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American Morning
Talking to the Enemy; Casey Anthony Murder Trial; Federal Reserve Meeting, Economic Data; Sega Pass Web site Hacked; New Web Rules Expand Domain Names; Sex Trafficking in America; Talking to the Enemy
Aired June 20, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello.
With Osama bin Laden out of the picture, the United States goes face to face at the negotiating table with the Taliban, tyring to bring an end to the long and deadly war in Afghanistan.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Duct tape as a murder weapon.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
It's the prosecution's theory in the Casey Anthony trial but the defense is blasting some holes in that theory, using a renowned forensic expert to do it on this AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: And welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali Velshi is off. Christine is on assignment. I'm here, I'm Carol Costello. Good morning to you.
CHETRY: Nice to see you, Carol.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
Up first this morning, sitting down with the Taliban. Retired Defense Chief Robert Gates confirming that negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban have been underway for weeks. He appeared on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday, calling the talks preliminary but necessary before we can bring our troops home.
Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon this morning, with more for us on this.
A bit controversial, but he certainly rigorously defending why this is important.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: He is, indeed. Good morning. He's defending it.
But already, just days into these talks, offering some caution, saying that they have to make sure still that the people they're talking to do represent the Taliban -- Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban. That they're not just freelancers out there, because, you know, the Taliban is a very diverse group, many insurgent groups now operating inside Afghanistan. They have been down this road before and the talks have not panned out.
So, Gates, offering a caution and also offering sort of a justification in terms of the question, why sit down with the people who sheltered Osama bin Laden and the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, I think, first of all, we've just killed the guy who was responsible for attacking us on September 11th. And we have taken out a lot of other al Qaeda as well over the years. Look, we ended up talking to people in Anbar province and Iraq who were directly killing -- had directly been involved in killing our troops. That's the way wars end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And that's one of the points gates has continually made, even right up to the end as he prepares to step down in the next few days. Most wars do end through some type of political accommodation, if you will. Some type of peace talks.
The dilemma now, the challenge now is to convince the Taliban that they cannot win, that the Karzai government in Afghanistan is so strong that they must change sides, throw their lot in with the Afghan government. Gates is a little cautious, he says. It may take a while before all that happens -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And all the same time, we're talking about the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan. Does that timetable change based on these talks?
STARR: Well, you know, if the talks are successful, which Gates is still very cautious about. If they could convince the Taliban to come in from the cold, so to speak, perhaps that could help bring troops home faster than many would anticipate.
But this is how it's all laying out right now as President Obama prepares to make that troop drawdown decision within days now. On the one hand, the question: will the Taliban give up? Do they think the Karzai government is so strong that that is their only chance, to throw their lot in with them, renounce violence?
But on the other hand, the question out there inside Washington is, Osama bin Laden is dead. So, what are 100,000 U.S. troops still doing in Afghanistan? Can't you just go ahead and bring some of them home?
Kiran, Carol?
CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us this morning -- thanks so much.
COSTELLO: It brings up so many questions. In fact, it brings up the question of the day. Should the U.S. negotiate with the Taliban? We want to know what you think this morning.
CHETRY: Send us an email, a tweet, tell us on Facebook. And we'll read some of your responses a little bit later in the morning.
COSTELLO: NATO is admitting an airstrike in Tripoli may have resulted in civilians deaths. Libya's government is claiming Sunday's attack killed nine people and injured six others, calling it an act of cold-blooded murder. NATO, releasing a statement saying one of Moammar Gadhafi's weapons sites was the intended target, but a system's failure may have sent a missile into a neighborhood.
It is day 91 of the NATO mission in Libya. All last week, House Speaker John Boehner had been warning President Obama he is violating the War Powers Act by not getting congressional approval for the action. Some Republicans are threatening to cut off funding for the mission. But Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham are warning against that.
CHETRY: There is growing concern this morning over those multiplying wildfires burning across the South. Right now, seven states are under a red flag warning, meaning weather conditions pose an extreme fire risk.
In Arizona, the monument fire is being called the nation's number one priority. More than 1,000 fire fires are battling the flames, which have burned through more than 44 homes. Also, the U.S. Forest Service is saying there's no evidence that the wildfires were started by illegal immigrants. That's a claim that Senator John McCain made over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We are concerned about particularly areas down at the border where there is substantial evidence that some of these fires are caused by people who have crossed our border illegally. They've set fires because they want to signal others. They have set fires to keep warm. And they have set fires in order to divert law enforcement agents and agencies from them.
