's awesome.
CHETRY: The amazing part. It's not that he was airborne but the fact that he landed.
VELSHI: Right yes.
CHETRY: And didn't blow out all those tires. I mean that was pretty amazing.
ROMANS: This is the kind of assignment we usually send to Rob Marciano on. Only a stunt driver can do this. It's 49 minutes past the hour. That's some pretty --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Rob --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: -- hot pictures of -- that was a hot stunt.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: And this isn't - yes,this like the slip and slide.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: This isn't fancy editing. He actually did this.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEROLOGIST: Yes, and no that's for real. And the closest I come to that is actually playing with my Hot Wheels when I was 11. I mean,that is nuts --
CHETRY: In your playroom.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
MARCIANO: Yes, absolutely. Doesn't everybody have one?
Hey, listen guys. It's the first day of hurricane season, it's a six-month season, and it's expected to be an active one again. We don't really have El Nino, La Nina is kind of ending so it's a neutral year, which makes it a little bit more difficult to forecast. But there are some other conditions that give us the impression that we will probably see an above average year.
Your average is 11 storms. We're thinking anywhere from 12-18, nine of which will be hurricanes and maybe a handful of those could be major hurricanes.
And by the way, we haven't had a major hurricane strike since 2005. And according to the National Hurricane Center, we've never gone six years without a major strike. All right, you do the math there. So we are due.
This is what happens in June, typical areas of development are the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico and extreme southeastern part of the United States where temperatures are right around the 80-degree mark. And guess what? We already have a little disturbance there heading quickly to the coastline there of Florida. The National Hurricane Center, giving this a 30 percent chance now of developing but it's moving real quick, so, it probably won't do that. It will arrive along the Florida coastline here in the next 24 hours bringing with it (AUDIO GAP) also watching the severe weather potentially across the plains and the northeast today.
The heat is the other big story guys. A record-breaking heat again, especially across the eastern two-thirds of the country. 94 expected in D.C. and 96 degrees in Atlanta, Georgia.
Try to stay cool and try to stay safe this hurricane season.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Rob you know that -- that thing you had up there with the hurricanes, and tell us what you said again. We have not had a major hurricane in five years.
ROMANS: In the Atlantic coast?
MARCIANO: We -- anywhere in the U.S., we have not had a hurricane strike, a major Category 3 storm or higher --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Ok.
MARCIANO: In -- since '05. And according to the National Hurricane Center and throughout recorded history, we have never gone six years without getting hit with a major storm.
CHETRY: Wow.
MARCIANO: So if we don't get -- if we have another miss this year that would break a record on the good side. So let's hope for that.
ROMANS: I think of like Gustav and Ike were just like yesterday.
VELSHI: They were close though, Gustav --
MARCIANO: Well, Ike was a Category 2
ROMANS: It was two when it hit.
CHETRY: But ironically, I mean the category two is the wind speed. There are so many factors that go into how destructive it is. I mean Ike for a lot of people was more devastating than Katrina.
MARCIANO: Very much so. So yes, I mean -- and no matter what kind of numbers we throw up, it only takes one big storm to hit a big city.
ROMANS: Yes, you can tell we are all getting ready with our -- refreshing our hurricane vernacular.
VELSHI: Yes. Yes.
MARCIANO: I'm impressed guys, nice -- nice work there.
ROMANS: We're ready to rock and roll if --
VELSHI: We are but amateurs compared to you,Rob. But thank you.
ROMANS: That's right.
MARCIANO: All right guys.
VELSHI: We'll come to you soon. We need you. Rob Marciano, in our extreme weather center.
CHETRY: I love this one. Our jobs could be making us fat. If our job is tasting doughnuts, which at times it is.
VELSHI: It's not making you guys fat but it certainly applies to me. The Center for Disease Control says only 6.5 percent of us get enough physical activity at work. Another report is blaming America's growing obesity problem on the rising number of sedentary jobs. Now that's true.
It says the energy we burn at work during a typical day has dropped by more than 100 calories over the last 50 years for men and women. I would have actually thought it was greater. We just don't do as much factory. We don't do as much hard labor.
CHETRY: Exactly.
VELSHI: We do everything on a computer.
ROMANS: Technology allows us to sit still.
VELSHI: Our fingers are substantially stronger than they ever were.
