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American Morning
Herman Cain Considering Ending Presidential Campaign; Congress Debates Payroll Tax Cut; New Audiotape Concerning Indiana State Fair Disaster Released; Is Apple's Siri Pro-Life?; New Perry Campaign Ad; Payroll Tax Cut Extension Blocked; Clinton Meets With Aung San Suu Kyi; Foster Care Kids and Drugs; Herman Cain: The Decision; The Search For Engineers; Engineers Are in High Demand; 7 Percent Return to Former Lifestyle after Layoffs; Foster Kids Prescribed Psycho-tropic Drugs
Aired December 02, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And that was the revelation and the surprise.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Cain saying his wife didn't know about his friendship with alleged mistress, Ginger White. The candidate heading home right now to make a key decision about the future of his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 13 cities it's about 30 minutes or less before the weather comes down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Warnings released showing extreme weather was in fact a worry minutes before a deadly stage collapse at the Indiana state fair.
ROMANS: More gridlock in Washington with a fatter paycheck, your paycheck on the line. Lawmakers butting heads over the payroll tax with time running out.
CHO: And it will find you a brothel, but not an abortion clinic. Questions whether the new iPhone is pro-life on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right, Good morning, everyone. It's Friday. Thank god it's Friday. Friday, December 2nd. Ali and Carol are both off. I'm Christine Romans along with Alina Cho on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHO: Good morning. We're looking at the weekend.
ROMANS: A few hours from now.
CHO: Up first, the countdown is on from Herman Cain. He is heading back home to Atlanta this morning, and the decision about whether to continue his campaign could be in his wife's hands. Cain says we will know by Monday at the latest whether he's in or out of the race. Yesterday for the first time he admitted that getting out is an option. Cain acknowledged that he gave money to the woman who says she had a 13-year affair with him. And last night on FOX News Cain said his wife only found out about his long friendship with Ginger White when the rest of us did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is correct. And she was hurt that she didn't know about this friend that I was helping financially. She was aware of many of the other friends that I have helped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Ginger White spoke to Lawrence O'Donnell over at MSNBC last night and again insisted it was a lot more than just a friendship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGER WHITE, ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH HERMAN CAIN: At the end of the day I know that I am telling the truth. I would never come out with something like this if it wasn't true. Honestly, I didn't want to come out with this, and I know that travel was involved and sex was involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Oh, boy. Here to talk about the latest developments, senior political editor Mark Preston. Mark, good morning to you. So what are the Washington insiders saying? Is Cain in or out of the race?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: I have to repeat what you said, Alina -- oh, boy. What a soap opera this whole saga has been with Herman Cain, a candidate who came out of nowhere just in the past couple months to spring to the top of the polls to now come crashing down.
Right now, if you are to talk to Republican strategists all across the country, they're saying that people are moving on. Herman Cain has had his day in the sun. The fact of the matter is there is no way that he can win the Republican presidential nomination. We've just seen is poll come out of Iowa this morning, an important state, shows that his support plummeted there.
The fact of the matter is, Alina, Herman Cain was never really going to win the Republican presidential nomination. However, he could have become very influential in the process. We don't think that's going to happen anymore.
CHO: Some people are suggesting he got into the race to sell books. It's easy to say. Hindsight is 20/20. Having said that, if Cain gets out of the race, it's really Newt Gingrich who will benefit, right?
PRESTON: It is going to be Newt Gingrich. And what we've seen from polling all across the country now is Newt Gingrich picks up all of that support. In fact, let's look at this poll down in Florida, a very key primary state. Look at those numbers right there. Newt Gingrich has climbed 39 points in just a month while Herman Cain has dropped 24 points. Look where that support is going. It is going to Newt Gingrich right now.
It's 30 days until the Iowa caucus. Newt Gingrich right now has all the momentum that Herman Cain once had several weeks ago. Herman Cain at this point is being dogged by these allegations and there's just no way that he can shake them at this point, Alina.
CHO: Senior political editor for CNN Mark Preston. Mark, thanks.
PRESTON: Thanks.
ROMANS: This morning Congress has just 30 days to work out its differences or you and 160 million other Americans may face higher taxes next year. Last night the Senate failed to pass both the Republican and Democratic extensions of the payroll tax holiday. It's expected to expire at year's end.
Our Brianna Keilar is live at the White House. And Brianna, seems both parties want to pass an extension. This was always meant to be a temporary tax holiday that eventually has to be put back in. Both parties say they want to pass an extension of this temporary holiday but disagree how to pay for it, and that's where the politics get ugly.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And I think it's important to remember Christine, the bottom line here is all indications are that ultimately Congress is going to figure out a way to pass this payroll tax extension.
But we care so much about this. Why? Because if they were to fail to do this, you're talking about $1,000 for most middle-class families that they wouldn't have next year, you know, in their bank accounts, that they did have this year. And of course in this economy, you know, $1,000 certainly helps.
So the problem is getting to that point there's a whole lot of uncertainty and a ton of politics. It's not going to really be a pretty sight.
So last night the Senate failed to pass this payroll tax cut extension. Also what it would do is also give a payroll tax cut to small businesses. And so now you have Democrats really hitting Republicans because at least in the democratic proposed way to pay for it, it was a tax on people making $1 million or more, what Democrats call the millionaires surtax.
