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CNN Sunday Morning
President Obama Criticizes Republican Rivals; 'Occupy Wall Street' Growing; Herman Cain in the Spotlight; Amanda Knox Trial Wrapping Up
Aired October 02, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: From CNN's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe, live from Studio 7, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING with T.J. Holmes.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And good Sunday morning to you all.
President Obama, last night, taking a swipe at every single Republican presidential candidate, accusing them all of doing something not so presidential at one of their latest debates.
Also, protesters managed to shut down the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge is open again today, but this grassroots movement against Wall Street seems to be growing in New York and across the country.
Also, would you mind paying a little extra for some of your favorite foods? Maybe that burger, cheese pizza? One country is now putting a fat tax on foods they say are harmful to your health.
At the top of the hour here, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. Thank you for being here.
And we do want to give, as always, a special good morning and welcome to the men and women of the armed forces watching us right now on the American Forces Network. Thank you for being here. Thank you for what you do.
Let's start with what we saw yesterday in New York. An extraordinary scene really. The Brooklyn Bridge is again open this morning after protesters shut it down. Police took away as many as 700 demonstrators who had taken to the bridge as parts of a Wall Street protest. And they're calling this thing the "Occupy Wall Street." That's what they call themselves. And, look, they did occupy Wall street for a time and other parts of New York City.
They've been gathering in New York for more than two weeks now. And this has been a loosely coordinated effort to protest what they say is a financial system that favors the rich at the expense of everybody else. This is the biggest disruption we've seen in the two weeks of their protests.
Police have been trying to keep the protesters away from Wall Street up to this point. They set aside alternate protest areas that were not being used. The protest movement has also now spread to other cities. Demonstrators turned out in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, as well as a couple of other cities.
President Obama now. He called out his Republican rivals. Every single one of them. Said it's time for them to stand up. He was talking about the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the reaction to a gay soldier's question at the last Republican debate. Listen to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't believe in a small America. We don't believe in the kind of smallness that says it's OK for a stage full of political leaders, one of whom could end up being the president of the united states, being silent when an American soldier is booed. We don't believe in that.
We don't believe in standing silent when that happens. We don't believe in them being silenced (ph). You want to be commander in chief, you can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it's not politically convenient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You hear the president there, again, talking to every single one of the Republican candidates. If you don't remember the moment he's referring to, here's the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN HILL, SERVING IN IRAQ: In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I'm a gay soldier. Do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the Republican candidates were largely silent about that reaction that the audience had, even though Rick Santorum, who you saw there starting to answer the question, he did put out a statement later saying he didn't really hear the crowd reaction and was certainly defending the men and women who defend this country.
Also, President Obama's comments came during a speech to the Human Rights Campaign, a major advocate for equality to the gay and lesbian community. He talked about his opposition to the Defensive of Marriage Act, but stopped short of openly endorsing same-sex marriage.
Well, just four minutes past the hour now. And Governor Rick Perry is prepared to send American troops into Mexico to battle drug cartels. The Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate made the comments at a campaign event in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The way that we were able to stop the drug cartels in Colombia was with a coordinated effort. It may require our military in Mexico working in concert with them to kill these drug cartels and to keep them off of our border and to destroy their networks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Governor Perry went on to say that the U.S. and Mexican governments should meet after the 2012 election to discuss possible strategy.
There is a new alert this morning for you, for Americans, for all Americans traveling anywhere. The State Department issued the worldwide travel alert due to the fears of retaliation attacks over the government's killing of a key al Qaeda leader. Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a CIA drone attack in Yemen last week. Earlier, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent out the same kind of warning to local law enforcement.
Also, another top al Qaeda bombmaker may have also been killed in that drone strike that targeted al-Awlaki. A U.S. official tells CNN, indications are that Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri was also killed, but that has yet to be confirmed. He is suspected of being behind the plot to blow up a plane in Detroit. That was the underwear bomber case from Christmas of 2009. There was also a plot to blow up cargo planes last year and investigators think he was involved in that as well.
Well, the man who shot President Reagan may be closer to getting out of the mental hospital where he's been for the past 30 years. The hospital says John Hinckley should be allowed longer trips away from the facility, leading up to his eventual release. Federal prosecutors, however, say he is still a threat. That his mental condition hasn't improved enough. Hearings on the hospital's request are scheduled for late November.
We're at six minutes past the hour. Let's say good morning to our Reynolds Wolf.
How you doing, kind sir?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm doing a-OK. How are you doing Mr. T.J. Holmes?
HOLMES: Doing well. We're both doing well this morning.
WOLF: We're doing all right.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: You know, it's this time of the year that many people go out and a about and they want to explore and see the fall colors. Well, you can see the brilliant reds and the orange and all that kind of stuff. Guess what this new color that people are going to be seeing in parts of the country today -- white. Some snow in parts of Pennsylvania and New York. We're going to talk about that specific white color coming up in just a few moments. Let you know how long that snow may stick around. Plus, an update on the tropics. It's another full plate. A weather potpourri, if you will, T.J.
HOLMES: OK, snow.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: I didn't see that coming this morning.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: I should have read --
WOLF: A little bit of a curve ball kind of thing coming at you.
HOLMES: I should have read your note you sent out to the team this morning, probably, huh?
WOLF: Really?
HOLMES: Yes. Sorry about that.
WOLF: You didn't read it?
HOLMES: I'm sorry. I usually do. But, thank you, Reynolds. Reynolds and I, in a pretty good mood. The Auburn Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks pulled off a good victory yesterday.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: And we know it's a physical sport, but sometimes it just goes, I don't know, a little sideways. We've got some video you've got to see of a new method of tackling in college sports. Grab the ponytail. Going to show this to you in just a second.
Also this morning, a lot of people going to be drinking their coffee. Ladies, drink up. Two, three, four, maybe even five cups. Yes, it will give you a jolt this morning, but it could possibly give you a long-term jolt in life. I'll explain why coffee is so good for you. Seven minutes past the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: (INAUDIBLE), horse-collared, similar, but very different. Totally different.
HOLMES: Nine machines past the hour now.
Let us just show this to you. You know, sometime there's bad tackling in football, but sometimes you've just got to do what you got to do. This was in the second half of last night's -- can you see that?
WOLF: Unbelievable.
HOLMES: Of last night's game between UCLA and Stanford. That was Josh Smith returning the kick. And, you know, sometimes you can't get a hold of the guy and you grab whatever you can. And if the guy has hair coming out the back of his helmet, you do what you got to do.
WOLF: You know, I don't think he did this on purpose, though.
HOLMES: Right, no.
WOLF: I think in the speed of the game, you're trying to just get the ball carrier down any way, shape, or form. And it just -- it just happened.
