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American Morning

Turkey Hit By Large Earthquake; President to Announces Plan to Help Ongoing Housing Crisis; New Suspect Emerges in Missing Baby Case; Airline Doubted Pilot's Ability; Floods to Ravage More of Thailand; Conrad Murray Defense Begins; Giffords in North Carolina; Country Legend Loretta Lynn Hospitalized; Obama Losing "Star Power"; History in Arab World; Biographer: Jobs Avoided Surgery; Biographer: Jobs Avoided Surgery; Paying for College; Earthquake Devastates Eastern Turkey; Liberating Libya; Colgan Air Crash Pilot Worries; Search for Baby Lisa; Ferrell Wins Funny Prize; BPA and Pregnancy

Aired October 24, 2011 - 06:59   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Bitterly cold temperatures hampering search and rescue efforts in Turkey as 264 people now confirmed dead following the worst earthquake to hit that country in a decade. A live report up ahead.

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: A crash that claimed 50 lives including a pregnant woman and one person on the ground. Today new e-mails reveal that the pilot may not have been ready to fly.

VELSHI: And a mysterious person coming out of the woods in Missouri. The figure caught on surveillance tape. Could there be a link in the ditz appearance of baby Lisa?

CHO: And the Hollywood drama that has some of the industry's biggest stars talking. President Obama isn't the leading man some of them hope for, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

VELSHI: Good morning to you. It is Monday, October 24th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi.

CHO: And I'm Alina Cho. Christine and Carol are of today.

VELSHI: Up first, a devastating 24 hours in eastern Turkey. The body count and misery on the rise following yesterday's powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Dozens of buildings have collapsed. At least 264 people are confirmed dead. Search teams are hampered by bitter cold temperatures as they try to find survivors under tons of concrete. The hardest hit area, the town of Argeus. Let's go there live. Diana Magnay at the scene of the worst earthquake to hit Turkey in a decade. Diana, what's the situation?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a country that is used to earthquake. But as you say, 7.2 magnitude, this was a huge quake affecting this quite poor area, rural area of southeastern Turkey. And I'm in a down here you can see search and rescuers are trying to find people in the rubble. But today so far no one has been brought out of there alive. They've been using dogs. They've been using sound checks to see if they can hear any knocking or any screams. But as I said, no one out of here alive at this point.

Of course, the Red Crescent and various other aid organizations are putting on huge efforts to try to get aid and relief to this part of Turkey, particularly, as you said, because the evenings get so cold here. So tonight they're going to be sending 7,000 tents in for people who were made homeless by the quake, also for the hundreds, thousands of other people who are too scared to go back to their own homes for fear of the fact that the foundations are un-solid now and the continued aftershocks that hit the region.

There will be blankets in these two tent cities set up. There are tents especially designed for warm weather. There are mobile kitchens being brought in, huge cargo planes full of aid coming in from Ankara to the region, security efforts being made to a country that understands how to deal with relief on this kind of front, because you remember, Ali, in 1999 there was a massive earthquake in the Marmora region in which 17,000 people died.

So again, this is a country that does understand the seismic fault line on which it stands, but, as always, you know it is a struggle to deal with these situations, Ali.

VELSHI: As you say, the Turkish government saying they do have things under control. While it's very difficult, they feel they have the resources to deal with it. Diana Magnay, thank you very much in Turkey for us.

CHO: We're expecting a formal decision from NATO this week on when its military operation in Libya will end. They've set a preliminary end date of October 31.

Meantime, Libyans may be experiencing liberation hangover so to speak this morning. There were wild celebrations across the country following yesterday's formal declaration of an end to 40 years of dictatorship under Moammar Gadhafi.

There's also new video surfacing of Gadhafi's final moments alive. It shows him being roughed up by his captors. Autopsy results confirm that Gadhafi died from a gunshot wound to the head, increasing speculation that he may have been killed execution style rather than in the crossfire.

A warning from Hillary Clinton to Iran -- don't even think about meddling in Iraq. Now that President Obama has announced all U.S. troops will leave by the end of the year, there is growing concern that Iran will try to exploit that void and expand its root reach in the region. That would be a mistake, according to the secretary of state. But Republican Senator John McCain insists it's the White House that isn't talking straight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It is viewed in the region as a victory for the Iranians, and I don't think there's any doubt there is. HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have a lot of presence in that region. So no one, most particularly Iran, should miscalculate about our continuing commitment to and with the Iraqis going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: In an interview released Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country has a very good relationship with Iraq and he looks forward to seeing that relationship grow.

