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American Morning
Child Sex Abuse Scandal Rocks Penn State; Michael Jackson Death Trial; Greek Prime Minister to Resign; Record Quake Rocks Oklahoma; Penn St. Rocked By Child Sex Abuse Scandal; Greece Prime Minister To Step Down; Players Reject NBA Offer; Cain Defiant; When Does Life Begin?
Aired November 07, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Scandal hits Happy Valley, a former Penn State football coach facing child sex abuse charges. Now two school officials are forced to step down, accused of lying to a grand jury to cover up the alleged crimes.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A transfer of power under way at this moment in Greece. The embattled prime minister agrees to step down in order to salvage that country's bailout and prevent its debt crisis from infecting other nations. But are the markets ready to breathe a sigh of relief yet?
CAROL CASTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: When does human life begin? Mississippi voters will decide today. They're voting on a controversial amendment that could have sweeping effects on reproductive rights for women all across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cain, an attorney for one of the women who filed a sexual harassment complaint against you --
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't even go there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I ask my question?
CAIN: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Don't even go there! Herman Cain clamming up, refusing to discuss the sexual harassment charge that continues to hound his campaign on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Good morning to you. It's Monday, November 7th, and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING to start a brand new week, everyone.
VELSHI: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Happy Monday!
VELSHI: Good to see you guys. I was in France all last week and it was rainy, cold and windy. It was miserable! Good to be back.
ROMANS: It was a metaphor for what was happening.
VELSHI: That's right, exactly.
All right, back home here this morning, though, up first, the ugly scandal that's rocking Penn State University's legendary football program.
Jerry Sandusky, a former coach with the Nittany Lions for more than two decades facing multiple counts of child sex abuse this morning. And late last night, Penn State's athletic director, Tim Curly, and the university senior vice president for finance and business, Gary Schultz, resigned.
They are both facing perjury charges. A lot of questions about the way the program's iconic head football coach, 84-year-old Joe Paterno responded.
Jason Carroll joins us live this morning from State College, Pennsylvania, with the latest. Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. An incredibly sad story, Ali. You know, late last night, Penn State's Board of trustees held an emergency meeting, and shortly following that meeting, that's when those two school officials decided they would resign, those two officials facing perjury charges.
They are expected to turn themselves in later today. Of course, this is all the fallout of the investigation focused on Jerry Sandusky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): He's a legend in the world of college football. For 23 years, Jerry Sandusky served as defensive coordinator for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Now he's out on bail and defending himself against charges he sexually abused young boys, one as young as 8 years old. Two other Penn State officials accused of covering up one of the alleged incidents resigned in the wake of the scandal. Sandusky's lawyer says his client is innocent.
JOE AMENDOLA, SANDUSKY'S ATTORNEY: Jerry's very, very depressed. He's very upset. He's very distraught about the charges, the allegations, and the knowledge that, regardless of whether he is eventually proves his guilt or innocence, people are going to think that he did this stuff.
CARROLL: Pennsylvania's attorney general calls Sandusky a, quote, "sexual predator." A 23-page grand jury report lays out in graphic detail how he allegedly targeted eight boys ranging in ages from 8 to 14.
Prosecutors say the boys were victimized between 1994 and 2009. In one case, a graduate student testified he discovered Sandusky sexually abusing a boy estimated to be 10 years old in the shower of the Penn State football building.
The student reported it to Penn State's head football coach, Joe Paterno, who in turn told his immediate supervisor, the athletic director Timothy Curly. It was also brought to the attention of Gary Schultz, a university senior vice president.
Prosecutors questioned why none of the men reported the incident to police, which is required under Pennsylvania law. Both Schultz and Curly are charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury.
The two men testified they were under the impression Sandusky was, quote, "horsing around" with the boy in the shower. Both men resigned late Sunday. The board of trustees releasing a statement saying "under no circumstances does the university tolerate behavior that would put children at risk."
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Let me just say something about it. You know, there is a big thing about the behavior of Penn State here, about their failure to act. But the legal issue is whether they lied.
CARROLL: According to the grand jury report, all of the alleged victims came into contact with Sandusky through his charity, the Second Mile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second Mile is a non-profit organization that reaches out to certain young people throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
CARROLL: Sandusky and his wife formed the Second Mile in 1977 to help troubled boys. He retired from coaching in 1999, but still had access to Penn State's facilities. So popular, he wrote an autobiography in 2001 entitled "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And, Ali, Sandusky continues to maintain his innocence. He is out on $100,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday. If he is convicted on all counts, he could be looking at life in prison -- Ali.
