Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
U.N. General Assembly Convenes; Governor Perry in the Big Apple; "Not Class Warfare, It's Math"; Delivering Help to the USPS; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Formally Ends; Bus Explosion Rocks Ankara; Ten Dead in Nevada Plane Crash; American Missing in Aruba; Dunta Robinson Fined $40,000 by NFL; Yanks' Rivera Sets Saves Record; Higher Tax on Millionaires Class Warfare?; Yemen Violence Escalates; Best & Worst Countries for Women; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Over; Police Retrace Missing Woman's Steps; Falling Satellite Headed For Earth
Aired September 20, 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: Good morning, I'm Alina Cho.
A defining moment for Libya. The country's new leadership about to meet with President Obama at the United Nations. While in Libya, a humanitarian crisis is reportedly unfolding. Troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi said to be starving citizens and gunning them down in the streets.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is finally over. I'm Carol Costello.
The Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy formally repealed. Now gay servicemen and women will no longer have to hide their sexuality, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHO: Good morning. It's Tuesday, September 20th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali and Christine are off today. Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: I don't know what they're doing -- I can't say that on television.
CHO: You can't say.
COSTELLO: It's nothing like that.
CHO: Well, all you have to do is look at the traffic in New York City to know that the United Nations general assembly is underway.
COSTELLO: Yes, absolutely, because the streets are clogged. That's we're going to talk about first. President Obama and the new Libyan leadership preparing for face-to-face talks at the United Nations today and the stakes could not be higher.
Troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi reportedly starving and massacring helpless citizens right now in the Libyan city of Bani Walid. The president arrived in New York yesterday. The future of Libya, front and center at the United Nations.
CNN's senior correspondent, U.N. correspondent, I should say, Richard Roth joins us this morning. So this would be the first face- to-face meeting between President Obama and the National Transitional Council?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This is a good development for the Obama administration. They'll be able to champion at that meeting and with the other diplomats, their way did work. It looks so far although their fighting does remain.
And it helps solidify this new government in Libya. Now the flag of that new government actually flew over the United Nations on Monday for the first time, removing that green Gadhafi flag.
Mustafa Jaleel, the chairman of the National Transitional Council, is going to be there and Libya will also have to set out what kind of government, what kind of rule it's going to be.
The U.N. playing a big role in the next few months helping transitionally with ideas going forward, a big operation to help people who are not used to some form of democracy.
COSTELLO: Well, I was going to ask you that. So President Obama clearly wants some form of democracy to take hold in Libya. So how can the United States sort of help assure that may be so?
ROTH: Well, you can't, as we've seen in many spots, you say, here we go, instant democracy, and every country can't be like the United States. So it's always a process. That's why the U.N. is there.
People to help election preparers, police monitors maybe different ideas. They're mapping the way forward, but this country they like to say at the U.N. is not Iraq. It's not East Timor. Every country is different, but the people there do seem willing to get together to move forward.
CHO: It's also not Egypt. I mean, Mubarak officially stepped down. We still don't know where Moammar Gadhafi is and there's no indication that he would step down even if we did find him, right? So I mean, it's such a complicated, tough situation.
ROTH: But the success, you're going to hear a lot of that. They're going to make speeches. This is going to be an open meeting. This is not like the Palestinian dilemma at the United Nations, which has been there for decades.
I think there's still optimism that there can be good things there, but as we've seen in that region. Hello, Syria. It's sort of a take your choice. Which country do you want to put your weapons into?
The U.S. and other much more aggressive in Libya than in Syria where there's been statements issued by the Security Council, Russia and China block any type of resolution. It was a resolution, remember that open the door to NATO attacks in Libya.
COSTELLO: Richard Roth, thanks. We appreciate it.
CHO: Thank you, Richard.
GOP front-runner Rick Perry is wading into the fray over Palestinian statehood. Another big story we're watching, and using the opportunity to take shots at President Obama. The Texas governor is making his second visit to New York in just a week.
He'll hold a news conference today with Jewish leaders from Israel and the U.S. To talk about that is CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser. He's with us live from Washington this morning.
