He Was "Obsessed" With Obama; Obama Announces Historic Move; New Taliban Training Video; Solyndra Hearing; Obama Announces Mission To Myanmar
COSTELLO (voice-over): Trained to kill a militant group known for its ambush-style tactics take us inside a terror training camp on this</s>AMERICAN MORNING. ROMANS (on camera): And welcome back, everyone. Good morning. It's 28 minutes after the hour. Time for the morning's top stories. Police near Syracuse University say they're looking into claims that the school's assistant - associate, rather, men's basketball coach Bernie Fine sexually assaulted at least one boy in the beginning of the 1980s. Fine is now on administrative leave. The university's head basketball coach says Fine has his full support.</s>COSTELLO (on camera): Two hundred forty-five people arrested as Occupy Wall Street protesters flooded the streets, packed the Brooklyn Bridge and tried to shut down the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. It was the two-month anniversary of the movement.</s>ROMANS: President Obama in Bali and meeting with Indonesia's president this morning. The president also making big news during his visit announcing a diplomatic mission to Myanmar. It will be the first visit by the U.S. - by a U.S. Secretary of State in more than 50 years.</s>COSTELLO: Disturbing new video of what appears to be the Taliban training, getting ready for one of their most brazen attacks to date. Suicide bombers and gunmen took over Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel in June. Eleven people were killed. And now a Taliban affiliated Web site posted new video showing drills, tactics and planning. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live in Kabul. He has the pictures. Good morning.</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these are remarkable images showing us really what the insurgency wants us to see - a high level of sophistication and preparedness. Now, by much information on the Internet from the insurgency, we can't vouch entirely for its authenticity, but it does seem to show a new level of tactics and preparedness.</s>WALSH (voice-over): One of the most brazen attacks to hit Kabul. In June, a government conference at the Intercontinental Hotel was attacked by a suicide squad who killed 11 others. It took Special Forces, helicopters and a drone to suppress it six hours later. President Karzai has this week gathered tribal elders near that hotel for a vital meeting about America's presence here. But now, CNN gained a unique inside into how that raid was planned. The Taliban have posted online a lengthy propaganda video they say about the seven men behind that attack. This is a display, what they want us to see of their skills and planning. CNN can't prove it's genuine, only that it shows how sophisticated their message and media are after a decade of war. An ambush somewhere else seems to let insurgents steal military uniforms. One hotel attacker speaks of his wish to die. "My message is life is too short," he says. He will die of cancer or a car accident. If you want God's blessing, be a suicide attacker. The preparations are elaborate. Here, they site, we think only the faces of the dead are visible in front of a model of a hotel discussing tactics. Those viewing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades,</s>WALSH: There is one more important thing about these images. They could be the first we've seen of the Haqqani Network. That's a part of the insurgency here getting increasing attention, accused of having Pakistani backing and sanctuaries across the border, to operate in Afghanistan and behind many of the sophisticated attacks in capital recently here. They're rarely being videoed at all. But they were said to be behind that attack on the hotel. And while these images don't say online that they are of the Haqqanis, they could be the first glimpse you have to date yet of how they appropriate -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Nick Paton Walsh, reporting live for us this morning -- thanks, Nick. L.A. homicide investigators are taking another look at the mysterious death of Hollywood legend Natalie Wood. It was ruled on November 29th, 1981 that Wood drowned while boating with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken. The sheriff's department says it has been contacted with witnesses with new information. A news conference is scheduled for later this morning.</s>ROMANS: All right. A hostile hearing on Capitol Hill. Energy Secretary Steven Chu putting on a tough front during five hours of grueling testimony yesterday. He did not apologize for the failure of solar company Solyndra and a loss of more than half a billion dollars in taxpayers' money. Jessica Yellin reports.</s>JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The topic was green energy, but the tone was fiery. The committee's top Republican --</s>REP. CLIFF STEARNS (R), FLORIDA: It is readily apparent that the senior officials in the administration put politics before the stewardship of taxpayers' dollars.</s>YELLIN: And top Democrat.</s>REP. DIANA DEGETTE (D), COLORADO: The majority to date as evidenced by my colleague's opening statement has focused on firing partisan broadsides at the Obama administration.</s>YELLIN: With a soft-spoken Energy Secretary Steven Chu in the hot seat.</s>STEVEN CHU, ENERGY SECRETARY: The final decisions on Solyndra were mine and I made them with a best interest of the taxpayer in mind. I did not make any decision based on political considerations.</s>YELLIN: For Republicans, that was far from satisfying.</s>REP. FRED UPTON (R), MICHIGAN: Who is to apologize for the half a billion dollars that's been out the door?</s>CHU: Well, it is --</s>UPTON: DOE?