VELSHI: What a remarkable story and its developments. We'll stay on top of it with you. Jason, thanks very much. Jason Carroll in Pennsylvania.
COSTELLO: It is day two of jury deliberations in the Michael Jackson death trial. Katherine and Joe Jackson anxious to learn the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray. They even got a hotel room near the courthouse.
The jury must decide, did Murray give Jackson that lethal dose of Propofol? Casey Wian joins us live from Los Angeles. Good morning, Casey. CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Of course, that is the key question the jury is trying to figure out and will be figuring out later this morning for the second day.
The prosecution, of course, says, Dr. Conrad Murray did, in fact, give Michael Jackson that fatal dose of the powerful anesthetic Propofol. The defense says that Michael Jackson was a drug addict and injected himself.
Countering that, the prosecution says even if that's true, Dr. Conrad Murray remains liable, basically because he's a doctor and he has that responsibility.
Now, this weekend, "In Session's" Jean Casarez conducted an exclusive interview with another of Michael Jackson's doctors, a dermatologist named Dr. Arnold Klein.
She asked him about defense allegations that he allowed Michael Jackson to become addicted to another drug, Demerol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are some records that three days in a row, he would get upwards of 900 milligrams in three days.
DR. ARNOLD KLEIN, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FORMER DERMATOLOGIST: No, that's not true. It was not over 900 milligrams in three days, not that I gave him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
KLEIN: If I -- no --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm not saying you, I'm saying the records --
KLEIN: One day in May, I gave him medicine. The rest of the times in May, he got medicine from different doctors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, Klein, who was not called as a witness in this case, also claims that he tried to stop three different doctors from giving Jackson Propofol. You can see that entire interview later this morning, 9:00 a.m. on TruTV -- - Carol.
COSTELLO: Casey Wian live in Los Angeles. And there's more of that exclusive interview with Jackson's dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein. Tune in to "In Session" on TruTV Network today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
ROMANS: All right, major developments in the political and financial crisis consuming Greece and threatening Europe. Transfer of power is now under way after that country's prime minister agreed to step down.
The hope is that a new unity government will help Greece secure more European bailout funds and avoid defaulting on its massive debt and then spare the world an economic free fall in the process.
Jim Boulden is live in Athens. Jim, good morning. What's the latest here?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, the prime minister will be most likely stepping down in the coming days. Today, we should be hearing who will be caretaker for this unity government.
The bottom line for the unity government is that this government, whoever runs it, will need to pass through these tough austerity measures, cutting the budget deficit that means cutting people's pensions, people's salaries, cutting state jobs.
There are still a lot of people here who work for the state in areas that we wouldn't have in places like the U.S., or they've been privatized many, many decades ago, still working for the state here.
So, to push al that through, the idea now is you need to have political strikes, you need people from the left and the right working together to do that. That's what the president is trying to hash out. If he can sort that out in the coming days, the markets will be relieved, for sure -- Christine.
ROMANS: And Jim, this is all an effort to try to secure the bailout funds that are being passed out to the country right now and to secure that overall E.U. bailout deal?
All right, it sounds like Jim Boulden -- we lost our connection with Jim Boulden, but we'll check back with him again.
This is a country in turmoil politically, trying desperately to show Europe and the rest of the world that it is doing what it needs to do to, gosh, both appease its own people, but also the people in Europe who will be, you know, behind this bailout. So there you go.
VELSHI: All right, new this morning, the search for a 2-year-old boy who's gone missing in Washington State. The 2-year-old disappeared at about 10:00 yesterday morning in Bellevue, Washington.
Police say his mother left him in the car alone when she ran out of gas. When she returned an hour later, Skye was gone. Bellevue police have rescue teams searching the area where the boy was last seen.
ROMANS: Singer, Andy Williams is battling bladder cancer. The legendary 83-year-old crooner broke the news to fans during a Christmas concert in Branson, Missouri, Saturday night. Williams says he's receiving treatment and he plans to return to the stage in 2012.
COSTELLO: And former heavyweight boxing champ, Joe Frazier, is fighting liver cancer at a Philadelphia hospice. His manager says he is seriously ill. Smoking Joe went toe to toe with Muhammad Ali three times in the '70s and was the first fighter ever to beat him.
VESLHI: History of the New York City marathon. The winner, one of my countrymen, Jeffrey Mutai of Kenya came in at 2 hours, 5 minutes and 5 seconds. That is a new course record.
