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CNN Sunday Morning
Iran Test-Fires Missiles Amid Nuclear Fears; Georgia Sinkhole Swallows Car; Brewer Uses Rainwater To Create 'Green' Beer; Canadian Students' Music Video Becomes Web Hit
Aired September 27, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Happy Sunday morning. Hopefully, you're up and a little more put together...
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: ...than we are at times. Working on it still. It's early. It's September 27. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: OK. I'm ready now.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: I'm T.J.
NGUYEN: There's your button-up.
HOLMES: Hello to you all.
NGUYEN: OK.
HOLMES: It is 6 a.m. here in Atlanta; it's 5 a.m. in St. Louis, Missouri; 3 a.m. out in Oakland, California. Wherever you may be, thank you for starting right here with us.
NGUYEN: Yes, well, right here has been a little wet because of all the heavy rain that just started pouring down yesterday. Flash floods in some areas, and it's really not what - not what is needed due to all the flooding that we had last week and all the damage that that caused. We're going to give you an update on that.
HOLMES: And, of course, Reynolds Wolf, our meteorologist, he's been covering a lot of the weather. But he has found a use for all of this rainwater. I know you might be a little confused by that picture, but yes, rainwater being used to make beer. He'll be along with the forecast, but also the story in just a bit.
We do want to give you an update on some of the stories we've been watching overnight. So first we'll start in Iraq, where a U.S. military drone slammed into an Islamic Party headquarters in Mosul yesterday morning. A U.S. military spokesman says the building's roof was damaged but no one was injured. An investigation under way right now. The military considers Mosul the last urban stronghold of al- Qaeda in Iraq.
NGUYEN: President Obama says his administration is doing all it can to restore the nation's economic health. He and the first lady were the guests of honor at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual dinner last night in Washington. And he said criticism of his economic policies - well, it - they are unwarranted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So we are by no means the first generation of Americans to be tested. But tested we have been. Most recently, we've been tested by an economic crisis unlike any that we've seen since the Great Depression.
Now, I have to say that some folks seem to have forgotten just how bad things were when I took office.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: They seem to be exercising some selective memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, the president also told the audience that the nation has been waiting for health-care reform since the days of President Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
HOLMES: And Iran just can't stop getting attention these days, can they?
Well, after drawing criticism for now being upfront about its nuclear program, Iran says it has now successfully test-fired two short-range missiles. That news we're getting today.
Iran admitted Friday it had been building a second uranium- enrichment facility in the holy city of Qom, doing that without the - the OK of the world community. A U.S.-based satellite-imaging company took these photos of what they say is the site. Iran's nuclear chief says his country will allow U.N. inspectors to visit the still- unfinished facility.
But before international inspectors tour that facility, Iran could face some pretty tough questions this week.
NGUYEN: Oh yes, and our Elaine Quijano tells us that representatives from Iran meet Thursday in Geneva with officials from the U.S. and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One day after the U.S., Britain and France called out Iran for building a secret nuclear site, Iranian officials insisted they have nothing to hide, and will comply with demands to let international inspectors into the facility.
VOIC EOF ALI ASHGAR SOLTANEH, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE IAEA: And there is no nuclear material in this new site, and we are arranging the inspectors will confirm my assessment (ph).
QUINANO: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the Iranian's pledge to allow inspectors in, but made clear the U.S. expects concrete action at key nuclear talks on Thursday.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are hopeful that in preparing for the meeting on October 1, Iran comes and shares with all of us what they are willing to do and gives us a timetable on which they're willing to proceed.
QUIJANO: The United States has long suspected Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. And in his weekly address, President Obama warned Iran's leaders the U.S. is not alone in its suspicions.
OBAMA: Yesterday, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our European allies in condemning Iran's program. In our meetings and public statements, President Medvedev of Russia and I agreed that Iran must pursue a new course or face consequences.
QUIJANO: That means possibly tougher sanctions. And President Obama says the U.S. is keeping all options on the table, including a military one.
But in an interview for CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said even that has its limits.
ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The reality is, there is no military option that does anything more than buy time.
QUIJANO (on camera): Next up is that crucial meeting Thursday in Geneva. That's when Iranian diplomats will sit down with officials from the U.S. and the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, as well as Germany, to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, it looks like a little bit of a lighter week ahead for President Obama. Tomorrow, he has a few meetings scheduled at the White House. And then on Tuesday, he welcomes NATO's secretary-general to the White House for a meeting as well.
And Thursday, the president will be at a fundraiser for the Democratic Governors Association.
HOLMES: All right. It continues.
Reynolds, it continues. But it's stopped, I'm told, at least for now.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has stopped for now. HOLMES: All right. But yesterday, it got nasty again. More heavy rain in Georgia yesterday. FEMA now allowing for some more grants, approving more assistance for folks down here who need it. Several counties, as we know, have been declared disaster areas.
Going to show you this video here. This is what happens. It's always nasty when you have - look at this. Look at this. That's somebody's car that is squeezed into a sinkhole in a road. This is just outside of Atlanta.
Now apparently, Reynolds, there were cones - these cones were set up around it so you couldn't - so you couldn't miss it. But...
WOLF: Right.
HOLMES: ...as you see this now, somebody they say moved those cones. The person was driving along, couldn't see it, and drove right into that sinkhole. Minor injuries for that person, but man (INAUDIBLE).
WOLF: Well, the airbag worked. I mean, you know, you got that going for you there, I guess.
HOLMES: There's that.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: But I guess when they test cars for the - the crash tests, they don't really go through sinkhole tests. But this one survived it. But yes, did - why - I don't know why somebody would move the cones...
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: ...away from that. But it caused this mess. And it - it's weird, that car seems like it's fitting perfectly, or squeezed into almost that sinkhole.
WOLF: Yes, I mean...
HOLMES: That's the consequences.
WOLF: Do you think they were aware when they - when they went in there? Do you think - you know, sometimes you'll hit a little bump in the road.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: I know it's kind of a big bump (ph). I mean, I'd love to be - be party to that - you know, privy to that - that cell-phone conversation. 'Honey, you're not going to believe what I did with the car. It's OK; hit a little bit of a pothole, but you know.'
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Little bit of a pothole. WOLF: You know, that does happen in flooding situations.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: And thankfully, Atlanta, we're going to dry out. Great news here.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
NGUYEN: Yes, talking about a little bit more, Reynolds, you got a bit of a tough assignment, we see.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: Look at this here.
WOLF: Oh, nice video with the birth-control glasses and the hammer, yes. Good times.
Yes, good stuff. We're talking about rainwater beer, beer actually made from pure rainwater. We're going to talk about that coming up in mere moments. And yes, good times. Good stuff there.
HOLMES: But environmentally sound...
NGUYEN: Exactly.
