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American Morning
Death Toll Rising in Turkey; Michael Jackson Death Trial; Wal- Mart's Christmas Price Guarantee; Survey: Start Your Day With A Smile; U.S. Ambassador To Syria Recalled; Some Hollywood Stars Criticizing President; Hertz Fires Muslim Workers For Not Clocking Out For Prayer Breaks; BPA and Pregnancy
Aired October 24, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: New accusations against the airline involved in a deadly New York crash in 2009. Lawyers for the victims' families say high level emails show that Colgan Air sacrificed safety for profits.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Tragedy in eastern Turkey as a 7.2 magnitude earthquake took 262 lives, and bitter cold temperatures making it very hard for rescue teams to reach possible survivors.
VELSHI: And President Obama wants Hollywood's it guy now maybe living life on the D-list. More of entertainment's elites are saying they aren't that into him. It could be hurting him come re-election time.
CHO: And was it unfairness or religious intolerance? A battle is brewing between Hertz and more than two dozen Muslim drivers -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VELSHI: Good morning. It's 8:00 in the East. Monday, October the 24th.
Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi.
CHO: Good morning, Ali. Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Christine and Carol have the day off.
VELSHI: Up first, a horrible day in eastern Turkey where the death count is on the rise following yesterday's devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Dozens of buildings have collapsed. At least 264 people are confirmed dead with search teams hampered by bitter cold temperatures as they try to find survivors under tons of concrete and rubble. Now, the hardest-hit area is the town of Ercis.
Let's go there. Diana Magnay is at the scene of the worst earthquake to hit Turkey in a decade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a country that is used to earthquakes. 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 the town of Ercis.
Here behind me you can see one of the sites where search and rescue workers are continuing to try and find people in the rubble. But today, so far no one has been brought out of there alive. They have been using dogs. They have 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.
And, of course, the Red Crescent and various other aid organizations are putting on a huge effort to try and get aid and relief to this part of Turkey. Particularly as you have said because the evenings get so cold here.
So, tonight, they are going to be sending 7,000 tents in for people who were made homeless by the quake. Also for the hundreds and thousands of other people who are too scared to go back to their own homes for fear of the fact that the foundations are unsolid now, and the continued aftershocks that hit the region.
There will be blankets in these two tent cities that are being set up. There are tents that are specially designed for warm weather. There are mobile kitchens that are being brought in. Huge cargo planes full of aid coming in from Ankara to the region.
So, huge efforts are being made for 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 Marmara Region in which 17,000 people died.
So again, this is a country that does understand the seismic fault lines on which it stands. But, as always, you know, it is a struggle to deal with these kinds of situations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Libya is taking its first big step toward democracy. The new leaders officially declaring the country's liberation just days after the death of Moammar Gadhafi. The official announcement came in Benghazi, where the revolution began.
Meantime, there are new questions about Gadhafi's death. An autopsy says he was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. But there are no details on just how it happened.
VELSHI: CNN's Dan Rivers is going to be with us in just a moment.
But a warning from Hillary Clinton to Iran: don't even think about meddling in Iraq. Now that President Obama has announced that all U.S. troops will be leaving Iraq by the end of the year, there's growing concern that Iran will try to exploit a void and expand its reach there. That would be a mistake, according to the secretary of state.
But Republican Senator John McCain insists that the White House isn't thinking straight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
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 CLIPS)
VELSHI: 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.
CHO: We want to get an update now from the Libyan capital.
He is outside Misrata. Dan Rivers is there on really what is an historic time in Libya, in the days following the death of Moammar Gadhafi. And they have just declared that they are moving toward democracy in the next two years.
Dan, what is the latest from where you are?
(INAUDIBLE)
VELSHI: Looks like we just lost the connection to Dan on the phone. But we will be on that -- all right. We'll come back to that story in a moment.
Also new this morning, a grenade explodes in a nightclub in Nairobi, Kenya. About a dozen people were hurt. Authorities haven't linked the attack to any one group, but it 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 who were sent in to Somalia to fight them.