The first-place woman was a 27-year-old from Ethiopia. As you know, I take every opportunity to claim marathon victories. I was born in Kenya.
COSTELLO: But this is amazing.
VELSHI: It's unbelievable.
COSTELLO: It's 2 hours, 5 minutes, 5 seconds, 26.2 miles? That's like a freak of nature.
VELSHI: I'd be asking course officials for details on the run at that point.
COSTELLO: You'd be asking for oxygen.
VELSHI: How many miles?
COSTELLO: You'd hear 26.2 and say, "can I have oxygen?"
VELSHI: Can I sign up for the next one?
ROMANS: All right, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Connecticut residents running out of time and patience. Tens of thousands are still in the dark and the state utility is making promises it just can't keep. We're going to explain.
COSTELLO: Oklahoma, earthquake alley this weekend, the record quake and dozens of aftershocks. A TV news anchor on air live as the ground shook? We'll show you the pictures.
VELSHI: Plus, thousands of tourists stranded on Mt. Everest. How the whole ordeal began and how it came to an end straight ahead. It is 12 minutes after the hour. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 15 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
It was another dark and cold weekend for tens of thousands of people in Connecticut after the power company made a promise it could not keep. Connecticut Light and Power missing its self-imposed deadline of midnight to have everyone back online.
Well, this morning, 80,000 customers are still without power in the state more than a week after that freak snowstorm. The drop of temperatures forced 2,100 residents to stay in shelters this weekend. The state is now investigating why it's taking the utility so long in restoring power. VELSHI: Yes. I saw a number of people, I was in Westchester over the weekend and a number of people from Connecticut were there saying it's unbelievable. It's cold and they keep getting these phone calls about when the power might come on.
COSTELLO: And it's not like these utility companies didn't know about the freak snowstorm -- it wasn't really freak because everybody knew it was going to happen, right?
ROMANS: But right there in New Jersey, I mean, I think PSE&G now has 99 percent restored.
VELSHI: Right. Yes.
ROMANS: There are still people in New Jersey who are still trying to find power. And in some cases, it's one block doesn't have it --
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: -- and one block does, you know? So it's frustrating.
VELSHI: Hopefully that's resolved soon.
All right. After a weekend of aftershocks after a rare and powerful earthquake rocks Oklahoma, the 5.6 quake struck near Sparks in Lincoln County -- in Lincoln County late Saturday night. That is the strongest earthquake Oklahoma's ever felt these only hours after another large quake hit the same area. Tremors reportedly were felt in Texas and in Arkansas. Central Oklahoma is experiencing more than 30 aftershocks. Several homes were severely damaged. You can see some pictures there.
Local news anchor Ed Murray from KWTV was on the air when it happened. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED MURRAY, ANCHOR, KWTV: Another earthquake has just hit. I still hear a few lights rattling here in our studio, and we will -- we still have our -- if you can see our Duratran back here, I don't know if you can see it behind us, still shaking here in Oklahoma City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Cool as a cucumber.
VELSHI: Yes. He was very -- yes, because sometimes you'd be thinking maybe I should get out of here. Well, of course, with some lights hanging --
COSTELLO: Maybe the Duratran's going to come crashing down on top of me.
VELSHI: And there's lights on top --
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: -- when you're in a studio.
Well, at least one person suffered minor injuries.
ROMANS: All right. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center for us. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.
I definitely would not want to be in his place if --
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: -- an earthquake was to come down. He was cool as a cucumber.
Good morning, guys. You know, Oklahoma has had quite a year. Back in the wintertime, they had a record for the 24-hour amount of snowfall. They had minus 31 degrees which was the coldest temperature ever. Then they had a string of 100-degree days, and now this. And now this, the potential for seeing severe weather today across much of Oklahoma and Texas.
This is a decent chance of it. Now we're getting into severe weather season. On the fall side, it's not as usually as intense or along-lived as spring, but we can get some outbreaks, and potentially, we have one shaping up for today. So the threat for tornadoes, Southern Kansas, all the way down into Central Texas later on this afternoon especially.
It's all along a little front that's kind of laid across the midsection of the country, just some lighter rain showers across parts of Missouri and in through Oklahoma right now. But as some energy comes out of the Rockies, it will instigate the atmosphere and energize that front just a little bit.
As a matter of fact, the back side of that front will have some snow mostly across the high plains and high prairies of Eastern Colorado. Maybe three to five inches, but winter storm warnings posted. It's going to be windy there as well.
