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American Morning
GOP Wins Weiner's House Seat; Republicans Hold Onto Nevada Seat; Pressure's On to Pass Jobs Plan; PA Health Care Ruling; Attack on U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan Over; New Doubts About Hiker's Release; Rescued Motorcyclist Recovering; Record 46.2 Million Americans in Poverty; Poverty in America; Government's Responsibility to Those in Need?; Richardson Leaving Cuba Empty-Handed; Perry & The HPV Vaccine Order
Aired September 14, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
A Republican capturing the House seat left vacant by Anthony Weiner and the GOP is calling it a vote against President Obama.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. It's the video everyone is talking about. Good Samaritans rescuing an unconscious motorcyclist beneath a burning BMW. Four of those heroes will tell us why they risked their own lives to save someone else on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right, good morning, everyone. It's Wednesday, September 14th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali has the day off today.
COSTELLO: He does. He was tired after that big Tea Party debate. Coming up first this morning, Democrats licking their wounds this morning after a devastating setback in New York.
Bob Turner winning the race to fill Anthony Weiner's vacant congressional seat. It is the first time in nearly a century that a Republican has captured the traditionally Democratic ninth New York district, and Turner did it with an anti-Obama campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB TURNER (R), NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL ELECT: -- asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington, and I hope they hear it loud and clear. We have been told this is a referendum and we're ready to say, Mr. President, we are on the wrong track.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Mary Snow is tracking this developing story for us. So did this come as a surprise or did people sort of suspect this was going to happen?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the polls leading into the race showed Republicans were ahead, but clearly the Democrat here was expected to win. I mean, Democrats will say, look, there are conservative Democrats in this district and President Obama won I think by 11 points in 2008.
However, you know, Anthony Weiner was elected to seven terms here. Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one and it was clearly expected that the Democrats here would win. You know, there is going to be a lot of dissecting of this race to see exactly what it means.
But if you remember back in the spring there was a special election in upstate New York and a Democrat won. It was a surprise because it was a Republican-held district. That Democrat won on Social Security and Medicare.
The Democrat here tried to make that the issue here, but in that time the economy has soured and polls showed that jobs were the big issue here.
ROMANS: And this wasn't just an American and jobs issue. There is also an Israel issue here too. How did that play in?
SNOW: Yes, this was an unusual factor in this race. The Republican here made Israel an issue, and he is a catholic. The Democrat is an orthodox Jew and he found himself on the defensive, because the Republican candidate said, criticized President Obama's policies on Israel.
Ed Koch, a former New York City mayor who's a Democrat came out and said I want to send a message to President Obama as Israel and endorse the Republican.
So, you know, in the polls it wasn't that big of an issue, but there is a Jewish population in this district. Also same-sex marriage became an issue because the Democrat in this race supported same-sex marriage. He's an assembly man in New York. So, you know, it was anything but local.
COSTELLO: The candidate did not support same-sex marriage?
SNOW: He's not a politician. He is a former cable TV executive. He did run against Anthony Weiner.
ROMANS: His position was same-sex marriage?
SNOW: Right.
COSTELLO: The national election in 2012 will be very interesting if this is a sign of things to come.
ROMANS: Republicans are holding on to a congressional seat in Nevada. Mark Amodei defeated Democrat Kate Marshall in yesterday's special elections to replace former Congressman Dean Heller.
Heller is replacing former Republican Senator John Ensign. Remember he resigned from the Senate in May after acknowledging an affair with a staffer's wife.
COSTELLO: The pressure is on this morning for President Obama to get Republicans to OK his jobs bill. Just take a look at our new CNN/ORC poll. More than half of those surveyed, 55 percent do not approve of the way the president is handling his job.
All the more reason the president is on the road today. He's in a key state of North Carolina hoping to convince the American public it appears some in Congress are holding back his effort to deal with the job crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Maybe there are some people in Congress who would rather settle our differences at the ballot box than work together right now. But I've got news for them, the next election is 14 months away and the American people don't have the luxury of waiting that long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Dan Lothian live at the White House. Dan, good morning. The heat is on the White House to get this plan through Congress. So how optimistic can the president be?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're trying to remain optimistic here at the White House, but there is, according to top aides, a sense of urgency as the president tries to sell this jobs plan not only to the American people, but also to members of Congress.