HOLMES: ...beer there. So some good out of - a lot of good.
NGUYEN: That's how he turned it into a new story.
WOLF: It's all for science.
NGUYEN: Yes, right.
WOLF: It's all for science.
NGUYEN: You were doing a lot of research on this one, right?
WOLF: Que bella. Absolutely.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: You better believe it.
HOLMES: Yes, he was talking about wine and the getaway yesterday.
NGUYEN: Yes. I mean, the - he's - you know, he's on the tour.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: The alcohol tour.
HOLMES: Vodka next weekend, folks. Stay tuned.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: Never mind.
HOLMES: We'll see you shortly.
Also this morning, something we want you to chime in on: Would you do it? Would you give a kid - I certainly would give a kidney to you.
NGUYEN: To me? And I would do the same for you.
HOLMES: If you needed one. But what about...
NGUYEN: Hopefully you won't any time soon.
HOLMES: Oh yes.
NGUYEN: But in case you do...
HOLMES: But what about the...
NGUYEN: ...it's on record.
HOLMES: What about the folks just - you don't know that well in your office, just a - a casual acquaintance you walk by?
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: Not just the friends and family members, but just...
NGUYEN: Or maybe a client or a student...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ...if you're a teacher. You know, I mean, the - the folks that you deal with perhaps on a daily basis that you don't know all that well. Would you give one of your organs away? That's one of the talkers today. We're going to talk about a - a teacher...
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE)
NGUYEN: ...like you said, who actually did that. But reach out to us on Facebook and Twitter. Also our blog. We want to hear from you today, want to know what you think about it. And would you actually do it?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
WOLF: All right.
NGUYEN: A beer run.
WOLF: It's George Strait going on this morning. We had a beer run (ph).
NGUYEN: A little beer run the other day (ph).
WOLF: I sure did. And - and, you know, a lot of people were - were making runs to and from buildings with umbrellas trying to avoid the raindrops.
But there was one business in Atlanta where they were saying, 'Let it pour on down.'
NGUYEN: Yes, bring it on.
WOLF: Absolutely.
You know, there's one particular business, that is 5 Seasons Brewery here in the Atlanta area, that looks at rainfall in both a economic and environmental way.
Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): At the 5 Seasons Brewery in Atlanta, they've been preparing for the perfect pour. They claim to be the first brewery in the world to serve a micro-brewed "green" beer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.
WOLF (on camera): Just like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WOLF: One - one good - good hit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just smack it.
WOLF (voice-over): Master brewer Crawford Moran gave me the honor of tapping the very first keg.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CRAWFORD MORAN, 5 SEASONS BREWER: Not only does it make the beer better, but it's - it's a green-oriented.
WOLF (on camera): When you think about "green" beer, most people think about that stuff you have on St. Patrick's Day or that six pack that you left in your car on a really hot day.
(voice-over): But here, the term takes on an entirely different meaning.
(on camera): Crawford, what does - what does "green" beer mean here? MORAN: It means something different than St. Paddy's Day stuff. It means beer that is made with pure, pristine rainwater, which is harvested straight out of the clouds and just the way Mother Nature intended it to be.
WOLF (voice-over): Heard him right: The beer is made with pure rainwater.
Now, the concept isn't new. People have been harvesting rainwater for drinking, cooking and farming for centuries. But what is new is the brew pub has teamed up with Rainwater Harvest System (ph) to create a beer made from 100 percent rainwater captured onsite.
RUSS JACKSON, BREWER: Basically, what you do is you put this big tank under your downspout, and you're collecting water. When it rains, the water comes off the roof, comes through the downspout, goes through a series of different filters and collects in the tank. And then from there, we pump it through some more filtration into the brewery. And that's where we start with the beer.
WOLF: The management here insists that the water is cleaner than city water, and it's softer, too. One secret of making better beer.
MORAN: As brewers, we really like to see soft water. So not a lot of mineral content in there. And rainwater, that's what it is.
WOLF: But don't just take his word for it.
MORAN: There you go.
WOLF: The proof is in the drinking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It definitely has a smooth taste to it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's actually very smooth, very mild in flavor, really tasty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The - the flavor of it's a little bit different. I actually like it a lot better.
WOLF: Now beyond taste, there's a bonus in green beer for both the environment and the 5 Seasons Brewery. They could be trucking in the water from a far-off mountain spring. Now, that would pollute the air and cost money. So they use nature's source rainwater that is local and free. It's what the customers and owners of the brewery agree is a green-green, win-win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: Oh, give me some!
NGUYEN: Did it taste that much different?
WOLF: It was - it was - really was. It was a phenomenal - if you're into beer, which - not that I partake much, but if - if you were, it was - it's - it's very nice, a very light, very crisp beer. It's a summery kind of beer. There's not a lot of heavy draught. It's not like - it's not like a Guinness.
But you know, it was - it was..
NGUYEN: Right.
WOLF: ...it was good stuff.
But just the concept that they're actually taking rainwater, distilling it, using it for brewery purposes, kind of a cool thing. It's kind of out of the box.
NGUYEN: And with that, you know, distilling that you get all the pollutants and whatnot out of the rainwater.
WOLF: Well, yes. I mean, you know, let - let's say, for example, if you happen to have a - a - a dead rodent or something that's up on the roof of your building and you have some rainwater, it's not like...
NGUYEN: Lovely.
WOLF: ...some experts going to go (INAUDIBLE), hmm, dead opossum, 2009. Boy, it's a nice, fine (ph) vintage.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: No, no, no.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: It's all - all - all the --- all the cooties and all the bad stuff's actually taken out of it. So when it is - when they're ready with it, it is pure rainwater. It could not be better. It's very soft water, which they say is an essential thing to making great beer.
NGUYEN: Hmm.
WOLF: And, you know, they - they - if - if you got a shortage of rainfall, they have a shortage of the beer. So it is kind of a special thing. You have a surplus of rain, they're going to have a lot of it.
They have a lack of it...
NGUYEN: So right now, they got plenty of it.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: Twenty thousand pints.
NGUYEN: All right. We might have to head out after the show.
WOLF: Ready to rock and roll. Enjoy, guys.
NGUYEN: All right.
HOLMES: All right. Appreciate you, Renny, as always. Another story going to be getting your attention this morning, and we certainly would like for you to chime in on this one. Now, talk about a teacher getting the highest honor in the state of New York. It's called the Liberty Award. Not necessarily for her - for her teaching, what she did in a classroom. But what she did in an operating room, she was willing to give up a kidney to a student.
Now, as the story goes here, Betty, this student happened to do a writing assignment and asking, 'Would you give life to someone else if you didn't have to give up your own?' The teacher's answer at the time?
NGUYEN: Was yes. But then later, little did she know that it would come back to her. Because later, when the student actually needed a kidney, he remembered her answer, and then he asked her to donate.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Can you imagine going, 'Oh wait a second.'
