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American Morning
GOP Race Comes Alive; East St. Louis The New "Wild West"; Fight Against Flash Mobs; Rick Perry Expected to Announce Presidential Bid; New Documentary Examines Mountain Top Mining; Battle for Blair Mountain; Unlikely Animal Friendships
Aired August 12, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I don't need to tell you. Wild swings on Wall Street.
I'm Christine Romans.
Stocks in the U.S. come roaring back. Overseas markets are also up this morning. What can we expect from the opening bell rings in 90 minutes, though?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you and happy Friday. I'm Carol Costello.
After weeks of holding his cards, Texas Governor Rick Perry is going all in for 2012. Perry set to announce he is joining the Republican race for president.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
A GOP face-off in Iowa. The debate featuring the usual attacks on President Obama and a bitter war of words between two candidates from Minnesota -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: Good morning, everybody. It's Friday. Let me say it again. It's Friday! August 12th.
VELSHI: That means no more trading days after today this week.
ROMANS: I know but you can still have politicians raising money.
VELSHI: That's true. There is politics.
ROMANS: They're still money being made and lost.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Spending money in Iowa, however. We don't blame you if you feel dizzy after watching the markets bounce up and down all week. So, yes, we have to talk about the financial things first, before politics.
Right now, futures are up after the Dow jumped 423 points or nearly 4 percent yesterday to close above 11,000. Yes, a lot of people are getting back into the stock market because the prices are just so darn low.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei was down slightly and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up. But Britain's FTSE, much like most of the European markets, is up.
VELSHI: All right. Back here at home, President Obama ripping into lawmakers, accusing them of putting politics before patriotism. During a speech yesterday, he said it's the bickering in Washington that resulted in a first ever downgrade of America's AAA credit. He also defended the American worker and urged Congress to pass bills that will create jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Start making things here in America that are sold all around the world and that is why I'm here today. I've said it before, I will say it again -- you cannot bet against the American worker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I hope he's right.
The president also saying he is reluctant to call Congress back to work on the deficit because, quote, "The last thing we need is Congress spending more time arguing."
VESLHI: Corporations are people. Remember that line because it may come back to bite Mitt Romney. The frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination was at the Iowa state fair yesterday and he's fielding questions from voters when he was asked about the issue of raising taxes -- and that's where things got a little awkward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we are ultimately, not just this year, but over the coming decades, going to be able to balance our budget' and not spend more than we take in, we have to make sure that the promises we make in Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are promises we can keep. And there are various ways to doing that. One is we can raise taxes on people.
CROWD: Corporation! Big-time corporation!
ROMNEY: Corporations are people, my friend.
CROWD: No, they're not.
ROMNEY: Of course, they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately go to people. Where do you think it goes?
CROWD: It goes in their pocket!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It doesn't sound like Republicans coming out to hear the thoughts of one of the potential candidates, does it?
VELSHI: The fellow who was heckling him has done that before. He makes a habit of it.
Democrats are jumping on Romney's corporations are people line. DNC chair, Debbie Wassermann Schultz, who you see here, called it a shocking admission and called it shameless.
ROMANS: Mitt Romney's front runner status in the Republican presidential race. And you know, it could take a hit now that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to get in.
GOP voters generally dissatisfied with the current field of candidates. Perry is expected to launch his campaign tomorrow in South Carolina and, from there, he'll head to Iowa.
COSTELLO: You know, some people are talking about a Perry/Palin ticket.
ROMANS: Perry/Palin?
COSTELLO: Think about it.
ROMANS: The alliteration is overwhelming.
COSTELLO: It is! A very attractive team they would be. I don't know. We'll talk about that in a little bit.
The gang of eight Republican presidential hopefuls shared the stage for a debate in Iowa last night. You know that. But the two candidates from Minnesota stole the show engaging in political hand- to-hand combat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't cut deals with special interests where you put the peril life issue together with tax increase issues. That's a fundamental. It's a nonnegotiable and when we come to a nonnegotiable, we must stand and I stand.
TIM PAWLENY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Her answer is illogical. If there were two bad things in a bill, a tax increase and hypothetical stripping away pro-life provisions which we weren't, then it's a double reason to vote against it. She voted for it.
BACHMANN: I need to respond to that. I need to respond to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We have other people here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: In the meantime, the FOX News debate moderator has learned something about one of the other candidates. No one puts Rick Santorum in a corner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We have other people here.
BACHMANN: I need to respond to that because -- I need to respond to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michele, Michele, Michele.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are some other people are here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the next question. I understand. You have the next question, senator. I promise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So Rick Perry getting into the race and the Bachmann/Pawlenty grudge match, signs the GOP presidential race might be coming to life.
COSTELLO: It was feisty last night.
Joining us now from Des Moines, Iowa, Candy Crowley, our chief political correspondent and host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."
