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American Morning
Winter Storm Blast; Global Epidemic; Scourge In Africa; Suffering In Europe; Infections In America; World AIDS Day 2006
Aired December 01, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: White out. A major blast of snow and freezing rain cancels hundreds of flights and closes schools and highways from Texas to Michigan. We're live on the storm front.
And days in Iraq. New information from the Iraq Study Group about exactly when U.S. troops should come home.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Twenty-five years later, the AIDS virus unrelenting in its grip on the world. Twenty-five million lives already lost, 39.5 million people infected right now. AIDS is one of this century's biggest challenges and this morning the fight is renewed. We're searching for a cure and telling stories of hope on this World AIDS Day 2006. A special edition of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It is Friday, December 1st. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We thank you for being with us.
The first major snowstorm of the season causing havoc in the Midwest. Much more in a moment on that.
But also this morning, another important story. It is World AIDS Day. We have special exclusive coverage.
S. O'BRIEN: And, in fact, we're kicking off the network's daylong coverage.
Twenty-five years after AIDS was identified, there are treatments but there's no vaccine and no cure. You might be surprised to here that the number of people who are affected with HIV is still growing each and every year. This morning we're on the front lines of the fight. We're following the money, we're following the medicine, talking to the powerful people who are now involved and also give you a look at how you can make a difference too.
We've got worldwide coverage for you. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is here in New York at Harlem Hospital's family HIV ward. Alphonso Van Marsh is in South Africa for us this morning and Jim Boulden is in London. Plus, we've got exclusive interviews this morning with Senator Barack Obama, evangelist Rick Warren, the author, of course, of the best-selling "Purpose Driven Life," about how evangelicals are now joining the battle. And former President Bill Clinton, who is in India. All that ahead this morning. M. O'BRIEN: First up though, snow day in the Midwest. That winter storm cutting a swath across the country, bringing snow, ice and bitter cold to millions. We have this one covered, well, I guess like a blanket of snow. Keith Oppenheim in Chicago, Sean Callebs in St. Louis, Chad Myers will have the forecast for us in just a moment. Let's begin with Keith in Chicago.
What's the latest there, Keith.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boy, as my engineer put it out here, Miles, it's wet and gross.
Let me show you where I am and what it looks like. We are just off of Michigan Avenue, by the Michigan Avenue Bridge, and on the side of the street you can see how the slush at my feet is accumulating. Give it a nice kick. This is what commuters are going to have to drive in, so it's going to be extremely slick for motorists out there. The good new is that the city of Chicago has 270 salt spreaders out there.
But while that will help with the drive, flying to or through Chicago will be very difficult today. In fact, the major airlines at O'Hare and Midway have said that they have canceled most flights through this morning and probably won't be flying until sometime this afternoon. Southwest Airlines might be an exception this morning.
So tough going this morning here in Chicago and we expect it to get worse. Probably maybe five to 10 inches in and around the city.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim in Chicago.
Let's go to St. Louis now. Sean Callebs is there.
Sean, what's the scene there?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, behind me you can probably see the arch. The symbolic gateway to the west. It has basically been an area that has ushered in this storm. It really began in the northern part of Texas. Now stretching all the way up where Keith is in Chicago.
Pretty much the same here. Want too show you down on the streets of St. Louis. More slush here. But really what people see, you can see the water simply running down into the drain. The temperature hovering around freezing. People here in St. Louis have basically been told for the last 20 hour, prepare for snow, prepare for ice, prepare for freezing rain. For the most part, it simply hasn't come.
We do know that St. Louis is a hub for interstates. You can see 64, then up a little bit higher 44, 45, 70. All those are going to be a concern today as well.
Pretty much the same as Keith. The salt trucks had been out ahead of time and the airport here, what Chicago is expecting today, St. Louis Lambert Airport went through yesterday. Hundreds of flights canceled and people stranded all over the place.
We were there watching them de-ice plains. And this, of course, very important because under FA guidelines, once they de-ice planes, they must take off within 15 minutes, so basically they couldn't keep up with the freezing rain that was falling yesterday, so a whole host of flights were canceled.
