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American Morning
Judge's Ties to Sandusky; Standing By Her Man Herman; Does Race Matter In Silicon Valley?; Italy Nominates New Prime Minister; Evelyn Lauder Dies; CNN Anchor Attempts to Set World Record; Norway Terror Suspect in Court; Italy Nominates New Prime Minister; Pelosi Denies Using Position for Stock Gains; "Occupy Oakland" Street Standoff; Space Crew Blasts Off from Kazakhstan; First Time Look into History; Justine Timberlake Keeps Promise
Aired November 14, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Alina Cho.
New questions this morning about the judge who allowed former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky to go free on bail. It appears she has ties to Sandusky that she failed to mention.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Standing by her man. Gloria Cain speaking out for the very first time since sexual allegations surfaced about her husband -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
CHO: Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, November 14th. Carol and Ali are off today.
I'm Alina Cho, along with Christine Romans. Good morning.
ROMANS: And good Monday morning.
Up first this hour, the judge who allowed former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky to go free on bail coming under fire. It turns out district judge, Leslie Dutchcot, worked as a volunteer for Sandusky's Second Mile charity. And she didn't disclose it -- leaving a lot of people wondering if that had anything to do with her decision to let the suspected child predator avoid jail while he awaits the legal process here.
CHO: That's right. There are many other new developments in the case, including a game at Penn State on Saturday.
Mary Snow is live in State College, Pennsylvania, this morning.
Hey, Mary. Good morning to you.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina.
And, you know, there's been some reported sightings of Jerry Sandusky over the past week. One report had him at a local store. And there are some residents living nearby who are furious that he is even out on bail and they want the judge -- they are asking her for a stiffer bail.
(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 for Lemont 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 has 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 has maintained his innocence.
The road to his home is blocked off and private property signs on his lawn went up this weekend after police say a cinder block was thrown through a window.
Nearby neighbors question why he is out on bail.
MELISSA ANDERSON, CONCERNED PARENT: It baffles my mind.
CARL ANDERSON, CONCERNED PARENT: I think presumption of innocence, we all 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."
C. ANDERSON: For me, at least, it alternates between anger and sadness really. I mean, it really is a loss of kind of a community -- wholesale community innocence.
SNOW (on camera): Have you seen more police here in the last week?
M. 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 SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The judge certainly should have raised the issue, disclosed her connection to Second Mile so that the parties in the case could decide whether they wanted to ask her to recuse herself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, it's unclear whether or not the judge has any current affiliation with Second Mile. CNN has contacted her -- tried to contact her, but we haven't gotten a response so far -- Alina and Christine.
CHO: Mary Snow, thank you very much.
ROMANS: Herman Cain's wife is speaking out for the first time since sexual harassment allegations surfaced against the presidential candidate. Gloria Cain telling FOX News 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 frontrunner of inappropriate behavior during his days at the National Restaurant Association in the '90s. Two have come forward publicly. Cain has denied all the accusations.
CHO: Well, it could be a tipped point in the Wall Street movement. Patience with the demonstrators seems to be wearing thin and more and more cities have grown tired with the headaches associated with the protests. Over the weekend, protesters were pushed out of parks in Portland, Oregon, Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City. In Portland, more than a dozen people were arrested.
ROMANS: And in Philadelphia, the mayor says the protesters have overstayed their welcome. He says what started out as a peaceful protest is now turning parks into filth with crimes and drugs.
(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: Police in Philadelphia also reportedly arrested a man for sexually assaulting a woman at the "Occupy Philly" camp and that's what the challenge is for people like Mayor Nutter who say they are trying to protect people there. But it's a very difficult, difficult situation.
CHO: And we'll have to see how long people stay. I mean, now that the weather is getting colder. As you know, in New York, they're administering flu shots at Zuccotti Park.
ROMANS: And there's something called the "occupy cough." You know, there's people living outside and it's a stressful situation for the people who are the occupiers and the people who are trying to --
CHO: Control them.
ROMANS: -- control and protect them at the same time.
CHO: That's right.
ROMANS: Which is a dual mission, really.
CHO: President Obama wrapping up the APEC Summit in Hawaii. He will leave for Australia tomorrow and he is expected to announce an increased military presence there. In remarks late last night, Mr. Obama had a warning for Iran. The president saying the U.S. is not taking any options off the table in the effort to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
ROMANS: In Italy, a new political era begins today. The embattled Silvio Berlusconi is out and Mario Monti is now in line to be the country's next prime minister. And his first job is to save it from financial ruin.