So, Candy, in your mind, was there a winner last night?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Listen, you know, in the end, I don't think there were -- anybody's position in this race changed mightily. I think, first of all, we have like the next shoe to drop and that will be the Iowa straw poll on Saturday. There is sort a lot of commentary that Pawlenty didn't look that good.
I can tell you, the fact of the matter is when two people who are standing on stage with others and the two people are fighting, the people who win are the other ones -- so, you know, and particularly when most of the audience or much of the audience can't follow what the argument is about.
So, you'd have to look and say, listen, Mitt Romney managed to stay above the fray. He went in this as the presumed front-runner and I think how he comes out and I think the rest of that ticket of slate of candidates kind of stays the same.
ROMANS: I heard a Republican strategist say the winners were Barack Obama and Rick Perry because they weren't there on that stage, you know, and they were kind of looking presidential off camera.
CROWLEY: Well, listen. The president, who we did not expect to show up at the Republican debate, certainly took a lot of hits last night and Rick Perry took some hits afterwards from the Bachmann people saying, well, why didn't he show up? If he is going to be a candidate, you know, after all, Michele Bachman people say she showed up before she officially announced, where was he?
So, that fight is already joined because in the end, when you look at the mix of this race, everyone thought it's will be Mitt Romney versus not Mitt Romney. And so, the slot that's open is not Mitt Romney. And that's where Perry comes into play.
Can he, in fact, you know, take over Bachmann's position? Can he knock Pawlenty and Huntsman out of the race? That kind of thing.
So, it's not essentially that Mitt Romney won anything last night, but he didn't lose anything last night. So, it seems to me the race is stable until Saturday night and then ask me again Sunday. All right. Monday.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about Saturday night. I'm just curious, because Ron Paul spent an awful lot of money, like $31,000 for a special position so that he could, you know, attract the right audience and keep it and give his little pitch. Is he still strong in Iowa? I mean, who is expected to win the straw poll?
CROWLEY: Well, Bachmann, Paul -- you know, the first three, maybe four lots, will matter in this straw poll. But in the end, let's remember, this is a party fund-raiser. This is a Republican Party fund-raiser. You have to pay mightily if you're a candidate to get that tent that Paul has of $31,000, I think, because it's right next to where everybody goes in and they all come. And they bring free food and they have a tent and they do this. And they pay for buses and tickets to bring in voters.
So, yes, it's a test of organization, but it's also a test of the pocketbook.
ROMANS: Right, a test of the organization of the campaign.
CROWLEY: Who could bring them.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: -- whose campaign is in the best mode really.
CROWLEY: Well, yes, I mea, you know, maybe. But, remember, that a very small group of people -- by that, I mean a small group of people within Iowa come and it tends to be the most conservative. Ron Paul -- and the most passionate. Ron Paul has the most concerned and most passionate in whatever state he is in.
And so, the advantage goes to that candidate.
But, at this point, if you talk to a lot of folks on who have been watching this for some time on the ground here, they'll tell you they can't actually call it. It's going to be fun to watch because there's no clear oh, so and so is going to take this away. So, it could be a surprise and at least for a week, it will shake up the race and we'll see what happens after that.
VELSHI: All right. Candy, thanks very much for that. It's going to be exciting to watch the next few days.
ROMANS: I know you're right. And it's going to be exciting to watch Candy's show, CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Sundays at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. This Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, a particularly insightful show as it always is, right here on CNN.
ROMANS: She said the Romney and the anti-Romney and the whole Republican field is the anti-Barack Obama Republican field.
VELSH: So, by the time you see Candy's show on Sunday, we'll have had the straw poll, we'll have had Rick Perry announce. This is very exciting political weekend.
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: And you won't have the stock market to distract you.
COSTELLO: Thank goodness for that.
It appears Michele Bachmann's message is getting through the voters of Iowa. The Tea Party darling is the most Googled candidate in the state, just ahead of tomorrow's key straw poll, Bachmann related searches have surged during this past week. Bachmann has generated far more interest than any other candidate on the straw poll ballot.
VELSHI: I wonder whether that, some of that is that "Newsweek" cover. People were looking up Michele Bachmann a lot.
ROMANS: So, they could see the "Newsweek" maybe.
COSTELLO: No publicity is bad publicity.
VESLHI: I agree.
ROMANS: She never said a word about it, right?
COSTELLO: Smart.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Meanwhile, "Newsweek" -- we have been talking about "Newsweek" a lot because of these covers that they do with Diana and Kate Middleton and now this. No publicity is bad publicity for "Newsweek" apparently either.
All right. Animal lovers, listen up. How's this for unlikely friendship, I love this story -- a pit bull, a Siamese cat and little chicks. That's only one of only many, many unusual friendships between polar opposite in the animal world we have got to show you today in this fantastic book.
Stay with us. There are some fantastic pictures in here that you'll want to see.
ROMANS: Also, Mattel has come out with a new Barbie doll in honor of the late actress Farrah Fawcett. Forget the perfectly featured hair. The doll is wearing that famous red swimsuit. We're going to show it to you.