Now as you pointed out, there are those negative poll numbers, but in a new poll released just this morning, a CNN/ORC poll, there is a much more mixed review of what Americans think about the president's jobs plan, while they still don't know all of the details inside that plan, overall on the major proposals, they like what they see.
The 43 percent are in favor of the plan, 35 percent oppose it, and 22 percent are still unsure. So the president, again, as you pointed out, will be hitting the road after visiting key battleground states of Virginia and Ohio.
This time he heads to North Carolina just outside Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina where he will visit a small business that the White House says has the benefit of the president's jobs plan. He will also be delivering remarks at North Carolina State University.
We expect to hear pretty much the similar message from yesterday in Columbus, Ohio, where the president was calling on Americans to pick up the phone, to tweet, to use whatever method of communication, to force and convince their lawmakers to embrace this jobs bill.
But there's still a lot of resistance from Republicans who don't want to see any tax hikes as a way to fund the president's jobs plan. Carol --
COSTELLO: Dan Lothian reporting live in Washington for us this morning. Thanks, Dan.
ROMANS: A new legal setback for President Obama's health care law. A federal judge in Pennsylvania declaring the provision that requires people to buy health care. Health insurance is unconstitutional. The ruling was issued in one of more than 30 lawsuits nationwide that challenged the president's health care overhaul. The question of an insurance mandate is ultimately expected to end up in the Supreme Court.
COSTELLO: After nearly 24 hours, the Taliban's attack on the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan is over. Security forces say they killed the six militants who stormed the nearby building in Kabul and opened fire on the embassy in a NATO command center.
No one inside the U.S. embassy was injured, but at least one police officer was killed outside of the embassy. A spokesman for NATO says the strike was, quote, "carefully planned."
And we're told they were getting out of jail, but this morning, we're hearing a far different story. An Iranian judiciary official now says there is no decision on whether those two American hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, will be released.
Iran's president just said yesterday told NBC News, they could be released with a couple of days. The hikers' attorney said they'd be free as soon as each paid half a million dollars, but everything is up in the air this morning.
ROMANS: A 21-year-old motorist who was pulled from a burning car by a group of bystanders. You've probably seen this video. He's recovering this morning and undergoing physical therapy. This is the video right now that everyone is talking about.
Brandon Wright of Logan, Utah, unconscious, trapped under a burning BMW after a collision in a parking lot. His uncle says no words can describe the gratitude of Brandon's loved ones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER RIGGS, VICTIM'S UNCLE: The family of Brandon, first and foremost, his parents, his siblings and everyone else, are incredibly thankful for these angels that came to his aid yesterday. The -- watching the video gives us chills. That car could have blown up at any time. It was amazing they risked their lives, 12 people, however many it was to save Brandon's life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Four of those angels who saved Brandon's life will be joining us live from Logan, Utah in the next half hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: And as you may expect, they were humble so I can't wait to talk to them.
Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, new staggering numbers on poverty in America. More poor people than at any other time since the U.S. started keeping track. We'll check back with one family we visited last year who's barely getting by. The face of poverty in America.
ROMANS: Fire in the north. Flame spreading 16 miles in one day in Minnesota. Smoke now spreading over three states.
Look out below, NASA has a better idea of just when a defunct six-ton satellite will be making its plunge back to earth. It's nice to know when that's going to happen. It's 8 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. A new poverty numbers out, poverty in America and they're pretty alarming. The United States is the poorhouse some people have been saying this morning when you look at just how the great recession has really hit every -- almost every level of income in the country.
COSTELLO: Yes, the numbers are staggering. More middle class is slipping into poverty. The poverty level is up again fourth year in a row in 2010. There are more poor people right now in America than at any time since the census started keeping count, and that was 52 years ago.
ROMANS: Poppy Harlow visited one of those families struggling to get by last year. She went back to see how they're doing today. Poppy --
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: When you look at the numbers, I don't think it tells the full story. We should tell you how many people it is. Right now, it's 46.2 million Americans living under that poverty line. That means a family of four living under just about $22,000 a year. It's 2.6 million more people than a year ago.
So the situation is certainly getting worse. The numbers do not tell this story. Each story is different. Each family is in a different situation, but a year ago, we spent the day with Ann Valdez.
