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American Morning
Tragedy on the Track; Disabled Adults Locked in Basement; Interview with Sheriff Joe Arpaio; Two NFL Coaches almost coming to a Blow; Dan Weldon Killed in a Race; Doomsday on Friday, October 21st; Indy Racecar Driver Dan Wheldon Dies in Racing Accident; Famous Photographer Published Book of Iconic Photos; Stuck Without a Shuttle
Aired October 17, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Speed that kills.
I'm Alina Cho.
Racing fans in shock after a violent car crash claims the life of an IndyCar champion. Fellow racers are saying it's the worst crash they've ever seen.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Herman Cain visits Phoenix today. He'll be sidling up to Joe Arpaio, the high-profile sheriff with a reputation for cracking down on the illegal immigration. We'll ask Sheriff Arpaio why so many GOP candidates are desperate for his endorsement when he joins us live -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHO: Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, October 17. Ali Velshi and Carol Costello are off this morning.
Good morning. I'm Alina Cho, along with Christine Romans.
ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning.
We begin with a tragedy on the tracks. IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon died in one of the worst crashes the sport has ever seen yesterday in Las Vegas.
This is an aerial view of the chain reaction on the track. Cars flying into each other and into the air. Several cars bursting into flames. It claimed a man who was by all accounts one of the sport's all-around stars and nice guys.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): On the last race of the year, Dan Wheldon's car sailing into the air, slamming into the catch fence, and disintegrating.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Multiple cars involved.
ROMANS: A horrific 15-car wreck. Video of the accident showing the cars spinning out of control, bursting into flames, and shooting smoke and debris into the air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cars and flames, wreckage, carnage, terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just crumpled and caught fire. And I mean, everybody gasped.
ROMANS: Racers got the news about two hours after the crash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from un-survivable injury. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today.
ROMANS: The race was ended, but drivers, many in tears, returned to the track for a five-lap salute in his honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know this is a dangerous sport. I know we're supposed to die every day in a normal life as well. But, you know, you don't think about it.
And today, we have to think about it. We lost one of my best friends and one of my greatest teammates. If you ask anybody on this field if we could choose a way to go, that's the way. So I wouldn't have chosen different either.
ROMANS: Dan Wheldon made his IndyCar debut back in 2002. He was a two-time defending champion at the Indianapolis 500. Fans laid flowers and lit candles outside the iconic brickyard last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dan Wheldon exemplified everything about this series and about why people continue to come to this place. This is the racing capital of the world. This is why people come here.
ROMANS: This was Wheldon drinking the milk in victory lane back in May, winning in one of the most thrilling finishes ever at the Indy 500, taking the checkered flag when the leader crashed in the final lap.
He joined AMERICAN MORNING just hours after that big win, and talked about the pressure to stay sharp and stay fast.
DAN WHELDON, INDY CHAMP: It's incredibly intense around this racetrack. We're doing speeds in excess of 225 miles an hour. And with this race, you just never know what can happen. So, it's about staying focused, and you really don't ever let off the power unless you have to. And, you know, that's what I wanted to do yesterday. And that's what I did.
ROMANS: Wheldon entered yesterday's race for a shot at a $5 million purse, the biggest of his career. He was starting at the back of a crowded 34-car pack. Wheldon is survived by his wife, Susie, his 2-year-old son Sebastian, and his 7-month-old son Oliver. He was just 33 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wasn't just a great driver. But he was a great human being. I just can't believe that he is no longer with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: It was an honor after he won in may to talk to him. You and I both talked to him after the Indy 500, and he was energetic. He was gracious. He was racing on behalf of Alzheimer's awareness because his mother had recently been diagnosed. And he was by all accounts a very vibrant, exciting family man.
CHO: Young and charming.
That's right. And his wife was there on the racetrack when it happened.
Another story that we're following very closely, just a horrific story, three people in Philadelphia have been arrested for allegedly holding four mentally disabled adults captive in the subbasement of an apartment building. It's a crime that shocked the city and sickened police, who say the suspects were actually doing this because they wanted to steal the victims' Social Security checks.
Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police call it an act of evil. In a basement below the basement of this Philadelphia house, a chain shackled one of four mentally and physically challenged adults to a boiler, all of them locked behind a steel door. One woman and three men age 29 to 41.
LT. RAY EVERS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: It looks like a dungeon. These people were stored like surplus meat in the basement.
