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American Morning

Air Race Plane Crash Kills Nine in Reno; Emmy Awards Show Largely a Repeat Previous Year; New Children's Book about Evolution Stirs Debate in U.S.; President to Unveil New Deficit Reduction Plan; Warren Buffett Calls for Tax Hike on the Rich; Kara Kennedy 1960-2011; Eleanor Mondale Dies from Brain Cancer; Could Job Crisis Spark Riots; LEDA Focuses on Finding Future Leaders

Aired September 19, 2011 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands watched in horror on Friday as the plane suddenly nosedived towards a crowded grandstand. The plane landed like a missile on to the tarmac. Nine people killed including the 74-year-old pilot. Nearly 70 other people injured.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And on Saturday in West Virginia, another spectacular crash has a veteran pilot killed after his vintage plane went down and burst into a fireball. This morning questions about whether these races in the sky should continue. Dan Simon is in Reno now with more. Good morning, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. A lot of attention is focused on that tail of that B-50 that went down. You could see on the photos and in the videos, you can see part of the tail coming of the aircraft midflight. And crews over the weekend searching the debris field found what appears to be part of that tail. Authorities also announcing that the plane had a camera on board and that in the debris field some memory cards were recovered, but it's not clear if in fact those cards came that camera. It will be analyzed at the NTSA lab in Washington.

Authorities also saying that in addition to that camera, there was sort of a crude black box onboard, if you will, that recorded crucial information such as oil pressure, GPS information, information that could be helpful over a period of time. That information was wirelessly transmitted to the flight crew and will be analyzed by the NTSB.

Meanwhile chilling accounts are still coming in in terms of what happened right after the crash. We spoke to a nurse who was among first to arrive at the scene. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE MORGAN, ER NURSE: The impact of the aircraft was significant and the debris field was wide and it was very traumatic. They have a long road ahead of them. They'll have prosthetics. They'll have therapy. They'll have to learn to re-use their bodies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, of the nearly 70 patients taken to the hospital, about 30 still remain and six of them are in critical condition. Christine?

ROMANS: Dan, I understand there's already talk about next year's event.

SIMON: That's right. This is an event in the Reno community for about 50 years now. They take a lot of pride in it. There's a lot of economic dollars at stake for the community of Reno. And when you talk to people who live here, they would like to see it go on next year. But at this point it's unclear. The NTSB obviously has a lot of investigation to do and may make some safety recommendations. But at this point, it's unclear if in fact there will be another air show here in Reno. Christine?

ROMANS: Dan Simon live in Reno for us. Thank you, Dan.

COSTELLO: Also there, NTSB board member Mark Rosekind. He joins us now. Good morning, Mark.

MARK ROSEKIND, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: There have been a total of 20 fatal accidents at this Reno air race, 20. Most involved pilots. This is the first time an accident killed so many spectators. So is it safe for this air race to go on next year? Should it be cancelled?

ROSEKIND: The NTSB does a very comprehensive investigation. We're going to look at human, machine. as well as environment. In this case the environment is not just the weather but the oversight, for example, of the FAA. It actually has a specific division that looks as air races and air shows. We will be investigating what kind of comprehensive plan was created for this particular show and race and then determine whether or not it was met.

And we're going to actually find out not just what happened but why. That's what will allow us to make safety recommendations so something like this doesn't happen again.

COSTELLO: So Mark, you were sitting in the crowd. At what point did you realize something was terribly wrong?

ROSEKIND: I was not personally here, but the NTSB had three investigators that were on site at the air race. And so they were immediately -- they not only had a chance to witness the accident, but were immediately on-scene, obviously, for the investigation.

COSTELLO: This was a World War II era plane supped up. The pilot said it could go really fast. He was trying something he had never tried before. This plane could travel up to 500 miles per hour. Is that too fast for this type of plane?

ROSEKIND: This is actually pretty classic of an air race. They can fly at speeds, as you pointed up, up to 500 hours, altitude of 100 feet. We've seen that happen in many of these air races.

COSTELLO: So this type of plane could handle that speed?

ROSEKIND: As you pointed out, this P-51 mustang is actually a modified version. So it had a lot of modern technology on it as well.

COSTELLO: There was a problem with the tail section of the plane, and I believe we have a picture to show folk. Can you explain to us what on the tail intrigued you?