And how the markets are waiting to see if Monti can deliver, U.S. stock futures are trading slightly lower.
Our Matthew Chance is live in Rome for us this morning.
Good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
That's right. Mario Monti is the name who has taken over from Silvio Berlusconi, the colorful former prime minister who's dominated Italian politics for so long. He's got a pretty uphill task ahead of him. He has to try and stem Italy's huge debt, $2.6 trillion, trying to curb public spending, raise taxes. First of all, though, he's got to form a cabinet who are going to, you know, try and pass those bills and implement those measures -- a very, very difficult task ahead.
The money markets, Italians watching very closely what his progress will be, Christine.
ROMANS: And, you know, it's interesting. He has all this experience in European business and the European commission -- sort of ironic that Silvio Berlusconi run out for any of the things that landed him in the tabloids, but a financial crisis. No one can outrun the bond market, I guess.
And the bond market is telling us that it has a little more confidence in the situation today, right, Matthew?
CHANCE: Yes. It certainly hasn't gone ballistic like it did when Silvio Berlusconi was in power last week. It seems to have stabilized around the mid-6 percent level. But, you know, it's still a very high amount that Italy has to pay on those $2.6 trillion worth of loans.
And so, I think the money markets just watching at the moment to see what measures Mario Monti will implement in the months ahead.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much, Matthew Chance in Rome.
CHO: So many people, of course, want to be Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. But finding success in the tech world is hard, even harder if you're black. So, how much does race really matter in Silicon Valley? We will discuss this next.
ROMANS: Ever wonder who holds the fastest time to open a can of Campbell's soup while spelling out the word "pantyhose". Someone holds this record. We're going to have an answer and a look at crazy, record-breaking stunts coming up next.
It's nine minutes after the hour.
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CHO: Well, rock on.
ROMANS: I know. Welcome back.
They are on heavy metal's Mt. Rushmore. Black Sabbath, the original Sabbath, announcing a new album and tour with front man Ozzy Osbourne. The band formed in 1968. The original lineup hasn't released any new material in more than 30 years.
Rob Marciano -- is this head banging? I'm not sure. He is in the extreme weather center right now.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, the good old days, you know? "Children of the Grave," "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," one of my personal favorites.
Anyway, let's go on to the pure white driven snow and let's see the snow totals from this weekend. An awful transition I know, but over a foot of snow over the weekend in places like Brighton, Utah, Snowbird seeing 11 inches. And a lot of these spots actually opened up for their first weekend of skiing, although it came with a price to pay and the form of some hefty winds.
Actually, this was a piece of the energy that broke off from the Alaska storm last week and dropped down into the Pacific Northwest and the Intermountain West. A hundred fifteen-mile-an-hour winds in Frisco, Colorado, and on the pass in Loveland, 100-mile-per-hour winds. So, we have power outages and dangerous conditions.
Some dangerous storms this morning, kind of holding on to their strength and getting across the Ohio and Indiana border there. They might issue a watch in this and then more general rain, and this is from the Colorado storm that's beginning to stretch off towards the north and east.
So, here's your spot where we expect to see the potential of severe weather and likely no tornadoes, but can't rule it out -- damaging wind and large hail. And the southern piece of this energy is also getting across the Rio Grande. This will make its way across not only Texas but Dixie over the next couple days and makes its way up the East Coast.
So, here it is, kind of stretched out. Ahead of this, fairly mild. Temperatures, once again, will be up over, well, maybe 10 or 20 degrees above average.
We'll and some delays in Chicago this morning, but Detroit and Cincinnati more so. Cleveland, as well as Denver, will see wind on the back side of this system.
We do have one delay to report right now at Philadelphia. Ground stop issued there because of low clouds and some wind until 9:30.
Seventy is the expected high temperature in D.C., 64 degrees in New York City. And if that kind of temperature isn't enough to get your head banging and some Black Sabbath, I don't know what is. Some rain moving your way tonight and tomorrow.
CHO: Floor crew going wild here. Rob, thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Success stories in Silicon Valley are hard to come by, even harder if you're black. Only one percent of tech entrepreneurs who got venture capital last year were black. CNNs Soledad O'Brien looks at a new program that tries to tackle the issue of race in her "Black in America" special report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight people, nine weeks, one house, one goal, changing the face of Silicon Valley.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For it to be successful to me, founders have to give investment.