So, the answer to that part of the problem is, get a secure border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Again, though, the Forest Service spokesman says right now, there is no evidence that any illegal immigrants were involved in the starting of the wallow fire. That was that huge fire that was burning as well. They believed that that was actually a campfire that likely started that blaze.
COSTELLO: They'd love to know who started that fire. But they don't know just yet.
The defense of the Casey Anthony murder trial is using forensic evidence to try to poke holes on the prosecution's theory that duct tape may have been used to kill Caylee.
CHETRY: But they have brought to the stand a world renowned pathologist who has testified that the tape found on Caylee's body was placed there after she was dead.
David Mattingly joins us from Orlando as week five gets underway in court. And some drama in the courtroom as well. In fact, the judge threatening to hold the defense attorney in contempt of court.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. That was not a good day for the defense. For the first three weeks, we were hearing from the prosecution lay out this scenario that Caylee Anthony was murdered by her mother, who placed duct tape over her mouth and nose and caused her to suffocate.
Well, on Saturday, we heard from a big-named expert witness for the deference who say authorities here completely got it wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ASHTON, PROSECUTOR: Is it your opinion that the duct tape was applied to the skull after it was fully skeletonized?
DR. WERNER SPITZ, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: It is my opinion that the duct tape was stuck on there after the skin had deteriorated, after the skin was decomposed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: That was Dr. Werner Spitz, a well-known forensic pathologist involved in cases from JFK to O.J., telling the jury that that duct tape was not used to kill Caylee Anthony, but rather used it to hold the jawbone attached to the skull and that someone attempted to move the body after the body had been decomposed -- a big difference in the stories being told in this courtroom today. Expect to hear more, from more experts from the defense as they try to lay out a stronger story, they hope, for the jury, that Caylee Anthony tragically drowned in the family's pool and that they panicked and tried to hide the body and covered it up instead of this child being murdered.
So, more today, more expert testimony and more focus, Kiran, on that duct tape.
CHETRY: David Mattingly for us. Thank you.
Well, with a violent uprising on his hands and more than 10,000 people fleeing across the border into Turkey, Syrian President Bashir al-Assad made a major speech this morning, insisting Syrians must solve their own problems, and that reforms in his country need to be based on the legitimate needs of people and not the demands of people trying to sabotage it. Assad's speech is coming the same day that the European Union is discussing tightening sanctions against his government.
COSTELLO: Greece teetering on the brink of economic collapse, could be on a track to getting -- could be on track rather to getting another bailout. European finance minute ministers say Greece could get the new round of loans by sometime in July, if Athens continues to cut its budget. The money is aimed at preventing the Greece debt crisis from spreading to Europe and beyond.
First Lady Michelle Obama makes an official trip to Southern Africa. She'll spend this week in South Africa and Botswana, engaging young people on topics of education, wellness. Also on the agenda, meeting with the South African President Jacob Zuma and to the Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was in prison for almost 27 years.
CHETRY: Very exciting weekend in the world of golf. Golf may have found its next superstar in the form of a 22-year-old curly- haired kid from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champ. He captured his first major title yesterday, Shooting a stunning 16 under par, 268, for an eight-stroke victory. It shattered the open record for the lowest score ever by four strokes.
It was also a huge Father's Day gift for his dad, Jerry McIlroy. Rory's dad spent years working three jobs to pay for his son to get these lessons and then move up to that level. And yesterday, he walked all 18 holes with his son and watched all that hard work pay off.
COSTELLO: Oh, what a great Father's Day gift.
CHETRY: So cute. That's wonderful.
COSTELLO: Yes. I don't like golf but that was fun to watch.
CHETRY: I know. A great -- very exciting new champion.
COSTELLO: Yes, and maybe better than Tiger and make us forget that Tiger Woods ever existed. Who knows?
CHETRY: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING: Republican presidential hopefuls make their case in front of the Republican Leadership Conference. But who was the stand-out?
CHETRY: Also coming up, talk about extreme weather. The story behind this funnel cloud was caught on video.
It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twelve minutes past the hour right now. Twelve minutes past the hour.
Republican White House hopefuls are making their case to the party faithful this weekend. Their pinata of choice --
COSTELLO: I like that, pinata of choice.
CHETRY: -- is President Obama, who, by the way, held a golf summit, as we know, the deficit summit Saturday with House Speaker John Boehner.
COSTELLO: Yes, that golf game that really didn't mean anything. Don't tell me it did because it didn't.
CHETRY: Well, maybe, they bonded.
COSTELLO: I don't even think they bonded. But they had nice outfits on.
Joining us now to talk about all the latest political maneuvering, veteran political consultant Hank Sheinkopf and Republican strategist John McLaughlin.
