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American Morning
Interview with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus; Stealth Fleet Grounded; Deal For 'West Memphis Three"; West Memphis Three May Be Freed; White House to Unveil Immigration Plan; Former Yankees Bat Boy Writes Tell-All Book; ADHD on the Rise
Aired August 19, 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: Markets across the globe taking another beating this morning.
I'm Carol Costello.
The declines field by renewed fears a second recession could be on the horizon. But, are there also signs of hope?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
President Obama getting some R&R on Martha's Vineyard. But there's no rest from the attacks being launched by Republicans -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Friday. Happy Friday. It's August 19th. Ali Velshi is off today.
ROMANS: And good morning. It is 8:00 in the east.
We'll begin this morning with breaking news from Pakistan. A deadly bomb blast at a mosque in the tribal village of Ghundi along the Afghan border. Officials say a teenager set off this explosion as hundreds of worshippers attended Friday prayers. At least 34 people were killed and a hundred others wounded.
COSTELLO: We are also following breaking news out of Afghanistan's capital. Just a few hours ago, two suicide bombers attacked the British council in Kabul. At least eight people were killed. Ten others are being treated for injuries. Afterward, explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the city for several more hours.
ROMANS: And in 90 minutes, we'll be watching your money and Wall Street to see how it reacts to the beating the world markets are taking right now. Steep declines in Europe and Asia -- those are after a painful day here in the United States in the stock market. Dow down nearly 419 points yesterday, at nearly 4 percent down. NASDAQ and S&P -- they were hit even harder.
A big factor in all of this: renewed fears that the world economy is stalling. And if we take a look at U.S. stock futures, they are all down. Dow futures are currently down by more than 150 points. The good news is they had been down more earlier.
So, prepare yourself for some volatility.
COSTELLO: There is your silver lining.
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: There's not only a loss of confidence of the economy but also President Obama's ability to lead. Texas Governor Rick Perry tried to seize on that, suggesting he's best suited to create jobs and grow the economy. He is also using words like treasonous to criticize the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
ROMANS: Earlier, we spoke to Bruce Bartlett, former Treasury official under George H.W. Bush. And I asked him about Perry's comments and what the Fed can do right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE BARTLETT, FMR. TREASURY OFFICIAL: Rick Perry is an idiot. I don't think anybody would disagree with that. To the extent that he has people thinking that the Fed doing its normal job is somehow or other a treasonous act is grossly irresponsible, and to the extent that people think that Perry knows what he is talking about, it does put a constraint on the Federal Reserve to be able to be more aggressive, which I think that it should be.
We have to look to the one institution that still has freedom of action which is the Federal Reserve and I think they need to be much more aggressive. The risks of doing too little is far greater than the risk of doing too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And Bruce Bartlett also criticized the president, suggesting that by not filling the open seats on the Fed, he is sending the signal that he really doesn't care what the Fed does.
They slammed him for his bus tour through the heartland. Now, Republicans are all over the president for going on vacation. The Republican National Committee even created a Web site for voters so they can send postcards mocking the president's plans for some R&R.
Reince Priebus is chairman of the RNC. He joins us now from Washington.
Welcome to the program.
REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: Hey. Well, thank you for having me. Good morning.
ROMANS: Your postcards are getting buzz this morning. I'll be honest with you. But, you know, it's not unusual for a president to take some time off in August to go on vacation. Why is this time any different for this president than, say, George W. Bush at Crawford when, quite frankly, we were in the early days of waging wars?
PRIEBUS: Well, first of all, Crawford was like a second office. So, I mean, I think it's a little bit difficult to compare the two.
Obama doesn't have a second office that he does business out of, just like Ronald Reagan did business out of the ranch in California. That's the second piece.
The reality is this: no, there isn't anything wrong with going on vacation. But the problem with this president is that he is tone deaf to the American people and what people expect out of a president in tough times. And I think everyone can admit we are in an extremely, extraordinarily difficult times in this country and we have a president who just doesn't seem to connect the dots.
And, you know -- and the second piece of this is that the place he chooses to go on vacation is like he's living out the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
ROMANS: I mean, come on. Mitt Romney is going to be there in a week or two raising money, too.
PRIEBUS: Mitt Romney is not the president.
ROMANS: Well, look, but he wants to be the president! I want to go through Mark Muller (ph) over at CBS --
PRIEBUS: Wait a minute. Mitt Romney doesn't have the ability to put a -- doesn't have the ability to sign a piece of legislation, to tell his colleagues in the Senate to start getting real about the debt and the deficit in this country. I mean, you can't possibly compare Mitt Romney to the president.