VELSHI: The President is rolling out a new plan as he begins a trip out west. The president's first stop, Las Vegas, ground zero for the housing crisis. No coincidence that he's expected to announce new help for underwater homeowners today. Athena Jones is at the White House with what else is in store. Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ali. You know that Nevada is ground zero for the housing crisis, and the housing market hasn't recovered. Until it does it's going to continue to weigh down the economy.

And so we don't have all the details of the plan, of course, but expect it to involve allowing feel refinance their mortgages, federally guaranteed loans allowing them to refinance no matter how far in value their home has fallen. They may be deeply underwater. This will be important for people in places like Arizona, Nevada, other places hard-hit.

The idea here by the White House is one of the new strategy of trying to highlight what they call inaction, Congressional inaction, Republicans in Congress who have blocked the measures that they've tried to put forward to stimulate the economy, the job bill in particular, Ali.

VELSHI: All right, Athena, we'll be watching closely to see what the president proposes and how likely to get traction. One of the issues these days is that the president is coming forward with proposals that are not likely to get traction in Congress, as we saw with his jobs plan. So that's got Republicans, I guess, a little concerned as to whether or not this is campaigning or this is policy.

JONES: Certainly. The idea, these are executive actions. Actions the federal government can take, that don't involve Congress. Of course, in many ways, the kinds of things the federal government can do in terms of federally guaranteed loans, for instance, are going to be the kind of things that may tinker along the edges. Action by Congress would be a lot bigger, broader, go a lot further, but the White House says we can't wait. We're not going to stand by and do nothing. That's the idea, Ali.

VELSHI: That's a very good distinction. Athena Jones from Washington.

CHO: Possibly break in the case of missing baby Lisa in Missouri. New surveillance video surfaced showing a mysterious person coming out of the woods on the night she disappeared. Eleven-month- old Lisa Irwin was last seen nearly three weeks ago. CNN's Sandra Endo joins us live from Kansas City this morning. Good morning, Sandra.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina. CNN has obtained that surveillance video, and it shows an unidentified person walking as 2:15 in the morning of October 4th, the day baby Lisa Irwin disappeared from her home, and it's taken from a gas station less than a mile and a half away from her home.

And so far authorities have not been commenting specifically on this video, but they say they are looking at all surveillance video from the surrounding area.

Now, this could be key because speculation here is that this video could match witness testimony saying people saw a man walking in the dark carrying a baby in a diaper the morning of her disappearance. So clearly investigators are going to be looking at all the evidence here in this case.

Now, yesterday, Alina, we saw an emotional Deborah Bradley, the mother of baby Lisa, return here to their home, also with father Jeremy Irwin. Family member, friends, neighbors, came out for a candlelight prayer vigil. This is the first time we've seen the couple in some time. They are staying away from the media spotlight. But clearly an emotional outpouring from the community here and the surrounding area. Everyone staying optimistic that baby Lisa will return. Alina?

CHO: Sandra Endo live for us in Kansas City this morning, thank you very much.

VELSHI: Also new this morning, a grenade going off in a nightclub in Nairobi, Kenya injuring at least a dozen people. Authorities haven't linked the attack to any one group but comes a day after the U.S. embassy in Kenya warned of retaliation by Islamist militants in Somalia who are now being targeted by Kenyan troops. Kenya has sent groups into Somalia, and the group there has said in retaliation for that they will attack Kenyan targets. The Kenyan embassy has warned Americans to be vigilant if visiting.

CHO: A public memorial service to celebrate the life of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon who died last week in a fiery 15- car crash at the Las Vegas speedway. Fellow IndyCar drivers remember Wheldon for his devotion to family and his practical jokes.

VELSHI: The World Series is now a best of three. The Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals four-nothing last night to even the series at two games apiece. The pivotal game five tonight in Arlington, Texas.

CHO: Don't tell that to Rob Marciano, who is a big Yankee fan.