We actually ran into a handful of soldiers, Miles, who were actually on their way back from training. They were eager to get home. They didn't spend the night at a warm hotel. They stayed at the USO instead.
We know that predicting the weather is a science. It's still just not an exact science. But I'm sure we'll hear more about that in the coming minutes, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, no one does it with any more precision than our own Chad Myers, our severe weather expert.
Chad, where's it headed.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Meantime, overseas, a super typhoon taking a huge toll in the Philippines. Upwards of 400 dead, at least 75 missing after Typhoon Durian swept across the island nation. The storm leaving many without power and phone lines. Reliable information, as a result, is scarce. Rescue teams having a tough time getting to some areas because of washed out roads. Durian generating winds of 121 miles an hour, gusts up to 139 miles an hour. It's the fourth super typhoon to hit the Philippines in as many months.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to get back to our top stories in just a few moments. First, though, a closer look at where we stand on this World AIDS Day. We've got comprehensive coverage for you from our correspondents around the globe and also guests as well. We begin with CNN's senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, about just where we stand in the fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Around the word, the HIV epidemic shows know signs of loosening its hold. This year, 4.3 million people were infected and two-thirds of them are in Sub- Saharan Africa. They're in places like Nairobi, Kenya, where we visited last year with the Clinton Foundation.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's 100 percent preventable and yet it's sweeping the world like a firestorm, killing people of all ages in its path.
GUPTA: And it's not just Africa. The economic powerhouse, India, now has 5 million people infected. That's more than any other country. Experts are also concerned about eastern Europe as the disease skyrockets among IV drug users there. Even in the United States, the epidemic has not been contained.
DR. JOHN BARTLETT, JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: There's about 1 million or 1.2 million people in the United States that are living with HIV infection. About 25 percent of them don't know it.
GUPTA: Once seen most frequently among white, gay men, the disease is spreading across the population.
DR. KEVIN FENTON, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: We are beginning to see that at the face of epidemic changing, is it's increasingly becoming a black disease in the United States.
GUPTA: In fact, African-Americans, which make up only 13 percent of the population, account for half of all new infections. But amidst all the bad news, there is some good. Powerful treatments that have prolonged the life of people with HIV are more available than ever.
DR. MICHAEL SAAG, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: If we were to theoretically get every person who's HIV infected in the United States into care and on treatment with a lower amount of virus in their bloodstream, there's no question the transmission, even without safer sexual practices, would be reduced substantially.
GUPTA: But it comes at a price. Treatment runs about $20,000 a year. And those who need it don't always have health insurance.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: The continent that's been hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic is, without question, Africa. There are nearly 25 million people living with HIV in Africa. CNN's Alphonso Von Marsh is live for us in Johannesburg in south Africa.
Alphonso, good morning.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Like you mentioned, some 25 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa infected with HIV Aids. That's 60 percent of the world's cases. According to U.N. figures last year, some 3 million people contracted the virus that causes AIDS and so far some 2 million of them have died.
Now there is some good news. Some countries, the HIV prevalence rates are going down, like in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe. But here in south Africa, south Africa remains the second highest ranked in the world in terms of HIV prevalence. Some 5 million south Africans have HIV/AIDS.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about what the government is doing, especially today on World AIDS Day, Alphonso.
VAN MARSH: Well, sure. The government here, they're having a national World AIDS Day event in one of the eastern provinces of the country. That is one of the provinces, one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV. They've kind of booked a stadium, if you will, where the deputy president who also is a spokesperson for the government's anti-HIV campaign will be speaking.
What's worth noting is that the health minister will not be speaking at this conference. Some would say that maybe in response to her actions or to her words suggesting that so-called super foods like lemon, garlic and beat root are an alternative to anti-retro viral drugs.
S. O'BRIEN: Alphonso Van Marsh is in Johannesburg, south Africa for us this morning.
Alphonso, thanks.
High-risk behavior is the reason for the high numbers of people who are infected with HIV in eastern Europe and in central Asia too. Nearly 2.5 million people are infected with AIDS in all of Europe and central Asia. CNN's Jim Boulden is in London for us this morning.