COSTELLO: And after a month of 100-degree heat, is it true? Is the triple digit heat streak over in Texas? What about the record?
It's 11 minutes past the hour.
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VELSHI: All right. Aruban officials say the suspect in the case of a missing American woman in America, 50-year-old Gary Giordano is no longer cooperating with police. He's been detained in connection with Robyn Gardner who went missing last week. Two o them were vacationing together after meeting on a dating Web site more than a year ago. Now, Aruban authorities have asked the FBI to step in and help with the investigation.
ROMANS: Rounding up the rioters now. Police in London have been raiding homes, trying to track down people responsible for days and nights of street violence of looting. More than 1,800 people have been arrested now nationwide, so far, in connection with that rioting. The crime spree is what the British Prime Minister David Cameron said police waited too long to act after a shooting last weekend. It seems to be the trigger of the unrest.
COSTELLO: Here at home in East St. Louis, Illinois, it's now being called the new Wild West. It's among the most dangerous places in America. That's why Illinois senator, Dick Durbin, is calling in federal law enforcement to help out state and local police to deal with all the crime. He plans to assign the patrol the city's drug infested public housing complex.
VELSHI: Of course, East St. Louis is on the east side of the Mississippi, so it's in Illinois.
Philadelphia fighting back against flash mobs. Kids, some as young as 11, have joined these groups that have been going wreaking havoc and attacking random people. So, a city wide curfew for teens to be enforced tonight, starting tonight. They've got to be off the streets by 9:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights. Philly's mayor says he's ready to punish mob participants, and, by the way, if they get fined a second time, the parents get fined as well.
ROMANS: Like 500 bucks.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: They lost the fastest plane in the world. The Pentagon launching the hypersonic HTV-2 yesterday, but the flight ended after 30 minutes when officials lost contact with the aircraft and it crashed into the pacific. The HTV-2 is designed to be able to fly any -- reach any military target in the world within an hour. It can fly -- so, hypothetically, that means they can fly from New York to L.A. in 12 minutes. The first test flight in 2010 last really nine minutes before the plane crashed into the ocean. Obviously, it's a huge experiment. It's a big experiment.
VELSHI: Right. It's not meant for commercial.
ROMANS: No.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: It goes up in, you know, -- it goes almost suborbital. It does go suborbital and then comes back down.
ROMANS: The question is what happens to your face when you're like going mach 20?
COSTELLO: Nothing pretty, that's for sure.
Scorching Texas heat finally eased just a bit, enough to end a 40-day streak of triple digit temperatures in Dallas. It's just two days shy of the record for consecutive days of triple digit heat set in 1980. It will be around 100 again today, though, and through the weekend. And next week, a new streak could begin.
VELSHI: And that's Dallas you're looking at right now.
ROMANS: Good morning, Dallas, and good morning, Rob Marciano. He's in Johns Creek, Georgia where the heat is something of a topic of conversation there as well. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes. You know, it will get cooler as we get towards the end of August and through September. That is inevitable, also inevitable as we head in August, the fourth and final major of the year, the 93rd PGA Championship being held here at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Round one over. As we mentioned early in the broadcast, Tiger won (ph) +7
The other big story is Rory McIlroy who injured his wrist early in the round and managed to finish even getting through the pain. It is a strained tendon, and he just arrived on the practice tee, expected to go off in about 20 minutes. So, we'll see how he does today. All right. Talking about weather. Yes, it's been hot. As a matter of fact, I say about 90 percent of the guys in the past couple of days have been wearing white hats just to stay cool, one more way to stay cool.
Ninety-two today for a high 90 expected Saturday and a better chance of seeing showers on Sunday. You guys mentioned the record heat or the lack thereof. In Dallas, yesterday, the list of records has been shrinking, thankfully, but it was 102 in Houston, 97 in Dallas yesterday, and that stops their streak at 40. The odd thing is that people wanted to break the record after suffering for 40 days of 100-degree plus temperature. They got a little bit of rain outside of Dallas yesterday. They'll take it in West Texas. Lubbock, midland saw some rainfall yesterday, badly needed stuff. Of course, they need much more than that. The northeast looks pretty nice today. It will be dry with comfortable levels of humidity.
As far as the tournament is concerned, two popular Midwesterners from Madison, Wisconsin at the top of the leader board at -7, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly at -5. Round two of the PGA Championship now under way here just north of Atlanta -- Guys.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Rob.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
VELSHI: And track your favorite players through the weekend. Live coverage of the PGA Championship all day on pga.com beginning 1:00 p.m. eastern on TNT.
COSTELLO: Farrah Fawcett, she's been immortalized.
ROMANS: She already is on that poster.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: It's true. But this time, maybe it's better. I don't know. She's been immortalized as a Barbie. Toy maker Mattel launched the new doll to replicate the famous 1970s poster where Fawcett posed in a red bathing suit. Just look. They captured the late "Charlie's Angels" actress perfectly.