(CROSSTALK)

CHO: -- baseball a couple months ago. (WEATHER BREAK)

VELSHI: Still to come this morning, he no longer an A-lister in Hollywood. The president has more critics there than when he first took office. We'll tell you who's not likely to contribute to his reelection campaign when we come back.

CHO: Plus, an autobiography of Steve Jobs hits bookstores today. How a decision that the late Apple CEO made seven years ago may have cost him his life.

VELSHI: And an icon of American country music has to cancel part of her tour. We give you an update on the health of Loretta Lynn. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It is 12 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. There are new questions today about whether the pilot behind the controls in a deadly 2009 plane crash near Buffalo, New York, could handle the plane that he was flying. Lawyers for the victims' families released e-mails from Colgan Air that they call a smoking gun that showed the airline had concerns about the pilot's ability. Fifty people died in the fiery crash.

Our Deb Feyerick is live for us in Atlanta this morning with more on the story. Deb, good morning.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina.

Well, six months before this terrible crash, supervisors at Colgan Air were actually going over a list of pilots they considered ready to fly this new fleet of Q400 turboprop planes.

When Captain Marvin Renslow's name came up, the e-mails suggest there were serious misgivings. "How about Renslow? There's something in the back of my mind on Renslow," writes the VP of Operations. Colgan's chief pilot answers, "Yes, you're correct. Renslow had a problem upgrading. That means moving to the next level." The VP replies, "Anyone that does not meet the mins, the minimum requirements and had problems in training is not ready to handle the Q400." And the chief pilot writes back, "He's already off the list."

Now, several families are suing the airline saying Pilot Renslow was unqualified to fly the plane. It is their lawyer who released these e-mails. The investigation by the NTSB at the time did find that Captain Renslow never received hands-on experience with the safety system in the Q400 called a stick pusher, which activates to prevent the plane from stalling. And when the plane began slowing too quickly, the Safety Board found that the pilot reacted in such a way that suggested he was startled and confused. He pulled back on the column rather than press forward essentially dooming that plane.

Now, Pinnacle Airlines, Colgan's parent company, defends its pilot saying only after being fully satisfied that Captain Renslow was ready to transition to the Q400 aircraft was he allowed to begin Q400 training. Renslow was FAA certified but he's failed five pilot tests, three before he got to Colgan, something he did not disclose to his employer.

The NTSB ultimately blamed this crash, this terrible crash which claimed the lives of 50 people, they blamed the crash on pilot error -- Alina.

CHO: Deb Feyerick, thank you very much.

Joining me now with more on these e-mails and the lawsuit, Hugh Russ, he's an attorney representing five families of the victims killed in that crash.

Mr. Russ, thank you for joining us. You heard Deb's report there. You know, these e-mails that have come out were -- were exchanged months before the crash. Colgan Air says that ultimately the pilot was certified, that he had more than 172 hours of formal training on the aircraft.

Are these e-mails really the smoking gun that you say they are?

HUGH RUSS, ATTORNEY, FAMILIES OF COLGAN AIR CRASH VICTIM: Well, I don't like the metaphor particularly, because 50 people died, the e- mails are incredibly significant. They show us two things.

First, they show us that just months before the crash, the highest levels of Colgan Management knew that the captain was not qualified to fly this plane, and yet they put him in the plane anyway. The other thing they show us more generally is that Colgan, as part of its regular business practices, sacrificed safety for profit.

CHO: So, Mr. Russ, what more could Colgan Air have done, if they say that the pilot was trained and ready to fly this Q400 aircraft, you know, what could they have done differently? They retested him. He was trained. What -- what would you have changed?

RUSS: There are a couple of things I would have changed. One, I would have changed his training, and we would request and I know the families have lobbied to enact legislation that would require more training. The analogy I sometimes use is, you can't learn to drive a car by watching a video. Essentially, they showed him a video on how to recover from stalls. You need active hands-on training where you practice stalls. The airlines did not do that.

The other thing I would say is that just because you pass a test once doesn't make you qualified. You can -- the airlines take the position that you could fail a test five, six, any number of times. Pass it on one good day and you're qualified. That's just wrong.