OK. Let's get the golf summit out of way because this was just for show. It didn't mean absolutely nothing, did it?
HANK SHEINKOPF, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: It actually meant a lot. For President Obama, it was very important when he promised he'd run a government that was bipartisan, where he got along with everybody. And this shows the case. What better way to prove getting along --
COSTELLO: Oh, come on! Come on.
SHEINKOPF: -- than playing golf together.
CHETRY: Well, I mean, it's interesting, though, because they did have to spend the whole day together. I mean, it was 18 holes. And the president and John Boehner were on the same team.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: And they probably both talked about the debt and the deficit, and they got a big problem, because the Republicans are committed not to raise taxes and the president certainly wants to keep spending. So
COSTELLO: So, you think on the golf course, these two men were talking about the debt and deficit?
MCLAUGHLIN: Yes.
COSTELLO: I mean, one Republican strategist says men will find any excuse to play golf. And that's really why they were there.
MCLAUGHLIN: I think they might have -- they probably were talking about huge issues that they don't agree on. And like Reagan and Tip O'Neill, they have to find some way to get something done.
CHETRY: I got you.
Well, let's switch gears to talk a little bit of what was going on this weekend on the Republican side. Many of the candidates or would-be candidates were at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this weekend. And one of them included a person who has not declared, but he's getting a lot of interest. And that's Texas Governor Rick Perry.
I want to listen to what you guys -- what you guys think. Here's what he said about possibly getting in the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: Let's stand up. Let's speak with pride about our morals and our values and redouble our effort to elect more conservative Republicans. Let's stop this American downward spiral.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. He talked about the downward spiral. Is this going to be run on for the Republican social issues or is it going to be on fiscal issues? Because he can actually point to his state and say, hey, we created a ton of jobs.
SHEINKOPF: Hey, look, his argument is the economy. They've done very well in Texas. Texas is not a place that people don't for vote for -- you've had Dwight Eisenhower, two Bushes come out of Texas in the last 50 years. I mean, anything can happen.
He's one to watch, though, because he's got a real argument to make that is not socially based that people pay attention, on an area of discussion that people really care about.
COSTELLO: Now, wait a minute. Didn't he say he wanted to enjoin social issues and political issues? I mean, he said that during that very same speech.
SHEINKOPF: Wait until the economy comes up. That's the real argument, OK?
MCLAUGHLIN: The first test will be --
SHEINKOPF: That changes everything.
MCLAUGHLIN: The first test is going to be the debt, though (ph). And what's happening is I even have a candidate in Nevada or a candidate who's got an ad up, saying he's not going to raise Obama's debt, and it's September special election. So, what you've got is you've got somebody like Rick Perry who's out there who socialist conservatives like, but the first test against -- as you started, when you talk about the golf game, that debt limit vote is going to be huge --
CHETRY: Good thing Perry doesn't have to take --
COSTELLO: Going back to Rick Perry and overall and whether he will really run, I mean, what is he waiting for, do you think?
SHEINKOPF: What's the rush? You have a mess. You have people all over the place --
COSTELLO: It's getting late, isn't it? You got to get into the game.
SHEINKOPF: No. If you raise the money, it's not late.
MCLAUGHLIN: The first contest is Iowa straw vote. So, he's got to make a decision before that, and Mitt Romney's --
CHETRY: When is straw poll --
MCLAUGHLIN: It will be the end of August.
CHETRY: All right. And what's happening is, you've got somebody like Mitt Romney who opted out, because he spent a lot of money last time around. And it takes a lot of money, lot of organizations. So, that's a big challenge. Can you go in there and meet that because in the past, candidates have skipped that and still won the nomination.
CHETRY: How much was it matter, by the way, with Mitt Romney did not sign on to that pro-life pledge? I know that, you know, he's trying position himself in some ways who'd be the one that get people can say, wait a minute, you know, it's not just conservatives or social conservatives that can go for this guy or that can for the GOP. Is that going to hurt him?
SHEINKOPF: He has a larger problem that's called Mormon and is called anti-Mormonism, and it's going to be hard -- it's hard to visualize how he gets past South Carolina which should be the cut line for the Republicans, and it's really that's what is really about for him.
COSTELLO: Why is he doing so well in the polls then?
MCLAUGHLIN: Because he's the front-runner against Obama. But right now, we've never seen a primary like this before. It's so wide open where Republicans are used to having a big front-runner who nearly blows it and then comes back and wins it. That's been going on since World War II.
COSTELLO: OK. So, could Jon Huntsman be that guy? Because like, he appeared second of the straw poll. That's a total surprise because he wasn't even there.
MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, but that's straw poll where Ron Paul wins it, that's a very small group where they get to fill the room. When you get to largely contest to the Iowa caucus is the actual primaries, what happens is the one thing that the Republicans agree on is they don't like President Obama.
They think he's failed on economy. They think he's a problem on security. They disagree with him on social issues. So, you're going to have -- whether it's Romney or someone else, the most anti-Obama candidate, which is why Donald Trump was doing well.
SHEINKOPF: Well, you know, look, the truth is, if you have Huntsman as a candidate, the Democrats will have the best they've ever had because they'll just talk about how we made this money, destroying jobs and businesses. That's rarely (ph) the end of that. They need somebody who's not Huntsman, but Rick Perry, who can deliver a block of votes to the Deep South and go hunt for northern Catholics, which is the republican formula for winning.
COSTELLO: I wanted to ask about that comedian because -- CHETRY: Poor taste to the --
SHEINKOPF: A real charmer he is, uh-huh.
COSTELLO: Reggie Brown is his name.
CHETRY: Obama comedian. I mean, is that really a big hit for the GOP?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, you got to be funny within certain contexts, and at times, he wasn't that funny. So, whoever booked him, that person is in trouble for doing --
CHETRY: But what about just some of the racial jokes?
SHEINKOPF: No one minds being a racist. They mind being found out. If you get found out, if you're there when it's going on and you're laughing and smiling, that's why they pulled him out of there.
CHETRY: All right. Well, people who are there said that they let him go on with that. They only pulled him out when he started looking like he was going to start criticizing GOP members like Bachmann.
COSTELLO: Yes. He (ph) went through Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty got to Michele Bachmann, he was out.
MCLAUGHLIN: They'll probably afraid he's going to attack Herman Cain.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: It was nice to talk to both of you, Hank Sheinkopf and John McLaughlin.
SHEINKOPF: Thank you.
MCLAUGHLIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Nice to hear from both of you. We'll see what happens with Rick Perry. As you said, he has all the time in the world.
MCLAUGHLIN: What's the rush?
COSTELLO: We'll see. I don't know. Hey, and don't miss the CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips this morning because at 9:00 am eastern, she will have an exclusive interview with that Obama impersonator we spoke of, Reggie Brown.
CHETRY: Meantime, Bonnie Schneider is in the Extreme Weather Center for us this morning. You're talking about those funnel cloud, the touch down, and a couple of states, they saw a tornadic activity over the weekend.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they did, Kiran and Carol. We're monitoring some severe weather happening across Nebraska. You've got to these pictures of a tornado, multiple reports of tornadoes across much of Nebraska, and the problem is today, they are still under the bullseye for severe weather. Look at this incredible picture now. The tornadoes that touched down in Nebraska mostly were over more open fields.
So, we didn't really get reports of injuries or damage, but incredible pictures from storm chasers out there. You can see that debris being lifted up down at the ground. Take a look. Where at the threat for severe weather is today across parts of Iowa, Nebraska into Kansas, and this is something we're seeing right now in terms of strong thunderstorms rolling through Iowa right now on into Chicago.
You're just now getting hammered with severe weather where we're looking at severe thunderstorm watches that will go until 11 o'clock this morning. You see that watch box popping up into the Cedar Rapids area and into Rockford and also into the Baltimore, D.C. area. So, wet commute all the way down through areas of Delaware. We're tracking some severe weather there.
Now, for those of you that are concerned, of course, with the fire danger, just to let you know, it's going to be windy, hot, and dry once again. Critical fire area for the area you see highlighted. The weather does have an improvement in the forecast for tomorrow. Back to you.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bonnie Schneider.
Coming up nest on AMERICAN MORNING, hackers at another video game maker stealing personal information from over one million people. Find out if you were one of them.
CHETRY: Also, flights get cancelled or delayed all the time. That's nothing new, but two men came up with a very unusual way to pass the time at a Texas airport, and they got all of it on tape.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Now, a YouTube sensation, of course.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-four minutes past the hour. We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.
New economic data for housing. Durable goods and the labor market are expected this week. Investors eagerly awaiting Federal Reserve chief, Ben Bernanke's announcement out Wednesday on the country's interest rates.
Wall Street keeping a close eye on the European finance minister's meeting today in Luxembourg. The EU members announcing a new loan will be given to Greece in July if the country keeps cutting its budget.
Japanese game maker, Sega, announcing about 1.3 million customers' personal information was stolen Friday. This includes names, birth dates, e-mail addresses, as well as encoded passwords. All hacked from the company's Sega pass Web site. The company, though, is reporting credit card information remain safe.
