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American Morning
Senate to Vote on Jobs Bill; "Occupy Wall Street" Movement Growing; Riots Erupt at Christian Protest; "Fast and Furious" Fallout; NBA and Players Union Meeting Today; Paul McCartney Gets Married to Nancy Shevell; Pilot Ditches Plane in Ocean; Why is Herman Cain Surging in the Polls?; "A Culture of Corruption"; "A Culture of Corruption"; The Politics of Romney's Religion; Key Vote On Jobs Bill This Week; 23 Killed During Cairo Protest; Teens And Tanning
Aired October 10, 2011 - 05:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I'm Christine Romans. President Obama steps up the heat on Congress to sign off on his jobs plan, a plan that's expected to come up where he votes this week but with fears Republican opposition get (ph) any part of this jobs plan pass.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I'm Carol Costello. "Occupy Wall Street" protests erupting at the White House and across the country. A fundamentally American movement or mobs engaging in class warfare? Republicans and Democrats drawing battle lines on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Good morning, Carol. You are an optimist. Actually, we're pessimistic about pessimism, which made me laugh. That's very funny.
Good morning, everybody. Happy Monday morning. It's October 10th. Ali Velshi is on assignment and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: Yes, welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Happy Monday.
First up this morning, President Obama gearing up for a Senate showdown over his plan to lower the nation's 9.1 percent unemployment rate. A vote on his $447 billion jobs package is expected to take place sometime this week.
Sixty votes are needed to overcome Republican efforts to block the measure. Here's Athena Jones with more on jobs bill and whether it can ever pass.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For President Obama putting people back to work is high priority and something he says his $447 billion jobs bill will do. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: These independent economists say that we could grow the economy as much as 2 percent, and as many as 1.9 million workers.
JONES: He's been pushing the plan everywhere. At a press conference last week, on the road, on Facebook and Twitter, and in his weekly address.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: This is not the time for the usual games or political gridlock in Washington.
JONES: The bill would cut payroll taxes, extend unemployment benefits, give tax credits for raising wages or hiring out of work veterans or the long-term unemployed and provide money to keep public workers on the job and invest in rebuilding schools and roads.
It would be paid for with a 5.6 percent tax on income over $1 million starting in 2013. The political stakes for Mr. Obama are high. No president since Franklin Roosevelt has been re-elected with unemployment above 8 percent.
Still chances are slim that the entire package will pass in this political climate, and even if it survives the Senate, it faces a tough road in the House.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: We have a difference of opinion with the White House on how best to create jobs. We don't think doubling down on failed stimulus policies, which have already proven to fail is the right way to go.
JONES: House Republicans say the bill will do little to create jobs.
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: It's doing the same thing that he's done before and expecting to have a different outcome.
PAUL: We want to work with ideas that have proven to work. That means helping small businesses grow. I mean, it's getting certainty on our policy, regulations, taxes, debt, so that small businesses can grow.
JONES: Economists say some of the bill's provisions like the payroll cut for employers would add jobs. Though how many is in question.
DONALD MARRON, DIRECTOR, TAX POLICY CENTER: There isn't enough demand for the goods and services our economy can produce. So things you can do to boost that will at least temporarily create jobs next year.
JONES: Temporarily analysts say is the key word.
MARRON: There are kinds of things that are being discussed or not by any stretch permanent solutions. The economy is suffering after the financial crisis. It takes a long time to heal, and frankly there aren't any things on the congressional calendar that will substantially change that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Both the president and vice president are hitting the road again this week, travelling to two battleground states, Pennsylvania and Michigan, to push the jobs bill. Athena Jones, CNN, The White House.
ROMANS: Meantime, it's day 24 of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement and battle lines are being drawn on Capitol Hill. Movement appears to be growing about a hundred protesters marching on the White House yesterday. The secret service says one demonstrator was arrested and charged with assaulting an officer.
At the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, police used pepper spray on dozens of protesters who tried to storm the lobby. The museum has to be shut down. CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us live from Washington this morning. Paul, it looks like a Democrat, trying to own this movement. Republicans are trying to redirect its focus.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, no surprise here. Both political parties, Christine, see some opportunity and they love opportunity in this movement. So we're hearing very different things from Republicans and Democrats.
We'll start with the Republicans and some of the ones who are running for president next year. Of course, they want to face-off against President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. So they are taking the protest and trying to redirect the anger, as you said, towards the White House. Take a listen.
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HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some of them are there because they don't have a job. Yes, but the fact of the matter is, why aren't there jobs? Go and picket the White House. Part of it is jealousy. I stand die that.
