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American Morning

Pet Food Recall: List Keeps Growing; FBI Agent Killed: Manhunt for Robbery Suspect; British Sailors' Saga

Aired April 06, 2007 - 07:59   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The recall grows again. New pet food and pet treat warnings, and new accusations. Was profit put ahead of safety?
We'll ask the Food & Drug Administration's chief vet.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And they are on a manhunt this morning. Hundreds of police and agents looking for this suspected bank robber right now in a wooded area in New Jersey. An FBI agent dead.

O'BRIEN: Plus, a dramatic rescue at sea. A sinking cruise ship, hundreds of passengers racing to the lifeboats.

CHETRY: Also, a priceless picture of a homecoming that we just couldn't resist. You've seen this. It's brought tears to most people's eyes when they've seen it. We'll going to talk with the Haas family from Seattle and the 5-year-old who will never forget that day.

We're live from Readington, New Jersey; Barnstable, England; Seattle, and here in New York on this AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Boy, you ain't alive if you ain't crying when you see that one.

CHETRY: I know. It really is touching.

O'BRIEN: Good morning, Friday, April 6th.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry, in for Soledad.

Thanks so much for joining us today.

O'BRIEN: That pet food scare is growing once again this morning. Now some more pet food you need to avoid.

Sunshine Mills becoming the latest manufacturer to join the huge recall. The company says 20 varieties of its dog biscuits may contain tainted wheat gluten, the source of all the sickness and deaths in pets all across the country.

Menu Foods, the company where the trouble began, is expanding its recall, now including food produced back in November. And a Senate committee will call officials from the Food & Drug Administration on the carpet. The allegation, the FDA was slow to respond.

Kyung Lah is in Washington this morning with more on the recalls and the fallout -- Kyung.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Senator Dick Durbin is the one who is calling for those hearings, saying that the FDA is simply moving too slow. Meanwhile, what this means for pet owners is that they're finding this frustrating and confusing as the recall list appears to be growing nearly day by day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice over): Pet owners already concerned about what to feed their animals have even more products to avoid. The recall widened.

Sunshine Mills pulled 20 types of its large dog biscuits containing potentially toxic wheat gluten from this Chinese company. The FDA says the company produced wheat gluten including melamine, a product used in plastics. A spokesman for Sunshine Mills says they purchased the wheat gluten from another U.S. supplier.

DR. STEPHEN SUNDLOF, FDA: It was a little circuitous route. It took us a little longer to trace that all down, but now we believe that we've accounted for all of the wheat gluten that came from China, that shipment that is -- that is high in melamine.

LAH: Menu Foods, the company that began the recall, also widened its list by 20 varieties of pet food and pushed its recall date back to products from November 8, 2006.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: This pet food crisis is about two things. It's about contaminated food, and it's about a food safety system that failed us.

LAH: The Senate's second most powerful Democrat called the FDA's response "tragically slow" and announced the Senate will hold an oversight hearing on the regulatory mechanisms that govern the pet food industry.

DURBIN: This was a breakdown and a failure. It has brought a lot of pain, a lot of heartache and a lot of worry to pet owners all across America. We can do a better job in Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: Now, Sunshine Mills does have a complete list of its recalled products available on its Web site at sunshinemills.com. This is a company that sells its own brands, as well as labels under Wal-Mart, Kmart and Stater Brothers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Kyung Lah, in Washington.

We're talking to the FDA's chief vet coming up, and we'll ask him why it's taking so long to find out exactly what's wrong with all this pet food.

CHETRY: In New Jersey this morning, a manhunt happening right now for a suspected bank robber.

FBI agent Barry Lee Bush was shot and killed trying to arrest that suspect, along with two others. The FBI says it appears that Bush was shot by a fellow agent.

Tony Caputo, with our affiliate News 12 New Jersey, reports from the PNC Bank where it all happened in Readington, New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY CAPUTO, REPORTER, NEWS 12 NEW JERSEY: This is all part of an intense two-week investigation by the FBI. They were looking into a series of bank robberies here in this central New Jersey area. Now, two of the three suspects were cut caught, but in the process, a 20- year veteran of the FBI lost his life -- 52-year-old Special Agent Barry Lee Bush.