She had three kids. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and her story is about chronic poverty. She grew up like this and now her kids are growing up like this. We wanted to go back a year later and see if her situation was any different. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet the people in your community where you live. Meet the people in the communities where you work, and meet the people in the communities where you represent.
HARLOW: See the face of poverty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See the face of poverty.
HARLOW: We met Ann Valdez a year ago. She was living under the poverty line like millions of other Americans. So we decided to come back a year later and see how Ann's doing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My grandparents were one of the first tenants to live here are in 1954.
HARLOW: Has the situation gotten better for you? ANN VALDEZ, LIVING IN POVERTY: No. It actually hasn't changed very much. Right now, I'm living on approximately $200 cash a month, $360 food stamps. I do not have a full-time job on a daily basis since about 2004.
HARLOW: How important are the safety nets out there for you right now, the things that are paid for by the government?
VALDEZ: Well, safety nets are very important and the more that they cut, the scarier it is to think about tomorrow. I buy a lot of non- perishables. So that this way there's always something to eat and the jobs they try to get for us are minimum wage jobs.
So if I get a minimum wage job it's still going to lead me to apply for Medicaid and food stamps. So I'm still dependent on the system. Sometimes you forget about what's healthy because you can't afford what's healthy. Food for five.
HARLOW: Brian (ph), your mom grew up in poverty. You've grown up so far in the same situation. What are your aspirations? What do you want to become?
B. VALDEZ: I want for high people in the high chairs, like the senator, the congressman, even the mayor to come down here, see what's going on in this - in these neighborhoods. See how destroyed these neighborhoods are, the spirits of these people. They are completely gone.
A. VALDEZ: So what would you like to aspire to?
HARLOW: What are your dreams?
B. VALDEZ: I don't have them.
HARLOW: You were telling me before, Brian, firefighter?
B. VALDEZ: Yes. That's what it was. I'd like to be a firefighter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And hopefully Brian's going to do just that.
What struck me in the poverty report is the number of children, 22 percent of American children that is about one in five now living in poverty and dies. And what the research shows us is that in the next decade, six million more kids are going to fall into poverty. So the trajectory is not good at all.
COSTELLO: So, obviously, she's not making $22,000 a year, right?
HARLOW: She's not working. She hasn't had a full-time job since 2004. I said, why don't you? She has a back injury and knee injury. She said the only job I can get is a sales associate and I - I can't stand all day.
And what really stood out to me I said, well, how long have you been off food stamps, right? Because her parents - her grandparents lived in the housing projects. Her mom raced her in those same projects a few buildings down and now she's raising her kids there. She said one year of my life, the one year I had a job working for the government is when I was off food stamps.
ROMANS: So her whole family is completely supported by the taxpayers?
HARLOW: Completely.
ROMANS: One thing that's interesting about these numbers, about the poverty numbers is that if you didn't have unemployment benefits, you'd have more people in these numbers.
HARLOW: Right.
ROMANS: That unemployment - long-term unemployment benefits kept some people out of those numbers.
HARLOW: So this is one thing that stood out to me, right, when President Obama announced his jobs plans, he talked about overhauling the unemployment system, not just extending benefits but changing the way it works, spending a lot of money to retrain people.
Ann and I talked about the fact that she doesn't want pity. She wants opportunity and she talked about training. You hear a lot from politicians but she said I'd like to be trained in a way that I can get a job that I can physical can do. A lot of people counter that and say why have you been for seven years without work? Why not work part-time? People have their different takes.
But the fact is she said I would like that training is interesting when you have this discussion of changing the system.
COSTELLO: But the more disturbing thing is her son, and you can see why the cycle perpetuates, because the son, how old is he?
HARLOW: Twelve.
COSTELLO: Twelve years old. He says he has no dreams. He has no idea. I mean, he's obviously a smart kid.
HARLOW: He's a very, very bright kid.
COSTELLO: He's a smart kid.
ROMANS: Well, you learn from what you see around you. When you see people around that you want to emulate that's how you -
COSTELLO: Right. He has no hope.
HARLOW: It's about losing hope, right?
COSTELLO: Right.
HARLOW: It's about losing hope.
ROMANS: Or never having had it.
HARLOW: The one thing I do want to say is that Ann is a very outspoken woman in her community. She works for an organization called Community Voices Heard, so she's been fighting and fighting to change the rules, to get more aid, to have their voices heard, at least. So he does see a mother who is active.