Here's why I don't have a lot of patience with that. My parents, they never played the victim card. My parents never said, we hope that the rich people lose something so we can get something. No. My dad's idea was I want to work hard enough so I can buy a Cadillac, not take somebody else's.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I went by one of the protests in Washington, D.C. on Friday, and I saw a lot of signs from unions that were there.
So I don't know how spontaneous these protests were, but it seems to me their anger should be directed at the White House, because Barack Obama's policies have put us in one of the worst tailspins economically that we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP) STEINHAUSER: Congresswoman Bachmann there and Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza. You're also hearing some of the Republican presidential candidates call the protesters, what they're doing, class warfare.
As you said earlier, the Democrats, of course, are saying just the opposite. They're blaming the Republicans saying to the protesters the Republicans are trying to get rid of Wall Street reforms, the one thing that is trying to keep Wall Street and the big financial houses in check.
Here's a little taste of what they're saying, Christine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest that change has to happen. We cannot continue in a way that is not relevant to their lives. People are angry.
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: We have to do something. It's not that this is the answer, the protesting. It's just that the Congress is locked in concrete for political reasons that the Republicans just want to get rid of Obama.
Even if it means losing the fiscal integrity of this great nation, and these kids are out there, they're confused as to what they want to do, but they know we're not getting a fair shake in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: As this movement continues to grow and strengthen it appears, it becomes more attractive it seems to both political parties, both trying to make in-roads here -- Christine.
ROMANS: Yes, and Newt Gingrich who was saying that he wished those people were protesting at the fed and the Treasury because they represent the failed policies of this administration and money spent that was spent erroneously. I mean, they're trying to seize on it and redirect it back towards the administration?
STEINHAUSER: Exactly. Newt Gingrich is running for president, former House speaking saying that yesterday in the Sunday talk shows and yes, they're trying to redirect it towards the president, to weaken him and strengthen their argument, and hope these supporters, these demonstrators support them -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Paul Steinhauser. Have a great morning, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Calls for calm this morning after hours of bloody clashes between angry Christians, Muslims and security forces in Egypt. At least 23 people were killed on the streets of Cairo Sunday when protesters say they were attacked by thugs carrying swords and clubs.
It was the worst violence since the revolution that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak back in February. CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is live in Cairo for us. Ben, bring us up to date.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, today, right now, the situation seems to be calm. The clashes, in fact, took place just on this road behind me next to the Nile. Now there have been riot police deployed behind this building and up the street as well. The government has imposed a 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew to try to prevent people from coming down here, but it's a very volatile situation.
And many critics say it's not helped by the actions, for instance, of state-run TV, which last night called upon what it called honest Egyptians to come down and join the army in fighting against these predominantly Christian protesters.
So there's a very good chance there could be a renewal of these clashes, given that many people are unhappy with the way the government has dealt with these tensions, and it's not just Christians. Many Muslims also are unhappy with the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces, the de facto government here in Egypt -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live from Cairo. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, congressional Republicans demanding answers from Attorney General Eric Holder about "Operation Fast and Furious." That's controversial ATF program that allowed weapons to flow to Mexican drug gangs in order to track them.
California's Darrell Issa who heads the House Government Oversight Committee tells CNN subpoenas could go out this week. He says Holder needs to explain who authorized this operation and why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISSA: Clearly, he was overseeing an organization that let 2,000 weapons walk, knew they were letting it walk and concealed that from not just Congress, but also from the ambassador in Mexico, the Mexican people and so on, and that's what we're asking questions about. It's about law enforcements. It's not about a difficult economic time. His answers have to be about law enforcement. He's not the secretary of commerce.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Holder denies misleading lawmakers when he testified back in May he'd only just learned about the "Fast and Furious" gun program.
COSTELLO: Fugitive hijacker George Wright was captured in Portugal after four decades on the run is fighting extradition to the United States. Wright's lawyers say this 68-year-old client has heart and blood pressure problems and believes he will die in prison if sent back home.
Wright claims also he's now a Portuguese citizen. Wright is accused of hijacking a plane back in 1972 with other members of the Black Liberation Army.
ROMANS: And the clock is ticking on the NBA season. League officials and union leaders met for six hours last night trying to end the lockout that now threatens to cancel the first two weeks of the regular season.
The two sides reportedly agreed to meet again this morning. Commissioner David Stern has already said if no agreement is reached by today, the league will have no choice, but to begin cancelling games.
