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American Morning
Jon Corzine Resigns as CEO of MF Global; Texas Judge Taped Whipping Daughter; Michael Jackson Death Trial; No Public Vote on Greek Bailout Plan; Hoyas And Hova; Invasion of the Kudzu Bug; America's GI Janes
Aired November 04, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The judge off the hook.
I'm Carol Costello.
He was secretly videotaped whipping his daughter with a belt. The brutal beating by a Texas judge triggered online outrage, but he will not be subject to any justice.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Greece on the edge.
I'm Christine Romans.
Scrambling to avoid defaulting, a scenario that could send a global economy into a tail spin, and what about the U.S.?
A critical jobs report about to be released on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. Happy Friday. It is November 4th.
Ali Velshi is at the G-20 summit in France. We'll take you to Cannes in just a moment.
ROMANS: That's right.
But breaking news this morning, gone and there will be no golden parachute. Jon Corzine is out as CEO of MF Global. That's the investment firm that collapsed and allegedly lost track of $600 million in customer money.
Corzine, the former New Jersey governor, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, he was once on the reported short list for treasury secretary. He will not seek a severance, according to the statement. Of course, he is a very, very wealthy man from all those years on Wall Street.
COSTELLO: What did you say, he's worth half a billion dollars?
ROMANS: I think $400 million I read, is what is his net worth is. So, there will be no severance there, but he's out at MF Global and there are numerous federal investigations into what happened there.
COSTELLO: New developments, too, to tell you about concerning that Texas judge who was secretly videotaped beating his teenage daughter back in 2004. We warn you, again: these pictures are difficult to watch. So, turn away if you don't want to see it.
But here it is, Judge William Adams seen whipping his daughter, Hillary, repeatedly with a belt after discovering she was illegally downloading music on the Internet. Now, we know the judge who presides over child abuse cases, will not face criminal charges because the statute of limitations has passed.
ROMANS: So, joining us now to talk about this case, CNN legal contributor Paul Callan.
Paul, yesterday, Hillary Adams, the girl who was beaten on that YouTube video, she spoke to Anderson Cooper about what she endured. Let's listen to that first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY ADAMS: The bruises were the worst I had ever had. I had had other lashings like that, but this one produced the most bruising. And the next day it was all up and down my legs and he'd also hit my arms when he couldn't get to my legs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, Paul -- Paul, the statute of limitations is up, he can't be criminally charged for this.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: This is so disturbing. Yes, the statute of limitations is gone in Texas. He was facing two possible charges: child endangerment and assault charges. And this thing happened six years ago.
And because of the low level of the -- it would probably be a misdemeanor assault or low-level assault because she wasn't hospitalized and didn't have a serious physical injury, hence the statute is less than six years, he cannot be criminally prosecuted.
COSTELLO: But he still is a family court judge and they're still investigating him, you know, whether or not he can be removed from the bench. What sort of process does that involve?
CALLAN: Well, two things going on. There's a Texas judicial commission and that commission can investigate him and remove him from the bench for misconduct and this really is criminal misconduct and the at limitations doesn't matter with respect to that investigation.
The voters of Texas can also have their say. Judges in Texas are elected and I have to think, even if you support spanking or corporal punishment in limited circumstances, this was a brutal beating. I mean, at the beginning of that tape, he's talking about whipping her on the face, if she doesn't turn around and the thing goes on for six minutes. It's an act of utter and complete brutality.
ROMANS: He could lose his job. I mean, this panel has the ability to look at things that happened outside of his job and decide if whether he was fit to be a judge. So, he could still lose his job here.
CALLAN: Yes, he could, because when a judicial misconduct commission investigates, one of the things they're concerned about is the public reputation of the judiciary and they're also concerned about criminal acts, even if they're not prosecuted. So, here, they're going to look at him and say, this is an assault. The only reason you're beating it is the statute of limitations. But you don't belong on the bench.
So, I would be stunned and shocked if Texas doesn't tell him to take a hike. He certainly does not belong on the bench in any state.
COSTELLO: Paul Callan, many thanks.
CALLAN: OK.
COSTELLO: The fate of Dr. Conrad Murray now rests with the jury. Deliberations set to begin later this morning -- this after powerful and emotional closing arguments. The prosecution reminding 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.