Listen to what President Obama said in a statement following this vote. He said "Tonight Senate Republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hardworking Americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. That is unacceptable. It makes absolutely no sense."
Now, Republicans are saying this surtax actually is hitting too many small businesses, that it gets in the way of job creation. But Democrats are really pressing ahead with this message of Republicans really not standing up for the middle class and instead protecting the rich, and that is the argument that you see going on right knew, guys.
ROMANS: Brianna Keilar, bottom line, a good point to make, bottom line, there's hope they're going to get this figured out by the end of the year. Thanks, Brianna.
KEILAR: Exactly.
CHO: One of the most important employment reports will be released next hour, that's the November jobs report. Economists predict the economy added 110,000 jobs last month. Now, based on that estimate, the unemployment rate would stay unchanged at nine percent.
ROMANS: New, chilling audiotapes from emergency responders at the scene of a deadly stage collapse last August at the Indiana state fair. These tapes were obtained by CNN affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis, and reveal chaos and confusion in the aftermath of this tragedy. It turns out state police knew a bad storm was coming and they had concerns about all of those fans who were gathering for a Sugarland concert that never got started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All units, all units, severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 for Marion County. Use your best judgment. Find shelter when need.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That state police radio call came five minutes before disaster struck, dispatchers expressing concerns for a swelling crowd of Sugarland fans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have they released fans from grandstands yet?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no information on that. Will check and advise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turns out there wouldn't be enough time. Within three minutes of that radio call all hell broke loose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The grandstands are gone. Fire control, I'm calling a mass casualty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: CNN affiliate WTHR obtained this 11-page fire department post-incident report. But the city of Los Angeles has blacked out its findings because of a possible lawsuit. Here's what is clear from the dispatch tapes. In the moments after the stage collapse, there was no clear disaster plan in place and ambulances were challenged getting into the fairgrounds and getting out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have 13 and 27 en route, five, 20, 24, 31 and 61 are on property. They're trying to make their way to the grandstand and getting into a great deal of gridlock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The scene was so chaotic one ambulance loaded with two injured patients but no one could find the driver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to locate the drivers now. They're loaded and ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're working on it now. What we're running into is we have multiple people that are just taking off with the patients, so we're having a hard time controlling it. We need medical carts down here closer to the stage, it would be really good. We need to rethink our strategy. It's not working. We need to get the trucks down here to get people out of here. Do what we need to do. Have the state police open the lines. But we can't have the patients dragged up the pavement to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm out of transport unit, but we are continuing to scrounge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What plan what resources down there? It's critical. A lot of our patients are starting do go from yellow it red on us. They're going into shock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Four people died at the scene. Three more died later. More than 40 others hurt. The country duo Sugarland has been named in a lawsuit filed by survivors and family members of four of the victims killed. The suit alleges breach of reasonable care to the victims and seeks unspecified damages. CNN has reached out to Indiana state police for comment. We do expect to hear back from them this morning.
The leader of Al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for the August kidnapping of a 70-year-old U.S. citizen in Pakistan. Ayman al Zawahiri can be heard on a number of radical websites saying the terror group that captured, quote, "an American Jew called Warren Weinstein. Gunman took Weinstein from his home in Lahore just days before he planned to move back to the U.S. Al Zawahiri then lists eight demands for Weinstein's release, including the release of anyone arrested on charges of belonging to Al Qaeda and the Taliban and the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
The Senate has unanimously passed harsh new economy sanctions against Iran. The plan would cut off Iran's central bank from the rest of the world's banks. But the White House is balking, fearing the move could backfire and wind up costing all of us a lot more money at the gas pump.
This morning we're expecting results from Egypt's first round of parliamentary elections. Egyptians voted Monday and Tuesday for the first time since President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of power in February.
Well, it was Saddam Hussein's palace before it became headquarters for the U.S. war effort renamed Camp Victory. And this morning, Iraq is officially in control of the sprawling Baghdad base. The formal handover coming after yesterday's ceremony where Vice President Biden praised the service and sacrifice of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. Still to come on this Friday morning, foster care kids are being prescribed certain psychiatric medications at an alarming rate at the age of one. Guess what. Your tax dollars are paying for it. We'll explain.
And engineers in very high demand in this slumping economy. Companies like Google and Caterpillar offering $65,000 a year salaries just to start. So why are so many students dropping out of engineering? We'll tell you.
ROMANS: And As apple's latest smartphone pro-life? Siri won't direct users to abortion clinics. Is it a glitch, or is this on purpose?
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 12 minutes after the hour. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's 15 minutes after the hour.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast are still without power this morning after big wind storms there. Southern California, hardest worst with the worst Santa Ana winds in a decade. Hurricane force winds as strong as 140 miles per hour toppled trees and brought down power lines. That's what happens, L.A. County has been declared a state of emergency. The winds are expected to kick up again later today.
ROMANS: Worse Santa Ana winds in a decade. Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center for us this morning. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unusual setup, guys. And, yes, it was so widespread, that's another reason it was so unusual.