HOLMES: Did I say that?
NGUYEN: Did I really say that?
OK. Well then three weeks after his surgery, we do want to tell you, both are fine.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: And this morning, we do want to hear from you: Would you do it? I mean it - whether you're a teacher, maybe to a co-worker or a colleague and just an acquaintance. Would you give up one of your kidneys to someone that you know?
Doesn't have to be a friend or a family member, just someone that you know. Let us know what you think. You can reach our blog at CNN.com/Betty, CNN.com/TJ. Or just go to our Facebook and Twitter sites, and you can reach out there. We'll read some of your replies on the air.
HOLMES: Yes, and that's the key there. A lot of - I think most of us would. A good friend or a family member, yes, of course, you would.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: But, you know, what about just the person you walk by in the hallway sometimes.
NGUYEN: That you don't know all that well.
HOLMES: Don't know that well.
So looking forward to hearing from you. Also, a song you've probably heard on the radio this summer. Josh Levs is showing us some university students got creative with that song.
Good morning to you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, good morning to you guys.
We are loving this this morning. It's getting a lot of traffic on .com. This is pretty amazing. It involves hundreds of young people, and they did something that - well, you've really never seen before. You've never anything this good, anyway.
We'll show you how they pulled off a one-take video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Time now for a check of the top stories.
Flooding has killed at least 75 people in the northern Philippines. A Red Cross - Cross official says hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. And in just 12 hours, Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped more than a month's worth of rain on the capital and surrounding provinces.
HOLMES: New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's husband died during a mountain-climbing trip to Tibet. The family spokesman tells CNN that the 71-year-old Clifton Maloney died apparently of natural causes in his sleep.
He was a millionaire investment banker and an avid climber. Carolyn Maloney, by the way, a Democrat, has served in Congress since 1993. She recently dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate from New York.
NGUYEN: Gold Star families from around the country gathered in Washington for the annual Time of Remembrance ceremony. Families of America's fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan honored those who died in service to their country, and acknowledged the sacrifice of the families that they have left behind.
Actor Kevin Bacon was there to say thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: Each of you has lost someone special in your life. There are no words that anyone, least of all me, can say that will heal your terrible hurt. But I want you to know that my thoughts and the thoughts of our country are with you.
I'm left thinking of a quote that I heard once which assuredly applies to each and every one of you here: "To the world, he was one; but to me, he was my world."
Thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, some 2,500 attended yesterday's ceremony.
HOLMES: Let's turn now - music videos these days kind of expensive, if you will. A lot of special effects and fancy stuff in there. And then you have to pay these directors...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: A lot of big-name directors do these things.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
But then along comes a group of students - university students in Canada who show everyone how it's done in just one take.
Hey, Josh, you know, we're in the TV business. Sometimes it's hard to get everything in one take.
LEVS: Yes, no kidding, especially something this complicated, when you got to be coordinated...
NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.
LEVS: ...directly for the music. I think that's why it's taking off online.
This is part of this new phenom where young people are trying to do this. This is by far the best one we've seen. It's our - our top video today on CNN.com.
Let's take a look at it, and then I'll tell you about how they did this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC, BLACK EYED PEAS, "I GOTTA FEELING")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. So you're seeing the "do it" - the "do it" times there. They used this massive building to go up and down five flights of stairs. They used the escalators. They started outside; they go back outside. They go all over the place here.
A hundred seventy-two players. These kids arrived that morning not knowing what they were going to be doing. It took a month of planning by the people who organized it. And they did two rehearsals, and only two takes. The second take is the one that they used with no edits at all anywhere.
And what's pretty amazing here is that when you watch it carefully, which we have, they stay pretty much coordinated to the music the whole time. So as they were shooting it, apparently they were carrying around a box that was blasting the music. Everyone learned that morning what to do. They pulled this off. And I'll tell you - you know, it's basically free. These are - are young people, 22, 23, in this graduate program studying communications and TV at the University of Quebec at Montreal.
So guys, you can see - I mean, I'll - people have tried this before; no one has done this good a job. And now it's the new hot video online.
NGUYEN: Oh - yes, but I need - I need to clear something up.
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: We said in one take. You said this was the second take.
LEVS: One shot, I should say.
NGUYEN: Oh. Oh, OK.
LEVS: It's all one shot. You're right.
NGUYEN: Gotcha.
LEVS: It's all one continuous shot with no edits along the way.
NGUYEN: Ah.
LEVS: You're right, that's the better term.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: But they - they did two total takes.
NGUYEN: Just want to clarify out there.
LEVS: They liked the second one better.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Nice leotards though. You should try that someday, Josh.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: Oh no.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
LEVS: See you, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. We're going to get some news right now with Iran, breaking international rules with a reported second nuclear facility.
But now today, a show of defiance, firing a short missile range - a short-range missile, that is. We're going to give you the details on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there, everybody, and welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
All right. President Obama saying that taking time to properly educate minority children now is critical to the country's future. He was speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual dinner last night in Washington where he and the first lady were special guests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And we know that the African-American community will fall behind in the United States and the United States will fall behind in the world unless we do a far better job than we've been doing of educating our sons and daughters. Unless we close the achievement gap that sees black students and brown students lag behind their white classmates year after year, decade after decade. Unless we reach all the students who are dropping out of school and giving up on their future.
Today almost a third of students drop out of high school - a third. A disproportionate number of them are African-American or Hispanic. That's not just a loss for the African-American community or the Hispanic community, that's a loss for all Americans. That's the future workforce, in the 21st Century, when a good education is a prerequisite for success, when the jobs of tomorrow require a bachelor's degree or more, when the countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. We need the talents, the energy, the contributions of all our children, not just some.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, the president also touched on health care. He told the audience that the nation has been waiting for health care reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
HOLMES: Turn to the Philippines now where they're racing to get help to stranded flood victims, a lot of them on rooftops, stuck there after torrential rains flooded the capital region. And tropical storm Ketsana now blamed for at least 75 deaths.
Also Iran, state run press TV said the military test launched two types of short range missiles today. The tests come after Iran disclosed Friday that it was building a second uranium enrichment facility. The satellite photos of the site indicate construction equipment along with the surface-to-air missile site.
Washington believes Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Many around the world believe that, as well. Tehran says the site is part of a civilian nuclear energy program. That facility is southwest of Tehran and the holy city of Qom.
NGUYEN: Well, our John King interviewed Defense Secretary Robert Gates about Iran's nuclear program for this morning's "STATE OF THE UNION" program.
HOLMES: He asked him about military and diplomatic options. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: I just want you to help an American out there who says we can't trust Ahmadinejad. This has been going on for years. We don't think sanctions will work. Why don't we do something about it? Explain to that person out there whether they work in the United States Congress or it's just an average American. When you look at the contingencies that you have available to you and the president has available to him, are there any good military options when it comes to these deep underground facilities?
