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American Morning

Indian Police Release Sketches of Suspicious Men Who Exited Train Shortly Before Bomb Blasts Killed 68 People

Aired February 20, 2007 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Let the good times roll. Today is Mardi Gras, day of parties, on the long road back. We're live from New Orleans, and New York, and Oregon on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back everybody. It's Tuesday, February 20th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien. Thanks very much for joining us. Always appreciate you being with us.

O'BRIEN: We begin with JetBlue this morning, trying to come back, planning to resume, in fact, a full flight schedule today. Some new pictures from the ticket counter at JFK Airport this morning. See, it's kind of busy there.

The airline is also rolling out a PR campaign. They're trying to win some of those angry passengers back. So what should you know when you book that cheap flight on a discount airline? Greg Hunter is live for us this morning at New York's JFK Airport.

Good morning to you, Greg. Looks like it's moving along this morning.

GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is moving along. The good news is all hands are on deck. Every position -- window position is open. They have agents at all gates. They're expecting no delays. Hundreds of people have gone through in the last hour, hour and a half since I have been here, and they're going through pretty fast.

Now, one of the things that really struck me as funny, is I thought there would be more angry people, and I thought there wouldn't be as many people flying. But JetBlue told me that, A, people are pretty happy and that the flights are pretty full. Here is what one woman told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA CLADERONE, JETBLUE PASSENGER: They were very cooperative. JetBlue has been very cooperative. I called them several times. There wasn't any problems. We had a problem getting the boarding pass on- line, and the lady was very helpful. And I got the boarding pass on- line, so we're good to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTER: I talked it other people who have been canceled three times in the last few days -- one lady. I talked to some other people that have been canceled maybe one time, but they all said this when they came through. They love the airline. They're going to fly'em.

Although, one guy told me when I said, hey, what happened if they screw up again? He said I'll never fly them again. So far the passengers seem pretty happy and really loyal -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: They'll need that loyalty if they can see it through the airline's big problems of late. All right, Greg Hunter for us this morning. Thank you, Greg.

We'll be talking with JetBlue's CEO David Neeleman. And coming up in our next hour we're going to ask him just what went wrong. We'll hear about their new passenger bill of rights. And see if, in fact, all those angry travelers are going to be willing to get back on board -- John.

ROBERTS: Now to the dramatic rescue on Oregon's Mt. Hood. Three climbers, two women, and a man, and their dog, a black Lab named Velvet, all checking out OK this morning. We're learning just how they all survived on the frozen mountain. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is live from Mt. Hood this morning, and he joins us now live.

Chris, how is everybody doing?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, they're just fine. And rescuers say they have two reasons for that. One is the warmth they got from huddling with their pet dog, Velvet. And, two, is a tiny radio transmitter that alerted rescuers of where to find them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice over): They fell off a ledge and slid hundreds of feet from the rest of the team. But rescue crews saved three climbers, and their dog after a day and night in the bitter cold and biting wind. Attached by a rope, Trevor Liston says the lead climber's fall almost took out the whole team.

TREVOR LISTON, RESCUED CLIMBER: He went off first. And then, you know, as I was trying to stop him, you know, the momentum just kind of gets picked up with each person, that gets pulled over right behind him. So, it was kind of one, two, three. And then a climber behind me, saw what was happening, caught up to me, tackled me and stopped me. And that's when the rope got pulled off.

LAWRENCE: The mixed lab, Velvet, went over the side with them.

LISTON: She's got the whole Husky kind of coat, and she's a trooper.

LAWRENCE: The climbers had an electronic locator which allowed rescuers to quickly pinpoint their signal.

LT. NICK WATT, CLACKAMAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: And that's why it's a rescue, instead of a recovery.

LAWRENCE: Three climbers disappeared on this same mountain in December. One died of hypothermia. The other two bodies were never found. They didn't have an electronic locator, and no state requires them. But some Oregon legislators are threatening to make them mandatory. Climbers are promising to fight it.

MIKE OCHSNER, ASSISTED IN RESCUE: One of the reasons that people climb is to -- for the freedom that it allows. And we don't think there should be that many rules about it.

LAWRENCE (On camera): But isn't just taking a mountain locator a very small inconvenience when you weigh it against the costs and the risk of trying to rescue people on the mountain, not knowing where they are?

OCHSNER: It is. And I would recommend that people use them, but I don't think it should be required.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Yeah, the climbers will argue that if all the search and rescue missions that take place here on Mt. Hood, only a very small percentage actually involve climbers. They also say that many of the rescuers that are involved in these efforts are volunteers.