Now, we'll show you some video from yesterday when the search began looking for 22-year-old Francisco Herrera-Genao. He's about six feet tall, weighs about 200 pounds. The FBI does consider him to be armed and dangerous.

They were searching this area. Parts of Route 22 were actually shut down when many choppers were in the air, and officers from all over the area trying to apprehend this young man who was involved in this attempted armed robbery.

Now, it's important to note that the FBI does admit that none of the suspects fired any shots from their weapons. They apparently had two assault rifles and a handgun, but the fire -- the shots fired, rather, came from another FBI agent, which makes it even more of a tragedy out here in central New Jersey.

Now, two others were apprehended, 28-year-old Wilfredo Berrios and 21-year-old Michael Cruz. Again, they are from the New Brunswick area of New Jersey, which is why authorities believe the gentleman they're looking for, Herrera-Genao, is also from that area. And last night they were search New Brunswick as well, as this part of Hunterton (ph) County -- it's about two counties apart, folks.

So, again, Genao making his way somewhere here in New Jersey at this point, it's believed. This is a wooded area, it's kind of rural, so he would have had an opportunity to get away from officers. The search was intense, but, still, no luck.

We'll certainly keep you up to date as this search and investigation continues.

I'm Tony Caputo, reporting for CNN. Let's send it back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Tony.

We're going to continue to follow that this morning and bring you the latest when it happens -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: This morning in the Aegean Sea, searchers are looking for two people missing after a cruise ship ran aground trying to dock at the Greek island of Santorini. Sixteen hundred people raced off the ship as it was listing and taking on water. Lifeboats taking them to shore.

Most of the passengers on board were American, including dozens from high schools in North Carolina. The ship sank within hours. A 45-year-old man from France and his 16-year-old daughter are still missing this morning.

Well, home sweet home this morning. Those 15 British sailors and marines are back with their families after their two-week ordeal in Iran. And this morning, we will be hearing from some of them as they speak with reporters in just a few hours.

Paula Hancocks joining us live now from England.

Paula, what do we know about their story so far?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, at this point we know the 15 are still in that RAF base behind us here in southwest England. They're still undergoing extensive debriefs with the British military to find out exactly what happened, and also medical checks.

Now, we know what we've seen on camera from Tehran. Hopefully in a couple of hours' time we'll find out what happened behind the cameras.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice over): Back on British soil, and finally reunited with their loved ones. Fifteen British sailors and marines describe it as a dream come true. Now for the tough questions.

Several said they were well-treated while being held in Iran. Since they've been back, there have been suggestions of solitary confinement. One defense official described the moods of the 14 men and one woman as ranging from jubilant to emotionally struggling.

Today, the former detainees are still being extensively debriefed, along with a complete physical check. Also, the first chance for the public to hear what really happened.

The Royal Navy has started an investigation of how the 15 could have been captured and, crucially, whose waters they were in. Britain says they were in Iraqi waters. Iran claims British crews have previously violated their waters.

In a British television interview before the capture, one captain of the crew said part of their job was to gather intelligence of Iranian activities in the area. The Ministry of Defense insists this is not unusual in modern operations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: So two hours to go before we have that press conference with what we're told will probably be half of the British military personnel that were taken captive. And we're also expected to be able to speak to some of them individually so we can really find out what happened -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. We'll look forward to hearing from them.

Paula Hancocks, thank you -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Vice President Cheney with some strong words this morning for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her trip to Syria. Pelosi is on her way back from the Mideast right now. In Syria, she told President Bashar al-Assad that Israel was ready for peace talks. But then later, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a clarification, saying that Israel's policy towards Syria has not changed.

Vice President Dick Cheney called her on that on Rush Limbaugh's radio show.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm obviously disappointed. I think it is, in fact, bad behavior on her part. I wish she hadn't done it, but she is the speaker of the House. And fortunately, I think the various parties involved recognize she doesn't speak for the United States in those circumstances.