CHO: An Iranian man accused of plotting the murder of the Saudi ambassador to the United States will be arraigned in New York today. U.S. officials say Manssor Arbabsiar tried to hire hit men to bomb a restaurant that the Saudi ambassador would visit. A second man indicted in the alleged plot is still at large.
VELSHI: And this could be the final week of testimony in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. Court will be back in session in just a few minutes.
CNN's Ted Rowlands will tell us what we can expect today and later this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When court resumes, Steven Shafer will still be on the stand. He testified last week for the prosecution. This is the prosecution's most important witness. They are just finishing up with him. What he's been able to do is establish for the jury what the prosecution believes happened the night Michael Jackson died.
After he's off the stand, the defense will start its case in chief, and we expect to hear among others from some character witnesses. These are going to be Dr. Murray's patients from Las Vegas and Houston. They will come in and tell the jury that he's not such a bad guy -- in fact, that he's been a fantastic doctor for them.
Then the most important witness will take the stand for the defense, Dr. Paul White. He is basically the counter to the prosecution's expert on Propofol. White and Dr. Steven Shafer were actually colleagues, they are actually colleagues.
And White is going to be paramount for the defense. He will have to answer the questions that were raised by Shafer and the prosecution. We expect he'll take the stand either Wednesday or Thursday, and we expect that he will be the defense's last witness, unless -- and we don't expect it -- they bring Dr. Conrad Murray to the stand.
Bottom line: the case should end up, if Murray doesn't take the stand, at the end of the week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Police arrested 130 people over the weekend at an "Occupy Chicago" protest. Protesters were taken into custody for being in Grant Park after hours. More than 1,000 demonstrators packed the park until police ordered everyone to leave. Those who didn't were taken into custody.
CHO: A public memorial everything is to celebrate the life of two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who died last week in a fiery 15-car crash at the Las Vegas speedway. Fellow IndyCar drivers remembered Wheldon for his devotion to family and also his practical jokes.
VELSHI: And the World Series now a best of three. The Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 last night to even the series at two games apiece. The pivotal game five tonight in Arlington, Texas.
CHO: And it's a girl. French First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy heads home with the newest family addition. Her name is Giulia. Carla Bruni Sarkozy gave birth on Wednesday, and was released from the hospital over the weekend. President Nicolas Sarkozy was in Brussels for a summit of European leaders. Little Giulia is the first baby born to a sitting French president.
VELSHI: Huh. You would have thought there would have been another one -- but there you go.
OK. Hertz is terminating more than two dozen Muslim drivers for refusing to clock out for prayer breaks. Now, the drivers union is fighting back. We'll speak to them after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Up first, new questions about whether the pilot of a doomed flight was fit to be in charge of that aircraft. New emails suggests the pilot of the Colgan Airlines commuter jet that crash the near Buffalo two years ago may not have been ready to fly that type of plane. The crash claimed 50 lives. Forty-nine people on the plane and one person in the house it crashed into.
The emails released by attorneys by the victims' families reveal that the airline had concerns about the pilot's ability months before the crash.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we talked to Hugh Russ, who represents five of the families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, EARLIER ON AMERICAN MORNING)
HUGH RUSS, ATTORNEY: 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.
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The NTSB determined that the crash was caused by pilot error. Russ says their intent isn't to embarrass the airline but to improve airline safety.
CHO: A possible break in the case of missing baby Lisa in Missouri. There's new surveillance video surfacing showing that a mysterious person coming out of the woods on the night that she disappeared. Eleven-month-old Lisa Irwin was last seen nearly three weeks ago.
CNN's Sandra Endo is following the story for us. She joins us live from Kansas City with more on that.
Sandra, good morning.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Alina.
That's right. CNN has obtained that surveillance video from a gas station less than a mile and a half from baby Lisa Irwin's home. And it shows an unidentified person walking down the street at around 2:15 a.m. on October 4th. That is the day she went missing.
Now authorities, the FBI and police, are not commenting specifically on this video, but they say they have all the surveillance video from this surrounding area. And, of course, the investigation is ongoing.
But the speculative part around this video, Ali and Alina, is that it could match witness testimony saying that people saw a man walking in the dark carrying a baby in diapers the morning of her disappearance.