Jim, good morning.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Let's start with western and central Europe. Some 740,000 people here are infected with HIV/AIDS. And in 2006, this year, 22,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV. And, in fact, we have had 12,000 HIV/AIDS deaths here in western Europe.
As you say, it has a lot to do with the high-risk behavior. In fact, the fastest increase in HIV diagnosis is here in the UK and one- third of the people here do have HIV and don't know it. They say it's high-risk behavior by young adults.
It's also because of the fast growing immigrant community and the message is simply not getting out. However, also, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, alarming statistics. We had 84,000 deaths in 2006 from AIDS in central Europe, eastern Europe and central Asia.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Where are the European governments spending their money?
BOULDEN: The main area that a lot of them are spending their money is in the vaccine. We've seen some statistics come out from a number of countries. Ireland saying they're going to spend $17 million donating this money to R&D for vaccines. In fact, with the Dutch government donating $100 million. They see this as going beyond prevention right now, going on to the future. It will be many years if, in fact, we do get a vaccine, but that's how many western governments want to spend their money.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Jim Boulden in London for us this morning. Thanks, Jim.
Lots has changed in 25 years. It used to be the high-risk groups for HIV were gay men and IV drug users. Now it's every person who has unprotected sex, gay or straight, at risk. And the children are at risk too. North America, 1.4 million people are infected with HIV. CNN's Alina Cho is in New York this morning.
Alina, good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad, good morning to you.
We are here at Harlem Hospital, at the family care center. This is where they treat the HIV and AIDS patients, including many children. What's interesting is that 100 percent of the people they treat here are either African-American or Latino. That is important. We'll tell you why in just a minute, but first the raw numbers.
Currently in the United States, there are more than 1 million Americans living with HIV. There are 40,000 new cases each year. And of those, 50 percent of all new infections are among African- Americans. Now that's significant because AIDS experts say the complexion of the disease is changing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Among those who are HIV infected, about 50 percent of them are among African-Americans. And, remember, African- Americans comprise only about 12 percent of the population in the United States. It's even worse among African-American women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, what's disturbing is that many of those women are getting infected by men who don't even know that they are infected. In fact, in the United States, 25 percent of all cases, that's 250,000 people, do not know that they are HIV positive. Now the CDC is currently pushing to have HIV testing part of routine medical care. And to that end, Soledad, here at Harlem Hospital, they have something called rapid HIV testing. That means you can come in, take the test and in 20 minutes you will have your results.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow. Alina Cho for us this morning. That's interesting news there.
Thanks, Alina.
There is no cure, of course, but there is treatment. We're going to talk about that straight ahead when we talk with President Bill Clinton. You want to keep it tuned to CNN all day long for our continuing coverage of World AIDS Day, "Stopping A Killer."
M. O'BRIEN: Also ahead, new information on the upcoming report from the Iraq Study Group, including a recommendation on when U.S. troops should be out of Iraq. Plus, an update on the condition of that SeaWorld trainer still in the hospital after a killer whale turned on him during a Shamu show. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
The Iraq Study Group parentally poised to recommend withdrawing all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by 2008. "The Washington Post" reporting the blue ribbon panel will suggest leaving behind only enough troops to train the Iraqis. The 10 member panel to make its formal presentation to President Bush next Wednesday.
The FBI now on the case of the fatal poisoning of the former Russian spy. The bureau assisting British authorities, providing some of its experts on weapons of mass destruction. Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with a radioactive element called polonium. An autopsy slated for today. Investigators now finding traces of polonium across London and on three passenger planes.
And a good new footnote on that SeaWorld trainer attacked by a killer whale. Thirty-nine-year-old Ken Peters is expected to be released from the hospital today after undergoing surgery on a broken foot. The whale, Kasatka, drained Peters to the bottom of a 36-foot deep pool during a show.
The traveler's forecast is an important one this morning. Chad Myers with that.
Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: More now on our coverage of World AIDS Day. Nearly 400,000 children are going to die of AIDS this year. Well over 2 million are HIV infected. Former President Bill Clinton is helping lead the fight against AIDS. Today he makes a major announcement in India. I talked with him exclusively on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Mr. President, good morning to you. Thanks for talking with us. We certainly appreciate it.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: You don't think of India as having the big AIDS problem, and yet the numbers actually indicates that India does. You're in India for World AIDS Day. Why did you pick India?