HOLMES: And that can be awfully dangerous. We know they do have the horse-collar penalties that they put into the game just a few years ago actually. But a lot of guys have this longer hair sticking out from the back. And it, frankly, can be dangerous, in my opinion. But a lot of guys have it.
WOLF: Do you think the NCAA is going to outlaw that at some point?
HOLMES: The hair?
WOLF: Say they're going to, you know, you at least have to tuck it in your jersey or something?
HOLMES: You know what, it, unfortunately, is probably going to take somebody getting seriously injured and something happen or to many incidents like this before something is done. And we hope it doesn't get to that, but that's dangerous.
WOLF: You know, it seems like only yesterday that I had to get rid of my dreads because of the same thing. Just walking from the weather office after the set, I snagged it on something. Took down some light fixtures. Half the studio got -- it was some bad news.
HOLMES: We have those pictures. He's not kidding, folks.
WOLF: I know. Yes, those dreads, man, I'm telling you, I love them, but, you know, you have to do what you have to do. I mean it's crazy like that.
Hey, you know what, today is one of those days it might be a bad hair day for people in parts of the northeast. The reason why is because of all the moisture. We're talking about, of course, some of the rainfall. But something more. We have the chance of seeing some snow in a few places. In fact, that is precisely what we are seeing compliments of an area of low pressure that's set up right of the eastern seaboard. With that wrap-around moisture, you've got a couple things going on.
First and foremost, you've got moisture that's coming in from the Atlantic. But something else is going to happen. You've got some cold air that's funneling right in the same time, moving right at it with that cold base of air. And the overrunning moisture, guess what he got, as we zoom in, you can see a little bit of pink popping up on the radar, especially when you're at State College in Altoona. Anyone making that drive right along 80, you're going to have the windshield wipers going, rain drops, rain drops, and then, oh, snowflake. A couple of those. You might see that stick around through a good part of the afternoon hours before that low eventually lifts out.
What you can expect you way up and down the eastern seaboard, that rain's going to end when you get about to Washington, D.C., southward. Things are going to improve. Sky conditions will be much better. But at the same time, you're going to have a lot of cool air in there. It's going to feel fantastic.
A bit warmer out towards the west. In -- say from San Francisco northward to the straits of Juan de Fuca out near Seattle, you can anticipate some scattered showers and possibly some rainfall over parts of the four corners.
Your temperatures -- 60s for Seattle, for Portland. Eighty-four in Salt Lake City. Still warm in Billings with 86 degrees. And with you have that trough, here's where that cooler air is going to build in. Your high in D.C., 53 degrees. Sixty-three in New York and Boston. Atlanta with 67.
Very quickly, let's wrap it up as we take a look at your forecast out toward the tropics. Bermuda, thankfully, you've got Hurricane Ophelia moving away. Still some heavy surf. The rain is moving out, too. And as this system continues to churn its way to the north, it will begin to weaken considerably. As soon as it interacts with much cooler waters, that could be a big difference-maker.
And then the other system we're watching in the Atlantic, this storm is really starting to fall apart. Still has some of the deep convection, but, I mean, the structure looks just horrendous. And we anticipate that it's going to curve its way to the north and perhaps back to the northeast as we fast forward into next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, with winds of 65 miles an hour. And then as we get to later in the week, Friday and into Saturday, it should become part of history.
All right, that's the latest in the forecast.
T.J.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you, kind sir.
We will be checking in with Reynolds plenty throughout this morning.
With it 12 minutes past the hour now, imagine this. You use your debit card to buy a bottle of water that costs $1, it's actually going to cost you $6 because of a $5-a-month fee that Bank of America is about to charge you for using that debit card. Can you get around this? Not sure if you can. Stick with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And quarter past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Good morning to you, Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters of our CNN world headquarters here, right here in downtown Atlanta. Hello to you all this morning, though.
And something we've been telling you about. Bank of America has a new plan. It wants to start charging you, maybe you are one of the customers, but start charging their customers $5 a month for access to your own money. That is, if you use your debit card to purchase something. Other banks trying out this kind of fee, other fees as well. Our financial analyst, Clyde Anderson, says there are ways to avoid the charge, but it's going to take some effort on your part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: And this is what everybody's talking about, you know, because now it's like the David and Goliath. Goliath is now stepping again on the small guy and people are feeling it. And they've got a lot to say about it.
HOLMES: OK. Their explanation for why they -- they almost say they need to do this.
ANDERSON: Yes. Well, what's happened is, the regulation changed. They've been handed a new mandate that's been coming down to say that they cannot charge retailers as much as they used to charge them for the debit fees that they usually get.
HOLMES: OK. So they're saying they're out of money over here. We need to make it up. And they're going to make it up with us.
ANDERSON: And they're going to make it up over here. They're going to make it up with you. And it's almost $3 billion that we're talking about here that they'll make up with this $5 charge that adds up to about $60 per person per account. And that's about $3 billion a year.
HOLMES: How many other banks are doing this right now?
ANDERSON: Well, we've seen -- the trend is here. You know, we're seeing SunTrust. We're seeing Wells Fargo kind of try it out. And we're seeing these people kind of bring it in. $5, you know, is a little higher than what we've seen in some of the other banks, but we've seen the trend happening.
HOLMES: OK. Is there any way you can get around this?
ANDERSON: Well, I think one of the ways -- they talked about online -- you can, for $8.95, Bank of America has where you can do all e-banking. You can get all your statements online, you can do all your banking online.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: But also that you can go to the ATM. So what they're saying is, you only get charged this fee if you use the ATM -- or the debit card at a store.
HOLMES: But you can't walk around with that much cash. We just don't do it, right? ANDERSON: Right, we don't do it. It's not realistic for a lot of people, depending on what you're doing. Now, everyday purchase, it may be normal. I mean sometimes we only spend $100 a day, and less in a lot of cases. So if that's the case, you may be able to be prepared for that.
HOLMES: Here's our other problem.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: Some people say, all right, I'll give up the debit card, I'll use my credit card.
ANDERSON: Exactly.
HOLMES: All right. But your problem there, you might get hosed as well because --
ANDERSON: The interest. Yes, then you're paying interest. You're paying interest on it. So it's almost like what you really have to look at, and a lot of people are saying, that your smaller bank. You know a lot of people aren't realizing, smaller banks that, you know, we're talking about less than $10 billion in assets, do a majority of the loans anyway right now.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: And so this may be something to look at right now. Your community banks, your smaller banks and maybe even your credit unions too and don't charge these fees.
HOLMES: But they're not doing it now, but could they eventually?
ANDERSON: Could in the future. But right now --
HOLMES: Isn't this a bad sign, though? It's Bank of America. If the biggest dog on the block is doing it, everybody's going to fall in line.