But, yes, when you grow up like that, it's very, very difficult, and the numbers, as you know very well, are getting worse. The income gap, the rich are getting richer. There's no argument about that. And the poor, even this year, the bottom 60 percent of households saw their income fall even more.
ROMANS: We've always had poverty in America. We've always had multigenerational poverty in America and it's a tragedy. What these numbers really show is that the middle class got some stuffing knocked out of it, too, and that more people are on the verge of being once in the middle class and falling down.
HARLOW: Yes.
ROMANS: And when you start to lose that ability to go from the very bottom to the top or to stay in the middle class one generation after the other, that's when you really start to worry about the direction the country's going and we're at that tipping point, I think.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: Thanks a lot.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
HARLOW: Sure.
ROMANS: All right.
Some advocates to the poor say the poverty line is set too low, but the conservative Heritage Foundation is pushing back. Hear both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BERGEL, ADVOCATE FOR THE POOR: If you qualify as being in poverty today, then you're really in deep poverty because that number is so low. That's based on an outdated formula from the '60s.
ROBERT RECTOR, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I think that these numbers are designed to exaggerate the extent of poverty in the United States in order to build a larger welfare state, and it does make it more difficult for us to target the assistance to those who truly need it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The income for a typical American family also took a hit last year falling slightly to about $49,500. COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, actually that story. The question for you this morning, what is our government's responsibility to those in need?
Some depressing numbers for you. America's poverty rate has jumped to 15.1 percent. That's over 46 million people. What defines poverty? You heard Poppy say it. If a couple has two kids and a family income of $22,314 per year, they are poor. Ann Valdez is one of the working poor. A single mom, she gets by thanks to food stamps and Medicaid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
A. VALDEZ: You're in poverty. We have educations. We have abilities. We have aspirations. We have families. We have the same thing that apple pie America has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Maybe you sympathize with Ms. Valdez. Maybe that's the best you can do in these tough economic times. Personal responsibility these days is hot. Government aid is not. You certainly heard that in the Tea Party Debate when Wolf Blitzer asked, what should happen to a hypothetical 30-year-old man who had been injured in a car accident and had no insurance?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RON PAUL (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's what freedom is all about. Taking your own risks. This whole idea that you have to prepare and take care of everybody -
WOLF BLITZER, CNN LEAD POLITICAL ANCHOR: But, Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?
PAUL: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: There are some in America who ask, why should we, the taxpayers, help those who don't take responsibility for their own lives? Why should the government dish out long-term unemployment benefits or food stamps or welfare?
So our "Talkback" question is a tough one today. What is our government's responsibility for those in need? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: And what is the limit to that generosity or that safety net and when does it reach its limit? That I think is one of the questions that's (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: And it's a big question. Because with more and more people slipping into poverty and the middle class disappearing and there no jobs out there, somebody's got to help, right? So it will be interesting to see what you have to say.
Also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Casey Anthony's parents breaking their silence, opening up to Dr. Phil. You'll hear why Casey's mom still believes her daughter was an awesome mother.
ROMANS: And for the good Samaritans who lifted a burning car to save a trapped motorcyclist is joining us live from Utah to talk about being heroes. I can't wait to talk to these people.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business "this morning.
U.S. markets managed to inch out small gains by the end of trading yesterday. They were rattled, though, by Europe debt concerns, and that's going on right now still. Right now, futures for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are all trading lower ahead of the opening bell.
Part of the reason Moody's rating service just announced this morning it is downgrading two of France's largest banks, why? Because of their exposure to Greece's debt crisis and the financial situation in Europe. This news also tempering gains in world markets this morning.
And later today, Treasuries Secretary Tim Geithner will speak on a panel in New York City and make a push for the President's American Jobs Act, but expected to put pressure on lawmakers to move quickly and pass the jobs package. Wall Street will be watching for any insights as to conditions of the ailing U.S. economy and any of Geithner's comments about what's happening in Europe.
Ford and the United Auto Workers Union have reportedly extends the contract talks indefinitely this according to "Detroit Free Press" this morning. But UAW continues labor talks with GM and Chrysler today. Midnight is the deadline before the current contract runs out in those two companies (ph).
The latest report from the census says the middle class is still struggling in this country. The median household income is down for the third year in a row. It's now where it was in 1996 when you adjust it for inflation.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you. It is half past the hour. Here are this morning's top stories.