COSTELLO: Paul McCartney getting married again. Can you believe it? He's tied the knot for the third time. He tied the knot with his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell in London.
They were married in the very same place where Paul wed his first beloved wife, Linda. Of course, she died back in 1998. McCartney's second marriage, should we even mention this.
ROMANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: All right. Heather, didn't turn out well. In fact, it ended in a very bitter divorce. Ringo Starr, the only other surviving Beatle was among the guests along with Barbara Walters because Barbara Walters is related to Nancy Shevell --
ROMANS: Really?
COSTELLO: Yes, Paul McCartney's fiance. I guess, she's her second cousin.
ROMANS: And she's wearing a dress designed by Paul McCartney's daughter, which I think would be very famous fashion designer Stella McCartney, which I think suggest that she's been embraced by the family.
COSTELLO: Yes, because Stella McCarthy certainly did not embrace Heather Mills.
ROMANS: We know way too much about this story.
COSTELLO: We do.
ROMANS: All right, still ahead, he was once considered a bottom tier candidate and no chance at the White House, but Herman Cain is on a roll. Why is he surging in the polls? That's our "talk back" question of the day.
COSTELLO: Plus a pilot pulls off a daring ocean landing when he discovers he's out of gas.
ROMANS: How do you get a full-grown moose out of a backyard swimming pool?
COSTELLO: Very carefully.
ROMANS: Yes, very carefully. See for yourself. We'll show you when AMERICAN MORNING continues. It's 11 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. An incredible rescue story off the coast of Hawaii. A pilot of a small plane was just 13 miles from land when the small plane completely ran out of gas. Check out this video from the coast guard.
You can see the plane touching down in, I guess on, the Pacific Ocean. Then the 65-year-old pilot calmly climbed out of the cockpit window and on to the wing. The coast guard plucked him from the ocean and took him to the hospital where he is doing just fine. Wow.
COSTELLO: So how many people does it take to get a moose out of a swimming pool? If you said nine, you would be right.
Look what George Trapotsis found in his backyard swimming pool. He lives in Manchester, New Hampshire. And look, he looked out then he go, oh, my God, there's a moose in my pool. And the moose was just chilling. There's just the animal crashed right through his fence and his pool cover and he just decided to hang out - ah.
It's mating season, Christine.
ROMANS: Apparently.
COSTELLO: Maybe the moose - I don't know what that's got to do with the pool. Maybe he needs some cooling off because he was hot for someone, I don't know.
ROMANS: You know, it's crazy -
COSTELLO: Police and firefighters and fishing game officials were called to the pool and it took nine of them to finally pull the moose up the steps and out of the water. You saw them there. The big guy just shook himself off. And as you can see, he just walked calmly back into the woods.
ROMANS: How do you call your insurance agent and say, I need a new liner for my pool. There are exactly nine humongous hoof marks where it was climbing out.
Rob, wow. That was a crazy one. Follow that one, Marciano.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I've never seen anything like that. No. But certainly, it's mating season and he didn't get what he wanted. A nice cool dip in the pool will do it.
ROMANS: With a cold shower. MARCIANO: Hey, rains across parts of Florida, check out some of this video. Yesterday, flooding rains from Titusville up through northern parts of Florida and some of this is beneficial to begin with, but it got to be too much at one time and not only rainfall but wind as well.
So Titusville and through Orange County, Brevard County, up through that area, we saw some coastal flooding, some beach erosion and winds with this. Also, taking out some trees and power lines. So big problems with this particular slow-moving storm.
It's not really a tropical storm. It's trying to become that. But it's spinning its way up towards the coastline now of Georgia, and with this rotation, we've got a tornado watch that's in effect until 1:00 this afternoon, as all this moisture begins to continue to spin off towards the north and east.
This is the observed rainfall, a lot of it towards Cape Canaveral. And, oh, look at this. Rainfall observed. How much? Several inches in spots. Possum Kingdom Lake. We put that up there, over four and a half - over four inches of rainfall, that's where one of the larger fires was earlier this - this summer.
So in many cases North and Central Texas seeing about as much rainfall in two days that they saw all year.
The other big weather story, the heat. Indian summer. I don't have to tell you this if you live in New York or New Jersey, 88 degrees yesterday; Boston, Massachusetts, 87; Providence, Rhode Island, 86; Hartford, 85; and 84 degrees in Bangor, Maine where they have a lot of moose, actually; 67 for high temperature in Atlanta. And if you are traveling today, you'll see some rain in Atlanta. That will be a problem in San Francisco, some morning fog and some afternoon rain showers across the Bay Area.