This storm will slowly make its way towards the east, and as it does so, picks up moisture from the south. So, today will not be the only day that we see a threat for seeing severe weather across this part of the country. As it gets into Arkansas and Louisiana and other parts of the Mid-south during the day on Tuesday and then to a lesser extent during the day on Wednesday, we'll look for the severe weather threat here. Definitely some colder air behind this system.
If you are traveling today, because of the storms expected in Dallas, potentially over an hour delay through DFW or Love Field. St. Louis and Kansas City, the general rain there. And the snow in Denver and low clouds expected in San Francisco.
Everybody east of the Mississippi looks real nice again today, although a chilly morning. But other than that, a five-star fall day. And parts of Southern California drying out after what they endured yesterday morning.
Video out of Southern California. Thunderstorms, you know, they happen a handful of days a year and they got a pretty good one yesterday across parts of Southern California, including Los Angeles. It picked up over a fifth or so an inch of rain to slow down traffic on a Sunday morning.
Nevertheless, a drier day expected for California, 62 degrees in Los Angeles. Temperatures yesterday were held in the 50s in some spots, so kind of chilly for SoCal, 62 degrees. New York and L.A., forecast high temperatures should be exactly the same temperature.
VELSHI: Wow.
COSTELLO: Weird.
MARCIANO: About the only thing you guys have in common.
VELSHI: Good point.
COSTELLO: True.
VELSHI: Rob, we'll see you later on in the morning -- Rob Marciano.
COSTELLO: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, when does human life begin? It's a question voters in one state will decide, and its answer could have a major effect on women across the nation.
VELSHI: Plus, the holiday forecast calls for, once again, plunging TV prices. Find out just how low they'll go and when you can pick up a nice deal.
It's 21 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
The cue today again comes from Europe. Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading slightly lower. Overseas, markets in Europe and Asia are also down, the sell-off coming as the Greek prime minister announced he'll step down if it means getting Europe's international bailout approved.
Investors' focus also shifts to Italy and whether it will be a domino to fall in Europe's crisis, where the political future of Silvio Berlusconi hangs in the balance this morning ahead of a key parliamentary vote. Italian interest rates now above 6.5 percent as investors there worry about that country's financial stability.
All right, checking out. It's estimated thousands of Americans pulled their money from the nation's biggest banks over the weekend as part of Bank Transfer Day. Customers were urged to shift their accounts to credit unions. The grassroots movement really caught fire after Bank of America announced its new debit card fee, a fee they eventually scrapped under pressure from customers, but that doesn't mean people aren't moving anyway.
There's no need to wait until Black Friday if you're in the market for a new TV. Retailers have already started slashing the prices for big-screen TVs by as much as 40 percent. Experts say stores are trying to stir up excitement and get you in the door early this holiday season, and some say the biggest deals are yet to come.
The wealth gap between young and old wider than ever, according to new census data. Households headed by a person 65 years or older have a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone who's 35 years or younger. That's because younger Americans are taking on more debt in order to go back to school. Many also purchased homes at bubble prices and now have less equity in their homes.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I ask my question?
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, because -- where's my chief of staff?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.
CAIN: Please send him the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
VELSHI (voice-over): A defiant Herman Cain refusing to discuss the sexual harassment allegations that are hounding his campaign on this AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: And good morning to you and welcome back. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Time for this morning's top stories.
Penn State's athletic director and a senior vice president with the university have now resigned, both facing perjury charges. They're accused of lying to a grand jury to cover up child sex abuse allegations against former Nittany Lions defensive coach Jerry Sandusky. Prosecutors say Sandusky abused eight boys at his youth services charity over a 15-year period.
ROMANS: Political leaders in Greece are scrambling to build a new coalition government. This morning, Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet with the country's main opposition party to discuss who will become the nation's next prime minister. Papandreou announced he would step down yesterday if it means getting a $130 billion international bailout approved.
VELSHI: Jury deliberations set to resume in the Michael Jackson death trial this morning. No verdict after the first full day of deliberations on Friday. Jurors must decide if Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of Propofol.
Meantime, Katherine and Joe Jackson are staying at a hotel near the courthouse. That way, they can get there quickly when jurors reach a decision.
COSTELLO: Herman Cain trying his best to keep moving his campaign forward. The Republican front-runner insisting he's no longer willing to talk about sexual harassment allegations that have been dogging him. But that is not stopping his GOP rivals from sounding off.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us live from Washington.
Good morning, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Carol.
