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American Morning
Flames Moving Fast; Fires Destroy 700 Homes in Texas; Sources: Obama's Jobs Plan to Cost $300B; Romney Unveils Jobs Plan; Will Rudy Run?; Nevada Shooting: "It Was Just a War Zone"; India Court Bombing; Mubarak Trial Resumes; Searching for Gadhafi; Changing Paths After 9/11; Sources: Obama's Jobs Plan to Cost $300 Billion; The Deadly Dust from 9/11; Yale Wrongful Death Suit; Airport Screening, Shoes On
Aired September 07, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Here's what you need to know to start your day. Fast moving flames, firefighters stretched thin, wildfires growing by the second in Texas, and running over hundreds of homes.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. Hear details of President Obama's plan to put America back to work. The plan and the price tag on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHO: Good morning.
VELSHI: Good morning, Alina.
CHO: It's early.
VELSHI: It is early.
CHO: Not so early for you.
VELSHI: Always great to have you here. Carol is off, Christine is off.
CHO: That's right.
VELSHI: So we've got you back, which is fantastic.
CHO: We've got a really serious situation going on in Texas.
VELSHI: It's -- it seems to be getting worse although in some parts getting a little more control over it. These raging wildfires we're telling you about sweeping across the country right now.
The Governor Rick Perry is describing the disaster as, quote, "a monstrous storm of smoke and flames." The flames are sending thousands of people running for their lives, showing no mercy. It's killed four people.
Hundreds of firefighters are on the frontlines dousing some of the fires, new ones, they're actually starting new ones hoping to get rid of the bone dry brush that goes up in an instant. This is what's left of a ranch in Austin, Texas, a pile of twisted metal and ash.
The Texas Forest Service says more than 700 homes have burned in the past two days. The largest fire in Bastrop County is up to 30,000 acres and only a fraction of it is contained, even though the winds did slow down a bit.
Jim Spellman is live right there now. Jim, you've been following this for several days now. Are things getting worse, better, what's the situation?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yesterday, they had some -- they made some progress, 33 percent contained now. They took advantage of low winds and cooler temperatures to get in there and build these fire lines and like you said, get rid of some of this fuel, some of this dried vegetation to try to stop this fire.
They're far from out of the woods here, though. I mean, this is still a dynamic fire this morning. The smoke is laying down. They'll try again to take advantage of getting on top of this as fast as they can.
But Ali, these fires are breaking out so rapidly all across the state that it's -- as soon as they get a handle on one, another one pops up. Yesterday the tragic news here, they discovered two people had died in this fire. We don't have the details yet.
The governor deployed Texas Task Force One and urban search and rescue team to come in and start going through all this rubble to see if there's anybody in there that needs help or possibly recover more people who may have been injured and died.
For people in other fires, who are now able to return to their homes, it's tragic when they come back and find their home destroyed. Yesterday, CNN's David Mattingly caught up with one woman as she went back. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHELLE BIELINSKI, FIRE VICTIM: And that's my house. That's my house.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right here?
BIELINSKI: Yes.
MATTINGLY: I'm sorry. Are you all right? You're shaking.
BIELINSKI: I'm OK. I am the luckiest person in the world. My family is safe. Now I need to check on my neighbors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLMAN: The strength of these people, Ali, coming back to their homes amazes me. We're going to see that same story over 500 times here at the Bastrop fire, that's how many homes have been lost at this point here when people get to go back in. It's going to be a long haul to start rebuilding their lives and this town too, Ali. VELSHI: Jim, it is remarkable to see these people go back and that woman to say, you know, she's the luckiest person around because she did get out with her life and family. We'll keep following this with you, Jim. Thank you.
CHO: You know, the wildfires in Texas are even visible from space. They're that big. Cameras on the International Space Station caught these pictures here and look closely. Huge plumes of smoke over Texas, some of them spreading over hundreds of homes.
Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center now with a look at the wind situation and Rob, is it getting any better?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. The past two days have been OK. Today, the winds may kick up a little bit more. I want to show you video of two days ago from amateur photography. This is not sped up, but it gives you an indication of how fast these flames can move across the ground.
Look at how the flames kind of reach over to the dry grass, dry shrubs and the dry trees and just some of those trees with some of the oils explode as it does so, this from Don Cash, which again not sped up. This was taken on Monday.
