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American Morning
Senate Reaches Bipartisan Spending Bill; Buffett Buyback; Macy's Adding 78,000 Temporary Jobs; "Is Marriage for White People?"; Grabbing Life with Two New Hands
Aired September 27, 2011 - 08:00 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. It's a tall order, but a team of engineers is set to rappel down the side of the 500-foot Washington Monument, looking for cracks and other exterior damage from last month's earthquake.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The budget battle is over, for now.
I'm Carol Costello.
The Senate is agreeing on a bipartisan spending bill that will keep the government operating for at least seven more weeks. But then what?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
Campus Republicans are holding a bake sale at U.C. Berkeley. The critics are calling it tasteless and racist. Pastries for 2 bucks if you're white, 75 cents if you're black. What's the point they're trying to make -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: And good morning, everyone. Welcome back, it is Tuesday, September 27th.
COSTELLO: Only three days until Friday.
ROMANS: I thought the same thing.
COSTELLO: For some reason, this week is moving by slowly.
VELSHI: You were saying that on Monday.
COSTELLO: I was saying that on Saturday.
ROMANS: Broken government really does that to you, doesn't it?
COSTELLO: It does.
Good morning to you.
Up first this morning, dramatic new video from inside the Washington Monument at the very moment the East Coast earthquake struck last month. The surveillance camera inside the observation deck shows the shaking and it actually shows debris falling down on top of the - visitors, you could see them rushing down the stairs.
In the meantime this morning, engineers will rappel down the side of the monument to assess the exterior damage.
Early on AMERICAN MORNING, National Park Service spokesman Bill Line told us why it's necessary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL LINE, SPOKESPERSON, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: What we need to find out and still gather data and gather information is to whether the earthquake on August 23rd resulted in any of the -- any of the damage that we could not determine to the naked eye. We need to get up close and personal, so to speak, and to really whether -- and visually inspect with the human eye at a close range, whether there are any damage that could over the years accelerate into something greater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He says the monument is structurally sound on the inside and no danger of collapse, but it will remain closed to the public until further notice.
VELSHI: I asked what the engineers rappelling down the sides have been looking for. They're looking for cracks in some of the exterior stones at the very top of the monument. Rain water was found inside about 40 feet up. They'll be checking each stone for soundness. The elevator system is not working properly. Right now, elevators only travel about halfway up. They'll also be checking for holes and cracks in the mortar.
ROMANS: We learned a new word, shall.
VELSHI: S-H-A-L-L.
ROMANS: And he said the marble shall. There you go.
COSTELLO: The outside of the stone.
ROMANS: The word of the day, I guess.
All right. The Senate has reached a bipartisan agreement to keep the federal government operating through mid-November, but it wasn't the spirit of compromise or a team of engineers rappelling down the side that got the deal done.
Live pictures of Capitol Hill this morning.
Democrats and Republicans -- they're not suddenly getting along. They just figured out last night that they have nothing to fight about, I guess.
Kate Bolduan is joining us live from Washington this morning.
Kate, this is an agreement made possible not by compromise by but FEMA, right?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems a little bit of good fortune was the kind of the breakthrough. The break through really came after FEMA announced yesterday that it's able to stretch current funding in its depleted disaster relief fund to make it through the end of the week without the fund running dry. It had previously said that wasn't likely and it was likely about to run out of money.
Now, this is key because the end of this week is also the end of the current fiscal year, which effectively makes the central obstacle which was holding up in an agreement a moot point. They were agreeing kind of all along that they needed to approve a short-term spending measure. Democrats and Republicans have been battling over whether or not the additional funding they wanted to give FEMA for disaster recovery efforts for the rest of this fiscal year needed to be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere. Republicans said, yes, it should. Democrats said, no.
Well, now, that issue was taken really off the table with FEMA's announcement. The Senate last night quickly approved a measure to fund the government through November 18th -- Christine.
VELSHI: All right, Kate. This is passing the Senate. Is this going to pass the House?
BOLDUAN: Oh, the hard questions, Ali. The House does still need to sign off on this since this is different from what the House passed last week. But with the major sticking point now eliminated, the House presumably could move forward to pass this deal. But, remember, members of the house are not here right now. They are back home in their districts for the week.
Listen here real quick, too -- Senator Harry Reid and his prediction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: How could the Republicans possibly come back as they have now and try to manipulate the agreement that we had last -- towards the end of last July. But they did that. I can't imagine they would try it again. It's been -- I don't think this has been a very happy week for my friends in the House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: So, the House could pass this deal quickly, without having to call all the members back into town by a voice vote, if no one would object, which that's not clear. What's more likely to happen, Ali, is that they could take this up first thing when the House returns next week and that is made possible because a little bit I left out because it's so complex -- the Senate last night passed an identical one one-week extension of funding. So the House presumably agreed to that and it would bridge the gap between the end of this fiscal year and when the House returns. So, they'd already back in town and they can do a full roll call vote.