Today, we'll see them again, although right now it's relatively calm, but we'll see more of a kick-up in the winds over the next couple of hours, but 40 to 60 mile-an-hour winds versus like 60 to 90 is what we saw yesterday. Mammoth Mountain yesterday reporting wind gust of 140 to 150 miles an hour. Right now about 50 miles an hour. So we'll take that.
But another resurgence of the winds tomorrow - or tonight into tomorrow morning briefly until calming down on Sunday.
Look at Centerville, Utah, 102 mile-an-hour winds; Whitaker Peak, 97 mile-an-hour winds; even Salt Lake City downtown, 69 yesterday; widespread damage in Nevada and Utah as well.
But besides the winds, snow is an issue with this system as well. Check out the snow falling in Denver yesterday. The Front Range got a decent amount, over a foot in spots; Denver proper getting about three or four; Boulder got about seven. A day before yesterday, high temperature in Denver was 61 degrees. So the ground relatively warm and didn't stick around all that much. Six to 12 inches potentially with winter storm warnings posted for Northern New Mexico and then this storm will make its way up towards the north and east.
Today's travel delays, nothing in Denver is expected. But winds in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Vegas should be kept to below an hour.
The storm itself will make its way towards the northeast, Western Great Lakes, the mid-Mississippi River Valley, Saturday and Sunday a little bit of rain with this system, but the East Coast looks to be pretty nice.
Guy, back up to you.
CHO: All right.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob. Nice to see you.
CHO: Apple's new iPhone is being called Pro-Life. What?
ROMANS: The iPhone 4S' Virtual Assistant Siri, she helps you find phone numbers and addresses, but Siri wouldn't find abortion clinics.
CNN's Mary Snow has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Where can I find a supermarket?
(voice-over): It's one of the hottest functions of the new iPhone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I found a number of supermarkets.
SNOW: Siri, the Virtual Assistant, ask it just about anything and it finds an answer. If it can't, it leads to you a search engine.
But Apple is having to respond a question about its new voice- activated assistant. Those questions were first raised by bloggers asking why Siri could find anything from strip clubs to Viagra, but apparently draws a blank when asked about abortion and contraception.
(on camera): We're standing outside a Planned Parenthood Clinic here in New York. Where can I find an abortion clinic? This is the latest iPhone with the Siri app.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry. I couldn't find any abortion clinics.
SNOW (voice-over): Ask the same question in Washington, D.C., and the blog raw (ph) story says Siri comes up with an anti-abortion center in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania. A similar search on Google directs users to several clinics where abortions are performed.
The ACLU and abortion right advocates raise concerns, but Apple is blaming it on a technical glitch saying, "These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks." Not everyone is buying it. Eli Pariser is the former Executive Director of moveon.org and the author of "The Filter Bubble."
ELI PARISER, AUTHOR, "THE FILTER BUBBLE": I think it's a pretty thin answer. The fact is that for a long time media companies have, you know, made it more difficult for women to, you know, find family planning assistance. This is not the first time that this has happened.
SNOW: One analyst who covers Apple says he doesn't believe there's a hidden agenda, since Apple doesn't use its own database but rather relies on information gathered from partners. But he says the company's culture of silence will likely only add to suspicions.
VAN BAKER, RESEARCH DIRECTOR AND VICE PRESIDENT, GARTNER: You see lots and lots of pretty wild theories and speculations about new products and services, and, you know, hidden agendas and all of those kinds of things with Apple more than you do with other company, because they tend to constrain the amount of information that they make available to the marketplace.
SNOW (on camera): Meantime, the abortion rights group NARAL Pro- Choice America Foundation posted an e-mail received from Apple's CEO after writing him. The group says it appreciates the prompt response, and that it will continue to monitor Siri until Apple's efforts to work out the case are finished.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Well, he's been pretty good at this before, so he's going to try it again. Rick Perry trying to turn his gaffes into laughs. The Texas governor was on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" last night. But the best part may have come during the commercial breaks. Check at the new ad his campaign just released in Iowa last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Commerce, education and the - what's the third one there?
The Department of Energy, you know, we've all lost our train of thought before, but not many have done it on national TV. Now, if you want a slick debater, I'm obviously not your guy, but if you want a clean house in Washington with a balanced budget amendment, a flat tax and a part-time Congress, I'm your man. I'm Rick Perry and - what's that line again? I'm Rick Perry, and I approve of this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Not bad. Pretty clever. This is the third commercial released from Team Perry in just the last 24 hours. And in case you're counting, there are just 23 days left until the Iowa caucuses.
ROMANS: Ever lost your train of thoughts on television? CHO: Thousand times. Probably it already happened this morning.
ROMANS: And will in the next hour and a half, too, I promise.
CHO: Still to come this morning, Herman Cain is seeking his biggest endorsement yet from his wife. The candidate is heading home right now as a sex scandal threatens to destroy his presidential bid. We'll talk about whether the campaign can survive.
ROMANS: And changes at the drive-thru. The King trying something new. Ah, don't mess with the fries. Are they messing with the fries? We're "Minding Your Business" next.
It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business."
The big November jobs report comes out this morning in about an hour. Economists forecast 110,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. They think the unemployment rate stayed steady at nine percent.
