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American Morning
Cities Lose Patience with Occupy Protesters; Sandusky's Neighbors on Edge; Obama Calls Waterboarding Torture at "APEC"; Obama Nudges "Super Committee" To Get Deal; Italy Nominates New Prime Minister; Norway Terror Suspect in Court; U.K. Phone Hacking Inquiry Begins; GOP Hopefuls Head to Iowa; Gloria Cain: Herman "Totally Respects Women"; Occupy Protester Serenades President; Italy Nominates New Prime Minister; Cities Crack Down On Occupy Protests; Sandusky Judge Under Fire; Obama Warns Iran
Aired November 14, 2011 - 05:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Unoccupied. Cities across the country telling Wall Street's protesters their camps are too dangerous and too gross. Time is up.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Former Penn State coach, Jerry Sandusky, out on bail awaiting trial just a few feet from a playground and a school. Neighbors asking how the judge let that happen.
CHO: Standing by her man. Gloria Cain speaking out for the first time since sexual harassment allegations surfaced against her husband.
ROMANS: He pulled a fast one on the White House. How a Wall Street protester got to play in front of the president and 18 other heads of state. That's right. On this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHO: Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, November 14th. Ali and Carol are off today. I'm Alina Cho along with Christine Romans. Hope you had a nice weekend.
ROMANS: I did. Thank you.
CHO: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right, but first, let's get started. It could be a tipping point in the Wall Street movement. Patience with the protests wearing thin and more and more cities have grown tired with the headaches associated with the protests.
In Portland, Oregon, a standoff on the city streets overnight. More than a dozen people were arrested as police cleared the city parks of makeshift camps. The mayor of Portland telling CNN the encampments are now public health hazards.
Chaos in Denver, Colorado over the weekend. Two police officers were hurt. Seventeen people were arrested when police tried to remove furniture and tents that were set up in a park.
And in Philadelphia, the city's mayor telling reporters that what started out as a peaceful protest is now threatening public safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER, PHILADELPHIA: Occupy Philly has changed. We're seeing serious health and safety issues playing out on almost a daily basis.
Occupy Philly is fractured with internal disagreement and disputes. The people of Occupy Philly have also changed, and their intentions have changed. And all of this is not good for Philadelphia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Here in New York, with winter looming, volunteer doctors and nurses are providing the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters with free flu shots.
CHO: Two new developments in the Penn State scandal, both involving disgraced former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. There are new questions this morning about the judge who granted bail to the accused child abuser.
And new concerns from neighbors, after a cinder block was apparently thrown through the window of Sandusky's home. Our Mary Snow is live in State College, Pennsylvania this morning.
Mary, good morning. What's the latest?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina. You know, there have been reported sightings of Jerry Sandusky over the past week. One report placed him at a local store and has left some residents in disbelief that he's out on bail, given where he lives, which you're about to see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): When he was charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing children, Jerry Sandusky was released on $100,000 bail. One condition, the former Penn State defensive coordinator was told not to go near children, but take a look where his house is located.
(on camera): This is the playground from Lamont Elementary School. Right over here is Jerry Sandusky's house and from his back porch, he has a clear view of it.
(voice-over): The administrators at the elementary school say local police reached out to them following Sandusky's arrest. The district superintendent is quoted saying the school, which runs through the second grade has taken additional administrative action to ensure our children are safe.
To be clear, Sandusky's never been accused of harming random children, rather, he is alleged to have molested young boys after developing close relationships with them through Second Mile, the charity he founded.
Sandusky's maintained his innocence. The road to his home is blocked off, and private property sign on his lawn went up this weekend after police say a cinder block was thrown through a window. Nearby neighbors question, why he's out on bail?
MELISSA ANDERSON, CONCERNED PARENT: It baffled my mind.
CARL ANDERSON, CONCERNED PARENT: I think presumption of innocence, we all like to believe in that, and we do in this country, but I think there's a level of protection that a neighborhood and a community is entitled to.
SNOW: Melissa and Carl Anderson have two little boys. Carl was such a fan of Sandusky's at one time. He had an autographed limited edition copy of Sandusky's book "Touched."
CARL ANDERSON: Immediately alternates between anger and sadness, really. I mean, it really is a loss of kind of community, wholesale community innocence.