Casey Wian covering the trial for us live in Los Angeles this morning.
Good morning, Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, this trial has gone on for six weeks. Jurors have heard 49 different witnesses testify in this case, and now later this morning, they're finally going to get an opportunity to begin deliberations.
Yesterday as you mentioned, both sides, prosecutors and the defense, delivering their closing arguments, starting off with the prosecution's closing argument, a very, very, very powerful speech by prosecutor David Walgren. He's said and reiterated what they've been saying all along, that Dr. Conrad Murray was criminally negligent for Michael Jackson's death basically because he administered that powerful anesthetic Propofol outside a hospital setting in Michael Jackson's bedroom. And then he says that Dr. Conrad Murray covered up evidence of that alleged crime.
The defense, of course, has a very different theory of this case. The defense is basically blaming Michael Jackson for causing his own death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DAVID WALGREN, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The fact that Conrad Murray would not tell the paramedics that he administered Propofol and had been administering Propofol for over two months, that is Conrad Murray knowing full well what caused Michael's death. That is Conrad Murray not putting the patient first. That is Conrad Murray putting Conrad Murray first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
WIAN: Now, there was actually some areas of agreement between the two sides on this case. Both sides agree that there was negligence on the part of Dr. Conrad Murray. The question the jurors are going to have to answer is whether that negligence was criminal.
And perhaps one of the most powerful cases that was made by the prosecutor in his closing statement, he says that Michael Jackson was subject to what amounted to an obscene pharmaceutical experiment conducted by Dr. Conrad Murray -- Carol.
COSTELLO: See what happens later today. Casey Wian, live in Los Angeles, thanks.
ROMANS: We could hear as early as today from one of the woman who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment when she worked for him at the National Restaurant Association back in the 1990s. Her attorney is trying to get the NRA to waive a confidentiality agreement so she can issue a statement.
Cain, for his part, calls the allegations fabricated and baseless and says he won't let them get in the way of his campaign. That's music to his supporter's ears because the Cain campaign has raised $1.2 million this week since the allegations surfaced on Sunday.
COSTELLO: Cain is blaming Rick Perry for leaking details at the central harassment complaints against him. In an exclusive interview with John King, the Texas governor -- he said his people have nothing to do with it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I want to start with what's driving the news right now, which is the Cain campaign and the candidate himself say that you and your campaign owe him an apology. Do you?
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No apology needed. We found out about this the same, John, 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.
KING: You said nothing to do with it and I don't want to dwell on this. But if you ever found out somebody in your campaign did something like this, would you fire them?
PERRY: Out the door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He would, indeed, fire them.
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 sort of medication and he told John King if he had the chance to deliver it, again, he would give the speech in exactly the same way.
ROMANS: All right, breaking news now from Athens. Greek officials announcing a public referendum on the E.U. bailout deal next month is off. Right now, Prime Minister George Papandreou is trying to support it while he holds on to his job.
Ali Velshi is covering the G-20. He joins us live now from Cannes, France.
Ali, what's the latest?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've got coverage all over Europe and we've got people in Athens. Jim Boulden, our colleague in Athens, has just reported what you said, that the Greek finance minister has informed the European commission that the referendum is off.
Now, that's not the end of the travails here at the G-20 because there is going to be a confidence vote with Papandreou's government tonight around 7:00 Eastern. Unclear whether his government will survive that vote.
But for now, a big sigh of relief here in Cannes that that referendum is off. The attention now will shift to Italy where we know there are growing concerns about Italian debt and whether it can get it under control.
Like the debt debate in the United States, Christine, this has done the E.U. some damage. They were here this weekend in Cannes to try and get other countries that are looking for places to invest, countries like China and India, to look at the European Union as a viable and safe investment. What's happened over the last few days with this discussion of a referendum has thrown that all into disarray. So, it still has done some damage.
But as of right now something we have been trying to get clarity on for the last 24 hours is finally clear. The Greeks have told the European Union there will be no referendum. This should have an effect on markets globally. It should start to look more positive for people and their 401(k)s today, Christine.