On Wall Street, U.S. stock futures right now trading sharply higher after a minor pullback yesterday. Dow futures, in fact, right now are up more than 100 points. Yesterday, the Dow and the S&P 500 were down slightly. The NASDAQ was higher.
Massachusetts Attorney General is now suing some of the nation's biggest banks accusing them of, quote, "unlawful and deceptive conduct in the foreclosure process." Among those targeted, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. The banks, meanwhile, say they're negotiating a settlement with a number of attorney generals regarding their handling of foreclosures.
Honda expanding its recall to replace the air bags in another 917,000 cars. The problem is the driver's air bag may deploy with too much pressure and injure the driver. The cars affected include the popular Civic and Accord made in the early 2000s.
AT&T hitting back the Federal Communications Commission, calling its report on an AT&T proposed merger with T-Mobile, unfair, biased, one- sided and speculative. Earlier this week, the FCC all but accused AT&T of lying about the benefits of its merger saying it would not create new jobs and would lessen competition and consumer choice.
There's a new fry in town. Starting next week, Burger King will introduce a new French fry recipe. It's said to have less sodium and a new coating that makes them crispier and keeps them hotter longer. Recently, the number two burger chain has been facing increased competition from rivals like Wendy's and Five Guys.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't try to pin that -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I just wondered if you have your own timetable.
CAIN: I do have my own timetable.
CHO (voice-over): Waiting for Herman Cain's next move. The candidate heading home to face his wife for the first time since he was accused of cheating on her on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Good morning, everybody. Half past the hour right now.
Our top stories, House Speaker John Boehner saying he agrees with President Obama and the Democrats that extending the payroll tax holiday would help the economy, but the Senate still blocks Democratic and Republican plans to extend those cuts, which expires at the end of the year, the issue, how to pay for it.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrapping up a landmark two-day visit to Myanmar by meeting with dissident Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize winner plans to run for parliament in the Southeast Asian nation after spending nearly two decades under arrest.
She told Clinton she supports the immediate return of a U.S. ambassador to Myanmar. Secretary Clinton told her the time is not right just yet.
A new government report finds thousands of foster children are being prescribed psychiatric medications at doses higher than the maximum levels approved by the FDA. And hundreds of them received five or more psychiatric drugs at the same time.
Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen has much more on this report in about 20 minutes -- Alina.
CHO: Christine, thanks.
The countdown is on for Herman Cain. He's expected to discuss the future of his campaign with his wife back home in Atlanta today. Cain has not seen his wife since a woman named Ginger White claimed they had a 13-year affair.
Last night on Fox News, Cain talked about when he could make up his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Before Monday, I haven't set the exact date. Before Monday, I will -- we will make a decision. We will make a decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Joining us now to talk more about this, CNN contributors, Will Cain right here in the studio in New York and Hilary Rosen in Washington, D.C.
Good to see both of you. Good morning. Will, I want to start with you. So you heard that, Will Cain -- you're Will Cain. Herman Cain said last night on Fox that we'll know by Monday.
So what do you think? Is he staying in or is he getting out of the race?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That depends on what he's campaigning for, right? I mean, if he is campaigning for president then I think the logical conclusion he's probably done.
If he's campaigning to raising his own profile or sell more books, I see no rush? Why get out? I've been slow to this analysis --
CHO: Why get out? He's running out of money.
CAIN: Well, but he's still raising his profile. He can peter along, keep his name out there and sell more books. Look, I've been slow to adopt that analysis. The reason I'm beginning to think that might be true that he's not truly running for president.
It means all of these scandals, all of these issues, the existence of a 13-year relationship, these sexual harassment claims that he knew about, he's known about them all along.
He could have been prepared and yet he wasn't. He's been winging every single aspect of his campaign, which says to me he was never very serious about actually becoming president.
CHO: Interesting. Hilary, I want to talk to you. You know, the editorial board of the "New Hampshire Union Leader" yesterday spoke to Cain. I want to listen to that a little bit and get your reaction on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: It may appear now that, why didn't I tell her about this when it was going on? You're absolutely right, but, you know, in retrospect. But retrospect, you know, doesn't necessarily change what we're dealing with now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did your wife that you two are friends anyway?
CAIN: She did not know we were friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Until she --
CAIN: Until she came out with this -- with this story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Ouch. That was so painful. But in the end, Hilary, really isn't this really about money and support?
HILARY ROSEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Herman Cain, remember, when he was accused of sexual harassment, raised several million dollars from conservatives who were outraged at the media trying to kill this fresh face in Republican politics.
So, you know, if he's actually spent all of that money, I'd be surprised and probably disappointed in their management. So I think he's probably got some money to keep going, and frankly, I'm kind of where Will is.
I don't really think anything he's done is anymore hypocritical or terrible than Newt Gingrich and we're lauding him now as the Republican frontrunner. Newt cheated on his wife multiple times.
What I find interesting about Cain is, that he kind of personifies the sort of non-politician politician who, you know, this country is constantly been seeking over the years. We're always looking for the guy to come in outside of politics, to come in and tell us the truth and not be your typical you know, spin mister and the like.
But, you know, it just doesn't really work that way. You need to be better prepared. You need better, thoughtful answers and actually need to think about policy. Something he hasn't done.