That's the last - Carol and Christine, back up to you.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
Now is your chance to "Talk back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning - why is Herman Cain surging in the polls?
Imagine a 2012 presidential race that pits Barack Obama against Herman Cain. Wow. OK. Anything is possible.
Many political talking heads poo-poo the polls. Cain, they say, is the flavor of the week. But something about Cain resonates. He's a self-made man who has this to say about high black unemployment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And, boy, does he like to work a room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: I would bring a sense of humor to the White House, because America is too uptight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: No doubt, that's true. Herman Cain has been on TV saying among other things, quote, "I can eat black walnut all the time. It's not a flavor of the week."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAIN: I don't mind if he calls me crazy.
If we are not in it to win it, we will not be in it.
Mitt Romney, good hair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really? That's the first thing you can say about him?
CAIN: Well - you're welcome. You can see I don't have an opinion very much, right?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Cain also has what sounds like a simple solution to our economic woes. "999," anyone?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: "999" plan. 999.
"999."
My "999" plan.
"999."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As in nine percent income flat tax, nine percent sales tax and a nine percent business flat tax. Many economists say 999 would actually hurt poor people and retailers, still, 999 is catchy, as is Herman Cain.
So our "Talk Back" question today, why is Herman Cain surging in the polls? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. Facebook.com/Americanmorning. I'll read your comments later this hour. ROMANS: He was a Democrat, a die-hard Democrat who told me that Herman Cain doesn't sound like he focused group everything that he says and that's what appeals to everybody. You know, no matter what their party is, they kind of listen to him and say, yes, he's just saying what he thinks. He didn't - he didn't sit down with a team of advisers and plot that out and they like that.
COSTELLO: I know. He's really resonating right now for whatever reason, but I'd like to know from you as to why.
ROMANS: All right. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a score one for Ron Paul. We'll have more on the GOP presidential candidate's victory over the weekend.
COSTELLO: And blowing the whistle on Medicaid fraud. We'll tell you what one man did to expose it and how doing so nearly killed him.
It's 20 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back, "Minding Your Business" this morning.
It's Columbus Day here in the U.S., but Marcus and most banks are open for business today, but the focus remains on Europe's banking crisis and efforts by France and Germany to contain it.
Right now, U.S. futures up, pointing to a higher open this morning. It's because European markets are leading the way higher after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday they have come up with a plan and agreement to fix the eurozone and its problems. Part of that plan includes recapitalization of some of the E.U.'s biggest banks.
More details about the plan will be available later this month.
People are wondering if nationalization could be part of the answer to the banking crisis, especially after the bank Dexia secured a bailout this morning from the French, Belgian and Luxemburg got. The bailout, worth a total of about $121 billion. It's significant to the U.S. because Dexia has been a big backer of many local U.S. government bonds and loans.
Companies begin reporting their earning this week, with particular focus on the banking sector, given what's happened in Europe and also a slowing economy in the U.S. America's second largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, it will report its earnings on Wednesday.
Forget the official economic statistics. So much of the economy is how we feel about things, right? Well, CNN Money is asking you what you expect the economy to do in 2012.
Forty-two percent of you think the economy will stagnate; 22 percent think we'll at least grow fast enough to spur more hiring, something that's desperately needed; only six percent of you, though, think it will bounce back strongly; and a whopping 30 percent - 30 percent of you think the U.S. economy will slip back into a recession.
All right, if you were planning to pre-order the new iPhone 4S, think again. Apple has sold out of the new phone online, so if you really just cannot wait, you're going to have to do it the old- fashioned way and stand in line at the store next Friday.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about half past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Time for this morning's top stories.
The Senate expected to hold a critical vote this week on President Obama's jobs bill, btut it's expected to get fierce opposition from Republicans. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says the president knows his bill is doomed.
ROMANS: The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is spreading quickly across the country, demonstrations breaking out this weekend in Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Denver, San Diego, Sacramento and in Washington, where one person was arrested outside the White House. And police were forced to use pepper spray on protesters who tried to storm the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
COSTELLO: And it's being called the worst violence in Asia since the uprising that toppled the former president, Hosni Mubarak. At least 23 people were killed, including 12 troops after violence erupted at a gathering to protest the burning of a Christian church, one protester telling CNN they were attacked by thugs carrying swords and clubs. But a government spokesman says some protesters fired at the army.
ROMANS: Federal prosecutors are now cracking down on what's been called the culture of corruption in the health care industry, Medicare and Medicaid patients being over billed or billed for treatment they never received.