Of course, they are finding a lot of leads in this case, and are investigating every possible scenario. Now, yesterday we saw an emotional Deborah Bradley, the mother of Lisa Irwin, arrive here to the home, especially in the arms of friends, family members, and neighbors, breaking down for a special prayer vigil held in front of their home. And this is the first time we've seen her in quite some time because the parents have been staying just a short drive from here with relatives.
And the message yesterday evening at this vigil was they are remaining hopeful that baby Lisa will return -- Alina.
CHO: Sandra, you know, what is the latest on the search for her? I heard that there was some cadaver dogs in the area that were searching, and picked up a human scent or something of that nature. What are you hearing about that?
ENDO: Yes. That was according to a police affidavit for a search warrant. Last Monday, that is when they say a cadaver dog made a positive hit on the scent of a dead body inside the bedroom of Deborah Bradley. So, police went ahead, got a search warrant. They had an extensive 17-hour search inside the home on Wednesday -- inside the home and around the area, actually. But a lawyer for the parents says that when she went back inside the home later in the week, they didn't find a lot missing.
And police did take some of the baby's clothing, blankets, and toys. Obviously, the investigation is ongoing. They're going to look at that evidence for forensics and also, perhaps, use it to further their search.
VELSHI: All right. Sandra, thanks very much.
Sandra Endo in Kansas City following that search for us.
CHO: It is 15 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano watching the weather situation for us. Hey, Rob. Good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alina. Hello, Ali.
Looking at our next tropical storm. It's been almost two months since we've had any sort of action in the trops, and right now, hurricane season, well, goes through the end of November. Right now, winds of 40 miles an hour. This is eight o'clock this morning. Tropical storm Rina, we do expect it to intensify. Waters are really toasty even this time of year.
This is the favorite spot to see these things develop, and guess what, right now, we're thinking it's going to go towards Cancun as we get towards the weekend potentially as a Category 1 storm or greater. And some of our other computer models are bringing it into the Gulf of Mexico beyond that, potentially, very Wilma like track, which is what we had about six years ago heading into South Florida.
Obviously, we're still far off from that, but just want to keep you informed on that, if you live in South Florida. Of course, you keep it tuned right here. Meanwhile, Buffalo back to Cleveland, a little weak front that's coming across the Great Lakes. One of two fronts, and this one will kind of bring in some cold air to interact with this guy. And we'll see temperatures that will kind of flip flop in a hurry out across parts of the central planes.
Temperatures today, In Denver 81 degrees. By the time Wednesday rolls around, we'll likely be down into the 30s with the potential of seeing some snow. As a matter of fact, winter storm watches have been posted, and they do include Denver proper. We could see a few inches of snow there. Obviously, we'll see higher amounts as you go up in elevations.
Six to 12 inches expected above the 7,000 foot mark, above 8,000 feet, one and a half to two feet of snow. Game five tonight, that series all tied up. 73 degrees in Arlington. We shouldn't see any problems with weather. It should be perfect. Clear skies with a light north wind. And as far as that satellite, the second of two that have come crashing down to the earth in the past couple of months, well, it came crashing down late Saturday and early Sunday morning.
And to the Earth atmosphere over Southeast Asia, we think parts of it hit probably in the Indian Ocean, potentially some of it getting into mainland china. But, obviously, if it hit anybody or anything within civilization, we would have heard about it by now. So, right now, we're thinking all is clear until further notice from our second satellite.
And guess what, guys? No more satellites scheduled to come crashing back to earth until further notice.
VELSHI: Nice. It's enough.
CHO: Good to know.
VELSHI: I mean, I don't pay a lot of attention as to whether I should be getting dressing a certain way the next morning. I walk out of my apartment, I say, oh, it's raining or it's really cold. I really don't want to find out that way about a satellite coming down. So, I'm going to start listening to you very carefully, Rob.
MARCIANO: Thank you, Ali.
VELSHI: More so than I already do.
CHO: Also, snow coming in in the Denver area. So, I smell a ski trip, Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: Well, at least some investigative reporting.
VELSHI: Right.
CHO: Yes. Exactly.
VELSHI: Yes. That's what you meant.
CHO: That's exactly what I meant.