Now, opponents will say that is true, but some of these rescue operations can soar into the millions of dollars, and ultimately it's public agencies like the sheriff's department that end up having to foot the bill -- John.

ROBERTS: Yeah, and it's the taxpayers who foot the bill for the sheriff's department.

Chris, a question that a lot of people keep asking is what is the allure of climbing Mt. Hood in the dead of winter?

LAWRENCE: It's the challenge. This is an extreme sport. And people say it's that adrenaline rush, that risk. The same way that people go skydiving, or people do other sports that some people would consider extreme. But it's that thrill of the adventure that gets people up on this mountain.

ROBERTS: All right. Chris Lawrence for us live from Mt. Hood. Chris, thanks very much. We'll check back with you a little later on.

In just a few minutes we'll talk with a member of Portland Mountain Rescue. He was one of four people who found the stranded climbers and helped bring them down from Mt. Hood -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Police in India are now looking for two men who may have jumped off that passenger train in India just before it blew up; 68 people were killed, dozens more people were hurt. Two bombs packed inside suitcases exploded inside of two train cars. CNN's Satinder Bindra is live for us, by phone. He is in New Delhi, India this morning. What do we know, Satinder, about these two suspects?

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, what we know about these two suspects is they got onto the train from New Delhi. This train was bound from New Delhi towards the Pakistani border. And a short while into the train journey both these men entered into an argument with railway police saying they got to the wrong train. They now wanted to get off.

They actually -- when the train slowed down, both these men jumped off, and 15 minutes later there were two bomb blasts. Police say these were sophisticated bomb blasts. They were caused by digital timers. And shortly after these blasts there was a fire in two of the rail coaches; 68 people were killed.

Many of the people were asleep. They just didn't have any chance. They couldn't get out of the coaches fast enough.

They also, Soledad, police are offering a reward. They're offering $2,300 for any clues that could lead to a possible arrest. Also, many people were injured in these two blasts, and police have been talking to survivors. In particular, one of them, Rhana Shulkatalli (ph), he is a Pakistani national. He was on board the train with his family. He lost five of his children.

Now, according to his relatives, Rhana Shulkatalli (ph), when he talked to the police, he gave them some vital clues. Also today, a very significant development. The Pakistani foreign minister, Mr. Kasuri, is visiting New Delhi. And both India and Pakistan say they won't let this latest terrorist incident hamper their ongoing peace process. Both sides, they say, are committed to pushing this peace process forward. Back to you.

O'BRIEN: Satinder Bindra for us this morning, from New Delhi, by phone. Thanks, Satinder.

John.

ROBERTS: Also happening this morning, as if the citizens of Baghdad don't have enough to deal with. More than -- more than 100 people are in the hospital in Baghdad this morning. Many of them children complaining of breathing problems. It happened after a fuel tanker exploded just north of the city. At least six people were killed in the blast.

A remote area of western Afghanistan now back in the hands of Afghan security forces. The town of Bakwa is near the hub of Afghanistan's opium and heroin industry. It had fallen into Taliban hands. It took about 200 Afghan police and NATO forces to get it back. At least two cities have been taken by the Taliban in the past month.

Until we meet again. Talks between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up in Jerusalem with no new agreement, but with a promise to talk more in the future. Vice President Cheney is in Japan to talk security with Emperor Akihito and the prime minister Shinzu Abe. Cheney will also speak with troops aboard the Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk, but he won't be meeting with Japan's outspoken Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma, who recently said the U.S. invasion of Iraq was, quote, "a mistake".

Closing arguments begin today in the perjury trial of Lewis Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney's former aide is accused of lying in the investigation of who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the press -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Mardi Gras today, bringing bigger crowds and more business to New Orleans this year. It's a day of revelry on the city's very long road to recovery. AMERICAN MORNING's Sean Callebs is in the middle of it all, for us, in the Big Easy today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bourbon Street is once again packed, and it means that Mardi Gras has come to the Big Easy.

It's a big celebration and a big economic windfall at a time when the city could use both. The city's 30,000 hotel rooms are filled at the 90 percent occupancy rate according to the Tourism Board here. And while it's all about the beads and boas for the tourists, it's all about money for the city.

The big parades that wind their way through the city, characterized by the outlandish floats, and various celebrities, it's been a 10-day or so party here. But there's also been a very sobering aspect to Mardi Gras this year.