ROMANS: Yes. That's pretty good.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: From her big smile to her feathered blond hair.
COSTELLO: I had that hairstyle. I'm sure you did, too, Christine.
ROMANS: Mine is too thin to feather like that. I only dreamed of it.
VELSHI: I didn't.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Just saying.
COSTELLO: Well, you had to have hair at some point in your life.
VELSHI: I did. I did. Didn't look like that. I'm not going down that road.
ROMANS: We're going to dig up those pictures here for about next week. VELSHI: The Farrah Fawcett doll is even wearing a small gold necklace, and it goes on sale for about $35.
COSTELLO: The audiences (ph), the campy little girl (INAUDIBLE) who were like --
VELSHI: Well, yes, because no little girl is going to remember that.
COSTELLO: Right.
ROMANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But they're going to see --
ROMANS: No little girl. No interns or any of our production assistants know what we're talking about.
VELSHI: That's true. Yes.
ROMANS: I feel old. She may have a superstar mom, but Madonna's daughter is building her own empire now. Lourdes Leon just unveiled her new make-up line called "Material Girl Beauty." It's made of fun eye shadows, lip glosses, perfumes, all aimed at teen. Lourdes already has her own clothing line which launched last summer. She's 14 years old if --
VELSHI: Wow. Yes.
ROMANS: All of the mini-mogul's products are sold at Macy's, and also, in the do-I-feel-old category.
VELSHI: Yes. No kidding --
ROMANS: I thought she was like a three-year-old, and then, suddenly, she became 14 overnight.
COSTELLO: She looks like a grown-up, too and exactly like Madonna.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question this morning, should there be gay characters on children's television shows? You know where I'm going because I'm sure you've heard. There are calls for "Sesame Street's" Bert and Ernie to get married. An online petition has been flying around the internet, 6,000 plus signatures so far.
It's the brain child of a Chicago man who says, "We are not asking that "Sesame Street" do anything crude or disrespectful, only that they allow Bert and Ernie to marry or even add a transgender character to the show." Even at a time same-sex marriage is allowed in six states, that's controversial.
Who can forget the Tinky-Winky controversy? Evangelist, Jerry Falwell, accusing the Teletubbie of being a closet of homosexual because he carried a purse. A quote, "immoral lesion for little boys."
ROMANS: Well, you know the closet if you're carrying a (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: But he had that triangle thing on his head, too, and that was supposedly a sign of --
ROMANS: And he was purple. And he was purple.
Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick also talking it because they hold hands a lot. They, too, accused of sending the wrong message, But according to the creator of the Bert and Ernie get married petition, the same-sex marriage or even a gay character on children's television will teach tolerance for those who are different. As for what "Sesame Street" says, it says Bert and Ernie are best friends and they remain puppets and do not have a sexual orientation.
COSTELLO: The talkback question this morning, should there be gay characters on children's television? Facebook.com/americanmorning. Facebook.com/americanmorning. Read your comments later this hour.
VELSHI: What was Tinky-Winky meant to be?
ROMANS: They're just little --
COSTELLO: Nonsense.
VELSHI: It's a --
ROMANS: Have you ever watched it? It's like --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Hallucinogenic. Very strange.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Teletubbies.
COSTELLO: They want a transgender person or transgender monster like --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I just thought it was no gender.
COSTELLO: I know it's true.
ROMANS: What do you know? VELSHI: All right. Markets zigging or zagging? We'll tell you on the other side. We're watching your money. Twenty-three minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Watching your money this morning. Big swings in premarket trading ahead of the opening bell. Right now, U.S. stock futures trading higher. All three major market indicators closed higher yesterday. Mortgage rates still falling. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 4.3 percent in the past week. It's getting pretty close to record lows according to a survey by Freddie Mac.
You could be seeing higher food prices at the supermarket this fall. The USDA says heat, drought, flooding made for a brutal growing season for corn, soybeans, and wheat as expected to push up the prices related food items. What are those related food items? Everything. From pasta to soda, of course, anything else made with any of those crops.
Still ahead, Texas governor, Rick Perry, getting into the race now. He's expected to shake things up. So, what's his strategy to win it all? We'll tell you. AMERICAN MORNING coming back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Washington, D.C. A beautiful shot of the White House this morning. Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, heading for a high of 89.
Even before Rick Perry decided to make it official, the Texas governor was considered a leading Republican candidate for president. A recent CNN/ORC poll showed Perry was the second choice of the GOP voters right behind Mitt Romney. And in a general matchup against President Obama, Perry had 46 percent compared to Obama's 51 percent. Rick Perry will officially announce his campaign for the White House tomorrow.
But joining us from Austin, Texas, is James Moore, co-author of "Bush's Brain." He's covered Texas politics for decades. Thank you for joining us this morning.