ANDERSON: Well, you know, with the big banks -- And that's why I think a lot of people have a problem because they got bailed out. They got this money from the government. They got the bank bailouts and now we're paying for it with government -- our tax dollars helped them get out of this mess and now they're hitting us again with this fee. So a lot of people are having a hard time swallowing it.
HOLMES: OK. The other thing people are saying, you know what, I'll just switch banks.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: I'll stick it to Bank of America.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: That ain't easy to do, switch banks. ANDERSON: It's not easy to do, especially if you have things like direct deposit and accounts that are already set up, it's not as easy to do. And so it's a lot of red tape and hurdles that you have to jump through.
Now, Bank of America also introduced some new accounts. They have an enhanced account, as well as a premium and a platinum account.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: And so a platinum account is pretty much for people that have investments with the bank. And then the other accounts we have to have a certain minimum. So they're rolling these things out --
HOLMES: Most of us don't have that.
ANDERSON: Most -- the majority of Americans just don't have it.
HOLMES: So what you're telling me, carry cash or look into smaller banks, credit unions?
ANDERSON: That's what I say right now.
HOLMES: Oh, how much cash you got on you right -- we just don't carry that much cash.
ANDERSON: We just don't carry that much cash. There's nothing there.
HOLMES: All right, my man, always good to see you.
ANDERSON: The pleasure's mine, man. Good to see you.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, 18 minutes past the hour now.
It is morning. So, for a lot of you, that means you've got to get that morning cup of coffee. So, ladies, for you especially now, go ahead, drink up, drink as much as you want. At least that's according to a new Harvard study. It says that women who drink coffee have a lower risk of depression. Now they studied this thing over 10 years. And women who drank three, four or more cup of coffee just had a lower risk of getting depression over the long term. So, yes, of course, we know it does have an impact. So your instant jolt you get from drinking a cup of coffee. But, again, this could also have a long-term jolt.
Now they believe, even though men weren't studied in this particular study, that you could have the same effects if you're men. They also, it's important to note here, they don't necessarily say if you drink 10 cups of coffee you decrease the risk. So maybe around three, four, five cups is the effect you're going to get. But, again, doctors say, ladies, go ahead and drink up right now. Well, 19 minutes past the hour. And coming up tomorrow, we could see Amanda Knox, the American in Italy, finally get out of an Italian prison after all these years. She is getting up in front of a court tomorrow and is going to speak herself to try to convince a jury to set her free. That preview is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-two minutes past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
There are two trials really the world is going to be watching and has been watching. One, of course, being the Conrad Murray trial. On trial for his role in the death of Michael Jackson. We'll have an update in that for you in just a moment, in case you missed some of the highlights from its first week.
But the other trial people are watching around the world, the Amanda Knox trial. Her -- essentially her appeal trial is going on in Italy and she -- she will get up herself tomorrow and plead her case. Let's go to our Paula Newton. She is in Perugia, Italy, here for us.
And how is this going to go tomorrow, Paula? Do we have that right, she essentially is going to plead for her own life and to get out of a prison?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She will, and she's done it before. During the original trial, T.J., she pleaded to the jury again. It didn't work that time. And that is what is stressing her out, her family says. She has pleaded for her life before. When I was in court, she continually tried to tell that original jury that, look, Meredith Kercher was my friend. I would have never killed her. I would never kill anyone. And she pleaded for someone to believe her on that. Her parents say she's been working on this for about three months. You can imagine how tense she is today. But at least she does get to address the jury on her own.
You know, here in Italy, as well as back home, T.J., what this comes down to is the fact that there isn't any more evidence than there was during the original trial. So as the Italian papers have, you know, pointed out and been pointing out today and for literally years now, the question is, is this woman an assassin or is she an angel? Now, it's characterizations like this that her family really are opposed to and they want the jury to go back to the evidence. Go back to the evidence and really try and think, is there any evidence that really connects Amanda Knox to the murder of Meredith Kercher. The defense has been saying now, no, and you must believe Amanda Knox. She had nothing to do with this murder.
T.J.
HOLMES: Paula, how much time will she have? And, also, do we expect a decision on her fate tomorrow, as well?
NEWTON: So, she will have anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, we're told. I doubt she'd want to speak for any longer than that. She wants to be able to remain composed and not break down and get too emotional. She was very composed when she did it the first time.
Just keep in mind, different from our juries. There are six people from the public, two professional judges. The professional judges will begin to lead the deliberations very early in the morning. Fresh in the jury's mind will be that plea from Amanda Knox for her innocence. We expect that it will take the full day, but that there most likely will be a ruling late in the day tomorrow.
HOLMES: All right, Paula Newton from Perugia, Italy. Thank you, as always.
And at 25 minutes past the hour, we turn to that other major trial people are watching. This one just getting started, really. The ER doctor who pronounced Michael Jackson dead testified that the pop star had signs of a dying heart and was clinically dead on arrival. Our Ted Rowlands has a recap of all the week one drama and a look ahead to this week of Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., in week one, of course, we heard a lot of testimony from prosecution witnesses that were at Michael Jackson's house or with him in the hours and days before his death and those people that were there when Michael Jackson was unresponsive and they were trying to revive him. On Friday we heard from those two paramedics that came to Jackson's home and unsuccessfully tried to provide CPR to Jackson. They testified to the jury that they thought Jackson was cold to the touch and almost blueish in color, meaning that he may have been in that state for some time before they arrived.
But the most compelling testimony that prosecutors got out of those ambulance drivers, or the paramedics, was that they said they asked Dr. Murray point blank, what have you given him? What drugs are in Michael Jackson's body? And Dr. Murray, they say, never mentioned Propofol.
Well, next week we're likely to hear from the doctors at the UCLA Medical Center, and they are expected to tell a very similar story, that when Jackson arrived with Murray in the ambulance, they, too, asked, what have you given him? And there was no mention of Propofol. That, of course, prosecutors would hope would show a sign that Murray was trying to cover up his tracks that he was using Propofol with Michael Jackson, which is highly irregular and, of course, is the reason he's on trial here because it caused Michael Jackson's death.
Next week we'll also likely hear from a couple of the detectives who were assigned to this case. And we may also hear from a couple of Dr. Murray's girlfriends. One of those girlfriends lives here in Los Angeles. That's where Dr. Murray had all that Propofol shipped too. The other in Houston, Texas. She was the woman that Murray was on the phone with when he realized that Michael Jackson was in trouble.
T.J.
HOLMES: All right, thanks to our Ted Rowlands. And as we get close to the bottom of the hour, Wall Street, some demonstrators have a message for you. They are getting bolder and louder with their anti-establishment protests. But some people are still wondering exactly what is their objective. Well, they accomplished one thing yesterday -- shutting down the Brooklyn Bridge. That story ahead.