ROSEKIND: Well, there's a lot of photo and video information from this. It's just tremendous amounts of material that are available because everybody who was here, and so there are a lot of photos of specific aspects of the tail. We know that -- we have found in the wreckage some parts of tail from the accident aircraft. We have those photos. And part of what will happen is to do an analysis to determine whether or not what we have came from the accident aircraft and whether it was relevant or not in the actual accident.

COSTELLO: Also I know, there are strict regulations when it comes to commercial flight, right? I mean, a Southwest Airlines jet is regulated differently than the planes at these air shows. Is it time to sit down and say, it's time that we started really regulating these planes that fly in these air shows, because they're so dangerous?

ROSEKIND: Well, that will be absolutely one of the aspects that the NTSB will look at in this investigation. When we talk about the environment, the FAA, they are the entity that oversees air races and air shows. Part of what the NTSB will be, evaluate what policies and procedures they have in place to make sure the air races and shows go on at the highest safety level as possible.

COSTELLO: You know, it makes me wonder, because 20 crashes involving dead pilots at just this Reno air show, and now this huge tragedy happens, and finally we're all sitting down and talking about tighter regulations.

ROSEKIND: Well, we'll be looking really at history as well. As you pointed out, there are more air races than just this one. And so the NTSB will look at the safety record over time as well as focusing on the specifics of this accident, because we're going to come back here to the Reno Air Show race and what we find here, when we figure out why, can make safety regulations. We'll be back to this specific accident.

COSTELLO: I understand, that's your job, the NTSB's, to investigate why this plane crashed. Thank you so much for joining us this morning, Mark Rosekind from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Billionaire Warren Buffett is backing President Obama's plan to raise taxes on the superrich. Get this, Buffett says he doesn't pay enough in taxes. In fact, he pays less percentage wise than this secretary. So the so-called Buffett rule requires people making more than $1 million to pay the same tax rate at middle class. Republicans say this plan pits taxpayers against one another. Democrats say it ensures the wealthy pay their fair share.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN, (D) ILLINOIS: They would make sure we have no new tax burden on the wealthiest people in America and they would continue to criticize any effort to step forward and do something positive to move this economy.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: You raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires, it adds a de minimus amount of money to the treasury to pay off the debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The president's plan, according to a CNN/ORC poll, has the support of 63 percent of Americans. White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar joins us now. Brianna, break down the president's plan here.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's a $3 trillion plan to save $3 trillion, Christine, over the course of 10 years. That is the broad strokes of what we will hear the president lay out in this Rose Garden remarks at 10:30 a.m. eastern this morning.

And let's look at the different components of that. You have $580 billion in spending cuts. But half of the savings, $1.5 trillion over 10 years comes from tax increases. These are increases on wealthier Americans and on corporations. And of course you know that Republicans are not going to be onboard with that.

There's also over $1 billion -- pardon me -- over $1 trillion in war savings which you can also be sure the administration will get criticism from Republicans on because the wars are already going to be winding down, and that's kind of a forgone conclusion as far as those savings, although I should tell you Republicans have used those numbers before when they tabulate, for instance, their budget.

And then there's also $430 billion in savings from interest. If you don't owe them money, you don't have to pay interest on it, and so there's some savings there according to the White House.

Christine, you mentioned the Buffett rule. Expect to hear a lot of this. The president really leaning back on Warren Buffett, saying that the wealthier should pay more. We talked about this between our, the last live shot that a lot of wealthy people, they get to pay a lower rate on the return on their investments because capital gains is a lower rate.

And the point that Buffett makes is that the wealthier should be paying a similar percentage when it comes to their overall income compared to others in the lower income bracket. Expect the president to push that, Christine.

ROMANS: It has a lot to do with how we value work. So somebody in the lower income brackets taxed on their wages, how they work, and they're taxed certain rate. Some in the higher income brackets, they get pretty sweet tax breaks for their investments and their capital gains income. If they lower taxes on moving money around and making money for money than making money from hour hand, and that goes to the core of the debate, I guess.

KEILAR: Yes. That goes to the core of the debate for sure, and I think the president feels like he has an ally certainly in the opinion of warren Buffett. So many people listened to the "Oracle of Omaha," and the president is going to be pushing his plan.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Brianna Keilar.

The president unveils his plan this morning in the Rose Garden, 10:30 eastern right here on CNN.

COSTELLO: We'll be listening.