JAMES MOORE, CO-AUTHOR, "BUSH'S BRAIN": My pleasure.
COSTELLO: You have followed Perry his entire career and you think he is going to take the Republican nomination. Why?
MOORE: I think there are a number of reasons, but among them are the competition. And it's interesting that we don't speak about some of the most critical factors in these presidential elections. And in this particular election, one of the unspoken issues is religion. And Perry, of course, is front and center, wears his religion like a power tie. And what he is saying to everybody who in the party, particularly in the primary process, the tea party individuals and the evangelicals I'm not a Mormon. And there is a resistant among fundamentalists and Christians within the primary process for the Republican Party to vote not for a Mormon. They are resistant to vote for a Mormon. And Perry is trying to send the message he is the guy. And I think he will do very well and Mitt Romney is going to have to struggle against this even as a frontrunner right now.
COSTELLO: But I thought that -- - you know, he held the prayer rally, we already know that. But once he is seriously in the race, isn't he just going to talk about jobs, jobs, jobs and then like kind of be a little quiet on the religious aspect of his campaign?
MOORE: I think that there is no question, Carol, that that is exactly what he is going to do is, that he is going to go back to the center and he is going to beat up the president on the economy. He is going to talk about the jobs that exist here in Texas.
And every time that the Obama team criticized the Texas jobs and talks about the fact that many of them are minimum wage jobs, the Perry team will turn around and turn that into an attack on the working men and women of America and suggest that the White House is insensitive. But you're not going to see any talk about religion in the campaign significantly, but Perry is going to continue to wear his faith very out front and center for people to see it so that the distinction between himself and Mr. Romney is very obvious to people and I don't expect -- go ahead.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about Rick Perry. Supposedly he has created many, many jobs for the state of Texas. The creation of jobs, half the new jobs in this country were created in Texas and Rick Perry is taking credit for that. How much of the credit belongs to Rick Perry?
MOORE: Well, that's a good question and many analysts have suggested that the numbers are blown up. But there is a significant amount of economic activity in Texas, though many of these jobs are smaller.
But I don't think he should get much credit for it, frankly, at all. Although we have a climate where there is no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, and that makes companies want to come down here, that existed before Rick Perry came along. There is good weather. There is a good population. There is a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurs. We have the Silicon Hills in Austin and the tech industry is really taking off in Texas, so there are a lot of things are happening. But many of these are blessings of geography and weather and simply circumstance that have absolutely nothing to do with Rick Perry.
COSTELLO: And oil, by the way.
MOORE: And oil, by the way.
COSTELLO: One comment that is continue to Perry, though, and will continue to dog him even after he announces is this intimidation that maybe Texas should be able to secede from the union. This is what he said a couple of years ago. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY, (R) TEXAS: There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it, but if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So in listening to that, can that be potentially damaging down the line?
MOORE: I think he is going to walk it back. You know, most people consider that an irresponsible statement, and many people actually consider it reprehensible that a governor of a state would suggest such a thing. He has got to walk it back.
He was, obviously, appealing to the tea party folks who have energized his campaign and who have energized the Republican primary process right now. But he's going to hear about that in the future from the Obama team and from his opponents within the primary process.
But he has got to walk it back and say, look, I was speaking to an attitude in Texas that we have had for ever and ever. There isn't any secession as a possibility here under the Texas constitution. But he is speaking to a discontent that exists in this state, and it resonated with the number of crowds, and it made him very, very popular very early on when it a number of other Republicans and other political activists were stepping away from the Tea Party, he was embracing their sentiments and it helped him a great deal.
COSTELLO: Right. The Tea Party loves states' rights. James Moore, thank you so much for talking with us. Fascinating conversation.
MOORE: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
ROMANS: It really is.
Still ahead, a question. What would you choose -- saving jobs or saving the environment? That is the issue at the center of the debate over coal mining, a certain kind of coal mining in America.
VELSHI: CNN's Soledad O'Brien goes to a quiet small town in West Virginia and gets in the middle of a loud high stakes fight between coal companies, politicians, and environmentalists. It's a difficult but fascinating debate. Soledad gives us a sneak peek of battle for Blair Mountain coming up next.
It's 36 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: There's a battle raging in the coal fields of West Virginia, a big controversy over mountain top removal mining.
VELSHI: And this is pitting environmentalists against miners. Some are saying it creates jobs, which this country needs, which West Virginia needs. Critics are arguing that it simply destroys nature.
COSTELLO: It sure is ugly when you see it. As part of her upcoming "Battle for Blair Mountain" documentary, Soledad O'Brien introduces us to people whose lives and futures are most affected, and she joins us live now. I can't wait to see this.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it has turned into a great documentary, and what great timing, because you guys have all been talking jobs, jobs, jobs all today, and of course that's how the presidential race is going to framed. I'm pretty sure of that.