CHO: You know, the NTSB, I must say, and you know this very well, did cite pilot error, did say that the decision that Pilot Renslow made in a moment of crisis ultimately doomed the aircraft. Even the President and CEO of Pinnacle Airlines, which owns Colgan Air came out with a statement, actually spoke to a Senate hearing back in 2009 saying in part, quote, "Had we known what we know now, no, he would not have been in that pilot's seat." Having said all of this, you know, releasing e-mails in this manner is something that the airline calls a trial by media. How do you respond to that?

RUSS: I would respond to that by saying the goal of the families in these cases is not simply to embarrass Colgan or Continental, its regional partner. The goal is to change airline safety so that flights are safe. The goal of the families is to avoid this kind of crash ever happening again. Only by bringing these e-mails to the light of day can we meet that goal.

CHO: Hugh Russ is the attorney of families of the Colgan Air crash victims. Thank you very much for joining us, Mr. Russ.

RUSS: Thank you for inviting me.

VELSHI: All right. Still to come this morning, just when things were starting to look good, gas prices are going up again. What's costing you more? We'll tell you after the break.

CHO: And Wal-Mart's new holiday shopping guarantee that may have the North Pole shaking. What's that about? We'll tell you.

It's 21 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.

U.S. markets are poised to open pretty flat this morning. This week it's all about the eurozone debt crisis, another big batch of corporate earnings reports and that closely watched U.S. third quarter GDP report. Now, that comes out on Thursday. It's going to give us a fresh look at how fast the economy is growing here in the United States.

On Wednesday, Europe's top leaders are expected to announce a final agreement on a plan to fix that region's financial problems. All 27 heads of E.U. countries met over the weekend to hash out a deal. Investors were feeling optimistic about this deal and that progress is being made in Europe. That helped fuel a 267 point rally on the Dow Friday.

And gas prices jumping five cents in the past week. They were down 25 cents in the earlier part of the month. Analysts are blaming the jump on a slight increase in oil prices, as well as a big spike in the cost of ethanol, which is a component of the gas you buy at the pump.

Wal-Mart getting more competitive with holiday shopping. The retail giant launched a Christmas price guarantee program this morning. It works like this -- if you buy something at Wal-Mart and then find it cheaper somewhere else, you'll get a gift card for the difference if you can prove it.

And start your day with a smile because it could help you out at work. A new survey of customer service reps shows that employees who started the day in a good mood were more productive at the office. Those who started off the day in a bad mood were 10 percent less protective throughout the day.

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

AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Twenty-nine minutes after hour. Time now for your top stories.

Just revealed e-mail -- or just released e-mails revealed that the pilot of a Colgan Airlines plane that crashed near Buffalo two years ago wasn't qualified to be flying that type of plane. Fifty people died in the crash. The e-mails released by attorneys for victims' families showed that the airline had concerns about the pilot's ability well before the crash.

CHO: Two hundred sixty four people are dead in Turkey. That number could climb a lot higher after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated the Eastern Part of the country yesterday. Rescue efforts are being hampered right now by near freezing temperatures. The search teams tried to reach thousands (ph) of buildings that collapsed.

VELSHI: And new this hour, the State Department has recalled the U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. We're told it's in response to a credible threat against him. No word on the nature of the threat or when he might be able to return to Syria.

CHO: Raging waters taking over Thailand's capital of Bangkok. The fierce floods may even force the Flood Relief Command Center to move out. And some people in temporary shelters are being told to move again.

Meantime, officials are sandbagging and using dams to divert the water, or at least try to. Flood costs are expected up more than $6 billion. Nationwide the flooding there has already killed 356 people with nearly 9 million others affected in Thailand.

VELSHI: And a different take on Michael Jackson's death this week as the prosecution rest. And Dr. Conrad Murray's defense team goes on the attack. The lawyers will try to convince jurors that the pop star was responsible for his own death. Jury deliberations could begin by the end of the week.

CHO: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords continues her recovery in North Carolina. She arrived in Asheville yesterday. That's where she will undergo two weeks of intensive rehab after being shot in the head during that rampage back in January in Tucson. The mass shooting left six people dead, 12 others wounded.

VELSHI: Country music legend Loretta Lynn is in the hospital with pneumonia. The 76-year-old was forced to cancel a portion of her tour. She's perhaps best known for the song "Coal Miner's Daughter."