O'BRIEN: The high-stakes program backed by sponsors culminates in demo day when each entrepreneur will have just six minutes to pitch their company to a room full of investors. Seventy-people people applied. Six were chosen by Angela and Wayne based on their start-up ideas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Hank Williams was one of those six entrepreneurs chosen. He is the founder of Kloudco. That's an Internet tool to manage personal information, and he's live with us on the set in New York. Nice to see you, Hank. Thanks for coming in.
You know, Kloudco isn't your first venture. You've been in the tech industry for 25 years. You've raised $40 million for another venture, and yet, you say there just aren't a lot of people who look like you. Still, in your industry, why not?
HANK WILLIAMS, FOUNDER & CEO, KLOUDCO: Well, I think that there are a number of issues. One of the issues that the industry likes to talk about is that there is a pipeline issue. Meaning that there aren't enough Blacks and people of color going into the technology world, and there's some truth to that.
But, there are also, I think, institutional biases, the industry is fairly clubby. You have to sort of do things just the right way. It's sort of a bit of a closed environment.
ROMANS: It's interesting, though, when you look at adapters of technology, especially consumer technology. I mean, African-American and minority -- you know, adapting of these technologies is huge. So, why aren't minorities more on the front end, African-Americans more on the front end of the ventures then? And, maybe that should make it easier to bridge that gap.
CHO: They're consuming it.
ROMANS: They can figure out how to bridge the gap.
WILLIAMS: Well, I think that's a very good point. What's interesting, though, is if you look at the entertainment business, even, you know, we, you know, Black people, people of color enjoy watching movies and listening to music, but those industries were, at times, much harder for people of color to break into.
So, the fact that you are a consumer of a particular product, product category or technology does not mean that you are right off the bat going to be able to be a leader in that space. That -- it's very -- it certainly is an important thing culturally that everybody be participating in the creating of products because that brings different perspectives to the creation of those products.
CHO: You know, there is a really telling moment in the documentary and Soledad's documentary where one of your mentors actually says, get a White guy to be your front man, and he does exactly that. He hires a White man to go out there and raise venture capital. And this isn't something that was said 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago. This is 2011. Were you shocked by that?
WILLIAMS: I was. That was -- for all of us in the house and the gentleman's name (INAUDIBLE) he is a wonderful person, and it was very sincere. He told us the story of his experience, which was actually about 25 years ago when he first got into the business. But it was -- it was a really shocking and surprising moment. We all kind of took a breath when he told us that.
ROMANS: You know, everybody wants to strike it rich in Silicon Valley, but I mean, that is, wow. In terms of the American dream, that is right up there. I mean, there are so many hurdles to getting your great idea out there. You got to get the funding.
You got to get somebody behind you. You got to move it to the next level and, you know, there's this other amazing moment in the documentary when TechCrunch co-founder, Michael Arrington (ph) got in a lot of trouble for saying basically that he was so desperate to have a Black entrepreneur launch at his conference that he would have launched a clown show on stage.
People went crazy by that comment. I mean, it really sparked a lot of controversy and a lot of soul searching about, I don't know, equality, I guess, in technology.
WILLIAMS: Yes. I mean, everyone was upset by the comment. I mean, I think it was an unfortunate comment. You know, Mike really shouldn't have said that. I don't think it's true. I don't think it's true.
It's very hard to become, to get in the TechCrunch or get in the TechCrunch disrupt and I can guarantee you that there are Black folks trying to get in that are not being greeted with open arms just because they're Blacks. I don't believe that was a true statement.
ROMANS: The product becomes everything.
WILLIAMS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: I mean, really in Silicon Valley, the product trumps everything.
WILLIAMS: That's right.
CHO: Very quickly, tell us about Kloudco and how is it doing.
WILLIAMS: Sure. Well, we haven't launched yet. We're launching in January. It's a product for organizing all of your information on the cloud. The cloud is the new term for all of your stuff on the internet. Your g-mail and Google docs and Twitter and Facebook. And our views that people need a central place to manage all of that information.
That means searching it, sharing it, organizing it, because if it's spread out across five, six, seven different services, it's very difficult and more and growing. Apple just came out with icloud, and everyone has their own proprietary cloud service. So, we want to provide a central simplifying interface for that experience.