COSTELLO: CNN's Deb Feyerick has the story of a whistleblower, a Vietnam vet who exposed a major case of health care fraud, and she joins us now.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone.
Well, you know, this is something that's costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year, $18 billion in fraud in Medicare alone. And for some people, it can really be a matter of life or death because they're being cheated out of services they desperately need.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): Going through his Medicaid statements one day, Richard West realized he was being billed for nursing care he wasn't getting.
(on camera): You weren't even here on some of the days that the company alleged they provided services for you?
RICHARD WEST, VIETNAM VETERAN: I wasn't here. I got no service.
FEYERICK: And yet, here it is. It's billed.
(voice-over): The 63-year-old Vietnam veteran suffers from muscular dystrophy and requires nurses seven days a week just to shower, dress and replace the oxygen tank he needs to breathe. Yet when he called the Medicaid help line to report Maxim Healthcare Services and complain that his nurses were idle leaving early or not showing up at all, he was told he was wrong.
WEST: They were getting paid for eight hours and I was just getting sicker and sicker. And they did nothing.
FEYERICK: His spirit intact, the former U.S. infantryman hired a lawyer, and filed a whistle-blower lawsuit in 2004, triggering a six-year criminal investigation.
(on camera): Are you surprised at just what people will try to do to rip off the Medicaid system?
TOM O'DONNELL: Yes. I'm surprised every day.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Tom O'Donnell heads New York's office of investigations for Health and Human Services. It turns out Maxim, with hundreds of offices, wasn't just overbilling Richard West but Medicaid recipients across the country.
O'DONNELL: Probably the most egregious thing that they did is they were overbilling and they were fraudulently altering the time cards.
FEYERICK (on camera): How much money were they essentially ripping off?
O'DONNELL: I think the actual amount was about $61 million.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Prosecutors recently announced they had reached deal with Maxim Healthcare Services which cooperated with investigators and has now restructured under new management.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of us can afford for our government's coffers to be bludgeoned by fraud.
FEYERICK: The company will pay $150 million, half of it to reimburse 41 states that were overcharged. Nine Maxim executives and employees have pleaded guilty to various charges. Others were fired for misconduct.
In a statement to CNN, Maxim's new CEO praises Richard West for uncovering the fraud, saying the company takes full responsibility and has established a new infrastructure, quote, "including an entirely new senior management team and an unrelenting commitment to strict compliance with all laws."
Although prosecutors did not accuse Maxim of compromising patient care, West says he almost died twice because of life- threatening infections he got when nurses failed to show.
WEST: There were nights I didn't know if I would wake up, and that's the reality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now, because West exposed the scheme, he's set to get $15 million under the whistleblowers act. That means he could end up paying for his own health care and likely lose the Medicaid benefits he was initially fighting for. But consider this, West believed that he had died, his death would likely have been blamed on his condition and not because his services had been denied or diminished or taken away or an infection that was the result of a nurse not showing up.
So, it's really very, very tricky but it is rampant, $18 billion in Medicaid alone.
ROMANS: That we know of. That we think of. I mean, there are those who think that the number could be much, much higher, because, quite frankly, there's a big pool of government money and there are professional, professionals, who know how to absolutely gain the system and literally steal from people who need this money.
FEYERICK: Well, that's exactly right.
And one thing that I was surprised about even in doing the story is that the dollars are going out. But you have to wonder, who's really keeping track of where they're being spent, how they are being spent?
This task force that Tom O'Donnell speaks about, he -- they actually recover about $4 billion a year and they charge about 600 people with crimes. Again, it's something. Certainly, $4 billion ain't nothing but certainly not the amount that's being ripped off.
But they're trying. They're trying. But it's very, very complicated.
ROMANS: Sometimes they look at doctors, right, and they see that a doctor billed for x millions and millions in Medicaid and there aren't that many hours in the year to actually be able to give those services.
FEYERICK: Right.
ROMANS: And this can go on for years and years and years. I mean, it's one of the things that people get so upset about waste, fraud and abuse in the American system, because we know this is there. Why can't they just stop it?
FEYERICK: Right. That's exactly right. Can you imagine how much money the government could get back if there was control, some real oversight, dollar for dollar, not just task forces that reactive but something totally proactive?
But again, it is so enormous, so immense. And these people need services. And that's the one thing you cannot, cannot forget.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: He's ill. I mean, you don't want to fight -- you don't want to fight the fight, right? You just want to be -- sick and try to get well.