She doesn't represent the administration. The president is the one who conducts foreign policy, not the speaker of the House.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, Pelosi insists that she did get it right. She says she made it clear that Syria must stop supporting terror before any peace talks.

Former first lady Betty Ford is said to be doing well this morning after undergoing surgery. Mrs. Ford's office did not say what kind of surgery she had, only that it was earlier this week and that she's recovering at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

Mrs. Ford turns 89 on Sunday.

O'BRIEN: Well, the calendar says it's spring, but the weather is definitely not cooperating.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: The numbers and a Web site you can call to find out more about the pet food recalls. There are more this morning, actually. Now dog biscuits made in Alabama and sold in Wal-Mart under the label Ol'Roy are being recalled, as well.

The FDA has already received more than 12,000 calls from concerned pet owners wondering if this toxic food may have found its way into their beloved family members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just kept crying to my husband, "I can't believe this. I gave the cat this recalled food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's not one day that doesn't go by where I don't sit here and tell him that I miss him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't eat. I felt sick to my stomach. And I just -- I don't know if I'll ever be over this. You know? It's like a parent losing a child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The Senate is now planning hearings to investigate the growing recall.

Dr. Stephen Sundlof is the director for the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA, and he joins me from Washington.

Thanks so much for being with us, Dr. Sundlof.

SUNDLOF: You're welcome.

CHETRY: First off, there's a new theory that this melamine was perhaps added intentionally. It's known to be, I guess, a toxic chemical in large quanties.

Why would it be added intentionally to pet food?

SUNDLOF: Well, we don't know if it was intentionally added at this time. We do have a theory, and that theory is that somebody may have added melamine to the wheat gluten in order to increase what appears to be the protein level.

Wheat gluten is a high protein substance, and by trying to artificially inflate the protein level, it could command a higher price. But that's just one theory at this point, and we are not in a position to say whether or not this is our major theory or whether it may be some other.

CHETRY: And, you know, people have asked why it's been taking so long. Apparently, the melamine is not toxic enough in these small quanties to actually kill an animal. At least according to some scientists. So it deepens the mystery.

Have you gotten any closer to figuring out what's causing these deaths?

SUNDLOF: Well, we are looking into that. That's true, melamine is not very toxic as a chemical, and so we're wondering why we are seeing the kinds of serious conditions, especially the kidney failure that we're seeing in cats and dogs. So we -- but we do know that the wheat gluten that contained the melamine is the -- by far, the most probable source of the contamination.

Now, whether it's the melamine itself, or whether it's some other chemical that came along with the melamine, we're still investigating that. And we hope to have some more information as the investigation proceeds.

CHETRY: Well, no doubt, your agency has been under fire. Senator Dick Durbin calling the response "unacceptable and tragically slow".

How do you respond?

SUNDLOF: Well, we learned of the pet food recall from the company, Menu Foods, on the evening of March 15th. We were in the plant on the morning of March 16th, and since that time we have had more than 400 people working on this issue, virtually around the clock, tracing the -- first of all, determining which part, which ingredients were the actual culprit in this case.

CHETRY: Right.

SUNDLOF: And then following it out through all of the distribution channels, identifying the one company in China that produced this material through the United States supplier, and then out through all of the chains.

CHETRY: Right. And Dr. -- but Dr. Sundlof, you guys are clearly overwhelmed with this situation. You haven't had to deal with something of this scope when it comes to pet food. So, can you enlist outside help from other agencies?

SUNDLOF: Well, we are asking for help, especially from many of the veterinarian communities and our state laboratories that are helping us with some of the analyses. We've analyzed over 400 samples so far of pet food, and have only found the melamine in those -- those products that contained this particular wheat gluten.

We're also reaching out to the American Veterinarian Medical Association. They're providing us with up-to-date information on the calls that they receive. We're working with another network of animal hospitals, a very large network called the Banfield Pet Hospitals.

They maintain medical records for all of their hospitals all over the United States. And we're getting some good information from them.

We will be putting all of this information together over time and try to understand better the extent, how many animals were actually affected.

CHETRY: Right. Well, one thing we're hearing over and over from pet owners is, "I don't feel reassured that someone is on top of this, that there won't be future problems with what we feed our cats and dogs."

