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American Morning
Woman who Accused Herman Cain of Sexual Harassment Wishes to Speak Out Publically; Greece Parliament Holding Confidence Vote on Current Government; Closing Arguments Wrap up in Trial of Michael Jackson's Doctor; Greece Bailout Dominates G-20 Agenda; Ireland Closing Vatican Embassy; Jury Deliberations in Michael Jackson Death Trial; 400,000 Homes in Connecticut Still Without Power; JetBlue Refunding Stranded Passengers; The Unemployable Generation?; Jon Corzine Resigns as CEO of MF Global; Can Herman Cain Survive Scandal?; Sexual Harassment Allegations Around Herman Cain Are Not Going Away; $37.7 Billion is Price Tag for Hours Waiting for In-Home Service Technicians; Kids Remain in Pain After Surgery
Aired November 04, 2011 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A festival of denial. Herman Cain said he never sexually harassed anyone. Conservative rival, Rick Perry, in a CNN exclusive saying he knew nothing about the Cain allegations.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: To the jury now. Deliberations in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray begin again -- begin today, rather. They must decide, did Murray give Michael Jackson that lethal dose of propofol?
COSTELLO: Unemployment generation. America's young people losing hope of ever realizing the American dream. They simply cannot find work. We're going in depth on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Good morning, everybody. It's Friday, November 4th. This is AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Christine Romans.
COSTELLO: Yes. Happy Friday to you. I'm Carol Costello. Ali is in France. We'll get to him in just a bit.
But up first this morning, one of the women accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment could tell her side of the story today. She may release a statement through her attorney. The Republican frontrunner says the allegations against him are fabricated and groundless, and he's determined to push forward with his agenda, with his campaign too.
CNN's Joe Johns is following developments. He's live in Washington for us. Good morning, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Best case scenario, this would be the moment where we start to learn something about the actual allegations lodged against Herman Cain. The hope is for a one-page press release from the lawyer from one of the women accusers. This is being described as an attempt to defend this woman's reputation, could give us a sense of what she did, why she did it.
Apparently the main goal to be to rebut Herman Cain's assertion that the sexual harassment allegations which were made against him a dozen years ago were false. The woman in question says she was sexually harassed by Cain while she was an employee of the National Restaurant Association. This is all going on because you know a confidentiality agreement was put one place as a result of the settlement, supposedly bars all sides from talking about the details. We don't know the woman's name, of course, and we don't expect to actually get her identity because she's trying to keep it private. Back to you.
COSTELLO: In a strange way this is actually helping Herman Cain because people are donating to his campaign in droves.
JOHNS: Yes. Huge numbers according to the campaign. And you wonder why that is. They have been beating the drum saying, well, this is kind of a racist plot against Herman Cain, a la Clarence Thomas back in the day. So you read between the lines, this whole drum beat is not about who leaked the story, it's about conservatives who think this so-called liberal media is doing a drive-by on Herman Cain.
To that end Americans for Herman Cain, this super political action committee which is supposed to be independent of the Cain campaign, are putting out this new ad running on YouTube and we hear they have plans to place it in Iowa as early as next week.
It's a broadside into the media coverage on the Cain controversy in the strongest possible terms linking Cain directly to the way Clarence Thomas was treated in his Supreme Court confirmation hearings years ago. Let's listen to a little bit of it.
Looks like we don't have it there. Too bad. Maybe next hour. Long and short of it, though, it's just no surprise, really, that the Cain campaign is reporting that they are getting a lot of money from donors. Now we have it. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARENCE THOMAS, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: It's a hi-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way think for themselves. And it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order you'll be lynched, destroyed, caricatured rather than hung from a tree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: I mean that is strong stuff. And it seems like conservatives are responding to that message. There's a lot of distrust and suspicion of mainstream media in this country, and that's what Herman Cain is plugging into right now.
COSTELLO: Yes, except Herman Cain is accusing his Republican opponents of leaking the story. JOHNS: Yes. Well, but understand, this isn't about who leaked the story. What they are making the case on is how the media is handling the story. And, you know, there's sort of a dividing line there. And if you look at that whole ad they're really, you know, pointing out different news organizations and different individuals in the news and what they said. So it's not so much about the leaker, it's about the way it's being played.
COSTELLO: All right, Joe John, many thanks.
Herman Cain has accused his conservative rival Rick Perry of leaking details of the sexual harassment complaints in an effort bring him down. Perry in an exclusive interview with John King said his people had nothing to do with it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "JOHN KING USA": I want to start with was driving the news right now, which is the Cain campaign and they say you owe him an apology. Do you?