Still to come this morning, hail to the winners. There was plenty of gold to go around at last night's Emmy Awards, and there was Charlie Sheen. He was onstage.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Stock prices dropping, customers quitting, and overnight apology by the CEO of Netflix. What does it mean for the cost of a video? And what does it mean for the cost of a share of the stock?

It's 11 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: It's 14 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. For the first time since his arrest in May, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is telling his side of the story publicly. The former IMF chief is breaking his silence in an interview with French television, calling his encounter with a New York hotel maid a "moral failing on his part," and then questioning her motives, insisting there was no violence and no sexual assault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIQUE STRASS-KAHN, FORMER IMF DIRECTOR: the fact there is a civil case shows motivation behind. A civil case will take place. I will have no intention of negotiating. It will take the time it needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Strauss-Kahn says he has no plans to seek public office. He just wants to relax and spend time with his family.

Leaders from around the world converging on New York City today for the start of the U.N. General Assembly. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton will be there. The showdown everyone is watching, the Palestinians seeking U.N. membership and statehood, with the U.S. vowing to block any such attempt.

COSTELLO: The waiting game continues for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, trying to get freed. The lawyer who's trying to get the American hikers free from an Iranian prisons says he has not been able to get a signature on bail papers because a judge is on vacation until tomorrow.

ROMANS: SeaWorld is fighting $75,000 in fines at a hearing this morning after a trainer was dragged under water and killed last year by a six ton killer whale. OSHA will be allowed to show videos and images of her death. A judge last week denied the family's request to stop it.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about something happy. Deja vu all over again at the primetime Emmys. Last night's ceremony followed a somewhat familiar script, and some adlibbing from a shockingly selfless former sitcom star. CNN's Kareen Wynter has a complete wrap of the 63rd Emmy awards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Emmy goes to "Modern Family."

(APPLAUSE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Emmy celebrating the best in original television, but in the end it was all about repeats. "Modern Family" repeated as best comedy.

WYNTER: "Mad Men's" repeat more impressive. The 60s era series won best drama for the fourth consecutive time, beating back a challenge from newcomer "Boardwalk Empire."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us and our families, this is an incredible dream. Thank you.

WYNTER: While the show was honored, "Mad Men's" the leading man lost out as best actor in drama. That went instead to Kyle Chandler of "Friday Night Lights." Best actress went to "The Good Wife's" Juliana Margulies.

Jane Lynch pulled double duty Emmy night. Not only was she nominated in the best actress comedy category but she also hosted the show. She pre-taped a bit with the cast of "Jersey Shore" and tosses gentle zingers at the stars, including an 89-year-old nominee.

JANE LYNCH, EMMYS HOST: There's Betty White. She's the reason we start the show at 5:00 p.m.

WYNTER: Lynch may have scored as host, but she lost the Emmy to "Modern Family's" Julie Bowen, not that she was bitter about it.

LYNCH: There are losers, and I am one, and it hurts.

WYNTER: One of the nice surprises came not in an award but from a presenter. A subdued Charlie Sheen, fired from "Two and a Half Men" last season, made a surprise appearance to announce best actor in a comedy. He offered best wishes to his old show.

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: I know you will continue to make great television.

WYNTER: Best actor in a comedy wen to Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory" in another repeat. He won it last year, too, but best actress from a comedy did go to a newcomer, Melissa McCarthy of "Mike & Molly," who was jokingly topped with a tiara.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. It's my first and best ever headdress ever.

In a billion years I didn't know that was going to happen, not at all.

WYNTER: It was a night for all of TV's best to claim their crown.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: It's 18 past the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now it's your turn to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question for you this morning, why is evolution such a touchy subject? What new book is too hot to print in the United States? Not the one about Sarah Palin. That's coming out tomorrow. It's a children's book called "Evolution -- How we and all living things came to be."

According to the author, no American publisher would touch it thing, fearing the controversial topic would be a tough sell in the United States. But in Canada, the book's a hit. It's been nominated for several literary prizes. It just goes to show Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was published way back in 1859 now, as it's as controversial now as it was then. Even the presidential candidates are weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a theory that's out there.

JON HUNTSMAN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you call into question the science of evolution, all I am saying is that in order for the Republican Party to win, we can't run from science.

MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, believe in intelligent design.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But what Michele Bachmann says, keep in mind, today the vast majority of scientists accept evolution as fact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD LEAKEY, TURKANA BASIN INSTITUTE: We can talk about the theory of evolution and assume that skull is a theoretical object. That is a fact. Every scholar in this room is a fact. Those facts are unaccounted for in the biblical account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The courts have squashed efforts to have alternative theories like intelligence design taught in schools, ruling it has more to do with religion than science. But many Americans are still skeptical of evolution. In the latest CNN-ORC poll, 41 percent think evolution is false or likely to be false.

So the "Talk Back" question today -- why is evolution such a touchy subject? Facebook.com/Americanmorning. Facebook.com/Americanmorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.

ROMANS: Another touchy subject -- who knew little red envelope Netflix was a touchy subject? Still to come this morning, Netflix CEO says "I'm sorry." We'll tell you why coming up.

COSTELLO: And rule one in boxing -- protect yourself at all times. So did Floyd Mayweather when his big fight Saturday night with a sucker punch? You be the judge. It's 22 past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding your Business" this morning, U.S. stock futures for the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P are all sharply lower ahead of the opening bell. The focus this week again on Europe's handling of the growing debt crisis there and exposure of European banks and problems in Greece.

President Obama will unveil his plan to cut the national debt today. It includes $3 trillion in cuts over 10 years. Much of that will come from higher taxes on people earning more than $1 million and on large corporations.

Will the Fed have some sort of short-term stimulus to boost the economy? Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke will lead the Fed's open market committee meetings tomorrow. We should have more indication what the fed can do next, if anything.

In a message overnight, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announcing the company's DVD by mail business will now be called Quickster and the streaming service will still called Netflix. Hastings apologized for the company's handling of a recent price hike that's led to cancellations and a huge drop in the stock price.

Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNmoney.com.

AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 30 minutes past the hour. Happy Monday to you. Time for out top stories.

Investigators have now recovered part of the tail of that vintage plane that plunged into spectators during an air show in Nevada. Nine people were killed including the pilot. The NTSB says there was a camera and a data recorder onboard that may help determine what caused the disaster. ROMANS: In about three hours, President Obama will reveal his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations as part of a new long-term deficit reduction and tax reform plan. But already Republicans are ling up against the idea calling it class warfare and divisive.

COSTELLO: Today Georgia's five-member board of Pardons and Parole will hear a clemency request for Troy Davis. Davis is scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday for the 1989 shooting of Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail. Since Davis' 1991 conviction, most of the witnesses have recanted their testimonies about the murder.

David Mattingly is actually at the capitol building in downtown Atlanta with more on this. Any word which way this hearing might go?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely none, Carol, but the stakes could not be higher for Troy Davis today, because this board will decide if he lives or dies. He's exhausted all legal appeals over the last 20 years and this five-member board today will be hearing evidence and testimony submitted by his lawyer as well as by prosecutors in his case.

This is a case that has been tried publicly and in the courts for the last 20 years. He has hundreds of thousands of supporters. More than 600,000 people worldwide signed petitions asking for his sentence to be commuted, also, not only just his family, but thousands of others have been marching recently and holding demonstrations on his behalf.

All of his supporters hoping that these public demonstrations will reach the ears of the five members of this board. In the meantime, his attorneys are going to argue what his supporters have been talking about all along. That there is no physical evidence in this case against him.

That there are people are coming forward saying someone else actually pulled the trigger in this crime. So this board is going to be hearing a lot. He has been before this board twice before. Once they granted him a stay. Another time they rejected his plea for clemency.

In history, when you look back at the last 30 years, this board has never gone back on a decision like that, once denied someone clemency. Today, there are three new members on this five-person board, and all it takes is a majority vote for them to grant clemency.

Supporters feel they are coming to this board fresh, with new arguments they have not heard before and they are hoping they time will be the time that Troy Davis gets off of death row. Carol --

COSTELLO: We can't forget about the victim's family in this matter, the family of that Police Officer Mark McPhail because I can't imagine what's going through their mind this morning.

MATTINGLY: They have been suffering a terrible loss for the last 20 years. They are hoping for peace. We heard from his mother over the weekend. She says that it's been very difficult for the family. She says there continuing to be a hole in her heart as the result of this murder and that their family is just looking for peace.

The family of the defendant, however, they have been very strongly in his corner from day one. They expound upon what they believe is his innocence. They have been responsible for this ground swell of support we've seen over the last couple of days, they've been building over the last 20 years.