But I can't imagine a practiced politician sitting there when he's on camera kind of talking about the conversation he and his wife might have about the affair he's had for the last 13 years.
CHO: Always that thought --
ROSEN: Completely spontaneous. There's something interesting about it.
CHO: Well, I mean, there are people who say, maybe he was just hoping it wouldn't come out. You did touch on, Hilary, on Newt Gingrich.
I want to talk to you about that, Will. You know, our polling shows that if Cain does get out of the race, Newt Gingrich does stand to benefit. You know, listen to Gingrich, he may not need it. Let's listen to what he said on Fox and ABC recently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would have thought originally it was going to be Mitt and not Mitt. I think it may turn out to be Newt and not Newt.
It's very hard not to look at the recent polls that the odds are very high I'm going to be the nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: All right, isn't that a little early to be saying that?
CAIN: You know, something you said before absolutely blows my mind and that is, Herman Cain support stands to flow to Newt Gingrich. The ultimate outsider, the ultimate Washington outsider, Herman Cain, the reason for his fandom, his support threatens to flow to the ultimate Washington insider.
Let me say this, as conservatives, the shining, distracting object that keeps pulling our attention away is style. We keep looking for the person that can passionately take on President Obama.
Meanwhile, we're now focusing on a man who in every respect is as much as a flip-flopper as unprincipled as Mitt Romney. The difference between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney is not one of principles.
Newt Gingrich is actually stained with, yes, as Hilary pointed out, character flaws, but also crony capitalism. He's full of crony capitalism. I want to challenge Hilary on one thing because I'm so fashion about this.
The lesson of Herman Cain's failure is not that people from outside Washington that businessmen who have no political experience have no place running for president. That cannot be the lesson.
The lesson must be simply, know your stuff. Prepare. That does not require previous political experience.
ROSEN: I agree with that.
CHO: Hilary, you know --
ROSEN: Wait. Alina, look at this. See my hands up in the air, praying. I'm praying -- I'm praying for Newt Gingrich to be the republican nominee.
CHO: I know you are.
ROSEN: Like this.
CHO: I know you are, but let's talk a little bit about Romney, because Will Cain touched on that. You know, Romney is seen by many as more electable in the general election against Obama, and yet the momentum right now is behind Newt Gingrich. So if you're advising Romney, what are you telling him right now, Hilary?
ROSEN: Well, look. I think actually the race is wide open and it's shocking we're only a month out from Iowa. People like Jon Huntsman, frankly, who you know, whether you agree with him or not, actually has a lot of conservative, is probably going to get a second look, particularly coming into New Hampshire.
Mitt Romney cannot seal this deal, and he's just going to have to convince people that he's going to be steady Eddie. That he's going to be, you know, the tortoise in this race. And I'm not sure people have that faith.
That's why I think this nomination is so historically just completely up in the air so soon into the -- when the election is so soon coming up.
CHO: Hilary Rosen, and I feel I can say this on a Friday, who I saw sing as a supreme recently at a birthday party. CAIN: Really? Can we hear it now? Hilary, take it away.
ROSEN: That was crazy.
CHO: And Will Cain who I know played water polo at Pepperdine University. Again, something I can say on a Friday. Thanks so much for joining us. Christine, back to you.
ROMANS: I feel like I really know those guests now. Thanks, Alina.
It's 38 minutes after the hour. Here's what's new this morning, fierce Santa Ana winds ripping through Southern California. In some areas, the gusting are topping 140 miles per hour.
That's hurricane force. Tens of thousands of homes without power and L.A. County even declared a state of emergency. It's the strongest wind storm in nearly a decade.
An eighth grade student turned away from a private school in Pennsylvania because he's HIV positive. The 13-year-old is suing Milton Hershey School for discrimination after the school refused his enrolment because of his status last February.
It's a residential academy aimed at helping students from low-income families. The school said it made the right legal decision under the law. The suit was filed to coincide with World AIDS day.
And the divorce settlement came through with a windfall for the former wife of a Hongkong business tycoon. A court awarded her $154 million to maintain her lifestyle.
The former husband's worth nearly $5 billion by comparison Donald Trump paid Ivana $25 million in 1992. Paul McCartney had to pay $48 million to Heather Mills in 2008.
CHO: A way to make money.
Still to come this morning, major companies like Caterpillar are hunting for engineers. So why are so many students dropping out of engineering? Our Poppy Harlow joins us next to explain.
ROMANS: And why consumers aren't buying the new white Coke cans. We'll tell you why. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 40 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: We're back. Engineers are in high demand. How many times have you heard me talking about them, science, technology, engineering and math?
If you want to succeed in the world going forward, you want to be an engineer, right? In the tough job market you think that would be an incentive for college students to stick with the engineering major, but there's a tiny problem. CHO: Many undergrads are choosing to drop engineering instead turning to other majors like English or business. So what's behind this? Our Poppy Harlow is here to explain. So what's going on? Why so many drop outs?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Because it's incredibly hard and kids feel ill-prepared. It seems sound simple, but that's what we found out. I got the idea to do this story because I interviewed so many CEOs. I said, why aren't you hiring?