ROMANS: OK. You're right. I will not compare Mitt Romney with President Obama and you're the one saying you cannot compare Mitt Romney with the President Obama --
(CROSSTALK)
PRIEBUS: No, wait a minute. No, I'm not going to let you put words in my mouth. You can't compare them in their current role. That's what I'm saying. It's silly to do it.
ROMANS: Point taken, point taken.
PRIEBUS: OK.
ROMANS: Let's talk about who can sign legislation and get things going and who can write legislation. That is Congress which actually has a lower approval rating right now than the president. Congress also on recess, on vacation.
Are you saying that the House speaker then should call back Congress to get some work done? Because only 14 percent of America approve what they have done so far, less than the president's approval rating.
PRIEBUS: First of all, I think it was President Obama who has been driving around a bus around the country telling all of the people coming out to see him that he thinks that the congressman shouldn't come back in August. In fact, they should say back and listen to their constituents, which is what Congress is doing. But, secondly, when the president had the ability to bring people together and actually put a deal together, he never presented a plan.
I mean, the president never put a single sentence on a piece of paper and said, this is my plan for fixing the American --
ROMANS: And that's the talking point. And so, we've heard that talking point so let's look forward.
PRIEBUS: It's not a talking point. It's a reality.
ROMANS: No, I've heard you say those exact words several times. Let's just put it forward.
If he comes back with a plan and he puts those sentences on paper, will the Republican Party be the "party of no" or will the Republican Party in good faith try to figure out a way to get people back to work, put all of this acrimony aside? Because we are in very dire straits. You look at the world markets how they are reacting, they do not like what they are seeing from anything in Washington right now.
PRIEBUS: I don't know if you're paying attention to what is happening in Washington, but it was the Republicans that offered a budget plan that addressed the out of control spending and out of control debt that is looming in regard to Medicare. It was Paul Ryan who presented a plan. It was the Congress that passed a plan, all but four Republicans voted for it. It was the Republicans that passed cut, cap, and balance that addressed the 10-year long-term window of a mountain of debt that this country is facing.
ROMANS: If the president comes up with plan --
PRIEBUS: I'm answering your question! The president all he is doing did -- my answer all the president is doing is promising one speech after the next, but offering nothing on a piece of paper. I mean, all the president is offering are speeches and words --
ROMANS: So you want the president to write the legislation?
PRIEBUS: Look, he should offer a plan. He should offer a way out. He should offer something. I mean, he is the classic community --
ROMANS: So, he and his team are in Martha's Vineyard. That's what they're coming up with now. They have been consulting with CEOs and economists and small business owners --
PRIEBUS: So, you know that is what he is doing today? He's -- 8:00 in the morning.
ROMANS: Well, I don't know if he is doing it this very second. I don't know if he is doing it this very second.
PRIEBUS: It sounds like you're the one with the talking points.
ROMANS: No. I'm saying that is what we are told is happening right now. There will be a plan coming out and I'll tell you -- I'll be honest with you. A lot of people are saying, you know, why don't -- we've got the broad brush strokes but what will the plan be? We've heard from Bruce Bartlett earlier today, though, you've got this feeling that the president comes out with something, there's too much acrimony in Washington to get it done. He's actually pushing, Bruce Bartlett and others are pushing that the Fed is the only game in town right now simply because of the acrimony in Washington.
PRIEBUS: Well, it's a lot of pushing. It's a lot of talking. It's a lot of press conferences and a lot of speeches but not a lot of action. So, I think yet to be seen but we'll see what the next speech holds for the American people.
ROMANS: Yes. I think people are tired of speeches --
PRIEBUS: Well, sure.
ROMANS: -- and buses and people just want to say, we need some jobs and we need a plan and some unity in Washington.
PRIEBUS: We need a leader of the free world that takes it seriously.
ROMANS: And a Congress that does, too. I mean, a Congress that does, too.
All right. Reince Priebus, thank you so much for joining us. Have a great day and a good weekend.
PRIEBUS: Thank you.
ROMANS: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back. The question this morning, is President Obama neglecting the black community? Congresswoman Maxine Waters says yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: He went with the plan, and that plan was to invest money in those rural communities in order to develop jobs. We like that and we want the rural poor to be attended to, but we also want the urban poor to be attended to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It is true that President Obama did not visit majority black communities on his three-day bus tour. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care. It's just that he's got the black vote and while he doesn't need a majority of white votes to win re- election, he does need some.