A setback for Democrats, Bob Turner winning the race to fill Anthony Weiner's vacant congressional seat. It is the first time in nearly a century that a Republican has captured the traditionally Democratic New York District.
ROMANS: President Obama disapproval rating hits a new high. According to a new CNN/ORC Poll, 55 percent of Americans do not think the president is doing a good job and that makes today's jobs speech all the more important.
For a second day in a row, the president will travel to a key state, this time, North Carolina. He is lobbying Congress to pass his new jobs plan. He's taken his case directly to the American people.
COSTELLO: And the Taliban's attack on the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan is over this morning. Earlier today, security forces killed the six militants who stormed a nearby building and launched a high-profile attack on the U.S. embassy. Officials say no one inside the embassy was injured.
ROMANS: It has all the makings of a political firestorm. A governor accused of abusing his power by ordering young girls to get an HPV vaccine. And if that's not enough, handing out favors to a drug maker in the process. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann launched into Rick Perry with those charges at the CNN Tea Party debate. There are questions he's been answering in Texas for some time now.
Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The HPV controversy has hovered over Rick Perry for more than four years, but it wasn't until the CNN Tea Party debate that Perry's opponents really dug into the Texas governor.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To have innocent little 12-year-olds girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong.
The drug company gave thousands it of dollars and political donations to the governor, and this is just flat out wrong.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The company was Merck, and it was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raise about $30 million, and if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended.
LAVANDERA: Five thousand dollars in 2006, according to Texas campaign finance documents. But altogether, Merck has donated more than $ 28,000 to Rick Perry's gubernatorial campaigns in the last 10 years. More than $20,000 of those donations were made before the governor issued the controversial HPV executive order.
PERRY: What I do not understand why we as a people would not take this opportunity to use this vaccine that has come to us.
LAVANDERA: That was Rick Perry back in 2007 trying to muster support for the HPV vaccine mandate, but he was heavily criticized when it emerged his former chief of staff, Mike Toomey, had worked as a lobbyist for Merck and other companies before and after working for Perry. Dallas Tea Party activist Katrina Pierson attended the debate and said most people in the hall weren't happy with Perry's answers on this issue.
KATRINA PIERSON, DALLAS TEA PARTY: Capital cronyism is extremely important and runs rampant throughout both parties. And the issue needs to be discussed and we need to make sure that we have a candidate committed to principle legislation and governing, not special interest-driven.
LAVANDERA: But the relationship between Rick Perry, his former chief of staff, and the drug maker Merck is troubling to campaign finance watchdogs like Texans for Public Justice. It found that while Perry was prominent in the Republican Governors Association, Merck donated more than $377,000 to the RGA. That's since 2006. In the same period, the association has donated $4 million to Rick Perry's campaigns for governor -- all perfectly legal, but a glimpse into how money runs through the political system.
And now, Rick Perry says he handled the HPV vaccine issue all wrong.
PERRY: But on that particular issue, I will tell you that I made a mistake by not going to the legislature first.
At the end of the day, this was about trying to stop a cancer.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Governor Perry as his aides long denied this decision had anything to do with the campaign donations or the fact that Governor Perry's former chief of staff worked for a lobbyist for the drug maker Merck. And it didn't seem to bother voters in 2010 when Governor Perry was re-elected.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Casey Anthony's parents breaking their silence for the first time since their daughter was cleared of murder charges in July. George and Cindy Anthony appearing on the "Dr. Phil Show." George admitting his daughter continue to lie after her daughter Caylee went missing. Cindy telling Dr. Phil she is convinced her daughter is sick and needs help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PHIL: Your theory is that she is a victim in this in some way -- a victim of an illness, a tumor, or something?
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY'S MOTHER: I truly believe that, because there was never any signs that Casey was an unfit mother. She was an awesome mother. Looking back now, I'm almost wondering if she didn't develop postpartum schizophrenia or some kind of issue after her pregnancy, hormonal type of illness. I mean, that's my perception because none of those behaviors were exhibited prior to her pregnancy.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The rest of Dr. Phil's interview with the Anthonys airs today.