CANDIOTTI: Held captive in a 15 by 15 foot room, emaciated, covered in bed sores and filthy conditions. The building's owner discovered them Saturday, when he heard dogs barking inside. He pried the door open, and couldn't believe his eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had one person was chained from the left ankle with a padlock and chain. And even the police didn't have the tools to cut the chain. I got my hacksaw to cut the padlock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite simply, this case just makes you shake your head. It's despicable and unspeakable. The mere fact that, you know, individuals would treat disadvantaged people like this is just ridiculous. I mean, it just simply makes us sick.
CANDIOTTI: Neighbors couldn't believe what was going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy that somebody in real life can do something like this. This is only stuff that you see in movies.
CANDIOTTI: Three people are charged, including Linda Weston, who police say orchestrated the alleged kidnapping. Police say the suspects travelled with their victims from Texas to Florida, and arrived in Philadelphia October 4th. They're jailed on six charges, including kidnapping and aggravated assault.
Investigators say they might have been stealing Social Security checks of the alleged victims. The FBI is looking into that. The four victims are now hospitalized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know whether the motivation of this is financial or whether it's just out and out evil. I'm not sure. But either way, it's just a despicable act.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): The victims were in such bad shape the landlord who found them told us if he had discovered them one day later, he believes they would have been dead.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Another story we're following this morning. The number of people protesting against Wall Street and the big banks is multiplying.
Over the weekend, the movement now, by the way, entering its 31st day, surged into Times Square. Rallies also were also held in Chicago and Washington. For the most part, protests were peaceful. But in Washington, 19 people were arrested yesterday, including professor and civil rights activist Cornel West, after they refused to leave the steps of the Supreme Court.
CHO: The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is also going global. And this happened so fast. You know, there were protests over the weekend in a number of European cities, in 82 countries, including Rome, Italy, where the demonstrations took a violent turn after protesters torched cars and smashed windows. They set buildings to fire. Police officers were among the injured.
ROMANS: And the movement against corporate greed even spreading as far as the Alaskan tundra. This woman took a picture and posted it on the "Occupy Wall Street" Facebook page. The image has now been shared by more than 5,000 people.
CHO: I guess it was just a matter of time.
ROMANS: Right.
CHO: President Obama hits the road again today. His three-day bus tour is part of an effort to get Congress to pass some elements of his jobs bill after it was defeated in the Senate last week. There he is at the dedication ceremony of the MLK Monument yesterday.
The president this week will make several stops in North Carolina and Virginia.
ROMANS: Herman Cain is in Arizona today. He'll be attending a Republican fund raiser in Phoenix tonight after he meets with Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County. Arpaio has been an outspoken critic of illegal immigration, and he says Cain is the fourth presidential candidate to seek his endorsement.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio joins us live from Phoenix this morning.
Nice to see you this morning, sir.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: Good morning.
ROMANS: So, your phone must be ringing off the hook. Why is it do you think that these Republican would-be nominees would like your endorsement?
ARPAIO: Well, it's not because I'm tall, dark, and handsome, which I'm not. But I have been around 20 years, and many years as head of the Federal Drug Enforcement in Mexico, Texas, Arizona. So, I think I know where the border is. That may be one reason.
But I'll meet with Mr. Cain. I met with Michele Bachmann in my office last month. And I'll see how he stands on the illegal immigration problem.
ROMANS: And he got in a little bit of kerfuffle because of the couple of events he has said he'd like to see the border electrified, a fence -- electrified fence with a sign that says this will kill you. He later told David Gregory, no, that was a joke.
You -- how important is the fence issue to you and your potential endorsement? And do you think that he was joking?
ARPAIO: Oh, I'm sure he was joking. But he probably means that he's taking it serious to do something at the border and stop the illegal immigration. But I'm not against a fence, but if you buy a ladder and hop over, I'd like to see people go to jail, not give them a free ride back to Mexico. So if you want to put a fence and they go over it, they can pay.
ROMANS: Yes. And your whole focus has always been on interior enforcement, and what you're doing inside the country. And that's actually gotten you in a little bit of hot water yourself. You're currently facing a civil rights investigation over your immigration policies. You're being investigated by a grand jury on charges of abuse of power.
Has any of that come up with your talks of these candidates? Or they want your endorsement because you are seen as tough on illegal immigration?
ARPAIO: No. They're still calling me. They probably understand this is all garbage going after me for the past three years. Even the president mentioned me a couple of weeks ago.