VELSHI: All right. It is complicated. You're right, but I get it. All right. Kate, thanks very much. We'll have a few more days of reporting on this until we figure out it's all done. Thanks.
COSTELLO: And then we'll break out the champagne.
ROMANS: Washington process makes me crazy. Does it make your crazy?
VELSHI: Well, it does, except for places that don't have process, places where things are just done by presidential decree. So, I was -- I was just having that wrestling match with myself when Kate was saying this is what's going to be done. And I was thinking, gosh, that sounds stupid.
COSTELLO: That is so glass half full.
VELSHI: It is very glass half full. That's right. I am hoping there are not thunderstorms in New York today.
ROMANS: Certainly, there's something between the dictator and, you know, the crazy process that's broken in Washington.
COSTELLO: Also new this morning, today, President Obama wraps up his West Coast trip. He will stop by a high school in Denver to again push his jobs plan.
Yesterday, the president made three stops in southern California, urging his supporters to rally behind his policies and his campaign.
VELSHI: A big personnel move in the works at the White House this morning. You're hearing this first on CNN. Stephanie Cutter will be leaving the West Wing to join the president's re-election campaign.
Now, Stephanie Cutter, seen here, is currently serving as deputy to White House senior advisor David Plouffe. She was a top aide to First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2008 campaign. According to source, Cutter will assume her new role toward the end of the year.
ROMANS: We keep showing Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, and Gene Sperling there, because she was, you know, right hand to the treasury secretary during the financial crisis and the response from the administration to that.
Sarah Palin seems ready to challenge the author of a controversial new book. Palin's lawyer notified the book's author, Joe McGinniss and his publisher that Palin may sue them for the, quote, "lies, innuendos and smears" in McGinniss' new book, "The Rogue."
McGinnis defended the book when he was right here on AMERICAN MORNING, saying the former Alaska governor lived an outrageous life and all he did was talk to people about it.
COSTELLO: No more Snooki subsidies. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a $420,000 tax credit that would have gone to the production company behind "Jersey Shore." Christie has been a vocal critic of the show and the state tax and Senate program says taxpayers can't afford to support a program that tarnishes the state's reputation.
ROMANS: That doesn't tarnish the state's reputation.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: It's brought big money into the state.
All right. A bake sale planned today at U.C. Berkeley by campus Republicans is being called racist and a slap in the face to people of color. They're selling baked goods with a sliding price scale based on race -- $2 if you're white, $1 if you're Latino and 75 cents if you're black and women get 25 percent off of those prices.
The group says they know it's racist and that's the point. It's meant to get people angry about affirmative action in the admission process.
Here's both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SHAWN LEWIS, CAMPUS REPUBLICANS PRESIDENT: It certainly is stirring emotions and that's what we want. It causes people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in admissions.
ANAIS LAVOIE, CAMPUS DEMOCRATS PRESIDENT: The fact that they humorized and mocked the struggles of people of color on this campus is very disgusting to me.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
VELSHI: Campus GOP president also said that the bake sale was unanimously agreed upon by the club leadership, which includes people of many ethnic backgrounds.
COSTELLO: Still ahead this morning, looking to get married? The bad news -- the marriage rate is plummeting and African-Americans are leading the trend. So, where does that leave successful black women who are looking for a suitable husband?
We're sitting down with the author of a provocative new book called "Is Marriage for White People?"
ROMANS: Plus, it's about that time of the year in baseball, not the playoffs, it's rookie hazing season. Up next, the New York Yankees dress the kids up as various '80s music megastars -- we're talking parachute pants, mega hair, spandex. You can't miss this.
VELSHI: Plus, it's not your typical road block. Wrestling bears stop traffic at Yosemite National Park. Fight.
All right. We'll show you what this is all about when we come back.
COSTELLO: Where are they?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 12 minutes past the hour.
The worst nightmare has become reality in Indy. The owner of the Indianapolis Colts now says Peyton Manning, yes, he will likely miss the entire season, but there is an outside chance that he will come back in December. Of course, the team may be way out of things by then. The Colts are off to a 0-3 start without their franchise quarterback, after three neck surgeries in 19 months.
ROMANS: You feel for that guy. I mean, he is a workhorse.
COSTELLO: He never missed a game. It's just sad.