ROMANS: In a bizarre twist, Jose Baez, the lawyer who's helped Casey Anthony beat a murder wrap, will defend the suspect in the disappearance of American tourist Robyn Gardner in Aruba. Baez says he's been hired by Gary Giordano, who was traveling with Gardner. Giordano was arrested shortly after she went missing on August 2nd.
COSTELLO: Keep your eyes on the sky. NASA says a dead satellite will make an uncontrolled plunge back to earth by the end of this month. The six-ton satellite was decommissioned in 2005 and has been losing altitude ever since. Officials expect most of the space junk to burn up during re-entry and pose little risk to us earthlings on the ground.
ROMANS: A space chunk up there. Only hope it burns on the way in.
All right. Next on AMERICAN MORNING: four of the heroes who pulled an unconscious biker from beneath a burning car joining us live from Logan, Utah to tell us how it happens.
It's 34 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Wildfire in Minnesota now racing across the wilderness, spreading over 16 miles in a single day. It started last month with a lightning strike, but only began moving quickly this week in windy dry condition there. Dozens of homes evacuated. Smoke and haze stretching now from the Canadian border, through Wisconsin and into the Chicago suburbs. It even forced the Milwaukee Brewers to keep the stadium roof closed for their game last night. And that's 500 miles away.
COSTELLO: Wow.
ROMANS: Jacqui Jeras is in the extreme weather center.
Good morning, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys. Yes, just a nasty fire up there. Conditions a little bit better today as they do have a chance of rain and check out this satellite. It's impressive looking from space. This will show you that fire in Minnesota. The red you see in the corner there, that's the heat signature, and then you can see the big plume of smoke.
Now, some of this is actually cloudiness, believe it or not. They call them pyrocumulunimbus clouds. Impress your friends at the water cooler with that word. Basically, clouds build because it's very cold in the upper atmosphere here and you add all the particles with the smoke and that adds to it.
So, just incredible pictures for you here this morning. Now, showers possible with a cold front that's moving through, but it's also going to be bringing in drier air behind it, but it will be cooler. And that's really the big story across the country today is this cold front. And it's going to make its way all the way down to the Gulf Coast by late tomorrow and all the way across the East Coast. So everybody, really, east of the Rockies getting in on a nice break for you, at least in terms of temperature. Highs today only in the 50s for the upper Midwest, 67 in Chicago, still hanging on to those triple digits across parts of the South, but only for one more day.
We've got frost and freeze advisories in effect for the upper Midwest for tomorrow morning. It's going to be in the upper 20s to lower 30s. That's mighty cold even for this time of year, but it should help a little bit with those fire fighting efforts.
Christine and Carol, back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Jacqui Jeras -- thank you, Jacqui.
COSTELLO: No matter how many time us see it, you still cannot take your eyes off it. A young motorcyclist in Logan, Utah, pinned beneath a burning car earlier in the week after a fiery parking lot collision. He is alive today, in satisfactory condition because of a group of good Samaritans who lifted the car off of him and pulled him to safety.
Four of those heroes are with us this morning.
Jason Olsen of the Logan Police Department and students James Odei, Anvar -- I'm going to get your name wrong, Anvar, I know it, and Abbass al Sharif.
Welcome to all of you. We appreciate you waking up early with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, James, let's start with you. Tell us what you saw when you got to the scene, when you're in that parking lot? What went through your mind?
JAMES ODEI, HELPED RESCUE MOTORCYCLIST: What went through my mind was, the first thing that I was -- what was going on, and somebody made it clear to me that the motorcyclist was under the car. So that's quickly prompted me to go ahead and give a helping hand to those who were already there to lift the car.
COSTELLO: So amazing.
Sergeant Olsen, you were the first officer on the scene. So, describe the situation when you arrived. What did you see?
SGT. JASON OLSEN, HELPED RESCUE MOTORCYCLIST: When I got there, there were several individuals starting to accumulate around the vehicle, and judging by their body language and the female getting down on the ground, it was obvious somebody was pinned underneath the vehicle that were both fully engulfed with fire.
COSTELLO: So, I would assume, Officer, that that group of people trying to pick up the car were already assembled near that burning car. So when you saw them, did you think, oh, these crazy people, what are they doing?
OLSEN: You know, I didn't really have time to think about that. I knew that there was some urgency and what needed to happen. I was trying to call for another officer to bring a jack up. But before we could even put that plan into action, the citizens had multiplied to a degree where they could actually physically lift that vehicle up off the ground.