SNOW (on camera): Have you seen more police here in the last week?
MELISSA ANDERSON: Yes.
SNOW (voice-over): The Andersons for one want to see a stiffer bail, and now a new revelation about the judge who set the bail. The judge's law firm listed her as a volunteer for Second Mile, CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The judge certainly should have raised the issue, disclosed her connections to the Second Mile. So that the parties in the case could decide whether they wanted to ask her to recuse herself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, CNN has reached out. We did try to contact the judge in this case, but so far, Alina, we haven't received a response -- Alina.
CHO: Mary Snow live for us in State College, Pennsylvania. Mary, thank you.
ROMANS: All right, President Obama talking jobs, terror and torture, and nudging the "Super Committee," too, all on his visit to Hawaii for the APEC Summit.
CHO: That's right. Eighteen other world leaders are there who may hold the key to job creation in this country. Our Dan Lothian has the latest from Hawaii. DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Alina, Christine, President Obama touted progress, but also addressed challenges in the effort to boost trade with Asia, create more jobs at home, but also in dealings with Iran and China.
At a press conference marking the end of the APEC Summit, the president also took a swipe at Republican hopefuls when I asked this question a about their views on waterboarding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night at the Republican debate some of the hopefuls, they hope to get your job, they defended the practice of waterboarding, which is a practice that you banned in 2009.
Herman Cain said, quote, "I don't see that as torture." Michele Bachmann said that it's, quote, "very effective." So I'm wondering if you think that they're uninformed, out of touch or irresponsible?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That's a multiple choice question, isn't it? Let me just say this -- they're wrong. Waterboarding is torture. It's contrary to America's traditions. It's contrary to our ideals. That's not who we are.
That's not how we operate. We don't need it in order to prosecute the war on terrorism, and we did the right thing by ending that practice. If we want to lead around the world, part of our leadership is setting a good example.
And anybody who has actually read about and understands the practice of waterboarding would say that that is torture. And that's not something we do, period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: On a question about the "Super Committee's" different task of finding $1.2 trillion in cuts by the November 23rd deadline, the president said this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: My hope is that over the next several days, the congressional leadership on the "Super Committee," go ahead and bite the bullet and do what needs to be done, because the math won't change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: But the primary focus of the APEC Summit, finding new opportunities for U.S. goods in Asia. The president's saying that 95 percent of consumers are beyond U.S. borders, and he wants to see more of those consumer, with products that are stamped "Made in America" -- Alina, Christine.
CHO: Not a bad gig, if can you get it in Hawaii. Also news this morning, Italy is about to get a new leader, economist Mario Monti was nominated Sunday to replace Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister.
Italy's president praised him as a gifted, competent and experienced leader, and he better be, because Italy needs him to help solve the ongoing financial crisis.
ROMANS: Anders Breivik is making his first court this morning appearance in Norway. He's charged with killing 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in Oslo back in July.
Dozens of relatives of the alleged victims are on hand. He has pleaded not guilty. The judge is expected to decide today whether to leave Breivik jailed until his trial begins in the spring.
CHO: And inquiry into the "News of the World" phone hacking scandal begins today in London. It was ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron and will be headed up by a judge. The outcome could transform the way newspapers there operate. First witnesses are expected to be called next week.
ROMANS: All right. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the Republican candidates for president are converging on Iowa today and according to the latest polls, one of them is making the move on the frontrunners.
CHO: Gloria Cain speaking out for the first time since sexual harassment allegations surfaced against her husband. Why she says the allegations just can't be true.
ROMANS: And the Occupy Wall Street protesters who got the opportunity of a lifetime, and took hold of it serenading the president and 18 other world leaders in Hawaii with a protest tune.
The video you've got to see and how he got there with a guitar. It's 9 and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. With seven weeks to go before the Iowa caucus, the Republican presidential candidates are flocking to the hawk eye state this week.
Michele Bachmann is hosting two town halls in Iowa today. Newt Gingrich has a meet and greet with employees at an insurance company then he will go to a book signing.
Rick Perry is raising money at a dinner and silent auction. Right now in Iowa, it is all about shaking hands and being seen. CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser joins us live from Washington this morning.