And they kept saying to me, Poppy, we are. We need engineers. We need scientists. We need mathematicians. So we wanted to figure out why more kids aren't getting trained for these really high-paying jobs. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW (voice-over): These machines are moving more than dirt. They're moving jobs, too and entry-level engineers here rake in $65,000 a year. Companies from Caterpillar to Google are on the hunt for engineers.
(on camera): You were an engineering major here and then what?
BERNIE DABERICE, CITY COULLEGE STUDENT: I was struggling in the program. So I decided to study something different and right now I'm majoring in public relation advertising.
HARLOW: Here at this City College of New York, only 35 percent of students who enter the engineering school graduate as engineers.
With 9 percent unemployment and companies desperate to hire engineers, you'd think undergrads would be lining up to major in the sciences. But few are, and many who do are quitting them.
DABERICE: I needed to raise my GPA to stay in the school and that's what I did so I left.
HARLOW: Alina Sabanska has dreamed of being a scientist since she was a young girl.
ALINA SABANSKA, CITY COLLEGE STUDENT: About two-thirds dropout. That was actually my experience with my friends. They all started together at freshmen and switched out of the major.
HARLOW (on camera): But City College isn't alone. It's a national phenomenon. 22 percent of students choose a stem major, that's science, technology, engineering or math, at some point in their college career, but only 14 percent finish school in a stem major.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After just finishing the assignments you have to put in extra work. It's like maybe eight hours a day extra.
ARCHIE WALTON (ph), CITY COLLEGE: A lot of students don't realize how much work is required to really become an engineer. Academicians and professors could do, also, a better job of making the case that this is something you want to do.
HARLOW (voice-over): Many say they enter college ill-prepared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In high school, I took a lot of calculus and chemistry classes so it was something I was interested in. And throughout my first couple of semesters, I was struggling with the math and sciences.
HARLOW (on camera): But here at Columbia, 96 percent of students that enter engineering, graduate as engineers.
UNIDENTIFIED ENGINEERING DEAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I believe and a lot of people in our school believe that engineering is the liberal arts of the 21st century.
HARLOW (voice-over): The engineering dean at Columbia University at its success to a more practical approach.
UNIDENTIFIED ENGINEERING DEAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: When you go to school all you see is the equations but not the application. We transform it into a bridge or building, you start losing interest.
HARLOW (on camera): Why spend so much time studying? Is it worth it?
SABANSKA (ph): It is worth it.
HARLOW: Why?
SABANSKA (ph): Because you become more well-rounded. You look at the world differently.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Here is something else you'll know if you majored in engineering. Engineering undergrads generally don't get their degree in four years. It takes five to six years. That's more typical. City College got a $4 million grant from the Department of Education to try to promote engineering. But one of the people I talked to in the story said to me, what we don't have is a sputnik moment like in the '60s. Where there was a real calling. It was a real honor and calling to major in the hard sciences. We don't have that now. He said we need that now. That was Interesting.
I look back at my education. I barely had to take math and science in college. It wasn't really required.
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: So interesting, too. All of those kids switching to be English majors, the highest paid English major is writing technical materials for stem couriers.
(LAUGHTER)
That's where the action will be. But it is very difficult. HARLOW: One outside, I found out about reporting the story, is computer sciences. So I think we'll dig into in for next month's jobs report. Computer science majors, right now, are getting hired in droves. And there are more and more kids, one computer science professor told me, applying to that major. Because they look at a company like Google or Facebook and say, that is really, really cool. It's cool, right, to be programmer.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: It's hard work.
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: It's hard work.
CHO: Poppy Harlow, thanks.
ROMANS: Barely out a month and Coca-Cola pulling its limited-edition, white Arctic home cans, designed to bring awareness to polar bears and their habitats. Customers complained the cans look too much like Diet Coke cans. Coca-Cola will roll out new red holiday cans next week.
CHO: Thank goodness for that.
ROMANS: People don't like change.
CHO: They don't. Keep it the same.
(LAUGHTER)
A new government report says foster kids are being prescribed up to four times as many psychotropic drugs as other children. What exactly are these drugs and how much are they getting? We're going to break it down with our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, next.
ROMANS: And today's "Romans' Numeral" is 7. Here's a hint. It has something to do with how thousands of people are doing after being hit hard by the recession. We're going to tie it into the jobs report coming up in less than an hour.
It is 48 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Herman Cain watch. The candidate heading home today to speak to his wife and family. It's their first-face-to-face meeting since he was accused of having a 13-year affair. Cain said he will make a decision about his campaign by Monday.
The Senate blocked the both Democratic and Republican plans on extending the payroll tax holiday that expires at the end of the year. The parties remain divided over how just to pay for this.
In less than one hour, new numbers on the economy. That's when the November jobs report comes out. Economists say 110,000 jobs were likely added last month and they expect the unemployment rate to stay at 9 percent.
Newly released tapes reveal chaos and confusion at the scene of a deadly stage collapse in August at the Indiana State Fair. Seven people were killed. Tapes show state police were concerned for audience members just moments before a storm triggered that tragedy.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING, back right after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back this morning. This morning's "Romans' Numeral," a number that pertains to the news today. Today, we're going to get this big jobs report. This number is 7 percent. This is the percentage of people who feel they've gotten back to the lifestyle they had before they were being laid off during the recession. Only 7 percent have managed to get back to where they were once they were laid off, or have exceeded that. That is according to a study out of Rutgers. And it really is an important political story, an important economic story, and even as we watch Europe, and all the trouble they're having, just shows you it's still hurting here, so.