But I'm doing my job. I'll continue to do it. And serve the people of Maricopa County.
ROMANS: One of the things that you -- we haven't heard a lot about is what Herman Cain went on to say about what his stance is on illegal immigration. And he says it's not as simple as just deporting. It's about securing the border. It's a physical fence technology, putting troops in very dangerous areas.
Also promoting a pathway to citizenship that's already there, and cleaning up the bureaucracy. Enforcing the laws we already have.
Does this -- does this correspond I guess with your views? Would you endorse those opinions?
ARPAIO: Well, I'm against amnesty. We do enforce the laws in the interior. We go into private businesses and lock up those employed illegally, most for Social Security theft. So I believe in enforcing the laws in the interior, and stop blaming the border and use that as a copout.
So, secure the border first, and then look at illegal immigration. It's against the law, so we lock them up in Maricopa County for being here illegally.
ROMANS: You know, Sheriff, I'm going to be honest with you. In 2005, Congress passed -- Congress passed a law to secure that border. And it just really by all kinds of different measurements has not come to fruition with an awful lot of money spent.
One could argue there's not an awful lot of political will to secure that border. That that was simply Congress pandering to at the time some anti-illegal immigration waves in the country, and that has passed. That time has passed.
ARPAIO: Yes. I think they're worried about the Hispanic vote or employers hiring cheap labor. So we've got to get with it and either change the laws, make new laws, or enforce the laws that we have already. That's the problem. They're not enforcing the laws.
ROMANS: All right. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, whose phones have been ringing from Republicans who are seeking his endorsements. You let us know when you decide who you'll endorse, will you, sir?
ARPAIO: OK.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Sheriff Joe.
CHIO: In part because he is tall, dark, and handsome.
ROMANS: Yes. Exactly.
CHO: And don't forget to join us tomorrow night as the Republican candidates for president gather in Las Vegas to debate, the Western President Debate -- CNN is hosting. Tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Anderson Cooper will moderate. And our own Carol Costello will be there live for all the morning-after analysis.
ROMANS: All right. Still ahead, must-see video. The post game handshake that almost had two NFL coaches throwing punches. One coach admitting he was way too pumped up.
CHO: And it's been called the Mona Lisa of rock-n-roll photos. This one there, John Lennon, standing, arms folded, in that New York City t-shirt.
The man who took that iconic photo and many others will be here with us. He's worked with fans from The Clash to Tina Turner to Green Day. I think he has a few stories to tell. We'll share them with you.
It's 15 minutes after the hour.
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CHO: The World Series is now set. It will be the Texas Rangers verse us the Saint Louis Cardinals. Game one is on Wednesday night. The cards winning the national league pennant last night by stomping the Milwaukee brewers in game six, final score 12-6. A little more than a month ago, the Cardinals were trailing by more than 10 games in the race for the playoffs. So, it's a quite a turn-around.
ROMANS, CNN HOST: Two NFL coaches nearly coming to blows after a tough post game handshake, San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh was a bit pumped up after his 49ers beat the Detroit Lions. The Lions coach Jim Schwartz took exception to the enthusiasm gets in his face. Both coaches then talked about it in their post game news conferences. Harbaugh admitted shaking hands too hard. Schwartz said he understood the excitement but added "Hey, there's a protocol that goes with the league."
CHO: I think that was -
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, a good manly handshake among football coaches is expected.
CHO: I don't know. Maybe he was extra manly.
ROMANS: He was exuberant.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Well, I tell you, both teams have surprised the NFL this year, that's for sure. And Harbaugh has done quite a good job. And I'm not going to say too much more about that. I'll get criticized for doing too much sport.
Let's do weather. Listen, got some action in the tropics right now. I know you're thinking hurricane season, we haven't seen anything in almost two months. Well, we have hurricane season until the end of November. And this is percolating in a spot that is typical for this time of year.
In the Yucatan Peninsula there, or the channel, and the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico, hurricane aircraft is going to fly in this afternoon and check it out. It could become our next tropical depression or tropical storm of the season. We are already up to the Rs, so this would be tropical storm Rena if it continues to develop. Already impacting Florida with heavy rain, we have a flash flood watch that's out. And the two to six inches potentially with the storm already 40-50 mile per hour wind gusts can be expected as early this afternoon across parts of Southern Florida.