Can you at this point offer any reassurance to them?

SUNDLOF: Well, this affected approximately one percent of all the pet food that is sold in the United States. So that leaves 99 percent of the pet food that still we believe is very safe.

Generally, pet food is a very safe product, and it's produced under very controlled conditions. So, this is -- this is most unfortunate, it's very unusual to have a poisoning of this kind. And we will have to look back in retrospect, once we fully understand how this happened, and make sure that it never happens again.

CHETRY: You know, we keep talking about the wheat gluten, and it's used in a lot of foods that we humans eat, too. How do we know it wouldn't or can't in the future make its way into our food supply?

SUNDLOF: Well, again, that's another issue that we're trying to deal with. Right now, we have 100 percent testing of all wheat gluten that is coming into the United States from China to make sure that none of that product could contaminate either pet food or human food. And as we learn more about this, we're going to, again, try and put into place measures that will prevent this from ever happening in the future.

We know, though, in this case, that the contaminated wheat gluten that came into the United States, we have traced that all. None of it went into human food. It all went to the pet food industry.

CHETRY: All right.

Dr. Stephen Sundlof, the director for the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the Food & Drug Administration.

We thank you for joining us to explain some of what is going on today.

SUNDLOF: Thank you. My pleasure.

CHETRY: By the way, if you'd like some more information, you can go to FDA's Web site. It's fda.gov. Click on "Pet Food Recall". And also, on CNN.com, we have a list for you of some of those recalled -- or all of those recalled foods -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: This just in to us here at CNN. Authorities in central New Jersey apparently have captured that fugitive who they were looking for all throughout the night in the wake of that deadly shooting of an FBI agent.

This is happening in central New Jersey. It comes to us from our affiliate WABC. This is videotape from their helicopter. WABC telling us that state police apparently captured, arrested and put a suspect -- I think you see him there leaning over that car -- into a vehicle. There were two other people previously arrested in that gunfight yesterday. It turns out none of the suspects fired their weapons, however.

The FBI had been involved in a taskforce focusing on bank robbery suspects, had been staking out these three people. Two of them were arrested yesterday. And as we just said, the state police, apparently, according to WABC, have arrested the third suspect, and CNN has just confirmed that ourselves.

So, that suspect now in custody. And that investigation, of course, will continue.

We'll keep you posted on it.

So, shifting gears now, what would Jesus really do? Tonight, our CNN contributor Roland Martin hosts an hour-long special tackling issues including the war in Iraq, global warming, and the gap between the rich and the poor.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Why all of a sudden is the focus so much on money, and people are gravitating to bigger houses, more money, cars, material goods? What is up with the prosperity -- the gospel prosperity?

RICK WARREN, PASTOR, SADDLEBACK CHURCH: Jesus said a man's life consists not in the abundance of things that he possesses. Your value has absolutely nothing to do with your valuables. Your net worth and your self worth are not the same thing. And Jesus clearly did not teach that God wanted everybody to be a millionaire.

So, I repudiate that belief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Roland joining us now from his studio. He is host for WVON AM in Chicago, and he's on the air right now. We're simulcasting. Amazing technology.

Roland, this is a fascinating...

MARTIN: Hey, Miles, we should say hello to everybody in Chicago that can hear you right now.

O'BRIEN: Hello, Chicago. Good to have you with us. Good to have anybody joining the audience. Always a pleasure.

If you have a Nielsen diary, please take note.

Roland, tell us, how did you get -- it's interesting how you applied what's going on in the news right now to what Jesus would really do. What got you started on all of this?

MARTIN: Well, first and foremost, it was an idea from our head of CNN, Jon Klein, and he got with Janelle Rodriguez (ph), who is executive producing this show, and we talked about and we said, hey, what kind of show could we do taking contemporary issues and dealing with them as it relates to people of faith?

Now, we have lots of people involved in politics. We see the whole issue about gay marriage and abortion. And people are using faith as a barometer for that.