GOV. RICK PERRY, (R-TX) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No apology need. We found bout this at the same time the rest of America found out about it, both on the internet or next day in the news. So, you know, I don't know how to tell any other way except knew nothing about it, sir.
King: You said YOU knew nothing. I don't want to dwell on this, but if you ever found out somebody in your campaign did something would you fire them?
PERRY: Out the door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Governor Perry also talked about the rather animated speech he gave to supporters in New Hampshire. Perry said he had not been drinking alcohol or taking any medication. He told John King if he had the chance to deliver that speech again he would give it exactly the same way.
ROMANS: Greece is teetering and still dominating the conversation at the G-20 summit in France this morning. The global economy and your retirement account hang in the balance. The prime minister George Papandreou is backing off plans to put a Eurozone bailout plan to a vote by the Greek people. And we know what the Greek people feel about austerity. You've seen those riots in the streets. Instead he's trying to convince his political opponents to back the measure while he tries to survive a confidence vote in parliament.
Ali Velshi covering the G-20. He joins us live from Cannes, France. Any sense this crisis is closer to being resolved, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think the changes in the last few days have caused people to be wary of making that kind of assumption. The bottom line is while they are probably averting this referendum, there's a confidence vote in the Greek parliament. It will probably be around 7:00 p.m. eastern time, maybe later.
And the Greek prime minister only has a two seat lead in parliament. So things can go in any direction tonight or even over the weekend in Greece. But, yes, there's some sense that perhaps they've averted it.
But now the attention is being focused on Italy, which is a substantially bigger and more powerful economy than Greece is, an economy that has a lot of debt and becoming very expensive for the Italian government to borrow money. The cost of borrowing is above six percent.
People wonder why that matters. It matters because in countries like some where you're talking about government spending less or cutting back, every extra dollar paid on interest on your debt is a dollar that's not going social services and going into the public.
So these don't big concerns around Europe. Because a bit of the attention has been eased at the G-20, Christine, there's some sense they are getting down to business. You saw the pictures of the leaders chatting this morning. They seem very relaxed and laid back. Reporters were saying they were joking and taking it easy.
So maybe some business is actually getting done, business that was supposed to get done. But the biggest thing that was going to be achieved here was the Europeans presenting a package to the rest of the world, including the Chinese and Indians who are here, and saying come invest in us. We're safe and we're a good bet. Clearly that didn't happen, Christine.
ROMANS: You usually they like to do things talking about how to get good health care for children and how to lift the world's poor out of poverty and solve things like malaria. But it's all been about just making sure --
VELSHI: But I will say one thing, Christine, as you know, a lot of work in G-20 is not gone by these leaders. They are done by what we call "Sherpas," representatives. And these people have meetings, ongoing meetings all the time. So I would say 90 percent, 95 percent of the work that's done by the G-20 is already done or will continue to be done. The world's leaders' attentions have been focused elsewhere in the last 24 hours.
ROMANS: Ali Velshi, thanks, Ali, in Cannes, France.
COSTELLO: The video was shocking. It shows a Texas judge beating his then 16-year-old daughter, and now another stunner. Authorities say the judge cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired. I want to warn you again, these pictures are hard to watch. This videotape beating took place seven years ago. Judge William Adams is seen whipping his daughter Hillary repeatedly with a belt, supposedly after he found out she was illegally downloading games and music on the Internet. Last night on CNN's "AC 360" Hillary Adams, the daughter, said it was a regular pattern of abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: This tape is extraordinarily difficult to watch. Did this kind of thing happen a lot to you?
HILLARY ADAMS, VIDEOTAPED BEATING BY FATHER: Well, a lot of people are asking that and, well, the corporal punishment was just corporal punishment when I was younger, but then it escalated and got worse and worse over time until when I was a teenager it started turning into full blown abuse, like similar what you see in the video. And it got so bad and I recognized the pattern of it about to erupt that I knew to set up the camera and I knew that I just needed to capture this because it was getting so bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Hilary says she posted the video now in an effort to reconcile with her father, Judge Adams, her dad, a family law judge who presides over child abuse cases, who has been taken off the bench temporarily pending a conduct review.
ROMANS: More than 400,000 homes still without power in Connecticut this morning six days now after that freak snowstorm pounded the northeast. You know what, they might not have power this weekend either. The state's attorney general is now calling for an investigation of Connecticut Light and Power to find out why repairs are taking so long.
And, you know, JetBlue has started refunding hundreds of passengers who were strand on a tarmac in Hartford. They were stranded there for up to eight hours when the storm hit. Those passengers are also getting a round trip voucher for a future trip and a personal apology by phone from a JetBlue customer service agent.