VELSHI: We'll see you later, Rob. Thank you.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
VELSHI: Still to come this morning, in case you haven't noticed, banks have an image problem. A new survey showing the extreme level of distrust in the financial system right now.
CHO: And Wal-Mart's new holiday shopping guarantee that may have the North Pole shaking. What's that about? We will tell you. It is 19 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-one minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business."
U.S. markets are poised to open pretty flat this morning, up only slightly. This week, it's all going to be about the Euro zone debt, the crisis there. Another big badge of corporate earnings here in the United States and that closely watched U.S. third quarter GDP report. Now, that comes out on Thursday.
Economists are forecasting that the economy in the third quarter, the third three months of this year, grew at a rate of 2.2 percent. That's better than the previous quarter when it was growing a plural rate at 1.3 percent.
And 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 the EU met over the weekend to hash out a deal. Investors feeling optimistic about this deal and that progress is being made. That helped fuel a more than two percent rally on the Dow on Friday.
A new survey shows only 23 percent of Americans say they trust a country's financial system. That's down by a few percentage points since June.
Also, nearly 60 percent said they are angry or very angry about the current economic climate. A level of outrage not seen since the financial crisis in 2008.
Gas prices jumped 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.
And Wal-Mart getting more competitive with holiday shopping. The retail giant launched a Christmas price guarantee program this morning. How it works? If you buy something at Wal-Mart and then find it cheaper somewhere else, you get a gift card for the difference if you can prove it.
Start your day off 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 productive throughout the day.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all new CNNMoney.com. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Saving for retirement or your child's college tuition? What do you do? It's a tough decision many parents are forced to make, but, it doesn't have to be that difficult. Christine Romans shows us the trick in this week's "Smart is the New Rich."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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 and in a smart way. According to the government, worker with a college degree will make more than a million dollars more than a high school graduate over the course of their lifetime. And the unemployment rate for college graduate is only 4.3 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 the really -- the important question.
ROMANS: Time is your best friend. Even saving a little when your kid is still in diapers is better than taking out boatloads of loans later. There 529 plans help you to 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. All recommends saving a third, borrowing a third in student loans, and then getting scholarships and grants for the final third. Now, the resource, fini.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 looks than, say, a social worker, education major who will be paid less. And that means, choosing their school for your finances and ambitions, 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 more in the book "Smart is the New Rich."
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: All right. Christine, thank you so much.
Here are your top stories. The official death toll from Sunday's 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkey now stands at 264. At least 1,300 others are injured as rescue teams struggle with near freezing temperatures to reach potential victims in dozens of collapsed buildings.
VELSHI: The state department has recalled the U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. We're told it's response -- it' in response to a credible threat against him, but we have no word on the nature of that threat. The state department also accusing the Syrian regime of incitement against the ambassador.
Just last month, some vehicles in Ambassador Ford's motorcade were damaged by supporters of President Assad. The ambassador was not hurt.
CHO: The road to democracy starts here. The new leaders in Libya officially declaring the country's liberation from four decades of rule by Moammar Gadhafi. An autopsy has revealed that Gadhafi died from a gunshot wound to the head. His body is now on public display in a meat locker in Misrata.
VELSHI: And in Tunisia, right next door, the country where the Arab spring started, they're now counting votes. More than 90 percent of registered voters went to the polls in Tunisia's first free national election in more than 50 years. They're electing a 218 seat assembly which will appoint a new government and write a new constitution.
CHO: Now to politics here in the United States. Some major election calendar drama has finally been settled, Ali. Nevada has voted to shift the date of its Republican caucus to February 4, this after threats of candidates boycotting the state. Nevada initially moved its contest to mid-January because it wanted to play a big early role in choosing the nominee. But of course New Hampshire wasn't happy about that. That change jumbled the caucus calendar and risked violating national party rules.
VELSHI: And President Obama heads to Nevada today. In Las Vegas he'll push new rules for underwater homeowners to refinance and avoid foreclosure. He'll be holding two fundraisers during a three state tour of the west. On Wednesday he'll announce changes to make it easier for college students to repay their loans.