Paul, good morning. What can we expect Perry to say today?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I think you're going to see Perry once again strongly back Israel and strongly criticize the president for his policies towards Israel. All this comes as the U.N. G.A.'s meeting and the Palestinian statehood is a big, big issue.
You know, since Perry jumped into the race about a month ago, he's been very critical of the president. Here's a taste of what he's been saying on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You talk about the situation today relative to Israel. You're talking about the president's statement that he would go back to the 1967 borders, which basically is throwing Israel under the bus. Israel is our friend. It's the only democracy in the Middle East. I'm going to stand with Israel every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You know, you're hearing a lot of that language not only from Perry, but also from some of the other Republican presidential hopefuls. Here's one reason why.
Listen, social conservatives, Evangelical voters, big supporters, extremely large and important supporters of the state of Israel and of course, they are also very influential in picking the next Republican nominee.
The administration says they are 100 percent committed to security of Israel. Ladies --
CHO: Paul, but, you know, there's no question that Obama in the last election got a huge percentage of the Hewish vote. How do you think this is going to play?
STEINHAUSER: Well, let's take a look at it. Yes, four, three years ago, in 2008, take a look at the exit polls right here. These are national polls and they indicate the president won almost 80 percent of the Jewish vote.
Where does it stand right now? Well, a recent Gallup poll out last Friday, take a look at this. The president's approval rating among Jewish votes, much lower. You see it now at 54 percent. You know what? Jewish voters according to the exit polls, they only made up 2 percent of the vote in the last election.
But you know what? In some battle ground states and very important battleground states like Florida where it could be very close, they could be very, very influential to which way things go next year, in 2012.
And you want a little more taste of how important the Jewish vote could be, last week right up your way in New York, that special election in New York 9. This was a Democratic held seat for quite some time. The Republicans won it back.
One of the reasons, the president's policy towards Israel. Listen, there was a large Jewish population in that district, and that was a large issue. It kind of helped Republicans win back a long held Jewish seat. Ladies --
CHO: All right, Paul Steinhauser, deputy political director, talking to us about Rick Perry's visit to New York. Paul, thank you.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: President Obama picking a fight with Republicans over cutting the nation's rising deficit by $3 trillion. It is a fight he knows he cannot win, but one for the most part has the public in his corner.
The plan includes new taxes on primarily the wealthiest Americans. The president is calling for some cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Republicans immediately denounced the proposal, but the president vowed to oppose any Republican attempt to slash spending unless they agree to higher taxes for millionaires.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I will veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare, but does not raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share. This is not class warfare. It's math.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: Now the president wants to talk about increased taxes. Listen, I am for increase revenue to the federal government. We need revenue, but I want to get new revenue from putting Americans back to work again and back on the tax rolls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Also with the president's plan, a few unexpected ideas including cutting Saturday mail delivery to help out the U.S. Postal Service, which is teetering on the edge of default and raising fees on corporate jets. Though it's likely all passengers would feel the pinch.
Coming up in about an hour at 7:10 Eastern, we'll talk to Republican Congressman Jeff Blake to find out if the president's plan is dead on arrival.
CHO: Carol, the military's controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is now history. The repeal of the law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military became final at midnight nearly nine months after President Obama first signed it.
The Pentagon policy had been in effect since 1993. Service members will join lawmakers in Washington this afternoon to talk about the change in policy in a news conference. Gay rights groups are planning celebrations across the country today to help usher in the new era.
COSTELLO: A developing story out of Turkey this morning. A minibus explosion rocking the capital city of Ankara. At least 15 people are hurt. These are pictures from our sister network, CNN Turk. You can see images of several vehicles on fire. Cause of this blast is still not known. Of course, we'll bring you updates on the story throughout the morning as more information becomes available.
CHO: We have an update for you this morning. Ten people are now dead after an air race crash in Reno, Nevada. The crash happened on Friday killing seven people on site including the pilot. Nearly 70 people were injured.
Transportation officials are still looking into the crash. They now say the plane was equipped with video and data recordings devices, which have been recovered. Officials will release a preliminary report on Friday.
COSTELLO: Authorities in Aruba staging a re-enactment of Robin Gardner's final hours before she went missing six weeks ago. Police returned to the beach where the 35-year-old Maryland woman was last seen.