COSTELLO: That would make me feel better.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Still to come this morning we'll be on verdict watch today. Powerful closing arguments in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, prosecutors describing Michael Jackson's daughter curled up on the floor crying the night her father went into cardiac arrest. But was it enough to sway the jury? CNN's legal analyst Paul Callan weighs in.
ROMANS: And an early heads up for you. A rogue asteroid is headed towards earth, and you won't believe how close it will come.
Plus, tomorrow might be the perfect day to dump your bank. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 13 minutes past the hour. Good morning. A verdict could happen as soon as today in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. Jury deliberations will begin this morning, this after powerful and emotional closing argument, the prosecution reminded jurors that the trial isn't just about Michael Jackson but about his children who will now grow up without a father. The defense arguing the trial is not a reality show.
Joining us now is CNN legal analyst Paul Callan. Welcome.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: OK, so let's talk about the prosecution's closing arguments first, because the prosecutor stood up and gave this moving -- the speech was so moving that some people applauded afterwards. So let's listen to a bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID WALGREN, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The evidence in this case is abundantly clear that Conrad Murray acted with criminal negligence, that Conrad Murray caused the death of Michael Jackson, that Conrad Murray left Prince, Paris, and Blanket without their father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course it wasn't the jury who applauded. It was the people watching outside the courtroom who applauded. And they were applauding because the prosecutor made Michael Jackson so human and brought in his family. They thought this was a very effective way to sway the jury. Was it?
CALLAN: Well, you know, it's interesting, because a lot of prosecutors might say if you have a strong case you don't have to go with the sympathy card.
Now, this -- I was a little surprised frankly that he spent so much time talking about the children because I think the prosecutors have a strong case that they could argue to the jury here. But on the other hand, he was thinking about the defense coming forward saying, you know, Michael Jackson did this to himself. I was just trying to help somebody who had a drug problem and he did it to himself.
What the prosecutor emphasized was, you know, it wasn't just Michael Jackson who was a victim in this. He has children. They will be raised without a father. There's a true victim. So, I think he was trying to bring that home with the jury.
COSTELLO: And the defense countered in its closing argument, the defense standing up and saying that, you know, this isn't a reality show. That some people who testified in the course of the trial made money off of their stories, you know, through tabloids paid them and some thought that was very effective, too. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED CHERNOFF, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What they're really asking you to do, just say it, what they're really asking you to do is to convict Dr. Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson. Somebody's got to say it. Somebody's got to tell the truth. Somebody's got to just say it. If you it weren't anybody else but Michael Jackson, anybody else, would this doctor be here today?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Isn't that a good point?
CALLAN: Well, it is -- it is a very good point. But, thinking about it as I was coming in to the studio today when I heard that line, I was thinking if it was not Michael Jackson, well, who else has had propofol administered to them in their house to help with sleep? Nobody else. It's kind of -- I think even if it wasn't Michael Jackson, the doctor would be prosecuted for this because it's so unusual.
Even the defense expert testified he had never heard of it being used at home and that he wouldn't do it himself that it would be a departure from good and accepted medical practice.
So -- but I think what you saw in the end here and I thought the most interesting thing it brought back a sort of a technical point in the case. The defense is focusing on the I.V. bottle and the set- up of it. And the defense attorney, when his next point on this was that one of Michael Jackson's guards gave totally inaccurate testimony about how that I.V. bottle was set up.
COSTELLO: That's right. And he's accusing that guard of making money on his changing story.
CALLAN: Exactly. And he's saying, you know something, if that I.V. bottle was not set up that way, it is impossible that Michael Jackson's death could have been caused by Dr. Murray. Michael Jackson would have had to have self-injected and Murray would have known nothing about it and Murray wouldn't have had to be in the room because he thought Michael was safely asleep and that the medication event was over.
So it's a really good technical defense that he's put up on the board in the course of his opening statement. So, there's something to debate about in the jury room.
COSTELLO: OK. So after you listen to both of these closing arguments on either side, do you still think the jury will make a quick decision?
CALLAN: Yes, I do. Because I still think that in the end this is a simple case from a factual standpoint and I think the jury in the end is going to say why is Murray administering propofol in a home setting instead of an operating room. And the standard in California is if that constitutes a lack of due care and circumspection, very, very minor standard then -- and it's caused the death, then it's manslaughter.
Remember this is not pulling the trigger intentional murder. This is an accidental murder caused by recklessness or gross negligence.
COSTELLO: Right.
CALLAN: It's an easier case to prove. So I still think fast verdict, but I'm not coming back on Monday if I'm wrong. So, all right.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see.