According to exit polls, President Obama won 43 percent of the white vote in 2008, which is actually pretty good for a Democrat. Still, there are some ominous signs for the president. According to the latest CNN/ORC poll, just 34 percent of whites approve of how the president is handling his job.
Some African-American leaders may say, so what? Democrats haven't won a majority of white since 1964. Mr. Obama should at least show some love to his most loyal constituency. Ninety-five percent of African-American voters cast ballots for the president in 2008, although that was only 13 percent of the total vote.
But since then, the unemployment rate for black America has risen to 15.9 percent. Where, they ask, is their Obama bus tour?
So the talkback this morning is President Obama neglecting the black community? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: All right. Still ahead, a surprise move by the Obama administration. Many illegal immigrants who were facing deportation can now stay in the U.S. indefinitely. It's a huge shift in policy. Who is allowed to stay and what is behind this big move?
COSTELLO: Plus, cars covered in broken glass. Hundreds of people stranded at the airport after a massive hail storm hits Omaha. Not once, but twice.
ROMANS: And more incredible video of benches clear, chair and water bottles thrown and players tackle each other. A brawl breaks out between Georgetown and a Chinese men's basketball team -- and get this: it was supposed to be a goodwill game.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Plus, juicy secrets of the New York Yankees. Is Derek Jeter really that nice? Is A-Rod really that high maintenance? The Yankees former bat boy writes a tell-all book and he'll join us live with some juicy details.
It's 10 minutes past the hour.
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ROMANS: They are reeling this morning in Omaha, Nebraska. Back-to-back hail storms shut down the airport, even injured a pilot. Forget about golf ball-sized hail. This looks like someone took a 9 iron to the windshields. The cars parked in the lot at Eppley Airfield couldn't stand up to the three-inch hail and winds, Carol, of nearly a hundred miles an hour. Hundreds of air travelers stranded by those storms.
COSTELLO: Imagine getting off a long flight and going to your car and seeing that.
ROMANS: I know.
COSTELLO: That would be fun.
There's been another stage collapse at a concert. This time in Belgium. Take a look at this.
A fierce storm ripped through an open air music festival. Heavy winds collapsed a stage and ripped the roof off leaving equipment dangling in the air and concert-goers running for their lives. Five people died and more than 50 others hurt.
ROMANS: Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center.
Hey, Rob. Gosh! You know, wind, hail. Unbelievable.
COSTELLO: Kind of unusual August.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And, clearly, the stage set up and safety people aren't talking to each other on the other side of the pond here because to have those two incidents happen, you know, within a week's time is truly remarkable.
We got some unsettled weather to deal with here. Typical summertime stuff, you know? Ill-defined fronts are hanging around and those are the focal point for some thunderstorms popping up from time to time. Not quite as strong as what we saw last night.
First off, the thunderstorms that you saw that you're seeing right now to the East of Philadelphia those are moving offshore. A couple of sprinkles in New York City. Severe thunderstorm through Pittsburgh.
We've got little complex that moved through Omaha last night. That's now moving south of St. Louis, also weakening. We had some record highs over a 100 degrees in places like Phoenix. You would expect, that but 112 this time of year when you get the monsoon, that's pretty where, and temperatures were up and 100 degrees yesterday in places like Dallas, Texas, Houston, and also southern parts of Louisiana.
107 the expected high temperature again in Dallas today. So, we're back on the train for seeing that streak after being below 100 for a couple of days, but the summer just doesn't want to end there. 86 degrees in Chicago, 85 degrees in New York City. All right. Let's focus on the tropical depression number eight. It is right now on the coastline, the hiding coastline of Honduras, about 300 miles of Bulize, and the forecast track is to bring it there around about tomorrow afternoon.
Potentially, as a tropical storm, so its name would be Harvey, but it shouldn't cause all that much of a problem. All right. We're looking at this. This may be a bigger problem as we get towards next week. A pretty good chance of this developing into a depression or storm over the next 48 to 72 hours. And our initial computer models are taking it towards the Northern Caribbean, and potentially, towards the Gulf of Mexico or the southeast U.S. by the end of the next week. Update on a story we told you about a couple of weeks ago. We thought this strange orange substance that was washing up on the northwest shorelines of Alaska. Well, it's been tested and now found to be fungal spores, not the microscopic type of eggs that we thought were there.
COSTELLO: What a relief. Fungal spores.
MARCIANO: Yes. Has that kind of oily feel. It looks like rust -- yes, I'm sure the locals there are very relieved.
ROMANS: Doesn't taste as good on a little piece of toast with cream cheese.