CHO: And as part of that west coast tour, the president stops in Los Angeles this week, but is his star in Hollywood falling faster than Lindsay Lohan's? Entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter gives us a look at some of the president's latest reviews.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: In 2008 Hollywood stars firmly embraced Barack Obama. Lately, they have 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 is a brilliant guy, but I definitely wanted more, and I believe that there was more there.
WYNTER: Damon accuses him of bowing to corporate America. So does singer Melissa Etheridge.
MELISSA ETHERIDGE, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Mr. Obama, good luck to you. I still know who he answers to, who his boss is, and those are some pretty powerful corporations.
WYNTER: Harry Belafonte finds much to fault in the president's leadership.
HARRY BELAFOTNE, SINGER: He has only listened to the voices that shout the loudest, and it's all of those reckless rightwing voices. 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 critics.
MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: Steady.
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: steady.
WYNTER: Sheen argued that the president deserves Hollywood's full support.
SHEEN: You are talking about a very special man. I adore him. And I think he's done a great job.
WYNTER: Ditto Kris Kristofferson.
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, ACTOR: He's the best thing that's been there since Kennedy. WYNTER: Some celebs are putting their support in written form, as in a check. In recent months the Obama reelection campaign got $10,000 from Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw.
Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson equaled that. Michael Douglas chipped in $4,000. Will Ferrell, who dropped by the White House Friday, has anted up $5,000. "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)
CHO: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Hertz terminates more than two dozen Muslim drivers after they refuse to clock out for daily prayer breaks. But the union says they were targeted because of religion. We're going to speak to a union rep in just a moment.
VELSHI: Plus, ditch your bank for a new one. We'll tell you about a movement in Congress to make that easier for you to do. It's 34 minutes after the hour. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Good morning. In New York is 62 degrees this afternoon.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. A heated battle between Hertz and some of its drivers -- the company fired more than two dozen Muslim workers after they refused to clock out for daily breaks when they normally pray. Hertz says it's a policy that promotes fairness. The Muslim drivers say it tramples their religious freedom.
Joining us from Seattle, Washington, Tracey Thompson, secretary treasurer of the Teamsters local 117. Ms. Thompson, thank you for joining us. Explain to me exactly how these prayer breaks worked, and why in your estimation do you think these workers were fired.
TRACEY THOMPSON, SECRETARY-TREASURER, TEAMSTERS LOCAL 117: Well, Muslims pray up to five times a day. And for these workers, in an eight-hour shift, they might be praying two or three different times. But typically they are short breaks, four to five minutes. And we negotiated with this employer that these workers would have the right to take these intermittent breaks without clocking out. Hertz unilaterally implemented a new policy requiring them to clock out, and that's what's created this dispute.
CHO: But is it -- am I understanding this correctly that the workers were not formally notified? There was just a sign posted or something like that, and you're saying that the workers did not know about having to clock out? Is that what the issue is here?
THOMPSON: No. The issue is bigger than that in that we have a contract with this employer, with Hertz. We have a labor agreement in which we specifically bargained the right for workers to take these intermittent breaks in order to be able to pray at the appropriate times that their religion dictates.
Hertz violated that contract. They violated the law by not notifying us of a change in policy. And these workers were exercising their rights when they did not clock out for prayer breaks. And rather than -- go ahead.
CHO: You say that this was never a problem before, that many workers were often leave without clocking out. They would go to Starbucks, get a coffee. They'd be gone more than 10 minutes. And it was only when these Muslim drivers decided to take prayer breaks that it became a problem. So in essence you're saying this is about religious freedom.
THOMPSON: It is about religious freedom. But to be clear, these workers were for the last 15 years they have been taking prayer breaks without clocking in and out for them. What Hertz did is implement a policy and -- unilaterally, and then apply it only to the workers who were exercising their religious freedom. And they aren't applying it to the workers who were taking smoke breaks and the coffee breaks. That's really what made this about religion.
CHO: Hertz spokesperson Richard Grimm (ph) said in a statement to CNN, and I'm quoting now, "This has never been about religious tolerance. For over 15 years, we have accommodated and supported our Muslim employees in our Seattle location. All we have asked is that all employees abide by the requirement that they clock for breaks." That doesn't really sound unreasonable. How do you respond to that?