Gardner's traveling companion, Gary Giordano claims they were snorkelling when she a strong current swept Gardner out to sea. Giordano is being held in Aruba as the prime suspect in her disappearance.
CHO: Carol, tell me what you think about this. Also new this morning, Atlanta Falcons defensive back Dunta Robinson fined $40,000 by the NFL for an illegal hit on Eagles' wide receiver, Jeremy Maclin on Sunday. The helmet-to-helmet blow is similar to Robinson's hit last season on Eagle's receiver Desean Jackson. He was fined $50,000 for that hit, but it was cut in half on appeal.
COSTELLO: He meant to do that. I mean, he just leading with his head. And haven't we learned how dangerous that can be for other players as far as concussions are concerned and putting someone out of the game for good? So in my estimation, he deserved every bit of that fine.
CHO: Well, there you go.
COSTELLO: In my humble opinion. The greatest closer baseball has ever seen has just rewritten the history books. The Yankees Mariano Rivera registering his 600th second career save in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins last night. It's awesome. At 41 years old, Mo has more saves than any pitches who's ever put on the uniform.
CHO: He's damn good at his job. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, an explosive new book claims early days of the Obama White House were a hostile workplace for women. Now the administration is firing back.
COSTELLO: And Republicans call President Obama's new tax rate for millionaires divisive, but is a higher tax on the wealthiest Americans really class warfare? It's our "Talk Back" question today.
CHO: And Carol, get a load of this. Chaz Bono stepping out for the first time on "Dancing with the Stars." So how did he do? And his fellow contestants like Nancy Grace do? We'll show you. It's 20 minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. As President Obama does battle with Republicans over the economy, a new book levels some explosive charges against the president and his inner circle. Now the White House is taking direct aim at the Pulitzer Prize winning author. CNN's Brian Todd is following the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a best-selling author, serious brushback from the White House over a new book, which depicts in-fighting and indecision in the Obama administration's early days.
In his book "Confidence Men," Ron Suskind writes the president's top advisers had doubt about whether he could handle the economic crisis.
Larry Summers, former director of the Presidential Economic Council, is quoted as saying in 2009, "We're home alone. There's no adult in charge. Clinton would never have made these mistakes." We couldn't reach Summers for comment.
But in an e-mail to "The Washington Post," he said, "The hearsay attributed to me is a combination of fiction, distortion and words taken out of context."
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: I lived the reality, and the reports I've read about this book bear no resemblance to the reality we live together.
TODD: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner responding to a passage in Suskind's book saying that President Obama decided early on to restructure several troubled banks, but discovered nearly a month later that his directive had been ignored by the Treasury.
GEITHNER: Absolutely not and I would never do that. I've spent my life in public service.
TODD: CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger says in books like this, former officials often try to bolster their own legacies or settle scores.
(on camera): Would it lead do you think to some kind of finger- pointing behind the scenes and people looking over their own shoulder, I've got to watch what I'm saying to everybody.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I mean, this is Washington. People are always going to try and figure out who was the source for that? Who was the source for that story? I bet that came from him, or I bet that came from him.
TODD (voice-over): A defiant White House Press Secretary launched a separate offensive against Suskind.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: One passage seemed to be lifted almost entirely from Wikipedia in the book.
TODD (on camera): When CNN followed up with the White House after that briefing, officials indicated that Jay Carney was referring to a passage in Suskind's book about the federal mortgage firm Fannie Mae, as first reported by the online publication Politico.
(voice-over): Quote, "In 1968 it officially became a publicly held corporation to remove its debt and related activities from the federal balance sheet." The Wikipedia passage says, "In 1968, it converted to a publicly held corporation to remove its activity and debt from the federal budget."
We contacted Ron Suskind's publisher HarperCollins for response to the White House claim about Wikipedia and the other criticisms. A spokeswoman there said Suskind spent more than 700 hours with more than 200 individuals in writing the book. The spokeswoman calls it exhaustively researched and sourced and said HarperCollins is proud to be publishing it.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: On this programming note, Ron Suskind will be Wolf Blitzer's guest tomorrow on "THE SITUATION ROOM" that's Wednesday, 5:00 P.M. Eastern right here on CNN.