And, yes, Herman Cain and his campaign would like this to be over, no doubt about it, as we enter the ninth day since this controversy struck. Over the weekend, he was at a debate, a pretty friendly debate between he and Newt Gingrich in Texas sponsored by a Tea Party group. Afterward, though, his aides and organizers trying to keep the questions just to the economy and entitlements, but it didn't play out that way.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If y'all just listen, if y'all just listen for 30 seconds, I will explain this one time. What I'm saying is this, we are getting back on message --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. Cain.
CAIN: End of story. Back on message. Read all of the other accounts, read all of the other accounts where everything has been answered in a story. We're getting back on message, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: That's what the Cain campaign would like and the candidate would like. Some of the other candidates also feel that same way, but also maybe they would like Herman Cain to be a little more forthcoming.
Take a listen to one of his rivals for the GOP nomination. This is former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, yesterday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm concerned that we're wasting a whole lot of time on this supposed issue, this scandal, which is taking away from our ability to really address the major issues of the day, how we get this economy rebuilt, how we get to the point where we can address the issue of joblessness and secure our place in the world. And this is taking away from that ability, and therefore, it becomes a major distraction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Now, for the Cain campaign, unless all the questions are answered, I think the media's going to continue to ask these questions. And, Carol, we're talking about it today. Two debates this week, though, may move the spotlight away from that, an economy debate on Wednesday and a foreign policy debate next weekend, Carol.
COSTELLO: Maybe so. Of course, Herman Cain appears on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show" later tonight. We'll see what subjects come up there.
We're also getting sort of an idea what voters might think of this whole scandal. There is a new poll out. Tell us about it.
(AUDIO GAP)
STEINHAUSER: -- right there tied at the top for the GOP nomination, pretty much where they were before the scandal.
Go to the next poll as well, but this is interesting, Carol. Almost seven out of 10 Republican voters say that this right now, these allegations are not affecting their view of Herman Cain. But the trouble is, about one out of four say, yes, it could make them less likely to vote for Herman Cain. That could be troublesome for him in a very close contest, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, I know we didn't conduct this poll, but I just wonder about the gender split. I mean, did they talk to -- did they poll more women than men, an equal number? I mean, would that make a difference?
STEINHAUSER: We have seen this in polls before this allegation struck, and currently, Herman Cain performs better with men than with women when it comes to polling. It was that way before these allegations struck last week. It continues to be that way, Carol.
COSTELLO: Because I do wonder if there's a split there. That would be curious. Maybe I'll look into that later today.
Mitt Romney, he's still a front-runner. What's on his agenda this week?
STEINHAUSER: Mitt Romney is in Iowa today, and that has us all wondering, again, he's one of the co-leaders in Iowa, but he hasn't spent a lot of time there on the first state that votes in the primary, that caucus calendar. So, our question is, will he go big in Iowa like he did four years ago? Remember, he went big Iowa, but it backfired. He lost there and in New Hampshire and, of course, did not win the nomination.
The question this time around is, does Mitt Romney put a lot of money and effort into Iowa and try to win it and then go to New Hampshire and hopefully for him, win big? Or does he play it safe?
Time will tell. We're just two months away now, eight weeks away from the start of those caucuses in Iowa, Carol.
COSTELLO: We sure are. Paul Steinhauser live in Washington, thank you.
VELSHI: You know, in reporting the story last night, our good friend Don Lemon looked into the Society for Professional Journalists code of ethics, and under the "act independently" section -- because Herman Cain said please get the book of ethics -- people use different books in this business, but it says here, "Journalists should be freed of obligation of any interests other than the public's right to know."
ROMANS: That's it.
VELSHI: That's all it says.
COSTELLO: Interpret that as you will.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: Actually, Howard Kurtz had an interesting show all about "Politico" and how it did its reporting, and why he didn't reveal his sources.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: So, it's all online.
VELSHI: It's worth looking into. Right.
COSTELLO: It's worth looking at it.
ROMANS: All right. Also new this morning, a deadly inferno at a home for developmentally disabled adults. The fire breaking out as they slept over the weekend. Five residents at this facility were killed.
Police say the building was already up in flames by the time authorities made it there, and it happened too quickly to get everyone out. They're still trying to figure out how it started.
COSTELLO: More than 1,500 workers rescued from Mt. Everest. Bad weather left them stranded for six days with little food or supplies. Many of the hikers chose to try to make their way back down the mountain on a four-day trek. Once conditions cleared, helicopters and small planes were able to airlift the climbers to safety. The tourists are being transported to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
VELSHI: OK . This just in to CNN. Lindsay Lohan is back behind bars. This just in to CNN, Lindsay Lohan has been released from jail.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Lohan checked into and out of a detention facility in Lynwood, California, overnight, serving just four hours of a 30-day sentence for the violating of her terms of probation. Officials say she could now be released within hours due to jail overcrowding.