CLINTON: Well, for two reasons. First of all, India has the largest number of HIV infected people in the world now. Almost 6 million, even though the infection rate is low because a billion people live here. But it could grow very rapidly. They have an aggressive response to it. So that's the first reason, because my foundation works here with the Indian government on this challenge.
The second reason is that the Indian drug manufacturers have signed repeated agreements with us to provide the lowest cost anti- retro virals in the world and we're announcing today in the run-up to World AIDS Day that they have agreed to provide revolutionary advances in prices for pediatric AIDS medicine.
S. O'BRIEN: What are the different challenges that you see in India from, let's say, Africa?
CLINTON: Well, it's newer here and India's a very, very diverse place. There are more people in India than in all of Sub-Saharan Africa. You have many different languages. You have rural places and urban places. You have, in the cities, these teaming, huge, massive cities where people are packed in, living very closely, and therefore at very higher risk of rapid spread of the infection.
On the other hand, on a per capita basis, India has more doctors per person than any other developing country in the world. And the Indian government effort, working with the medical association and with our foundation to train people to diagnose, to treat, to care for, to educate, to prevent is up and going and we have a chance to get on top of this and turn it around here.
S. O'BRIEN: Often when you look at AIDS, whatever country you're talking about, it's kind of divided into prevention and treatment. And a lot of people are focused on the treatment, the anti-retral viral drugs, for example. Do you think prevention gets less of a focus because it's often much more controversial? Abstinence versus handing out condoms, for example?
CLINTON: That may be part of it, but I think the biggest problem with prevention is that there aren't enough systematic efforts at it which include abstinence and all the other things. It shouldn't be either/or. It should be both.
And the other big problem is that 90 percent of the people who are HIV positive don't know it. So every year when you read that there's somewhere between three and five million new infections, you have to say, well, gosh, there must be a lot of irresponsible people out there. But that's not quite true. Most people who are infected don't know it.
So a big part of prevention is also making sure more and more people in high-risk groups know their status. And to do that, you have to offer them the test and make sure that they understand they won't be subject to any kind of legal discrimination and make sure that when they need the medicine to stay alive, they'll get it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Much more of my exclusive interview with the former president, Bill Clinton, throughout the show. Including why he thinks a vaccine and a cure are on the horizon.
Miles. M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, al Qaeda online. A new warning for banks and financial institutions. The terror group may be taking its jihad to the Internet. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: A possible terror threat online from al Qaeda aimed at financial institutions. Ali Velshi is here with that "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.
This is what the Department of Homeland Security calls an uncorroborated threat. But they wanted to let financial institutions know about this. It was posted on a Jihadist website on November 27th and translated.
It turns out the Department of Homeland Security is calling this aspirational. What it is, is a request to individuals to launch denial of service attacks against financial institutions. You know, those denial service attacks are when they bombard a website with so many requests or hits that the website basically collapses under the weight of the whole thing.
It does not appear to be an organized effort. It's supposed to take place in December through the new year. The Department of Homeland Security says they've informed financial institutions to try and keep them safe.
A lot of folks are saying -- we haven't been able to get direct comment. Everybody we've spoken to, banks, stock markets are saying, we don't comment on our security matters. But other experts we've spoken to have said, it's not likely to be particularly effective. Denial of service attacks have been launched against Microsoft by hackers for a long time. There's some degree of expertise in the whole thing. And let me tell you, it couldn't make my bank website work any more slowly than it already does.
M. O'BRIEN: Mentioning no names.
VELSHI: No. No names at all.
S. O'BRIEN: No, tell us. Tell us. Tell us.
VELSHI: No names at all.
Down in the stock markets, obviously, haven't opened today and we're not expecting much response to this threat on the markets. Yesterday the Dow was, yes, just a little bit flat. On some levels, stocks were up. Exxon Mobil, companies like that, because oil is trading high again. Five days its traded up. The highest levels since September. Wal-Mart, though, had a little bit of bad news on the sales front. We'll see what happens today and I'll be back in about half an hour. M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Ali. We'll see you then.