ROBERT GATES, US DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, without getting into any specifics, I would just say we obviously don't take any options off the table. My view has been that there has been an opportunity through the use of diplomacy and economic sanctions to persuade the Iranians to change their approach to - to nuclear weapons.
The reality is there is no military option that does anything more than buy time. The estimates are one to three years or so, and the only way you end up not having a nuclear-capable Iran is for the Iranian government to decide that their security is diminished by having those weapons as opposed to strengthened. And so I think - as I say, while you don't take options off the table, I think there's still room left for diplomacy.
The P5 plus one will be meeting with Iran here shortly. The Iranians are in a very bad spot now because of this deception in terms of all of the great powers, and there obviously is the opportunity for severe additional sanctions, and I think we have the time to make that work.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, you can watch all of the Defense Secretary's comments on Iran on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King. That is at 9:00 Eastern this morning.
Bill Clinton believes President Obama will succeed where he failed 15 years ago. This very weekend, Congress abandoned Clinton's attempt to overhaul health care. So why did his plan fail? Well, we'll try to find out with three key members of the Clinton administration in 1994.
Our panel today, Health and Human Services Secretary under President Bill Clinton, that being the lady right there, Donna Shalala. Also, Harold Ickes, then-President Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff; and Kenneth Thorpe who worked on the Health Care Reform Bill for the Clinton administration. Everyone, I do want to welcome to you the show. Thanks for being with us today.
Donna Shalala, let me start with you. Fifteen years ago, this bill did not pass. Why not?
DONNA SHALALA, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Well, there are a lot of reasons. Everything in politics is timing. It was a complex bill. We had trouble explaining the bill. We didn't have the kind of transparency that we have today. Everyone that had one problem with the bill got together with someone else who had one problem with the bill, built a negative coalition and at the end of the day, we couldn't either explain it or put the politics together to pass it.
NGUYEN: Yes. If you can't explain it, how are you going to sell it? That's a major problem there. Harold Ickes, let me talk to you. Was it a design issue?
HAROLD ICKES, FORMER CLINTON DEP. CHIEF OF STAFF: No, I don't - well, I think it's partly a design issue, but I think Donna put her finger on it. We spent much more time on the substance of health care reform as opposed to the politics of how we are going to get it enacted. It strikes me that one of the lessons learned by the Obama administration is to pay much more attention to how to get this thing passed as opposed to the substance. That's not to say the substance is - is to be dismissed. It's very, very important. But the politics of getting this passed is I think the most critical.
Another lesson learned, it seemed to me, is to try to bring some of the potential opposition in. I think the administration has done a very good job on that. And finally it was not a transparent process, and it's much more transparent this time.
NGUYEN: Kenneth Thorpe, you actually helped write that, and it didn't even get out of committee, correct?
KENNETH THORPE, HEALTH CARE POLICY EXPERT: Well, that's right. If you look at today, we have four bills - four committees have reported a major health care bill out. Sixteen years ago no committee reported any bill out. So the contrast I think in terms of where we are in the process is quite dramatic.
NGUYEN: Well, do you think - Donna Shalala, let me go back to you, that President Obama's plan, at least when we figure out which of these bills is going to be the one, has a better chance of getting passed because there has been so much public debate, town halls and whatnot, public, you know, forums out there discussing it and getting the information out there?
SHALALA: I do. I also think the situation today is much more critical. A much larger number of people without health insurance and the costs have gone up dramatically. We have to both get the coverage and start to squeeze down on the costs for health care.
NGUYEN: Mr. Ickes, do you think also because we are in a recession that we're seeing a greater importance placed on health care reform bill?
ICKES: Well, the answer is yes. The recession also brings other problems about how are you going to finance it. There's been much - a great of focus on how to pay for and how to finance it. The president has said he's not going to increase the deficit by one dime with health care reform. So financing is one aspect. There's a whole other aspect of what I would call and I think Ken and Donna would call real health care reform. That is, increasing or having better outcomes which is something that sort of gets lost in the shuffle on this in terms of the financing and the politics.
NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about the details of the plan that the president once passed. Mr. Thorpe, you helped write the Clinton bill that did not get passed. What are some of your concerns or some of the things that you actually like about the bills that are being tossed around right now?
THORPE: Well, I liked two things. One is that I think that the proposals are taking head-on the two problems that Donna Shalala mentioned, which is the high costs of health care, and this would be a proposal that covers the uninsured. I think it's affordable. The president has said that he wants to the spend about $900 billion over the next 10 years, so the proposals in the Senate are fully paid for.
And what I like which is very different than 16 years ago is that the scale of the problems are so severe today that everybody who really opposed health care reform 16 years ago - the health insurance plans, the pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, the health care providers in general - are all on board trying to pass this because they see the magnitude of this problem is so substantial that we really do need to have a comprehensive national solution.
So I think - if I'm looking at the tea leaves, I think things are lining up very favorably because everybody who could kill it and did kill it 16 years ago is still at the table negotiating, and we continue to move ahead.
NGUYEN: So you think the climate is just ripe for some kind of reform to come out of this. Ms. Shalala, let me ask you, when it comes to the details of this bill, the president has really been pushing for a public option. Is that going to be - is that going to be what makes or breaks this bill? And what do you think about the public option?
SHALALA: Well, I like the public option and I do understand the insurance company's objection to it. It's hard for them to compete against a plan that's run so efficiently that doesn't pay executives a lot of money, that doesn't have to produce profits. And so I liked the idea of the private plans competing against a base plan, but I'm not sure it's going to pass at this point in time.
But there's no question that we have to hold the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry - all the parts of the system accountable. The public option is a very good way it to do it, but I'm not sure the politics are there for it at this time.
NGUYEN: And Mr. Ickes, I'm going to let you round out this - what do you think and what's your reaction to that?
ICKES: Well, I - I generally agree with Donna. I think we should have a public option for the reason that she stated. I think the important thing to understand, however, this is a big free- wheeling system here. We've got $2.5 trillion, nearly 1/5 of the economy. People say, you know, say we've got to rush this through. I think the Congress has done a very good job on it.
The most - and single most important thing is not whether the reform bill has X or Y or Z in it. There have to be certain key elements in it, and I'm sure there will be. The most important thing is to get something done, to drive a stake in the ground to start changing the prism through which we start going forward talking about health care. That will be the critical element.
NGUYEN: Well, there definitely is. And we're looking at some of this video right now, a lot of talk going on, a lot of discussion, a lot of debate, and some of it very heated. It's an issue that people are taking very seriously.