The recent spate of violence that has plagued the city, the killings and the violent crime. Police are out in force doing everything they can to keep that under control, and for the 700,000, so, people expected to attend Mardi Gras, it doesn't seem to bother them at this point. Sean Callebs, CNN, in New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: In our next hour, we'll take a look at Mardi Gras through the eyes of some of the young people who survived the storm. It's part of our special series "Children Of The Storm" -- John.

ROBERTS: Coming up, the Northeast is thawing out today. Temperatures will be in the 40s in New York City, but another major winter storm could be on the horizon for the weekend. Chad Myers is going to join us.

And a happy ending on Mt. Hood. We'll talk with one of the crew who helped bring home three climbers, and a black lab named Velvet.

Plus, a look at how Republicans will try to win over the religious right. There are a lot of them, and it could be the key to presidential victory. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

In Iraq at least six people killed in a fuel truck explosion. It happened north of Baghdad this morning. The blast spewed toxic fumes into the air.

A tsunami warning in eastern Indonesia, to tell you about after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake happened out at sea overnight. Coming up at quarter past the hour now.

Let's go right to Chad Myers who is watching some of the severe weather for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Just outside of Denver, rock slides are proving to be a deadly road hazard. An SUV was severely damaged on Monday after a boulder about the size of a beach ball crashed through the roof. The driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The incident came a day after another rock slide killed a baby boy who was riding in a car with his parents.

Now, more on that dramatic rescue on Oregon's Mt. Hood. Three climbers and their dog are now safe thanks to the efforts of a rescue team that braved ferocious winds and heavy snow to get to them. Joining us now live from Portland is one of those rescuers, Bob Alexander, of Portland Mountain Rescue.

Bob, we followed this story very closely yesterday. You were up there on the mountain. You, as I understand it, were one of four people who found the three that have been stranded on the mountain. Describe the scene for us. How difficult was this rescue?

BOB ALEXANDER, PORTLAND MOUNTAIN RESCUE: It was not as difficult as many because we actually had an idea where they were, because they had a mountain locator unit on. And it was a matter of just following that signal. In not a direct fashion, but following the signal to their location.

ROBERTS: Just in terms of the conditions, blizzard conditions, whiteout conditions, cold temperatures. How difficult was it for you all?

ALEXANDER: It wasn't pleasant. There was certainly the high winds, visibility was really poor. We had to put in a line of wands to follow on the way back out. Yeah, it was not a nice day on the mountain.

ROBERTS: One of the three climbers, a woman, still in the hospital apparently with a head injury. Any idea how she's doing this morning? How was she when you walked her down the mountain?

ALEXANDER: She seemed pretty good. Apparently the day before she was a little bit confused, a little dazed, but apart from her injury, which was her -- one of her eyes was swollen shut, she had to sort of move one-eyed down the mountain.

ROBERTS: Right. Oh, that must be difficult. We heard the story told by some of the climbers who came down, I guess, late Sunday, early Monday that they were trying to summit on Sunday. They wanted to be up there by Sunday evening. Suddenly bad weather moved in. Trevor Liston, who was one of the climbers, describes the way back down like this. Take a quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISTON: Just, you know, yelling at me through the snow, and ended up I couldn't see him. We could still hear each other. Keep going, keep going. I couldn't feel the slack on the rope, and I knew he was climbing back up. Brought him back up and he couldn't see her or hear anything. So, at that point we knew it was over our head and that it was time to call for help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So Trevor Liston, there, describing the point where three people went over the ledge. It sounded like they were lead climbers, just made a wrong turn. Is Mt. Hood the sort of mountain that can be complacent one moment, and then treacherous the next?

ALEXANDER: Absolutely. The location where they fell was actually at the top of one of the ski runs. It's not operated much in the winter, but it can definitely do that.

ROBERTS: There are several Oregon lawmakers who want to push for legislation to require for anybody going up above 10,000 feet to wear these mountain locator units. Should there be restrictions on people climbing on the mountain? You get these hard-core mountaineers who say, it's part of the challenge to be up there without any kind of rescue equipment. Does that sound reasonable to you?

ALEXANDER: I don't think it's appropriate in all circumstances. It certainly is a nice thing that Mt. Hood has to offer. That mountain locator unit is specific to Mt. Hood. It was very helpful in this case.

ROBERTS: Bob, one more question for you. What was the dog doing there? Do many people go climbing in the middle of winter with their dogs?