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, is a higher tax on millionaires class warfare? That depends.
Republicans think President Obama is a modern day Robin Hood, wielding his bully pulpit to pit the rich against the poor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": Comes out today and starts demonizing the very people who are responsible for innovation, the very people who are responsible for economic growth, who are responsible for job creation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Democrats say, oh, come on. If there is a war on the middle class, the middle class has already lost. You need proof? The wage gap is growing ever wider. The tax rates are the lowest they've been since the 1970s and the rich aren't exactly creating jobs, at least on American soil.
President Obama, he wants to tax millionaires more. He says that's not class warfare. It's mad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I reject the idea of asking a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare. I think it's just the right thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But what is class warfare anyway? It's a term made famous by that influential socialist Karl Marx. In short, Marx describes class warfare as when the lowly worker rises up against the wealthy class who exploited him making those rich people pay.
Political guru Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia calls this bumper strip language. Democrats love it. Republicans hate it.
So the "Talk Back" today, is a higher tax on millionaire's class warfare? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
CHO: Fifty-four comments this morning before we even sat on the set? That's unbelievable. People obviously striking a cord. All right.
COSTELLO: Well - but it's a term that's being used to keep things from getting done in our country right now -
CHO: Right.
COSTELLO: -- and people do really care about it.
CHO: That's right.
COSTELLO: I'll be interested to know what you guys have to say. Stay tuned. CHO: Meanwhile, "Dancing with the Stars" kicking off its 13th season last night. Thirteen seasons? And when it was all over, it seems the show's most talked about contestant, Chaz Bono, can really cha-cha. Did I say that? The judges raved praising his footwork and choreography. Wow. Not bad.
As for our own Nancy Grace, she made her debut starting out behind the anchor desk. Really? But soon she was on the dance floor showing her sassy side. The judges telling Nancy, she's got the moves.
COSTELLO: Oh, look at her go.
CHO: She looks great. Her twins were in the audience, too. Good for her.
COSTELLO: That's awesome.
CHO: I don't know that I could do that.
COSTELLO: I could not do that. I would be so - I would forget the steps. That's why I was never a cheerleader.
CHO: I was a cheerleader.
COSTELLO: That and for many other reasons.
CHO: Anyway, Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center to save us. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How about Nancy Grace?
CHO: I know. How about that outfit?
MARCIANO: Fantastic stuff.
CHO: A little flapper thing going on.
MARCIANO: Yes. Very sassy. You know, I was singing "Safety Dance" this morning at the CNN Severe Weather Center. Throwback to the '80s. Remember that one. Remember that one? The video?
COSTELLO: Yes, we do.
MARCIANO: Yes, you do.
All right. We'll see a little bit of rain across the eastern third of the country. Very weak front, but pretty continuous light rainfall from the Canadian Border all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. This isn't going to do too much, but it will just get you wet at times. And it will have a hard time getting over the Appalachians. But when it does across (INAUDIBLE), some sprinkles, some light showers potentially throughout the day today. Just a slow mover as well and stretching back down across parts of the southeast including Metro Atlanta. So front number one, in between this other front. Some decent amount of fog from Detroit to Chicago. I think you're going to see some travel delays because of that. And this next front comes down the pipe for reinforcing shot of some cooler air. So we wouldn't get back into the, you know, 100-degree temperatures but it will get to 90 degrees in between these fronts in Dallas, it will be 81 degrees in Kansas City.
Update on this tropical system out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The National Hurricane Center has up it to a 70 percent chance of becoming a depression or tropical storm here in the next couple of days. It looks pretty impressive, but it's pretty far out there. And these storms this time they have a difficult time traversing the entire Atlantic closer to home and they're relatively quiet. We will check it as we head towards the (INAUDIBLE) equinox.
Guy, back up to you.
CHO: Yes, we will check that.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob Marciano. Go back to the "Safety Dance."
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHO: We'll try and get that song for you later.
Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Michele Bachmann not backing down. She took a lot of heat for her comments about the HPV vaccine. Remember that? Well, now hear what she just told our Wolf Blitzer when he asked her to clarify those comments. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
We could be looking at a higher opening on Wall Street today after steep declines yesterday. That sell-off fueled by lingering concerns over Europe's debt crisis. Right now the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P futures are up.