MARCIANO: No. No. It wouldn't be the caviar we were hoping for.
COSTELLO: Tastes like chicken.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. See you.
COSTELLO: Another flash mob caught on tape at the nation's capital, and this time, there's a twist. All of the thieves are young women. This is an ugly twist, isn't it? Ten of them entering a convenience store in Northeast Washington, and they stole food right off the shelves and then walked out. Unbelievable.
ROMANS: Yes. Here's something else that's unbelievable. A Michigan man is facing charges for driving his pick-up truck down a busy street during rush hour, even though he knew his truck had no brakes. This is police dash cam video. Watch the driver doing his best Fred Flintstone imitation sticking his foot out and then on to the asphalt to slow down the truck, but this is not bedrock. He hit four cars which begs the question why would anyone drive knowingly without any brakes?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BERLIN, DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF: What he was doing, it's so stupid it's funny. He admitted or knew that he had no brakes. He thought he could do it. He wanted to get home. He said he had a long day at work and had to work today. No alcohol, no drugs. Just a serious lack of common sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. No one was hurt so that's why it was so stupid. It was funny, because no one was hurt, but the driver faces reckless driving charges.
COSTELLO: I wonder how his foot feels?
ROMANS: I know. It's painful. And he needs a new pair of shoes.
COSTELLO: Yes. Exactly. In China, it was started as a goodwill basketball game between that country and Georgetown University quickly deteriorated into a wild brawl. This happened in China. Isn't Georgetown a judgment institution? This should not happen. The fight broke out with about nine minutes left in the game. Punches were thrown. Chairs were tossed.
Spectators hurled bottles at the Hoya players who then, you know, as they were leaving for the locker room, so it didn't even fight as they left the court. Both the state department and the Chinese embassy called the fight unfortunate.
ROMANS: Apparently, the Georgetown Hoya has been in the game the day before. No fight (ph) had been there. The vice president has been there to watch part of that game, but nobody clear the benches on that one.
COSTELLO: Are investors throwing in the towel? Checking the morning markets next. It's 19 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 22 minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
U.S. stock futures are trading lower ahead of today's open with Dow futures down more than a 100 points right now. Investors are pulling their money from the stock market and putting it into bonds and putting into gold. Precious metal hit another record high, one after another. It's now well above $1,870 an ounce.
And that fight of money out of stock is also bringing down bond yields to record lows pushing down home loan rates to historic levels. The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to 4.15 percent, 30-year fixed, 4.15 percent. That's according to new numbers from Freddie Mac.
Bank of America set to slash thousands of jobs. 3,500 people will be let go by the end of next month as part of a restructuring plan. The bank's been struggling to work through a slew of lawsuits stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.
Up next, the F-22 raptor self-plane, the most expensive fighter jet in the world. We spent billions of dollars on them, but there is one big problem. They cut off the oxygen to the pilot. A U.S. military failure, billions lost, we're live at the Pentagon next. AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The Pentagon calls it the most expensive weapons program ever, pouring billions of dollars into the construction of the stealth fighter jet.
ROMANS: But the fleets have plagued by mechanical problems. It's never gone to war. And so, the big question now, is it time to simply cut our losses after billions spent? Barbara Starr joins us live from the Pentagon. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, you know, here at the Pentagon, Leon Panetta, the defense secretary, has basically one job right now and that is to cut defense spending. So, half a trillion dollars in new fighter jets, that might be first on the list.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): It's the most expensive weapons program ever says the Pentagon. 384 billion dollars earmarked for some 3,000 F-35 stealth fighter jets. Testing is resuming after a two-week halt when electrical problems emerged. Then, there's the F-22 air force stealth fighter at more than $140 million per plane.
The nearly 200-plane fleet has been grounded since May after oxygen to the pilots kept cutting off. One pilot died. With a half trillion dollar price tag for both aircraft --
ANDREW KREPINEVICH, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND BUDGETARY ASSESSMENTS: The question is, you're really getting the kind of combat capability that justifies that cost.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: We cannot afford aircraft that double and triple the original estimated cost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we have to watch it very carefully.
STARR: The f-22 has never been in combat. The F-35 may go the same way. Both planes have serious limitations.
KREPINEVICH: These aircraft are relatively short range which means they have to be based fairly close to the area of conflict. What we've seen in recent years are countries like China, countries like Iran, building ballistic missile forces that can easily target the ford (ph) air bases.