Here is a radar scope, filling in nicely across the keys. And some of the heavier rain will be entrained into the winds that will bring it northward. So, let's look at that, exactly how many people will be affected by this? It's not just going to be Florida. It's going to be tapped into from a storm that will roll across the plains and eventually pick up some moisture. Down there and get that train coming from the tropics. And it's going to get into the mid-Atlantic up to Delmarva, as we go through the middle part of this week, and get up into the northwest as well. We could see several inches of rainfall with this storm as it does that, so be aware.
Daytime highs in the 60s and 70s, seasonal stuff. On the backside of this will be some cold air coming into the eastern third of the country by the end of next week. So we have that to look forward to. Also something else to look forward to, guys. Do you remember that back in the spring, we were supposed to have the end of the world? It didn't happen. We're still here. So -
ROMANS: When is it now?
MARCIANO: I think its Friday.
ROMANS: It's coming.
CHO: Is that payday?
MARCIANO: It is coming, perhaps October 21st.
ROMANS: I don't think it's a payday.
CHO: I think it is.
ROMANS: I don't know.
MARCIANO: Regardless, if you do get paid, you're not going to have anywhere to spend it.
CHO: Can we get paid Thursday this week, please?
MARCIANO: The doomsday prophet that predicted the end of the world back in May, I think it was May 21, has said that that was actually the day of the end of God's salvation program, which means that it was the last day that you could repent your sins. So, if you didn't do it by then you guys have missed the deadline.
CHO: You weren't grandfathered in by May 21 you're out of the picture? MARCIANO: That's right. So come the end of the world this Friday, you're not in good health, that's for sure. Because all of your sins count, and when we're judged in the afterlife, you're in big trouble.
CHO: Since when did you become the expert on this?
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: I don't know. It's God salvation program. It's kind of like a refinancing program. You know, kind a gives you a fresh start. Yes. So, hopefully you said you're sorry back in May. Anyway, the countdown is on. This Friday is the end of the world.
CHO: Ok. Thank you.
ROMANS: Yes. Gallows humor.
A quick check of the early morning markets but they won't matter by Friday. What was the top priority project of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was working on right before his death? We have the details of Steve Jobs' one more thing. Its 22 minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: Its 25 minutes after the hour. Minding your business this morning, CitiGroup just releasing its third quarter earnings report. The third largest U.S. bank posting a net income for the quarter of $3.77 billion. That's up from $2.17 last year. The bank's CEO Vikram Pandit also called the current economic environment, quote, "challenging". U.S. stock futures giving up earlier gains, right now there's slightly, slightly lower because of our new concerns over a European debt crisis and the direction of U.S. corporate earnings.
The back and forth between Apple and Samsung involving (inaudible) is getting uglier. Samsung now wants sales of the iPhone 4S banned in two more countries, Japan and Australia. Samsung claims Apple copied its technology in the new iPhone . It's important to know that both companies have worked together. Samsung makes parts for the iPhone and the iPad.
Steve Jobs' last big project may be the iPhone 5. The Web site CNET is reporting that Jobs dedicated all of his time to the new iPhone which expected to be released sometime next year. CNN reports the new phone will be a complete redesign, both on the inside and the outside.
And it was a tight fight for the box office title, but "real steel" stars Hugh Jackman was the number one movie over the weekend, taking in $16.3 million. The remake of "footloose" opened this weekend with $16.1 million.
Up next, a crash so terrifying it's difficult to comprehend. This morning, racing fans are in mourning after Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon is killed in a 15-car pileup at the Las Vegas speedway. We'll have the very latest. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Top stories, a suspect under arrest after a Boston apartment complex. One of them complains entering more than a dozen people including two fire fighters and a police officer. The Boston fire department says 22 apartments were affected but it's not clear how many people were inside of them.
A horrifying discovery in the subbasement of a Philadelphia apartment building, three suspects have been arrested and charged with locking four mentally ill adult in a 10 by 15 foot room for up to a week. Police say they were stealing the victims' Social Security checks. So, the building land lords found the four captives Saturday.
The racing world is stunned this morning after a fiery 15 car wreck that claimed the life of IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon, the track covered in tangle wreckage. The race was stopped just after the accident. Emotional drivers returned to the track for a five-lap tribute. Wheldon was this year's Indianapolis 500 winner. He was a father of two and just 33 years old.