We're talking about mountain top removal mining. As you say, there are people who drive by and say that has ruined a mountain and others who say I see that mountain and I think jobs. I think productivity. I think my family working. And so it's really coming down to this debate, it's been framed as this debate between jobs and the environment, and should you have to pick between a healthy environment and a community that has been put to work?
So we went to Blair Mountain in West Virginia to explore what their big fight is really over. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: James and Linda Dials live near Blair Mountain in West Virginia, ground zero in the battle over mountain top removal mining. One side says it's a fight to preserve jobs. The other side says it's about preserving mountains.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far as the community goes, it's not much left any more. You know, there is still some people here, but in this area, that's all there is. The coal company, if it shuts down, it would be a ghost town. Nothing left.
O'BRIEN: People have said to me, you're asking me to pick between how a mountain looks and how a job, I'll pick the job. I'll pick someone's job because that means feeding their family and giving them a livelihood and a community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's temporary. The job is temporary. What they have done here is permanent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See that mountain right there? If they would strip, you know, mountain top removal and left, I would be the first one to complain about it. That's my job is doing the reclamation, seeing that it's being done right.
O'BRIEN: James believes surface mining projects bring jobs into his area. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They need to understand that, yes, you can mine coal. You can give jobs to people, but you can't do it at the expense of their lives, their health, their water, their air. That's too much.
O'BRIEN: That's why, as 2011 begins, Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is weighing whether to allow the largest mountain top mining permit ever proposed in the state of West Virginia. It's called Spruce One.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: So we document really the battle over Spruce One and what happens when the EPA yanks that permit. And really some of the coal mining housewives become activists. Some of the environmentalist activists who march on Blair Mountain try to bring attention to the issue. Ultimately I think it comes down to jobs. A coal miner can make $65,000 a year. Another job in retail does not come close to that.
COSTELLO: Is there somewhere they can meet in the middle? I know they try to rebuild the mountain tops, but the question you just told me is the coal company really doing that?
O'BRIEN: Mitigation is what it's called, and some people work to try to rebuild. You don't have to rebuild the mountain top but you have rebuild to the same slope, a similar slope. And there is a lot of question about that. Does it have the same integrity, meaning when it rains does stuff slide down the mountain, is it the same thing?
This is what we investigate and uncover. And, ultimately, there are no green jobs at this moment moving into this location in Logan County. You know, Google is not about to build an office in Logan County and everyone will have a great job. That is a really realistic concern for the people who live there make $65,000 a year and can support their families.
ROMANS: It is not about Logan County because we are burning and using every lump of coal we can get out of the ground as a nation. You know, we are using all of that energy.
VELSHI: More than half the electricity in this country is generated by coal. Not natural gas, not nuclear, not wind, not water. It's coal.
O'BRIEN: I think it's typical not to have a long-range plan that transitions people from good jobs as opposed to transition them out of jobs altogether and then 10 years later, 15 years later, into a good job.
COSTELLO: But the thing I don't understand is if you look at West Virginia, it's a sad state. Not like it's --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: But it's suffering its own economic woes, despite the coal industry. So at some point, don't the state leaders say we got to figure out something else instead of just trying to save one industry?
O'BRIEN: They actually, financially, are doing well because of coal. Where they rank low is in certain measurements like education, et cetera, et cetera. You're sort of wondering, why is there so much poverty in that state at the same time? I think that's true, but that's one of those long-range questions can kill people in the short range. In the long-range we are trying to get people jobs.
VELSHI: It's not entirely different from the auto industry.
ROMANS: If it's a one horse state or one horse state or county --
COSTELLO: That's why I ask that question, because it's a frustration. Ohio has great talent, and you see the great talent moving out and not staying in Ohio because there is nothing there except certain industries.
O'BRIEN: Right. What you do is you have to have someone thinking about changing from a one-horse town but at the same time, transitioning people. I have been -- Shenandoah, Pennsylvania was a coal town. Coal left. Shenandoah is poor. No one moved in and no big industry has come over in Shenandoah.
COSTELLO: But Pittsburgh on the other hand was also a very big industrial town, is now a diversified base and doing well. So it's all about the planning.
ROMANS: It's the choices that our elected officials are making that are so important and we have so much faith in them.
COSTELLO: I know, but we love --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: And we look forward to it.
O'BRIEN: And in -- in Logan County, the elected officials are underwritten, in many cases, by the coal companies.
ROMANS: I can't wait to see it, Soledad. And you can watch the whole documentary yourself "WORKING IN AMERICA: THE BATTLE FOR BLAIR MOUNTAIN" this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
COSTELLO: Coming up next unbelievable, unlikely animal friendships like a gorilla and a kitten -- isn't this nice coming --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Look at this thing. There's a little kitten in there.
ROMANS: Ali loves this.
VELSHI: I love this. I'm crazy for this book. COSTELLO: I'm concerned that you love this story so much.
VELSHI: I mean I want to know why the gorilla doesn't eat the kitten. But we have so many examples of pairings of animals that make no logical sense, unusual friendships, polar opposites in the animal world.