Sunday, the conditions were worse, if you can imagine that. Here's a shot of the city skyline in the foreground with the fire just to the south and east at about 20 to 30 miles. Thankfully for Austin, the winds have been blowing away from the city.
Air quality, as you can imagine downwind from the fires east of Austin and near Houston is poor. Temperatures will be in the upper 80s and lower 90s. That's a little bit warmer than yesterday, but still cooler than what it has been.
Meanwhile we're looking at storm that's rolling up the east coast, kind of leftovers of Lee so another wet, soggy day for the northeast. Will Texas get rain? This could be our next tropical depression. It's got a 40 percent chance of happening, aircraft probably going to fly into there this afternoon.
Computer models like Lee have no idea what to do with this so we're going to have to hang tight and check it out throughout the day today. Meanwhile, Hurricane Katia, we know what's going to happen with this, Category 1 storm. It is going to make a pass to the west of Bermuda and a pass to the east of the U.S. that's good news.
But big waves, big rip currents still going to be an issue with this. Next item out here, pretty far away, tropical depression number 14. This has promise as well. Our computer models are thinking it's going to develop into something. National Hurricane Center brings it close to the U.S., but not for at least a week. We'll have to watch this carefully also. Alina, Ali, back up to you.
CHO: All right, Rob, thank you.
VELSHI: Busy. He's been -- a lot to cover. All right, we're learning new details this morning of President Obama's jobs plan. Democratic sources tell our chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin that the plan will call for about $300 billion in tax breaks and extension of unemployment benefits.
And other spending, which could include funds for laid off teachers and first responders making it hard for Republicans to vote against the plan. The $300 billion price tag will be offset by an equal amount of budget cuts.
And of course, CNN will have live coverage of President Obama's jobs speech Thursday night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. We should also mention Republicans are not planning to offer a formal response after that speech.
CHO: When it comes to creating jobs and turning around the economy, Mitt Romney insists that President Obama is not a bad guy, but he just doesn't have a clue.
The former Massachusetts governor unveiling his own 59- point plan yesterday in Nevada. Romney says the plan will create 11 million jobs in the first four years of a Romney presidency. He couldn't resist taking a few shots at the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Obama's strategy is a pay phone strategy and we're in a Smartphone world. And so we're going to have to change what he's doing is taking quarters and stuffing them into the pay phone and thinking -- can't figure out why it's not working. It's not connected anymore, Mr. President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston live from Washington this morning. So, Mark, he's calling it day one jobs one. The plan sounds good. What's in it?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, there's 59 points to it, Alina. In fact, Mitt Romney put together a book that you can download if you want to read every little bit of it. But let's talk about a couple things that the former Massachusetts governor talked about yesterday.
First of all, he talked about boosting domestic energy output. He also talked about waving the health care law, which is a very big talking point for Republicans certainly running for president. He also talked about cutting the corporate tax rate.
A couple other things, Alina, that the former Massachusetts governor said, he wanted to halt regulations that were put in place by the Obama administration. These are regulations that he said are anti-business and have stalled job growth.
It's no surprise, Alina, that, you know, the governor would deliver this speech out in Nevada, out in Las Vegas, which is a crucial state to his election strategy and also one state away from California because that's where he's going to be tonight for that presidential debate.
So Mitt Romney laying out his plan, trying to get out ahead of it, before tonight's presidential debate and certainly before President Obama addresses the nation on Thursday.
CHO: So both geographically and politically smart for him to do that there. All right, Mark, quick question about Rudy Giuliani, not ruling out a run for the White House and he said something interesting, about maybe getting in if people are desperate?
PRESTON: Yes. People are desperate. Look, Rudy Giuliani certainly has a good sense of humor and the fact of the matter is, he is seriously considering running for president. You know, from what I hear from people close to him he wants to get into the race. He talked a little bit about it yesterday. Let's have a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: If I think we're truly desperate, I may run, which is the way I got elected the mayor of New York City. Know what my slogan was? You can't do any worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: The problem for Rudy Giuliani if he were to get into the race the fact that he is a centrist Republican and when you get into the Republican primary dominated by conservative voters, social conservative voters, even Rudy Giuliani who won't likely get into the race, understands that would be a big mountain for him to climb.
CHO: It would make it interesting. All right, Mark Preston, thank you very much. A quick programming note, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani joins "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" to talk about President Obama, jobs, 9/11, a possible run for the White House, that's at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
VELSHI: Also new this morning, authorities in Nevada are trying to determine if a gunman was targeting members of the military when he opened fire with an AK-47 at an Ihop restaurant in Carson City.