Paul, there was a GOP debate on Saturday, and I guess the headline is, there was no big headline, right?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Exactly. It was very much calmer a debate than what we saw in our debate in Las Vegas last month. So where does stand now, Alina?
Tomorrow, as you mentioned, seven weeks until those Iowa caucuses. Where does the race for the GOP nomination stand? We have a little bit of an idea. Two polls came out on Friday. Check this one out from McClatchy-Maris.
There's Mitt Romney as we've seen, the frontrunner, but look who's number two and basically within the sampling error. You could say it's all tied up. Newt Gingrich, we've seen him rising in the polls.
He was basically left for dead back in May and June when his campaign seemed to collapse, but he is inching his way up. Herman Cain at 17 percent basically a dead heat, almost a three-way battle for the top spot.
Another poll of CBS shows a similar thing as well. Cain at the top there, but Romney and Gingrich, everybody was in the sampling error and the take away, another take away from those polls, 17 percent undecided in both polls.
A lot of Republican voters, Alina, still haven't made up their minds with seven weeks to go. CNN, we've been in the field all week and we'll have a brand new poll of our own out in a couple hours -- Alina.
CHO: Why the sudden surge for Newt Gingrich, do you think?
STEINHAUSER: I think the debates are one reason. He does very well in these debates and we saw it again Saturday night in South Carolina. And he also seems to be like the elder statesman, the ideas man when it comes to these debates.
That is one reason why he has slowly, but surely been rising in the polls. Republican voters like what they hear from Newt Gingrich at these debates.
Talking about the debate on Saturday night, one of the other takeaways, Barack Obama as we expected, the president coming under attack over his stance on Iran and some other foreign policy issues.
Mitt Romney not coming under attack from the other candidates and Rick Perry needed a big debate. We all remember what happened last Wednesday night, his gaffe in - at the debate in Michigan. Take a listen. He had some fun with this on Saturday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT PELLEY, "CBS EVENING NEWS" ANCHOR": Governor Perry, you advocate the elimination of the Department of Energy. If you eliminate the Department of Energy --
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad you remembered it.
PELLEY: I've had some time to think about it, sir. PERRY: Me, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: A little bit of a fun moment there. He actually made some news as well at the debate. He talked about aid to foreign countries. He said he will start at zero with every country and then go up from there. Alina, remember, one more debate on foreign policy and national security, that's a CNN debate coming up a week from tomorrow night.
CHO: I can't wait. You know, I could watch that Perry video a million times. It makes me laugh every single time.
You know, I want to talk more about Iowa. You know, the Iowa caucus is seven weeks away. Why the sudden campaign blitz now?
STEINHAUSER: I think a lot of the candidates have been waiting and saving their money. There's not as much money to go around this cycle as last time. So they're waiting until people are actually occluded (ph).
People now are actually starting to listen into the candidates, with seven weeks to go. And that's why you're going to see an explosion of visits to the Hawkeye State this weekend straight through December. You know, this Saturday most of the candidates will be at a Social Conservative Forum, a Family Values Forum. We're going to see a lot more of that. Three debates in Iowa next month. We're just about there, Alina.
CHO: Paul Steinhauser, it's going to be a marathon for you. Thank you for joining us. Nice to see you.
ROMANS: All right. Herman Cain's wife is speaking for the first time since sexual harassment allegations surfaced against the candidate. Gloria Cain on FOX News saying her husband would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA CAIN, WIFE OF HERMAN CAIN: To hear such graphic allegations and know that that would have been something that was totally disrespectful of her as a woman, and I know that's not the person he is. He totally respects women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Four women have now accused the GOP front-runner of inappropriate behavior during his days at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Two have come forward publicly. Cain has denied all the allegations.
CHO: Seventeen minutes after the hour. I want to check today's weather. Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center with a look at that. Hey, Rob. Good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alina. Hello, again, Christine.
I want to start you off with a storm that rolled through Colorado over the weekend. This is the same storm, actually, or at least a part of it, that hit Alaska last week and did all that damage along the Alaska coastline. Well, it did damage as well across the front range of the Rockies with a decent amount of snow and causing trouble on the roadways and power outages as well because of big time winds especially across some of the higher elevations.