That family is also looking for a very big sense of peace today from that board. And no one is going to know exactly how this board is going to vote. Carol --

COSTELLO: David Mattingly, you'll tell us when the decision comes down. Thanks so much. David Mattingly live in Atlanta.

ROMANS: Also new this morning, the trial of the second man charged in the deadly Connecticut home invasion begins today. Joshua Komarsterjetski (ph) faces the death penalty if convicted of what his attorneys claims was a robbery that went horribly wrong. A mother and her two daughters brutally murdered. Co-defendant Stephen Hayes convicted and sentenced to death.

COSTELLO: The Kennedy clan mourning the loss of Kara Kennedy, the daughter of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. The 51-year-old suffered a heart attack after working out at a Washington, D.C. health club. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday.

And Eleanor Mondale, the daughter of the former Vice President Walter Mondale died this weekend, too, following a long battle with brain cancer. She'd been a radio talk show host and a TV entertainment reporter, Eleanor Mondale, also, 51.

ROMANS: How far did Paton Manning go to try to play this year? Europe, Fox Sports is reporting that the Colts quarterback traveled overseas for stem cell therapy that is not yet approved or used in the U.S.

After two surgeries in his neck, didn't get rid of the pain. He's since had a third surgery and missed the first two starts of his 14- year career. The Colts 0-2 without their franchise quarterback.

COSTELLO: They're looking bad.

A history making weekend on the fair way. A 16-year-old high school junior, Lexi Thompson became the youngest woman to ever win an LGPA tournament with a five-stroke entry in the Navastar LPGA classic.

She pocketed $195,000. Before this weekend, Paula Kramer held the record for the youngest LPGA winner. She was 18 when she captured her first title in 2005.

ROMANS: A controversial K.O. in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather Jr. dropped Victor Ortiz in the fourth round to regain the WBC Welterweight title Saturday night with a one-two punch.

Not even the ref saw coming. The action was stopped after Ortiz head butted Mayweather. The two hugged it out then Mayweather unloaded. Ortiz was down for the count. The first thing they tell is to protect yourself at all times.

COSTELLO: The head butt that would hurt. Still to come this morning, we've seen frustration over unemployment in the economy boil over in parts of Europe. Could that same kind of riots happen here in the U.S.?

ROMANS: Plus, you're going to meet some of the future leaders of this country. What it takes to grow a leader, and why it's so important? It's 37 minutes after the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in New York City and my cell phone rang and it was Andrew, our security guard. And he brought the news to me that Amy had died. In my mind immediately was (inaudible) foundation.

She loved children and one of her greatest wishes was to have two of her own. We're looking to help hundreds of charities. The mission is very much to help children who are suffering from economic disadvantage, who are ill, who are suffering with drug abuse. Her legacy will be the foundation as well as her music.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sounding the alarm about this nation's high unemployment rate. Speaking Friday, he warned of riots in city streets because of things like long term unemployment, preferential treatment for Wall Street and growing income inequality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: The damage to a generation that can't find jobs will go on for many, many years. A lot of kids graduating college can't find jobs. That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF has also been sounding some alarms. She says the global economy is in a dangerous phase partly because of social tensions. She is concerned about the effect of high unemployment, this idea that Wall Street gets preference over Main Street. This is something that could have simmering problems around the world.

Joining me now live from Los Angeles, Frank Gilliam, Jr., Dean of the Luskan School of Public Affairs at UCLA. Welcome to the program. Really interested in getting your sense of where we are here.

Because when I first learned about markets and economies and covering the money beat, it was something I heard over and over again. You don't want protracted unemployment. You don't want worsening income inequality because that starts to eat away at social cohesion. Are we there yet?

FRANKLIN GILLIAM JR., DEAN OF THE LUSKAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, UCLA: Well, certainly, we're not there yet, but the correlation you suggest is there, which is the greater the income and inequality, the more unstable it is.

So is poverty a pre-condition for civil unrest? Yes. Does it cause it in and of itself? Probably not, but I think you'd want to make distinctions about the underlying causes of the violence in Greece, for example, versus Britain, versus the Middle East, really quite different. Britain closer to the United States, I'd say.

ROMANS: You know, when you look what's happening in Britain in particular, people feeling a lack of opportunity. I mean, it's always multilayered. Whenever of you see riots, it's multilayered. Some anarchy, some lack of opportunity. Some of it's polyganism.