ROMANS: Yes. We have a jobs report in 20 minutes. So, that could be a big driver, too. But, you know, it's so interesting because a week ago, we were talking about whether the E.U. bailout deal would work. Now, we're talking about whether E.U. bailout will happen. So, a big setback, no question, for Europe.
VELSHI: That's right.
ROMANS: Thanks, Ali.
Still ahead, are more job seekers getting hired? And if not, what are we going to do about it?
COSTELLO: And they do not mess around in Brazil. Incredible video as a pair of police officers stop some smugglers by speeding their patrol car down a makeshift runway and ramming an airplane.
ROMANS: Plus, Jay-Z is such a polarizing figure in hip-hop and business. And you won't believe what one professor at Georgetown University is doing about it.
Eleven minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Atlanta. It is cloudy at 46 degrees. But later today, what a beautiful it's going to be, sunny and 64.
ROMANS: All right. This is a wild ride. Police officers in Brazil hunt down a group of smugglers. Check it out. It looks like a chase scene from a movie. These special agents chased down a small plane and stopped it by ramming their car right into the wing.
Five accused smugglers were arrested. The plane packed with $200,000 in stolen electronics.
COSTELLO: It's got to be the shoes.
A must-see video. A man flips over a car and it's driving right toward him. Check it out. This is 22-year-old Aaron Evans from Milwaukee. He said he was inspired by Bruce Lee. I know, but imagine being the person driving the car, because I would be afraid I would run over him.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Rob does this, but on a snowboard.
(LAUGHTER)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. Yes. And little kids flying at me.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Trying to avoid them.
Good morning, guys. Hey, storm system that brought the snow to Colorado to Nebraska, to Wyoming to Kansas and blizzard conditions at times is now heading towards the coastline of North Carolina. We've seen some heavier rain with this and kind of stretching up towards Virginia, but it's moving fairly rapidly.
You see the circulation around this. It will stay mostly to the south of New York City, but it will create some winds and some beach erosion at times over the weekend across East Coast. But once this is through, really, everybody east of the Mississippi is going to see a pretty nice weekend. But, it will be cold, especially in the morning.
Temperatures this morning and maybe tomorrow morning, as well, dipping down into the 20s across parts of Texas. Freeze warnings are out as far south as the Mexican border. But, rebounding to 65 degrees in Dallas today. It'll be 63 in Atlanta, and 52 degrees expected in New York City.
As far as what's cooking out west, we've got a couple of storm systems that are rolling to the pacific northwest and even Southern California with this, not only some rain, but some wind, as well, and we'll probably see some winds kicking up some dust across parts of Arizona and New Mexico and in through the Four Corners, as well, up to 50 miles an hour, and that may spawn some travel delays.
Also, don't forget to fall back this weekend. We gain an hour of sleep Saturday night into Sunday morning. Speaking of the West Coast, check out this video. Imagine if you're in Santa Cruz, just off the shoreline there on your kayak or your surf board just kind of waiting for -- whales?
COSTELLO: Oh!
ROMANS: Oh!
MARCIANO: Oh, come on. Two huge humpback whales just breaching out there trying to get some kraals (ph) and small fish. You see the seagulls going after the leftovers there.
COSTELLO: Or maybe a kayak or two.
MARCIANO: Yes. Well, apparently, they've stated away from it, but those kayakers and the woman on the surf board kind of got behind the kayaker, they're out there looking for whales. I mean, this is kind of what people have been doing out in that area. So, an amazing stuff.
COSTELLO: My first inclination would be, oh, that's so cool, and then, my second inclination would be oh, my God.
MARCIANO: How terrifying would that be, but you know, awesome at the same time.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: Have a good day.
COSTELLO: You, too.
Students at Georgetown are cracking open the books on a brand-new course featuring the musical stylings of Jay-Z. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): The course exam is the sociology of hip- hop through the life and work of one of America's most famous artist. Professor and author, Michael Eric Dyson, says he plans to tackle Lauryn Hill and The Roots for future courses.
ROMANS (voice-over): All right. Upon further review --
(SINGING)
ROMANS: The NFL fans want no part of Nickelback performing at halftime of the straight-line and traditional Thanksgiving Day a game (ph). There were 10,000 fans have signed an online petition saying the league should reconsider having Canadian rockers headline turkey day with the Packers.