Here are some of the snow totals not only across Colorado, but Utah also getting in the act. And, you know, a lot of the ski resorts both in Utah and Colorado and California actually opened up this weekend. So a good time.
Eleven inches at Snowbird and 6.2 at Steamboat Springs and 13 inches, a foot at Brighton. In Frisco, that's near Breckenridge and Keystone, 115 mile-an-hour winds, so that's not exactly good skiing weather. A hundred mile-an-hour winds at Loveland Pass and Aspen Springs seeing 87 mile-an-hour wind, so obviously very strong storm system.
And some of that energy is now pouring into the Midwest and we have a severe weather threat today with isolated chances of tornadoes. We're going to see some wind damage with some of these storms. That will be the more likely event with hail as well, folks.
So from the Ohio River Valley down through parts of the Mid-south including Paducah and then part of the Deep South, all the way down to the Mexican border with a kind of a lower piece of energy will instigate some storms across parts of the Rio Grande and Central and Southern Texas.
The rain right now is reaching across parts of the Great Lakes. The back side of this is where the strongest storms are. We have some severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warning early this morning across parts of East Central Illinois and that pulse of energy is heading into Indiana, so that's where the severe weather threat is going to be over the next couple of hours, I think.
Along this front, which is slow to move off to the east, ahead of the front, I know I don't need to tell you this, temperatures have been balmy. Up and over 70 in some spots over the weekend, and Chicago had breezy conditions yesterday with high temperature near 70; 58 degrees is a little bit cooler behind the front in Chicago. You'll see most of the rain slide off to the east throughout the day today; 64 degrees in New York City, yes, that's warm; 72 degrees expected in Atlanta.
If you are traveling today, delays possible this morning across Chicago because of some morning showers, but I think, yes, most of that will stay south and east, east towards Detroit. More significant rainfall expected and the threat for severe weather in Cincinnati this afternoon especially. Cleveland and Denver, the back side of the system, will bring in winds across the lower elevations of the Mile High City. Denver, another win. Tebow didn't exactly bring it, but they - they got another win against Kansas City yesterday. Congrats to the Broncos.
CHO: All right, Rob, thank you.
ROMANS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, he's the man many call "Super Mario." Can he fix Italy's ailing economy?
CHO: And Justin Timberlake says it was one of the most memorable nights of his life. Not what you think. So what is he talking about? We'll tell you just ahead.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Right now it's unclear whether Wall Street's rally will enter a second week. U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning. The positive political news out of Europe, the resolution there had been encouraging investors to buy.
President Obama stressing the need for increased trade with the Asia-Pacific Region. At this weekend's Summit of Asian Economic Powers in Hawaii, the president pitched his vision for a seamless-free trade zone. He stressed that such a deal is vital to bolstering America's economy.
Nine days and counting until the Super Committee's deadline and so far no deficit reduction deal yet. Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling, who co-chairs the committee tells CNN tax hikes may be a reality. The 12 lawmakers have until November 23rd to reach an agreement on at least $1.2 trillion in tax cuts over the - cuts rather, spending cuts and deficit cuts, over the next decade.
Expect a tense face-to-face meeting this week between the lawmakers and head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The hearing is about the planned million dollar bonuses for top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage giants that needed $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts just to stay afloat.
Boeing inks the deal worth approximately $18 billion. The airline Emirates announcing yesterday it placed an order for 50 Boeing 777s jetliners. The order is the largest by value in Boeing's history.
And "Immortals" battles its way to the top of the box office this weekend. The 3D action adventure flick that's starring Henry Cavill took in an estimated $32 million rounding out the top three, Adam Sandler's "Jack and Jill" and "J. Edgar" starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. You know, they're not going to invite me back if they find out or I said to myself, so what?
CHO (voice-over): An Occupy Wall Street protester gets a chance to play in front of President Obama and 18 other heads of state. Something the White House really didn't bargain for on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS (on camera): All right. Welcome back, everyone. About half past the hour. Time for this morning's top stories.
A turning point in the Occupy Movement. Several cities cracking down on protesters over the weekend. In Portland, Oregon, more than a dozen people were arrested after police tried to clear protesters from city parks.
And in Denver, two police officers were injured while trying to remove furniture from an encampment.