CHO: Oh, yes. So many Americans, and you look at the unemployment number at 9 percent, I mean, it hasn't changed and it doesn't look like it's going to change either.
ROMANS: We'll see -- you know, at 8:30 we'll be able tell you more about the underemployment rates and all of that. We'll have that for you live when that happens.
CHO: Foster kids in this country are being over drugged at a rate that is two to four times higher than other children. It's really incredible to hear. This is according to a new government report. And in many cases, the drugs aren't even approved for use in children so young.
ROMANS: Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohan, has details of this study.
Elizabeth, what kind of drugs are we talking about, foster children, some at very young ages, are being given?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, you will not believe this list of pharmaceuticals that we're giving children in foster care. We're talking really little children, sometimes babies.
Let's look at the list of some of these drugs these kids are being prescribed. They're getting anti-anxiety, antidepressants and antipsychotics, also antihistamines, and many are taking more than five drugs at one time. If you could imagine a small child, even a baby getting so many drugs at one time. I mean, there's really no medical standard for that. Doctors don't recommend giving five psycho-tropic drugs to a child.
CHO: And, like you mentioned, these are being administered to babies. I mean, just how young are these kids, Elizabeth?
COHEN: There were kids under the age of 1 who were being prescribed antidepressants, antihistamines, anti-anxiety drugs. And it really boggled the minds of the doctors that we talked to. They say they can't believe these drugs are being prescribed to babies. They are not approved for babies. And in many cases, the label specifically says don't give to babies, yet, they're being prescribed for them.
ROMANS: So these are foster children. So, apparently, I guess, this means taxpayers are funding this behavior. Why -- why are doctors prescribing so many drugs to these kids so young? Why is this allowed to happen? Why is it happening?
COHEN: Christine, one doctor that we are talking to, who has worked in the foster care system, says over drugging kids is foster care's dirty little secret. That was the term that he used. He said, look, these kids have been through a lot and sometimes they do need an anti- depressant or anti-anxiety drugs. But he said, a lot of times, to be honest, it's about sedating that child so they're easier to deal with
CHO: Right.
COHEN: It is easier to deal with a sedated child than a child who is not sedates. And it's bad. But he said that's the truth.
CHO: I hate to sound like a fuddy-duddy. This wasn't going on when we were children. They weren't prescribing drugs to babies like this. It's atrocious. It's unbelievable that it's happening.
But thank you for bringing it to light, Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks so much. COHEN: Thanks.
ROMANS: Ahead next hour, Herman Cain's marriage summit. He's heading home for a key meeting with his wife. Could it be the end of his campaign?
CHO: The chilling newly released audiotapes from the deadly stage collapse last August at the Indiana State Fair. We'll take you inside the chaos and confusion just moments after disaster struck.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 56 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alina Sabanska (ph) has dreamed of being a scientist since being a young girl.
ALINA SABANSKA (ph), STUDENT: About two-thirds drop out. That was actually my experience with my friends. They all started together as freshmen and some of them switched out of the major.
HARLOW (on camera): But City College isn't alone. It's a national phenomenon. 22 percent of students choose a stem major, that's science, technology, engineering or math, at some point in their college career, but only 14 percent finish school in a stem major.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After just finishing the assignments you have to put in extra work. It's like maybe eight hours a day extra.
ARCHIE WALTON (ph), CITY COLLEGE: A lot of students don't realize how much work is required to really become an engineer. Academicians and professors could do, also, a better job of making the case that this is something you want to do.
HARLOW (voice-over): Many say they enter college ill-prepared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In high school, I took a lot of calculus and chemistry classes so it was something I was interested in. And throughout my first couple of semesters, I was struggling with the math and sciences.
HARLOW (on camera): But here at Columbia, 96 percent of students that enter engineering, graduate as engineers.
UNIDENTIFIED ENGINEERING DEAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I believe and a lot of people in our school believe that engineering is the liberal arts of the 21st century.
HARLOW (voice-over): The engineering dean at Columbia University at its success to a more practical approach.
UNIDENTIFIED ENGINEERING DEAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: When you go to school all you see is the equations but not the application. We transform it into a bridge or building, you start losing interest.
HARLOW (on camera): Why spend so much time studying? Is it worth it?
SABANSKA (ph): It is worth it.
HARLOW: Why?
SABANSKA (ph): Because you become more well-rounded. You look at the world differently.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Here is something else you'll know if you majored in engineering. Engineering undergrads generally don't get their degree in four years. It takes five to six years. That's more typical. City College got a $4 million grant from the Department of Education to try to promote engineering. But one of the people I talked to in the story said to me, what we don't have is a sputnik moment like in the '60s. Where there was a real calling. It was a real honor and calling to major in the hard sciences. We don't have that now. He said we need that now. That was Interesting.
I look back at my education. I barely had to take math and science in college. It wasn't really required.
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: So interesting, too. All of those kids switching to be English majors, the highest paid English major is writing technical materials for stem couriers.