Police say the suspect, 32-year-old Eduardo Sencion, killed four people and wounded eight others before turning the gun on himself. Three of the dead belonged to the Nevada National Guard. Three other guard members were injured. Police say the gunman had mental health issues.
CHO: A deadly bombing outside the high court in Delhi, India. At least nine people killed, dozens more injured. Police say the bomb was hidden in a briefcase outside the gate leading to the court. Just the second such blast at Delhi's high court complex in four months.
VELSHI: Testimony resuming this morning in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A hearing on Monday was adjourned following clashes outside the court. Mubarak has pleaded not guilty to charges he ordered the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the uprising that drove him from power in Egypt earlier this year.
CHO: And the State Department says it does not believe Moammar Gadhafi was part of a Libyan convoy that passed through Niger this week, but they do believe that several senior members of Gadhafi's fallen regime were on board that convoy. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Gadhafi is on the run, but admits he's not sure where he is.
VELSHI: I always wonder how they come to these conclusions. They know he's on the run but you don't know where he is. You don't know where he is. I guess he could be in one place.
CHO: Nobody knows where he is except for Gadhafi.
VELSHI: Lots of speculation.
CHO: Maybe his sons.
VELSHI: I don't recall in other sort of manhunts of that scope, there being so many publicized clues about he's here and we're closing in on him. One day I think they'll find him.
All right, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, big changes coming to airport security. Welcome news for passengers from size E to triple E. We'll tell you about it when we come back.
CHO: Plus, after the attacks of 9/11, a Wall Street man pulls a professional 180, leaving behind a lucrative career and salary to open his own business. Guess what it is? Take a look. We're going to have his story. It's 12 minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: It's 15 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
The U.S. may keep 3,000 troops in Iraq past the deadline to have everyone out. A senior Pentagon official tells CNN, the administration has talked about leaving a small force there beginning next year.
Right now, there are still 40,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The current agreement is for all troops to withdraw by the end of the year. But the U.S. expects the Iraqis do want some of those troops, a small number, to stay on to help with training and security. The official stress this but no final decisions have been made yet.
VELSHI: Well, nearly a decade after it was created, the Department of Homeland Security is getting a report card from Congress. The grade is incomplete. The Government Accountability Office is releasing a 221-page report at a Senate hearing later today, and while it says that the department is making strides protecting the nation, it has yet to reach its full potential. CHO: When it comes to airport security, you'll soon be able to keep your shoes on. How about that, Ali Velshi?
VELSHI: That would be nice.
CHO: I know.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says they're finally phasing out the requirement for passengers to take off their shoes while going through security. Better technology apparently will allow screeners to detect shoe bombs without putting footwear through x-ray machines. The secretary says those changes will come eventually, but restrictions for carry-on liquids will continue.
You know, it's not the taking off the shoes. It's when you walk through the screener -
VELSHI: Right.
CHO: -- and you're - in your bare feet.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: That's what grosses me out.
VELSHI: Yes. In a lot of places in the world, don't do the shoe thing.
CHO: Right. And international -
VELSHI: I don't know whether we're just more thorough or they've got better technology, whatever. But it looks like we're moving in a - in a good direction.
CHO: I hope so.
VELSHI: Well, this Sunday marks 10 years since the attacks of September 11th, a date that for many people marked the beginning of a new journey.
CHO: And this morning, we want to introduce you to one man who gave up a high-paying, secure job on Wall Street, to start his own business.
Here's Christine Romans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the ticket that changed David Sandelovsky's life and career forever.
DAVID SANDELOVSKY, OWNER, SPORTCLIPS: It's a round trip, only one way was taken.
ROMANS (on camera): September 11.
SANDELOVSKY: I was on my way in to basically work on 9/11. I never made it in.
ROMANS (voice-over): In fact, it took him three years to return to his job as a currency trader on Wall Street. When he did, after a leave of absence, Wall Street had changed. He had to.
SANDELOVSKY: The culture wasn't what I wanted anymore. I didn't like the way they treated people.
ROMANS: That's when Sandelovsky pulled a professional 180, leaving his lucrative career and salary to open his own business, sports-themed barber shops.
(on camera): So you went literally from pressing a button and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of money moving around in Forex trades, to selling $23 haircuts.