They ask, this game is nationally televised. Do we really want the rest of the U.S. to associate Detroit with Nickelback?
COSTELLO: It was Detroit Lions fans who started this petition.
ROMANS: Because they're Canadian?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (on-camera): Yes. In part, but Kid Rock lives in Michigan. Bob Seger lives in Michigan.
ROMANS (on-camera): Eminem.
COSTELLO: Eminem lives in Michigan, and they're getting a Canadian rock band.
ROMANS: Madonna is from Michigan.
COSTELLO: She's from Michigan, but she doesn't live in Michigan.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Wow, these guys have lots of information about music. All right. Thanks, guys.
COSTELLO: OK. So, I hope the Detroit Lions fans win.
It's a tradition at John Brown University in West Arkansas when the Golden Eagles score their first points at their first home game, the fans actually cover the court in toilet paper and, boy, do they do a good job. Isn't that impressive? I bet it's quite the cleanup job. The student body of JBU has been teepeeing the first home game for 30 years now.
ROMANS: All right. Still ahead, way to look foreign states jobs report. Plus, customers (INAUDIBLE) Starbucks which one of their drinks you apparently cannot live without. It's 19 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. Twenty-three minutes past the hour. Watching your money this morning.
The big October jobs report comes out in just a few minutes. Economists forecast 102,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. They think the unemployment rate probably stayed steady at that uncomfortably high 9.1 percent.
Right now, U.S. stock future is trading lower ahead of the opening bell. Investors waiting for news from Europe on Greece, the bailout, also developments from that G-20 summit. Of course, the big job's report, too. So, just a lot going on expect some volatility this morning.
Former New Jersey governor and former Goldman Sachs CEO, Jon Corzine, is out as the chief executive of MF Global. This after the company collapsed from risky bet on European debts and filed for bankruptcy on Monday. Regulators say the company lost $600 million of customer money.
The company says Corzine will not get a golden parachute. He will not seek a severance, of course, he doesn't need it. He has many, many millions of dollars already from his years on Wall Street.
And the GroupOn upping the price for its IPO. How much? $20 per share valuing the online coupon company at $13 billion. Shares start trading today on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol, GRPN.
Starbucks making a killing this past quarter. Profits jumped nearly 35 percent, earning about 358 million bucks. That works out to more than 110 million skinny vanilla latte. That's the chain's most popular drink.
Up next, the big October job report, are the massive waves of layoffs over? And where are we looking for signs of life in this economy and how do recent college graduates feel? Their thoughts as they leave term papers and dorms behind, and they're to find jobs. It's 24 minutes after the hour. AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Kind of chilly outside for the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters as still camping out those tents in Zuccotti Park. It's 50 degrees right now, and a lot of those young people camping out at Zuccotti Park are unemployed and, you know, for anyone between the ages of 16 and 24 years old, it has never been harder to find a job in this country.
Poppy Harlow in depth with more on America's unemployable generation. Boy, that phrase sounds scary.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. And we don't know if it's that yet, but it's a very important thing to point out, because as you said, it's harder to find work for young people in America than it has ever been before where at depression levels for some of these young folks. The fear is that the young people in this country that are now unemployed will become unemployable because they're out of work for so long.
One economist that I talked to said it is a desperate situation. Another investor I talked to said youth unemployment is what keeps him up at night. It's his biggest concern about the U.S. economy right now. So, before we get the jobs number in just a few minutes, we wanted to go in depth and look at the youth unemployment crisis in America. 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 an issue if you're finding an internship, but finding 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.
(CHANTING)
HARLOW (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 that 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: They just showed up, and I started working, and one day, after the show, my boss just said, you know, take your stuff. You're part of the team now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Just a few of the voices I got some tweets from folks yesterday. One guy told me, "I graduated from college in May and I still don't have a job. That's a big concern." I think it's important to point out, though, that when you look at the unemployment rate among the youth in America, it does not count people that are in school, and it does not count people that are not looking for work.