ROMANS: It's now official the New Jersey Nets are the Brooklyn Nets. Jay-Z, one of the team's minority owners, made that announcement yesterday. He has been the face of the plan to move the team to Brooklyn and the new Barclay's Center is still under construction, the move for the 2012/2013 NBA season. Jay-Z also announced plans to open their first arena with a huge concert.
You know, he is trying to get people to buy season tickets and to get people really excited about the Brooklyn Nets. So, he is throwing in concerts and Beyonce might make an appearance, and become a season ticket holder, and you're going to get all the goods.
VELSHI: Would you go to those? Because I invited Carol yesterday to join me for one of my Yankees games and she didn't seem --
ROMANS: Really. Are you kidding?
COSTELLO: Unless the Tigers are playing. Yes.
ROMANS: She's loyal. Carol is loyal.
VELSHI: Then you're going to work the next day.
ROMANS: All right, you got it.
VELSHI: All right. Speaking about the Yankees, usually all business pinstripes, no goatees allowed. But these were some of the New York Yankees yesterday. Check this out. The team decided to haze the rookies by making them dress up as '80s and '90s pop stars.
From left to right, you have Milli Vanilli, Wham era George Michael, Prince, Madonna, MC Hammer, look at the fans, and Slash from Guns n' Roses. Manager Joe Girardi posing in the middle, not in costume.
COSTELLO: Who dressed up as Madonna? I want to know.
VELSHI: I couldn't see the picture that clearly.
COSTELLO: Let's head to Atlanta.
Jacqui Jeras, I hope you heard Ali's apology.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I did. And I tweeted him back about it.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: They're my favorite.
VELSHI: That's right. When I said yellow rose, it's always forgiven.
ROMANS: We have multi-platform apology and conversation going on.
JERAS: I know. That was so nice, by the way, thank you.
Anyway, big weather story today, guys. We're going to be watching this area of low pressure that has been just stuck there over the Great Lakes in Ohio Valley for days and is it going to stay there stuck for another couple days.
Look at this thing. Look how impressive this is on the satellite. It's just huge. And look at how much of the country that it's covering up.
So, this is going to continue to bring some showers and to keep your temperatures cool, that's going to keep you kind of dreary.
Now, also notice along the East Coast, we've got high pressure offshore, which has been bringing in that tropical moisture. That's why our temperatures have been so warm here. Why we've been in the fog and why we just had so much moisture. Now, this is certainly causing some problems at the airports, as well. We've got a ground stop now in effect at Reagan National Airport in D.C. there. That's until 8:15.
So, hopefully, this is going to be lifted here very shortly. Newark looking at delays already over an hour. This is departure delays, so getting out of Newark. Philadelphia looking at ground delays. That's arrivals, 40-minute delays, and we've ground delays now at Chicago O'Hare 15 minutes.
We think this are going to extend throughout the day today. So, if you have flights at any of these airports, really all across the northeast, be aware of that for today. And that's really the big weather story across the country. Pretty nice across the nation's midsection.
All right. Speaking of pretty nice, you guys have to see this video. If you're away from your TV screen. Get over right now and look at these adorable bear cubs.
VELSHI: Oh, my God.
JERAS: Can you believe? This is Yosemite National Park. The cubs stopped traffic as people sat there and watched them wrestling in the middle of the road. There's mama bear, just off to the side, OK, kids. You know, --
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: Don't they look so little?
VELSHI: My gosh. That's adorable.
JERAS: They're so cute.
COSTELLO: They are adorable now.
VELSHI: They're going to get bigger.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Don't leave Oreos in the glove compartment and pick up sticks and pictures or you're in trouble.
JERAS: I know. That little one looks so scrony (ph) but he is kind of the instigator. Look at this. You see, there you go, I'm going to get you down again.
COSTELLO: It's always a little quiet one.
VELSHI: I don't know they were that small and cute. That was incredible.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Jacqui.
VELSHI: Once you start seeing them on the streets of Manhattan, they're much bigger.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Even when they're small, they're scary when they're here. Thank you, Jacqui Jeras.
Now, it's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, is President Obama's new fiery persona resonating? President Obama is kicking it up a notch these days. Hit with polls showing low approval ratings, the president seems fired up. As Politico's Roger Simon says, we're seeing a rock 'em, sock 'em Obama. Witness his passion at speech before the Congressional Black Caucus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I expect all of you to march with me and press on! Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes! Shake it off! Stop complaining! Stop grumbling. Stop crying! We are going to press on. We've got work to do. CBC. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In case you hadn't noticed, the new alpha Obama first appeared at a jobs speech for the joint session of Congress, and then, when he blasted the rich for not paying their fair share of taxes. In a private Democratic fundraiser, President Obama was down right feisty saying about Rick Perry, quote, "You've got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change."