A statement on her web site says the singer is reportedly doing well and will be ready for upcoming concerts next month.

CHO: President Obama will make a stop in Los Angeles this week, but is his star in Hollywood falling faster than Lindsay Lohan's? CNN's entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter give us a look at some of the president's latest reviews.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 2008, Hollywood stars firmly embraced Barack Obama. Lately, they've been loosening their grip, disillusioned by his actions in the office.

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: I no longer hope for audacity.

WYNTER: Matt Damon once a big backer of the president has become one of his most vocal critics. He told CNN's Piers Morgan.

DAMON: He's a brilliant guy, but I definitely wanted more and I believed that there was more there.

WYNTER: Damon accuses him of bowing to corporate America. So does singer, Melissa Etheridge.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE, SINGER: Mr. Obama, you know, good luck to you. I still know who he answers to, who is boss is and those are some pretty powerful corporations.

WYNTER: Harry Belafonte finds much default in the president's leadership.

HARRY BELAFONTE, ENTERTAINER/CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: He's only listened to the voices that shout the loudest and all those reckless right wing forces. It's almost criminal.

WYNTER: Now some stars are telling the Obama bashers to back off. On HLN's "Joy Behar Show," Martin Sheen had a couple of words for the president's Hollywood critics.

MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: Steady. Steady.

WYNTER: Sheen argued the president deserves Hollywood's full support.

SHEEN: You're talking about very special man. You know, I adore him and I think he's done a great job.

WYNTER: Ditto Kris Kristofferson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's best thing he's been there since Kennedy.

WYNTER (on camera): Some celebs are putting their support in written form, as in a check. In recent months, the Obama re-election campaign got 10 grand from Steven Spielberg and wife, Kate Capshaw.

(voice-over): Tom Hanks and wife, Rita Wilson equalled that, Michael Douglas chipped in 2 grand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you forcing me to take a picture?

WYNTER: Will Ferrell, who dropped by the White House Friday has anteed up 5k. "Variety's" Ted Johnson notes one thing that may help the president carry Hollywood. He'll be the only Democrat in the race.

TED JOHNSON, MANAGING EDITOR, VARIETY: He's going to probably run against a very conservative Republican, who's just not going to be that palatable to the vast majority of people in the entertainment business.

WYNTER: So while some stars may voice complaints about Obama --

ADRIAN GRENIER, ACTOR: I for one would like to see him be a little bolder, be a little more outspoken about the issues that we voted him in for.

WYNTER: Come election time, they may return to the fold. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: All right, in the country that gave birth to the Arab spring, think back. It's history in the making. Voters in Tunisia turning out on mass for a democratic national election, more than 90 percent of registered voters went to the polls.

Right next door in Libya, the new leaders declaring the country's liberation from Gadhafi and the beginning of the transition to democracy.

Joining us now from Tunis where she helped monitor the election is former California Congresswoman Jane Harman, now director, president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center. Good to see you. Good morning. Thank you for joining us.

JANE HARMAN, CEO, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Good morning.

VELSHI: Let's talk about this. We were just talking to Ivan Watson a little earlier. He said people seemed very, very excited about this election. It's the first in a very long time in Tunisia.

I have to say, when we hear about 90 percent of voter turnout, and that has happened in new democracies, it certainly does give us pause and make us wonder how do you feel about how fair this election has been?

HARMAN: Well, let's understand first that bloody Libya is just next door. The death of Gadhafi was days ago, and that transition was totally violent. This transition, aside from the sad immolation from a fruit vendor, which started everything, has been totally peaceful.

VELSHI: Right. HARMAN: There was no compulsory voting, but look at these headlines. Here is the local paper, this was yesterday. (INAUDIBLE) that means I vote, therefore I am. And today's headline -- the people have voted, democracy has triumphed.

People wanted to come out to this election. People believed the procedures were fair and they were fair. I've observed -- this is my fifth election before and after my career in Congress, and I saw these long lines.

I saw these ballot boxes, which were clear, which were shut tight with little tabs in my presence, and were opened in the presence of observers and the ballots counted on site. They weren't transported in black vans. Nobody -- nothing disappeared. Nothing was lost.