FEYERICK: Well, that's exactly right. And get the services that you think you need. And he said, you know, look, I was denied a wheelchair. Medicare denied the wheelchair. He went over to Medicaid. They helped pay for it.
Now, he doesn't know what was paid for. He doesn't know how many wheelchairs were billed for it. So, the whole thing is so big and so -- sort of this big ambiguous amorphous kind of system that's been set up. But, again, people need the services. It's not about taking away from people. But it's about maybe doing it better, so you know what's being --
ROMANS: Filed his first suit in 2004. Imagine. I mean, he really had to --
FEYERICK: And could say nothing. Prosecutors couldn't help get the nurses that he needed to get.
ROMANS: Bravo to him and people like him.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Deb.
FEYERICK: Of course.
COSTELLO: The DREAM Act is now a reality in California. Governor Jerry Brown signing the measure into law on Saturday, could require more than $14 million a year in state grants to help illegal immigrants pay for college. To qualify, students must graduate from a California high school and been in the process of applying for legal immigration status.
ROMANS: The desperate search continues this morning in Kansas City for a 10-month-old baby who's been missing for a week now. Detectives over the weekend tried to re-enact how Lisa Irwin was snatched from her crib. Police say the parents are talking with them after their cooperation suddenly stopped last week. The couple says they just needed a break from all of the questioning.
COSTELLO: The floodwaters in Thailand are now threatening the capital Bangkok. Officials say they are preparing to evacuate thousands of people who live in that city. To date, the floods have killed at least 250 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul winning yet another straw poll. The Texas congressman won 37 percent of the vote at the Values Voters Summit in Washington. Herman Cain came in second with 23 percent. Rick Santorum came in third with 16 percent.
ROMANS: All right. The Milwaukee Brewers take game one of the National League Championship series. Ryan Braun hit a monster home run in the first inning to get the Brewer crew started. Later, a 2-0 run double and then a 2-0 run homer by Prince Fielder led a -- wow -- a six-run rally in the fifth inning to carry the Brewers to a 9-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Game two tonight in Milwaukee.
Game two of the ALCS between the Detroit Tigers --
COSTELLO: Detroit Tigers.
ROMANS: -- and the Texas Rangers this afternoon. Texas leads one game to none.
What time does that game start, Carol?
COSTELLO: Four o'clock this afternoon Eastern Time.
ROMANS: Going head straight to --
COSTELLO: Exactly. I hope it doesn't rain. I'm sick of rain.
And check this out by Paul Casey. The Englishman holding out a 93-yard wedge shot for eagle on the 15th hole at the PGA tour's Frys.com Open yesterday. Look at that.
Casey started the round near the top of the leader board but faded to finish seventh. Bryce Molder won in a playoff, his first tour victory.
ROMANS: All right. Up next, blurring the lines between religion and politics. Mitt Romney may be the front-runner, but can a Mormon ever win the White House?
COSTELLO: And when turkeys attack. We'll show what happened when a TV news crew got this turkey on camera. It wasn't pretty.
Thirty-eight minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Mitt Romney's religion is becoming a hot topic on the campaign trail. The former Massachusetts governor is Mormon, and he's not about to apologize for it. But some political analysts believe it may prove to be a big obstacle in his quest for the White House.
Here's "STATE OF THE UNION" host and chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley.
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CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thomas Jefferson talked about the wall of separation between church and state. Nobody said anything about separating church and politics, but everybody knows it's a sticky wicket.
(on camera): Is Mitt Romney a non-Christian?
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not running for theologian-in-chief. I'm a lifelong Christian, and what that means is one of my guiding principles for the decisions I made is I start with do the right thing. I'm not getting into that controversy.
CROWLEY (voice-over): The question arises because Dr. Robert Jeffress, a Southern Baptist minister, introduced Texas Governor Rick Perry at a Values Voters Summit the other day, calling Perry a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, as opposed to another candidate Jeffress could and did mention in a later interview.
DR. ROBERT JEFFRESS, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF DALLAS: I think Mitt Romney is a good, moral man, but I think those of us who are born-again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent non-Christian like Mitt Romney.
CROWLEY: Mitt Romney is a Mormon and he has passed this way before, four years ago, the first time he ran for president, when he addressed concerns, rumors, and political analysis of his religion.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they're right, so be it.
CROWLEY: Many things sank Romney's candidacy in '08. Religion may have been one of them.
RON BROWNSTEIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, NATIONAL JOURNAL: You look at the results from 2008, he ran poorly among evangelical Christians, especially in the South. In all the Southern states, he never topped out above 20 percent of the votes among Evangelical Christians; only 11 percent in the critical state of South Carolina.