So, this is a troubling number and you might think, oh, it's because they're in school. It's not. It only includes people that are in the labor force looking for work. And here's something important, if you think it's not important to have a degree because college educated people face high unemployment right now, you're wrong, 28.5 percent unemployment. That is the rate of unemployment for people without a high school degree, 28.5 percent.
COSTELLO: Right. And I know you're more likely to find a job if you have a college education, let's say, but I have to believe that companies are looking for skilled workers and people who graduate from high school don't have those skills. So, those jobs are unavailable to them, which adds to the unemployment rate.
HARLOW: It's very, very true. Let's take Caterpillar, for example, here. Just talk about this. This is a huge company that makes heavy machinery. They did very well. They made a lot of money, and I talked to their CEO last week, Carol, and he told me we have tons of open positions. I can't find the people with the skills to fill them.
They need engineers. Engineers, programmers. One other person in business told me engineers are the new currency. I never learned engineering in high school and college. Now, I didn't go after that degree, but maybe we need to think about, what are we teaching our children?
COSTELLO: That's right.
HARLOW: Should we change the way that we teach people and give them those hands-on skills from a young age?
COSTELLO: Hey, the jobs report is coming up.
HARLOW: Yes.
COSTELLO: Christine has been monitoring this, so let's go to her. ROMANS: All right. The labor department report on jobs in October is out. Eighty thousand jobs were added to the economy in October. That's less than expected, but the unemployment rate fell a little bit to 9 percent, down from 9.1 percent from September. A couple of revisions to tell you about.
You know, every time we get a look at this, we can see what happened in the months prior, as well. And you can see that August was a lot better than we thought. August was more like this. 104,000 jobs created, instead of 57. So, August was better and September was a lot better. We thought that there was, you know, 103,000 jobs created last time.
It was really more like 158,000, and then, of course, this one was a little bit more disappointing. So, you can see that things were a little bit better late in the summer. The reason why you have the jobless rate falling a little bit, even as the number of jobs was a little less and bullish than expected, is because of the two different surveys.
So, you might have some different noise in those surveys there, but nine percent is still definitely too high. You have underemployment in this country, still, at 16.2 percent. Those are people who are working, maybe, they don't have a job or they are working part-time, but they'd like to be working fulltime or they're not working up to their potential, 16.2 percent, also still too high, but it's down just a little bit.
And when you look at private sector hiring -- how many times, Carol, have you heard me talking about that? Private sector or private companies are creating jobs on better than the government. 104,000 private sector jobs created, but the government lost 24,000 jobs. Overall, this is showing still, I think, that we are not in a double dip recession.
That we averted that somehow in the summer, but it is not good enough to absorb all those people who are looking for jobs. So, there you go. Eighty thousand jobs created in the month, nine percent unemployment, and a couple of revisions late in the summer there that you can see showing that there was a little more job creation in August and September than we thought.
So, up next, what do we need to do to create more jobs? We're going to talk to two of the best minds in the business world. It's about 35 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. The Greek debt crisis threatening the global economy. We're just finding out that the U.S. economy added about 80,000 jobs in October, a disappointing number with the unemployment rate dipping only slightly to nine percent.
We want to bring in two guests to give us some perspective on the economic recovery here and whether we're in jeopardy of slipping back into a recession because of a weak jobs market and because of what's happening on the financial system in Europe.
Ian Bremmer joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange. He's president and founder of the Eurasia Group. And from Washington, Jay Powell, a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former treasury under secretary in President George Bush Sr.'s administration.
Jay, let me start with you and just your assessment of these numbers here. I mean, essentially, 80,000 jobs created a year after a year of month after month of creating some jobs. A nine percent unemployment rate. I mean, this recovery is just not exciting, is it?
JAY POWELL, VISITING SCHOLAR, BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER: No, it's very much of a sideways recovery. We need to be creating jobs in the 150,000, 250,000 level, as is typical coming out of a recession to be reducing the unemployment rate materially. So, this is consistent with continued frustratingly moderate growth. It's not consistent with a recession. so, it's just more of the same.
ROMANS: Ian, do you agree that it's not consistent with the recession? I mean, I think a lot of people think something happened in the last few months of the summer that show we averted a double dip. So, there's that stability, at least, but then there's this question about Europe that has people very concerned that these very hard one gains in the economy might be temporary.
IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT & FOUNDER, EURASIA GROUP: We did avert a double dip in the United States from a top down perspective, and certainly, the American multinationals and the equity markets are reflecting that, but that doesn't mean that a lot of people on the streets are able to find employment. I'm talking to a lot of corporate CEOs.
They have a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines, and they're concerned about the world environment. They're concerned about Europe. The likelihood that Europe is going into recession is going up. It's gone dramatically up over the last few weeks. It continues to.
There's no near term fix, and it's very clear the Europeans are incapable of providing all of the money that's needed to make the market satisfied and in the short term, and meanwhile, we're going to continue to see enormous downward market pressure on the Greeks, on the Italians, and others.
The banking system is very vulnerable, and until we see a workout of Europe, you're going to continue to see a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines and those concerns of a double dip recession in Europe that could have some spillover effect into the United States.
ROMANS: Well, there are those who have said that, right now, George Papandreou and what happens in Europe has more to do with creating jobs in this country than anything that our own Congress is doing simply because the way the whole system is in the lack of confidence in companies and being able to hire. They're keeping all that money on the sidelines. I mean, Jay, would you agree with that assessment?
POWELL: Well, our own Congress is not doing a lot to encourage growth in the United States right now. And there, I'm thinking of things like tax reform and getting a budget deal done, things that would build confidence. We need a return to conference -- the confidence, rather. I agree with Ian that the Uropean situation will hang over our economy and our markets until it's resolved.
And there's nothing in the current resolution that suggests that this is a stable equilibrium. This problem looks very much like it will go on and on, and we haven't seen the bottom yet.
ROMANS: You know, one of the things, Ian, about the domino effect of what's happening in Europe is that we kind of don't even know all of the ways the dominos could fall. I mean, a lot of people asking about what kind of insurance, remember, credit default swaps.
I mean, what kind of complicated insurance policies there are for some of these banks against a default in Greece and the pressure on other countries and investors in other countries and the rising interest rates right now in Italy. I mean, the whole mix is still pretty uncertain.
BREMMER: It is, and we have a lot of exposure to it. I mean, certainly, the reason why American banks are so vulnerable now is not just about the U.S. economy, it's not just about mortgages, it's about their exposure to Europe. And there is not going to be a European fix for the banking system.
That's going to have to happen on a country-by-country basis. Now, we can feel comfortable that French banks go under -- the French government is going to nationalize, and they'll make, you know, sort of any debtors whole, but that's very, very different from what might happen in Italy if the banks crumble.
And, as a consequence, you have, you know, I wouldn't say you have panic, but you have this abiding, very least (ph), and desire not to take significant risk. If Congress as well is not going to take much action, and structurally, so many of the U.S. jobs have gone away because of decades of globalization, you're going to continue to see very high unemployment rates in this country.
That doesn't mean a recession in the United States, but it's impossible to imagine that you're going to see structural improvements of unemployment in the U.S. in the next year given the global environment right now.
ROMANS: We know these numbers at 16.2 percent is the underemployment rate which means that's an economy. Sixteen percent not working up to its potential, something the fed chief and many others have said is concerning, and just the long-term unemployment doesn't seem to be showing signs of turning around.
Ian Bremmer, Jay Powell, thanks so much. Nice to see you, guys, this morning.
POWELL: Thank you.
ROMANS: Again, 80,000 jobs created in the month of October. Nine percent is the unemployment rate. Morning headlines next. It's 43 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty-four minutes past the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
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COSTELLO (voice-over): The labor department report is out, and it says 80,000 jobs were added to the economy in October. That's less than expected, and the unemployment rate fell from 9.1 percent to nine percent.
Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading lower ahead of the opening bell. Investors still digesting that fresh jobs report, but also waiting for news from Europe on the Greece bailout and developments from the G-20 summit
Brand new this hour, it is official. The Greek finance minister saying there will not be a popular vote on the EU bailout deal to save the economy. So, there you go, investors. The Greek debt crisis dominating the last day of the G-20 summit in France. Of course, that's under way right now.
Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine resigning as CEO of the investment firm MF Global this morning. The firm collapsed and allegedly lost track of $600 million in customer money.