There were no ghost voters. The voters were the actual people who showed up and who voted around the world. People from my hometown of Los Angeles voted last week and their votes were counted, too.

So this is probably, the elections I've seen in Latin America and Central Europe and now here, probably the best aren't elections with a result that will be widely accepted.

And it's important to understand that the Islamist party, which may take a plurality of votes played by these rules and claims that it will participate in a plurality and help govern by consensus.

That's A very different message than we've heard anywhere else in the world.

VELSHI: All right, we're hoping that the examples that have been set in Tunisia, as you pointed the out right at the beginning of this, are examples that will follow through.

Obviously a number of the other countries involved in the Arab spring saw a great deal more violence and loss of life and we're still seeing that going on.

So hopefully some of what you are describing here can move on, is that possible? Is it likely? Is there some sense that the optimism and now the embrace of democracy that is taking hold in Tunisia can spread to neighboring Libya?

HARMAN: Well, let's hope so. The Libyan elections are eight months from now, or the beginning of the elections. Eight months from now, and it's been a bloody transition. The economy is stalled. There's a lot that Libya has to do in eight months.

The first Egyptian election is at the end of November. I'm headed to Egypt today and I'll know a lot more about that in the next couple of days, but Tunisia has set a marker here, a marker for what you do from a standing start.

They had nothing going on here except two decades of autocratic corrupt rule. Nine months ago. Nine months ago. This is how you do a fair election. T his is how people participate, and this is how you open if to the world to see it while it's happening.

VELSHI: Back when we were talking about U.S. involvement in Libya you wrote in March that, you know, Tunisia is a different story. Other than setting off the Arab spring, most people didn't know anything about Tunisia before this.

We did know about Libya. We know about Syria. We know about Iran. We know about Pakistan. You had written back then that the president, when he first addressed Libya, did not put it into the context of a larger transformation taking place in the United States including, by the way, Yemen.

Places that really pose strategic threats to the safety of the world and there's still instability going on there. There are criticisms that the president was leading from behind. What's your sense of U.S. policy in the Middle East?

Is there greater consistency? Should there be a greater consistency to it?

HARMAN: Well, I would argue that there should be greater consistency to it. One size does not fit all. Obviously, Tunisia has no history of tribal government and it was a fairly successful economy, and women have more modern receipts than anywhere else in the Arab world.

Someone said this morning, they have feminism without feminists, but -- and they have the right to divorce and custody of their children and there's even a right to abortion in this country, which is unprecedented in this part of the world.

What I was talking about is the U.S. -- you know, there are two sets of interests we have. One our moral interests and the others is our strategic interests. Tunisia and Libya do not threaten U.S. strategic interests the way Yemen and Syria do.

And I was concerned we were spending too many resources and too much time on the Libya transition, which did, I have to say, turn out well with the assistance of NATO, which we participated in, and too little time on Yemen and Syria.

I think now that the Libya transition is over in part, the goal will be to have fair elections in Libya and Egypt, but to work on stability in Yemen, which still has the old leader, Saleh still in power, although he says had will transition.

And Syria which I think is responsible for a brutal crackdown on its people and where the government is digging in even harder. The message from Tunisia to the whole Arab world has to be, we know how to do this.

Democracy can work here. Now this fledgling government obviously has to be stood up and governed, and that's the challenge, too, but if an Islamist party, which will get a plurality of the votes here, can build a, help build a democratic society, playing by the rules, this is something we have never seen.

And this is something that I hope our government is watching closely, and will welcome to the extent that it really is a democracy here and that the rules of government are transparent and it's tolerant of all the people who live here.

VELSHI: Representative Jane Harman. Good to speak to you. Your enthusiasm is infectious. As Ivan Watson says, the enthusiasm of those people in Tunisia who have voted is infectious.

And let's really hope that it is infectious in the best sense of the world. Jane Harman is the president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center, former Democratic representative from California.

CHO: Good for her.

Still to come, a rare look inside the life of Steve Jobs. You will hear from a hand-picked biographer on what he gleaned from some 40 interviews with a man who many say changed the world.

VELSHI: What's more important to you, saving for your kids' college education or your own retirement? It's something most parents struggling with, but there's a new way you can save for both. We are going to tell how coming up after a quick break. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We're getting a rare inside look at the life of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. According to biographer, Walter Isaacson, Jobs was incredibly demanding.