The group that oversees international internet development announcing this morning new web rules for domain names. They're doing away with restrictions like dot com or dot net. That means, starting in January of 2012, you'll be able to name your Web site with any domain name you want, any number or letters in any language.
Markets are headed for a lower opening this morning. We're taking a look at stock futures. They're down amid concerns about the financial crisis in Greece and the potential for it to spread to other European countries.
Well, parents, listen up. Food allergies among children may be higher than we once thought. We're going to have more on why and some of the biggest food allergens out there. AMERICAN MORNING will be back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And it's just about 8:30 eastern time. Here are this morning's top stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirming the United States and The taliban are in talks and the war in Afghanistan. They've been negotiating for weeks. Gates is warning against a quick troop withdrawal saying it's crucial to keep up military pressure in Afghanistan in order to get the results we're looking for.
CHETRY (voice-over): More than 1,000 firefighters are now battling Arizona's monument fire. It's being called the number one priority. Wildfires are burning across seven states. Calmer winds and rising humidity, though, are giving hope to firefighters.
COSTELLO: And a new study says sick children in the United States who are covered under Medicaid or the children's health insurance program are being kept waiting way too long to see a specialist. The University of Pennsylvania study found kids covered by private insurers get the care they needed half the way time. Federal law says Medicaid patients are entitled to equal health care access.
CHETRY: Food allergies among children may be higher than we once thought. There's a new study out that was published in Pediatrics that found eight percent of all children under the age of 18 are affected by food allergies in the U.S. That's nearly six million kids.
COSTELLO: I know. That's crazy. Of those, more than 38 percent have severe reactions. Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now from Atlanta with details, more details on this new study. And Elizabeth, this is a pretty prevalent probable, prevalent than we knew.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. It is a prevalent problem, and in fact, other studies have found that maybe the percentage was more like two percent or five percent. So, eight percent is higher than many previous studies had found. And what's really interesting is that a third of these kids actually were allergic to multiple foods. It wasn't just peanuts or just wheat. It was multiple things.
CHETRY: You speak about peanuts. My daughter has a peanut allergy. That's one of the highly allergenic foods. What are some of the others?
COHEN: Let's look at the most common food allergens. Kiran, you just mentioned peanuts. Obviously as a mother of a kid with an allergy, you know a lot about that. Milk is number two, and shellfish number three. So those are three things that parents should be looking out for.
CHETRY: I have to say that having a peanut allergy is disturbing and scary, especially if your child could possibly -- their throat could close up. They call it anaphylaxis. But milk, it's in so much. When you have to deal with that as a parent or even caregivers and schools, a milk allergy --
COSTELLO: Why peanuts and milk and shellfish? Why those foods?
COHEN: It's not clear exactly why those foods, but there are a couple of theories why in general allergies are going up, Carol. And one of those, perhaps, and I know this sounds crazy, but perhaps as a society we've become too clean and we're not exposing kids to a lot of bacteria or allergens or various kinds of things. So they're developing these allergies because they're not exposed to things. It's just a theory. It's not really clear that it's true. But it's an interesting theory.
COSTELLO: I was watching a Detroit Tigers game yesterday. And they showed a fan in the stands.
CHETRY: Wait, wait, wait. She was watching a 19 --
COSTELLO: No, that was something else.
CHETRY: She's reliving the glory days of her former football team.
COHEN: Good for her.
CHETRY: That's instead of watching real live action sport.
COSTELLO: I was watching a real live action Tigers game. They had a shot of a fan in the stand, elderly man, the kid's grandpa. The kid was sitting on his lap, eating an ice cream cone. The ice cream cone fell on the ground. The grandpa picked it up, put it back on the cone and gave it to the kid. No modern parent would do that. COHEN: That's right. Again, I know it sounds crazy but there's this thought out there that because the kids are cleaner, because they're not eating the ice cream that fell on the floor, perhaps their body isn't learning how to deal with these foreign things invading it. I'm not surprised that it's a grandparent and not a parent.
COSTELLO: It was the five-second rule.
CHETRY: I love that story. What happened to the game, Cleveland Browns 1970s?
COSTELLO: This was the Tigers game. Tigers won nine-one. Elizabeth, you know the famous Cleveland Browns-Jets game from 1987, right?
COHEN: Sure.
COSTELLO: No, she does not.
CHETRY: Elizabeth knows a ton about food allergies and also I want to let people know. There are a lot of questions people have, Elizabeth, to check out CNN.com/health.
COHEN: There's a lot of information there, links to terrific place that is can really help parents out. There's some really terrific groups. Parents have bonded on this issue. I'm sure, Kiran, you know that. They trade a lot of tips and advice with each other. It's important to get to know other parents with kid whose have allergies.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: I don't have kids. That's what I do. I watch sports.