STARR: Winslow Wheeler, a Pentagon spending critic says the planes are too expensive and not stealthy enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Against some radars, it's detectible as soon as is it comes over the radar horizon and some of the radars that are best at doing that are quite antiquated technology from the Soviets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (on-camera): So, for the newest plane, the F-35, which hasn't even gotten into production yet, a price tag of over $300 billion, it's got technical problems because it's so complex. A lot of questions about just how stealthy it is. It might really be in the crosshairs when Congress and Pentagon begin discussing those budget cuts in a few weeks -- Christine, Carol.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon, thanks. ROMANS: All right. Developing right now, three men who have spent nearly two decades behind bars could be set free today. They're known as the West Memphis Three, convicted back in 1993 of killing three little second grade boys. They've maintained their innocence all along, and DNA tests never did link them to that crime, but they've been in prison for 19 years.
Our David Mattingly is live in Jonesboro, Arkansas. David, you did a documentary on this story. You had a chance to talk to one of the convicted men, Damien Echols, who was sentenced to death for his role in this crime. What did he say?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the things he said that really stuck with me over the month since that interview on death row was that in the last 18 or 19 years, he has not been able to look up and see the stars. It was a comment that he made to drive home the point of all the things that have been denied to him and the other two, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin, over these last years.
They spent their entire adult lives behind bars after being found guilty of the murder of those three young boys in West Memphis. There've been so many critics of this case. A great deal of attention. A steady beating of the drum of protests about their incarceration in this case. As the years have gone by, the evidence has been attacked and seems to have not been able to hold up under scrutiny.
And now, we have testing new DNA testing come back in the last few months, not placing them at all at the crime scene. So, what has happened in the last day or so, we have learned, that someone close to this case tells us that a deal has been worked out where these three men will be able to go free if all goes as planned, and they will still be able to maintain their innocence.
This is a huge and abrupt turnaround in a case that has attracted so much attention both in this country and abroad as people, wondering why after looking at the evidence, or rather the lack of it, how could they get convicted in the first place and how could they stay behind bars so long when there is so much criticism of the evidence? It's possible today, and there are many supporters are watching what happens will happen in this courtroom behind me here today, will these three finally be able to go free? Will they finally be able to taste freedom after so many years behind bars?
ROMANS: So, David, let's say think do taste freedom and get their freedom. Three little boys are still dead. Is the case still being investigated at all?
MATTINGLY: That was one of the strange things we found out while we were putting together a documentary about the West Memphis Three was that the authorities here in Arkansas believe they had convicted the right people. The investigation had stopped with the convictions of these three young men. But now that could change as they now go back into court if they come out as free men able to maintain their science innocence. But part of the deal they have to recognize before the court that the state does have evidence that they could use against them to go back to trial and possibly seek another conviction. So that is helping the state save face somewhat to acknowledge that they do have evidence against them so it wasn't a case where they were just completely empty-handed going to trial.
So at this point, we are waiting to see how all of this plays out today. So many people watching this. We have already seen some supporters gathering outside the courthouse today with signs. People really anticipating a day that they say is long overdue.
ROMANS: David Mattingly, all right. And I think if these three young men are released even if they have to make that admission there is perhaps some sort of evidence, the public pressure on finding the real killer of these young boys is certainly going to be very, very, very, very strong on that community to find out who really did this and they can't just let it go. Thanks, David.
COSTELLO: In the world of politics, the Obama administration is moving to end the deportation of most illegal immigrants. If they have no criminal record and pose no security threat, chances are they will be able to stay in the United States.
ROMANS: The new White House policy could shake up the immigration system. CNN's Dan Lothian is live on Martha's Vineyard where the president is vacationing. Dan, just tell us how big of a change in policy this is. We know the White House has long focused on criminal -- criminal illegal aliens. But this is going case-by-case now instead of 300,000 people, I think, in the deportation process?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and still focusing on the high profile cases such as those involved in criminal activity.
As you pointed out, department of homeland security will be reviewing all 300,000 pending deportation cases in federal immigration courts. And again, the idea is to focus on the high profile cases, not on the low profile cases such as students or senior citizens.
Secretary Napolitano outlined this new policy in a letter to members of Congress, about two dozen members of Congress. She set that out yesterday, explaining this is a way to not only move these cases through a system that has been clogged, but the administration believing as well that by targeting the high profile cases these illegal immigrants who are involved in criminal activity, that it will also go towards helping in the department of public safety at least.
COSTELLO: I'm a little cynical. I know the president has been getting pressure from the Hispanic community on the subject of immigration. Did this shift come because of that?