CHO: The race was one of the most hyped of the year, with $5 million on the line for Dan Wheldon and even less room for error than usual. Carlos Diaz has new details from Las Vegas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alina and Christine, fans from Indianapolis to here in Las Vegas to all over the world are still shocked this morning at the death of one of the most famous IndyCar racers today Dan Wheldon. Dan Wheldon passed away right here in turn two yesterday after a 15 car massive pileup crash you just saw, and he was airlifted to a hospital.
Dan Wheldon was one of the most successful drivers on the circuit, won the Indianapolis 500 this year, and now he is remembered for all of the things he's done. Dan Wheldon said before this race it was going to be very intense.
DAN WHELDON, INDYCAR RACER: It's incredibly intense around this racetrack. We're doing speeds in excess of 225 miles an hour. With this race, you never know what's going to happen. So it's about staying focused and you really don't ever let off the power unless you have to.
DIAZ: The Las Vegas motor speedway is a mile and a half oval. To put things in perspective, the Indianapolis motor speedway is 2.5 miles. So basically you have a much smaller track and much higher bank turns here at the Las Vegas motor speedway. When you have a number of cars going 220 miles an hour, some bad things are likely to happen, and that's what happened here yesterday, a horrific crash, one that Danica Patrick said was one of the worst she's seen in all of her years of racing.
And once again, fans mourning all over the world. We'll have fan reaction all morning long. And I knew Dan Wheldon as a person. I'll be telling you stories all morning long about Dan Wheldon, the father, Dan Wheldon the husband, and Dan Wheldon the champion, coming up all morning. Alina and Christine?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Carlos Diaz, thank you very much. Earlier we spoke to former IndyCar driver Lyn St. James, one of the first women to compete in the Indy 500. She knew Dan Wheldon and knows what it's like to handle a machine like that going more than 200 miles an hour with zero margin for error.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYN ST. JAMES, FORMER INDY RACECAR DRIVER: It's the perfect storm. It was where everything that happened that came together, you know, caused the result, which was that crash and unfortunately the death of Dan. But no one thing actually caused it. But the configuration of the track, 34 cars starting, and a one and a half mile track at those speeds. And so, you know, all of that combined, and then having a driver start at the back, there's a champion that really wanted to have a great show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He laid it on the line on the track. Off the track, he was becoming the face of his sport. We also spoke to a "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Jon Wertheim about Dan Wheldon's legacy in auto racing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's so sad to see such a young career end like this.
JON WORTHEIM, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED" SENIOR WRITER: This is the Indy 500 winner. And you're right, this is really going to be the face of IndyCar racing. Danica Patrick is going to go to NASCAR. And the context of this is sort of interesting too, where IndyCar racing is fighting for some relevance. They are going against the stock car racing, which has gotten obviously more popular lately. And he was really going to be the centerpiece of the sport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: He certainly will be missed. And of course our hearts go out to his family. Just 33 years old with a wife and two children.
Coming up, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, John Lennon, the Clash, now Green Day. He has documented rock history. Wait a minute. He is rock history. We're going to talk to legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen about his new book in just a moment. It's 34 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Don't you just love that song? Good morning New York City and Central Park. It's cloudy and 58 degrees going up to a sunny 67. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Recognize this photo we're about to show you? Who doesn't? It's the iconic John Lennon photo, and it can be found on t-shirts and posters and postage stamps all over the world. But you may not know the man behind the lens. His name is Bob Gruen. For more than 40 years, Gruen has documented rock-n-roll, in the process, creating some of the most well-known images in modern music history.
Gruen's work is compiled in his latest book called "Rock Scene." it's a heavy one, but it's good. We want to welcome you to the show. Bob, it's so nice to see you again.
BOB GRUEN, AUTHOR, "ROCK SEEN": Thank you. Good morning.
CHO: When I was thinking about interviewing you, I thought to myself, a lot of people want to know, how did you get in with these bands? You were friends with a lot of these people.
GRUEN: One thing led to another. I was always friends with musicians. In the '60s, I kind of would tune in, turn on, and drop out. And I went to a rock-n-roll band and they got a record deal. And one thing led to another. The record company liked my pictures. And I have been taking pictures ever since.
CHO: One of the first times you saw John Lennon and Yoko Ono, you snapped some photos backstage. And you lived around the corner from them at the time, right? And didn't Yoko years later remark that you just sent them the photos? You didn't want anything from them.