CALLAN: OK, Carol.
COSTELLO: Paul Callan, thanks as usual -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Not to worry people, but an asteroid about the size of, say, an aircraft carrier is headed right our way. NASA has projected the asteroid's path and is predicting a close call next week. Of course, a close call in outer space means about 200,000 miles. If you're scoring at home that's closer than the orbit of the moon around us. Officials say there hasn't been an object that close to our planet in more than 30 years.
Five hundred twenty days, six astronauts, one successful but fake mission to Mars. Volunteer astronauts will emerge from isolation today. They were part of an experiment by the European Space Agency meant to determine the challenges of space travelers by simulating a mission to Mars for a year and a half. This crew worked together in tight spaces. They rarely showered and they ate only canned food.
They were only missing the weightlessness, the radiation and, oh, the interplanetary space flight. Just another day on the job. Or a year and a half on the job.
COSTELLO: Just still thinking about not taking a shower.
ROMANS: Twenty minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano is here. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning.
You know, Occupy Wall Street a year and a half from now. You're talking about the same thing.
Good morning, guys. Let's talk about a real Mars mission. This one is going to launch the end of the month. It's going to be unmanned. This is Curiosity, a picture of it, before it loaded up on its Atlas Rocket earlier this week. And, again, the end of the months this thing is going to launch unmanned. It is one of the many rovers that have been launched towards Mars. And this one will do it for real.
All right, for real here's a picture of our radar composite showing the heavy rain that's moving across parts of North Carolina, Southeastern Virginia and through the Delmarva. This will continue off towards the east, little impact across the northeast. I think it will stay for the most part to the south. Behind this system is certainly some cold air. This is the same system that brought the blizzard conditions across the Eastern Colorado and Nebraska. Temperatures dropping into the 20s and 30s as far south as the Mexican Border. Freeze warnings posted this morning.
It will be cool and dry across much of the eastern third of the country. A couple of strom systems rolling into the Pacific Northwest and California. Wind and some rain, some dust will be an issue with this. If you are traveling, there are going to be some delays likely in Phoenix because of dust and low visibility. Vegas same deal. Los Angeles some clouds and some wind. And maybe a shower in San Francisco, stormy conditions on and off through the weekend.
Guys, back up to you.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
COSTELLO: Coming up next, never in recorded history have America's young people been so challenged to find jobs. CNN going in- depth on this country's unemployment generation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Solid gains in U.S. markets yesterday after Greece decided to scrap that vote on a critical bailout fund. Right now, U.S. futures trading slightly lower ahead of the opening bell. Still quite volatile with everything going on in Europe.
Also, everyone is waiting for the big October jobs report that comes out about an hour from now. Economists forecast 102,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month. The unemployment rate however stayed steady at 9.1 percent. That, of course, is uncomfortably high.
Groupon upping the price for its IPO. How much? $20 per share, valuing the online company at $13 billion. The shares start trading today on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol GRPN.
Bogus weight loss claims costing two companies $27 millions. The FTC is settling its two-year-old case against the makers of Hoodia Weight Loss products. The Fed saying there's no proof of this stuff that comes from an African cactus will make you skinny.
If you're fed up with fees, you can vent your frustration tomorrow. It's being called Bank Transfer Day. A Facebook group encouraging people to ditch their big banks and a new survey says people are. More than 650,000 people have switched to credit unions since Bank of America announced its new debit card fee (INAUDIBLE). Eventually scrapped -- they eventually scrapped under pressure from angry customers.
Thanksgiving just around the corner and the trade group says it's looking like there's going to be 37,000 fewer flyers per day around the holiday this year. But flights will still be full, so you should get going and book them before they're all sold out and prices go up further. Two big airlines are raising round trip prices $10 this morning.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNMoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so hard to find a job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A job that actually pays, darn near impossible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people just don't have much of a future to look forward to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): They are becoming the unemployable generation. America's young people losing hope of ever realizing their American dream on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Here are your top stories this morning.
The G-20 Summit in France entering its final day with Greece's future, the global economy, and your 401 k hanging in the balance. Greek Prime Minister Papandreou now backing off that plan to hold a vote on the E.U. bailout package instead he's trying to get the opposition to back the plan while he fights to keep his job.
COSTELLO: Cash-strapped Ireland announcing its closing its embassy to the Vatican because of financial problems. Irish officials denying it's really because of deteriorating relations with the Catholic church. Ireland will be close its embassies to Iran and the Southeast Asian State of Timor.