SANDELOVSKY: Yes. And it's $18 with a discount. Yes. That is. And there's, you know, this isn't about money. I mean, hopefully these will make good money over time, but this isn't ever going to make a ton of money. But that doesn't seem to be as important anymore.
ROMANS (voice-over): What is important to Sandelovsky now is making a difference.
SANDELOVSKY: This is me building a business. This is having employees. This is trying to have a value system that's mine. I get to enforce with my people. This is mentoring people. This is client contact.
Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
SANDELOVSKY: We'll see you again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ROMANS: He may not actually pick up a pair of scissors, but he's hands on in just about every other way.
SANDELOVSKY: I understood this was crazy. A lot of people don't get it. It's a very different world. And people forget, and people and my friends on Wall Street they say they get it, they don't get it. They don't get it. Not when you're making seven figures, you don't get it.
ROMANS: His Wall Street friends may not get it, but his family certainly does.
(on camera): What did your family think about your career change?
SANDELOVSKY: I was surprised that they were actually incredibly proud of me. One son came and he set up the computers for me. The other one came out one day, we were just open, he took coupons and went door to door to businesses and started handing out coupons. My daughter came and brought her friends from high school. She was proud. She wanted to show her friends what her dad had done. I mean, I was beaming.
ROMANS (voice-over): Ten years ago on September 11th, 2001, when Sandelovsky began his morning commute, the ticket he purchased bought him more than just a seat on the train.
(on camera): Why do you keep it?
SANDELOVSKY: A memory. And every time I just got chills. Every time I look at it, I think of what happened.
ROMANS (voice-over): It's a day he'll never forget.
Christine Romans, CNN, Somerset, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Wow.
CHO: Good for him.
VELSHI: Yes, yes. There were a lot of those stories of people who made, you know, big changes at that point in their life.
CHO: Quality of life.
VELSHI: It became a priority for a lot of people.
CHO: That's right.
VELSHI: Well, still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, we're learning the new details of the president's $300 billion plan to create jobs. The question, of course, is, is it going to be enough to jumpstart the economy?
CHO: Plus, the big-time CEO who says she was fired over the phone. Then she sent an e-mail out companywide to tell everyone.
Twenty minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. "Minding Your Business" now.
U.S. markets down for the third straight day. And since the beginning of the year, the Dow is down nearly four percent, the NASDAQ about seven percent and the S&P 500, which you may have things in your portfolio, your 401(k), your IRA, that look like it, is down nearly 7.5 percent so far this year.
Italy center stage today. The European debt crisis is, of course, the main story. Its parliament will vote on a new budget this afternoon. This comes as thousands of workers protested yesterday new austerity measures that are part of the budget proposal. There's mounting pressure on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to cut spending and to fend off an impending debt crisis.
Right now, U.S. stock futures for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are all trading higher ahead of the opening bell. Lots of volatility in the markets, though, as we've been seeing for the past few weeks.
Yahoo!'s CEO Carol Bartz is out. She announced in an e-mail to employees last night that she was fired over the phone by the Chairman of the Board. CFO Tim Morse will take over. Yahoo! has been struggling under Bartz. The company stock spiked seven percent in after hours trading on the news of her departure.
Struggling automaker Saab is filing for bankruptcy protection today in Sweden. The goal is to reorganize the company while it awaits additional funding. This was expected as part of the company's restructuring plan.
Well, could food stamps soon be used at fast food chains? "USA Today" reports that Yum Brands is actively lobbying in Washington to add several of its chains to the list of locations accepting food stamps. Yum Brand chains include Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. According to the USDA, food stamp benefits are up to - are up to about $65.5 billion as of late last year, which is double where it was in 2005.
AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning. We're just crossing 28 minutes after the hour. So it's time to bring you up to speed with some of our top stories.
And the biggest story we're following right now is these out-of- control wildfires raging - racing across Texas now killing four people, destroying at least 700 homes in just the past two days. The Texas Forest Service says it's responded to 181 separate fires over the past week. The death toll is - is mounting in those fires and I think they're about 30 percent controlled, at least the biggest fire is.
CHO: Yes. But 700 homes destroyed, as you mentioned, Ali.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: You know, the death toll now stands at four in a shooting at an IHOP in Carson City, Nevada. Three of the victims were members of Nevada's National Guard, seven were injured. Police say the alleged gunman, 32-year-old Eduardo Sencion opened fire on a group of guardsmen yesterday morning before killing himself. The suspect's family tells police he had mental health issues.