CROWLEY: In all, 45 percent of Republicans who vote in primaries are conservative Evangelical Christians. They are far less a factor in a general election. For Romney's GOP rivals, this requires a straddle. You don't want to alienate a huge part of the primary vote, nor do you want to look intolerant.
(on camera): The pastor who was introducing and supporting Governor Perry in Texas, who said that Governor Romney, who is a Mormon, is not a Christian; I want to know if you agree with that statement?
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, this is so inconsequential as far as this campaign is concerned.
CROWLEY: Do you leave open the possibility that people are going to say that you dodged the question, the direct question?
BACHMANN: I think, again, to make this a big issue is just ridiculous right now, because every day I'm on the street talking to people. This is not what people are talking about.
CROWLEY: It will look like you're dodging it.
CAIN: If that's what it looks like, I'm dodging it, because it's not going to help us boost this economy, and you know that that's my number one priority.
CROWLEY (voice-over): And that's how you navigate around a sticky wicket.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
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COSTELLO: OK. Let's totally switch gears.
ROMANS: OK.
COSTELLO: Shall we? Let's talk about wild turkeys, they're making news in Sacramento, California.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. What do I have? I don't have a stick.
Holy crap. I mean -- excuse me. All right. Oh -- oh! Ah! Jesus Christ! Go away. Go away!
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COSTELLO: That person is afraid of that turkey.
OK. After of reports of several turkey attacks, chasing down joggers and other passersby, a local news crew was dispatched to the neighborhood. You heard it. Soon they became turkey bait.
Check out how this turkey has the cameraman and the news producer literally on the run. The turkey wasn't even doing anything.
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ROMANS: One animal's attack. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. So, that was a professional news crew out there?
ROMANS: Did you ever do a channel (ph) local news? I'm just Curious.
MARCIANO: Oh, yes.
ROMANS: That's kind of a staple local story, right? Chasing down the local turkey?
COSTELLO (on-camera): It is?
ROMANS: I don't no. Did you do local news?
COSTELLO: No. The local news -- I never chased down a turkey and I never ran from one either.
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MARCIANO: Listen, turkeys, and you know, and geese, they can be a nasty -- but I would expect (INAUDIBLE) a pretty big market. The (INAUDIBLE) a better job of keeping that bird framed up, but you know, as getting close to Thanksgiving, those turkeys get a little bit sensitive.
COSTELLO: That's true.
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MARCIANO: I guess their best defense is a good offense, in that case.
Hey, good morning again, guys. It's still hurricane season, and now that I've used the football analogy (ph). Hurricane holdup, which is on the west coast of Mexico, a couple hundred mimes off the coast, but it is a Category 3 storm now with winds of 123 miles an hour. Gusts 150. So, this is a doozy, and it's going to make landfall across Western Mexico.
It looks like tomorrow night into Wednesday morning potentially still a Category 3 storm. So, this is going to do some damage, and it's going to be very, very close if not make a direct hit on Puerto Vallarta there, and a lot of that rain, obviously, will head up into the mountains and potentially into parts of Texas.
Here are some of the rainfall totals that we've seen over parts of Florida the past couple of days. The white indicating ten-plus inches, Orange County, Brevard County into Titusville, Cape Canaveral seeing of that rain lot of that rain came with some heavy duty winds as well and look at the rain across parts of north and Central Texas. This is where they needed it so desperately, a lot of this rainfall.
Really, as much as they've seen all year. Comanche, eight inches of rain. Waco seeing 5.83 inches in just a couple of days, and mentioned the winds across parts of Florida, over 50 mile-an-hour gusts in some spots including St. Augustine. So, some wind damage, some power outages with this, and now, this is almost -- trying to become a tropical system.
It's not quite there yet, and it's got some characteristics including some spin. So, tornado watches have been posted up until one o'clock this afternoon for Southeast Georgia and Northeastern Florida. As a matter of fact, right now, there is a tornado warning out for right along the border of Georgia and Florida. And then, the other big story, guys. I guess, you felt this up there in New York. Temperatures were close to 90 in some spots. Record heat yesterday, and we'll be seeing similar numbers, I think, today with high temperatures expected in the Big Apple, 84 degrees. Fantastic turkey chasing or running away from weather.
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ROMANS: All right. It's Monday, Rob. And we'll talk to you again soon. Thanks, Rob.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, how young is too young for a tanning bed? One state lays down the law on the fake bake.