The Federal Reserve is searching for ways to jump-start the U.S. economy at a two-day meeting, and speculation is growing the Fed will revive a program known as "Operation Twist." Its goal is to keep long-term interest rates down and fuel economic growth.
The U.S. is reportedly looking into whether there was any insider trading done ahead of the S&P's downgrade of America's credit crating last month. According to the "Wall Street Journal," subpoenas have been sent to several hedge funds which may have bet the stock market would tumble.
And speaking of the S&P, it's also downgraded Italy, the Euro zone's third largest economy. The cut is said to be in response to Italy's weakening growth and its growing debt. And Coca-Cola is downsizing. This week the beverage giant rolls out a smaller 12.5 ounce bottle. Coke is hoping this will boost profits, because what will cost you about 10 cents less per bottle, you're actually paying more per ounce.
That's your latest business headlines. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. Time for your top stories.
The U.N. General assembly gets under way today. President Obama scheduled to meet with the chairman of Libya's Transitional National Council amidst reports troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are starving and massacring helpless citizens in the Libyan City of Bani Walid.
CHO: A developing story out of Turkey this morning. At least 15 people were injured in a minibus explosion in Ankara this morning. No word on what caused the blast. CNN Turk Television showing images of several vehicles burning in the heart of the city.
COSTELLO: And the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is history this morning. Under new guidelines just issued on the Pentagon's Web site, sexual orientation can no longer be used as a reason to bar someone from military service. Also, former service members discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" may now apply for re- entry.
CHO: The FBI is reporting a drop in violent crime across the United States. Officials say the decline has more to do with the aging population than the economic slump.
Now, here's how the FBI stats break down. Murders fell 4.2 percent last year. Aggravated assaults were down 4.1 percent. Rapes fell by 5 percent. And robberies were down 10 percent.
COSTELLO: Michele Bachmann is not backing off these controversial comments she made last week about the HPV vaccine. The Republican presidential candidate took a lot of heat after the CNN Tea Party debate, telling reporters a woman approach her in tears claiming her daughter suffered from mental retardation after getting the vaccine.
Bachmann appeared on CNN's "THE SITUATION ROOM" and she wasn't retreating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the end of the debate, I went forward to where all of the people were in the audience, and I was shaking hands with various people, and the woman in question was sobbing and said, "Thank you for bringing this issue up about the potential side effects." And, of course, one thing that we know, when the drug manufacturers now on television, when they advertise a drug, they have to give all of the negative side effects that there potentially can be and people are requested to go look to their doctor. That's it.
I wasn't speaking as doctor. I wasn't speaking as a scientist. I was merely passing on in an interview after the debate what I had been told, because, again, the main point of my remarks was the crony capitalism and also the fact that there was an abuse of executive power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Again, mental retardation is not a side effect of the HPV vaccine. There's no scientific evidence of that.
Bachmann, though, took another hit yesterday. Her former campaign manager Ed Rollins stating publicly he does not believe she has the money or resources to compete with Rick Perry or Mitt Romney.
CHO: New violence reported overnight in Yemen. Security forces are stepping up their crackdown on protesters in just the last few days. Yesterday, alone more than two dozen people were killed in the capital.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is monitoring developments from Amman in Jordan. He joins us live.
Mohammed, good morning.
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina. Activists and protesters in Yemen that I've been speaking with telling me it's absolutely horrific what's going on there, that this is the third day in a row of carnage. Not just in Sana'a. There had been attacks that had been going on in a southern city of Taiz.
Amnesty International issued a statement yesterday saying that Yemen is on a knife's edge right now and other activists I speak with are really worrying that the country is tipping into a state of civil war.
And one of the reasons they're so worried about this is because what they're telling us, is that right now, it's innocent bystanders and protesters that are caught in the middle between a battle that's going on between forces that are loyal to a general who defected from the ranks of the army a few months ago and joined the revolution. They're battling it out with the republican guard. The republican guard in Yemen is run by the son of the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been recuperating in Saudi Arabia.