COSTELLO: Everybody seemed so calm. So, Abbass, why would you rush towards this burning car and put your own life at risk to save a stranger?
ABBASS AL SHARIF, HELPED RESCUE MOTORCYCLIST: Well, even if he was a stranger, he could be, like, you know, my brother. He could be my friend. He could be anyone. He's just a human being, just like me.
I think my human instinct and you know, the people trying to help, it's their human instinct, who was the motive or who was -- that was driving them to help or driving us to help.
COSTELLO: So, Anvar, you were one of the people who told Brandon, the victim in this case, pulled him out from underneath that car. What did you think when you were pulling on his arm and you saw him?
ANVAR SUYUNDIKOV, HELPED RESCUE MOTORCYCLIST: First of all, you can see from the video, it was very hard, kind of big fire that was there, and it was very hot when we lifted the car, and when I look at underneath, it was -- I saw a lot of blood, and I saw how he was unconscious.
And at the time we didn't think about ourselves. We had to -- pull him to safety. So -- I didn't think anything and I just think -- I thought about to help him, as much as possible.
COSTELLO: So, Abbass, when Anvar pulled the victim's body out from the car and he was lying in the street, did you think he was going to be OK?
AL SHARIF: Well, I -- like, you know, I'm a positive person in nature. So I always like have hope. And when I saw Brandon, I saw his face, I believed that he's going to make it and I'm glad that he made it like right now, and he's feeling better.
COSTELLO: Yes. We are, too. As I said, he's in satisfactory condition.
ODEI: If I may add something quickly. That was weren't of the reasons why I decided to go for it as well, because I had the faith that he was going to survive. To give him a second chance at least in life. COSTELLO: That's terrific. Sgt. Olsen, a final question for you. It is your job to run toward danger. So, what do you think about people putting their lives at risk, running toward danger?
SGT. JASON OLSEN, LOGAN, UTAH POLICE DEPARTMENT: I think it's a general role, especially in this county, this valley, this kind of human nature. I'm never too surprised to see people want to engage and help, especially in traumatic situations. I'm comforted to know that these -- all these gentlemen here are very educated, and they calculated the risk before going in.
It was a conscious decision, and even though, you know, they downplay it a little bit because they had some adrenaline that was really helping them out. They knew what they were doing. They knew that there were risks involved, but they made a conscious choice to get involved, and quite frankly, it saved the man's life, because me and the other officers would have never been able to probably do it in time.
COSTELLO: Terrific. And thanks to all of you for being with us this morning, and, geez what more can you say? Sgt. Jason Olsen, James Odei, Anvar -- I'm going to mess up your name again. Anbar, say your last name for me.
ANVAR SUYUNDIKOV, HELPED RESCUE MOTORCYCLIST: My name is Suyundikov. Suyundikov.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. Thank you for being here.
SUYUNDIKOV: You're welcome.
OLSEN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: And also Abbass al-Sharif. Thanks to all of you.
This morning's top stories straight ahead, including the former Obama administration official jumping into the race for a U.S. Senate seat.
And the guy who squeezed through a drive-through window, got naked and made chicken tenders. Not kidding. Forty-six minutes past the hour.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Drew Miller was 43 with no major health issues, until ALS limited his ability to speak and move. Now, though, he's able to communicate and connect online with the blink of an eye.
BARBARA BARCLAY, TOBII: Eye tracking is revolutionizing life for people with disabilities. Now, they have a communication tool. They can take part in social media.
TUCHMAN: For drew and people with similar disabilities, eye tracking technology is a huge part of their lives, and it could become a part of everyone's sooner than you think. New computers allow you to flip through folders, scan over maps, even select music with a glance of your eye.
BARCLAY: In the next five to10 years, eye tracking technology will be in almost every device you use on a day-to-day basis.
TUCHMAN: Which could mean using your eyes to adjust settings in your car, scroll through the web, and even play games.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: Ah, yes!
TUCHMAN: It looks like a lot of fun. It can also give insight to how we think.
BARCLAY: So many things about the way your eyes move is related to how your brain is working.
TUCHMAN: It's also helping doctors spot early developmental problems in children and rehabilitate people of traumatic brain injuries. It's the technology of tomorrow with advantages you can see today.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's 50 minutes past of the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
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ROMANS (voice-over): Bob Turner winning the race to fill Anthony Weiner's vacant House seat. It's the first time in nearly a century that Republican has captured the traditionally Democratic ninth New York District.
