American Morning
Maruo Heck on heckling Gingrich: 'Sometimes free speech has to be uncivil'
Newt Gingrich was heckled Wednesday by a group of Occupy Iowa City protesters during a speech.
As the former House speaker stood in a classroom at the University of Iowa and began to detail his vision for a federal brain-science project dedicated to curing Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, the protesters started shouting. The rowdy disruption lasted for several minutes. And things got personal.
At the end of a question and answer session following Gingrich's remarks, one of the events attendees, Maruo Heck, attacked the GOP front-runner's personal life. "Seems like you have a Ph.D. in cheating on your wife," Heck said.
Today on American Morning, Maruo Heck joins us to talk about why he choose to heckle Gignrich. As he tells Carol Costello, "sometimes free speech has to be uncivil."
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt on Iraq: 'Winning will be determined in the years to come'
The United States has officially ended its eight-and-a-half year military campaign in Iraq. The completion of the mission was marked with flag lowering ceremony in Iraq Thursday. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was in Baghdad for the ceremony. More than 4,400 American troops have lost their lives over the course of the mission.
Today on American Morning, retired Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, who was the U.S. military spokesman during the initial Iraq invasion, talks about what the United States has achieved in this pivotal middle eastern nation. As Kimmitt tells Carol Costello, the mission's success "will be determined in the years to come."
AM Minding Your Business for Dec. 15, 2011
Today on American Morning, Christine Romans reports on the morning business news headlines.
This morning, we're watching:
* Wall Street just can't shake its concerns about Europe's ongoing debt crisis. Stocks took a hit yesterday. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all dropped more than 1%.
* Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is concerned that Europe's problems may spill over into the U.S. That's according to Republican senators who were briefed by the Fed chairman yesterday.
* Concerns about Europe have investors dumping gold and going into cash. The precious metal sank 5% yesterday. It's the first time gold's been below the $1600 level in three months. Silver, copper and palladium were also down sharply.
* In about two hours from now, we'll get a fresh read on the employment situation. The initial jobless claims report is expected to show that 390,000 unemployment claims were filed for the first time last week. Anytime that number is below 400,000 it's considered a good sign for the labor market
* The nation's top CEOs remain cautious about the economy. According to a survey by the Business Roundtable, two-thirds say they don't plan to increase hiring in the next six months, nor do they plan to spend more on large equipment.
* Finally some good news for the travel industry. According to AAA, nearly 92 million Americans - that's about one-third of the population - are expected to travel at least 50 miles this holiday.
Tune in to American Morning at 6am Eastern every day for the latest in business news.
How important is the issue of personal faith in the GOP presidential race?
Newt Gingrich's personal baggage continues to serve as the elephant in his campaign's room. The thrice-married, twice-divorced, Southern Baptist-turned-Catholic would not seem like a natural choice for the influential social conservative and evangelical wings of the Republican party.
In an effort to assuage their concerns, Gingrich provided an influential Iowa organization, The Family Leader, a written response to their "Marriage Vow" – A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family. But some critics wonder if the former house speaker has done enough to atone for his past sins.
Today on American Morning, Christine Romans talks to McKay Coppins, reporter for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Comm., about the issue of personal faith in the GOP presidential race.
Should Congress extend unemployment benefits? Economics panel weighs in
If Congress doesn't extend unemployment benefits in the next few weeks, millions of jobless Americans will find themselves without a vital safety net in 2012.
Lawmakers must decide by the end of the year whether or not to once again extend the deadline to file for unemployment benefits, a measure that would cost around $44 billion. If the deadline isn't extended, up to five million people will stop getting checks next year, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Today on American Morning, Christine Romans discusses the pros and cons of extending the measure with Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal, and Bob Herbert, distinguished senior fellow from Demos.
NTSB calls for ban of electronics while driving – chairwoman of group explains why
According to the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration, more than 3,000 people died last year because of distracted driving. These statistics have prompted safety experts to call for a nationwide ban on using cell phones to talk and text messages while driving.
Now, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has taken this measure a step further, calling for the first-ever nationwide ban on all electronic devices in the car in an effort to prevent distracted-driving crashes.
Today on American Morning, Debbie Hersman, chairwoman of the NTSB, talks with Christine Romans about what prompted the board to issue this recommendation and to discuss the resistance against this measure.
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