CHO (on camera): New questions are being raised about the judge who granted bail and freed former Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky. District Judge Leslie Dutchcot reportedly worked as a volunteer for Sandusky's Second Mile Charity, and legal analysts say she should have disclosed that. There are also reports that Sandusky continues to get a large pension pay-out in Penn State.
ROMANS: President Obama saying China needs to act like a grown-up nation now and play by the same rules as everyone else. He met one- on-one with President Hu as he hosted the leaders of 18 Asia Pacific nations at the APEC Summit in Hawaii. He also warned Iran that no options are off the table in light of the new report on their secret nuclear weapons program.
CHO: Did you see this? You know, an "Occupy Wall Street" protester really pulled a fast one on the White House. He somehow made his way in, actually got to play his protest song in front of the president, and 18 other world leaders at APEC.
ROMANS: Call it occupy Aloha.
Brianna Keilar spoke to this very bold musician.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Alina, as President Obama and 18 other heads of state and their spouses dined on Saturday night at the APEC leaders' dinner, they were unwittingly serenaded by a musician for almost 45 minutes as he sang a song about the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.
(voice-over): That's Matthew Swalinkavich, or as he calls himself, Makana -- Hawaiian for "the gift."
He is a well-known musician here on Oahu recognized for his talents playing Hawaiian style guitar. Saturday at the request of the White House, he played during the APEC leaders' dinner for President Obama, 18 other heads of states and their spouses.
MAKANA, MUSICIAN (singing): We'll occupy the streets, we'll occupy the courts --
KEILAR: A song about the "Occupy Wall Street" movement probably wasn't what they had in mind. During the dinner, as Makana provided background music, he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal an Occupy Aloha t- shirt underneath and played a protest tune.
MAKANA: When I started it, I was very shy about it. I didn't just start touting it or be like everybody stop and listen to me. I was total opposite. It was like very subtle.
KEILAR: But then Makana played it over and over, he says for more than 40 minutes in all.
MAKANA: It didn't go over bad, so I kept playing. I felt like it was the only song I should be playing and I should really play it a lot. I don't have any other means of exercising my voice to shape policy that affects my life other than singing and writing songs.
KEILAR: Cell phone video recorded by Makana's sound technician shows some leaders turning to look at him. But others appeared not to notice at all, he said.
MAKANA: So I just came from playing the world leaders' dinner at APEC.
KEILAR: Makana, who opposes the trade goals of APEC, planned his protest in conjunction with some anti-APEC organizers who edited this video together and helped publicize what he'd done on the Web site, APECsucks.com and on a fake Twitter feed about the summit. Makana first played for the Obama at the White House in 2009. His second performance here in Hawaii is likely his last.
MAKANA: When I thought, wow, you know, they're never going to invite me back if they find out, or hold on. I thought to myself -- so what?
KEILAR (on camera): Makana said President Obama was on the other side of the tent from where he was performing and from what he could see, the president appeared to be engaged in conversation throughout much of the dinner, and it was unclear if he realized he was listening to a protest song. The White House declined to comment on the incident -- Christine and Alina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: All right. Brianna Keilar, thank you. I don't know whether he should be happy that he got in or upset that nobody was listening to him.
ROMANS: That nobody noticed he was playing the same song for 45 minutes?
CHO: Yes. Anyway, well, there you go. There you have it.
In Italy, a new political era begins today. The embattled Silvio Berlusconi is out and Mario Monti is in. He's in line to be the country's next prime minister. And his first job: save Italy from financial ruin.
ROMANS: Our Matthew Chance is live in Rome for us this morning.
Good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina.
It's a big task, isn't it, when you phrase it in that way. Italy's got massive economic problems: $2.6 trillion in public debt. It's got to pay that off to get the budget balanced.
Mario Monti, former E.U. commissioner, an eminent economist in the country, working hard now to pick up the reins of power and to put together a cabinet at which he can perhaps get up and running by the end of the week to really take on some of those difficult measures. It's going to be a pretty tough task ahead for him, though, in the shadows, as it were, following on from Silvio Berlusconi. That figure dominated Italian politics for the last two decades.
ROMANS: Matthew, it's Christine. He does -- Mario Monti does know a thing or two about international business and about making some tough choices with General Electric, and also with Microsoft. I mean, he knows international business.