LOTHIAN: Well, look. You can't discount that at all. There has been a lot of pressure from Latino groups. In fact, there's one group I've been talking to quite a bit over the last several months. They have been unsatisfied with what the administration has been able to put forward so far.
You know the president was really pushing for the Dream Act, which would give legal status to those who are in colleges, enrolled in colleges or in the military. That is still stuck in Congress.
And so what a lot of these groups have been saying as they have been meeting with the president over his entire administration is that, you know, the president made a lot of promises out there on the campaign trail, and they don't believe that he has delivered. So there has been a lot of pressure from those groups. And it's a critical group. They voted for the president overwhelmingly in 2008. The president will need them in the upcoming elections. And so no doubt this is an overture.
But it's also something the administration has been focused on, trying to figure out a way to deal with these kinds of immigration cases, the highest profile ones, and this is at least what we are focused on now.
It's not a sweeping change. There are those critics who are saying that this is essentially the administration making a sweeping overhaul and side-stepping any Congressional approval. This is a case-by-case basis.
ROMANS: Dan Lothian, thanks so much, reporting live from Martha's Vineyard.
COSTELLO: Still ahead, clubhouse secrets of the legendary New York Yankees from one of the most famous bat boys in Yankee history. He was the last one who didn't have to sign a confidentiality agreement.
ROMANS: He has some dirt!
COSTELLO: That's right. It's 36 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning, New York City. It's cloudy and 75 right now, but thunderstorms and 85 later on today.
COSTELLO: I hope not because it's beautiful outside right now.
Let's get to good stuff, even better than sunny weather. It sound kind of odd, but it's true. A New York Yankees bat boy has written a tell-all memoir. Luis Castillo was with the team from 1998 to 2005 and was one of the last to work for the Yankee who was not required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
ROMANS: He reveals some juicy and entertaining dugout secrets in his new book "Clubhouse Confidential." Luis "Squeegee" Castillo joins us now. We love the book. Why are you called "Squeegee"? I love this story.
LUIS "SQUEEGEE" CASTILLO, FORMER NEW YORK YANKEES BAT BOY: 1998, first day on the job, opening day I walk into the Yankee clubhouse. And I go up Derek Jeter's locker, and he looks he looks me up and down. And he goes, what is your name, kid? I said Luis Castillo. He goes, no, you look like a squeegee because of my uniform.
(LAUGHTER)
CASTILLO: I was only 120 pounds soaking wet when I was 13 years old.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: What Derek says, it is so. I've always wanted to be a bat girl, I guess. How did you get to be a bat boy?
CASTILLO: I wrote a letter. First, I went to Yankees stadium in 1997. I was a huge Yankee fan. I used to sit in the right field bleachers with the bleacher creatures. And Tina Lewis, who was the queen of the bleachers, my friend sat in her seat. And she got us kicked out from the stadium. And the next day, I came to apologize on my friend's behalf.
And all of a sudden, we became close friends. In '98, I wrote a letter to Sunny Hyatt, the administrator of the New York Yankees and the front office. She recommended me to him. And I got an interview and got offered the job.
COSTELLO: Wow. So your first day walking in, you put on the uniform. And you're feeling like what?
CASTILLO: I pinched myself to make sure I was still alive. I felt like I was on cloud nine. It was a dream come true. I was so excited!
COSTELLO: OK, so everybody wondering what the players are really like. So let's get to real juicy parts of your book. One of your favorites was David Cone. You said -- here, let me read the quote. You said "David Cone" was a true man's man, full of all of those good vices, love of hard liquor, smoking and women, to help a man take his life by the reins and enjoy it to the fullest." What do you mean by that?
CASTILLO: He was a New Yorker. He was down to earth. He was more like a father figure to me. I idolized him as a young kid. I wanted to be just like him. And when we got to share something special, me working for -- a fan working for his own idol and someone he respects, it was like, you know, something I cherished all my life and got to share great moments like the perfect game.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. You talked in the book about how David Cone used to ask you to get some stuff for him like, you know, girly magazines so he could --
ROMANS: Really?
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: -- thumb through them. ROMANS: I didn't see that part!
CASTILLO: It's part of human nature.
ROMANS: Let me ask you about A-Rod because, you know, he's been a larger than life presence outside of the dugout. What was it like to be with A-Rod?
COSTELLO: Let me read a passage.
ROMANS: You do it.
COSTELLO: This is what you said about A-Rod. "When his magnificent arrived you could feel the chill in the air. He singlehanded changed the atmosphere in the clubhouse. I observed how players interacted before A-Rod showed up in 2004, and there was a big difference appear he got there."