The Taliban's nearly day long attack on the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan is now over. Officials there say security forces have killed the six militants who stormed the nearby building and then opened fire on the embassy in Kabul.
And 11 people were killed when a train in Buenos Aires slammed into a bus, derailed, and was then struck by another train on the opposite track. At least 228 people were injured in the huge accident. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Former New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, is returning home from Cuba this morning without jailed American, Alan Gross. He wasn't even allowed to visit him. Gross is serving a 15-year sentence for trying to set up illegal internet connections on the island.
Elizabeth Warren is running for U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. The former Obama administration official and consumer advocate confirming she will challenge republican, Scott Brown, for Ted Kennedy's old seat.
The band, Phish, holding a benefit for its native, Vermont. The group will play a sold-out show tonight (INAUDIBLE) to help communities that were devastated by Irene's floodwaters. Hundreds of roads were washed out. Dozens of towns were cut off by that storm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (on-camera): That's the news you need to know to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this.
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COSTELLO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's 52 minutes past the hour.
Fewer pat-down for kids at airport security checkpoints. The TSA is now changing the way children are screened before they get on to airplanes. Videos like this added fuel to the fire last year over physical body checks. So, the TSA now says kids under 12 years old will be allowed to keep their shoes on and will get several passes through metal detectors and screeners. If they keep going off, the pat-downs will only be a last resort.
All right. Hope there's some good stuff on the DVR. Dish network suffered a major outage late last night mostly effecting HD service. Stations across the country reported problems from Denver to Indianapolis to Savannah, Georgia. The company blamed, quote, "satellite anomaly" and hopes it will be fixed by this morning.
COSTELLO: I'm sure it will be.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Our questions this morning, what is our government's responsibility for those in need? We're getting a huge response to this question this morning.
This is from Val, "The government cannot be responsible for the choices someone made in their life. The government should create the environment that allows people to get out of poverty if they want to and work for it."
This from Natasha, "To some degree, the government should take care of the most vulnerability citizens. It is also the responsibility of the person's seeking assistance to pick themselves up by their bootstraps. However, we are living in very difficult times which call for additional measures to do what it is necessary to help. Let's stop the welfare in the form of tax breaks to those who can afford to pay increase taxes."
And this from Sarah, "I'm a teacher who works with students in poverty. Our government's first priority is to equally educate all students, and that's not happening. Schools should be funded equally so everyone, at least, has access to a great, promising education, and an ideal future."
Please, keep the conversation going, because it's an important one this morning. Facebook.com/americanmorning. Facebook.com/americanmorning. We'll read more of your responses later on in our show.
ROMANS: You know, part of the president's jobs bill is for extended unemployment insurance, and one of the things that they want to change is, now, you lose your unemployment insurance if you start your own business or you start a company, you're trying to make it for yourself.
They want to change that, so you can still get the benefits, but you can try to start something. Try to start a job, try to -- you know, and that would be a big change, and that's because they're trying to change the way we're doing some of these unsafety net programs.
COSTELLO: Of course, there's a lot of opposition to that part of the plan, right?
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: Republicans who don't even want long, long-term unemployment to continue after 99 weeks.
ROMANS: Yes. They say when you try (ph) about 99 weeks of unemployment and you put another year on that, now you're talking about a chronic problem that needs to be addressed with retraining, not with just more unemployment benefits. So, there you go. But there aren't jobs on the other end. So, that's what the real problem is.
OK. I guess, he was hungry, right?
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ROMANS (voice-over): This is a surveillance video from a Mr. Beef outside Chicago. Police say a guy with a late-night snack attack tried to squeeze through the bars of the drive-through window. He got stuck.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Oh.
ROMANS: And stripped down to his undies to get free. Even though he tripped the alarm, he still got dressed and grabbed fried and chicken tenders and tossed them in the microwave. The cops showed up a few minutes later and arrested him.
COSTELLO: I'll never eat at that restaurant again.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (on-camera): Just ahead in the next hour, what could be a sign of big trouble for President Obama? A heavily Democratic district here in New York, Anthony Weiner's old territory goes to the GOP. What could that mean for 2012?
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