But first this hour on Sunday morning, we always like to say good morning to our American men and women who are serving in the armed forces and watching us right now on the American Forces Network. But that's my message to you. Tyrese has a message for you, as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYRESE GIBSON, ACTOR AND SINGER: I want to send a special shout- out to all of the troops, all right, for all of you all that are listening to this. The reason that we're safe and your families and your loved ones are safe, because you put your life on the line to keep us safe. And we don't take y'all for granted. I know I don't. God bless you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Good morning to you all. Glad you could spend part of your weekend here with us.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
Give you a look at what we're keeping an eye on. Protests -- they're protesting Wall Street up in New York. But these "occupy Wall Street" protests actually occupied the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday, stopped traffic. Some 700 people were detained.
These protests have been going on for the past couple of weeks now. But as our Susan Candiotti reports, they still don't have a clearly defined message.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their message: end corporate greed, they say, is killing America's economy.
CROWD: Solidarity forever --
CANDIOTTI: But will they be heard in Washington?
EDDIE MAHONEY, PROTESTER: Politicians can be bought. Political influence can be bought through political donations. This needs to be addressed.
CANDIOTTI: But organizing isn't easy. There's no money for microphones, so protesters act like human mega phones to relay messages to the crowd. Admittedly, most of the time is spent trying to figure out what they're trying to say and how to organize. No one's in charge, and that's the way they like it.
ROBERT SEGAL, PROTESTER: We're gathered here in this place to join the craft of that mission statement -- to shape a statement of what it is we want and how we're going to get to it.
CANDIOTTI: This New Jersey mother used a school holiday to take her 4 and 5-year-old to join a peaceful protest for a day.
ANDREA, PROTESTER: We are 99 percent, you know. The rich and powerful are 1 percent. You know, we all need to be a lot more equal than that.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Is it hard to put together a solution?
ANDRESA: Very hard. Very hard. That's why I'm skimping on my words here. There are many ways to come to the end, to a solution. But, you know, in the meantime, it's kind of about wakening people up to know, you know, what's going on out there.
CANDIOTTI: The New York group insists it's staying put with no exit strategy. And police say they have no plan to move them out.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, at 33 minutes past the hour now.
Give you a look at stories making headlines. The U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide alert urging Americans traveling overseas to be mindful of possible retaliation after Friday's drone air strike that killed an American-born militant cleric, Anwar al- Awlaki.
The alert is in effect through November. The Americans abroad are being asked to register with the government to make it easier to contact them in case of emergency.
Also we're just a few hours away from the 58th annual red mass in Washington's St. Matthew Cathedral. The Catholic Church service is open to people of all faith. The mass is dedicated to jurist and lawyers, and it's held every year on a Sunday before the U.S. Supreme Court convenes.
Also, today is it, folks. He's done. The last broadcast of CBS news magazine "60 Minutes" that will include Andy Rooney's parting thoughts. On Tuesday, the network announced the show's 92-year-old pundit will deliver his final monologue as a regular contributor. That's going to happen today.
He's been with the show more than 30 years. And that's some 1,100 essays he's had at the end of that show.
What do you think, Reynolds? What is he going to talk about -- on your last show after that many years? What would you talk about?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I have no idea. I know what I'm going to talk about. That guy looks fantastic. For 92 years old, the guy's brilliant. He's been a great writer. He was actually a war correspondent, World War II. I mean, the guy, he's had an amazing life, amazing career and sad to see him go.
HOLMES: It is. But he's had a good run. So --
WOLF: Yes, and I think he's going to stay busy. That guy's going to do something.
Hey, we're going to do something right now. We're going to do something about our weather. Take a look. We're not going to do anything about the weather, I'll tell you what's happening.
Right now, in parts of the Northeast, you got plenty of rain. We're going to be seeing that for the next couple of days. That system, that area of low pressure is going to lift up and move on out. Right now, out towards the West, though -- we're seeing a little bit of precipitation that's forming from Seattle southward, right into parts of the Willamette Valley, including Portland, the Columbia River Gorge. Over the next day or so, that will get on the increase.
What we're talking about is we're going to see some big changes out there. That big ridge of high pressure that's been keeping things relatively dry over the Four Corners and parts of the Great Basin is going to lift out. This low is going to drop in. That's going to open the door for more precipitation for parts of, say, the San Joaquin Valley, from San Luis Obispo, back up to San Francisco Bay, even as far north as Redding, California, into Portland. So, big changes are coming.
But still, warm conditions are going to persist for parts of the Central Rockies.
Now, today, although we have the warm conditions out towards the West, it's going to be rainy and cool for much of the Northeast. And into the Southeast, high pressure is over portions of the Midwest is going to make thing delightful. In Chicago, for places like Des Moines. Just picture perfect for you today.
Same deal in Texas -- it should be beautiful, with high temperatures will be warming up into, say, the 80s in many spots, 86 degrees in Dallas which, of course, is warm. But a far cry from the triple digits we had just a few weeks ago, 76 the high in Kansas City, 76 in Minneapolis, 66 in Chicago. As we wrap it up, Washington with 53, 63 in Boston, 83 in Tampa, and 75 in Los Angeles.
All right, T.J. Holmes, let's pitch it back to you.
HOLMES: Thank you, Reynolds Wolf. We'll talk to you again shortly.
Thirty-six minutes past the hour now. And President Obama had a message, and he spoke directly to every single Republican presidential candidate last night, telling them they need to stand up for America's soldiers. We'll play this for you in a moment.
Stay with me on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour.
And good morning to the nation's capital. Good morning to the Washington Monument which is closed, as you know, right now. It is closed indefinitely after it sustained some damage on the August 23rd earthquake that hit the East Coast. That 5.2 magnitude actually had more damage to the monument than first thought. So, they closed it indefinitely.
And many of those engineers have been up top, literally rappelling down from the top to inspect the monument. That work expecting to do for the next couple of weeks. They want to make sure everything is OK and the monument is all right before they let people back in. We'll keep a close eye on it there.
And why not? Talking about D.C., so let's talk some politics, shall we?
And Herman Cain, he's really been on a roll. He's been on a hot streak really the past week. But, now, a loss of his to tell you about.
His communications director has decided to leave the campaign for what she says are personal reasons. Insists now this has nothing to do with any recent events, and there's nothing nasty about the breakup here, just for personal reasons. But some odd timing, though, for a campaign that's really starting to pick up some steam.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has more in the political week ahead for Herman Cain and the rest of the Republican presidential candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J.
You know, the spotlight's on Herman Cain this week. It was just two nights ago that the Republican presidential candidate joined Jay Leno on the "Tonight Show." Tomorrow, the former Godfather Pizza's CEO, well, he meets with Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City.
You know, paying a visit to the Donald has become the thing to do for GOP White House hopefuls. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney both met with Trump last month.