I got a tweet here. It says, "So, between going to bed and getting up this morning, Lindsay Lohan has gone to jail and been released?" Yes. That's correct.
All right. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, voting on when life begins.
ROMANS: Right. Mississippi residents deciding on a state constitutional amendment that's causing heated national debate and could change reproductive rights for women there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back. It's 40 minutes after the hour.
Mississippi is voting on a controversial amendment tomorrow, one that could have a big impact on the entire nation. Voters will decide whether to give legal status to fertilized human eggs, basically answering the question does human life begin at conception. Opponents say it's an effort to make abortion illegal and that it could outlaw certain methods of birth control and in vitro fertility treatments.
For more on the legal implications of this measure, we turn to Jonathan Will, he's an assistant professor for the Mississippi College School of Law.
Jonathan, thank you for being with us.
Let me just read so our viewers can see this, what the question is. There are a few measures on the ballot and this one is Initiative Measure 26. Should the term person be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the equivalent thereof?
First of all, to get on the record, Jonathan, you are -- you are against this amendment. You'd not like it to pass.
JONATHAN WILL, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE SCHOOL OF LAW: Well, I mean, personally, it's not really an issue for me other than to make sure that enough information gets out that other people can vote intelligently on the matter. I hope I have enough information to make a decision myself.
VELSHI: Right.
WILL: But I'm hoping that other people have enough information to make an intelligent decision for themselves.
VELSHI: OK. So, Jonathan, for people who have dealt with this type of issue through Roe versus Wade and who understand it and understand the various challenges like this that have been out over the years, what's different -- what, if anything, is different about this particular ballot question and what would be the implications of it becoming law in Mississippi?
WILL: Well, I think what's different is that this amendment would, for the first time really in a constitutional amendment, define personhood to begin at the very earliest moments of human development. So, when you look at the Supreme Court's jurisprudence in the abortion cases, they struggle a little bit with what exactly the state's interest is. So, they'll identify a legitimate interest in protecting prenatal life or the potential for life or the life of the unborn child, but something other than a person after birth.
And so, what could happen is that these amendments, like one that may pass in Mississippi, could change the nature of the inquiry, because now the state's interests is in protecting a life, just like you. And so, the court --
VELSHI: Can this -- I mean, can this exist in contravention of Roe versus Wade?
WILL: Well, I think the court -- the hope would be, on the proponents' side, that the court would overturn Roe v. Wade. So, I don't think it could exist consistent with Roe v. Wade, but I think the hope would be that this new appreciation of personhood would require the court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
VELSHI: I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me to be even broader than Roe v. Wade, because it's not only about abortion, it's about the establishment of personhood in any fashion.
WILL: Well, that's correct. I mean, if it was merely about abortion, commonly understood as the termination of a pregnancy, it might be drafted to say life begins or personhood begins at, say, implantation. But since it goes back even farther than that, to fertilization, whatever we mean by that, it implicates more than just abortion. It implicates certain forms of birth control, it implicates fertility treatments -- anyplace where we're putting these pre- embryonic persons' life at risk.
VELSHI: All right. Colorado's tried this, as far as I've read, a couple times, maybe? And the group there involved in this, Personhood USA, is looking very carefully to see whether they can put these on ballots in different states. It hasn't passed anywhere before, but if it does pass, and there seems to be some polling to indicate that it may, what are those implications that you're talking about that are not necessarily abortion-related but birth control- related?
WILL: Well, I think a lot of it would hinge upon what is the immediate impact of the amendment, were it to pass? So, if the amendment were deemed to be effectively self-executing, meaning that the entire Mississippi code with its thousands of references to person, would be interpreted with this new understanding of pre- embryonic personhood, then the concern would be that local prosecutors could immediately after it takes effect put abortion clinics on notice, maybe put IVF clinics on notice, saying with our new understanding of personhood, we view your actions to be against the existing criminal code.
If it's not effectively self-executing, then we would see a period where we need enabling legislation to set it in motion, and then we'd get lobbying efforts on all sides about what any antiabortion legislation might look like, what any restrictions on IVF might look like and so forth.
VELSHI: All right, so, it's something we should all be watching very carefully because it could have implications far beyond Mississippi, let alone the very serious implications it could have in Mississippi.