And Mr. Obama said this about the Republican debate audiences, quote, "Cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have healthcare and booing a service member in Iraq because they're gay." Come on. No question about it, the president is throwing some red meat to a liberal base upset that he seems weak in the face of Republican attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAXINE WATERS, (D) CALIFORNIA: We don't have bedroom slippers. We've been out there for years doing this kind of thing. So, we take it that he just kind of got of the teleprompter a little bit and got fired up, and we want to help him. We want to make sure that the base is protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, the "Talk Back" question for you this morning, is President Obama's new fiery persona resonating? Facebook.com/americanmorning. Facebook.com/americanmorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: All right. A check of the early markets, next.
Plus, billionaire investor, Warren Buffett, sees a stock market. What he is buying, next. It's 19 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. It's 22 minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Efforts under way to secure another bailout for Greece. That country's prime minister is in Germany and spoke a short while ago saying Greece will live up to all its commitments.
Meanwhile, back in Athens, the finance minister saying this morning Greeks are ready to accept the sacrifices they have to make. Tell that to people in the streets. Their protest in Greece today over cutbacks and a new property tax to keep this government from defaulting next month.
Right now, stock futures are up one day after the Dow, and the S&P 500 each gained about 2.5 percent. Strong gains in European and Asian markets overnight as well.
Billionaire investor, Warren Buffett, opting to use some of his company's $40 billion in cash to buy back some of Berkshire Hathaway's own shares. Investors say one reason for the move, the company's stock might offer the best value for Buffett. (INAUDIBLE) Buffett is very rare.
More banks are ditching free checking. According to a study by bankrate.com, just 45 percent of checking accounts don't come with the fee. That's down 20 percentage points from last year, although, often you can beat the fee by carrying a minimum balance or making direct deposits. And don't forget, you can check credit unions. A majority of credit unions do not have fees.
On a brighter note, retail giant, Macy's announcing will be adding 78,000 temporary jobs this holiday season. A four percent increase from last year. The company says the increased hiring is needed because of continued sales growth in stores and online.
And Dr. Seuss fans are in for a new treat. A new book with seven long lost stories will hit stores shelves today. The book is called, "The Bippolo Seed." There you go.
Up next, prepare to be inspired. A man is walking from New York to Los Angeles to find out what it means to be an American. We spoke to him when he took of on the fourth of July. So, what's it been like, so far? Where is he now and how many pairs of shoes has he walked through? AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Atlanta. It is cloudy and 69 degrees, and it's going to stay cloudy, I'm afraid, but there will be a high temperature of 83.
VELSHI: Which is great if you're walking all across America.
COSTELLO: It is.
ROMANS: And we know someone who is.
VELSHI: We know someone who is. We're going to talk about him right now. Next story, it's really inspiring. Constantino Diaz Duran is nearly three months into his walk across America. Now, his goal is to find out what it means to be an American. He is a naturalized American. We spoke to him on the fourth of July when he started his journey right here in New York.
Then, we visited with him in August. He had gotten down to D.C. in Northern Virginia. He's been hoofing it ever since. We thought he was heading west to L.A. He's 994 miles into his trip, but this morning, he joins us from outside the CNN Center in Atlanta. Constantino, did you not take a map with you, man? Why are you in Atlanta?
(LAUGHTER) CONSTANTINO DIAZ DURAN, WALKING ACROSS AMERICA: I got lost. I took a wrong turn. Ended up here.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Obviously, things have changed a little for you. You're deciding to take the long route to L.A.
DURAN: Yes. Well, I have always planned on going south first, and I wanted to go to New Orleans from the very beginning.
VELSHI: OK.
DURAN: But, when I was in D.C. and looking how to get to New Orleans from D.C., my plan was originally to go to Kentucky and Tennessee, but then I decided to come down to the Carolinas and Georgia instead. I'm going to meet up again with my plans in Alabama, and then, I'll keep going to New Orleans.
ROMANS: And this is your first time in the south, right?
DURAN: It is.
ROMANS: And what do you think? What do you think?
DURAN: Well, you know, it's been -- what do I think? I'm really liking it. It's growing on me. I don't know about the sweet tea. I'm still getting unsweet, but, you know.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Well, you said your journey from Washington down south was life changing. What do you mean by that?
DURAN: You know, it was, OK, so, I live in D.C. for five years, and then, I've lived in New York for five years. So, that first stretch, in some ways, I was walking through my backyard for the last ten years. I'm very familiar with that. Leaving D.C., that's sort of when the whole emotional aspect of this hit me, you know?