CHO: Great. Hank Williams, thank you so much. Keep us posted. Let us know how you're doing. WILLIAMS: We'll do.
CHO: Thanks so much.
And you can catch "Black in America," again, this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
ROMANS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, a check on the jittery financial markets.
Plus, it's crunch time for that so-called Super Committee, and with just nine days until their debt reduction deadline, can tax hikes now be on the table? Twenty-one minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: Good morning. Twenty-four minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning
Buckle up. After last week's rally on Wall Street, markets right now on track to head south. The U.S. stock futures are trading lower about an hour before the opening bell. We can expect more volatility as Europe struggles to control its debt crisis.
It's down to business today for the man about to become Italy's new prime minister. Economist, Mario Monti, was formally nominated yesterday to replace Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Monti must now form a new government that can lead Italy out of its debt crisis.
Nine days and counting until the Super Committee's deadline, and so far, no deficit reduction deal here. A Republican congressman, Jeb Hensarling, who co-chairs that 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 cuts over the next decades.
A huge jet order for Boeing. Emirates Airline placed an order for 50 Boeing 777 jetliners at Dubai air show yesterday. Well, that's worth about $18 billion, and it's the biggest sale in Boeing's history.
For the third straight day, gas prices are down. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.43 a gallon. That's about a penny less than it was yesterday.
And "Immortals" battled its way to the top of the box office this weekend. The 3D action adventure took in an estimated $32 million. Rounding out the top three, Adam Sandlers "Jack and Jill" and "J. Edgar" starring Leonardo Di Caprio.
Up next, Evelyn Lauder, creator of the breast cancer Pink Ribbon Campaign, she has died at age 75. Her life and her legacy up next. AMERICAN MORNING back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHO (voice-over): A legacy of beauty and pink. Evelyn Lauder died on Saturday. She is remembered as a strong voice in women's health, the crusader against breast cancer and a pioneer of the Pink Ribbon campaign on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING this Monday. Top stories looking at a tense situation right now on the streets of Oakland. A riot police are lining up in front of occupy protesters there. This is the city where clashes erupted and a tear gas canister allegedly severely injured an Iraq war vet.
We've been warned there could be several arrests and no violence yet this morning, but clearly, the protesters they are, they are there. They are in the streets, and they're getting ready for any attempt to try to move them out. So, we'll be monitoring these pictures.
CHO: Police appear to be ready for them.
Questions being raised about the judge who granted bail and freed former Penn state Assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. District Judge Leslie Dutchcot reportedly worked for Sandusky's Second Mile charity, and legal analysts said she should have disclosed that, maybe recused herself. There are also reports that Sandusky continues to receive a large pension payout from Penn State.
ROMANS: Herman Cain's wife is speaking out for the first time since sexual allegations surfaced against the presidential canddiate. 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 has 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 frontrunner of inappropriate behavior during his days at the National Restaurant Association in the '90s. Two have come forward publicly, but Cain has denied all of these colors.
CHO: Her color was pink. Evelyn Lauder, a creator of the iconic pink ribbon, died from complications from ovarian cancer on Saturday. She made a huge impact on the world, developing a global campaign for breast cancer awareness and raising millions in outreach. Lauder was an also an executive at cosmetics giant Estee Lauder. Memorial services will be held later this morning in New York.
And we are joined now by John Demsey, group president of Estee Lauder who was asked personally by Leonard Lauder, Evelyn's husband, to speak on behalf of the company. John, great to see you, as always.
It all started with that pink ribbon which initially was given out to makeup customers at the counter to remind people to get breast cancer screenings. It's now become the worldwide symbol of breast cancer awareness. How much of an impact did Evelyn Lauder have on the movement?
JOHN DEMSEY, GROUP PRESIDENT OF ESTEE LAUDER: Well, 20 years ago Evelyn Lauder created the breast cancer awareness campaign and used the network of all the Estee Lauder company's counters all over the world to distribute pink ribbons to garner attention for early breast detection, breast health, and to engage all the editorial magazines around the world to bring breast health and early detection to the forefront of the conversation.
CHO: She really did it without talking about her own personal health battles. It was only disclosed officially in her obituary that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989, but she also raised what some $350 million in the process.