ALEXANDER: People do all sorts of activities with their pets. I'm just not -- I think it probably depends on the animal. The dog was very well-behaved, under control, and, I'm sure, it was kind of nice to have its hot body to pass around.

ROBERTS: In the end the dog may have been part of the reason why those people survived.

Bob Alexander, Portland Mountain Rescue, thanks for being with us this morning. Good work that you do, and congratulation on saving those three people.

ALEXANDER: You're welcome.

ROBERTS: Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning we're going to take a look at the names and faces of the next generation of black leaders, tell you where they're coming from.

Plus, we'll take a look at JetBlue and their recent problems. "Minding Your Business" on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The most news in the morning here on CNN.

Iran expected to ignore tomorrow's United Nation's deadline to stop enriching uranium. Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for nuclear power plants and to make nuclear weapons.

Authorities in India, out with new sketches of the two suspects linked to that train bombing that killed 68 people north of New Delhi.

O'BRIEN: This morning, we're getting a closer look at just what we've learned from 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. And maybe more importantly, what we have not learned. It's all part of a special, "Anderson Cooper 360" special called "Edge of Disaster." David Mattingly is a reporter, he joins us live from CNN Center in Atlanta.

Good morning, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. We're essentially taking a look, a hard look, at some disasters that haven't happened -- yet.

These are the catastrophes that public officials and experts say they fear most. They want to know why we're not moving more quickly to do something about them. One of these what-if scenarios we look at takes place in the city of Philadelphia. It involves terrorists, a refinery and a baseball game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice over): This is the scenario. A summer afternoon in Philadelphia. The parking lot still filling up with fans streaming into the stadium for a Phillies home game. The beer cold. The air warm. The ballpark fills with anticipation as the players take the field.

(On camera): But as the first pitch rockets to home plate, none of the 45,000 inside has any idea of the terrible turn their lives are about to take. That's because terrorists, not far away, are moving forward on a plot to turn this stadium into both a spectacular political statement, and a mass grave.

(Voice over): It took years of planning to get to this point. The radicals have been quietly and legally acquiring licenses and jobs that give them the means to launch an act of terror so horrifying it could be worse than the attacks of 9/11.

And this is how it begins. As two trucks wind their way through the streets of south Philly, but strangely, their destination isn't the stadium. It's the sprawling oil refinery just two miles away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: What follows is a tremendous loss of life, bigger than what we saw on 9/11, but as we will learn tonight, these disasters are not only plausible, and predictable, but they are somewhat preventable -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: That's some scary stuff. David Mattingly for us this morning. You can see much more of David's report on "AC 360". That's tonight, 10 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. Thanks, David.

John.

ROBERTS: We've been talking all morning about JetBlue's plans for a full flight schedule today; first time in almost a week. Now we're looking at JetBlue's bottom line. It's 25 after the hour now. Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business".

Good morning, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, folks.

You know this has been a massive deal for JetBlue. If you were affected by this, you know about, it but more than 1,000 flights have been canceled since last Wednesday when the bad weather hit, and JetBlue wasn't in position to deal with it properly.

Now, there are a few things at play here. One of them was JetBlue didn't have an ability to transfer passengers to other planes, didn't have an ability, or willingness to cancel flights like some of the bigger, older airlines typically do ahead of time. So passengers ended up stranded on planes and then they were stranded for so long that when they could leave, the crew wasn't legally allowed work, because they had maximums they could work.

So, JetBlue now needs to do something to change this. They're going to implement some strategies that will allow them to react better when they know trouble is coming. For instance, when they know weather is coming, they can pre-cancel flights. They don't like doing that, believing that passengers want to get to their destination. But they're going to have to in this case.

They'll also find a way to communicate with their flight crews on the ground to find out what their availability and location is, so they can immediately switch crews out when they get into trouble. They're going to train more emergency staff at airports to deal with situations like the one they faced last week.

Now, the financial impact on the company in the last two years JetBlue has seen small losses because of its expansion. David Neeleman, the CEO of JetBlue, who will be on the show in an hour, is going to -- has already said that this is going to have a greater impact on that. They will expect a loss for the first quarter. They were already expecting one for the first quarter. That's going to be more of an issue now that this has occurred. Hopefully JetBlue will be on a full schedule, folks.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, that's what they're saying. We'll see if it happens. Thanks, Ali.

VELSHI: Yes, OK.

O'BRIEN: We'll be talking with JetBlue's CEO In our 8 o'clock hour. And we have some other top stories in the morning, coming up next. A harsh assessment from Senator John McCain about the former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We'll tell you what he said.