I really started feeling like I didn't have a home, you know? I was away from everything familiar, and then, I spent so much time alone, but, you know, how your mind works. You just start -- you can't escape your thoughts.
COSTELLO: That's right because, I mean, there's a lot of open land when you head down south. A lot of rural America.
DURAN: Yes.
COSTELLO: So, are the people different down there?
DURAN: Well, people are still very nice. They are different. I have, you know, I still think New Yorkers are the friendliest people in the world, even though, that's not the stereotype. But people here are friendly, but they're friendly in a different way. VELSHI: Constantino, there's somebody waving behind you, friendly Atlantan. Let me ask you about the logistics here. How is it that you walk? You walk along highways or interstates or country roads. Tell me about where you sleep at night.
DURAN: Mostly I walk on country roads. It's not legal to walk on the interstate and it would probably not be safe and, also, kind of boring. So, I stick to back roads. I've been sleeping, you know, I've been carrying that tent and sleeping bag since D.C. I only had to use it once. And it's been almost three months. Everywhere I go I find people who have been willing to let me crash on their couch or sleep in their guest bedroom. And, you know --
COSTELLO: I find that amazing that total strangers would open their doors. You said you only lost four pounds after walking 900 miles. They must be feeding you, too.
DURAN: They are. That's one thing I'm liking about the south. The food here is great and hearty. I'm an unsweet tea guy.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: What is going on with the shoe situation? You said you were going to go through four pairs of running shoes and you're done with one and you sent it back to the folks that diner who helped you get started in New York. Was that meant to be a gift or --
(LAUGHTER)
DURAN: Yes. I mean, it's -- they were. I have been sending them postcards from everywhere I go. I figure they were all curious about the shoes and all of that. So I sent that back to them. They were pretty worn out. They were starting to get holes in the soles.
ROMANS: Your goal is to really know what it means to be an American. This is a quest you're on, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's basically the question I have been asking people, you know, people that I meet. Like what being an American means to them. There is some common trends like a lot of people say, well, it's freedom. So, we get into a discussion about what does freedom mean?
And then a lot of people say safety. Every immigrant I've talked to uses the word "opportunity," you know, being able to do something that they would have never been able to do wherever they came from.
COSTELLO: That's nice to know, the land of opportunity. Despite broken government and all that we talk about today.
ROMANS: Don't worry. I know you don't feel at home down south, but I lived in Atlanta for three years. The people are fantastic and they are friendly. You just got to get to know them, and I'm sure you will because you're a friendly guy yourself.
VELSHI: Enjoy your trip Constantino. We will follow you with great interest. Thank you for doing what you on the said on the fourth of July, popping in and talking to us. Constantino Diaz Duran is walking across America. If you want to follow his journey on Facebook. Go to a page called "Walk Like and American."
ROMANS: He is heading west.
VELSHI: For all the disappointment we talk about and the anxiety in this country, here's a guy who is working hard and breaking a sweat to actually find out what is great about America.
COSTELLO: Love it. And the greatest thing he's finding out there is plenty to be proud of in America. There you go.
Here are your top stories developing right now. A rear end collision between two subway trains in a tunnel in Shanghai, China. More than 200 passengers injured in the afternoon crash. Chinese authorities on the scene investigating, of course. A signal malfunction is suspected the cause.
Moammar Gadhafi's hometown close to falling to Libya's transitional government. NATO airstrikes pounding Sirte yesterday. That is one of Gadhafi's last strongholds along the Mediterranean. That paves the way for the transitional troops to launch an offensive. The commander of those forces reporting the Sirte port is now under their control.
VELSHI: There will be no government shutdown this week. The government reaching a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan that keeps FEMA funded and the government operating through mid-November. The House is expected to pass the measure sometime in the next few days.
COSTELLO: And we're getting a first look now at just how terrifying it was to be inside the Washington Monument when last month's 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck. A security camera inside the observation deck -- you can see the incredible shaking going on. It gets worse. Visitors are taking off and they are rushing down the stairs, although, I must admit, they were pretty calm and pretty orderly.
Engineers say the monument is structurally sound and not in any danger of collapsing. This morning, though, a team will repel down the side of the monument to inspect for additional exterior damage.
ROMANS: More than two years after the death of Michael Jackson a jury is set to hear opening story in the trial of his former personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray. He's charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's lethal overdose of the drug Propofol. CNN's Don Lemon is live outside the courthouse in Los Angeles. Good morning, Don.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Propofol -- did you know what Propofol was before this?
VELSHI: I certainly did not. LEMON: Did you guys have any idea? Most of us have not heard about it. I have been doing a lot of research just on the plane yesterday I did a Google search for Propofol. And guess whose picture comes up? Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson's pictures come up when you Google Propofol.