THOMPSON: You know, you have to look at it in the context of the rights that were bargained for these individuals at the negotiating table. And we bargained the right for them to take these intermittent breaks, these prayer breaks, without clocking out. Hertz violated that agreement, and they did not give us notice of this new policy, and they're not applying it uniformly.
CHO: But Ms. Thompson, with all due respect, why wouldn't these workers just clock out and keep their jobs? I mean, what's the problem here?
THOMPSON: This is about -- for these workers, their right to take these intermittent breaks to pray, the right that was bargained is a fundamental issue to them. This is about their human dignity. This is what we negotiated for. It would be like when we negotiate contracts, we negotiate about schedules that would prevent people from having to work on Sundays because they -- Christians observe their religion on Sundays. And if an employer were all of a sudden to say, we want everybody to work on Sundays after we bargained something different that would be a problem. And that's what we've got right here.
CHO: Ok.
THOMPSON: We bargained a condition of employment that this employer has violated.
CHO: And 25 Hertz employees of Muslim dissent were given termination notices. Another one resigned as a result. What are they doing now? What is their recourse? Do they want their jobs back? And is that even possible?
THOMPSON: Of course they want their jobs back. What we had asked Hertz to do is just suspend application of this policy for a short period of time while we get before an arbitrator and get our dispute resolved. And Hertz refused to do that. So we've got a grievance in arbitration process under our contract we're following. We had charges filed with the national labor relations board. And these workers will be filing religious discrimination complaints with the EEOC as well.
CHO: Tracey Thompson is the secretary-treasurer of Teamster Local 117. Ms. Thompson, thank you for joining us this morning.
THOMPSON: Thank you very much.
VELSHI: All right, "Minding your Business" this morning. Switching banks may soon be like switching cell phones. There's a new bill in Congress that would make it easier for you to switch banks by allowing you to keep your bank account number when you make the change, something a lot of people have thought about doing with so many banks announcing new fees.
Nearly a third of you are passing up free money. That's according to a new survey, that says that 30 percent of employees are not contributing enough to their 401(k) to get the full match from their employer. So make sure you look at the matching terms at your company. You might want to think about rebalancing your 401(k), while you're at it. You should be doing that a few times a year.
A record-breaking debut for "Paranormal Activity 3." The latest installment of the horror movie franchise made $54 million at the box office this weekend. That is the best October opening ever, and the best horror debut ever. Not bad for a film that cost $5 million to make.
CHO: Not my kind of thing. I'm more of a "When Harry met Sally" kind of a gal. Just saying.
(LAUGHTER) Coming up, it's the chemical that's become a huge buzz word for moms and dads. BPA is what it's called. What is it? We're going to tell you, and about the serious health problems that could be ahead for kids exposed to it even before they're born.
VELSHI: And how Steve jobs' unorthodox approach to life may have contributed to his death. It's 43 minutes after the hour. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
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VELSHI: It's 45 minutes after the hour; here are your "Morning Headlines".
Right now, U.S. stock futures are up. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all poised to open a little bit higher this morning.
The death toll in Turkey rising to 264 overnight; it's almost certain to rise again though after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake caused dozens of buildings to collapse on the eastern part of the country on Sunday.
It's still not clear exactly how Moammar Gadhafi died, but we know what killed him, a gunshot to the head. Gadhafi's body is now on public display in Mesrata. The doctor who performed the autopsy isn't saying whether Gadhafi's fatal wound came in cross fire or at close range.
Robert Ford, the U.S. Ambassador to Syria, has been brought back to Washington. The State Department says it's in response to a credible threat against the diplomat. No word on the nature of threat or when Ford might be allowed to return.
President Obama is on a quick tour of the West. Today he'll arrive in Las Vegas, where he'll discuss his plans to get the nation's economy back on track. He'll also drop by Los Angeles and he'll end the tour in Denver on Wednesday.
The Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals all even now in the World Series. The Rangers 4-0 shutout of the Cards last night tied the series at two games apiece. Mike Napoli had the big blow for Texas, a three-run homer. Game five tonight in Arlington.