Plus, some new guidelines for the female heart, and a new warning that affects almost every woman. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with some of the details.

Plus, an update on this little girl. She was born one of the tiniest babies ever. Look how she's grown. We'll tell you how she's doing straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Beating the blues. A new attempt by JetBlue today to get its image off the ground after nearly a week of canceled flights and angry passengers.

ROBERTS: A climber's best friend. The black Lab named Velvet who kept three rescued climbers alive ...

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Into the blue (ph). The new attempt by JetBlue today to get its image off the ground after nearly a week of canceled flights and angry passengers.

JOHN ROBERTS, CO-HOST: A climber's best friend. The black lab named Velvet who kept three rescued climbers alive on Mt. Hood.

O'BRIEN: And heart health. An urgent new warning about heart disease for women of all ages on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back, everybody. Tuesday, February 20. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien for the first part of this week. Thanks very much for joining us.

O'BRIEN: Here's what's happening this morning.

JetBlue is promising to put its full schedule of planes into the sky today without any delays or cancellations. JetBlue also unveiling a new passenger bill of rights that pays customers back when their service tanks. We're going to talk this morning to JetBlue's CEO about the new plan. That's coming up in our next half hour.

The United Nations' top nuclear watchdog expects Iran to ignore tomorrow's deadline for ending its uranium enrichment program. Mohammed ElBaradei tells the "Financial Times" that Iran could enrich enough uranium for a nuclear bomb within six months. Now, knowing how to put that bomb together, though, could take Iran another five years.

New details out this morning on a raid in Afghanistan. An Afghan and NATO force is cornering a small Taliban militia in the northern part of the country. After the rebels ran into a cave, a fighter jet dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on that cave. It's assumed that everybody inside was killed.

In Washington today, it's back to work in the CIA leak trial. Lawyers begin their closing arguments in the Scooter Libby perjury case. Libby is accused of lying to investigators who were trying to figure out just who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the press -- John.

ROBERTS: This morning they're celebrating in Oregon's Mt. Hood. Three climbers, two women and a man, are off the mountain today, crediting their black Lab named Velvet for helping to keep them alive while they awaited rescue.

AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is live from Mt. Hood for us this morning.

Chris, we've reported on searches on Mt. Hood recently. You covered that one back in December. What made this one a rescue instead of a recovery?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, there's always a question: why did this group of three climbers survive and that group in December, another three climbers, not survive?

There were several differences in their situations, though. One was that the group in December was on the north side of the mountain. It's a more treacherous side of the mountain. This group was on the south side.

It's hard to believe with the weather the way it is now, but that weather in December, rescuers say, was much, much worse than it was now.

This group also had Velvet. The rescuers say the dog with its big, heavy coat provided them a lot of warmth in that night they had to stay up there. But ultimately, the one thing that it really came down to, this group had this electronic transmitter that let rescuers know exactly where they were.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB ALEXANDER, PORTLAND MOUNTAIN RESCUE: It was not as difficult as many because we actually had an idea where they were, because they had a mountain locator unit on, and it was a matter of just following that signal in not a direct fashion, but following the signal to their location.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: To give you an idea how important that was, they also had cell phones, and they were also trying to ping their cell phone signal. Well, the cell phone signals put them at about a 5,400 feet elevation. They were actually 2,000 feet above that, so if they were looking for their cell phone signal, they would have been looking in a completely wrong place, John.

ROBERTS: Chris, we're hearing this morning a bit more about their ordeal. It appears as though they slid some 500 feet down the mountain. We were talking with Bob Alexander from Portland Mountain Rescue a few minutes ago. He said that one of the women had not severe head injuries, but she was certainly banged up. How is everybody doing this morning?

LAWRENCE: Yes, one woman was taken to the hospital. She had some, you know, slightly -- a head injury, but, again, she was able to walk down that mountain under her own power, and they took her to the hospital as a precaution.

The dog, Velvet, had some cuts due to the exposure to the cold, but they said, you know, ultimately the dog is going to be OK.

All in all, for what they went through and having spent the night out here in this kind of weather, they're all in pretty good shape.

ROBERTS: If only dogs could talk, huh, Chris? I'd like to hear that story.

LAWRENCE: Yes, love to get that interview.

ROBERTS: Thanks very much, Chris. Appreciate it -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A roundup now in the race for 2008.