VELSHI: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up, President Bush home from the Middle East with new information coming out of the Iraq Study Group. We'll talk about the exit strategy straight ahead.
Also best-selling author, Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay. They're kind of unusual, new soldiers in the fight against AIDS. We'll tell you what they're doing.
And we're tracking that major winter storm across the Midwest. We've got live reports and your weekend forecast all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Storm watch. Snow and freezing rain pounding the Great Plains in the Midwest. Hundreds of flights canceled, roads closed. The stormy Friday forecast is straight ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: A timetable after all. New information from the Iraq Study Group about exactly when U.S. troops should come home.
S. O'BRIEN: And World AIDS Day 2006, honoring the 25 million lives lost and the current fight for a cure, on this special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, everybody. It is Friday, December 1st.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
The big story we're on top of this morning, a major winter storm on the move right now. Snow, ice, a threat of severe weather.
Let's get right outside.
Keith Oppenheim in Chicago, Jonathan Freed in Kansas City. Chad Myers will be with us in a moment with the forecast.
We begin in Chicago, where O'Hare is kind of o'snarled (ph) this morning, to say the least, Keith, right?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: O'Hare is in tough shape today. So is Midway. And Miles, we are getting thunder out here. It's a thunderstorm in Chicago while it's snowing, and, boy, is the precipitation wet.
Take a look at what I'm seeing on the side of Michigan Avenue. This is good stuff for making a snowball, but beyond that, making a slush ball, it is just really tough for walking in and certainly for driving in.
We've got a tower cam view out at O'Hare airport right now. You can see the road that goes into O'Hare when you look at that shot, and flights are not going to be flying today. If you just heard that, Miles, that was thunder in the background.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, we heard it. We heard it. We saw it. Holy cow!
OPPENHEIM: Yes, it's really dramatic. So that's one reason why flights are canceled at O'Hare today. At Midway there may be some flights from Southwest Airlines, but we're not expecting planes to be taking off today until sometime this afternoon.
As far as the roads go, back out here you can see how slushy it is, extremely slick. We're hoping to get a good 270 or so salt- spreading trucks on the scene today. Lights are going out here as I'm speaking today, so some power outages happening as I speak, but other than that the city is going to try to function as the snow keeps on coming down today.
Back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: Keith, if that storm is anywhere nearby, why don't you guys shut down there in that truck? That's not a good -- boy, the lights, everything.
All right. Keith Oppenheim in Chicago.
Be safe, please -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, they've got to move if it starts getting really too...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ...too rough there.
The Great Plains states are now just starting to dig out from the wintry blast. Snow made a big mess in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Record- setting snow for this time of the year.
Pictures came in early this morning. These are cars and trucks that are stranded on the highways. You can see them spinning their wheels, you know, pretty much going nowhere fast.
A similar story, too, in Kansas City this morning.
Let's get right to Jonathan Freed. Oh, there he is.
Hey, Jonathan. Good morning.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Wasn't sure we had you there for a minute because of weather issues. Good morning.
FREED: I am here. We're absolutely here. And good morning to you.
You're right, and they are, as a matter of fact, digging out right now here in Kansas City. We got as much as 11 inches of snow just in the Kansas City area. And let me just step out of the way for you. You can see that there is an army of snow removal trucks working its way around here, and salt and sand trucks moving around town.
The interesting thing, I think, about this storm as it moved through here yesterday is that it was a very high energy, very intense storm, Soledad, and we had at one point three inches of snow falling per hour. Now, you can compare that to one inch an hour would be a pretty heavy snowfall, and usually it's one inch or less.
So we're talking three inches an hour, and within about a 50-mile radius or so around Kansas City, we were seeing snowfalls -- we had roughly a foot here at the high end, 14, 15 inches, and perhaps even more before this thing is done and they add it all up. But even some of the areas that had only, say, three or four inches, when the wind kicks in later today -- and it is expected to kick in -- and when the wind chill, when that happens, we're told, it could go down to minus two here.
So although the snow is over, they're going to be dealing with the cold, you could have some pretty significant drifts. Even if you didn't get a lot of snow in your area. So you sort of have to watch out for that -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Jonathan Freed for us this morning.