Thanks for joining us, Jonathan. Good to talk to you.
Jonathan Will is the director of bioethics and health law at Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson.
ROMANS: All right. Just in this morning, "Reuters" and "Bloomberg" are reporting Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is on the verge of stepping down as concerns mount that that country may fall victim to the European debt crisis that has plagued Greece. This morning, that country's borrowing costs soared to their highest level since the Euro was created more than 6.5 percent for the country to borrow money for ten years. That's showing real concern about the financial stability of this country. It's the Euro zone's third largest economy. We're working to confirm all of this, of course.
We're going to go live to our Matthew Chance in Rome in about 15 minutes. Usually, when you're hearing rumors of Silvio Berlusconi wanting to step down, it's because of a bribery scandal. He has faced bribery scandals in the past --
COSTELLO: Sex scandals.
ROMANS: Sex scandals and the like, but this is something -- this is about -- this is a big deal. This is about --
VELSHI: Not that those aren't big deals.
ROMANS: You're right. The financial stability of Europe here and the worry that Italy is somehow the next domino to fall there.
COSTELLO: So, does that mean that Italy's going to get a bailout plan or a bailout, too?
VELSHI: Too big for -- I mean, -- this is a big economy. I mean, you look at France and Germany as these massive, massive economies. Italy is a really big economy. So, this is exactly what was scaring all those folks at the G-20 and the Euro Zone last week. Greece is a problem that could be solved. Italy, Spain is another big economy in trouble. So, people are asking --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: I want to know underneath it all. So, he's going to step down. So, what will be put into place that Berlusconi is not putting into place in Italy?
ROMANS: And that's what we'd all like to know as well.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: What they're going to do to contain this crisis, because the markets are telling us that there's a problem right now with borrowing money in Italy. 6.5 percent is -- I mean, you look in the U.S. --
VELSHI: Two percent.
ROMANS: Right. Two percent --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: So, while we talk about this borrowing crisis, the U.S. government can borrow money for less money than any of us can. Italy, at that point -- and people say, why is that a bad thing? Why are these high interest rates a bad thing? Because every dollar that Italy has to spend servicing as debt is a dollar they don't spend --
ROMANS: In their country.
ROMANS: And that's -- I mean, that's a real problem. There is a big bailout fund that the European leaders as part of this bailout are trying to do. So, all the countries get together along with the IMF and they fund this big pool of money, but what's that going to look like?
How are you going to draw on it? What are they going to do to backstop these losses?
COSTELLO: Right.
ROMANS: How are they going to restore confidence so you don't see these dominos starting to fall? That's what this whole crisis is all about, and Italy is now showing strains this morning.
COSTELLO: We'll find out more from Matthew Chance in just a bit. We're also excited to tell you about this, not so much about the Italy thing. There is an exciting new program about to begin here at CNN. It's called "the next list," and it focuses on America's innovators, the people creating cutting-edge technology that will one day change our lives when it comes to technology, education, and entertainment. So, check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO TEMPEST, CYBER ILLUSIONIST: My name is Marco Tempest. I'm a cyber illusionist, which means I combine magic and science to create illusions. It's deception. It's science, technology, gadgets. Calling myself a magician evokes a certain image. Like, if you're a magician, you immediately know what that is. It's a guy who does a magic trick. A cyber illusionist, it requires a little bit of explanation. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Certainly does. "The Next List" debuts this coming Sunday, November 13th, at 2:00 p.m. eastern.
ROMANS: It looks cool. It looks really cool.
VELSHI: Really fun. There's just these neat things, and the concept is that these are not people you've heard of as innovators, they're the next list of innovators. I think that's the main (ph) idea.
ROMANS: Awesome.
All right. Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, money, it is the world's most important language, and this morning, we're going to show you how to speak and understand this language so that you can make your money work for you. It's 48 minutes after the hour.
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COSTELLO: Ten minutes to the top of the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Penn State's athletic director and a senior vice president have now stepped down. They're facing perjury charges. Prosecutors say they lied to a grand jury to cover up child abuse -- sex abuse charges against former Nittany Lions defensive coach, Jerry Sandusky.
Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou will meet today with opposition leader to decide who will become the country's next prime minister. Papandreou agreed to step down as part of the deal to get the $178 billion international bailout approved.
It's day two of jury deliberations in the Michael Jackson death trial. Jurors must decide if Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of Propofol. If convicted, he faces four years in prison.