Tuesday, Cain makes the rounds on the talk shows as his new book "This is Herman Cain: My Journey to the White House" goes on sale.
Also this week, all eyes will be on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, to see if he makes any announcement on running or not running for president.
For months, some Republicans have been urging Christie to jump in. He's kept saying no, no, no, until a few days ago when at a speech at the Reagan Library in California, he didn't yes, but he didn't say most.
At the end of the week, most of the Republican presidential candidates make their pitch to social conservative voters who are gathering in a major conference here in the nation's capital -- T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.
President Obama, he was speaking to the Republican candidates last night. They weren't in the room, but he had a message directly for them, and that was -- if you want to be president, you need to stand up for the troops. He was talking about the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the reaction to a gay soldier's question at one of the Republican debates.
Listen to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't believe in a small America. We don't believe in the kind of smallness that says it's OK for a stage full of political leaders, one of whom could end up being the president of the United States, being silent when an American soldier is booed.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We don't believe in that. We don't believe in standing silent when that happens. We don't believe in them being silent since.
You want to be commander in chief -- you can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States even when it's not politically convenient.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The president was referring to an incident at one of the debates. If you don't remember that, here is that incident when a gay soldier was asking a question of the Republican candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
STEPHEN HILL, SERVING IN IRAQ: In 2010 when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I'm a gay soldier. Do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldier in the military?
(BOOING)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. I would say any type of sexual activity has --
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HOLMES: Now, you're seeing Rick Santorum there answering the question. He didn't make any direct reference to the time to the people in the crowds who were booing. He went on later to say after the debate the next couple of days, Santorum did, that he did not hear the booing at the time and that he would have condemned it had he heard it.
Now, President Obama was speaking last night to the Human Rights Campaign. That's a major advocate for equality for the gay and lesbian community. He talked about his opposition to the Defensive of Marriage Act, stopped short, though, of endorsing same-sex marriage.
Alarming number of this country's veterans suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. But some are getting help now, a new kind of help. Virtual help -- recreating conditions a war could actually be helping them to get better. That story for you after the break.
And once again, to our men and women who are watching on the American Forces Network right now, James Todd Smith has a message for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LL COOL J, ACTOR, HIP-HOP ICON: To all the troops overseas, we appreciate your commitment, your dedication, and the sacrifice that you're making to preserve democracy. And we just want you to get home safe. So, keep your head low, keep your honor and your integrity intact. Be strong. Peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About the quarter of the top of the hour now. And as we know, so many of this country's fighting men and women come back home from war with post traumatic stress disorder. But now, there is a promising new treatment for them. And it actually uses virtual reality. If you can imagine, a video game that creates the conditions of war is helping them get better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Scenes like these motivated Joshua Musser to enlist in the Marine Corps. He was sent to Iraq where he fought in the battle of Fallujah, the bloodiest battle of the war. JOSHUA MUSSER, MARINE CORPS VETERAN: Getting home, getting used to being home and everything. Then, all of a sudden, it kind of levels out, and then, you know, the nightmares start.
HOLMES: As a Marine, Joshua thought he would be able to control his feelings.
MUSSER: For you to actually admit that I'm struggling and it's something that I can't control because to a Marine, they can control everything. We adapt. We overcome.
HOLMES: Help came in the form of virtual reality exposure therapy. Under the helmet, as demonstrated here, Joshua experienced the sights, smells, vibrations, and sounds of war. A customized virtual scenario targeted specifically to treat his psychological trauma.
DR. MARYROSE GERARDI, CLINICAL PYSCHOLOGIST: People often try not to think about what happened to them. And what we found over time is that that's the worst thing that you can do when you experience a trauma. You don't think about it and don't process it and deal with it, that's what eventually can cause PTSD, and a chronic problem.
MUSSER: It put you back in Iraq where you kind of have one foot here and one foot there. The only thing outside of Iraq that you hear is her voice. And so when she sees that I'm really starting to stress out -- because I would shake really bad, I would sweat. She would be in my ear and be pulling me back.
HOLMES: Joshua was also feeling with drawn from his newborn son, which further motivated him to seek treatment.
MUSSER: It was killing me. So, that's one of the main reasons why I went to get help and that's one of the main reasons why I wanted to do something as fast as possible. That's why I chose virtual reality even though I knew that it was going to be tough, it was going to be painful. I felt like it was going to help. I hoped that it was going to help.
Thank you. Want to slide?
HOLMES: Three months after being treated, Joshua's doctors say his PTSD levels have significantly improved.
MUSSER: I know that with my PTSD, I'm never going to get rid of it. It's never going to be gone. But now, I feel like I'm on the way to controlling it and on the way to living with it and managing it. And I feel 100 times better than I have.
Now, I can play with him and he calls me daddy. He kisses me. You know, he'll run up and hug me. And I can enjoy every second I have with him. It's a blast.
Now, I can harness all those emotions and now, I can feel things. And that's worth everything that I went through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: At 48 minutes past the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, the world is watching what Denmark is doing -- taxing their citizens for all those fatty and delicious foods. Could it work to fight obesity? We'll find out soon.
Also, until death do us part -- is that reasonable? Well, you don't have to worry about that maybe in Mexico. Instead of until death do us part, how about we'll try this out for two years and we'll reassess? We'll explain, coming up.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, about eight minutes until the top of the hour.
Can you imagine your pizza, the cheese you love, burgers, things that are so delicious and kind of bad for you, would you pay an extra tax, a fat tax to enjoy those foods?
Well, Denmark is about to do this. They're about to put a tax cut on those foods. Now, what they're trying to do here is cut down on obesity. We're not sure if this has worked. But many believe this is the first of its kind in the world.
So, the world is watching to see -- to see if it works there, then maybe other countries around the world, including maybe the U.S., could they jump on board with this?
Well, there in the U.K. and other parts of Europe, some of them have the highest levels of obesity at some 20 percent. Now, this has been talked about in the U.S. before, but no plans for it necessarily. But still, all eyes on Denmark right now.
Let's turn to our "Morning Passport."
Say good morning to Nadia Bilchik.
This was the story that got so many viewers worked up yesterday.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes.
HOLMES: We're talking about marriage, it's still until death do us part according to the vows, but in Mexico City possibly, it could just be for two years with the option to renew.
BILCHIK: Well, it is a proposal.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Leftists in the city council have proposed a statute. So, at this point, it is only a proposal to get a temporary marriage license. And that would be the minimum amount is two years. So every two years, you could renew. And the idea is in Mexico City, over half the amount of people get divorced. HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Of those, many have only been married for two years. So they are saying, let's not if through all the expense and the torture of divorce. And this way, after two years, you can simply -- you don't annul the marriage as such. You will have been married.