Thanks, Jonathan.
The storm's not through yet. Chad's going to be along in just a little bit and tell us where it's going next and what we can expect -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: This morning President Bush is back in Washington after that high-stakes summit with the Iraqi prime minister. Coming home to front-page headlines in the hometown paper, "The Washington Post," about the Iraq Study Group urging a troop pullout by 2008. But publicly, the president is showing no signs of wavering on his Iraq war policy, vowing to keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the job is done.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken in Washington with more.
Good morning, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And you remember when an overseas by the president would offer some relief from the problems at home? Well, not this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FRANKEN (voice over): The biggest reason for this trip was this president's biggest problem: the deteriorating situation in Iraq. But before President Bush could hold his first meeting with the U.S.- backed Iraqi prime minister, the meeting was canceled.
The prime minister canceled it. The same prime minister who had been roundly criticized in a classified memo written by the White House national security adviser and leaked the night before. The first order of business after they finally got together, gloss over the embarrassment.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The first thing that gives me confidence is that he wants responsibility. The sign of leadership is for somebody to say, I want to be abe able to have the tools necessary to protect my people.
FRANKEN: Those tools are U.S. forces, and the clamor to bring them home grows louder each day.
The Iraq Study Group of Washington wise people is set next week to recommend a plan for withdrawal, but with only conditional timetables. And the president makes it abundantly clear he will not accept rigid ones.
BUSH: I've been asked about timetables ever since we got into this. All timetables mean is that it -- it is a timetable for withdrawal. You kept asking me those questions. All that does is -- hold on a second. All that does is set people up for unrealistic expectations.
FRANKEN: Not the mood the president would like to be in as he returns to holidays at the White House.
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Well, welcome to the White House.
FRANKEN: The decorations are up, but it's not very festive in Washington these days.
L. BUSH: To the families of our troops and to our troops, I send my deepest respect. It's difficult, especially over the holidays.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And difficult, too, for her husband, Miles, who is getting growing pressure here in the United States to bring those troops home.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Kind of conflicting reports out there. Maybe this all will become clear once the report comes out. But "The Washington Post" this morning saying that the Iraq Study Group will recommend that combat troops be withdrawn from Iraq by 2008, leaving behind just a training force.
How does that jive with what you're hearing?
FRANKEN: Well, it jives -- if you really think about it, you have a bunch of news organizations, each trying to make out like it is coming up with something different. Everyone is saying the same thing, that the Iraq Study Group is going to say we want to withdraw the troops back to the United States, but no firm timetables.
You can dress it up any way you want. Each news organization, including us, by the way, is saying just that.
M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken in Washington.
Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: More of our special coverage of World AIDS Day. Meet some new soldiers in the fight, evangelicals now embracing AIDS as a cause, including Pastor Rick Warren, the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," and his wife Kay.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Pastor Rick Warren's message from his best-selling book and in sermons to the 20,000 people who attend his mega church, everyone has a purpose in life. It's a gift from god.
PASTOR RICK WARREN, AUTHOR, "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE": God blesses you to be a blessing to other people.
KAY WARREN, CHRISTIAN AIDS ACTIVIST: How can I pray for you?
S. O'BRIEN: Warren's wife Kay found her purpose four years ago.
K. WARREN: I was flipping through this magazine and there was an article on AIDS in Africa. And I didn't care. I didn't know. I thought it was a gay disease.
There was little box in the middle of the article that said 12 million children orphaned in Africa due to AIDS. And it just absolutely rocked my world to think that there could be 12 million children anywhere orphaned due to anything.
S. O'BRIEN: Those children are now Kay Warren's purpose. This pastor's wife is now an AIDS activist and world traveler.
In Mozambique she met a woman named Juanna (ph).
K. WARREN: She was literally under a giant tree, skeletal, emaciated. She was just this bag of bones.
S. O'BRIEN: Later, Rwanda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're now in Kibuye, and we're going to the district hospital.