ROMANS: Jury deliberations set to begin this morning in the Michael Jackson death trial. Powerful closing arguments by both sides yesterday. The prosecution reminding jurors that the trial isn't about Michael Jackson, but about his children who will now grow up without a father. The defense arguing this trial isn't a reality show.
COSTELLO: More than 400,000 homes still without power in Connecticut. Six days after that freak snowstorm and it could take several more days to get everyone's power back online. State's attorney general is now calling for an investigation of Connecticut Light & Power to find out why it's taking them so long to restore power. ROMANS: JetBlue has started refunding hundreds of passengers who were strand on a tarmac in Hartford for eight hours when that big storm hit. Those passengers are also getting a round trip voucher and a personal apology by phone from a JetBlue customer service agent.
COSTELLO: That's nice. America's young people, they are growing desperate. For anyone between 16 to 24 years old it's never been harder to find work in this country. Poppy Harlow in depth with more on America's, I hate to even say it, unemployable generation, really?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Maybe. We don't know yet. I mean, this is a troubling number when you look at it and I think it's something that hasn't gotten enough attention.
So as we participate for the jobs report to come out this morning, we want to look at young people in America, those between 16 and 24 because their unemployment rate is staggering.
It's even worse in other parts of the world. I talked to an economist who said we are selling this generation short and it is an absolute disaster. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRANDON COBLE, 22 YEARS OLD: They want people with experience and of course, you know, being as young as we are there's no way we can have experience.
KARA DEMETROPOULIS, 20 YEARS OLD: That's a lot of the issues that a lot of my friends are facing back home. It's just -- it's so hard to find a job.
ANGELIQUE RICHARDS, 18 YEARS OLD: I've interned a lot. It's never been issue with me finding an internship, but a job that actually pays, impossible.
PETER VAUPOTIC, 22 YEARS OLD: It's just harder and harder and you make less and less. And I think people just don't have much of a future to look forward to.
HARLOW (voice-over): A future to look forward to. It's the promise of the American dream, but in this sluggish economy America's youth may be starting to lose hope. Unemployment among 16 to 24 year olds has been higher in the last three years than during any time on record.
This year, over 17 percent of America's youth are jobless. Even 2010 college graduates faced a record 9.1 percent unemployment when they finished school. But for those youth with only a high school diploma, unemployment is more than twice as high.
(on camera): It's part of what's driving this movement, the lack of a job for young people. It gives them a reason and the time to occupy cities across the globe.
(voice-over) It's not just an American problem. The world's largest developed economies have all seen sharp increases in youth unemployment since 2007 except for Germany. If you look at the most troubled European nations, the numbers are staggering.
In 2010, unemployment for 16 to 24-year-olds in Italy was 28 percent, 33 percent in Greece and over 41 percent in Spain. But back here at home 16 to 24-year-olds make up 26 percent of the unemployed.
What does it all mean? Studies show being unemployed at a young age means several years of lower earnings and an increased likelihood of unemployment in the future.
DEMETROPOULIS: The last two times that I acquired jobs, it took me two months of straight job searching.
RICHARDS: I showed up and I started working and one day after the show my boss just said, you're part of the team now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Those are just a few of the examples of young people across the country struggling with this. One investor that I spoke with yesterday, a very well known investor said actually this is what keeps him up at night.
The fear that this generation is going to go from unemployed to unemployable because the longer you're without a job, the harder to get a job. If you don't that have skills then how are you going to show the employer that can you do it.
And eventually it all adds up to the situation where you've been out of work for so long that you're not going to ever make up what you've lost.
COSTELLO: Wait a minute. We're talking in part about 16, 17- year-olds and 18-year-olds. You don't really worry so much about them --
HARLOW: You think they are in school.
COSTELLO: They can stay at home with their parents.
HARLOW: That's true, they can. But these numbers don't count anyone that's in school. They only count people that are in the labor force actively looking for work.
COSTELLO: So these are high school dropouts.
HARLOW: Some are high school dropouts. It's between 16 and 24. Some are college graduates that are out there looking for work. Some are people that have a high school degree. But if you don't have a high school degree in this country, if you're a high school dropout, your unemployment rate is 28.5 percent.
COSTELLO: And that's depression level.
ROMANS: So for those kids that they are living in depression era kind of realities. One thing that I think is a positive though and we don't know if it's a positive, we don't know if this is.
When I talk to people at the big HR firms who advice companies on how integrate now four different generations at work, they actually are excited about this generation because they don't know what they can do, this generation especially the ones that graduate from college.
They don't know what they can do. They are wired for technology. They have new ideas. They are coming up in an era where there's a new technology and something new happening all the time. So they are a different kind of worker.
HARLOW: It doesn't necessity breed innovation.