We're going to sit down with the author next and check this whole thing out. You don't want to miss it.
45 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Ok, so you've heard the saying "Birds of a feather, flock together." What about birds of a different feather or birds and other animals?
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: We catch your drift.
ROMANS: We are talking about a leopard cuddling with a cow or a kitten cuddling up with a gorilla.
COSTELLO: You get the picture.
ROMANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Some pictures look at this unlikely friendships of the animal kingdom are actually not uncommon.
Joining us to talk about it is Jennifer Holland, she is the author -- she is the author of "Unlikely Friendships", and a senior writer for "National Geographic.
So you're saying this isn't unusual? Because when I see a picture like this, I say, oh this is so bizarre.
JENNIFER HOLLAND, AUTHOR, "UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS": It is, I mean I think it's -- it may be more common than we think certainly in captive situations. It's not quite as surprising. But it does happen in the wild. And --
ROMANS: But what happened, because the animal's imprinting on another animal? Because a lot of these pictures are from one of the animals is a little baby.
HOLLAND: Right. Sometimes that is the case. I think the context is important. Sometimes there's an animal that's lost its mother or lost its baby and it seems to instinctively need the companionship that it would have gotten from that other animal.
VELSHI: So let's take a look at this one. We -- we saw this a little earlier --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: This is Ali's -- is this your favorite?
VELSHI: It's not my favorite. My favorite is the next one. But this was the most unusual to me because it brings me to the question of why one of these things, and I guess it's because they are in captivity. They are not wild so they're not just to eating everything alive around them.
HOLLAND: Right.
VELSHI: But it does seem a little weird.
HOLLAND: It does.
VELSHI: A gorilla and a kitten there hanging out.
COSTELLO: Well, a gorilla wouldn't eat a kitten anyway, right?
(CROSSTALK)
HOLLAND: They are vegetarian and you know, this gorilla could just crush this kitten in its hand.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Right.
HOLLAND: But you know, primates is --
VELSHI: Right, they're nurturing.
HOLLAND: You know, they are nurturing.
VELSHI: Yes.
HOLLAND: And -- and certainly having a pet is -- isn't completely crazy apparently for something like a gorilla.
ROMANS: We have a Rhodesian ridgeback (ph) and a piglet.
VELSHI: This is absolutely my favorite. Look at that piglet at the bottom there.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLLAND: You can barely see it.
ROMANS: He put the picture, he's printed it out and put it on his computer screen this morning and he's going to keep it forever.
VELSHI: I love this. Well, I happen to think that in this case the piglet is a snack.
COSTELLO: They should have named it Bacon I think.
ROMANS: Because the dog -- because the dog saved its life, right?
HOLLAND: The dog -- the dog nurtured this -- this piglet that would have died probably without -- without having the sort of parent figure. And it's just a gentle wonderful loving dog that clearly has this instinctive wonderful nature toward other animals.
COSTELLO: The next one is a orangutan and tiger cub.
HOLLAND: Yes.
COSTELLO: I guess the question I'd like to ask you is why are people so fascinated by looking at these types of pictures?
HOLLAND: It's -- that's a good question. I feel it's -- it's such a -- you know, the news is so bad out there, as you guys certainly know.
VELSHI: Right.
HOLLAND: And having something like cute animals getting together and just kind of seeing these endearing moments, I think, really just resonates with people.
VELSHI: You'll notice, Carol, there isn't a donkey and an elephant in here.
COSTELLO: I know. I was thinking different species --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLLAND: We left that one out.
COSTELLO: -- that humans could get together.
VELSHI: We can't -- we can't get same species of humans to agree on stuff. That's why we're fascinating.
COSTELLO: No if -- if they were -- if you consider them different species though, Christine and I were trying to come up with the oddest combinations.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: And mine was Nancy Pelosi and Rush Limbaugh.
ROMANS: Mine was Dennis Kucinich and Sarah Palin.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: What is -- this is not the stock market and it's not politics.
HOLLAND: Right, right. So what's not to like?
VELSHI: You've got a -- yes here's one that you know we think of pit bulls, a lot of people have associations with pit bulls as a sort of rough.
HOLLAND: Sure.
VELSHI: You've got one with pit bulls, a pit bull, a cat, and little chicks.
HOLLAND: And chicks, yes. This is just a wonderful household. I'd like to be a part of this household because the Helen Arnold, the owner, takes these terrific videos. She's got this gentle kind pit bull, it does really go against the stereo type of what you think of a pit bull.
And any animal she brings home, the pit bull would just --
ROMANS: She's like a menagerie.
HOLLAND: She does.
COSTELLO: Right.
VELSHI: Yes.
HOLLAND: Yes and she spends a lot of time photographing and taping them. And it's a lot of fun.
ROMANS: This is the dove. This one is a beautiful one as well.