You will have been married, but you simply dissolve the marriage.
HOLMES: So, do you, after the two years, then it becomes more permanent or you can, like re-up for another two or four years.
BILCHIK: You keep renewing.
HOLMES: Wow.
BILCHIK: But, of course, it's -- you know, the elections are coming next year. Some person calls this electoral theatrics. And remember that Mexico is a very Catholic country. It's the seconds largest Catholic population to Brazil. So, there's huge opposition.
But then again, Mexico City in 2009, the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage. So anything's possible in Mexico City, which is so much less conservative than the rest of the country.
HOLMES: How much opposition -- you said there is a lot because of that. But still, you said they have been open before with the gay marriage and maybe this is something they could progressively -- you know, progressive thinking.
BILCHIK: It will be very interesting to see. I mean, huge opposition from people who see marriage, as you said, until death do us part. I'm so interested in the lawmaker himself, Leonel Luna. What was he thinking? I mean, it's not very romantic to get married and think about it for two years. How many couples are actually going to do that?
HOLMES: But at the same time, you talk about the divorce rate. So, all those people who are saying until death do us part -- yes, I do, and they get divorced in two years anyway. So, it's not like they took the vow that seriously.
BILCHIK: Exactly. But imagine going to a wedding. Now, do the guests know this is only a two-year contract? Do you get less expensive gifts than -- it may be having to do it in another couple of years.
HOLMES: That's a great question.
BILCHIK: Well, what about if you have children the first two years? There is going to be a proposal for children and possessions. But it's going to be very interesting. I'm going to be watching this one carefully. My guess is it's not going to pass.
HOLMES: Keep me posted on this. Nadia Bilchik, everybody loved this topic, and I know your comments keep coming. And I'm reading them all. So, thank you so much, and thank you, Nadia Bilchik.
We're getting close to the top of the hour here now. And not only did they find their missing father, they also helped another family with a missing loved one. We will tell you this remarkable story when we come back.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, as we close to the top of the hour, an incredible story for you out of California. A family finds their partially disabled father who was missing for almost a week. And they also help police and another family solve a missing persons case on their own.
CNN's Tina Kim explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TINA KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two cars mangled at the bottom of a ravine. That was the sight of a family reunion unlike any other -- one that has likely solved a missing person's case and saved a father's life as this show shows. The worry began when the man being airlifted did not call his kids.
LISA LAVAU, DAVID LAVAU'S DAUGHTER: My dad would never not call his kids. There's four of us. And it just -- by the time the fourth day, the fifth day and then the sixth day -- we knew something was wrong.
KIM: And so, the children of David Lavau started searching on their own, pinpointing an area in California's Angeles National Forest after detectives helped track their dad's cell and credit card activity. Then the brother and sisters with other family friends began driving.
L. LAVAU: We sopped at every ravine and looked over every hill.
SEAN LAVAU, DAVID LAVAU'S SON: All the sudden I thought I heard a cat or a dog. And -- I said, hello, and it echoed.
KIM (voice-over): Sean Lavau found his father Thursday, 250 feet down a ravine. The 67-year-old man had been missing for six days.
SEAN LAVAU, DAVID LAVAU'S SON: I hugged him. We both cried. I said, you know, how did you make it? He said, I drank the water in the river, and I ate leaves and bugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was heading this direction. Another car was heading toward him health care reform bright lights on. So he -- him, had bright lights on. So he flashed lights. I believe at that point, probably swerved, went off the road.
KIM: David Lavau ended up right near another wrecked car with a decomposing body inside. As his children worried about him, Lavau, too, worried about just how his kids would find him. "The Los Angeles Times" reports he wrote on the dirty trunk, quote, "I love my kids, dead man was not my fault. Love, Dad."
The dead man is likely to be 88-year-old Melvin Gelfand who's been missing since September 14th. His daughter Joan Matlack says she is thankful for answers.
JOAN MATLACK, MELVIN GELFAND'S DAUGHTER: We may have never found him. We tried to prepare for the worst but hoped for the best.
KIM: Authorities have yet to confirm the body's identity. What is certain, David Lavau raised some determined kids.
Tina Kim, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning to you all.
President Obama last night takes a swipe at every single Republican presidential candidate, accusing them all of doing something that's not so presidential at one of their debates.
Also, protesters manage to shut down the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge is open again today, but this grassroots movement we've been watching the past couple of weeks against Wall Street seems to be growing.
Welcome to your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Well, the Brooklyn Bridge is open, like I just mention. Protesters shut it down and police had to take away as many as 700 demonstrators who had taken to that bridge as part of a Wall Street protest. They're calling themselves "occupy Wall Street" and protesters have been gathering in New York for the past couple of weeks in a loosely coordinated effort to protest what they say is a financial system that favors the rich at the expense of everybody else.
This is the biggest disruption we have seen so far. Police have been trying to keep the protesters away from Wall Street. Up to this point, they had set aside alternate protest areas. Those areas are not being used, however, by the protesters.
The protest movement has also spread to other cities. Demonstrators turned out in L.A., Chicago, Denver -- as well as a couple of other cities yesterday.
Meanwhile, the president last night giving a speech at the Human Rights Campaign. And he took a moment to take a swipe at his Republican rivals -- all of them. He was talking about "don't ask, don't tell" and the reaction to a gay soldier's question at the last Republican debate.
Listen to the president from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't believe in a small America. We don't believe in the kind of smallness that says it's OK for a stage full of political leaders, one of whom could end up being the president of the United States, being silent when an American soldier is booed.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We don't believe in that. We don't believe in standing silent when this happens. We don't believe in them being silence since.
You want to be commander in chief -- you can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States even when it's not politically convenient.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So even though those candidates were not in the room, it was clear he was speaking directly to them.
Now, the incident he was referring to, you may remember, but here it is. This was at the last debate when a soldier, a gay soldier, was directing a question to the candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
STEPHEN HILL, SERVING IN IRAQ: In 2010 when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I'm a gay soldier. Do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?
(BOOING)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I would say any type of sexual activity --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You see Rick Santorum. That question was for him. He did not make any mention of what was going on in the crowd at the time.
Now, everybody watching the debate could hear it clearly. But he claims he could not. A couple days after the debate, he actually put out a statement saying if he had heard the booing, he would have condemned it on the spot.
President Obama's speech came at the Human Rights Campaign last night. That's a major advocate for equality for the gay and lesbian community. He talked it his opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act, but stopped short of openly endorsing same-sex marriage.
Just four minutes past the hour now. And Governor Rick Perry, he says he's prepared to send American troops into Mexico to battle drug cartels. The Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful made the comments at a campaign event in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The way that we were able to stop the drug cartels in Colombia was with a coordinated effort. It may require our military in Mexico, working in concert with them, to kill these drug cartels and to keep them off of our border and to destroy their networks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Governor Perry also said the U.S. and Mexican governments should meet after the 2012 election to discuss strategy.