DEMSEY: Evelyn was an amazing philanthropist and women's health advocate. The Breast Cancer Research fund has raised over $350 million in breast cancer research, coordinating over 190 doctors around the world. Last year they gave out $135 million to research programs on the ground in all the major countries around the world. And the Breast Cancer Awareness program just expanded to a worldwide program with illuminations of buildings in pink and all the world capitals, every magazine, every Estee Lauder counter, every company within our company and the entire world from a political standpoint.
CHO: It's incredible. The White House was awash in pink lights, the Empire State Building. It really, that color, which she chose, has become synonymous with breast cancer.
You know, before Evelyn Lauder people were afraid to say the word "breast" and to talk about breast cancer and she really made it OK for a generation of people to talk about it publicly. You know, what few people know, which I find interesting, is the impact she had on the Estee Lauder companies, which is enormous. I did not know this, but she created Clinique.
DEMSEY: Yes, indeed. Actually I worked for Estee Lauder companies for 21 years and soon after her marriage to Leonard Lauder and he created the education programs Leonard created to original education programs. And many of the product development ideas that garnered the Estee Lauder's early success around the world created the name Clinique was an integral part of the development of all the companies businesses and for the past 25 years has actually been the senior vice president of product development for every fragrance that comes out of our country.
CHO: Wow.
DEMSEY: So, all of our great selling fragrances such as Pleasures and Be Delicious, these are all fragrances that were curated and developed by Evelyn Lauder and the amazing fragrance teams at the Estee Lauder companies.
CHO: Very quickly, I know you are considered part of the Lauder family even though you're not blood related, but you're very close to the Lauder family. I'd like to get a little bit of insight on Evelyn Lauder as a person. She met Leonard Lauder years ago on a blind date and they married four years later. She was one of the few people who stood up to Estee and did it with gusto. What was she like as a person?
DEMSEY: She was the most amazing person. She was a mother, a grandmother, a wife, an executive, a health advocate, a trailblazer, a photographer, a cultural icon, fashion icon. She was a good person. She loved children. She loved teaching people, loved learning things, she loved making a difference.
She was side-by-side with Leonard Lauder and Estee Lauder building the Estee Lauder companies in the early years. And quite frankly we would not be the company we are today if it was not for the sheer drive and brilliance of Evelyn Lauder. She truly will be greatly missed by all of us at the Estee Lauder Company. She made such a profound contribution to the success of our companies and made such a profound commitment and impact on women's health and early breast cancer detection and prevention.
CHO: And full disclosure. Because of my friendship with you, I have had an opportunity to spend time with the Lauders, and I thank you for that. I know it is a tough day for the Lauder family. Everyone in the Estee Lauder companies and a memorial service held later today. John Demsey, thank you.
DEMSEY: Thank you.
ROMANS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, there's a lot of crazy world records out there, a lot of them. We're going to tell you who holds the record for most sips of eggnog taken in 30 seconds while listening to Neil Diamond. And We'll try to break a few records of our very own. You're not going to want to miss this one live. No eggnog, I promise. It's 37 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Good morning, New York City. Sunny, 57 degrees, and showers, maybe 54 later. So it's a nice temperature.
ROMANS: Ever wonder what the world's record for the longest head spin? It's nearly 24 minutes. How about the fastest solo viewing of every episode of "Lost"? It's 145 hours.
CHO: Never seen it. Our next guests believe that everyone can be the best at something. It's so positive. That's why they have the "Record Setter Book of World Records." It's a collection of the craziest, funniest, and weirdest, and toughest records ever broken.
So joining us now are the co-authors Corey Henderson and Dan Roman. Thanks so much for joining us. First thing people are going to think, is this at all associated with the "Guinness Book of World Records." No. Totally different, right? Explain.
DAN ROLLMAN, CO-AUTHOR, "THE RECORDSETTER BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS": It's a totally new approach to world records. We believe everyone can be the world's best at something. We're based more as a Web site, first and foremost. Recordsetter.com has all the records. And we allow people to dream up and invent their own world records.
CHO: You say everyone has a video camera and an idea, just do it.
COREY HENDERSON, CO-AUTHOR, "THE RECORDSETTER BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS": That's right. Just set any record that is quantifiable and breakable are the only rules we have. Just like uploading to YouTube.
CHO: So you'll take any idea? It's open season?