Donna Shalala, Harold Ickes, Kenneth Thorpe, thanks so much for your time and your insight today. We do appreciate it.
And for more of our special on health care, you can check out my blog at cnn.com/betty, or you can even go to cnn.com/t.j.
HOLMES: Gee, thanks for the plug, Betty.
NGUYEN: Look, I added that in. The writers did not, so I was - I was looking out for you, my friend.
HOLMES: My blog - Betty. All right, let's move on here. Let me tell my story here now. Dr. Oz...
NGUYEN: You did interview him yesterday, so essentially this is yours.
HOLMES: Made famous, as you all know, by Oprah Winfrey on her show. Well, he was giving a free clinic, free health care yesterday, and thousands of people showed up. We talk to him about it. Stay with us.
NGUYEN: Or you did.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's take a look at some of the top stories right now. Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski is under arrest at this hour for rape charges that he's been ducking since the 1970s. Swiss authorities arrested Polanski on his way to the Zurich Film Festival. Now, back in 1977, he pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl here in the US, but he fled to Europe before he was sentenced.
Polanski directed films like China Town, Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist.
HOLMES: Two week after her body was discovered hidden in a wall in a Yale University lab, Annie Le was laid to rest. The 24-year-old doctoral student was found dead on what was supposed to be her wedding day. Loved ones gathered at the funeral mass at the family church in California. That's where she was from.
She was remembered as a brilliant woman who wanted to change the world through her medical research. Her brother and cousin said she'll always - or always just be Annie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Annie's academic achievement, while significant, was truly inconsequential. That is not to say that it was not impressive, but it was the silly girl that she always was that made us all love her. Every time that we met after she left for college, I could not help but smile when I saw her engaging in the most amusing and puerile activities, such as playing with stuffed animals, watching cartoons with my younger brother and laughing along with him, and talking to me as if I was still a 5-year-old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Lab technician Raymond Clark has been charged with killing Le and hiding her body in that lab where they both worked.
NGUYEN: All right, we want to turn to somewhat of a wacky story. San Francisco zoo officials are trying to find out how a man snuck into the grizzly bear exhibit yesterday - who does that? Zookeepers kept the two bears away as he was quickly rescued and he was not injured, but he was charged with trespassing. The mayor's office says the incident shows safety procedure put in place after a fatal tiger attack back in 2007 are working.
HOLMES: Yes - grizzly bear.
NGUYEN: Why would you even want to do that?
HOLMES: Not a teddy bear, it's a grizzly bear.
NGUYEN: Get out of there.
HOLMES: In 2007, though, that attack, those guys were actually charged with - police said they taunted the tiger and that's what they got out of it, so I don't know what was going on here. San Francisco - something always happens at that zoo.
We're going to turn now to some health care. Cardiac surgeon, health expert and TV doc, Dr. Oz. He's a familiar face to Oprah viewers. Now he has his own show and he's taking it on the road with the National Association of Free Clinics. They held an enormous free clinic yesterday in Houston's Reliant Convention Center, and I got a chance to speak with him before or right as that clinic was getting going to shed more light on this health care reform issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DR. MEHMET OZ, CARDIAC SURGEON: We have a big debate that everyone's following in Washington on health care finance, but we need to change the debate a little bit and also focus on the care of health, because chronic illness thrives that don't (INAUDIBLE) the cost of the system, and people who are chronically ill who don't have coverage -
You know, I'll give an example. We just - I just saw someone outside. David is a 45-year-old gentleman, shift jobs, lost his job - his insurance, rather. He still has his job. Got a large hernia, causes pain, incapacitates him, makes him unable to work. So if you can fix this problem, which is a very doable thing, and as a surgeon, I can tell you, it's not that challenging to fix a hernia. You put a working man back into the workforce. That's why it hurts me so much to look at people who I knew we could get back into the system and become contributors to society, unless we let them lie by the side of the road in anguish. And that's what free clinics are about.
Imagine this, T.J., 4 million people get their primary care through free clinics, 47 million people uninsured. Many of them will shift to the free clinic system. I'm proud to be part of it, but it's not the way we should be delivering health care.
HOLMES: Yes. How - how much can - I guess even you putting this one together, I know it's a - a huge feat to try to get all these people together, all these volunteers together, many certainly willing to do it, but how big of a feat is to put one of these on and is it sustainable, quite frankly, to keep these going the way you're talking about? Yes, we do need these, and they're helpful, but is it just unreasonable to think that in so many places we can - we can keep these up just because it is such a huge undertaking?
OZ: Well, it took us a lot of effort, but, you know, I'm a television show - and a doctor, so I brought all my producers and my medical colleagues together and we were able to do it together with the National Association of Free Clinics, which is a great organization that's running across the country.
So, can we do it? T.J., American can do anything. And we will do it - and by the way, even if we have true health care finance reform in Washington, we still need free clinics. That stated, the thing we're trying to get out there today is that we owe to ourselves as Americans to help the least of us, and when we have people who desperately need support, especially for chronic illnesses, if we invest the money and allow them to get the preventive care they actually want and would take, it will save us money in the long term.
And remember, T.J., we cannot be a wealthy nation if we're not a healthy nation.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: And to find a free clinic in your area, you can go to freeclinics.us. For more free health advice from Dr. Oz, you can check out his website, dr.oz.com.
NGUYEN: Well, she has applied to - get this - more than 600 jobs and still unemployed. So what is she doing wrong? We have some information on finding a job that may help you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: All right. So for millions of Americans, unemployment has become a painful fact of life, but, you know, first there's the trauma of being laid off, right? And then comes the realization of finding a job and right now, full-time job? That's kind of tough in this economy.
HOLMES: And again, it's a full time job to find a job. So how are people coping out there?
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has this week's "Money and Main Street Report."
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): Rachel Gold and Anthony Barberio don't have much in common. Rachel is 28 and worked in recruiting after graduating from college. Anthony is 46. He worked on Wall Street for 20 years, but he never went to college. The thing they do have in common - a long job search after being laid off. Rachel lost her job back in November.
RACHEL GOLD, JOB SEEKER: I definitely didn't think that I would be sitting here, you know, nine months later, you know, without employment.
ANTHONY BARBERIO, JOB SEEKER: When I first was let go, I figured maybe a month, two months, you know, and I didn't think it would last this long.
HARLOW: For Anthony, it's been more than a year since he was laid off, and each day brings more work to find work.
GOLD: This afternoon at 2:30, I have a recruiting meeting with somebody that I was networking with. Tomorrow morning at 10:00, I have another meeting with a recruiter. I'm not sure if they have positions, but, you know, just to do some networking.
HARLOW: Rachel spends a lot of her time making business connections using social networking sites, and she also applies for job online everyday.
So you've applied for more than 650 jobs?
GOLD: Correct.
HARLOW: How many interviews have you had out of all that?