He had a work ethic that was unparalleled. Isaacson's authorized biography, "Steve Jobs" hits bookstores today. Last night on "60 Minutes," he shed light on the passion that made Jobs one of the greatest investors of our generation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER ISAACSON, JOBS BIOGRAPHER: Steve taught his son, Steve, how to make great things and he -- once they were building a fence. He said, you've got to make the back of the fence that nobody will see just as good looking at the front of the fence.

Even though nobody will see it, you will know, and that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect. He talked a lot to me about what happened when he got sick, and how it focused him. He said he no longer wanted to go out, travel the world. He would focus on the products. He knew the couple of things he wanted to do, which was the iPhone and then the iPad.

He had a few other visions. I think we would have loved to have conquered television. He would love to make an easy to use television set. So he had those things, but he started focusing on his family again as well.

And it was a painful, brutal struggle, and he would talk often to me about the pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Isaacson's book is based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs and over 100 interviewers with friends, family members and colleagues. Jobs authorized the book, but asked for no control over what was written in it. It wasn't supposed to come out for a little while yet. This book was rushed out. It was done.

CHO: That's right. It was and it's coming out two-and-a-half or so weeks after his death. What's interesting is that in one of the final interviews apparently he said to Walter Isaacson, the anger, he said, am I going it like this book? Am I going to like all parts of it? He said probably parts you won't like.

VELSHI: And you heard some of those.

CHO: Right, and he said, I'm not going to read it right away. I'm going to read maybe six months or a year from now. So, you know, it's interesting now.

VELSHI: And I think Walter Isaacson captured that whole idea of the fact that he was demanding and he was demanding of everybody else, and that didn't come across very well to some people.

CHO: Right. He said, he's a human being. You know, we're not all perfect and certainly he wasn't, but, boy, did he change the world.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHO: Saving for your retirement or your child's college tuition is a tough decision that many parents are forced to make. So what do you do? It doesn't have to be that difficult. Our Christine Romans shows us the trick in this week's "Smart is the New Rich."

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Most of us aren't saving enough for college or starting early enough. It's easy to see why. You're already spending $227,000 to raise a kid from birth to 18.

This, according to the USDA that's up 40 percent since 2000 and that doesn't include the cost of college. That's another $21,000 for a private four-year college room and board every year. The debate shouldn't be, is college worth it. It should be, how are you going to pay for it in a smart way?

According to the government, a worker with a college degree will make more than $1 million more than a high school graduate over the course of their lifetime and the unemployment rate for college graduate is only 4.3 percent.

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, AUTHOR, "THE REAL COST OF LIVING": If you look at the data this country is going to require that college degree, like a high school degree, you really absolutely need the degree. But what are you going to do with it and how are you going to pay for it is really, the important question.

ROMANS: Time is your best friend. Even saving a little when your kid is still in diaper, is better than taking out boatloads of loans later. Now 529 plans help you do this with tax breaks for the investment in some states.

But you don't have to save for all of the college and you shouldn't. You should save for your retirement, too, don't forget. Ulrich recommends saving a third, borrowing a third with student loans and then getting scholarships and grants for the final third.

Now the resource fine.org has this rule of thumb. Don't borrow more in loans than the graduate is expected to earn in the first year of working. So an engineering major can tolerate more loans than say, a social worker education major who will paid less.

And that means choosing the right school for finances and ambition, community college, state school or private liberal arts college only if you can afford it.

For more on how to save for college and retirement at the very same time, check out the new book "Smart is the New Rich,"

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

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VELSHI: Good seeing Christine, even when she's not here.

CHO: Yes.

VELSHI: All right, still ahead in health news. It's a dirty word for moms and dads, but the effect of BPA comes long before baby bottles. We'll tell you the new risks connected to the chemical. It's 48 minutes after the hour.

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CHO: Here's what you need to know to start your day. The death toll in Turkey is rising to 264 overnight and is almost certain to rise again. After a 7.2 magnitude earthquake caused dozens of buildings to collapse in the eastern part of the country on Sunday.