GRUEN: I wanted to get to know John and Yoko, but I didn't want to bother them. So I had the pictures and I just dropped them off and left them for them. And they appreciated that.
CHO: That I know is one of your favorite photos of John Lennon in front of the statue of liberty there. Why do you like that one so much?
GRUEN: Well, I think a lot of people relate to it because they relate to John Lennon in terms of personal freedom. And that's what the statue of liberty is all about. So I think it has a lot of meaning to a lot of people.
CHO: And the one that you're most known for, though, is the one where he is standing with his arms crossed, wearing that New York City t-shirt. And you have such an interesting story behind that photo. Tell us that.
GRUEN: Well, I used to wear shirts like that all the time. I bought them in Times Square. And I gave them to my friends. I gave one to John Lennon. About a year later, we were taking pictures for an album, and we said let's take some more pictures for publicity. And I said, do you still have that shirt I gave you? And I was impressed having been to L.A. and back a few times, kind of a wild time, he knew right where the shirt was. He went and put it on.
CHO: A $5 T-shirt. GRUEN: Yes. And I cut the sleeves off with my buck knife.
CHO: You know what I find interesting is that you say that he was actually very self-conscious about wearing that sleeveless T- shirt, wasn't he?
GRUEN: Well, you know, he wasn't used to that kind of a look. But I think he looked very comfortable. He looks very confident. And I think that's why people like the pictures because he seems very accessible and comfortable.
CHO: It's an iconic photo now. It was taken in August of 1974. But interestingly enough it wasn't really famous until after his death, six years later in 1980. And you chose that photo to hang there right in central park for his public memorial service. Why?
GRUEN: Well, because John enjoyed living in New York City. I saw a picture of him with a guitar, and another picture where he looked really intellectual. But in that picture, he really looked comfortable. And Yoko had written an ad in the paper saying don't blame New York. That the person who, you know, took John away came from around the world. And I think that John died in New York because he lived in New York. He died going home.
CHO: You have worked with some of the most famous musicians in the world. I'm so jealous when I just start to read the list, Tina Turner being one of them. And there's one great photo, that one there. What is that all about?
GRUEN: Well, Tina Turner used to dance off the stage at the end of her act with a strobe light flashing. And I saw this actually in Hunka (ph) Munka (ph) in Long Island City, it's a very funky little club. But at the end of the show, when the strobe was flashing, I opened the camera for a one-second exposure to see if I could get a few images of her, and this came out perfectly. Sometimes people ask if I can take a picture of them like that, and I say sure, I'll do what I did and you do what Tina did.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Exactly. And you always travel with your camera.
GRUEN: I do. I have a camera in my pocket.
CHO: You do. You never leave the house without it, do you?
GRUEN: No. This little camera has more power than my whole camera used to have. Modern cameras are great.
CHO: It's unbelievable Do you like shooting digitally now?
GRUEN: Oh, yes. It's very easy. You know what happens right away. You don't have to wait for the film to be developed.
CHO: That part is great. And what is extraordinary to me is you could have hung up your hat frankly in the 70s, but you didn't. You're still working today. In fact, you shot this great photo of the Clash on top of the RCA building, and then years later you took Green Day back there. And there you see it. And aren't Green Day coming back next week?
GRUEN: Yes. They're in town this week, and I'm looking forward to seeing them. Probably be up all night again.
CHO: What keeps you going? You're still in clubs four to five days a week.
GRUEN: Yes, I enjoy it. I have a lot of fun going out, seeing bands. I don't really like to sit home. I like to go out and be in a live place and see things, you know, and experience things in life.
CHO: Why did you decide to do this book? Debbie Harry wrote the forward. It's an extraordinary compilation. But as big and heavy as this is, this is nowhere near all the photos you have done.
GRUEN: No. There's a few more books. But this is a really nice collection of a lot of my favorites and a lot of best pictures. It took a long time in the making to get all the pictures and then to try to put it in a nice format where it's not too formal and it's fun.
CHO: If you had to pick one, could you pick one?
GRUEN: That's like saying which one is your favorite kid, you know. It's hard to pick one. I could pick 25. Or top 10 maybe.
CHO: Top 10 maybe. One last story I want you to tell about John Lennon which I found so interesting. In the early days, he came to your apartment building. He was looking for you. He had a little trouble finding you. What happened?