We found that, and not only about that but prescription drugs and doctors and our relationships with doctors and how much money you have and celebrities, all of that. And that is what is going to come out in this case.
Today, Ali, Christine, and Carol -- there's a lot of you sitting on the couch -- today we're going to hear and it's going to be the opening statements today and start at 8:45 this morning in California time. So, the judge is going to come in and he's going to give the jury the instructions, and then they're going to go into the opening statements and then it's the prosecution's turn. That's what's going to happen today.
If you ask me, do we know what is going to happen? It's scheduled, but nothing ever goes as planned, especially when you're dealing with a case like this and there's celebrities and a lot of money and media involved.
ROMANS: Tell us about that, don. I know that Conrad Murray has received death threats and, of course, major league celebrities inside that courthouse.
LEMON: Yes, there's going to be, obviously, a lot of security. It's in downtown Los Angeles. It's not far from the police headquarters here. People are starting to come out at least earlier here. Three hours behind the east coast. So it's earlier here and a lot of people have not shown up.
There is security here because Michael Jackson's mother said she will be in court every day. There are seven seats in the courtroom every day. His brothers and sisters are famous. Not as famous as he was, but they are as famous as well. You know most of them had careers in show business. So, it's a very high-profile case and so there's going to be lots of security. People have already started, it's dark here, you can see it. They already started to show up.
VELSHI: Tell me about the jurors, Don.
LEMON: Yes. Ali, the jurors -- it's interesting. There's seven men and five women and six of them are white and five Hispanic and one African-American. We talk about jurors and fairness and when it comes to race. They don't believe race is a factor, but some people were concerned about having only one African-American juror.
Listen, here's the thing, though, that I think is important to point out. The people that they have on this jury are most of them are pretty, pretty successful professionals. And even you have people who work in the legal field. So, and most of them have said through a questionnaire, yes, I am a fan of Michael Jackson's. But I think they've gotten people who can discern the difference between being a fan and being able to take the judge's instructions and separating themselves out from liking Michael Jackson as a fan or whether or not Dr. Conrad Murray was negligent. And that's what it is all going to depend on.
I don't know how much time we have here. But if you guys want to talk about what's at stake, Dr. Conrad Murray four years and he's going to lose his medical license in this. I was here two years ago when it happened, and I worked with Tonya Acker, who is an attorney.
And I read something that she wrote, Ali, just a couple days ago and I think she really put it concisely. She said "The issue here --" And I'll read this quickly, "of Murray's guilt or innocence will turn on a few discreet questions. Did the doctor fail to perform a legal duty that he owed Michael Jackson? He takes a Hippocratic Oath and he is supposed to perform his legal duty. Did he fail to do that? If so, was his failure so reckless as to create a high risk of death or bodily injury? And would any doctor have acted in the same way? And did that risk cause Michael Jackson's death?"
That's very concisely put. That is what it is going to hinge on. The defense is going to say he did it to himself. They're trying to inject some doubt into the jury there.
ROMANS: Don Lemon. Thank you.
VELSHI: Don's been following it for a long time. It's going to get complicated. We're going to count on you to keep it simple for us.
ROMANS: For complete coverage of the opening statements and the entire Conrad Murray trial, you can check out our sister network, HLN.
Coming up next, marriage rates are declining, particularly among African-Americans, so what's the solution for black women who can't find a husband? A controversial new book is asking "Is Marriage for White People?" Stick around. It's 39 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 42 minutes past the hour, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Supply and Demand works for economies, so why not marriage? Our next guest is Stanford law professor Richard Banks who has written a controversial new book called "Is Marriage for White People." And Rick joins us live this morning. Welcome.
BANKS: It's a pleasure to be here.
COSTELLO: Even the title is cause for discussion.
BANKS: I had much more boring academic titles initially. "Examination of a changing social institution." A research assistant said that was boring and we came up with this. COSTELLO: right, "Is Marriage for White People?" And what do you mean to convey with this title?
(LAUGHTER)
BANKS: The title comes from an article that was published in "Washington Post" where a journalist described her visit to a classroom in inner Washington, D.C. And she was talking about her careers and the children wanted it learn about parenting. She said, great, I'll bring in married couples. And one of the kids, said, no, we're not concerned about marriage, just parenting. Then another kid said "marriage is for white people."
And I thought that was a perfect and shocking expression that for this African-American child, marriage had declined so much among African-Americans that he thought only white people got married.
COSTELLO: So give us some statistics.