Barack Obama goes Hollywood today. He's appearing at a Raleigh -- rally in Los Angeles this afternoon, following that up with a high- profile fundraiser in Beverly Hills. It's going to be hosted by Steven Spielberg and his Dreamworks partner, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Hillary Clinton is on a southern sweep. She's heading for Miami today. Also denying the accusations that her campaign traded a $10,000 contract with an influential black politician in South Carolina in exchange for his support. His name is Senator Darrell Jackson, and he endorsed Hillary Clinton last weekend and later made that deal public.

Republican contender John McCain is making headlines today with some harsh words for the former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. Here's what he's saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Hmm. He was praising him not long ago. McCain says the former defense secretary never put enough troops on the ground in Iraq. McCain says the U.S. can succeed in Iraq with plans to send more troops in -- John.

MCCAIN: Republican presidential hopefuls have been courting religious broadcasters in Florida for the past few days. Rudy Giuliani has been in the GOP presidential race, but his major hurdle will likely be his party's conservatives.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley takes a look now at winning over the religious right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not doing a press availability today, but I'm just happy to see other folks who are people of faith.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you want to be the Republican nominee for president, a convention of religious broadcasters is close to must-do politics.

MCCAIN: I respect the work of the religious broadcasters, and I was glad to have the opportunity to meet with them.

CROWLEY: In the 2000 election season 16 percent of New Hampshire Republican primary voters identified themselves as part of the Christian conservative political movement. A third of South Carolina's Republican primary vote was conservative Christian, and more than a third of caucus goers in Iowa said they were part of the religious right.

SUZANNE TABOR, CO-FOUNDER OF "REVIVAL": I think the Christian conservatives are a force to be reckoned with and could put anyone in office they wanted if they would get out and vote.

CROWLEY: You hear the echo of their influence down the campaign trail. It is in the announcement speech of Mitt Romney. ROMNEY: I believe in God, and I believe that every person in this great country and every person on this great planet is a child of God.

MCCAIN: One, two, three.

CROWLEY: It is in John McCain's journey through the town halls of South Carolina.

MCCAIN: I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.

CROWLEY: It is even in the interviews of the pro-gay rights, pro-abortion rights Rudy Giuliani.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Abortion is something I oppose, I don't like on a personal basis.

CROWLEY: It is not enough. For Giuliani, this is a courtship over before it begins.

CHARLES CHRISMIER, RADIO HOST, "VIEWPOINT": I find it difficult to put him in the Republican camp.

REV. ROB SCHENCK, FAITH AND ACTION: He will never be able to connect with our core values. I think he's got to look elsewhere for his support.

CROWLEY: The ex-mayor of New York was looking elsewhere over the weekend.

Any casual conversation reveals when it comes to other candidates polling in the top tier, conservative Christians are not happy campers. They are suspicious of Arizona Senator John McCain, who once called the reverends Falwell and Robinson "agents of intolerance." Preparing for the 2008 cycle he tried to make amends.

PATRICK MAHONEY, CHRISTIAN DEFENSE COALITION: I think Senator McCain has a long way to go in rebuilding a bridge to the faith community.

CROWLEY: And conservative Christians are questioning a former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, who has, since beginning to think about running for president, changed positions on abortion and gay rights.

BRAD MATTES, TV HOST, "FACING LIFE HEAD-ON": If that conversion is genuine, yes, then he would have our support.

CROWLEY: They have heard words before, and they have been disappointed.

JIM WEST, PRESIDENT, FAITH TV: We have to look at their stand on the issues not only today, but yesterday and ten years ago, and whether they are pandering to the crowd.

CROWLEY: This is a necessary but uneasy courtship. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we've heard from the legends of black leadership, but who is ready to take the mantle now? The new names and faces of the next generation in our network-wide series "Uncovering America".

And an aspirin a day could be new words to live by for all women? We'll tell you what doctors are saying.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The most news in the morning is here on CNN. JetBlue promising to fly 100 percent today after nearly a week of grounded flights. We'll talk with JetBlue's CEO coming up.

Plus, Indian authorities are out this morning with sketches of two men suspected in that train bombing that killed 68 people -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: The American Heart Association has kind of a startling headline, a warning out this morning. They say that nearly every woman in this country is at risk for heart disease and stroke and that women need to take action now to prevent it.

Let's get right to chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's in Atlanta for us this morning.

Hey, Sanjay, good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Yes, I found those numbers sort of startling, as well. Only about 10 percent of women, they say, are optimized in terms of their risk for heart disease. Meaning 90 percent have some degree of heart -- heart risk factors right now.