Again, fears right now that country could be slipping into a state of all-out civil war -- Alina.
CHO: Mohammed, what is the international community doing to help in this crisis?
JAMJOOM: Well, Alina, there's been so much diplomatic pressure being applied on Yemen, on the president, on the powers that be there, to try to sign a power transfer deal. Yesterday, we know that there was a GCC, a Gulf Cooperation Council envoy in Yemen. There's also a U.N. envoy. They're still there. They're meeting behind closed doors, trying to convince the powers there to sign this deal, to get the political crisis over with there.
The problem with that scenario is that, as I'm speaking to Yemeni diplomats, they're telling that the power there, they don't understand what's going on in the street. A different reality what's going on behind closed doors and what's going on outside in the streets of Yemen. There's so much anger in the streets. It's a different reality what's going on behind closed door and what's going on outside in the streets of Yemen. And there are so much anger in the streets of Yemen.
For months now, hundreds of thousands of people had been coming out day after day, asking for the president to step down because of the Arab Spring movement and they're not going to be happy that this power transfer deal is signed. Even if it is signed, they see one corrupt government being replaced with another corrupt government. They want a change at the top. They're not happy with this mediation effort.
And the diplomat that I spoke with said that, right now, the voice of reason is being dwarfed by the sounds of guns, and that he's very pessimistic for the prospect of his country -- Alina.
CHO: Well, clearly, that will need to stop at some point soon.
Mohammed Jamjoom, live from Jordan this morning -- Mohammed, thank you.
COSTELLO: From politics to sports, to everyday life. Women all over the world are making big progress. And this week, Brazil's president helps mark a new milestone for women on the world stage. Stay tuned to find out what that is.
We'll also have new rankings on the best and worst countries for women.
(COMEMRCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Thirty-eight minutes after the hour.
The role of women in the world is changing. This week, another milestone. For the very first time, a woman will be delivering the opening address for the U.N. General Assembly meeting. That woman is Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff.
"Newsweek" is focusing on the progress of women in the world in its cover story titled, "Where Women Are Winning: The Best and Worst Countries for Women."
We are joined by one of the authors of that feature, Jesse Ellison.
I have to tell you, when you read the headline yesterday, it immediately caught my attention. So, tell me, you looked at five criteria. What were they?
JESSIE ELLISON, SENIOR WRITER, "NEWSWEEK": We looked at health, education, politics --
CHO: Political power.
ELLISON: Political power and work organization, exactly. And then we looked at specific metrics with those categories.
CHO: Also access to education and health care.
ELLISON: Yes.
CHO: So, let's take a look at the top four best places to live if you're a woman.
Number one being Iceland. Why?
ELLISON: Well, Iceland has made gender parity a priority for about 30 years. They have an official bureau that goes out and makes sure that businesses aren't paying men more than women and stereotyping, and thing like that.
CHO: They also last year banned strip clubs.
ELLISON: They did ban strip clubs.
CHO: I found that really interesting.
ELLISON: They banned employers profiting from the nudity of their employees.
CHO: Very interesting.
Number two, Sweden. Number three, Canada, our neighbors to the north.
So, what are they doing really well?
ELLISON: They're just good across the board, really. They're not so good in political clout, but --
CHO: Yes, I noticed that. Not so good in government, but you mentioned that they're very good when it comes to quality of life.
ELLISON: Exactly.
CHO: So, what do you mean by that?
ELLISON: Well, it's the day to day. Health care is very good. Education is really strong. Women are doing well economically. And, politically, if you go down sort of levels in local governments, women are participating.
CHO: I want to look at the United States which ranked eighth in your survey. So, let me ask you this -- what are we doing really well? And where do we fail?
ELLISON: Well, education here is stellar. Girls are doing incredibly well in school, from kindergarten through PhD programs. But in other areas, we're not so good. Domestic, parental leave policies aren't as strong as elsewhere. Sweden has 16 months maternity and paternity leave.
CHO: Sure. They're famous for that.
ELLISON: Exactly.
CHO: And, of course, there's that persistent pay gap, where women make 76 cents for $1 that every man makes.
ELLISON: Exactly.