Some dynamite in seven seconds is all it took to topple this Florida structure. Check it out. Official officials detonated a series of explosions to knock down the Riviera Florida Beach power and light stacks. That's a mouthful.
CHETRY: Look how close that camera -- that explosion went pretty far. Parts of it hitting the camera.
Rapper Tone Loc arrested Saturday night. Police say he got into a physical altercation with the mother of his child in California. Tone Loc posted bail after spending only three hours in jail. He's best known for "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina" in the late 80s. I didn't think I would get on the show and say that this morning. I thought I would avoid it.
COSTELLO: Their flight canceled. What did these guys decide to d do? They used Dallas-Ft. Worth international as their personal playground. The clip called "stuck" went viral. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We're debating whether it was staged. I have a feeling this was staged a little bit.
COSTELLO: You think? And you wonder where security is. But they say security were watching these two men and they didn't feel that they were posing any risk to security.
(LAUGHTER)
And where are the other people in the airport?
CHETRY: I heard they got their hands on some beer as well. I can't see that going over well with airport security.
COSTELLO: What a surprise!
CHETRY: Do your kids complain about too much homework? A lot of parents complain that their kids have too much homework. Some are cutting out homework all together. It's a big debate in the education community. We'll have more on that coming up.
It's 36 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 39 minutes past the hour. Could homework be hurting your kids, your kids' life, their sleep pattern? Some schools say yes and are starting a revolution to cut back on at-home assignments. But could less homework end up affecting test scores and performance?
Joining us now to discuss the movement toward less homework is contributor Steve Perry. So what's your take on this? Yes or no?
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: This is the tiger mom versus the soccer mom. The tiger mom is saying, listen, I want my children to be able to compete internationally. And I understand the rest of the world is going to school longer and more intensely.
The soccer mom is saying, listen, they need time to decompress and spend time with their family. So therefore you're infringing on our family time with your school work.
I think that the problem is the soccer mom doesn't understand that the responsibility for us as educators is to extend the workday as much as possible. Just because a child is doing homework it doesn't mean that they can't spend time with the family. You as a family member can sit down with them and support them.
I am first to get on educators when I feel we're falling short, giving busy work and not doing what we can do to be on our game. But a child cannot participate effectively in a literature class if the only place they can read the literature is in the classroom. CHETRY: We used to get a certain number of pages had to be read. You had to write up a summary. Galloway school district, northwest of Atlantic City, they're trying to remake how they decide on homework. They say that it should be ten minutes for each year of school. So 20 minutes for second graders. By the time you get up to sixth grade, it's an hour and so forth. They don't want it on weekends or during vacation. They're strongly considering putting this into effect.
PERRY: They're out of their minds. This is what happens when parents, who just want their summers, they want the nostalgia of their childhood to come back into play in a modern academic experience and a modern economy. So 120 minutes for a high school senior? This is one of the reasons why one-third of all student whose go on to college need remediation is because they haven't had enough effective academic experience.
COSTELLO: How many hours should a kid be doing homework once they get home from a school day?
PERRY: If it takes you ten minutes to read ten pages and it takes me an hour of the same ten pages, is it the amount of time or the assignment? We often don't realize it's not the length of the assignment but how long it takes me to do it. If I'm struggling with it so much so, the issue may not be the assignment. It may, in fact, be my emotional stability as a student.
We have to understand that we are making our children soft. I have seen parents in dugouts, pouring water in their child's mouth, sitting on the sideline with a football, rubbing his head as he sits on the sideline. We need to allow our children to struggle a little bit. They learn more from the struggle than they do from us removing the struggle. This is an example of us over-parenting and overanalyzing. Oprah's off the air now, folks. Chill out.
CHETRY: I'm sure many people are clamoring to take her place. There was a study on this, professor of psychology in neuroscience at Duke University said at some point it's diminishing returns. In some small dose it is reinforces skills but over ten minutes at that point they may not be retaining it anyway.
PERRY: I'm sure this professor doesn't give homework because he has children who are 21 years old, 25 years old. It simply doesn't wash when you actually look at it. The fact is that none of us would want to sit on an operating table with a physician who hadn't had homework.
We understand homework serves many purposes. One, it allows us to extend the lesson, one. Two, it gives us proof that the child knows how to do what they need to do. And, third, it allows for differentiation. Some children do just fine with 22 other children in the classroom, but some children need to sit and look at the information and absorb it.