(LAUGHTER)
That's where the action will be. But it is very difficult.
HARLOW: One outside, I found out about reporting the story, is computer sciences. So I think we'll dig into in for next month's jobs report. Computer science majors, right now, are getting hired in droves. And there are more and more kids, one computer science professor told me, applying to that major. Because they look at a company like Google or Facebook and say, that is really, really cool. It's cool, right, to be programmer.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: It's hard work.
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: It's hard work.
CHO: Poppy Harlow, thanks.
ROMANS: Barely out a month and Coca-Cola pulling its limited-edition, white Arctic home cans, designed to bring awareness to polar bears and their habitats. Customers complained the cans look too much like Diet Coke cans. Coca-Cola will roll out new red holiday cans next week.
CHO: Thank goodness for that.
ROMANS: People don't like change.
CHO: They don't. Keep it the same.
(LAUGHTER)
A new government report says foster kids are being prescribed up to four times as many psychotropic drugs as other children. What exactly are these drugs and how much are they getting? We're going to break it down with our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, next.
ROMANS: And today's "Romans' Numeral" is 7. Here's a hint. It has something to do with how thousands of people are doing after being hit hard by the recession. We're going to tie it into the jobs report coming up in less than an hour.
It is 48 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Herman Cain watch. The candidate heading home today to speak to his wife and family. It's their first-face-to-face meeting since he was accused of having a 13-year affair. Cain said he will make a decision about his campaign by Monday.
The Senate blocked the both Democratic and Republican plans on extending the payroll tax holiday that expires at the end of the year. The parties remain divided over how just to pay for this.
In less than one hour, new numbers on the economy. That's when the November jobs report comes out. Economists say 110,000 jobs were likely added last month and they expect the unemployment rate to stay at 9 percent.
Newly released tapes reveal chaos and confusion at the scene of a deadly stage collapse in August at the Indiana State Fair. Seven people were killed. Tapes show state police were concerned for audience members just moments before a storm triggered that tragedy.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING, back right after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back this morning. This morning's "Romans' Numeral," a number that pertains to the news today. Today, we're going to get this big jobs report. This number is 7 percent. This is the percentage of people who feel they've gotten back to the lifestyle they had before they were being laid off during the recession. Only 7 percent have managed to get back to where they were once they were laid off, or have exceeded that. That is according to a study out of Rutgers. And it really is an important political story, an important economic story, and even as we watch Europe, and all the trouble they're having, just shows you it's still hurting here, so.
CHO: Oh, yes. So many Americans, and you look at the unemployment number at 9 percent, I mean, it hasn't changed and it doesn't look like it's going to change either.
ROMANS: We'll see -- you know, at 8:30 we'll be able tell you more about the underemployment rates and all of that. We'll have that for you live when that happens.
CHO: Foster kids in this country are being over drugged at a rate that is two to four times higher than other children. It's really incredible to hear. This is according to a new government report. And in many cases, the drugs aren't even approved for use in children so young.
ROMANS: Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohan, has details of this study.
Elizabeth, what kind of drugs are we talking about, foster children, some at very young ages, are being given?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, you will not believe this list of pharmaceuticals that we're giving children in foster care. We're talking really little children, sometimes babies. Let's look at the list of some of these drugs these kids are being prescribed. They're getting anti-anxiety, antidepressants and antipsychotics, also antihistamines, and many are taking more than five drugs at one time. If you could imagine a small child, even a baby getting so many drugs at one time. I mean, there's really no medical standard for that. Doctors don't recommend giving five psycho-tropic drugs to a child.
CHO: And, like you mentioned, these are being administered to babies. I mean, just how young are these kids, Elizabeth?
COHEN: There were kids under the age of 1 who were being prescribed antidepressants, antihistamines, anti-anxiety drugs. And it really boggled the minds of the doctors that we talked to. They say they can't believe these drugs are being prescribed to babies. They are not approved for babies. And in many cases, the label specifically says don't give to babies, yet, they're being prescribed for them.
ROMANS: So these are foster children. So, apparently, I guess, this means taxpayers are funding this behavior. Why -- why are doctors prescribing so many drugs to these kids so young? Why is this allowed to happen? Why is it happening?
COHEN: Christine, one doctor that we are talking to, who has worked in the foster care system, says over drugging kids is foster care's dirty little secret. That was the term that he used. He said, look, these kids have been through a lot and sometimes they do need an anti- depressant or anti-anxiety drugs. But he said, a lot of times, to be honest, it's about sedating that child so they're easier to deal with
CHO: Right.
COHEN: It is easier to deal with a sedated child than a child who is not sedates. And it's bad. But he said that's the truth.
CHO: I hate to sound like a fuddy-duddy. This wasn't going on when we were children. They weren't prescribing drugs to babies like this. It's atrocious. It's unbelievable that it's happening.
But thank you for bringing it to light, Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks so much. COHEN: Thanks.
ROMANS: Ahead next hour, Herman Cain's marriage summit. He's heading home for a key meeting with his wife. Could it be the end of his campaign?
CHO: The chilling newly released audiotapes from the deadly stage collapse last August at the Indiana State Fair. We'll take you inside the chaos and confusion just moments after disaster struck.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 56 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