COSTELLO: It was kiddy favorite from the 1990s, pops again with all new emphasis. Didn't you love pop-up videos? Oh, more of that. It's 48 minutes past the hour.
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ROMANS: It's about 50 minutes past the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
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ROMANS: The president's jobs bill comes up for a vote in the Senate this week, but fierce Republican opposition to both the bill and how it's paid for may prevent it from getting the 60 votes needed to pass the bill in its current form.
"Occupy Wall Street" protests breaking out this weekend in Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Denver, San Diego, Sacramento, and in Washington, where one demonstrator was arrested outside the White House for assaulting an officer.
Nearly two dozen people were killed after the Egyptian army clashed with thousands of people protesting the burning of a Christian church. Sunday's violence was the worse since the uprising that toppled former president, Hosni Mubarak.
California now has the toughest law in the land concerning teenagers and tanning. The new law makes tanning beds off limits to teens who are between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. Previously, they were allowed to tan with a parent or legal guardian's permission.
And wedding bells for a Beatle. Best wishes for Paul McCartney and girlfriend, Nancy Shevell. They tied the knot in London yesterday. This is McCartney's third marriage and her second.
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ROMANS (on-camera): That's the news you need to start your day.
AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's 52 minutes past the hour. We ask you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, why is Herman Cain surging in the polls? Even in the Value Voters' Poll, he came in second place.
This from Kenneth, "There's so much division in the GOP and the candidates are so lackluster. Just about everyone is getting their moment. After listening to what Herman Cain said this weekend about the Wall Street occupiers and about racism not being a problem, I think, ultimately, he will do for Black America what Sarah Palin did for American women. A few steps back."
This from Angela, "He is surging because he happens to be the only one who was not a career politician, and I believe the American people might actually be coming out from under his umbrella -- from this umbrella where most vote for the most no name and actually vote for who might actually be able to make a difference."
And this from Demarr, "He speaks blunt and he gives solutions. I like him, but Obama is who I endorse. I still think Obama is the right choice for president." But he sure likes Herman Cain.
Keep the comments coming. Facebook.com/americanmorning. Facebook.com/americanmorning. I'll read more later on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: He does have the best sense of humor, so far, don't you think?
COSTELLO: Oh, he's so charming and so well spoken, and you know, he's such a great debater. So, Tuesday is a debate. We'll see how he does in this debate.
ROMANS: All right. OK. Now, for snarky, all right? It was a hit in the 1990s. Now, vh1 is bringing back one of its most popular shows after nearly decade long hiatus. "Pop Up Video" is making it's re-debut, I guess, taking on today's music with the same snarky bubbles of trivia about their artists.
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(SINGING) somebody I need somebody
ROMANS (voice-over): Bieber's love life.
(SINGING) I'm coming up.
ROMANS: Pink's middle school smoking spot and a rejuvenated theme song. After a ten-year hiatus, "Pop Up Video" is back.
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ROMANS: Debuting in 1996, "Pop Up Video" offers nuggets of trivia and behind-the-scenes information on top of music videos. It was an instant hit and now with ten years' worth of new music videos to pop, its creators have a lot to work with.
WOODY THOMPSON, "POP UP VIDEO" CO-CREATOR: There is plenty to mine. We haven't hit O-town. We haven't hit every "American Idol" contestant, winner, loser. So, the time is now.
ROMANS: Slotted for 60 new episodes, "Pop Up Video" has mined 300 fresh music videos from Amy Winehouse to Coldplay. When word got out, music industry types were lining up.
THOMPSON: Everybody wants to be on the show, even though they may take a few hits. I think everybody know it's like being on "Saturday Night Live" or being a guest on "South Park" or "Simpsons."
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ROMANS: The landscape has changed a lot since "Pop Up Video" went off the air. Facebook, Twitter, we almost live in a pop-up world. With information on demand, audiences' attention span is not the same and pop-up plans to play to that.
THOMPSON: I think we're at an age right now where, hopefully, that this is more of a jumping off point where we tell a story on top of a popular video, and we throw it out to the community and the community pops themselves.
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ROMANS (on-camera): Here's how you pop it yourself and make it easier to pop out your own videos on their website. Their videos that viewers can pop themselves. You can pop them and you can share them with your friends via Facebook and Twitter. They're planning on airing some of the best user created pop-up videos on the show, too.
COSTELLO: I can't wait.
ROMANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll look that, too. It's flu shot season. Up next, why rolling up your sleeve could be a whole lot less painful this year than it was last year. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
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