COSTELLO: It's nothing like desperation to --
HARLOW: Sure, but I just think we don't talk about this number enough and it's actually a little bit better in the U.S. than it is in the European nations, but we can address it and I think we have to.
ROMANS: I was recently at a conference where one of the speakers said we're eating our young because we're all talking about preserving Social Security benefits for the very generation that ran up America's debt.
And we'll do that by taking away from young people that don't have an opportunity and that's a big discussion that needs to be had in this country about what priorities are for growing going forward in that.
COSTELLO: The big problem with that is so many people are living off of Social Security, only Social Security. So if you take those benefits away, what's that going to do to the younger generation because somebody has going to have to pay for them?
ROMANS: That's right. When you're not creating jobs and the economy is not growing fast enough everyone hurts and that's where we are.
HARLOW: And it's leading to some of this anger and we're seeing it in occupy around the world.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: Sure.
COSTELLO: Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Republican frontrunner Herman Cain trying to get his campaign back on track in the face of sexual harassment allegations.
How will the scandal impact his conservative base? I don't know. He's getting a lot of money in campaign donations. We'll talk about it. It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Breaking news this morning. Jon Corzine is out as CEO of MF Global, that's the investment firm that collapsed and allegedly lost track of some $600 million of customer money. Possible subpoenas could follow from Washington.
Also Jon Corzine is the former New Jersey governor. He's a former CEO of Goldman Sachs. He was once on the reported short list for treasury secretary. He will not be seeking severance according to a statement.
There will be no golden parachute for him. But, you know, he ran up the risk of this firm to big risky bets on, you know, at the time very cheap European debt.
The rest of the world and other investors saw that got very nervous. There was a run on this company. It is now bankrupt and 2,800 people could be out of a job.
COSTELLO: This investigation is ongoing that this $600 million in investor money is missing somehow. So if those allegations are proved true what could happen to him?
ROMANS: That would be a very -- that could be a criminal situation, a criminal charge for people who run this company whether it was a mistake or whether it was on purpose.
But you cannot mix customer money to cover a company's losses for their proprietary trading desk. You cannot do that. That's what they are investigating right now and who may have done that.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about politics now. Herman Cain denies sexually harassing anyone, but the allegations swirling around him are not going away.
One of Cain's accusers may issue a statement later today through her lawyer who is trying to get the National Restaurant Association to waive a confidentiality agreement.
The controversy may have motivated Cain's supporters. The GOP frontrunner raised more than $1 million this week alone. But can Cain survive in the long run?
Joining us now, Erick Erickson, CNN contributor and editor-in- chief of redstate.com and in Washington, Robert Traynham, former Republican adviser, now D.C. Bureau chief for the Comcast Network. Welcome to both of you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Robert, let's start with you. The campaign said they've raised $1.2 million since these allegations came out. It almost seems like it doesn't matter.
ROBERT TRAYNHAM, FORMER REPUBLICAN ADVISER: Well, it does matter clearly because if in fact these allegations are true then obviously Herman Cain has a major, major problem. You're still innocent until proven guilty.
There are a lot of folks out there that believe in Herman Cain's very simple message of 9-9-9. But it also tells me that the Republican electorate out there are simply not happy with the choices that are being presented to them, i.e., Mitt Romney and Rick Perry and they are attracted to Herman Cain.
There's also another element to this and I think we need to talk about. That is that a lot of people out there still remember Clarence Thomas. They still remember how, quote and unquote, "wrong he was in the national press and how he was fried in the national press."
So there's a lot of similarities between a black conservative that is maligned through the press and I think a lot of people are resonating to that and it's on the Republican side.
COSTELLO: So Eric, I like you to talk about that too because you know a lot about Cain's grassroots conservative base. I mean, what are they telling you about this scandal?
ERICK ERICKSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, REDSTATE.COM: Well, as the week has gone on, people are really disappointed with how the campaign has handled it and there's a growing sense that the campaign probably could have nipped it in the bud earlier with the way they handled it.
They had at least 10 days and if you take Herman Cain's statement that he had told this advisor for Rick Perry who he claimed and then the campaign kind of walk back that he did it.
Then they've known at least since 2003 that there was something there. Look, there was a surge of campaign donations to the campaign. This is very typical across the board regardless of party.
When a scandal like this hits that's largely based on anonymous sources, the candidates' base rallies to the candidate. Unfortunately, when the candidate then something comes out and it looks like the victim may be real, what they generally see is a backlash from those supporters.
So the Cain campaign now has to tread very, very carefully so they don't now incite a lot of anger from people who feel betrayed.