ROMANS: All right. Up next, right after the break, your thoughts on our question of the day which is: Are you changing the way you are using your technology, your cell phones, because of risk that could cause cancer? We are back in a second.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In busy downtown Charlotte, by lunchtime folks had built up an appetite. So at the King's Kitchen Restaurant, that's when the real building begins because Chef Jim Noble's goal every day is to help his diners help their community.
CHEF JIM NOBLE, KING'S KITCHEN: And I think everybody wants to help. They just don't know how.
FOREMAN: Noble is one of the state's most renowned chefs and deeply religious. So he opened the King's Kitchen a year and a half ago as a non-profit restaurant. The money made here goes to programs that feed the poor throughout the community. Last year -- $50,000.
Mindful of recessionary pitfalls that could derail this effort the chef started by raising enough donations to open without any loans.
NOBLE: This is not the best time in the world to get in debt in a restaurant, you know. So -- so we wanted to do this debt- free.
Number five. And what does that say?
FOREMAN: The restaurant also offers job training for jobless people, folks such as Philip Lewis who joined the program less than two months ago when he heard about it at church.
PHILIP LEWIS: I've gotten more than I've asked for here. Faith, finances, everything I needed this place has given me. It's a life-changing place.
No matter where you are in your life and it brings something positive to it that wasn't there before.
FOREMAN: Sure, this non-profit restaurant competes with Chef Noble's for-profit places but he has faith there is room for all.
NOBLE: Sometimes in life you have to make a distinction between success and significance.
FOREMAN: And for him, the significance lies in knowing every plate that goes out of the kitchen here means poor people are being fed all over town.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Charlotte, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Two minutes to the top of the hour. We want to get your feedback to our question of the day and this comes on the news from the World Health Organization that cell phone use does pose a potential risk for cancer. We ask will it change the way you use your cell phone?
Here are some responses today.
Ruskin Wolfie (ph) writes, "Why change the way I use my cell phone? We go through harmful radiation all the time. Cell phone is not the only killer."
Also Kelly Jennings Register, "Probably not. I don't talk on my phone very much. I use it more for texting, e-mail and Internet. I also use hands-free Bluetooth in my car when I absolutely have to talk while driving.
VELSHI: This one really gives you pause. It is on our blog from Amelia who says, "Has anybody seen a person die of a brain tumor? I saw my dad die from a glioma on the brain and I saw him go through surgery and chemo. He eventually died. Who would want to go through that terrible disease over a phone call?"
And John writes on Facebook, "No. Not changing my habits. Driving poses a risk of an accident every trip. Doesn't change how often I drive."
Although it does have influence on how you drive, right?
ROMANS: That's true. That's true.
My Twitter, this one comes in, "I will continue to use my wired headset as much as possible. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been giving CNN viewers sound advice for months."
CHETRY: He's right.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: And Vince16 in Jersey on Twitter says, "I hardly use it as a phone. I text and use it as a social media device. Who makes phone calls? What is this, 2005?"
VELSHI: For everyone that wrote to us today, thank you. Keep your comments coming; we will have another question of the day tomorrow. Just instinctively as you were reading, I took my phone out of my pocket and I put it down. I'm definitely starting to think about this.
CHETRY: The whole thing about sleep using it as an alarm clock right by your head which a lot of people do. I'm going to think twice about that.
VELSHI: They should keep it by their bed. It is just worth constantly being on top of this and learning about it --
CHETRY: What if your whole house is wired for Wi-Fi? I mean do you shut that up every night too? ROMANS: I mean we do -- we are now for the first time getting these medical studies about the onslaught of all these different technologies. We are learning more every day.
VELSHI: We needed to wait far enough into this so that studies could be done. Now, we should tell you that the cell phone industry has sort of been a bit dismissive of this and denied these claims. But we will continue to cover this on CNN for you.
ROMANS: And finally, this hour, on this date wow, 31 years ago, CNN was born. Happy birthday.
CHETRY: Happy birthday,CNN.
Right now, we are going to send it over to Carol Costello. "CNN NEWSROOM" starts now. Seems like it was yesterday, right Carol?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": It does. I can't believe CNN is so much older than I am.
CHETRY: Exactly. Poor CNN.
COSTELLO: Have a great day. Thanks so much.