VELSHI: An explosion outside the Delhi High Court in India killing at least nine people, injuring at least 60 others. Authorities say the bomb was inside a brief case which was placed at a gate leading into the court complex. This is the second bombing at the high court since May. No one was killed or injured in the last bombing.
CHO: We're learning more this morning about the president's job plan including its potential price tag. Democratic sources tell our chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin that the president will call for an extension of payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits. Also believed to be included, spending on infrastructure, including renovating dilapidated schools, funds for first responders and teachers who have been laid off.
The plan would cost $300 billion, but it would be offset by the same amount in spending cuts. A zero sum total essentially.
Joining me to talk more about the plan is Perry Bacon, national political reporter for "The Washington Post."
Hi, Perry.
And Steve Bell, senior director of the Economic Policy Project.
So, Steve, just to reiterate -- $300 billion in new spending, $300 billion in spending cuts, revenue neutral. It all sounds good. But will it actually work?
STEVE BELL, ECONOMIC POLICY PROJECT: Well, it doesn't even sound good. If you want to have a net growth program, what you need to have is a substantially larger tax cut. and what we've recommended on the Domenici-Rivlin Commission is $640 billion in the form of a full payroll tax holiday, both employers and employees, for 12 months. Our view is that zero, 300 up, 300 down, will not provide much of a boost to small business or to all those people who pay more in FICA taxes than they pay in income taxes.
CHO: Perry, you know, the big question, of course, is this going to pass muster with Congress? What do you think?
PERRY BACON, "THE WASHINGTON POST": It depends on which parts. The parts in terms of the president wants to increase infrastructure spending and also give more aid to states and local governments, I think those ideas will have a lot of trouble passing in Congress. A lot of Republicans view them as ideas in the original stimulus bill which they strongly oppose. The payroll tax revision, which was passed in December, and the president wants to extend, is something you could see some bipartisan support for in part because Republicans in general embrace tax cuts.
So, I think this program, some parts of it will pass. But I think some parts will have strong opposition from Republicans in Congress.
CHO: Steve, I want to talk about Mitt Romney and his plan -- 59 points in all, said president doesn't have a clue and what he wants to do is create 11 million jobs over four years during a Romney presidency, grow the economy by 4 percent year over year and cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent.
How does this plan sound to you?
BELL: Improbable -- to be blunt about it. I don't se how you, one, guarantee job growth in an economy which has the structural problems we have. And number two, I -- unless you are really willing to make a complete change in the tax code, which has to be done, and would be job creating, and take on a lot of entrenched interests, you're not really going to get there. I'm always very leery, frankly, of these grandiose job plans because I had the opportunity as a very young staffer in the Senate to participate in the late '70s in such an exercise and I've heard very little new, frankly, in the last 35 years on this subject.
CHO: Well, Perry, I'm going to get to you in a minute. But, Steve, I want to ask you then f neither of these plans are going to work -- what is going to work? What do we need to do?
BELL: Well, I think there are two things we do right off the bat. Number one is we extend unemployment insurance, and number two, we make sure we have the largest possible payroll tax cut that we can have. And with that, you talked about wildfires earlier this morning, the fact of the matter is, we should not have Congress have to pass spending cuts to offset what are going to be probably $10 billion to $11 billion in disaster spending. If you really want shovel-ready projects, things that will put people right to work, repairing all those burnt homes and all the flooded homes and all those kinds of things in the tornadoes that have occurred, that's what you do.
CHO: But, Perry, you know, extending unemployment benefits, insurance, so forth, cutting payroll taxes -- you know, is that really going to create jobs?
BACON: They're going to create -- these ideas are going to create a limited amount of jobs. Part of what we're seeing in the president's speech, and Mitt Romney's speech and the House Republicans are talking about as well, these in some ways are agendas that look forward to 2012. They're in ways, these ideas I think know all three sides know maybe aren't going to pass in Congress -- aren't going to pass and become law. They're trying to build the debate for next fall's election.
I mean, in some ways, President Obama knows some of these ideas are not going to be passed and some of the -- almost setting up the election, he's trying to make the argument that he has ideas but Republicans are blocking them. And Mitt Romney is going to make the argument he has better ideas than President Obama. A lot is not meant really to create jobs but to really make an argument for political terms.