GOLD: Maybe 10.
HARLOW: Anthony has applied for hundreds of jobs too and he's using employment agencies in his search, but when his unemployment benefits runs out, he'll be forced to stop looking on Wall Street and take any job he can find.
BARBERIO: Well, I'm going to put like a deadline as to when I'm - you know, going to have to really seriously, you know, would - you know, look for something, you know, whether it be a department store or something like that.
GOLD: These are people that I've e-mailed.
HARLOW: Until a job comes along, Rachel has started a blog, kickedforward.com, based on the quote, "When life kicks you, let it kick you forward."
GOLD: It's difficult but, you know, I think I'm just trying to be as optimistic as possible that I'll find a position soon.
HARLOW: Rachel says she started to get more interviews since we first talked with her in August, and despite the tough job market, Anthony said he's hearing about more openings and hoping one of them is for him.
BARBERIO: I'm anxious to get back to work, you know. I mean, hey, almost a year in the house, you know, it could drive somebody crazy.
HARLOW: Poppy Harlow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: And you can catch a new "Money and Main Street" segment this Thursday morning on "AMERICAN MORNING" starting at 6:00 A.M. Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is September 27th. We are alive and awake and looking forward to this half hour.
HOLMES: Yes, we are.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hey there. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 7:00 A.M. here in Atlanta, Georgia, where we sit. It is 6:00 A.M. in Dallas, Texas, 4:00 A.M. on Los Angeles. Wherever you are, thanks for being here with us.
NGUYEN: OK. Well, wherever you are, thank goodness you are not here. Check out this video on the right hand side. Well, now it just flipped to the bottom left hand corner.
HOLMES: They're teasing us (ph). What are they doing to us this morning?
NGUYEN: I don't know. This is what we want you to see, folks. That is a vehicle that fell into a sinkhole. Can you imagine driving along and, boom! Wait, what just happened to me? Well that's what happens when flash floods just really rip through an area. We're going to give you the details on this.
HOLMES: Also, the other picture we were showing you just a moment ago of some people lined up - they're lined - There we go! It's working now. We got it working now, Betty. They are lined up for movie tickets. What movie?
NGUYEN: To what?
HOLMES: This is not a Harry Potter or another Star Wars.
NGUYEN: OK.
HOLMES: They want to see the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It." It's only going to be showing for two weeks, starts October 28th, but tickets just going on sale today, I believe. Some people already have gotten their tickets because they were in line. Some people like some people we work with went online, got their tickets. Pretty excited about this morning.
NGUYEN: Me too. Our executive producer. She is going to be there, watching. And here's another story that we are going to be talking about today. After Harrison Ford going green, trying to get government and companies to buy in to saving the environment. What he wants to do is really make it a movement. We are going to talk to Christine Romans about that.
HOLMES: Let's give you a quick look at some of the top stories from overnight. Of course the President said his administration is doing all it can to restore the country's economic health. He and the first lady, she is in there, are guests at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation annual dinner. This was last night in Washington. He said criticism of his economic policies, unwarranted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We are by no means the first generation of Americans to be tested. But tested we have been. Most recently we've been tested by an economic crisis unlike any that we've seen since the great depression. Now, I have to say that some folks seem to have forgotten just how bad things were when I took office. They seem to be exercising some selective memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The President also told the audience the nation has been waiting for health care reform since the days of presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
NGUYEN: Heavy rain just pummeled the Philippines, 75 people have been killed so far. Manila and its residents under water at this hour. A CNN iReporter in Quezon City says" it's like walking through rapids" when you take a look at some of these photos. The tropical storm, Ketsana, has brought more than a month's worth of rain in just a matter of hours.
Also this morning, Iran test fires missiles and raises more eyebrows. The flexing of military muscle comes and international tension comes as well. This week the U.S. and its allies condemn Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility that has been constructed secretly. Now, U.S. based satellite imaging companies say these photos show that site and Tehran says it will allow international inspectors in to the facility.
HOLMES: Michelle Obama becomes our Olympic ambassador, a conservative republican test of presidential political water and negotiations on health care reform plan try to recover from a bruising start. Let's bring it, our guest, the political director and friend of our show here on CNN Saturday and Sunday Morning, Paul Steinhauser, with a preview what's on the political horizon. Hello to you. We are going to start now with health care reform. Hearings for Senator Max Baucus' reform proposal. Some tempers kinds of flared that we saw on Thursday between Senator Baucus and John Kyl. Let's take a quick look and we'll talk about what we saw here. Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN KYL: Mr. Chairman, let me just complete my thought here.
SENATOR MAX BAUCUS: You have about one minute to complete your thought.
KYL: I'll complete my thought and then make another point. (cross talk) Mr. Chairman, I am not delaying, I'm making an extremely important point.
BAUCUS: It's very, very important point, but you're also delaying. So other senators have amendments they wish to offer.
KYL: Mr. Chairman --
BAUCUS: Go ahead and complete your thought. And I going to have to recognize the other senator. Let's be courteous to other senators who --
KYL: Mr. Chairman, it's courteous if you don't interrupt somebody right in the middle of a sentence of an important point you're trying to make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Paul, all we needed in there was Senator Kanye West, I guess. Did Kyl ever get to make his point there. Is still the tone we are going to be seeing as the plan moves forward?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Looks like those town halls on health care have come to Capitol Hill. Yeah, he did he make his point which was this would all lead to a big government takeover. What's going on here, democrats like the Chairman Max Baucus say that the Republicans are trying to stall here, delaying tactics.
They were testifying there or they had hearings for three days there and they only got through about 40 to 50 amendments. They have like about another 300 amendments to go through. So this is going to go well until this week, maybe even the following week. The finance committees, it's the last real chance in congress for a bipartisan agreement, a possible bipartisan agreement on health care, but this is not easy, T.J. And it's not going to get any easier as we move on.
HOLMES: All right. Let's move on to, I guess a few years ahead, 2012, never too early to start thinking about presidential election. Anybody who sets foot in Iowa between now and 2012 is going to be considered a candidate. So who is thinking about it these days?
STEINHAUSER: Yeah, you know, who's ringing their alarm bell this week a guy called Rick Santorum. He used to be a senator from Pennsylvania, and he's somebody we're keeping our an eye on. Somebody who may want to run for the republican presidential nomination in 2012. And the past two weekends, we saw Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney vote. Other men who may want to run for that nomination. They're talking at major republican and conservative conferences. T.J., this is like the pre-game show for the race. I guess it really starts in earnest after next year's congressional elections are over.
HOLMES: All right. Let's get this thing quickly, Chicago vying to be an Olympic City. Decision is going to be made pretty soon about what's city is going to hold the 2016 summer Olympics. We know that Michelle Obama is an ambassador, they're going to be heading to Copenhagen where they are going to be making the decision, but now some buzzing about that the president could make a surprise trip himself. Is this possible?