K. WARREN: Hello. How are you? Nice to meet you.
S. O'BRIEN: Everywhere Kay goes she finds more children alone, left to raise themselves. K. WARREN: This is a picture of a little girl, a child head of household. Both of hers parents have died of AIDS and her 15-year-old brother is taking care of her.
S. O'BRIEN: In Uganda, orphans gave her drawings and letters.
K. WARREN: "I am 10 years old. I lost my parents' love when my father died, and now I am in a school for orphans."
S. O'BRIEN: Not long after joining the fight against AIDS, Kay waged her own battle, first against breast cancer, then against skin cancer.
K. WARREN: I know what it's like to be so sick you want to die, and it has -- it has increased my empathy and my ability to relate to people who are sick.
R. WARREN: Twenty-five years ago the first case of AIDS was detected.
S. O'BRIEN: Today the Warrens are hosting their second International AIDS Conference at the massive Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. More than 2,000 church leaders are attending.
R. WARREN: Three issues that caused evangelicals to come late to the -- to the issue. The first was we didn't realize how big it is -- big the issue was. Second, I think, as Kay pointed out, it involves sexuality, and a lot of people just are uncomfortable talking about heterosexuality or homosexuality. And third, I think that we've been too involved in other issues.
K. WARREN: We want to move past that, we want to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. We're sorry for that. Can we move forward?
S. O'BRIEN: Kay has apologized several times for the church's earlier attitudes about HIV and AIDS. The Warrens say they've permanently changed perceptions at their church and they're hoping to change perceptions at other churches around the world.
R. WARREN: I want the church to be known what it's for, not what it's against.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, exclusive interviews with former president Bill Clinton and Illinois senator Barack Obama on their efforts to make a difference on World AIDS Day.
And keep it tuned to CNN all day long for continuing coverage, special reports, World AIDS Day: "Stopping a Killer."
M. O'BRIEN: Also coming up, more on that nasty winter storm making its way across the country. Severe weather expert Chad Myers will stop by with the forecast.
And big brother's watching when you cross the border, but does the government's secret rating system for travelers cross the line?
That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Some of the top stories we're following for you this morning.
Pope Benedict XVI is heading home from Turkey. The pope at mass this morning asked for Muslims and Christians to live in freedom.
And tragedy in the Philippines. More than 400 people have been killed in a super typhoon that hit the country with 165-mile-an-hour winds.
Also new this morning, new information about how the government is keeping track of us. It turns out that federal agents are using software that gives people who are entering and leaving the United States a terror threat score. It's based on all kinds of things, including where the travelers are going, and also what kind of in- flight meal they've ordered as well.
They keep track of it for four years. Civil liberties groups say the system is alarmingly invasive.
M. O'BRIEN: Beware of those nefarious vegetarians. Boy, they'll -- they'll come get you.
All right. Chad Myers is here.
You know, I was watching Keith Oppenheim. I actually was worried about him in Chicago. As he's out there, the lightning, the thunder, the snow, and then all of a sudden the lights go out in the van. I hope he -- they've sought cover since then.
That's unusual, right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. It will happen maybe three times a year, a thunder snowstorm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, an update on the condition of that trainer hurt when a Shamu act went out of control. We'll also tell you what's happened with the whale.
Plus, a much happier animal tale for you. A little dog named Josie (ph) -- oh, is that a cute dog or what -- does her best impression of Lassie and saves a life in the process. You won't want to miss it.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Let's take a look at the grid, look at some of the feeds we are track for you this morning and all throughout the day here on CNN.
First of all, weather. Kansas City, getting out the heavy equipment there. If you have a bobcat and you want to make a few bucks in Kansas City, a good place to be as they clean up the mess there. They're on the back end of that storm.
Chicago is where we just saw Keith Oppenheim a little while ago. WLS with their tower cam.
Thank you, WLS, for bringing that in for us.
In the midst of Keith Oppenheim's report just a little while ago we saw thunder and lightning in the midst of that snowstorm. Chad says, oh, it happens all the time. It's just cloud to cloud. Not to worry.
Me, I'd be worrying out there attached to that truck with all that electronic gear and that big dish.
Incoming 17 and APTN, we're also tracking this morning what's going on in Lebanon. A huge Hezbollah rally.