CHO: All right. Perry, because I went to Steve for two questions, I'm going to ask you one. You know, some of the proposals we believe that will be in the bill for the president's plan will include money for laid off teachers, first responders, and fixing dilapidated schools. You know, our Jessica Yellin was reporting just last night, you know, all of that sounds good and it's going to make it very hard for Republicans to reject this plan. I mean, doesn't the president know that?
BACON: I disagree with that. The Republicans have been saying for two years, the stimulus, the original stimulus, was full of that kind of spending which the Republicans say has not helped the economy. I think the Republicans will straight ahead oppose those kinds of programs as being sort of stimulus, too. I think I will be surprised to see them support them. I think they will find a way to oppose that kind of spending.
CHO: All right. Perry Bacon and Steve Bell, we thank you for joining us today. Thanks so much.
BACON: Thank you.
VELSHI: Good discussion.
CHO: Thank you.
VELSHI: I think they both get at the point that this is just complex and we are so desperate for an answer and something that's just going to work.
CHO: That's right.
VELSHI: But as Steve said, he's seen this tried and tried again, since the '70s. If there were a silver bullet, someone would have fired it.
CHO: That's right. You're right. It's complicated, not going to happen overnight.
I mean the problem is people are anxious. They're out of work, 9.1 percent unemployment. It's not changing. We're not moving in the right direction. So, something has to be done.
The big question is what are we going to do, right?
VELSHI: The truth may lie somewhere in the middle.
CHO: I think you're right.
VELSHI: I just hope we see that.
All right. Also new this morning, the man being held in connection with the disappearance of an American woman in Aruba could go free today. We've heard that before and it hasn't resulted in him going free. An appeal hearing is set for this morning. Last week, a judge ordered Gary Giordano be held another 60 days while the investigation continues.
Now, Giordano was the last person to see Robyn Gardner alive. She went missing. In fact, the last person to see her at all. She went missing on August 2nd.
Lawyers for former Senator John Edwards are trying to get criminal charges against him dismissed. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges and violating campaign contribution laws. His attorneys filing five court motions yesterday, claiming the charging documents against Edwards are, quote, "unconstitutionally vague" and that they're politically motivated.
CHO: I thought that was out of the news. I guess not.
VELSHI: Well, that continues.
CHO: Still to come, toxic dust from 9/11, is it killing first responders 10 years later? One firefighter's widow says yes, and we'll have her story next.
VELSHI: And the Obama administration has a plan to help the postal service avoid a possible default. And avoid getting into a lot of trouble. Is it going to work? We'll talk about it.
It's 37 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Ten years ago, Randy Wiebicke was one of the thousands of first responders who was exposed to toxic dust after the 9/11 attack. The New York City firefighter passed away earlier this year.
CHO: In fact, he left behind three children and a wife who believes that dust ultimately killed him. Deb Feyerick is with us this morning.
I mean, it's unbelievable -- a year ago, at this time, he was frail, but still alive. Today, as we look to the 10th anniversary of the attack, she's a widow with three children.
DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right. This is a family who really believed that they dodged a bullet, but when the blood cancer hit, it's almost as if someone shut off a switch. And this weekend, Madeline Wiebicke will honor this anniversary for the first time as a widow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): Randy Wiebicke's funeral was that like many of New York City firefighters who answered the call on 9/11. The difference, he died 10 years later.
MADELINE WIEBICKE, 9/11 WIDOW: I was with him and talked to him and let him know it was okay to go, that I would take care of the kids. He slipped away just very peacefully.
FEYERICK: His wife Madeline was full of hope when we met them last summer. Never did she believe 10 years after the attacks she, too, would become a 9/11 widow.
WIEBICKE: Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that.
FEYERICK: Randy Wiebicke was stationed near Ground Zero and the smoldering debris. In 2009, he was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer, usually affecting people 20 years older. The fire department considers Randy's death in the line of duty.
WIEBICKE: These guys were down there breathing, eating, sleeping in that dust. There's no doubt in my mind that that's where the cancer came from.
FEYERICK: A year ago, Randy took a calculated risk, undergoing an experimental stem cell transplant.
WIEBICKE: Randy was just so strong and so healthy and so larger than life, that, you know, we felt he would make it through it.
FEYERICK: But the viruses that subsequently attacked his weak immune system were too many and too aggressive to overcome.
(on camera): What was it like for you and Randy in the end?
WIEBICKE: We actually had special, beautiful times together even in the hospital. We would just hug each other and talk about our children.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Katie, Marianna and Danny, the oldest of the three.