Libyans are celebrating their freedom as the country's transition to democracy begins. The National Transitional Council officially declared the country's liberation from four decades of rule under Moammar Gadhafi.

New e-mails released in a lawsuit suggest that Colgan Airlines was concerned about a pilot's ability well before his commuter plane crash near Buffalo back in 2009. Fifty people were killed. The NTSB ruled the pilot, Marvin Renslow was at fault in the crash.

New surveillance video released in the search for a Missouri girl who has been missing for three weeks. This footage shows a mysterious person coming out of a wooded area on the same night that 11-month-old Lisa Irwin disappeared from her Kansas City home. She was last seen on October 4th.

And a steady stream of accolades for actor Will Ferrell, who was honored at the Kennedy Center in Washington yesterday, with a Mark Twain Prize.

That's America's top humor award. Ferrell accepted his honor after performances by Conan O'Brien and for SNL cast mate including Tina Fey. Good for him. Congratulations.

It's 52 minutes after the hour. You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.

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CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING on this Monday, October 24th. BPA is a chemical that can be found in everything from water bottles to cans of peas, and it could be causing behavioral problems in kids.

A study in the journal "Pediatrics" found that toddlers who were exposed to higher BPA levels before they were born had worse behavior at age 3 than the kids that didn't.

VELSHI: Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here now. Where does one get exposed? How does a toddler, somebody who's not even born, get exposed to BPA?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what? Ali, if you tested any of us, we would most likely have BPA in our system. So what happens is pregnant women get BPA. And I'll show you in a minute the products.

And then that goes to their unborn child. Those fetuses are so small that the concentrations can be quite large and can affect that child later on. Let's take a look at what BPA is in.

BPA is a chemical that is in a lot of plastics. So for example, it's in like a food plastic, like this or a plastic like this. Now it's also in the lining of many tin cans.

So you can't see it, but inside this tin can is a plastic lining, and often those linings have BPA in them. BPA is also sometimes found in water bottles like these. It is very, very hard to avoid and some people get more of it than others.

CHO: So, Elizabeth, you know, I would say that eating fresh fruits and vegetables is probably one solution. But what else can mothers do to try to avoid this?

COHEN: OK. Let's talk first about why they should avoid it. What this study found is that the moms who had the most BPA in their system were much more likely to give birth to girls who by age 3 had behavior problems.

Again, it was just girls, probably because BPA affects a woman -- affects the hormones, and maybe that's why it affects girls more. But again, the moms who got the most BPA when they were pregnant, those little girls by the time they were 3 were much more likely to have things like autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

So let's go over a couple of things that you can do in order to try to avoid BPA. As I said, it's actually pretty hard to do. The first thing you want to do is flip over that plastic, and what you're going to find -- what you should find is a number. So you want to avoid a 3 or a 7 on plastics.

Also, if you can, avoid canned food. I know that's really hard to do. But if you want to really be an empowered patient and do what you can, avoid canned food when you're pregnant. Also, dispose of BPA plastic that has scratches.

So for example, if you've been drinking out of a bottle of water, try not to re-use that bottle of water if you think that there are scratches on the inside. The scratches make it easier for the BPA to leach out and get into your system.

And also, don't microwave plastics that have BPA in them because that also makes it easier for the BPA to leach out. Now I don't want anyone to think that, you know, one swig out of a bottle of water, if that bottle has BPA in it, is going to condemn your child to having some terrible problem. It's a cumulative thing. It's sort of the little things you do every day.

VELSHI: Does this matter for adults?

COHEN: You know, there are some studies that do show that it matters for adults, Ali, but it's much more of a concern for children and it's even more of a concern for fetuses, because basically we're just talking about size. The smaller you are, the more it's going to affect you.

VELSHI: All right, Elizabeth. Thanks very much for that.

COHEN: Thanks.

VELSHI: All right, still to come this morning, the manslaughter trial against Michael Jackson's Dr. Conrad Murray is about to enter a crucial new phase. Will there be more fireworks in the court? A preview and what it could end coming up ahead.

CHO: Also, ahead, Hertz terminates more than two dozen Muslim drivers after they refuse to clock out for daily prayer breaks. The drivers union says they were targeted because of religion. We're going to speak to the union rep. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 57 minutes after the hour.

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