You said A-Rod was very particular. Give us an example.
CASTILLO: His magnificence. A-Rod is A-Rod. He is different from other players. He brings a lot of attention. And I got to see for my own eyes how, you know, putting out, laying out his clothes for him in the trainers' locker room, because after a game, win or lose, he wouldn't go to his own locker. I would have to go to his locker and take out his clothes and put in his shirt, pants, underwear, and socks and shoes on the floor. I had never seen another player act like that.
COSTELLO: He actually had you put the toothpaste on his toothbrush.
(LAUGHTER)
CASTILLO: Yes. I had never seen from any other player. It was pretty funny stuff.
COSTELLO: And the other great story is, you know, when players hit a homerun and they go back and everybody gives the high five and you think a great job, a great hit. Alex Rodriguez would do something quite different.
(LAUGHTER)
CASTILLO: He was like a little kid, really into it. He was like, "Wow, look how far I hit that ball," in Spanish. It was pretty funny stuff to see.
COSTELLO: It's pretty awesome. And again, "Clubhouse Confidential" because now the bat boys have a confidentiality agreement, right, so they can't talk about the players or anything. It's fun. It's not spilling too many secrets.
ROMANS: It's a great book.
COSTELLO: I thoroughly enjoyed it, and thank you so much for coming in and sharing.
ROMANS: "Squeegee" Castillo, thank you very much. Best of luck with it.
Our morning headlines are next. It's 44 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty-six minutes past the hour. Here are your morning's headlines.
Markets open in just about 45 minutes and right now, the DOW, NASDAQ and S&P 500 -- they're all down after a sell-off overseas. The future I'm talking -- the futures I'm talking about. Though, we should mention futures are not as bad as they were earlier this morning.
A deadly bomb blast at a mosque in the tribal village of Gandhi along the Afghan border. Officials say a teenager set off the explosion as hundreds of worshipers attended Friday prayers. At least 34 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.
Anders Breivik appearing in court this morning, he confessed to Norway's twin terror attacks which killed 77 people last month. The court is considering extending his isolation period for another four weeks. Police say complete isolation helps their investigation.
The so-called West Memphis Three could be set free today. The men were convicted back in 1993 of killing three second grade boys. DNA tests did not link them to the crime.
A new White House policy will allow most illegal immigrants to stay in the country. Some 300,000 pending cases are going to be reviewed. The Administration says it will make deporting illegals who are known criminals a priority.
And a babysitter in Florida has been charged with child neglect after she was accused of putting a baby stroller with a baby in it the back of a pickup truck. The 23-year-old sitter reportedly told the court she didn't realize it would be considered dangerous since she had a good grip on the stroller adding, quote, "It's not like they give you a handbook on what's neglect or anything".
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING back after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The number of children in the U.S. with ADHD is rising fast. A government study just found nearly one in 10 children is now being diagnosed with this disorder, one in ten.
COSTELLO: I know, the question is why. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Atlanta. He has some answers for us. So why, Sanjay? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's -- it's not entirely sure. The way -- the way they do these studies is they're -- they are basically based on these large phone surveys. They -- they have about 40,000 families they're calling in all regions of the country from different -- different income levels. They have boys and girls in the family.
So at the end of that, they found over a 10-year period -- the -- the prevalence of ADHD went up from about 6.9 percent to closer to nine percent, almost approaching 10 percent. So when they -- when they really try and dissect the numbers down, this may have more to do with over the last ten years as you may guess a better rate of diagnosis of ADHD. Doctors are more aware of it, parents are more aware of it as well.
And as a result, you're getting the diagnosis more frequently. It's hard to say that's the -- that's the cause of the entire increase but that's probably a lot to do with that and they saw the same increase sort of in boys and girls across the board as well.
ROMANS: So attention deficit hyperactivity disorder I think is what it all stands for. But moms and dads and teachers and ADHD, they look -- they -- everyone says they've noticed that there are more people being diagnosed and maybe it's just because we're recognizing it more. And it's more common, I guess to be able to stand up and -- and get diagnosed.
But do we know where it's most common, who is most -- most likely to have it?
GUPTA: Yes, I think to your last point. I think there is a -- there is a decreased stigma about this as well which may be, in part, I think what you're -- what you're alluding to and I think may explain part of this as well. People are more likely to actually talk about ADHD.
It's interesting. You know, it's always been more common in boys than girls and quite a bit so. For example you break down that one in 10 number, about 12.3 percent of boys versus 5.5 percent of girls. So quite -- quite a difference there between boys and girls.