More than 400,000 electric customers in Connecticut still don't have power this morning six days after a freak snow storm. And they may not have electricity until Monday. The state's Attorney General now launching an investigation into why it's taking so long.
JetBlue is refunding hundreds of passengers who sat stranded on a tarmac in Hartford for up to eight hours when the storm hit. Those air travelers are also getting apology calls and round trip vouchers for a future flight.
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 -- NBA Owners and the Players' Association will resume talks tomorrow on a new collective bargaining agreement. They're in the first day of talks in eight days. NBA players have now been locked out since July.
The world's favorite superspy is back. Daniel Craig will return to the big screen as 007 in the newest James Bond flick. Spanish actor Javier Bardem will play the villain. It's the 23rd installment of the series. The movie will be titled "Skyfall". It will be in theaters next fall. And that's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING back after a break.
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COSTELLO: We like to keep showing these pictures of Atlanta because it's so darn beautiful, right?
ROMANS: Yes, there it is. It's 64 later it's 44 and cloudy right now.
COSTELLO: It's still pretty darn nice.
In "AM House Call" now we all know that being a couch potato is not good for you, certainly not for your waistline, but might be much worse than you think. A new study suggests too much couch time can actually cause cancer.
The American Institute for Cancer Research links increased inactivity to higher rates of cancer and this even affects people who exercise regularly. Study says that 100,000 new cases of breast and colon cancer can be linked to physical inactivity. The institute recommends taking frequent breaks from sitting every 60 minutes. Get up and move.
ROMANS: All right, Keith Urban scheduled for throat surgery this month. The country singer has been forced to postpone a number of shows. Doctors will remove a polyp on his vocal cords. But don't worry Keith Urban is expected to perform at the Country Music Awards next week. He is nominated for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the year award.
COSTELLO: Scientists warning about a new bug that recently arrived in the United States from Asia. The insect has invaded the south and swarms around anything that is light-colored. More alarming, it loves one of the country's most profitable crops, which could be devastating for farmers and one more thing, there's no way to stop it from spreading.
CNN's Martin Savidge has a closer look.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They will crawl on your hand. They'll cling to your clothes. They'll even land on a lens.
The Kudzu Bug, it's out of control.
(on camera): Were you surprised at how quickly it seems to have spread?
WAYNE GARDNER, ENTOMOLOGIST: Oh, amazed.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Entomologist Wayne Gardner has been studying the bug. In just two years he says it went from a single insect to an infestation.
(on camera): In 2009 you find a couple of bugs, some of the bugs. By 2011, how much of Georgia has this bug?
GARDNER: Almost all of the counties.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Kudzu Bugs are also now in Alabama, South and North Carolina, even Virginia. The name comes from what the Kudzu Bug loves to eat, Kudzu that invasive vine that smothers the south growing up to a foot a day. Experts say in areas where there are Kudzu bugs Kudzu is down 30 percent.
GARDNER: So having a bug eat on Kudzu is not a bad thing, but --
SAVIDGE: But --
GARDNER: The problem is that Kudzu is a legume.
SAVIDGE: And fifth generation farmer Bobby Eavenson has hundreds of acres of legumes called soy beans.
BOBBY EAVENSON, FARMER: At one plant I bet there's 200 of them.
SAVIDGE: He's seen his harvests in some fields drop 15 percent. Experts say he's lucky.
PHILLIP ROBERTS, ENTOMOLOGIST: We have observed anywhere from a 27 percent up to 47 percent yield lost. So you know that's pretty significant.
SAVIDGE (on camera): The Kudzu bug was first discovered here in the United States not that far from here, just outside of Atlanta. Scientists aren't exactly sure how the bug got here, but one theory is -- remember, Atlanta is home to the world's busiest airport. That's how scientists think the bug got here and it's still hopping flights.
So, this is up in Minnesota.
GARDNER: Yes.
SAVIDGE: The Kudzu bug is found that hitched a ride on an airplane.
GARDNER: Yes.
SAVIDGE: When not flying the Kudzu bug is hitching rides on cars at airport parking lots. Travelers unknowingly take them home.
(on camera): How far do you think they can go in this country?