BANKS: Well, the book examines the decline of marriage among African-Americans and others. Among African Americans nearly 70 percent of black women are unmarried, 70 percent of African-American children are born to unwed parents. It's also true marriage has declined among whites, as well. More than 25 percent of white children now are born to unmarried children.
COSTELLO: And you say 70 percent of black women remain unmarried because they, well, you say supply and demand, right, because they don't married outside of their race. Some black women say that's really not the answer to our marriage woes.
BANKS: Right, so -- so a pivotal factor for African-Americans and for others is that women have moved ahead and men have fallen behind. This is most extreme among African-Americans. One in ten black men, as we speak, are in prison. These are men in their 20s or early 30s. One in four will go to prison. At the other extreme, nearly twice as many black women as men graduate from college.
So there is a numbers problem where women are doing better, but men are doing worse; and that screws up relationships in the relationship market.
COSTELLO: Not always, though. I mean, you know, in reading the book, you know, you say a lot of women who are making money, married men who make less money.
BANKS: That's true.
COSTELLO: But, oftentimes those kinds of marriages can work.
BANKS: They can, indeed. And black women marry lower-earning men more than any other group of women and less educated men. More than half of all college-educated black wives are more educated than their husbands. And that can work.
But it's also true that problems are more likely to develop as a -- based on studies are more likely to develop when the husband is unemployed; when the husband doesn't earn a substantial income. Gender roles have changed, but we still, as a society, have an expectation that a man will be a breadwinner.
COSTELLO: So, but when you suggest that African-American women marry outside of their race to widen the field, some African-American women don't feel comfortable with that.
(CROSSTALK)
BANKS: Right.
COSTELLO: And some might say nor should they.
BANKS: Well, I should say that this is not an advice book. So I really -- it's not an advice book and I'm really describing how broad, cultural and economic changes have reshaped marriage.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Well first of all, they why some African-American women don't want to marry outside their race?
BANKS: Well, that's a big story. Part of their reason, frankly, is that we've put a lot of pressure on black women to only marry black men, to limit themselves to black men. Black women are assaulted with accusations of betraying the race, of abandoning black men, of leaving brothers behind or being successful and then not worrying about the rest of the race; and those accusations sting.
So a lot of it has to do with social pressure. And one of the goals of the book is to alleviate that social pressure so black women can have the same freedom as other women.
COSTELLO: It's a very interesting book. I could go on discussing this with you forever, but we cannot. So the book is, "Is Marriage for White People?" by Ralph Richard Banks, who likes to be called Rick. And thank you so much for joining us this morning.
BANKS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
Morning headlines coming your way next; it's 47 minutes past the hour.
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VELSHI: 48 and a half minutes after the hour, a perfect time for your morning headlines.
Markets open in 45 minutes and right now U.S. stock futures are trading, you guessed it, higher. The gain is following what's turning out to be a positive trading day in Europe as officials there are working to solve the region's debt crisis. A U.S. government shutdown has been avoided. The Senate has reached a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan that keeps FEMA funds flowing to natural disaster victims and keeps government running through mid-November. The House is expected to approve the deal.
Today a team of engineers will begin rappelling down the sides of the Washington Monument to check for cracks and other exterior damage. The monument has been closed since it was damaged during last month's 5.8 earthquake. It's going to take at least five days to inspect every single inch of the monument.
More than two years after the Michael -- after Michael Jackson died, his -- the trial of his former personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, gets under way this morning in Los Angeles. Murray is accused of causing Jackson's fatal overdose of the drug Propofol.
Campus Republicans holding a pay-by-race bake sale at U.C. Berkeley today. They're selling baked goods with a sliding price scale based on the buyer's ethnic background. They say it's meant to get people angry about affirmative action in the admission's process. Critics are calling it racist and a slap in the face to people of color.
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Joan Jett, one of rock and roll's great anthems there; now she maybe in the rock and roll Hall of Fame.
VELSHI: Nice.
ROMANS: Yes. The nominations for the Class of 2012 have been announced along with Joan Jett and the Black Hearts. The newest nominees include Guns N'Roses, Heart, and The Cure. Bands that released their first album or a single album in 1986 or earlier --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: -- were eligible in this year's ballot.
ROMANS: There you go.
COSTELLO: I'm so happy for Heart. They still perform.
ROMANS: Do they?
COSTELLO: And they're still great. Oh so enjoyable.
Ok, in "AM House Call" now, better get your B12 unless you want your brain to shrink.
VELSHI: Wow.
COSTELLO: I think that mine has been doing that over time. VELSHI: That got my attention.
COSTELLO: Yes. Foods like clams, oysters and mussels your best source vitamin B12. A new study linked to Vitamin B12 deficiency with memory loss and thinking problems and also the dreaded brain shrinkage.