Also it's more common in the southern parts of the country and in the Midwest versus the northeast and the west. And again, that's not entirely clear as to why some people have pointed to environmental triggers in these parts of the country that are more common than in the northeast or the west but that's -- that's -- they are not sure about that.
And it's also as far as the increased numbers over the last ten years, it's increased most in lower income groups so people who make below 200 percent of the poverty level, they've seen the greatest increase in ADHD levels. It could be because over the last ten years, they've had increased access to health care, increased access to diagnosis as compared to before, but you know, the -- the numbers are what they are.
Now people are going to spend some time trying to figure out exactly why they are that way.
ROMANS: A generation ago, was oh he's a boy, he'll grow out of it. And now people are -- it's a lot different. It's a lot different trying to figure out why and -- and who and how to fix it.
GUPTA: And they give it a name nowadays, that's right.
ROMANS: And it has a name nowadays. Ok Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROMANS: Don't forget to catch up with Dr. Gupta this weekend. He has a CNN special called "The Very Last Heart Attack." Sanjay talks to doctors on the cutting edge of heart disease prevention including a former surgeon who has developed a radical diet, he says he can make anyone heart attack proof in one month.
COSTELLO: I know. I'm loving that.
Coming up next, our "Talk Back" question of the day. "Is President Obama neglecting the black community?" We'll read through some of your responses.
It's 52 minutes past the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360" (voice-over): As millions struggle across the drought ravage Horn of Africa in what the U.N. refugee agency is calling the worse humanitarian disaster in the world, CNN Hero Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow's organization, Mary's Meals is in the middle of the crisis.
MAGNUS MACFARLANE-BARROW, MARY'S MEALS: We've been working in northern Kenya for about four years now. We have seen the situation worsen steadily. Today, one-third of the children are malnourished. And so we have a real situation of life and death. And because of that, we are trying to desperately to expand our program to reach more children at risk.
COOPER: Since 2006, Mary's Meals have been feeding thousands of young children in schools across the region.
MACFARLANE-BARROW: The mission of Mary's Meals is about linking food through education. And education could be the line (ph) out of poverty for their whole community.
COOPER: In recent weeks Magnus's organization has responded to the drought crisis by feeding an additional 6,000 children daily; 24,000 in all.
The kind of important global work for which Magnus was named a top ten CNN Hero last year and received an order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth but Magnus remains laser-focused on the critical work in Africa. MACFARLANE-BARROW: As part of our east African emergency response -- we intend to reach many more thousands of children and we'll do that as funds allow us to.
COOPER: Many more thousands of children to be supported by an organization already feeding 500,000 children daily in 16 impoverished countries.
MACFARLANE-BARROW: It's so much just about the will of people to share a little of what they have in order that these children can be fed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning, Washington. It is partly cloudy and 78, we're told right now, in the nation's capital but, later, thunderstorms and 90. So if you're out for a jog, do it real quick.
COSTELLO: Yes, do it, quick and right now.
Now some of your responses to our talkback question of the morning. We asked you this question. "Is President Obama neglecting the black community?"
This from Lori, "Carol you are darn right, he has neglected and ignored the black community. What annoys me most is the fact he has spoken directly to every group of constituents except African- Americans. Too bad the President knows that he will once again have the vast majority of the black vote. For once I would like to see our community make all politicians work for our support.
This from Susan, "No, first of all, it's August 2011. This is a big country. And the President can't be everywhere. There will be many bus tours between now and the election and he'll be criticized for that. Second, has he spent any time at any job fairs? Are visits going to fix what is a worldwide problem?
And this from Mike. "Why? Because he's black and he should be catering to the black community? No, he's everyone's president just like a white president should work for everyone. Obama should look at all Americans equally; besides isn't that how equality is supposed to work?"
ROMANS: Hmm, boy when you have an economy that is weak it certainly shows divisions and it also shows the rift between different groups in society who are -- who are benefiting and some who aren't benefiting the wage gap.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Well, this is coming from Congresswoman Maxine Waters and that big job fair.
ROMANS: That's right. COSTELLO: That the Congressional Black Caucus held in Atlanta where all of those people were waiting in line. There were so many people waiting in line for so long some of them collapsed from heat exhaustion. And there were only 90 employers inside the building waiting to hear their pleas.
ROMANS: Yes and she would like (INAUDIBLE) by the president to speak to -- to her specific community.
All right. That's going to wrap it for us for today. It's Friday so we will see you here on Monday.
COSTELLO: Happy Friday.
Now to Kyra Phillips in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": All right guys, thanks so much.