EAVENSON: That's a loaded question, I don't know.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): In fact, no one really knows. And since the kudzu bug has no known natural known predators in this country, there is not much out there stopping it.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Albert County, Georgia.
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ROMANS: They love soybeans. They love soybeans and bean farmers in the Midwest are just freaking out.
COSTELLO: Freaking out.
ROMANS: We said that at the same time.
All right. Here's something you just must see. Check out the smart butcher. It's not your typical vending machine. Instead of chips and candy, it offers meat; ribeyes, sirloins even sausages.
COSTELLO: That's the recipe for salmonella.
ROMANS: Oh for under six packs, the customers at this Alabama convenience store they keep coming back for more.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I put it in the end and it was interesting so we came down here last weekend twice and bought out of the machine and the steaks were like as if you would have got them out of the restaurant.
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COSTELLO: Come on.
ROMANS: The owner of the convenience store says after just one week the smart butcher is selling up to 20 pieces of meat a day.
COSTELLO: OK, I've got to try it. I have to go to a state where one of those babies -- that's amazing.
It's 52 minutes past the hour, we'll be back.
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COSTELLO: Good morning, Washington. It's cloudy and 52 degrees; headed for a high of 57. It's going to be sunny later.
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Let's face it there are some things women just do better than men and that's the idea behind a new military initiative that has women joining the elite Special Forces team traditionally reserved for men only.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with America's new GI Janes.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elite Special Forces training to assault compounds, many are headed to Afghanistan. These troops have a new weapon. For the first time, women are joining elite commando units. Going on raids into compounds and even living in villages. Their job, to do what the men cannot. Deal directly with Afghan women and children.
For the first time ever on television, CNN was given access to their rigorous training.
CAPT ANNIE KLEIMAN, USAF: We've got a bunch of strong, capable, awesome women who can, you know, take any challenge that is thrown at us.
STARR: Captain Annie Kleiman who just began training laughingly rejects comparisons to "GI Jane".
KLEIMAN: We're not going to be shaving our heads any time soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But remember, the clock is ticking.
STARR: Only half the women who apply are accepted.
MAJOR PATRICK MCCARTHY, U.S. ARMY TRAINER: These women are a cut above the rest of the army.
STARR: But even as they train here at Ft. Bragg, the women know there are skeptics.
KLEIMAN: We are definitely going to be prepared to pull our weight to be part of the team.
STARR: It is training both brain and brawn. They move hundreds of pounds of weight, run an obstacle course and work as a team to solve problems. It's politically delicate. Women are not allowed to serve in frontline combat units, so these women, heavily armed, will only go into compounds after they are secured by assault teams.
MCCARTHY: The women that are on raids, they're not deliberately part of the direct action raid. They are there to help mitigate following the raid.
STARR: It's an effort to ease resentment Afghans feel when troops raid their villages. For women, it means offering help to villagers, but still also searching Afghan women for weapons.
STAFF SGT. DANIELLE BAYAR, U.S. ARMY: Being sort of acknowledged that women can operate at this level.
STARR: New recruits know the danger. There is no true front line. Just last month, team member First Lieutenant Ashley White and two male soldiers were killed during what the army described as combat operations in Afghanistan. The first death of a team member has made the program so sensitive, no senior army special operations commander would talk to us on camera.
The women did. Sergeant Christine Baldwin is just back from Afghanistan.
SGT. CHRISTINE BALDWIN, U.S. ARMY: This is a program that is going to keep going on. It's a need that needs to be met over there right now.
STARR (on camera): This is the first time women have been selected to join a unit because they are women. But the question remains, will it be too risky for women to be in the field with Special Operations Forces.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
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COSTELLO: Somehow I don't think it will. It is only a matter of time before women serve on the front lines and in many cases in Iraq and Afghanistan, women are already involved in combat situations. You know, just technically they're not allowed to take part in certain aspects of fighting, but I think it's only a matter of time.
ROMANS: Ten years of war later finding out there are new ways that we're fighting wars, too. You need women in different roles that men can't do. It shows a new reality as well, that we learned from all that time there.
All right, that's going to do it for us today on AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: Good morning, Kyra Phillips.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning ladies. Have a great weekend.
COSTELLO: You too.