VELSHI: Yes, this is great. This is great. It's a --
COSTELLO: Yes, yes.
VELSHI: Look at that. I mean, that really happened?
HOLLAND: Yes. Yes. That's in our --
COSTELLO: Oh come on.
HOLLAND: This is in a park in China.
COSTELLO: How did the bird stay there?
HOLLAND: No. It's -- the bird had probably lost its mate and the staff at this Chinese sanctuary brought the dove in and the macaque had lost its troop and the two just hit it off for about two months.
VELSHI: Come on, Carol, makes you want to cry. Look at that.
ROMANS: Doesn't it show you a need for connection? For real connection?
HOLLAND: Absolutely. I think animals just like, you know, human animals, need companionship and need that warmth.
ROMANS: Speaking of being with animals, isn't that you kissing a grouper? HOLLAND: That is. That is me in Australia. I get up close and personal as often as I can.
COSTELLO: Is it true that your husband lived with a raccoon?
HOLLAND: He did. Yes. He grew up with a raccoon, one of the smartest pets you can have, apparently.
VELSHI: Oh, yes. They can unlock your door. I would imagine that they --
HOLLAND: It unlocked the door. It took showers with him. It rode on his shoulder when he rode his bike. It was just an incredible animal.
ROMANS: I need to talk to your husband about how to carry my garbage can.
VELSHI: I would teach a raccoon how to give me a massage and how to, you know, cook. I mean it's got opposable thumbs. It's fantastic.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Oh, wow. It's really fascinating.
VELSHI: I love it. Everybody I've seen, we had this book sitting around and everybody would just sort of walk over it and I would know what they're doing because they'd just start chuckling. It's just a feel good.
ROMANS: It is.
VELSHI: Like I said, it's not the stock market and it's not politics. So it's a good book.
ROMANS: No donkey, no elephant.
COSTELLO: That was a very good one.
VELSHI: "Unlikely Friendships" how Democrats and Republicans can get along even if you don't feel like the same breed.
COSTELLO: Jennifer Holland, thank you so much. Really great to see you.
HOLLAND: Thank you.
COSTELLO: It's 53 minutes past the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELEN ASHE, CNN HERO OF THE WEEK: Daddy, he worked hard for what we have. He taught us not to take the last piece of bread from the table. Somebody may come by that is hungry. My name is Helen Ash. And I am the happy founder of the Love Kitchen. We address the needs of the five H's, I say. The homeless, the hungry, the hopeless, the home-bound and the helpless.
Do you have the coffee and the cups out?
My sister Ellen is a blessing to me. And how about those small tomatoes, Ellen?
The lord sent two because there's so much more to do for one.
You want me to help you?
We went to nursing school. Back then, segregation was pretty rampant. I just saw the black people that was having a problem with transportation and food.
So what are we going start off with this morning?
Every day on my way home, I would tell my sister, one day, I'm going to do something about this.
We getting ready to open the line. The first day we served 22 meals. That was in 1986. And since that time, we have been growing, growing, growing, growing.
Everybody here is a volunteer. They enjoy doing what we are doing. We deliver from 1,400 to 2,200 meals every Thursday to our home-bound people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's my buddy.
ASHE: We were taught to work for what we got and to share what we did get. And we help so many people that are in need and that is what keeps us going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Talk about a bad song leading into our talk back question. We asked this question because some people want Bert and Ernie to get married. We asked the question, should there be gay characters on children's television shows.
And here are some of your responses.
This from Alden: "Sexuality incorporated into a program for toddlers is not appropriate. But accepting diversity and how people present themselves is 100 percent appropriate and needed. Anyone opposed to seeing characters of different orientations is simply closing their eyes to the reality of life."
This from Kristy: "No, absolutely not. Why must people push this subject so far? I teach my children to respect others but I think it's going way too far when it's being forced into my living room and on my children's TV shows. Can we stop trying to be so politically correct on this? It's getting ridiculous.
And this from Patrick: "This is the wrong question. A better question would be, with all the straight characters on children's television are we giving our kids a balanced view of the real world?
ROMANS: What's unbalanced about Cookie Monster? I mean how do you -- any I don't know if he is straight or if he is gay. The only thing about him is having a blue furry monster.
VELSHI: I just know that he shares my appetite for cookies.
ROMANS: Cookie.
COSTELLO: Cookie. We had great response this morning to our question. Thank you so much for writing in. If you want to continue the conversation it's Facebook.com/Americanmorning. And thanks so much for your comments.
VELSHI: That will do it for us. Another guy who shares my appetite for good food is my friend T.J. Holmes. "CNN NEWSROOM" starts right now with him.
T.J. take that anywhere --
T.J. HOLMES, CNN HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Ok. Did Christine just suggest that the Cookie Monster was gay?
ROMANS: No.
HOLMES: Did I hear that right?
ROMANS: I said he is a blue furry monster. Who cares?
HOLMES: OK.