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
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VELSHI: Good morning, Atlanta. Wake up. Come on it's time to get to work; 55 degrees now; wow it's even chilly there, its 72 later in the day, though. This is when Atlanta just makes so much sense.
CHO: Yes, exactly.
VELSHI: Oh it's just beautiful in Atlanta. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's time now for an "A.M. House Call". BPA, you probably have heard of it, is the chemical that can be found in everything from water bottles to cans of peas -- which surprised me -- and it could be causing behavioral problems in kids.
A study in the Journal Pediatrics found that toddlers exposed to higher BPA before they were born had worse behavior at age 3 than kids that didn't have that exposure.
CHO: Yes it may be surprising to some people. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to break it down for us.
So, Elizabeth, everywhere you look in the store, you see this label about BPA. What exactly is it, and why is it so dangerous?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. BPA is a chemical that's found in a lot of plastics Alina. It has been used for decades and decades. And in the past couple of years, researchers have gotten concerned about whether BPA can cause problems especially for children and even more so for fetuses because they are even smaller.
And so what this study did is it looked at about 250 moms in Cincinnati. And what they found is that when women took in a lot of BPA while they were pregnant, they were much more likely to have girls who would later on have behavior problems. And the reason they think it was girls and not boys is that BPA can affect a person's hormones. And so maybe it just affected the girls.
Now you asked about what BPA is in. It's in a lot of things. Most of us probably have it somewhere in our bodies. And that's because it's in things like this kind of plastic here. It's in this kind of plastic. It's in water bottles. Again, not all products but some.
And what a lot of people don't know is that tin cans are lined with plastic, because of course you don't want your food to taste like metal. And that plastic often has BPA in it.
VELSHI: So what are -- what are pregnant moms supposed to do, given this information?
COHEN: Right, right. I definitely fear that pregnant women will hear this and will freak out.
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: All you can do is if you want to is try to limit the amount of BPA that you get as much as possible. So the first thing you want to do is you want to take any kind of plastic that you might be eating or drinking out of and flip it over and see if there's a number on it. There's often a recycling number on the bottom of plastics.
And so look for a 7. Something with a 7 on the bottom is often going to have BPA in it. And so is something with a 3. Something with a 3 will sometimes have BPA in it as well. And so here are some other tips you can use to try to avoid BPA if you're pregnant. First of all, you can as I said avoid 3 or 7 on plastics. Avoid canned foods. Dispose of anything with BPA in it that has scratches because those scratches are going to make it easier for the BPA to get into the food.
And the -- what you can also do is you can go to cnn.com/thechart and we have many more specifics about how you can avoid BPA. Again, that's cnn.com/thechart.
CHO: And I'm sure that will be really helpful for a lot of expectant mothers.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth, there's been so much talk about its effect on younger children, younger girls in particular. What about for that expectant mother? And how -- just how dangerous is it for her?
COHEN: You know, the concerns are much more for fetuses and children than for adults. There haven't been a lot of great studies on any of this. And in fact, the American Chemicals Council, the folks who make plastics, say that these studies that any study that finds a problem is actually flawed. They say there's nothing wrong with BPA.
But again, the concern among many researchers is first of all for fetuses, second of all for children, third for adults because the bigger you get, the less of a concern there is.
CHO: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHO: Nice to see you as always.
We are getting a rare look inside the life of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. According to biographer Walter Isaacson, Jobs was incredibly demanding and had a work ethic that was unparalleled. Isaacson's authorized biography "Steve Jobs" hits the bookstores today.
Last night on "60 Minutes" he shared some light on the passion that made Jobs one of the greatest inventors of our generation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTER ISAACSON, BIOGRAPHER: He taught his son Steve, how to make great things. And he -- once they were building a fence. And he said you've got to make the back of the fence that nobody will see just as good looking as 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 and no longer wanted to 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 he would have loved to have conquered television. He would have loved 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)
CHO: Isaacson's book is based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs and other -- 100 interviews with friends, family members, and colleagues. Jobs authorized the book but asked for no control over what was written. It's incredible (ph). Just yesterday was the 10- year anniversary of the iPod.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: Hard to believe.
VELSHI: It's unbelievable, right?