GRUEN: Well, he had been out all weekend and wanted to stop by the house on the way home. So I had just moved to a new apartment. But my building is very confusing. You have to go to one floor to come down to the other. And I told him to buzz me when he got there, but he didn't. He started going through the building and ringing door bells. And all the people in my building, it's a whole building of artists. It's an artist residents building, about 400 artists. So here is John Lennon ringing the doorbell. And people are saying, oh, my god, it's John Lennon. Let me read you my poem. Let me show you my painting. I have a new film. And he came to the apartment and said, boy, you got some weird neighbors here, you know.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Unbelievable. I guess that just goes to show you, he didn't even realize how famous he was, did he?
GRUEN: Well, he did. But my neighbors didn't know that I knew him. And they certainly -- they still remember it today.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: I'm sure they do. GRUEN: It was a Sunday afternoon. Hi, I'm John Lennon.
CHO: Bob Gruen, I wish you the best of luck with this book. It is extraordinary.
GRUEN: Thank you.
CHO: Thank you. I have my copy at home. And I'll go back and look at it again tonight. Thanks so much.
GRUEN: Well, thank you.
CHO: A rock legend himself.
Your morning headlines are next. It's 44 minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 47 minutes after the hour. Here are your "Morning Headlines".
Markets open in about 45 minutes, and U.S. stock futures giving up earlier gains. They are currently trading lower because of renewed concerns over that ongoing debt crisis in Europe.
President Obama kicks off a three-day bus trip this morning, part of an effort to push lawmakers to pass his jobs bill piece by piece. The President will make stops in North Carolina and Virginia.
The Occupy Wall Street protest is now entering its 31st day here in New York City. There were a number of rallies held over the weekend in cities across the country and the world; most of those protests were peaceful with a handful of arrests.
The racing world is mourning the death of Indy Car champion Dan Wheldon this morning. He was killed in a fiery 15-car wreck on the track in Las Vegas. He was a father of two, just 33 years old.
There's a delay in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. Testimony is on hold because the father of the prosecution's final witness died. One word -- no word from the court when that trial will resume; even with the delay, the case against Dr. Conrad Murray could go to the jury early next week.
"Sesame Street's" YouTube Channel has been taken offline after being hit by hackers. Yesterday, visitors to the site saw pornographic videos instead of clips from the kids' show. So far, there's been no response from PBS, the show's producers, or Google. Google owns YouTube.
And the St. Louis Cardinals are heading to the World Series. They won game six with a 12-6 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers last night to advance. It's their 18th trip to the fall classic. They will play the Texas Rangers.
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: What a gorgeous day in Atlanta, Georgia. Sunny and 54 right now, but going up 30 degrees to a high of 84. Is it summer or fall?
ROMANS: I know. Jacket in the morning, sunscreen in the afternoon.
In this morning's "House Call," kids as young as four can be now put on drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics expand the age for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD to include preschoolers. Critics fear many young children will be misdiagnosed and receive unnecessary medications as a result.
Money can't buy you love, and spending too much of it on pricey jewels and fancy cars or jets could make for a rocky marriage. Researchers from Brigham Young University studied 1,700 couples, and found that those who valued money and having lots of things were unhappier and tended to fight more. The study's author says materialistic people may spend more time looking for those new things than focusing on their relationship.
ROMANS: Now I'll tell you a lot of other studies have found that debt when couples have debt, they are unhappier than couples who don't have debt, no matter how much money they make. So maybe they go to debt to buy all of that stuff.
CHO: A lot of people fight about money.
ROMANS: All right, the Vatican saying there is no concern for Pope Benedict's overall health after he was wheeled up the main aisle of St. Peter's Basilica on a mobile platform. He was standing but the platform was moving him there. A spokesperson saying they -- they just didn't want the 84-year-old pontiff to get tired.
CHO: Well, there you go. It makes things easier.
And you hear it a lot in the Lone Star State; don't mess with Texas. But these days, Texans are feeling like they have been messed with big time. They have issues with NASA and New York. One Texas lawmaker wants the space agency to reconsider its plans to give a retired space shuttle to a museum in the Big Apple.
John Zarrella is watching this big fight for us between NASA, New York and Texas. He is live in Miami this morning with more on this. This is a crazy story, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really is Alina and Christine.
You know what happened was that when NASA first awarded the retired space shuttles, New York got one. Texas didn't. And that infuriated Texans. And then now more fuel has been added to the fire. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): There were only four retired space shuttles available -- coveted, the holy grails of space flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The space shuttle pulls into port for the last time.