There's a new alert this morning for Americans traveling anywhere. The State Department issued the worldwide travel alert due to fears of retaliation attacks over the government's killing of a key al Qaeda leader. Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a CIA drone attack in Yemen last week. Earlier, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent out the same kind of warning to local law enforcement.
And a top al Qaeda bomb-maker may have also been killed in that drone strike that targeted Anwar al-Awlaki. Indications are that the man there, Ibrahim Hassan Al-Asiri, was also killed. It has yet to be confirmed, though.
He's suspected of being behind the plot to blow up a plane in Detroit. That was the case of the underwear bomber, that was Christmas Day in 2009. And there was also a plot to blow up cargo planes last year. Investigators think he was also involved in that.
Well, six minutes past the hour.
Let's turn to the Amanda Knox trial which could be wrapping up. She is pleading her case. She'll do it herself tomorrow, and a jury is going to decide her fate. You'll remember, she was convicted of killing her roommate.
Our Paula Newton is covering this story for us in Perugia, Italy.
What do we expect tomorrow, Paula?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, tomorrow, we expect final argument from the defense. They'll speak for about a half-hour, 45 minutes. And then Amanda Knox will once again get a moment to address the jury just like she did in the original trial.
Her plea did not work in the original trial. Parents have said that she's been working on it for months. But they've also said that they're worried about her. She's not eating. She's not sleeping -- of course, completely understandable. But, T.J., I saw her in court this week -- I hadn't seen her in almost a couple of years. And she does look like she's in a state of despair really. So, it will be interesting to see how passionate she can be about her own case and if she can maintain her composure during it. She was very, very composed the first time she did it.
And in terms of what she's going to say, I think she's really going to make an emotional plea like the first one, not really concentrating on the evidence but concentrate on getting them to believe her when she says that she that Meredith Kercher was a friend of hers and that she did not have anything to do with the murder -- T.J.
HOLMES: Paula, how quickly do we expect a decision from the court? And if she loses this case, let's say, will she have any options after this?
NEWTON: Well, the court will begin to deliberate right after the statements. We expect that by 11:00 a.m. back home, that would be 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time, they'll be deliberating.
It will be a long day, but many people expect that they will return a verdict -- a ruling tomorrow. Having said that, it's not the end of the road. Whether -- whether Amanda Knox wins or loses, either the prosecution or her defense can take this appeal process to the Supreme Court. That will take at least four or five months, and that's pretty much at the soonest.
This is not the end of the road. I mean, really, if you're her family, you're thinking the best thing is that if she is exonerated tomorrow, she can get on a plane home and stay in the United States. And then if the appeal were thrown out again and they wanted her back in Italy, they would at least have to fight for extradition. They want her back home tomorrow.
HOLMES: All right. Paula Newton for us in Perugia, Italy -- thank you very much.
Another case that's drawing international attention, the case of Dr. Conrad Murray. His trial will resume tomorrow. There are 13 witnesses for the prosecution last week, in week one of the trial. The E.R. doctor will be back on the stand tomorrow. As you know, Dr. Murray charged with involuntary manslaughter. He's accused in the death of Michael Jackson, accused of injecting drugs that eventually killed the pop star.
Well, the man who shot President Reagan may be closer to getting out of the mental hospital where he's been the past 30 years. The hospital says John Hinckley should be allowed longer trips away from the facility leading up to his eventual release. Federal prosecutors, though, say he is still a threat and that his mental condition has not improved enough. Hearings on the hospital's request scheduled for late November.
And tonight is it. The last broadcast of the CBS news magazine "60 Minutes" that will include Andy Rooney's parting thoughts. On Tuesday, the network announced the show's 92-year-old pundit will deliver his final monologue as a regular contributor after some 30 years and 1,100 of his classic essays at the end of that show.
After that many years, Reynolds Wolf, what would you say to say good-bye in your final broadcast?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: My gosh. It's hard to say. I mean, he's had such an amazing career.
I mean, how do you finish it? That's going to be the big draw as you see how it's done. I mean, it's really mind-boggling just to think about that whole thing.
But what a transition for him to have to make, being -- you know, basically working all those years. We have a huge transition that we've been seeing weather-wise around the country. In fact, some places around the U.S. have been dealing with temperatures that have been well above normal. Some places, for example, Atlanta, Georgia, temperatures well below normal.
Take a look at these beautiful skies we have. A little sun and clouds mixed in. Temperature is currently 46 degrees in Atlanta, Georgia.
We got more coming up. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Don't go anywhere, folks. He's going to have a real forecast in a second.
WOLF: Sunshine! Whoo!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Fourteen minutes past the hour.
And, Reynolds, this something we don't do enough -- that's say good morning to Wyoming.
WOLF: Hi, guys.
HOLMES: Good morning, Wyoming.
What we're seeing -- explain this picture to me here. You've been out to Yellowstone a number of time. This came from one of our iReporters. What are we looking at?
WOLF: I have no idea.
HOLMES: Nice. You told me --
WOLF: Teasing. I'm just teasing.
What you're seeing is an amazing thing. The cool thing about Yellowstone National Park, it is actually a giant volcano formation. It's actually formed a giant cauldron. Because of that, you've got liquid magma, liquid rock that is not far beneath the surface.
And with the extreme heating, you got geysers, you got all kinds of heated pools like that. And sometime the extreme heat causes incredible colors to build up. Are you satisfied with the answer I just provided?
HOLMES: I'm impressed by the answer.
WOLF: All right. Don't you love how this little -- the ying and the yang. I just collapse your point at the beginning and then I build you right back up.
HOLMES: You got an amazing breadth of knowledge. You really do. You've been all over. You've traveled. You studied a lot of these things.
There's more to this guy than meets the eye, folks.
WOLF: Lies. All lies.
HOLMES: No, it's good stuff.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: We're still talking tropics?
WOLF: We do have a lot of things going on in the tropics. You know what's funny is we really haven't had any huge impact along the Eastern Seaboard other than, you know, a few storms that we had earlier this year, say, Irene. But in terms of a cataclysmic situation that's affecting the United States, thankfully, we haven't had anything in the magnitude, say, of a Hugo, or a Katrina.
We still have long ways to go for the season. And remember, the hurricane season last all the way until November 30. There are times that it actually overlaps.
But it looks like although things have been active, namely with hurricane Ophelia, this one is going to stay clear of the United States. Winds actually moving to the north at 29 miles per hour. It's trying to gain a little speed and will continue to move a little more to the north and northeast. Winds at 125 miles per hour. Strong surf over towards Bermuda, some heavy rain. Now, that's no longer an issue, look for heavy surf now build up in places like St. John's over at Halifax, into Monday. And by Tuesday, moves farther to the north.