Hezbollah, of course, offering strong condemnation of the U.S.- backed democracy there of Prime Minister Siniora. And there's some concern that the rally today, as Hezbollah comes out to express their support for some sort of change in the government there in Lebanon, that that could turn to violence.
We'll be tracking that very closely for you as well -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles. Thanks.
Happening "In America" this morning, in California, Ken Peters, that trainer who was attacked by a killer whale during the SeaWorld show, he's in the hospital but he's just nursing a broken foot. He's expected to be released today.
Meanwhile, the whale, Kasatka, 5,000-pound whale that attacked Peters, back in the show, but trainers are not going into the pool with her while she performs.
In Ohio, a freight train jumped off the tracks, demolished three cars that were waiting at a rail crossing. It happened near North Baltimore near Toledo. Three people in the cars were hurt, one is still in the hospital.
California investigators are trying to find out why a Marine F-18 fighter crashed near the Miramar Marine Base Airfield. The pilot ejected before the crash and he's OK. The crash set off a small brushfire. It burned about five acres.
In Massachusetts, take a look at this. This is little Josie (ph) the dog, hero dog, credited with barking and saving her 91-year-old owner's life.
It turns out the oil burner in her home in Braintree, Massachusetts, malfunctioned. It started spewing smoke, but the owner was sleeping. So Josie (ph) started barking, raised a little ruckus, woke up the owner, the owner got out of the house, and firefighters say if she had just stayed a couple more minutes it could have been a really tragic outcome.
So good for you, Josie (ph).
And this morning we're "Minding Your Business." Going to tell you -- take a look at whether high gas prices really have an impact on our driving habits or not.
Plus, we've got our exclusive interview with Senator Barack Obama and what he says is the most important thing he's done as a senator.
It's all part of our special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on World AIDS Day 2006, and it's straight ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: High gas prices cutting into how much we drive.
Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" with that.
Hello, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, gas will cost you as a national average for a gallon of unleaded self-serve $2.25 right now in the United States. But last year around the time that Hurricane Katrina hit, the average was $3.05. And in all of 2005 the average number of miles that the American driver drove decreased for the first time in 25 years.
So there's some evidence that high gas prices actually had an effect.
Now, we were talking to people all of last year about the fact that $3 a gallon in United States -- obviously in Europe they've been paying more than that. But in the United States, $3 a gallon is kind of a psychological number, beyond which people will start to make different decisions about the way they drive. They'll either carpool or take the subway or do other things -- or buy a car that's more fuel-efficient.
The numbers out for 2005 were that the average American drove 13,657 miles. Now, it's not much of a decrease compared to 2004. It's only 54 miles less in the average year, and that could be due to other factors. But there's some correlation between the fact that when gas prices are as high as they are, people do make other choices about driving.
We're now look at gas prices on an average in 2005 that are lower than they were in 2006, even though it may not feel that way. But we have seen that as prices have come down, Miles, people are starting to drive a little more. They're buying a few more of those SUVs. The other thing I want to tell you about along with the price of gas is the CEO of ExxonMobil, the biggest publicly-traded company in the world, was commenting to a crowd of reporters in Boston about he's very concerned that the Democrats and their saber rattling about reducing tax breaks for oil companies is going to have an effect on oil exploration around the world. It's bad news and he thinks they shouldn't do it.
He sort of fired that shot across the bow to the Democrats to say, don't do the things you've threatened to do -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Ali. Thank you very much.
VELSHI: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
M. O'BRIEN: Whiteout. A major blast of snow and freezing rain cancels hundreds of flights and closes schools and roads from Texas to Michigan.
We're live all along the storm front.
End date in Iraq. New information from the Iraqi Study Group about exactly when U.S. troops should come home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Twenty-five years later, the AIDS virus unrelenting in its grip on the world. Twenty-five millions lives already lost, 39.5 million people infected right now. AIDS is one of this century's biggest challenges, and this morning the fight is renewed.
We're searching for a cure and telling stories of hope on this World AIDS Day 2006.
A special edition of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: And welcome back, everybody. It's Friday, December 1st.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
The first major snowstorm of the season causing havoc all throughout the Midwest. Much more on that in a moment.
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