It provides an opportunity for the child to prove that she or he can do the work. It's just another method of assessment and an extension of lesson. We have to understand that this is one of the reasons why children from all over the world are coming to the U.S. and whooping our kids' behinds. They're coming into the classrooms, not even speaking the language, and they're coming here with a certain academic capacity.
And ours is not as strong as theirs, because we are not pushing our children as hard as they want to be pushed. If you have two children, one who is younger, one who is older. Once the older child starts to do homework, the little one wants to do homework. It's seen as a method of being part of an academic experience.
Busy work is not homework. Teachers need to make sure they give thoughtful, meaningful work. On the same token, to remove it simply because your child cries, are you kidding me? Tell them to stop crying and show them they can do this work and help to build their confidence so the next day when they go to school they feel invigorated.
CHETRY: We'll take a lesson from you. Well, 120 minutes and you still -- oh, man. I'm glad you're not my teacher. Come on, Steve, after being in school for eight hours? All right, but your kids are getting into college. What can I say? CNN education contributor, Steve Perry, thanks.
PERRY: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Still to come this morning, top stories, including in Nebraska bracing for more extreme weather after a tornado touched down this weekend. The forecast is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 46 minutes past the hour. Here are this morning's headlines.
The United States is negotiating with the Taliban to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is confirming talks have been under way for weeks now. He insists we must keep troops there to keep up the military pressure if negotiations with the Taliban are to be successful.
Nebraska bracing for more extreme weather today. Several funnel clouds were spotted this weekend and at least one tornado touched down. Large hail and heavy rain pounded the states, thunderstorms in the forecast today.
We are entering week five -- can you believe it -- in the Casey Anthony trial. Now the prosecution may have been damaged by a defense witness. A renowned pathologist who criticized the autopsy of Caylee Anthony testifying the duct tape found on her skull was placed there after her death.
Crunch time for New York's same-sex marriage bill, the state's governor, Andrew Cuomo says he hopes the Senate votes today before the legislative session ends. One more Republican vote is needed before New York can become the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage.
And Miss California, Alista Campanella is the new Miss USA.
CHETRY: Wow.
COSTELLO: She beat out 50 other beauties and she turned a few heads when she said medical marijuana is medically beneficial. She'll compete in the Miss Universe Pageant in September.
And the markets are headed for a lower open this morning. The stock futures are down thanks to concerns about the financial crisis in Greece spreading to other European countries.
You are now caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All this week, CNN's taking an in-depth look at underage girls disappearing in the underworld of sex trafficking. It's all part of the CNN Freedom Project, which is highlighting the growing efforts to stop the trade and exploitation of human beings.
CHETRY: And joining us now is Rachel Lloyd. She survived her time in the sex trade as a teenager and is now working to keep other girls off the street. She is the founder and director of Girls' Educational Mentoring Services or GEMS. And she's also the author of a new memoir "Girls Like Us."
Rachel, great to have you with us. Thanks so much.
RACHEL LLOYD, GIRLS EDUCATIONAL MENTORING SERVICES: Thank you for having me.
CHETRY: Just share a little bit of your personal story. What happened to you? And what was your experience in this?
LLOYD: I think what didn't happen is probably more important, right? I didn't have a supportive family. I didn't have a protective community around me. And so growing up, being abused, growing up in an alcoholic home, I was easy prey, I guess, like many of the young people that we serve. And so I ended up getting into the sex industry.
I was actually older that many of the girls we serve. I was 17. Whereas many of the young people that we're serving are 11, 12, 13 years old.
CHETRY: That's shocking.
LLOYD: And so I ended up in a strip club in Germany. And met a guy who I thought was my boyfriend, who turned out to be a pimp who was very, very violent, incredibly violent and at one point tried to kill me on multiple occasions.
And at that point, I guess I just kind of hit bottom and reached out for help to a church. It was an American military church in Germany and managed to get out of the sex industry. I mean, my story is not necessarily the norm for how people are able to exit.
COSTELLO: Well, I was just going to say, we all know human trafficking exists. We all know it. But not many people do much about it. Why do you think that is?
LLOYD: I think there is a reluctance to think about who is doing the buying, right? Because if there's a supply, there has to be a -- there has demand. And so if that's happening, who is -- who's doing the buying?
COSTELLO: It might be our brother, our husbands, our friends?
LLOYD: Men we work with. Men we go to church with; men in our communities; men in our families. And right, these aren't pedophiles necessarily. They're men who want to buy sex. They don't really care how old the person is that they're buying.
CHETRY: And -- and so how is your organization, this Girls' Educational and Mentoring Services, this program, how does it help?