VELSHI: I've been hearing some rattling in my head, I had no idea.
All right, coffee offering a pick me up in a much deeper way; a new study out of Harvard says three cups of coffee a day could lower 15 percent -- by 15 percent a woman's risk of suffering from depression. Four cups a day cut the risk by 20 percent.
ROMANS: No word on four cups --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: No word on what happens once you sort of exceed eight cups a day.
ROMANS: Getting a second chance with a new pair of hands, a woman now thriving after undergoing a history making double hand transplant.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in today's "Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine having to learn to use someone else's hands as your own.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about this. Pinch, pinch.
GUPTA: That's the reality for Sheila May Advento, the first woman in the United States to undergo a double hand transplant.
SHEILA MAY ADVENTO, DOUBLE HAND TRANSPLANT: I just remember being rushed to the hospital on the E.R. and then, that is it, I was out.
GUPTA: Advento's hands and feet were amputated eight years ago after she contracted a bacterial infection.
ADVENTO: They were so lifeless, you know, and so black.
GUPTA: She got prosthetics for her hands and her feet, but the idea of a possible future hand transplant was always on her mind. When the opportunity came from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, she went for it.
ADVENTO: I'm amazed by my own progress. I had no expectations.
GUPTA: It's been a year since she got her new hands and already Advento hits at several milestones. She can feel temperature, pain, she can feel various textures. It's the result of a lot of hard work. She undergoes six hours of physical therapy five days a week.
ADVENTO: For me to finally feel these things again, my hair, my face or even, you know, my jeans. That's something big for me.
GUPTA: Advento says her ultimate goal is to live as independent a life as possible.
ADVENTO: This is actually my very first painting.
GUPTA: She draws, she paints, she drives, she puts on makeup. Finds her way around the kitchen even clips her nails.
ADVENTO: I'm not able to pinch the nail clipper yet. So, I was able to figure out how I would do it for myself, but that was my other way of figuring out how to be independent.
GUPTA: The last eight years have been difficult, but Advento says she's overcome so much by believing it all happened for a reason. No matter how painful, she tries to always be positive.
ADVENTO: I don't give myself much of a choice, but to keep going despite of whatever obstacles I encounter in my life.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: That is an amazing story.
COSTELLO: I know. I'm speechless.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Sanjay; we appreciated that.
Coming up next, our "Talk Back" question of the day. Is President Obama's new fiery persona resonating? We have your responses; we'll read some of them. It's 55 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Well, You know that song is called "Fire Burning". There's not really a fire burning in Washington right now. It's 72 degrees and cloudy. It's going to get up to 77 with thunderstorms. And they all seem to be getting along today relative to most other days.
COSTELLO: Fire burning on the --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: On the Facebook, though --
COSTELLO: President Obama is fiery.
VELSHI: Yes. That's true. That is where the fire is. COSTELLO: That's what it was because of the "Talk Back" question today. We asked you, is President Obama's new fiery persona resonating?
This from Don, "I do not believe it is. Most Americans including his own party members and voting base view him as a paper tiger, who is full of himself."
This from Alex, "Of course it is; America wants to see the stand up fight Obama they voted into office. And given that he is facing another term, now is the time for him to really take control and lead America."
This from David, "Where was this Obama during the last few years? This was the man I voted for originally. If he would have kept his passion open and worn it on his sleeve, then maybe the two houses could have seen eye-to-eye on the issues."
And this from Robin, "Too little, too late. This might have resonated if he did it starting January 21, 2009. At this point, it's just words."
COSTELLO: Please keep the conversation going; Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. And as always, thank you for your comments.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: He was fiery. There's no question. He's been very fiery this week.
ROMANS: And when he pounded the side of the podium that really --
COSTELLO: I predict he will keep it up.
ROMANS: Do you?
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: It becomes a force to be reckoned with. I mean this is the Obama where people were saying there hasn't been a campaigner like that. Look, obviously, Bill Clinton was a campaigner of a similar nature, but this is the force to be reckoned with.
COSTELLO: But just to be realistic, he's not going to get his job's plan through in its entirety, right?
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: Right.
COSTELLO: So why not stand up and fight for it and make it seem like -- I mean I'm being cynical here -- but he has to be fiery about something. He has to prove to those who like him that he believes in this job.
ROMANS: Certainly he has changed the conversation from last week, which is all pretty negative news on the job's front and on the agenda front for the President with the (INAUDIBLE) and the like --
All right, that leaves, we're leading into Kyra Phillips time right now, sorry about that -- Kyra.
VELSHI: And she's going to get fiery about that, right -- Kyra?