</s>CHU: It is extremely unfortunate of what has happened to Solyndra. But if you go back and look at the time the decision's being made, was there incompetence? Was there undue -- was there any influence of a political nature? And I would have to say no.</s>UPTON: So, no apology?</s>CHU: Well, it is extremely unfortunate what has happened to Solyndra.</s>YELLIN: Their charge: the Energy Department did not properly vet Solyndra, a company President Obama later touted as a true engine of economic growth. And once it started to fail, put up more taxpayer dollars, but let private investors get preferential treatment if the company went bankrupt.</s>REP. MICHAEL BURGESS (R), TEXAS: Do you feel that you owe people an apology for having subordinated the taxpayer dollar to what now turns out to be a very risky venture?</s>YELLIN: Democrats say the people driving the investigation have political motives of their own.</s>REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: House Republicans and their coal, and oil industry allies are manufacturing a scandal, trying to discredit you, President Obama, and the clean energy companies. That's a great deal if you are an oil company or a coal executive, but it's unfair to you and a disservice to the American people.</s>YELLIN (on camera): He was also grilled on the latest charge, that Solyndra officials were asked to withhold news of layoffs until after last year's midterm elections. The energy secretary said he had no knowledge of this until e-mails came to light this week. Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.</s>COSTELLO: The president of Connecticut's largest utility company is stepping down. Jeff Butler was the head of Connecticut Light and Power. He's been under fire since the freak blizzard that slammed into the Northeast last month. The storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of residents in Connecticut. It took nearly a week, in some cases, weeks before power was restored.</s>ROMANS: All right. Rob Marciano is off today. He's rocking a baby, I think. Brand new baby for the Marcianos.</s>COSTELLO: Do we have the pictures?</s>ROMANS: I know. We have some great pictures. We're going to bring those up.</s>REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, originally, I told everyone, we're going to do some different video first. Let's go to the best picture of all. Let's show you the -- you see Rob at the top. You see Erin in the bottom there. And, of course, right in the middle, you got Madeleine Grace Marciano. She was born 7.13 pounds, what she weighs. Just an absolute beautiful baby. Rob, I know, is tired, as is Erin. As an experienced father I can tell him, Rob, you think you're tired now, just wait.</s>ROMANS: I know. He said -- he said Erin is recovering. Dad is a wreck.</s>WOLF: Absolutely. Understandable. Absolutely.</s>COSTELLO: Erin looks great in that picture.</s>ROMANS: I know.</s>COSTELLO: She looks beautiful.</s>WOLF: She looks fantastic.</s>ROMANS: I think after 20 hours of labor, actually, she really -- she did a great job.</s>COSTELLO: She looks fantastic, though.</s>WOLF: Looks amazing.</s>COSTELLO: She's like superwoman.</s>ROMANS: She is.</s>WOLF: So, happy times for the Marcianos, no question about it.</s>COSTELLO: Yes.</s>WOLF: But, hey, rough time for travelers. Show you the forecast very quickly. Looks like some of the biggest issues out towards the west. In fact, let's go to the web map if we can. Here you have -- in San Francisco, some showers. Major delays there. But also, in New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis and Miami, delays just under an hour. The big weather-maker that we have is really out towards the west, just a mammoth storm that's going to rip its way across parts of the coastal range, back into the central Rockies. Heavy snow, strong winds, low visibility. Snow that's already brought some heavy snowfall into parts of Portland, Oregon. And we got some video to show you that's going to basically prove our point that the snow has been pretty significant there. And not just in the valley or downtown Portland. We're going to see that really kick up towards Mt. Rainier, back over towards the Cascades, and, of course, eventually moving into the Rockies where it's going to be a skiers' paradise once this moves out. The problem is, though, it is coupled with strong winds. Some wind gusts are going to be topping, say, 50 miles an hour. So, just keep that in mind. Back to the weather maps we go. Although we got the big storm system out towards the west, in the center of the U.S. and back to the east, it is going to be absolutely beautiful. Plenty of sunshine for the Gulf Coast, mix of sun and cloud for parts of the Northeast. As we wrap things up, your temperatures along the Eastern Seaboard, wrapping it up with 40 degrees in Boston, 46 in New York, 60 in Memphis, 70 in Tampa, 50 in Kansas City, easy for me to say, and 57 in San Francisco. That's your forecast. Again, congratulations to the Marcianos.</s>ROMANS: I know.</s>WOLF: Just a beautiful thing to see.</s>COSTELLO: Oh, it is. Thanks for sharing. We appreciate it.</s>ROMANS: Thanks, Reynolds.</s>WOLF: You bet, guys.</s>COSTELLO: Brand new look for Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros will switch from the National League to the American League by 2013. That move will equal out the leagues with 15 teams apiece. Also, MLB.com is reporting that baseball may soon have a second wild card spot in the playoffs.</s>ROMANS: All right. The Stanford football team is shattering stereotypes. Don't call them dumb jocks. The team is ranked number 10 in the nation. Top 10 in the nation and their school is ranked top 10 in academics. More on why Stanford is winning on and off the field. That's coming up.</s>COSTELLO: And passengers on two jets heading from India to Britain get an ultimatum mid-flight. Pay up for the fuel or get off the plane. We'll explain.