CHO: I want to talk about the worst countries to live in if you're a woman -- Chad, Afghanistan, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I don't think there are any surprises there.
But what did surprise me was that Rwanda, while it's in the middle of the pack, had some really interesting measures that they put into place, right? Talk about that.
ELLISON: Right. They're a very interesting example. They, in 2003, when they were coming out of a long period of civil war and genocide, they instituted quota. So, 30 percent of parliament needed to be female.
They, very shortly thereafter, went past these quotas. So, now, they're 50 percent of parliament is female. They, at the same period of time, have done incredibly well in terms of getting their country on track.
The World Economic Forum acknowledged their progress in terms of innovation last year. They're reaching the U.N. millennium goals with remarkable speed. And those two things are certainly combined.
CHO: I think that's extraordinary. I mean, those are one of more startling things that I read when I was looking at the research.
ELLISON: Absolutely. Yes.
CHO: What other surprises were there in doing this study? I mean, were there any standouts? And what's your takeaway, do you think?
ELLISON: Well, I mean, it's always sort of jarring to remember what it's like in the rest of the world for women, right?
And a lot of these countries, you know, there's virtually no laws protecting them. Marital rape isn't against the law. Domestic violence isn't against the law. They can't own property. So, that's always surprising.
The biggest takeaway is the connection between women and strong democracies and strong economies. Every time you look at it, every way that you look at it, when women are economically empowered and participating fully in economies, countries do better.
CHO: And educated as well.
ELLISON: Exactly.
CHO: Right.
ELLISON: When they're healthy, when they're educated, it's good for everybody. Not just women and girls.
CHO: It makes perfect sense.
Jesse Ellison, the co-author of the study and cover story in "Newsweek" called "Where Women are Winning: The Best and Worst Countries for Women" -- Jesse, thank you for coming in. We appreciate it.
ELLISON: Thank you.
CHO: Carol?
COSTELLO: We got a breaking news to tell you about out of Oklahoma. This is happening now. We're going to show you some live pictures.
This is a towering fire. This fire occurred after a drilling rig exploded about 68 miles west of Oklahoma City, in Watonga, Oklahoma. It happened around 10:00 p.m. last night. It is still burn.
We understand nearly a dozen workers had to be evacuated from that rig, obviously. Right now, there are no reports of injuries. Homes around this site have been evacuated. At one point, a two-mile radius people evacuated. Now, that's down to a one-mile radius.
But as you know, oil rig fires are notoriously difficult to put out. Who knows how long that thing will be burning. Of course, we'll keep you updated. Hopefully, authorities say that thing will burn itself out.
It is now 43 past the hour. We'll have a quick check of this morning's top stories right after a quick break.
And the war of the water -- federal agents doing battle with Mexican drug smugglers off the coast of southern California. We'll tell you why.
It's 43 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There it is. It's 46 minutes past the hour. Good morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): President Obama in New York for the U.N. General Assembly. He'll be meeting this morning with the leader of Libya's National Transitional Council.
The Pentagon's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is now official. The policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military ended at midnight. It had been in place since 1993.
A minibus explosion rocking Turkey's capital this morning. These pictures from CNN Turk television. They're reporting 15 injuries. No word yet from authorities about the causes of the blast.
Authorities in Aruba staging a re-enactment of Robyn Gardner's final hours before she went missing six weeks ago. Gardner's traveling companion, Gary Giordano, claims they were snorkeling when a strong current swept Gardner out to sea. He's being held as the prime suspect in her disappearance.
Dolores Hope, wife of the legendary comedian, Bob Hope, has died. Her family says she died of natural causes at her home in Toluca Lake, California. Bob Hope died eight years ago at the age of 100. Dolores was 102.
A 20-year-old satellite is expected to crash into earth's atmosphere this Friday. It's falling from space. NASA officials say once it hits, it will break into little tiny pieces. If you find one of those pieces, officials say, do not touch it. Call the police. Really. Do that.