WIEBICKE: He was so strong and so positive and so good.
I think 92 percent of their funds go directly to research.
FEYERICK: Since Randy's death in March, Madeline has started a new and different future, step by step.
WIEBICKE: And I think Randy would just want -- he wanted everybody to help each other, so that's why we're here now.
FEYERICK: She has raised $30,000 for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to help other first responders suffering from the same cancer as Randy. She walks every day, to stay strong, healthy and positive.
WIEBICKE: So, this is going to be a little powder room.
FEYERICK: And she is building a new kitchen, just as she and Randy always planned.
(on camera): Do you feel any residual anger?
WIEBICKE: I don't feel angry. I feel sad. I feel sad that people are still dying from it.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Sad, too, because it's all so new.
WIEBICKE: I wish he could still be here.
FEYERICK: Madeline is trying to live the lessons Randy taught as he lay dying, that is to live a simpler life, help others more, and, perhaps, most of all, forgive.
(on camera): What does the future hold for you, do you think?
WIEBICKE: I'm grateful that I had Randy as a best friend for 27 years. I've made a choice, I'm going to be happy. He always wanted me happy. He never held me back from anything. He was always really proud. So, he would want that now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now, a study by the New York City Fire Department finds that what something many first responders long suspected that is the firefighters who served at Ground Zero are more at risk of developing cancer. And as for Madelyn (ph), she was with Randy virtually every day he was in the hospital. She is strong. She says the thing she feared the most, it's happened. And now, she is focusing on the future.
CHO: What a heartbreaking story.
VELSHI: But she's so strong.
CHO: So graceful.
VELSHI: So graceful.
CHO: Incredibly graceful. I mean, to have that time with him to say goodbye is both a blessing and a curse.
FEYERICK: That's exactly right. And you know, you look at it and you think, boy, she had ten years many families did not have.
VELSHI: Right.
FEYERICK: But at the same time, it's a reminder that the casualties continue.
VELSHI: Sure. Absolutely.
FEYERICK: That there are still victims out there.
CHO: Is there any recourse?
FEYERICK: Right now, not with the cancers. Not with the cancers. They are trying to get them incorporated within that (INAUDIBLE)
VELSHI: Right. But that will be reviewed again next year.
FEYERICK: Exactly right. That's exactly right. There's still that ultimate link, not just an anecdotal.
VELSHI: A lot of people feel that that will succeed ultimately, but in the process, people are dying.
FEYERICK: Of course. And they're not getting the help. And it is. It makes a difference. It makes a difference when you know that there's money available when there's some sort of -- something that can ease your way so that the financial burdens are lessened.
CHO: What an extraordinary gift that you got to spend time with them.
FEYERICK: Yes. Really special family and a really special woman.
VELSHI: Great. Deb, thanks so much.
FEYERICK: Of course.
CHO: Thank you so much.
VELSHI: OK. It's 46 minutes after the hour. Your top stories are coming up next.
CHO: And footprints on the moon. NASA is actually releasing new high-definition photos showing where man left his mark. It is extraordinary to see. Forty-seven minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Forty-eight minutes past the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Out-of-control wildfires racing across Texas now killing four people and destroying at least 700 homes in just the past two days.
Democratic sources tell CNN, President Obama's jobs plan will call for $300 billion in tax breaks, incentives, and other spending. The price tag will be offset by an equal amount of budget cuts.
The Obama administration is reportedly pushing for legislation that would give the postal service an extra three months to make up an upcoming $5.5 billion payment to a retiree refund, a short-fall (ph).
Coming up at 7:15 eastern, we'll talk to Patrick Donahoe, the postmaster general, about the cash draft agency and how it may shut down.
The family of Yale graduate student, Annie Le, is filing a wrongful death suit claiming the university has failed to adequately protect women on campus. Le was killed in a research lab back in 2009. Her body was found stuff inside a wall. School officials say the suit has no merit.
And imagine going through the airport security without taking your shoes off. It may soon be possible. The department of Homeland Security says new technology will allow them to drop the shoe removal requirement, but there's no word yet on when that will happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on-camera): That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. They are some of the most stunning pictures of the moon's surface that we have ever seen. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): NASA's lunar reconnaissance orbiter, which was launched back in 2009, captured these high-resolution images of the Apollo 12, 14, and 17 landing sites. You can see the flags and the footprints. They're identified there with a little bit of script. There you go. The astronauts made in much greater detail, along with the tracks from the moon buggy. The images were released before NASA launches its next mission to the moon.