Also, interestingly, they also went on to say that 40 percent of first heart attacks in women are fatal. So the first time a woman has a heart attack, 40 percent of the time it's going to be fatal. These are some remarkable things.

What's most striking, I think, Soledad, is that most people, including a lot of physicians, don't know that heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of women. We talk about men a lot, but women, as well.

In 2004, there was some guidelines that were proposed specifically to address heart risk in women, and now those guidelines have been upped to women, as well, talking about a lifetime risk of heart disease for women. If you're looking at 90 percent, you have to talk about all women across the board 20 years and older.

Some of the biggest changes, one was regarding aspirin. We talk a lot about aspirin in terms of how it can be protective. Now the specific guidelines saying all women, regardless of how healthy you are, regardless of any other problems, age 65 and older should be taking aspirin up to 325 milligrams a day. So that's a big change.

Also, for healthy women under the age of 65, they can also be taking aspirin if they're at risk for having a stroke. So if they have stroke history or something in their family, that's a consideration.

Exercise, we go back and forth on this. And admittedly, it is confusing in terms of how much people should exercise. If you're a woman who's trying to lose weight or keep weigh off, 60 to 90 minutes the new guidelines. If you have an optimal weight, 30 minutes a day, as well.

Supplements, this is something people are going to find very interesting, I think. Again, with the Omega-3 fatty acids, talking about fish, you know, the oily fish, the fatty fish or the supplements, they're saying at least twice a week. That's important.

But when it comes to folic acid and antioxidants, a review of all the literature says really no benefit for most women. Of course, if you're pregnant, you should take folic acid, but if you're taking it to prevent heart disease, you're probably not going to get a good benefit there.

So some specific recommendations coming out regarding women and heart disease, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A quick two-part question for you, Sanjay. First of all, why are women at such -- I mean, across the board at such high risk? Is it just because we have more stress than men and, if I have such a high potential risk, what should I be doing about it?

GUPTA: Well, I think there's a couple of different reasons. Stress might be a part of this, although that's still a subjective sort of reason. People haven't really been able to pinpoint some of the correlations between stress and some of the other risk factors.

Quite honestly, I think from talking to doctors at More Moska (ph), who's a preventative cardiologist, they'll say that we just haven't focused enough on women yet. So when a woman comes in with chest pain or some early signs of heart disease, it still may be chalked up to something like indigestion.

And you think about family history, you always think about the affect that a father has on hits son as opposed to the affect that he may have on his daughter, as well. So that's one factor.

But also just having any risk factor. One risk factor could certainly put you at increased risk. Higher risk if you have heart disease in the past and/or diabetes, but still at risk if you have smoke, poor diet, obesity, family history, including your father or premature cardiovascular disease.

If you have absolutely no risk factors and have a completely healthy lifestyle, then you fall into that 10 percent, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta with some scary, scary news. I've got to tell you, I'll start looking at that aspirin stuff.

GUPTA: It's reversible, so yes, do something about it.

O'BRIEN: Right. Maybe that's the most important part. Thanks, Sanjay. Appreciate it.

GUPTA: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: John.

ROBERTS: Coming up at 46 minutes after the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center, and we've got some relief in some parts of the country today, but looking forward to a messy weekend in others, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Chad, thanks much.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

ROBERTS: Coming up, a look at the next generation of black leaders in America. Some important names that you should know if you don't already.

Plus, JetBlue makes a bold new move to win back passengers, but there are some things that you should think about before you buy a ticket. A live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: This week on CNN we're uncovering America. We're taking a look at faces and names and stories that are changing our country.

On Monday we asked the provocative question, do Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson speak for all African-Americans? Today a new question. Who's going to lead the next generation?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The audacity of hope.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): He is audacious. After just two years in the Senate, Barack Obama is setting his sights on a higher office. That has many in America asking whether he could be the nation's first black president.

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: Barack Obama knows he's a black person in America. He's clear about that. But he knows how to use the language in such a fashion to not make people feel whiter or more guilty.

O'BRIEN: Other black political up-and-comers you may not have heard of, Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, Congresswoman Yvette Clark in New York, mayors Cory Booker in Newark, New Jersey, Adrian Fenty in Washington, D.C., Byron Brown in Buffalo, New York, and Kwame Kilpatrick in Detroit.

They're taking advantage of the gains made by the civil rights movement. In addition to marching, leading sit-ins or coming to power via the pulpit...

REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I will not rest.

O'BRIEN: ... they're graduating from Ivy League schools, using those law degrees and MBAs to make a difference.