Tropical storm Philippe, the latest -- whatever flavor you choose -- 70 degrees right now, structure very poor at this point. The shear -- a tremendous, tremendous detriment to the storm. It's going to march its way to west, and then veer to the Northeast as we get into Friday. By 2:00 p.m., winds expected to be around 65 miles per hour.
Back home what we're dealing with, fairly nice conditions in parts of the Southeast. Nice for you in the Southern Plains. Northeast, a different situation where we have rain in the picture. Anywhere from one to two inches of rain possible. The additional rain yesterday, an inch or so in spots.
We even had on top of the rain, some snowflakes in the higher elevations. That could happen again. I'd expect it to fizzle into Monday and Tuesday.
This system will lift out. High pressure is going to see build in to the Eastern Seaboard. Out west, the history is all head. They've got temperatures that are well above normal. That's going to be the situation for you today. In fact, take a look at these temperatures, going to 87 degrees in Denver, 86 in billings.
T.J. is a huge fan of the warming conditions. This would be the place for him, especially going to the Mile-High City of Denver. Over towards Seattle, a different story, 65 degrees; 66 in San Francisco. To your friends in Los Angeles, 75, your high, 87 in El Paso, 66 in Chicago, 67 in Atlanta, 86 in Miami. Nice day out here, and dry, maybe some showers in the afternoon.
But, hey, it's Florida. It happens.
Let's send it back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, thank you very much.
And at 17 minutes past the hour, this is a story you're not going to believe. President Obama endorsing a food chain? He is the new face of the new fast food craze in China. You're seeing that correctly. I'll give you a second to take it in and figure out for yourself what you're seeing.
But, yes, there is a sign for Obama Fried Chicken or OFC as it says there. Now this is on the U.K.'s "Daily Mail" Web site. The Chinese ad has Obama wearing a bow tie and suspenders. The logo or the slogan says, quote, "we're so cool, aren't we?"
Now, can't imagine the reaction you might be having to seeing this right now. A lot of people are having that same reaction, calling this racist and that it plays into stereotypes.
But over in China, apparently somebody believes this will help them sell some chicken.
Nineteen minutes past the hour now.
Supreme Court is heading back to session tomorrow. Freedom of speech one of the many issues the court will be taking up. We'll take a look at some of the bigger cases and how they could affect us all.
Stay with me.
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HOLMES: Twenty-two minutes past the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And the Supreme Court starting up tomorrow. They'll start hearing arguments in a number of important cases. We wanted to get you caught up on a few. That certainly will be making news this go round.
Let me bring in Supreme Court producer Bill Mears.
So, thank you for being here.
It might be tough, but pick one for our audience. Which one would you say could really get a lot of attention and could really have an impact on us all down the road?
WILLIAM MEARS, CNN SUPREME COURT PRODUCER: In a word: health care. It's the issue that's coming before the court in just a few months. The justices are almost certainly to take it. That's the massive reform effort championed by President Obama.
It's been floating around the appeals courts for months now. The Supreme Court's poised to take on this issue. They're almost forced to take it.
We expect to hear the case probably next February or March, with a ruling by June, right in the thick of the presidential race.
HOLMES: And we shall see how that all plays out. There's also a couple of others I'll go through with you.
The issue of GPS surveillance with police.
MEARS: Yes, great privacy case. The issue really is dealing with -- do motorists enjoy any privacy when they get on the public roads? The case deals with a drug suspect that police in Washington were tracking for several weeks. They attached one of those GPS devices to his car, followed him, and they tracked him to a house that was dealing drugs.
They arrested him. He got life in prison. He's suing. He says he deserves a measure of privacy when he got in his car. Police had no right to put that device without a search warrant.
HOLMES: Another -- this has come up over the years, talking about indecency on TV.
MEARS: Oh, yes. We've been back and forth on this issue for years. It's a free speech dispute dealing with the broadcast networks, not what you see here on cable, but the broadcast networks. And whether the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, can clamp down on the broadcast networks when they air feeding examples of nudity and dirty words.
HOLMES: Now is this a free speech case here, and what have courts done in the past on this topic?
MEARS: It is a free speech case. And the Supreme Court actually took it up a few years ago. But they never really got to the heart of the issue. It was more on the enforcement power of the FCC to claim down on this and to fine the broadcast networks. What we're talking about here is the more fundamental free speech constitutional issue and whether the FCC's policy really goes too far and infringe on the rights of the broadcast networks who argue that the case could have broader implications not only for their medium but for radio, for movies, books, what you see on the Internet, and a whole range of expressive media.
HOLMES: OK. And one more here that will certainly be awfully timely as we hear about so many cuts being made out of Washington, D.C. But the right to cut funding of Medicaid.
MEARS: Right. Which is a big component of the health care law, the broader health care law passed last year by Congress. The issue here is really Medicaid. That's the government program for funding health care for poor people. And it's funded by both the government -- by the federal government as well as the states.
But, you know, state budget cuts have been a big problem around the country. They've cut back their share of Medicaid funding. And the issue is here whether patients can go into court and personally sue states to try to get the funding back.
The Obama administration, surprisingly, they've supported an expansion of Medicaid under their new law. But they're saying, in this case, individuals -- you can't go to court and try to get that Medicaid money back. It's really up to the federal government to decide this.
HOLMES: All right. Bill Mears for us -- it's good to have you go through some of these important cases that will be making news in the coming weeks and months. Thank you so much.
And to our viewers, we're also, another case the Supreme Court is taking up is about the ministerial exception. That's kind of a rule that's been on the books for the past 40 years. And what it essentially does is exempts churches and religious institutions in this country from having to adhere to anti-discrimination laws. Well, that's being challenged now. We're going to take that up at our "Faces of Faith." That's coming up for you next hour.
But at 26 minutes past the hour now. A protest movement targeting Wall Street seems to be growing. They grew so much in New York yesterday, it actually shut down the Brooklyn Bridge.
Stay with me.
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HOLMES: Just about at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Couple of the stories making headlines today:
Police in New York have now reopened the Brooklyn Bridge. This was after hundred of demonstrators showed up. They were protesting corporate greed. They were ticketed yesterday, a number of them. The protest campaign began in July with the launch of a simple campaign website calling for a march and sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange. So, these have been going on and growing for the past couple of weeks. And, certainly, the largest one was yesterday in New York. They're also spreading to other cities around the country.
Also, the U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide alert urging Americans who are traveling anywhere to be mindful of possible retaliation against U.S. citizens and interests. The warning comes after Friday's drone strike that killed American-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
The bottom of the hour now, I'll be back with you at the top of the hour with more live news on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