ROLLMAN: We encourage creativity. Well, we believe everyone can be world's best. We don't like to judge people's ideas.
ROMANS: Here's a look at one of the quirky ideas. When you're in the holidays, love this one. This one is the most sips of eggnog taken in 30 seconds while listening to Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon." It's 39 sips done by Cory Cabin (ph). She described this as an almost spiritual experience and it is the essence of Neil Diamond, basically.
HENDERSON: It's a nice combination. And if somebody out there loves Neil Diamond and eggnog sipping, they can try to beat this record.
ROLLMAN: It's a seasonal record.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: So it only comes around once a year. Now is your time, now is your moment.
Let's talk about this one. This is great -- most consecutive arm wrestling victories by a woman in third trimester of pregnancy. Corey, this was your wife.
HENDERSON: That's right. At one of the live events here in New York. She was one month away from having our son.
CHO: Here is your shot, Christine. Have a fourth kid, you could do it again!
ROMANS: My world record consists of three kids.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Do they ever surprise you? There are some crazy ones. You must be blown away day after day.
ROLLMAN: We've got records that have come in from over 60 countries and hundreds of videos submitted every week to recordsetter.com. So we see most giraffe tattoos on a shoulder and largest toothpick beard.
CHO: How do you even come up with this idea? Fastest time to open Campbell's soup and spell out "pantyhose"?
(LAUGHTER)
HENDERSON: The guy that set this record originally wanted to spell the word "chimpanzee" and he discovered there were no C's in alphabet soup, so he had to change his word.
ROMANS: To "pantyhose," because that is obviously the next thing after chip pansy.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Exactly, because that's the obvious choice.
So, my friend over at ABC John Berman started this craze of most network signoffs in 30 seconds. I'm here to tell you, John Berman, that I'm going to break that record. So, it was John who had 28 and then somebody else did it, did 29.
HENDERSON: The current mark is 28. I think he started it was around 20 and been beaten a couple of times.
CHO: So what do I have to beat?
ROMANS: In 30 seconds.
HENDERSON: You need to be 28 to set the new record.
CHO: I promised this in makeup this morning. I will have a little sip of water.
ROLLMAN: This is exciting.
ROMANS: This is really exciting.
ROLLMAN: Do you have a stop watch?
HENDERSON: Timer, good to go.
ROMANS: You can do it, Alina. You only have three syllables.
CHO: Tell me when.
ROLLMAN: On your mark, get set, go.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN --
ROLLMAN: I have to stop you.
ROLLMAN: We have this on video. I just wanted to make sure you weren't over 30 seconds. We can't announce the final count. The timer didn't work. But we have it on video.
HENDERSON: I feel strongly. I remember watching the previous video. I think we're well on pace.
CHO: You've got to be kidding me.
ROMANS: We had an iPad malfunction. We'll be able to go back and check the tape.
CHO: I'm telling you, I did it 40 times.
HENDERSON: You were on fire.
ROMANS: That's conditional on checking the tape.
CHO: You guys better check that tape.
ROMANS: All right, Corey Henderson and Dan Rollman the co- authors of "The Record-Setter Book of World Records". Guys that was really fun and hysterical. Thanks, guys.
I'm sure you got it. I'm sure, I'm sure.
CHO: I know I'm pretty sure I do.
"Morning Headlines" are next. Forty-five minutes after the hour. Are you kidding me?
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CHO: Forty-seven minutes after the hour. Here are your "Morning Headlines."
A judge has ordered Anders Breivik to remain in custody for another 12 weeks. The Norway terror suspect tried to speak in court, but was cut short when he called himself the commander of a resistance movement. He's accused of killing 77 people during a shooting spree and bomb attack in Oslo back in July.
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. And until Italy and the rest of Europe are back on solid footing, brace yourself for some more wild stock swings. Right now U.S. stock futures are down.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denies using her political position to make money in the stock market. In a report that aired on "60 Minutes" last night Pelosi said her record fighting the credit card companies speaks for itself, even though she and her husband purchased millions of dollars worth of Visa stock. Thieves in Springfield, Illinois, has stolen a (INAUDIBLE) copper sword from Lincoln's tomb. It's believed to be the first step to the site in more than 100 years. The sword was cut from the statue of a civil war officer and it may have been taken as far back as September.
A live look right now at the tense situation on the streets of Oakland, California. Riot police surrounding a camp of more than 500 Occupy Wall Street protesters. We have been warned there could be several arrests, but so far no new violence yet this morning.