CHO: It is unbelievable.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: I feel like it was introduced yesterday. But when you think about everything that he has done.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: -- to change the way we do things technologically it is really wonderful.
VELSHI: Yes, he is really one of those. And we have been struggling for weeks to sort of come up with people who have that kind of influence on society. You think of Henry Ford.
CHO: Right.
VELSHI: You think of Walt Disney perhaps. You know, there aren't a lot of them.
CHO: There aren't many.
VELSHI: I mean, I think Bill Gates sort of goes into that category.
CHO: Yes.
VELSHI: Because they sort of change but they're -- we're not -- we don't have an overabundance of people who really fully change the world that way.
CHO: What is also remarkable I think about this biography is that Walter Isaacson talks about how when he was asked to do it, he thought it was a bit audacious --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Right.
CHO: -- for Steve Jobs to be asking him at such a young age. What he did not know at the time was just how sick he was.
VELSHI: Jobs thought he was going to die. Yes.
CHO: Yes.
VELSHI: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords continues her recovery in North Carolina. She arrived in Asheville yesterday. That's where she'll undergo two weeks of intensive rehabilitation after being shot in the head during that rampage in January on Tucson. The mass shooting you'll recall left six people dead and 12 others wounded. Giffords is going to work with a therapist who also treated her while she was in Houston.
CHO: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING when sports worlds collide. Find out what two baseball stars were doing on the football field just hours before they were supposed to play in the World Series.
Fifty-five minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
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VELSHI: Good morning, Washington, D.C., 51 degrees right now. Boy we sure got that cool start pretty much everywhere in the east.
CHO: Yes.
VELSHI: 67 degrees later. It's not even going to get too much warmer later on today.
All right, fun moment before game four of the World Series in Texas last night. Former President George W. Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who knows a thing or two about throwing heat apparently not as much about catching it. The pitch goes off Ryan's glove. Watch this. Thankfully no runners were on base.
But Rangers Manager Ron Washington, as you can see there, very good mood. President Bush and Ryan laugh it off too, and the Rangers were smiling all night. By the way, they went on to shut out the Cardinals making tonight a very important game in Arlington, Texas.
CHO: Nice pitch by the former president, by the way.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: Meanwhile, hours before last night's first pitch in Arlington, the Rangers Josh Hamilton and the Cards Lance Berkman went across the street in full uniform to Cowboys Stadium to help with the coin toss prior to the Dallas Cowboys/St. Louis Rams NFL game.
Now, how often does that happen? Two Texas teams and two St. Louis teams are playing on the same night, different sports. Berkman and the Rams won the toss, but both St. Louis teams were losers yesterday.
VELSHI: They're -- they're hoping the Cards are hoping to change that tonight.
CHO: Yes.
VELSHI: And making a fan for life, Green Bay Packers defensive back Charles Woodson check this out getting his second interception of the game. But that's not the impressive part, look what he did next that has everyone talking. He hands the ball to a little girl in the front row who is super excited by the whole thing. She is smiling ear to ear. The whole family are going to be fans for life.
CHO: Good for her.
We're not going to quite let you off the hook, Ali. You may have noticed if you were watching earlier this morning that Ali Velshi has been getting taller and taller and taller throughout the morning. Well, that's because his chair, I think it was your chair, right, it definitely wasn't you, wasn't cooperating. Watch.
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CHO: Good morning.
VELSHI: Good morning to you, Alina.
CHO: It's Monday, October 24th.
VELSHI: There is definitely something wrong with my seat. See this?
CHO: Yes, there is.
We need to put him on something else.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: All right. We'll figure that out. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. This is a very strange seating situation. But we have a lot of news to cover.
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CHO: And to explain, we put the chairs on little --
VELSHI: Risers so that makes it flexible for everybody, no matter what their height is to look around the same, you know, the same height. And when I moved my chair this morning, I do this every single day, I don't understand why I got it wrong today, I took the chair right off the riser for some reason. CHO: You've got to do a lot to look shorter than me.
VELSHI: So yes, I was like -- but we got back.
It was the beginning of the show, Kyra, and we -- it's all been much better.
CHO: Uphill from there.