(on camera) You went to Stanford, right, and then Yale Law School. You're a Rhodes scholar. Am I right about that? So people are saying why are you not running some hedge fund making goo-gobs of money?

MAYOR CORY BOOKER, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Well, two answer to that. One is it's not my passion. The other reason is, it's because I think we need people everywhere. We do. It's great. I'm very happy for all my friends on Wall Street.

O'BRIEN: Because they can write checks to your campaign.

BOOKER: They can make campaign contributions, because it comes in very handy, frankly. But the reality is, is that's just not where I believe the most important fight is for me.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Ironically, some of the people these black candidates have the hardest time reaching are black voters. A recent "Washington Post"/ABC News poll showed that three times as many black voters support Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama.

Recent headlines question whether Obama can appeal to African- Americans, some who think his experience is too far removed from their own.

Cory Booker faced the same problem when he ran against long-time Newark Mayor Sharpe James. His opponent said he was elitist, out of touch with the city's black residents. In the end Sharpe James dropped out, and Booker won with 72 percent of the vote.

BOOKER: I have seen black jerk politicians who have done bad things to their black community, and I've seen white communities that represent blacks nobly and their interests more so than blacks have themselves.

O'BRIEN: What about black women in leadership? Their numbers in the political ranks are few but growing.

REP. CAROLYN KILPATRICK (D), MICHIGAN: We've got an awesome responsibility ahead of us.

GUPTA: Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick of Michigan is the head of one of the largest contingents of black lawmakers in the history of Congress.

KILPATRICK: We're there. You don't have to look so far. We're here in the Congress. There are state legislatures as well as city councils and local government who have leaders of color, African- Americans, Asian-Americans, Latino-Americans.

O'BRIEN: Reverend Al Sharpton says he's excited about the next generation of activists and leaders and politicians, but even this veteran of numerous political campaigns won't say who he thinks will be the next big name in black political leadership.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: One thing I learned, though, is that none of the so-called leaders can pick who replaces them. The times and the talent and the commitment determines that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Tomorrow morning, new ideas for some old problems of poverty and opportunity in America's cities. We're going to talk with a woman who's leading the charge for real growth and true wealth in all neighborhoods. That's tomorrow -- John.

ROBERTS: Coming up, one-on-one with the CEO of JetBlue. We will ask why things went so wrong last week and how JetBlue can prevent it from happening again.

Plus, a happy ending on snowy Mt. Hood. Three climbers rescued, but is it high time to stop all of those risky climbs? A live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Fifty-eight minutes after the hour. After splitting with YouTube, Viacom is finding a new on-line partner, but, first of all, some breaking news on Home Depot. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Morning, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, John.

Big business news day today. We already heard from Wal-Mart about its earnings. They're up.

Home Depot's earnings are down, a 28 percent drop in fourth quarter earnings last year. Basically because house prices have moderated, and people don't have that extra space in their house to take out money to renovate, and that's affecting sales at Home Depot.

Also, a lot of scrutiny on Home Depot because people have been looking at the departure package, the pay package of outgoing CEO -- or the CEO who's left, Bob Nardelli. Another deal with Viacom, which is interesting. Viacom has licensed its material to an Internet web site called Juiced. Now, Juiced is basically like YouTube without all the silly home videos. It's a web site for distribution of commercial content.

You remember a couple of weeks ago Viacom ordered Google's YouTube to take all of Viacom's content off of YouTube because YouTube doesn't seem to be able to respect or moderate the copyright laws that govern the material that the big media networks have on YouTube.

So now YouTube will -- Juice will be able to air content from MTV, Comedy Central, Spike, and Paramount Studios as licensed content.

The other media companies have been agitating about trying to get YouTube either to recognize and honor its copyrights or even form their own company to compete with YouTube.

This is a developing story. YouTube, of course, was sold to Google for $1.6 billion last year, but if it can't get this content that makes money out onto the Internet, it's going to run into some problems. We'll continue to follow that story closely -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Ali, thank you very much. We're watching that.

Coming up at the top of the hour, Chad Myers is at the CNN weather center, watching the big weather story this morning. Good morning.

MYERS: I'm calling this Wash Your Hands Tuesday. Flu season in full bloom, guys, now. Haven't seen this many states in red across the country since we started this flu season. And obviously, now it's in full bloom.

The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

O'BRIEN: New promises today from JetBlue after those disastrous flight delays that enraged passengers. JetBlue CEO answers your questions in our studio.

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