COSTELLO: Robert another question to you. One of Cain's arguments is that these anonymous women don't have proof. Listen to what Cain said yesterday to Sean Hannity on the radio.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R), FORMER GODFATHER'S PIZZA CEO & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you look at the facts, and you look at the fact that "Politico" doesn't have any documentation -- they've never talked to these women, who are anonymous. I didn't know there were so many women named anonymous in America to be perfectly honest with you --
(LAUGHTER) CAIN: -- because they keep digging up others.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But the women keep coming forward. One of the women, one of his accusers, supposedly will release a statement later today. Isn't it in Cain's best interest to say, hey, National Restaurant Association, release the facts and let everyone know that I am innocent.
ROBERT TRAYNHAM, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, COMCAST NETWORK: One would make that argument, yes. And Herman Cain obviously could say that. Another thing he could say is, look, I want to hold a press conference and get my side of the story out there. And let's just -- it's always about the cover-up. It's never about the crime per se.
And it appears, to Erick's point, that what the Cain campaign is very sloppy at doing is being very consistent with whatever the truth may be. The problem here is that the Cain campaign has shifted from blaming Rick Perry to blaming the press to now blaming the victims and so forth, and that's where the inconsistencies are. And that's where a lot of people are raising their eyebrows, saying, OK, what's the truth so I can better under what your position, Mr. Cain.
COSTELLO: Yes, because, Erick, and I want to pose this question to you. There's this in-fighting thing going on. Herman Cain accused Rick Perry's camp of leaking this information to "Politico". John King spoke with Rick Perry yesterday and Perry denied it.
Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: We found out about this the same time that I suppose the rest of America found out about it, both on the Internet or the next day in the news. So, you know, I don't know how to tell any other way except knew nothing about it, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, I mean, it has to be mistake that Herman Cain is pointing his finger at everyone when he doesn't really seem to know --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: -- who is it.
ERICK ERICKSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, REDSTATE.COM & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's a real problem for him to be casting blame. To say that was the Perry campaign who -- and for the past several past weeks, we've all been convinced the Perry can't walk and chew gum at the same time for -- to now say they were able to pull this off something like this, it kind of defies credibility. There's some animosity there clearly from Cain towards Perry.
But I really doubt this. What I'm hearing from a whole lot of people is it seems the most logical answer is this came from the National Restaurant Association, someone there who may or may not have something against Cain. But the blame game really keeps the story more alive because it opens up new angles to the story, who did it and why. And meanwhile, we're still hanging out there, waiting for the victims to come forward.
If it's just an anonymous statement, it probably doesn't hurt Cain. If one of these women gets in front of the camera and they have a legitimate, plausible story that's sympathetic, then this blame game and the waffling and the changing of stories this story really will have a negative impact on Cain moving forward.
COSTELLO: Well, then, perhaps if it were me, I wouldn't go to the National Restaurant Association and say release the settlement. Because, as you know, people interpret things in different ways.
ERICKSON: Right.
COSTELLO: Go ahead, Robert.
TRAYNHAM: Carol, I was going say, very quickly, if you want to get to just one isolated incident, there was one settlement out there, this person made an accusation, the National Restaurant Association paid for her to, quote, "go away," but it's not one, it's two, possibly even three. And it is also the inconsistencies where a lot of people are raising their eyebrows at. That's Herman Cain really needs to address.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens next.
Erick Erickson and Robert Traynham, thanks so much for being with us this morning.
ERICKSON: Thank you.
TRAYNHAM: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, our morning headlines are next.
And here's today's "Romans' Numeral." It's $37.7 billion. Here's a hint. It's the cost of all those hours you sit around waiting for who?
It's 48 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 50 minutes after the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
Brand-new this hour, he's out, and there won't be a golden parachute. Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine resigning at CEO of the investment firm, M.F. Global. The firm collapsed and allegedly lost track of $600 million of customer money. And that's all under federal investigation now. Checking on the markets, U.S. stock futures from the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all trading slightly lower ahead of the opening bell. Everyone is waiting for that big jobs report that comes out in about 45 minutes.
The Greek debt crisis, front and center at the G20 summit in France. The global economy, your retirement plan, all on the line. Greece's prime minister backing off plans to put a Eurozone bailout package to a vote of his people. Instead, trying to rally support for the plan from the opposition, while at the same time, he's trying to keep his own job.
Jury deliberations in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor begin today. Dr. Conrad Murray is accused of giving Jackson a lethal dose of Propofol. He faces four years in prison if convicted.
NBA owners and the Players Association will resume talks tomorrow on a new collective bargaining agreement. They're the first talks in eight days. The league has already canceled regular season games through the end of the month. NBA players have been locked out now since July.