So what are the chances of him actually getting the Italian economy back on track?
CHANCE: Well, I think there's no doubt that people feel that Mario Monti is the right guy for the job. He's going to come up with a whole list of measures which are gob to be welcomed by the money markets, undoubtedly, which are going to be, you know, bringing down that budget deficit in the country, that public debt.
The problem that Mario Monti is going to have, because he's unelected, is that he doesn't really have a political mandate. Some of the measures are going to be very difficult for Italians to swallow. It's a country given over to street protests.
So, when he starts cutting pensions, cutting back on public sector jobs, he might face, you know, mass protests in the streets of Italy, not to mention in the Italian parliament itself, because this is going to be -- these are measures that have defied reform for a long time in Italy. It's going to be very difficult for this man to get it through.
CHO: I believe that Matthew was tweeting this morning that there are positive indications in bond markets in Italy.
So, Matthew Chance, thank you very much for that. We appreciate your report.
ROMANS: All right. Justin Timberlake is a man of his word. The singer turned actor escorted Corporal Kelsey De Santis to the Marine Corps ball Saturday night.
You may remember that Kelsey invited Justin to the ball by posting a YouTube video after Justin publicly encouraged his "Friends with Benefits" co-star Mila Kunis to accept a similar invitation from a serviceman.
CHO: Something tells me she's going to keep her end of the bargain, too, now, now that he's done it.
All right. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: the Penn State sex abuse scandal. We'll speak with a graduate and member of Jerry Sandusky's Second Mile foundation. Why he says he was one of the lucky ones.
ROMANS: And after two decades, a historic site is the Kennedy Space Center is finally back open to the public. We're going to give you a sneak peek a little bit later.
It's 37 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
The child sex abuse scandal that has rocked Penn State.
Our next guest is a Penn State grad who also went through Jerry Sandusky's Second Mile foundation. He wrote an explosive op-ed on what the scandal says about leadership and not just at Penn State, but in the country.
Thomas Day joins us live from Chicago.
Welcome to the program.
THOMAS DAY, PENN STATE GRADUATE: Great to be with you, Christine.
ROMANS: I want to talk first about -- it's been just such an emotional week. The team is back on the field on the weekend, probably the most emotional five or six moments of football I've certainly seen, or in any sport.
Tell me how you're feeling about this as a former student, someone who went through this program, and now, someone who -- I mean, you're horrified by everything that's happened.
DAY: Well, I grew up in State College. I went to Penn State. And you're right -- it has been an extremely emotional week for all of us.
I've got to tell you, I'm very proud of how our students, how our entire community and how our team, you know, carried themselves on Saturday. We didn't win the game, but, you know, as soon as, you know, the game was over, even though we lost, you know, everybody gave the team a standing ovation and cheered, "We are Penn State."
And as you can tell by my tie, I still remain very proud of my school, you know, even after this horrible, horrible situation.
ROMANS: Tell me a little about the Second Mile, I really want to get into your op-ed in a second. But tell me a little about the program were you a part of, how you got involved, and did you know anything about whether there were rumors? What was the reputation of Sandusky at that time?
DAY: Well, the Second Mile is a really large organization. They serve thousands of people around Pennsylvania. My part of the Second Mile was called the Second Mile Friend Fitness program. My mom, when I was 15 years old, got me involved with the program. They set me up with a mentor.
And I may not look it, but they had me work out at the gym a couple of times a week, and, you know, as I gained whatever limited physical strength I had, I was gaining confidence. And, you know, I was never harmed during my time at the Second Mile.
ROMANS: Yes.
DAY: But you know, my experience with the Second Mile was nothing but positive. To your question about -- go ahead.
ROMANS: You said you worked with a group of 20-something young people who took from you a C student to the University of Chicago, where you're studying for a master, now. Took you, you know, from you a kid who was the water boy on the football team to someone who's the 101st Airborne. So, they really transformed you into a positive young man.
DAY: You're right. They made me into the man I am today. And the thing I'm most worried about with this situation is that the mission of the Second Mile can no longer continue. You know, there are thousands of kids around Pennsylvania who are being served by this outstanding organization, and I recognize that there are leaders who are not blameless in the situation --
ROMANS: Right.
DAY: -- with the Second Mile.