STEINHAUSER: It is possible. And your right, it all happens Friday in Copenhagen and we know that Michelle, as you said, Michelle Obama will be there, so will Oprah Winfrey, the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago. But the White House says, they have got an advanced team in Copenhagen just in case the president decides to go. So stay tune on this one.
HOLMES: We will stay tune. Paul Steinhauser, always a pleasure buddy. Thanks so much.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: You know what hasn't been a pleasure these days? The rain. And here's why. We got an amazing shot for you right here. Look at this. This is a sinkhole. Someone was driving along the roadway and apparently fell in it. That is a car that has fallen into the sinkhole. Apparently those cones that tell you to stay away, back off, those were moved and we have no idea why. But the person who drove that car, unfortunately, into the sinkhole did suffer some minor injuries. But I don't know how do you get a car out of the sinkhole like that ? How exactly does that work Ronald?.
REYNOLDS WOLF, METEOROLOGIST: I have no idea, but you know what's really amazing is those giant, construction pylons that you see right there. They really don't need a language. They don't need any kind of particular verbiage on them. They basically with the colors alone it's like all things in nature that is trying and purely say "stay away, avoid at all costs." No, they miss it. They go right into the hole. And I don't know how in the world you fix that.
NGUYEN: It's going to take some insurance and hopefully they have it. WOLF: Embarrassing. I'd imagine, too. Hey, insurance guy, can you help me? I drove my car into a sinkhole. Yeah. Exactly. We've been in account of a picturesque weather-wise in parts of the southeast. It's going to dry out over the next couple days. Looks pretty good. I guess this morning cloudy sky, sure, but rain not going to be a big issue for us today and in the days to come.
We will be drying out in parts of the southeast. It's great news if you happen to be in the great Lakes City in Chicago, well, different story for you. Rain is on the way, possibly some severe thunderstorms. We are going to take the next minute and show you the scenario of what we are going to be seeing. Here's the atmosphere of set up that we have for you. We've got this frontal boundary. It's going to be driving its way off toward the East. As it interacts with some of the moisture over parts of the Great Lakes, look like measuring like superior.
And of course, we are going to be seeing a rumble of thunder. You are going to be hearing a rumble thunder. You are going to be seeing some lightning, possibly some strong wind gusts, some heavy rainfall, maybe even some small hail and a slight chance of seeing a tornado or two, an isolating tornado.
Meanwhile on the back half of the system, there's something really interesting. I think, when you have an area of low pressure, you have counterclockwise flow. Clockwise flow around area of high pressure with those two systems working together creates a tight pressure gradient. A lot of wind and those things. So you are going to see some strong winds in parts of the Four Corners or rather let's say the twin cities and then back into portions of, say, the Rockies and Central Plains.
You can see wind gusts happening 40, 50, even 60 miles per hour. Now in the Four Corners, before the south -- wind is not going to be an issue nor the rain, but the heat is going to be back with high temperatures today going up to 107 in the valley of the sun, 102 for Vegas, 80 degrees in Denver, 82 in Kansas City outside in Atlanta, 80 degrees and 78 via Nation's Capital and Miami with 88 degrees. That is a wrap on the forecast. Let's send it back to you, little weirdos out there at the desk. I say it with love.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
HOLMES: Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, we know that character. He's a different kind of crusader these days. We'll tell you what his new crusade is all about coming up next.
NGUYEN: And how long would you stand in line for tickets to the Michael Jackson movie? Think about it.
HOLMES: And of course the clip from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I know you're a big fun of Indiana Jones. You are reciting some lines.
NGUYEN: Dr. Jones, Dr. Jones, no more parachutes. That's my favorite line. Harrison Ford maybe that's known as Indiana Jones, but his real life crusade is saving the environment, and for the past 15 years, he's been a board member of conservation international.
HOLMES: We got Christine Romans spoke with Ford in an event in New York for Teen Earth. That's is a global sustainability movement which brought together CEOs and world leaders. This is their conversation now.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENTS: There are a lot of celebrities who have their hobbies. But you really have a lot of green friend. You have been doing this for a long time?
HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: I've been a member of the board of CI for 15 years. And my interest in the environment is long standing and I've been with CI because I think that they have great credit ability. They've got great strategic understanding. And they've managed great things. We have a lot of important victories. But we need now finally to reach some kind of critical mass where we cannot be denied.
ROMANS: Cannot be denied the companies to help you do this, right? When you cannot just do this --
FORD: It is amazing. The individuals and governments and other NGOs. We've presented a very fractured solution. Everybody's got a different strategy. We talk on an issue by issue basis, a species by species basis. What needs to be done now is, we need -- the history has shown us when it comes to -- individual action no longer is effective enough, you need to create a movement like the civil rights movement, like the anti-war movement, like the youth movement of the 60s. If we can come together and sufficient mass, the issues will be addressed.
ROMANS: Environmentalists have sometimes said the companies are part of the problem, as corporate Americans, they've held multinational program. You're embracing certain companies and CEOs saying "let's do this together.
FORD: Why deny anybody a place at the table. They may be part of the problem. Some of them are. But they are a great part of the solution. Our alliances with corporations have shown us that they feel responsible to their consumers and their employees. And they know that serving the environment is good business. It makes sense.
ROMANS: I recently sat down with nine CEOs from all different kinds of companies and I asked them you're in the middle of a recession, what about your environmental sustainability, have you put it on the back burner or have you abandoned it? Six of the nine told me they abandoned it because they couldn't say we're spending all this money on solar panels but we're going layoff 100 people. It's tough right now. How do you balance what we have to do, heading into and what we got to do with the reality of a pretty crushing global recession?
FORD: There are things we can do right away. We're lagging in innovation and technology to address certain issues, but we have right now in front of us an issue that we can all mitigate against? We can all work to combine, to create a body of opinion, to address the issues that we spoke about today. 20% of the green house gas emissions are caused by the destruction of rain forests for agricultural purposes, for logging.
This is addressable. We don't need a new technology. We don't need to have put a lot of money into it. We simply need to make it economically feasible and economically defensible to keep the standing for us there. That's a very low cost solution.
ROMANS: From activist to actor, what's next? A new Indy?
FORD: I have a couple projects coming up next year and I got a project that probably going to start in the early year and if there's a good script, I'll be happy to do it.
ROMANS: Wonderful. Thank you, sir.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: And you can see more of Christine's interview with Harrison Ford just a bit from now.
NGUYEN: She and Ali Velshi will have a special G-20 edition, a look at the global economic summit in Pittsburgh that is on "Your Money" which takes place at 3:00 Eastern today. So be sure to watch it.