The mission is to map the moon's gravity. That launch is set for tomorrow. And those rockets aren't actually going to land on the moon. They're going to sort of work in tandem around the moon and get a sense of what's inside, because the feeling is we know a good amount about what's on the surface of the moon now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Just me. I think it's time with a new film "Apollo 8."
VELSHI (on-camera): That's right. There you go.
CHO: Call me crazy. It's hard for me to see. Maybe --
VELSHI: You got to sort of look at.
CHO: You know, floral gifts can always be tricky. Do you send an orchid plant? Do you send roses?
VELSHI: I would ask you.
CHO: Well, you should. I'm pretty good at that, actually, you know? So, how do you know which one is just right?
VELSHI: One thing we know is Madonna hates -- what are they hydrangeas?
CHO: Hydrangeas.
VELSHI: Yes. Her reaction to a fan's gift was caught on an open mic and has got the internet all fired up. Listen to Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's enough to make a hydrangea wilt insulted by Madonna in videos that have gone viral. There, Madonna is at the Venice Film Festival when a fan among the press people gives her a flower.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're my princess. Thank you so much. I love you.
MOOS: But after Madonna tells him thank you, some say she rolls her eyes and outcomes the truth barely picked up on an open mic. "I absolutely loathe hydrangeas."
MADONNA, SINGER: I absolutely loathe hydrangeas. He obviously doesn't know that.
MOOS: Hydrangeas of the world unite. Geez, Madonna. What did hydrangeas ever do to you? The "B" word flew at Madonna, the one that rhymes with witch. We went to flowers of the world in Manhattan to see why anyone would hate hydrangeas?
ANDREA VOTE, FLOWER SHOP MANAGER: A lot of people think it's their grandmother's flower.
MOOS: And on top of that, hydrangeas grow in people's yards.
(on-camera) makes it more lowy.
VOTE: Yes. Like, I see it in other people's yards. It couldn't be that great of a flower.
(voice-over) but these hydrangeas are from the Netherlands and cost 20 or 30 bucks a stem. Could Madonna's loathing turn hydrangea into the new broccoli?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not like broccoli. And my mother made me eat it. And I'm president of the United States. And I'm not going to eat anymore broccoli.
MOOS: At least Madonna doesn't have to eat hydrangea. Madonna may run through fields of lilies.
(SINGING) you make me feel.
MOOS: She's even accepted humble daisies.
(SINGING) living in a material world.
MOOS: And clutch them like a smitten school girl in the videos that have gone viral, hydrangea get no respect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madonna, where is the flowers that I gave you?
MADONNA: Oh, my assistant took them. MOOS: Madonna's spokesperson says she's entitled to like any flower she wants, and she didn't want to hurt the feelings of the hydrangeas of the world. Maybe. But her attitude was similar to that of the hoity-toity editor in the "The Devil Wears Prada."
MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: Do I smell freesias?
ANNE HATHAWAY, ACTRESS: What?
MOOS (on-camera): Do I smell hydrangea?
HATHAWAY: No. I specifically told them that --
STREEP: If I see freesias anywhere, I will be very disappointed.
MOOS: If I see hydrangea anywhere, I'm going to be very disappointed.
(voice-over) From the hydrangeas' point of view, Madonna stinks.
VOTE: It's an unscented flower.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --
MADONNA: Thank you.
MOOS: New York.
MADONNA: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: You know, I happen to like hydrangeas.
VELSHI: So, if I asked you if hydrangeas are appropriate gift for somebody, you'd say OK?
CHO: It would be on the short list.
VELSHI: They seem very large.
CHO: Having said that, you know, listen, I'm a huge Madonna fan, have been since I was, you know, wearing rubber bracelets and lace in my hair, but, you know, she likes what she likes. You can't --
VELSHI: For those of you who don't know, by the way, Alina and I were office mates for a long time. So, Alina consulted me on all sorts of things like what I would eat for lunch and how I should sort of conduct my habits and stuff. So --
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Usually, you won with the vest.
VELSHI: There you go. So, we're used to consulting with each other. CHO: You found that funny, didn't you? Anyway --
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Ahead in the next hour, we have new details about President Obama's jobs plan a day before his big speech, including the price tag and the fight it could cause. Fifty-six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