But in some way, shape or form, the mission of the Second Mile has to continue.
ROMANS: But it has been so tarnished by the allegations against the founder. I mean, it's been so tarnished by the word Sandusky, the word Second Mile. I mean, it just brings heartbreak to people when they think that anyone with all of the positive work, that any one person could have been -- could have been harmed, you know?
But you said he had no reputation, and none of this was even thought of, when you were there?
DAY: You're right. You know, I was back home in State College. My mom still lives in State College. And, you know, I went and visited a couple people who are still involved with the Second Mile.
And at this point, it was being investigated that there might have been some wrongdoing, it had been reported. And I asked them, you know, what do you think about this? And their reactions were all the same. You know, how could they ruin this man's name around town? It didn't really dawn on them there may be some truth to these allegations.
ROMANS: Right.
DAY: And in defense of coach Paterno, you know -- by the way, I agree with the decision made by the board of trustees. It's possible that his thought process was much the same. You know, how could this man have done it?
ROMANS: Let me ask you, so you wrote an op-ed to "The Washington Post." This part of it really got our attention. You said we're living in a leadership culture. You say, quote, "With the demise of my own community's two most revered leaders, Sandusky and Joe Paterno, I decided to continue to respect my elders, but politely tell them, 'Out of my way.' They've had their time to lead. Time's up. I'm tired of waiting for them to live up to obligations."
And then you see both here and in Washington, you go on to say, the failure of a generation is as true in the halls of Congress as it is at Penn State. You take -- you take this and you make a bigger issue about how people who look like leaders and walk around like leaders but really aren't. Tell me that connection.
THOMAS DAY, PENN STATE GRADUATE: Yes. I worked for General David Petraeus. I know that my parents' generation has produced some outstanding leaders. My point was simply to say that the leaders, you know, of this generation, my parents' generation, you know, aren't leading public opinion in a way that, you know, that would enable to us make the kind of investments in our country that, you know, the greatest generation, my grandfather's generation, did.
And I think part of this is because, you know, people of my generation just don't have a whole lot of faith in our leaders today, and, you know, frankly, there's only, you know, so many John Edwards and so many Tom Delays that we can take before we say, you know, I can't follow you anymore.
And for me, the situation with Coach Paterno and Jerry Sandusky, who were, you know, absolutely the most revered leaders of my community growing up was just kind of the final straw, and I apologize to the people of my parents' generation that came across as being emotional, but that was kind of my visceral response.
ROMANS: All right. Thomas Day, thanks so much for joining us, Penn State graduate, member of Sandusky's Second Mile Foundation, and the writer of this op-ed in the "Washington Post." Thanks for joining us.
DAY: Thanks for having me.
CHO: We want to tell you now about a new program here on 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. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can remember very, very accurately, which I'm told from even really excellent researchers at the Monell Center in Philadelphia that people can do this. I can't imagine how they can, but I'm told they can. I catalog smells in my head. I remember them. I can pull them and start arranging them in my head without even doing anything physically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: So, these are the people we should be watching for. "The Next List" debuts this weekend, airs every Sunday right here on CNN at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.
ROMANS: All right. Forty-seven minutes after the hour. Have you ever wanted to see the place where NASA scientists build rocket ships? Oh, nerd alert. You can now. We're going to take you inside the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center.
CHO: All right.
And check this guy out. We're going to tell you why he's buried under hundreds of T-shirts. One of them as big as a queen-size mattress.
ROMANS: Why? Why? Why are you going to tell me?
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: We'll tell you. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. It's 48 minutes after the hour.
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CHO: Fifty minutes past the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
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CHO (voice-over): Cities across the country are cracking down on the occupy movement. Police officers are now moving in to reclaim public spaces. Overnight in Portland, Oregon, police cleared out protesters saying there's an increased crime rate around the camps.
The judge who ruled the former Penn State assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, could be freed on bail is now coming under fire. District Judge, Leslie Dutchcot, reportedly worked as a volunteer for Sandusky's Second Mile charity, and legal analysts say she should have disclosed that.
President Obama with a new warning to Tehran late last night as he wrapped up the APEC summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Hawaii. The president is saying the U.S. is not taking any options off the table in the efforts to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Former European commissioner, Mario Monti, has been nominated as Italy's new prime minister. He must now form a new government and work to get Italy back on solid financial footing.