LLOYD: Well, GEMS works at this point with about 330 young girls and young women each year that have experienced domestic trafficking. And we provide -- I mean kind of everything that girls need: housing, shelter, clothing, health care, counseling and lots and lots of love.
And an affirmation that it wasn't your fault and that you're a victim because that's not what they're hearing from their families, the community, society in general. And that you can move past this. That this isn't -- this doesn't have to be your life. This is something that you can --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: See it's impossible to believe that you can move past something like that. I mean what does it take inside and what do you provide these girls to make them believe that they're a whole person again, that they can take pride in themselves and that they can work in a normal job, among people who haven't experienced the trauma that they have had?
LLOYD: I think it's a long-term kind of process. I definitely think that it's so possible to move past it. And to have -- right, there are scars that maybe people can't see, but you can go on to do so many things with your life.
And so I'm -- I think the young people that we work with are incredibly resilient and strong and courageous, right? They've survived things that most adults couldn't survive. And so I think -- I think young people need love and a community. And seeing other women who have gone through it makes such a difference. I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: You also strongly condemn the use of the word "prostitute" to describe underage girls in the sex trade. Why do you feel so strongly about that? LLOYD: Because prostitute denotes a level of choice. It just isn't possible -- I mean we're talking about young people who can't even legally consent to sex, right? In any other case we would be talking about statutory rape.
CHETRY: Right.
LLOYD: And yet when money is exchanged, somehow that child becomes a prostitute and not a victim anymore, that doesn't make kind of logical sense. And if you were exploited, trafficked, it's something that happened to you.
When we call someone a prostitute, that kind of sounds like who you are but when we frame it as it happening to you, then that's something you can recover from, too.
CHETRY: Well, you guys are doing amazing stuff.
LLOYD: Thank you.
CHETRY: And we encourage people to get involved. There is new information and more information on our Web site for people to find out.
Thanks so much for joining us and telling your story, Rachel Lloyd, author of "Girls Like Us" and founder of GEMS. I appreciate it.
LLOYD: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Yes. You rock. Thank you so much.
CHETRY: Also this weekend, don't miss a compelling CNN Freedom Project documentary, "NEPAL'S STOLEN CHILDREN." Actress Demi Moore travels to Nepal to meet the 2010 CNN Hero and some of the thousands of girls that her organization has rescued from this modern day form of slavery.
That's on Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
COSTELLO: And we want your thoughts on our "Question of the Day" right after the break. Actually we're going to read some of them.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is our "Question of the Day" time. And it's our top story this morning.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates confirming over the weekend that the United States is meeting face to face with the Taliban to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan.
And that brings us to the question of the day: CHETRY: Should the U.S. Be negotiating with the Taliban? We have a lot of -- we got a lot of great responses on Twitter. FoundLuckyStar: "At this point anything that brings our troops home and stop excessive spending is worth it so, yes, we should enter talks.
COSTELLO: This is from Reid on Facebook: "At first when I heard this my gut response was no. However after thinking about it more, I feel that if it will save American troops and lives, then yes. Let's bring our heroic troops home alive.
CHETRY: T_Rentster on Twitter: "Now that we've dropped millions pounds of ordnance on terror's doorstep they want to be friends? I don't think so."
COSTELLO: And it's from Lisa via Facebook: "Absolutely, we must find ways to end the war," -- and I think there is a real feeling in this country that we are one war-weary nation.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Yes.
COSTELLO: Keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, tell us on Facebook. For everyone who wrote in, thank you. We'll have another "Question of the Day" tomorrow.
CHETRY: All right. Here is another question. How cute is this kid? This is the video of the morning. A little boy becoming quite a YouTube sensation.
COSTELLO: Don't you know it? He was caught on camera, showing off some serious dance moves while playing the X-Box Kinect. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHILD DANCING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looks like I need a Kinect just to be able to play this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The video -- he was dancing to "Disturbia", Rihanna.
CHETRY: Which is a little disturbing but hey --
COSTELLO: It is disturbia-ing. The video was shot at a Microsoft store in Washington State in case you were curious.
CHETRY: His friends have so much ammunition to show at his wedding or high school graduation. I mean, look at that. But I mean, he has the moves down.
COSTELLO: He does. He's good. He has good hand/eye coordination already.
CHETRY: He sure does. They always need backup dancers, buddy. So go for it. So cute.
"CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips -- that's who we're going to turn it over to right now. How cute -- Kyra. I have avoided -- my kids are three and five have not gone down the video game route yet. But that's what you have to look forward to.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": I would love to see Kiran's kids on YouTube. Can you just imagine, Carol, what they would be doing?
COSTELLO: That would be priceless, I am sure.