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
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(SINGING)
ROMANS: Oh, the waiting is the hardest part. The morning's "Romans' Numeral," a number in the news today.
COSTELLO: I'm dying to know this.
ROMANS: It's $37.7 billion, Carol, and that is --
COSTELLO: What is it?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: It's the price tag for all the hours spent waiting for the cable guy --
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh.
ROMANS: -- the electrician, the kitchen cabinet delivery, any type of in-home service technician. You know, oh, yes, I'll be there between 2:00 and 5:00. You take the day off, right? Tally it up, all those hours weighting around for the doorbell to ring is the equivalent of every single working American losing two full days of work a year.
COSTELLO: Oh!
ROMANS: Who keeps you waiting the longest? The cable guy. But there are points for punctuality, for health care workers and online grocery store delivery people. Those people don't make you wait.
COSTELLO: Wow. I have always wondered about that. If you need something fixed, why don't they have their technicians work after 5:00 p.m. when most people are coming home from work, or --
ROMANS: Why don't they just come when they say they're going to come? That's what I don't understand.
(LAUGHTER)
It drives me nuts.
COSTELLO: Good point.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: $38 billion. There you go.
COSTELLO: Wow.
When your child breaks a bone or needs surgery, they could end up suffer more than they have to. A new study finds that many kids are still in pain months after surgeries. Why?
CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us with the answer.
Why?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Why, I know. It really does sound crazy, doesn't it? 13 percent of children in this recent study had pain that lingered for months after an appendectomy or other types of surgeries. And this is not the only study. Other studies have found that when a child breaks their leg and goes to the E.R., many of those children, like 20 to 30 percent, are not properly medicated when they come home.
And what researchers told me is that they think that doctors are hesitant to give children really strong pain medication, like let's say Oxycontin or Percocet, because they're afraid the parents will overdose them somehow. But pain experts say you have to explain to parent how to do it right and the child will be fine and they will not get addicted. So a lot of concern is that kids are unnecessarily in pain.
ROMANS: Well, because we know that America does a very good job of using pain medication correctly --
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: -- because we don't, but that's beside the point. So what can parents -- what can parents do?
COHEN: Well, parents really need to be empowered patients and be advocates for their children. There's probably never a better time to do that. First of all, when you're discharged from the hospital after something like a surgery or a visit to the E.R. for a broken bone, ask the doctor about pain medications at home. Especially, if they were medicated at the hospital, then chances are they need to be medicated when they get home in a couple of hours.
Also ask when to give the medications. and sometimes it will say every four hours. You can ask, does it have to be every four hours? Should I give it to them before they try to walk? Ask a few questions. Also, consider other ways to address the pain. Pain medication is not the be-all and end-all. You can take it but you could also do things like learn how to do diversion tactics, like play music for your child, other things that can help.
For more ideas, go to CNN.com/empoweredpatient. We have a long list of things you can do to make sure your child is not in pain.
COSTELLO: Here's the other thing, Elizabeth. Some kids are pretty stoic and you don't always know they are in pain.
COHEN: I was actually surprised to learn that, because I thought all kids would cry or scream when they're in pain, but these doctors tell me, that's not true. That some kids, especially if you're in a culture where stoicism is highly valued, they will pick up on that and they will get maybe quiet or withdrawn, or younger children won't want to eat, and that's a sign. So parents need to look for other than screaming and crying. And doctors need to look for those signs too.
ROMANS: I'll tell you, kids -- I would have a really hard time giving my kids some of those really powerful pain medications. I mean --
COSTELLO: Like Oxycontin.
ROMANS: It's really -- That's really scary stuff, you know. I mean --
COHEN: Christine, I'm glad you brought that up. That's exactly what I said, as a mom, to these researchers.
ROMANS: Yes.
COHEN: And they said, look, we worry about Oxycontin being taken over a period of weeks or months. But Oxycontin, for three days after your kid has had a tonsillectomy --
ROMANS: Yes.
COHEN: -- they're not going to get addicted. I heard this over and over again, you don't need to worry about three days of Percocet or three days of Oxycontin. You kid has just had their throat cut in two. That is going to hurt. You don't want your kid to be in pain.
COSTELLO: I know. I don't know. Like a part of me said, I wouldn't even want to take those drugs. I wouldn't even want to take the chance, but for your little guy or girl, I would understand.
Elizabeth Cohen, thanks. COHEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Top stories coming your way next, including new developments just into CNN from the G20 summit in France. What about Greece, you ask. We'll tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
It's three minutes until the top of the hour.
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