But there is at its core this concern about how do you prevent social tensions from erupting when you don't have opportunities for everyone. Look quickly at income inequality in this country, because we know it's getting worse.

You look at the top 0.1 percent in this country. Over a generation, their income has exploded 385 percent. Look at bottom 90 percent, flat to lower. Is this the makings of trouble or is there something different about the United States that we've managed to avoid, you know, this sort of stuff making it to the streets?

GILLIAM: Well, I don't know if there's anything different about the United States, but the fact that there's a concentration of wealth in the top tenth of 1 percent is alarming and troubling. What's interesting, for example, about England was that the unrest there was triggered by an incident with the police.

In Greece on the other hand, by anarchists and labor unions. We have not had a large base of class unrest in the United States, which is interesting. We've had race-based unrest, and quite frankly, you have looked at African-American unemployment rates two to three times the national average, depending on where you live.

We've not yet had unrest, but as is pointed out, as this branches out into larger parts of the society, college graduates not being able to find work and not having any hope. I think the one thing that's made America a little bit different is that people always have hope.

Here in California, the so-called golden state, we thought we always had hope and now people are really feeling quite hopeless, and that is dangerous.

ROMANS: So how can it manifest itself? Does it manifest itself people going to voting booth? People taking it to the streets and marching on Washington? Does it come from grass roots activities or does it come from people, you know, losing control?

GILLIAM: Well, I suspect it's all of those things. I think what's absolutely amazing is it took the mayor of New York City to even bring this question to the floor. That neither the administration, for the most part, and certainly the republican candidates, are addressing this issue. And it's interesting that when there's some talk of taxing the rich, it's seen as un-American, and anti-democratic. But we have a festering problem. Most civil unrest in the United States has a sort of simmer quality to it, and the simmering -- the pot boils over, if you will, when there's something that happens. When there's an event that triggers it all. And that's certainly what happened in England. and that's what I worry about.

ROMANS: People advocates for the, quote, unquote, "safety net" say the reason you get food stamps for 43 or 46 million Americans or even why you have such a -- the reason why the tax code actually pays almost half of -- you know, of tax units and the people in this country, because you're trying to make sure there's a safety net to avoid just this sort of thing.

GILLIAM: Well, it seems to not make a lot of common sense to want to destroy the safety net at the very time when we're experiencing the greatest degree of income inequality. And it is spreading. There is no doubt about it. This isn't poor people in the inner cities, exclusive to poor people in Appalachia. This is growing across American, and that we do not want to support a safety net is one problem. And secondly, that we don't address the structural problems in the economy, is another. And it's going to take some leadership here.

ROMANS: Yes, long-term unemployment is certainly something -- we haven't seen it like this in this country in our lifetimes, so we just don't know how it's going to work out.

Frank Gilliam, dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA. Very nice to meet you. Have a great morning, sir.

GILLIAM: Nice meeting you. Thank you.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And something interesting in the "Miami Herald." The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Cleaver, writes this op-ed. He said, "If Bill Clinton were in the White House and unemployment was this high for African-Americans, there would have already been a march on Washington, but because President Obama is African-American, African-Americans don't want to add to the hatred they feel is already in this country directed at the president."

ROMANS: That unemployment, 16.7 percent, the highest since 1984, so.

COSTELLO: Yes.

ROMANS: Still to come this morning, time's up. No more feeding the meter and dodging meter maids. Parking along New York City streets goes high tech. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is 49 past the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day. Investigators have now recovered part of the tail of that vintage plane that plunged into spectators during an air show in Nevada. Nine killed, including the pilot.

Another terrifying accident. This one on the water at a drag boat competition in San Diego. A boat reportedly going 150 miles per hour when the engine exploded, and broke apart. The driver tossed 15 feet into the air, but he survived.

Today, President Obama rolls out a new deficit reduction plan. It includes cuts in Medicare and a new high tax rate for millionaires, something Republicans oppose. You can see the president talk about his new plan this morning at 10:30 eastern.

Diplomats and world leaders converging on New York today for the U.N. General Assembly. The looming showdown everyone's watching, the Palestinians seeking U.N. membership and Palestinian statehood, with the U.S. vowing to veto that request.

And times up for New York City's parking meters. Today, the last parking meter will be removed in Manhattan. The meters are being replaced by a solar-powered system that gives drivers a receipt to place on their dashboard. What took them so long?