The woman who helped create the Pink Ribbon Campaign for breast cancer awareness has died. Evelyn Lauder died from complications of ovarian cancer on Saturday. A memorial service will be held today in New York. Lauder was an executive at cosmetic giant, Estee Lauder. She was 75 years old.
Herman Cain's wife is speaking out for the first time since his sexual harassment scandal broke. Gloria Cain saying her husband totally respects women, and she doesn't believe the allegations.
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CHO (on-camera): That's the news you need to know to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back after this.
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ROMANS: Welcome back. The Soyuz Spacecraft carrying one American astronaut and a team of Russians is on its way to the International Space Station.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one --
ROMANS (voice-over): And there's the blastoff this morning in the middle of a snowstorm. This is the first flight of a U.S. astronaut since NASA shut down its shuttle program. The Russian spacecraft expected to land Wednesday.
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CHO: And the last U.S. space shuttle to fly to the International Space Station is taking on a new role. Space shuttle "Endeavour" is now a museum.
ROMANS: And this weekend, some lucky tourists got a first look inside the history-making spacecraft. CNN's John Zarrella gives us a sneak peek.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These folks are some of the first inside. For more than 30 years, it had been closed to visitors.
DAVID SCHWAEGER, TOUR VISITOR: Took lots of pictures. I did. And some of them I don't understand, because how do you take a picture of this? How do you take a picture of the ceiling? It's unbelievable.
ZARRELLA: If you think that's unbelievable --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shuttle orbiter "Endeavour."
ZARRELLA: For current and future space geeks, this is heaven. A pinch (ph) smoment. "Endeavour" is being housed here until its California museum home is ready
Do you know what you're looking at back there?
JAMEY MESSETT, TOUR VISITOR: Yes.
ZARRELLA: What is it?
MESSETT: A space rocket.
ZARRELLA: This is the vehicle assembly building, VAB at the Kennedy Space Center, rich in history, and now, reopened for public tours. From here, the massive Saturn 5 moon rockets were assembled before rolling out to the launch pad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're just so busy in here. We had thousands of people in here. There were probably 6,000 people in this building.
ZARRELLA: Conrad Mate (hp) work on both the Apollo and space shuttle programs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're probably not going to see anything like this in our lifetime.
ZARRELLA: All 135 shuttles started out from this building, too, made it to the fuel tanks and booster rockets. Because of the bolt of fuels and chemicals used during the shuttle era, NASA closed the VAB's doors to outsiders in 1978. With the shuttle program over, NASA is again allowing tours from the visitors complex to stop here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We said, well, we absolutely have to do that. That's just not optional.
ZARRELLA: To this day, the VAB remains one of the biggest buildings in the world, 525 feet high. By volume, it's the fourth largest in the world.
(on-camera) So, here's one of those interesting NASA factoids. That, of course, is the vehicle assembly building behind me and that American flag you see there, well, it is so large that you can fit a city bus inside each of the stripes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you look at that big flag out there, you know, the side of this thing, 210 feet long. Wow! What a flag.
ZARRELLA: Within a few years, NASA hopes to start assembling its next generation rocket in here, one that will take astronauts, perhaps, to Mars. The space agency has not decided yet whether the welcome mat will remain out once that new rocket gets here.
John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: To Mars. Wow! Cool.
ROMANS: Incredible.
CHO: Well, he certainly dressed to impress, and what's more impressive than breaking the world record? The owner of an Iowa T- shirt store, of course, this is Iowa, earned himself a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for wearing the most T-shirts at once. He piled on 247 of them. The largest size he put on was a 20 XL. That's as big as a queen-size mattress. All $5,000 raised during the event was donated to charity. Well, that's nice.
ROMANS: All right. Want to hear some more extraordinary world records? Coming up at 8:40, eastern, we're going to sit down with Corey Henderson and Dan Rollman, authors of the "RecordSetter Book of World Records." And we're also going to attempt to break a record of our own live on-air. It's going to be very fun.
CHO: That's right. Practicing all morning.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Also ahead next hour, occupy chaos. Police across the country are telling protesters, get out and clean up your act. Back, after this.
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