And it wasn't pretty, but it doesn't matter. The New York Giants closed out week two of the NFL season with a 28-16 win over the St. Louis rams op Monday night football. See? The Giants may have lost all their good players, but Eli still has it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (on-camera): That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Ten minutes before the top of the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
A body found in Northern California over the weekend has been identified as 26-year-old Michelle Le. The nursing student vanished more than three months ago in a hospital parking garage. Police have arrested former friend, Giselle Esteban, in connection with Le's death and disappearance. They say traces of Le's blood were found inside Esteban's car.
COSTELLO: British paper, "News of the World" is expected to pay up to $5 billion to the family of the murdered schoolgirl, the center of that UK hacking scandal. Publishers say the settlement talks are not over yet. The paper came under fire after revelations that journalists hacked into the missing girl's phone, even deleting some of her voicemail messages. The deletion of the messages gave the family hope the murdered teenager might still be alive.
Homeland Security officials facing a new threat from Mexican drug smugglers. They're stepping up efforts along the California coast to combat maritime smuggling. CNN's Sandra Endo got a firsthand look at how border patrol agents are fighting the war on the water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patrolling the coast of Southern California. In a constant battle to control the border. And stop water-born smugglers from entering the country.
KELLEY HILL, DIR. OF MARINE OPS., U.S. BORDER PROTECTION: You're talking thousands of square miles of coastline we've got to try to keep an eye on.
ENDO: With tighter border security on land between Mexico and the United States, there's been an uptick in human and drug maritime smuggling in the past few years. The Department of Homeland Security is beefing up its arsenal to combat the illegal activity, but criminal tactics are also changing. Smugglers are using crude panga boats and making them faster.
(on-camera) Smugglers are now outfitting their boats with three engines, but to counter that, federal agents are using these fast, high-speed interceptor boats with at least four engines that can go up to 60 miles per hour on water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're also catching vessels significantly farther north than never before. So, we're used to be this quick trip across the border now. It can be upwards to 16, 18 hours out on the water going 40 to 60 miles out to sea before they loop back to the coastline.
ENDO (voice-over): Officials say busts are occurring almost weekly with smugglers' boats found as far north as Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Malibu, and even up to Ventura County. Two weeks ago, a panga boat turned up off Gaviota in Santa Barbara County, well over 200 miles from the border.
How tough a job is this? It's basically like finding a needle in a haystack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very tough.
ENDO (on-camera): Federal agents onboard these interceptor boards are using intelligence and also line of sight to catch these smuggling boats, but they're also getting help in the air with helicopters canvassing this wide swath of ocean.
So, who would you say is winning the war on the water?
HILL: It's probably even right about now, but every day, there's more and more assets come into play.
ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Fascinating story.
COSTELLO: It is. We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories today. The question for you this morning, is a higher tax on millionaires class warfare?
This from Philip, "This is manufactured class warfare for re- election purposes. Pitting rich against poor than taking the side of the poor is nothing more than a stunt to gain support on Election Day. I'm tired of the phrase, pay your fair share. Over 50 percent of Americans do not pay taxes." Just a little correction there, Phillip. Forty-five percent of the Americans do not pay income taxes. "What about their fair share?" Philip asked.
This from Edward, "Hell, yes. And it's about time the 95 percent begin defending ourselves. Despite being the wealthiest nation in the world, the percentage of our citizens living in poverty just moved up from one in seven to one in six. Income for the American worker hasn't risen in 30 years, while the cost of health care, education, energy, and most real goods have gone through the ceiling. It's about time we told the job creators that the next time they push us down and take our lunch money, they can expect us to fight back"
This from Kenneth, "Class warfare is one of those phrases that the GOP loves. Notice that when the working class wants tax breaks or, God forbid, unemployment benefits, we're leeches. When the supposed job creators want anything, it's called the free market, and workers have to bend over again."
Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/americanmorning. There's a lot of anger out there these days.
CHO: My goodness gracious. Yes, there is. And very synced (ph) writing, I must say.
COSTELLO: Hey, got to tell it like it is sometimes.
CHO: That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Top stories are next, including "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It's officially history. We're live at the Pentagon with what happens now to the thousands of service members kicked out because they were gay.
COSTELLO: And, we're also following this breaking news we told you about out of Oklahoma. Live pictures of a huge fire after a drilling rig explodes outside of Oklahoma City. We'll have more information after the break. It's 54 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