Now you're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING, back in 60 seconds.

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ROMANS: All right, it's about opportunity, success, being able to grow leaders and give people a chance to move forward in this economy. Right now, to a group of students who never thought they'd make it to the Ivy League, but with the help of one organization, the focus is on finding America's future leaders. These kids did.

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ROMANS (voice-over): In this debate class, the arguments may be hypothetical --

DEMETRIUS COOPER, STUDENT: I came from the projects, or whatever, and I came from the very low-class, low-class neighborhood.

ROMANS: -- but most of the students, they hit close to home.

Demetrius Cooper is one of 60 high school senior who called Princeton University home this summer. They came from all corners of the country. They also came from racial and socio-economic backgrounds considered underrepresented in the national leadership pool.

DUC NGUYEN, STUDENT: My family is in the chicken farm business. And because we barely got in, we had to take out a huge loan, so we can't hire people to help us. So usually, me and my sister go out and help with the farm work, picking eggs and stuff.

ROMANS: Every summer, the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America selects promising students to help them go on to highly competitive universities. Each day, students take classes preparing them for college-level work. There are also trips to New York City and college tours, all at no cost, thanks to board members like Arun Alagappan. His foundation has given more than $1 million to the program.

ARUN ALAGAPPAN, LEADERSHIP ENTERPRISE FOR A DIVERSE AMERICA: The best leaders from every group brought together is a very exciting proposition for me and very much a part of our national DNA.

ROMANS: For Arun, it's not just about financial support. He's become a role model to students like Jesus Franco. After failing the fifth grade, Jesus is now a Penn graduate with ambitions to go to Harvard Law School, and he is paying it forward.

JESUS FRANCO, STUDENT: I see the impact LEDA had on me. And having been here at Princeton the past two summers, I always see the impact it has on the students and the types of the relationships and connections that I make with the students. And it's always personally gratifying to see the whole process all over again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just about college access but leadership.

ROMANS: For LEDA, it's not just about college access, but leadership.

JOHN ROSENTHAL (ph), LEADERSHIP ENTERPRISE FOR A DIVERSE AMERICA: By the time students are out of here, they really take ownership of their own education and they will fight for it, just like anybody will fight for any civil rights cause. But they'll do it in a rigorous way. They'll do it in a critical way. And they'll do it in a responsible way, to which they contribute to the community.

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ROMANS: You know how I feel about education and leadership and making sure we are fostering and growing leadership in our education system.

To learn more about this problem, LEDA, you can go to ledascholars -- ledascolars.org.

COSTELLO: That's pretty cool.

ROMANS: Cool.

COSTELLO: Thanks for that.

We asked you to talk back on one of the stories of the day. This was the question this morning: Why is evolution such a touchy subject? A lot of thoughtful responses this morning.

This from Ali (ph), "As a practicing Catholic Christian, I am completely comfortable with the idea of evolution." And I'm not talking about Ali Velshi either. "If people expected that the church and theologians encourage us to read scripture in context and not always literally, this would not be a blow to one's faith at all. We cannot expect to know all the reasons behind stories behind stories that were written so long ago. I teach scripture and struggle to help kids accept this concept. People cling to their childhood stories and many never pursue finding out where the church really stands on this issue. Because as I said before, the Catholic Church embraces evolution."

You know, they actually believe in science, and that science and religion can co-exist.

This from Nate, "Evolution is only really a touchy subject when you deal with a literal interpretation of the Bible. Otherwise, evolution and faith are not necessarily contradicting forces. For me, science explains the how of life and religion explains the why."

This from Edward, "Because many people can't handle the fact that we're just another animal on earth, nothing more, nothing less. We're no better than a spider, no worse than a whale."

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"And have the exact same right to the acreage and resources of the planet as both. Just as the tiger has claws and teeth to survive, we have a brain."

Please keep the conversation going because it's been fascinating this morning.

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ROMANS: I'm a spider with (INAUDIBLE).

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I have a little more to be concerned about the spider at the moment, but that's all right.

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COSTELLO: That's a cool concept, though. Because a lot of people don't like the idea that we evolved from an ape. They have a big problem with that. So he's just saying, come on, we're animals, face it, face facts.

Facebook.com/Americanmorning. I'll read more responses later on in our show.

Ahead in the next hour, high speed, high adrenalin, low altitude. The latest on an air show disaster in Reno and whether they are worth the thrill anymore.

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