ZARRELLA: Even at a cost of nearly $30 million apiece, dozens of museums bid. New York's Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum on the Hudson River was one of the winners. It gets "Enterprise", a test shuttle that never flew into space. It's currently at the Smithsonian.
But folks in Texas, home to the Johnson Space Center, never happy that New York got a shuttle when they didn't, are crying foul again. You bet we are, says Texas Representative Ted Poe.
REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: It is a bait and switch.
ZARRELLA: Bait and switch? Well, let's rewind. May of 2010. Before the shuttles were awarded. Here is what the Intrepid Museum's executive director told us then.
SUSAN MARENOFF-ZAUSNER, EXEX. DIR. INTREPID MUSEUM: Exactly on the west end of our pier, we currently have the "Concord". And we would look to shift the placement of the "Concord" and place the shuttle in that spot.
ZARRELLA: But the plan now: construct a building not on the end of the pier, but over here, on the other side of the busy highway, on land that's now a parking lot. Land they don't yet own, next to a car wash, bagel shop, and warehouses.
Museum officials so willing to talk before they were selected wouldn't talk with us now. They issued a statement saying, in part, "While we continue to be in the planning stages, we remain on track with both our logistics and our fund-raising."
Poe, he's got plenty to say.
POE: New York, God bless them, they are a wonderful city, but they have no connection to the space program, and certainly no connection to NASA. So why would the shuttle go to New York? It's like putting the Statue of Liberty in Omaha.
ZARRELLA: Poe wants bidding for "Enterprise" reopened. NASA, on the other hand, is satisfied with Intrepid's new plan.
CHARLIE BOLDEN, ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: I don't tell them how to suck eggs, you know. They gave us a plan. They told us they would have the money. They gave us a schedule and everything, and as far as I know, they're -- they're on -- on schedule. And so I -- I trust them that they're going to deliver what they said.
ZARRELLA: But Texans say they have the history. The first words uttered when man landed on the moon, not New York, but --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now this -- this fight is not likely to go away anytime soon, because, you know, if for -- for the shuttle that goes to New York, the one in the Smithsonian, that one, "Enterprise", will have to be moved to New York. Then "Discovery" goes to the Smithsonian.
Well, they've got to move "Enterprise". And before that building is built in New York, "Enterprise" is going to sit apparently in a climate-controlled tent out at JFK waiting for its building to be built. If in fact they do still get it.
ROMANS: Did they raise the money? I don't think they gave you that statement, but have they raised the money?
ZARRELLA: Yes.
ROMANS: Or they think they're going to raise the money?
ZARRELLA: No, they say they have the money. And they will -- they're fund-raising is not -- is no complete yet, but they will have the money by the time they take delivery of "Enterprise". But it's going to sit out at JFK apparently until their building is built.
CHO: Oh, my goodness. I love New York. New York is my home. You know, but doesn't Texas need the shuttle? And more than we do?
ROMANS: I know, no one ever said the borough of Manhattan, we have a problem. We have a problem. All right.
ZARRELLA: Yes.
ROMANS: Thanks so much John.
CHO: John Zarrella, thank you.
ZARRELLA: Bye, bye.
CHO: Fifty-six minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right, Washington, D.C., cloudy and 60 degrees. Sunny and 74 degrees later on today on the nation's capital, Alina.
CHO: Well, some of the biggest performers in the world paid tribute to former President Bill Clinton. It happened over the weekend. Usher among them, playing at the Decade of Difference Party at the Hollywood Bowl. It was a celebration of the former President's 65th birthday, and also the 10th anniversary of the William J. Clinton Foundation. Isn't he great? You know what, the awkward moment of the night went to Lady Gaga and her -- let's just call it a Marilyn moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LADY GAGA, SINGER: I just thought we all would get caught up in a little Bill romance. Caught in a Bill romance --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Leave it to Lady Gaga to make President Clinton blush she also, of course, dropped the f-bomb during the show -- always a nice touch. But fun was had by all.
ROMANS: I will say. And you know, it's interesting. He was a young president, and he is a young former -- oh, my goodness gracious. Hide the kids.
CHO: I wasn't ready for that.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Anyway, but you know, so he's had a quote, unquote, "retirement" that has been full -- very, very full.
CHO: Yes, yes. Ten years for the William J. Clinton Foundation, and good for him.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Alina Cho along with Christine Romans. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now.