In the meantime though, one day you may be able to read someone's mind. What is that about, really? I don't know if I want to read your mind or vice versa.
HOLMES: No, of course you do. I know you well enough to know what you're thinking these days.
NGUYEN: Sometimes you do and that's kind of scary.
HOLMES: I know what you thinking right now. You're thinking you're hungry. You wish I would go downstairs and get you something to eat.
NGUYEN: Yes. which you haven't done lately.
HOLMES: Good morning to you Josh
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's true about you two. Hey good morning to you guys. You know what, this is the deal, scientists are one step closer to knowing what you've seen by reading your mind. That's a straight up quote. That is what our story in CNN.com is saying and actually it is true, they are step closer. I am going to show you just how.
NGUYEN: It is a retro today around here folks. Blinded me with science. I remember that song back in the day. Speaking of science.
HOLMES: Scientists say they can take a look at your mind and start to figure out what images you have seen. You would scare some scientists. NGUYEN: They may walk to another profession after looking at me. That is one of the stories that our Josh Levs has for you this morning.
LEVS: I wonder what kind of imprint that cartoon of me would have on your brain. This is an interesting stuff. I love keep an eye up to these funky stories for you My favorite stuff is the .com/tech in the Edge of Discovery. And this is one of them. That a look at this headline right here. Brain scans reveal what you've seen. Now, sometimes you hear stuff like this and it turns out that's not really what we're talking about. This really is what we're talking about. This comes from Wired magazine. Take a look at this graphic I have for you.
I want to give you the basic concept. What scientists are doing is, they're looking at the way that your brain responds to seeing millions and millions and millions and millions of different images out there. So now what they're doing is they're watching your neural patterns, and some people that are studying, interpreting your neural patterns and from those neural pattern, they're going and findings these corresponding pictures, these types of images that you have seen that would have caused those patterns in the first place.
It is indeed as they are saying here one step toward the ability to read a person's mind which is amazing. And speaking of mind reading, we also have a video for you here which is from our Gary Tuchman and he talks about this technology that is allowing computers to literally read your mind. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's amazing here is he didn't type the word hello, he just thought it. The cap he's wearing is full of electrodes. As he focuses on these flashing letters, the cap picks up electronic signals from his brain and then the computer spells what he thinks. It's called brain computer interface or BCI. This research being done at the Wadsworth Center.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Now, we've heard of stuff like this before that might be similar if you think of times that people were blinking at certain letters. But the new technology and what's advancing here is this pure ability for machines to read the signals in your mind, take the cue from that and actually accomplish what it is that you want.
So we're seeing, Betty and T.J., all this new brain stuff going on this morning and I will get the copy for you. I'm posting the links because I want to see everyone to see more details about this right there. We are going to put it up on the CNN.com/Josh, the blog here also, FACEBOOK.COM/JOSHLEVSCNN and TWITTER.COM/JOSHLEVSCNN. So, yeah, this is a little bit scary not just in the case of you two, Betty and T.J.
NGUYEN: Yeah, but kind of cool at the same time. Mind boggling if you want. Thank you. Top stories now for you. New York Congresswoman Carol Maloney's husband has died during a mountain climbing trip to Tibet. A family spokesman tells CNN that 71-year-old Clifton Maloney died apparently of natural causes in his sleep. He was a millionaire investment banker and an avid climber. Carol Maloney, a democrat, has served in congress since 1993. She recently dropped out of the race for U.S. senate from New York.
HOLMES: An Oscar winning director, Roman Polanski is under arrest this hour for rape charges. He's been ducking since the '70s. Swiss authorities arrested Polanski on his way to the Zurich Film Festival. It was back in 1977 that Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl here in the U.S., but he fled to Europe not long after that before he was actually sentenced. Polanski directed films like China Town, Rosemary Baby, and he got an Oscar for The Pianist, but he did not show up, of course, to receive that award because he might have been arrested on the spot.
Yom Kippur starts tonight Tuesday. So what does it mean to forgive and why there's special significance this year.
NGUYEN: That's in our Faces of Face segment in the 8:00 hour of CNN Sunday Morning.
A lot of people are ready to remember and doing so by planning to see the movie Jackson movie that is. This is it and tickets go on sale today. People have been lined up. I mean, the lines were tremendous for this.
HOLMES: This is not going to be one of those movies, regular movies in a theater and has a run. No, it's only going to be in theaters for two weeks, so certainly limited tickets out there. But what this is, it is going to behind the scenes rehearsal footage that was for Jackson's upcoming tour in London. Of course, that was concert that he died right before he got the chance to do that. Now that isn't open until later in October. 500 people -- the first 500 people in line in L.A. at least who got commemorative tickets that were designed by Michael Jackson.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: So they were in line, of course, to get movie tickets but also get a little piece of history in the commemorative ticket.
NGUYEN: Interesting to see that, no doubt. And I know our executive producer wants to see it as well.
Here's another story that got people talking today. A teacher receives one of the state's highest honors in New York and that is the liberty award, why? Because she donated a kidney to her student, but here's how it happens, really interesting. The student did a writing assignment where he asked would you give life to someone else if you didn't have to give up your own. Well, the teacher said yes, sure, I would. Come to find out later that student actually needed a kidney and he remembered her answer and then he asked her to donate. She did. Three weeks after surgery, both are doing fine. But we've been asking you, would you do something like that? Would you sacrifice one of your organs like kidney for someone that you know? It doesn't have to be a friend or a family member, but just someone that you know. And Antonio Willhite up from my Facebook page wrote in and said "I would for a close friend or relative. I don't know if I would for anyone else. It's too much of a risk for someone that I hardly know.
And then Jonathan Ebanks says, "but of course, I wouldn't even think twice, but my question to you is would you give an organ to T.J.? Of course I would.
HOLMES: Of course you would.
NGUYEN: If you needed a kidney, I'd give it to you.
HOLMES: But not an eye or something.
NGUYEN: That's a different story. I kind of need my second eye.
HOLMES: Someone asked me the same question, if I'd give you an organ.
NGUYEN: And your answer is?
HOLMES: I didn't get back to them. (laughing) One says, yes, I would give them an organ. I cannot watch someone die knowing that could I help save their life. And then Trenton right below says "great story. Don't know if I could do the same. My hat goes off to that teacher. God bless her. And then Donpertha (ph) saying, "no, this is something I would only do for family members, and again asked, would you do it for Betty or her for you? S And, of course.
NGUYEN: Of course we would. It's on record now. Please don't need a kidney, okay?
HOLMES: I will pull up this videotape.
NGUYEN: Yeah, I know. Roll that beautiful footage.
HOLMES: All right. (inaudible) has been here with us so far. We're not done yet this morning. CNN Sunday Morning continues at the top of the hour with more live news from us.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. In the meantime though, House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta starts right now.