That's the news you need to know to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back after this.
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ROMANS: Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho, CNN, Alina Cho CNN. Alina Cho, CNN.
I'm sorry. That was Washington D.C., where it's going to be cloudy and 70 later on today. I can't wait to see if Alina really won.
CHO: Oh gosh, I'm out of breath.
ROMANS: All right, welcome back, everybody.
The Soyuz Spacecraft takes off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, 1.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Carrying one American astronaut and a team of Russians on its way back to the International Space Station. It blasted off this morning in the middle of a snowstorm. This is the first flight of a U.S. astronaut since NASA shut down the shuttle program. The Russian spacecraft expected to land on Wednesday.
CHO: I smell a John Zarrella report coming up. You know the last U.S. shuttle to fly to the International Space Station is taking on a new role, space shuttle "Endeavour" is now in a museum. And next weekend some lucky tourist got a first peek inside the history-making spacecraft.
Our John Zarrella gives us a sneak peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(on camera): You took a lot of pictures? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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, 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 me" moment. "Endeavour" is being housed here until its California museum home is ready.
(on camera): Do you know what you're looking at back there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA: What is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
CONRAD NAGLE, SHUTTLE FLOW (ph) DIRECTOR: Here we're just so busy in here. We had thousands of people living at this building at the time. There were probably 6,000 people in the building.
ZARRELLA: Conrad Nagle worked on both the "Apollo" and space shuttle programs.
NAGLE: 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 volatile 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 visitor complex to stop here.
DAVID MESSETT, TOUR VISITOR: We just sort of said well, we absolutely have to do that part of the tour, 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.
NAGLE: When you look at that big flag out there hanging on 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 VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Awesome.
All right, the tape is back, we will have the verdict on whether or not Alina managed to have the most network --
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN.
ROMANS: -- take out in 30 seconds. You got to come back in two minutes to get that.
Fifty-three minutes after the hour.
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CHO: Oh, good morning, everybody. Atlanta, Georgia. Cloudy and 52 degrees -- I'm sorry, I was taken by the Justin Timberlake song -- later it will be mostly cloudy and 71.
ROMANS: We're playing Justin Timberlake because he kept his promise to a Marine. You might remember this creative invitation. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CPL. KELSEY DE SANTIS, ASKED JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE TO THE MARINE CORPS BALL: So, Justin, you want to call out my girl, Mila. Well, I am going to call you out and ask you to come to the Marine Corps Ball with me on November 12th in Washington, D.C. If you can't go, all I have to say is, cry me a river.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Cute.
The singer-turned-actor escorted Cpl. Kelsey de Santis -- that's her -- at the Marine Corps Ball Saturday night. He said he was moved by the whole experience and it certainly looks like the pair had a pretty great time.
Meanwhile, Timberlake "Friends with Benefits" co-star Mila Kunis, who she was talking about in that video, she will also attend a Marine Corps Ball later this week.
CHO: I bet she will. It was a big weekend for the "Saturday Night Live" crew. They got the last word on Rick Perry's oops moment during last week's GOP debate. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You still haven't named the third department.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't? I know, it's marred. That's not a word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, Maria, can we just move on? I mean I want to be president, but not like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll need your help. OK. All three now, commerce -- oh, God, I only know one now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe you have it written down in your notes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good idea. Yes. I'm such a messy Marvin. All right, guys. Department that does zoos and parades, might be that. Nope. Start with an m or an x. Is there an x in there maybe. Is it trains. No, you can't cut trains. Oh, man. There are so many, so many departments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make it stop. Somebody make it stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really trying here, guys. I don't know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All his cards are blank.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, no peeking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Speaking of an oops moment. Alina attempted to break the world record of signoffs in 30 seconds. But we had an iPad nod -- that is a horrifying picture. Alina was not pleased, as you can see. Let's review the tape to see if she won.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On your mark. Get set go.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN. Alina Cho, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: But we weren't actually timing it so then we went back and looked at the tape and we counted and the official results: 37 signoffs in 30 seconds. Her previous record 27. Congratulations Alina and I never want to have to play, like, table tennis against you. You were so intense with trying to win.
CHO: Focused. Thank you so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING.
I'm not going to do that again. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Hey Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning guys. Good to see you.