We could be looking at a lost season now. Locked-out NBA players have a Wednesday deadline to accept the league's latest contract offer. It's reportedly worth 49 to 51 percent of the league's revenues, but, the head of the Players Association already says he won't even bring it to a vote.
It's the ultimate beauty pageant title. The winner of the 2011 Miss World crown goes to Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos. She beat out 121 other contestants last night. The runner-up, Miss Philippines. Third place goes to Miss Puerto Rico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (on-camera): And that's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING back after a break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. This week, we're going to teach all of you a new language so you know how to speak money. We all know that learning how to speak and understand the language of money is important, because every decision is a financial decision, whether you know it and whether you like it or not.
VELSHI: So, a lot of people see Christine and I on TV, but we actually come from very different places. As I was talking about the marathon this morning, I was actually born in Kenya. I was raised in Toronto, and I guess, I'm a risk-taker when it comes to money.
ROMANS: And I was born in Iowa. I am the granddaughter of farmers who were incredibly risk diverse people, and it's an extremely risky business, right, but my grandparents are very different. They, you know, they planted with the profits from the year before, and that was something that really has, I mean, infiltrated my financial world view. I'm very cautious.
VELSHI: So, there's no right or wrong here, but you do kind of need to know what investor, what type of investor you are. So, we've broken it down into three categories. And while your particular financial personality may have some overlap with another category, that's OK. Use this just as a guide to form a foundation for your financial house.
First, meet the risk-taker. The younger you are, by the way, you're more likely to be a risk-taker, because time is the most powerful factor on your side. You're building wealth and earnings, and you can withstand bigger risks and stock market shocks.
ROMANS: And then, things start to get more moderate. Once you hit maybe 40 to 45, it's time to make sure you're balancing your money, that you have your money all in the right place. You have less time now, 20 to 25 years before you need to start drawing down and living on this retirement savings.
So, time is not your best friend anymore. In this more moderate period of your life, you are still earning, but you also have an eye to preserving wealth.
VELSHI: Right. Earlier, you don't need to preserve enough. Third, and a lot of you fall into this category, we know, because you e-mail us, you tweet us -- cautious. The closer you are to retirement, the more cautious you need to be, because you will soon need to live on your money.
Once you figure out what kind of investor you are, you can then move forward with your financial planning. You can't do it until then.
ROMANS: That guy was so cautious, he wouldn't even go to the barber. Did you see the beard?
(CROSSTALK) ROMANS: How do you do that? We want to give you a preview of making your plan. In our new book "How To Speak Money," we lay out our friend, Bruce Stellar's (ph) five-step plan, which we completely agree with and think this is so important with you.
First, lay the foundation. Answer the question what's my money for? Living, investing, college, vacations, rainy days? Once you determine what your money is for, you're much more likely to make responsible decisions with it. And sometimes, you're just trying to get to the point while you're trying to figure out what to do with your money longer term.
VELSHI: Then you decide specifically what you want. Do you want to retire? Do you want to live out your days in a villa in Tuscany? One is vague. Saying you want to retire is vague. The other one is highly specific. One also sounds like more fun. If you can picture your retirement or what you want to do with your money, visualizing it makes it much easier to work towards actually achieving it.
ROMANS: All right. People plan for everything, but do you plan for your money, right? You plan for weight loss, how to divide and conquer house chores, launching a new product at work, how you're going to, you know, how you're going try to get the next promotion. But many with finance, they're just wandering around. So, have goals, figure out a road to them, and map it.
VELSHI: And fourth, take action on your plan. This is where it becomes tricky, right? You actually have to do something about it. We all make excuses and say I'll do it tomorrow. Make tomorrow today. Ask yourself what will it get to take me to take action -- to get you to take action on this plan?
You might need creativity, and patience, and discipline. You might have to get others around you to support you, but move forward. That's the most important part.
ROMANS: And then do it. Stay engaged. Once you start, don't stop. You know, you don't start a diet and then don't do the diet.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: Although, some of us do. Diets and money, there's so many parallels between diets and money, aren't there? but you have to stay with it. It's the same thing with money. You don't take control of your financial life, it's just going to turn out the way it does.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: And you can't afford to have that happen to you in your retirement.
VELSHI: And here's the thing, if you have a plan, then these market gyrations don't matter as much to you because the market is one part of your financial plan. Your other part should be working better. So, we've got a lot more on this in our new book called, "How To Speak Money." It's available. It's called "How To Speak Money: The Language and Knowledge You Need Now." It's out now. You can buy it in bookstores. You buy it on Amazon, wherever you like. Hope you enjoy it and tell us what you think about it. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this.
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