We say, but what else is there? What are some of the other issues out there that people should talk about? Poverty, homelessness, dealing with divorce, the war -- all kind of issues. And so we wanted to talk to some of the pillars of the faith -- Jerry Faldwell, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Paula White, Frederick Haynes, Rick Warren, Rabbi Boteach. Also talking with (INAUDIBLE) and saying, hey, what would Jesus really do with these issues today in 2007?

O'BRIEN: Wow. Let me ask you this. I assume that the Iraq war had to be pretty high on your list.

MARTIN: It was.

O'BRIEN: Was there a consensus opinion as to what Jesus might do in relation to the Iraq war? Would Jesus have a solution?

MARTIN: Well, it wasn't a consensus, because you had different thoughts. Of course, you had Reverend Jerry Falwell, who had has written before that God is -- God is pro-war, but, you know, the context is whether or not this is a war ordained by God.

Then you have also have Bishop T.D. Jakes, who made it perfectly clear that he sees Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace.

And so what you have with these issues is a lot of people like to put them in terms of a faith context, but that is also skewed. We look at the major issues going on, Miles. We only -- only hear a couple of those issues.

You know, I'm very curious to see why you don't see these national faith leaders, James Dobson and Falwell, joining with a Sharpton and a Jesse Jackson, joining with a James Meeks in Chicago, a (INAUDIBLE), saying, wait a minute, what is the national agenda on poverty? What is the national agenda on homelessness? Why do we only see people get excited about the issues around sex, abortion, and gay marriage, but not the other issues Jesus talked about?

That's the question that we really want to pose. And at the end of the day, Miles, not just ask what would Jesus do, but ask, what would you do? What would the viewer do?

That's the most critical proponent, because Jesus lived his life. He died, rose from the dead. What would ordinary Americans do about the other issues that he emphasized?

O'BRIEN: All right. Would Jesus watch this special?

MARTIN: Absolutely. Of course he will.

O'BRIEN: All right.

MARTIN: I believe in him. Of course he's watching.

O'BRIEN: All right. Roland Martin, back to your program. Thanks for letting me horn (ph) in on it a little bit.

We appreciate you sharing some words. It sounds like a fascinating special -- "What Would Jesus Really Do?" A CNN special report, tonight, 8:00 Eastern.

Don't miss it -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Coming up, a student loan scandal. College deans accused of taking kickbacks for pushing students towards certain lenders. We're going to find out how students can protect themselves and their parents, since they're probably doing some paying as well.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: We've been telling you this morning about a student loan scandal. Deans and other college officials accused of steering students towards certain lenders, and then getting favors from those lenders in return. That investigation could involve up to 100 colleges nationwide. Some colleges have actually agreed to reimburse students.

CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is here with us this morning. And she joins us to talk more about it.

How much money are we talking about that the students could get back?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, Kiran, I've got to tell you, this is not a lot of dough. You know, there are six schools involved in this specific investigation. Six schools, $3.2 million.

It's not a lot of money. I'm telling you, if you think you're going to get some of this, think again.

NYU, the range of money is from 25 cents, a quarter, to $668. The average will be $60.

As you can see, Penn there, the average about $500. It depends on how much money you borrowed and how many kids are in your school.

So, the devil's in the details here, Kiran.

CHETRY: It's kind of an insult. You're coming back to get your quarter back. So, if you're a student and you do think you might be on the higher end of that money, trying to get it back, how do you go about it?

WILLIS: Well, you've actually got to call the financial aid office. Contact them, because they're going to be able to get this money for you.

They're going to do it automatically. That's what everybody is promising right now. They're either going to direct deposit it into an account, send you a check, or they'll actually just, you know, take it out of the total amount of money you owe them.

CHETRY: Now, what about if you're a student and you're looking to take out one of these loans? How do you make sure you protect yourself?

WILLIS: I tell you, it's easy. Shop around. You don't have to use the preferred lender list. You can go anywhere you want to.

Remember, these are private loans. These aren't federally sponsored loans. You have really got to do your homework.

Look around. If your -- if your family, for example, has a relationship with a lender and has used them a great deal, it pays to go ask them what kind of rate you can get, what kind of terms that you can get on a loan -- Kiran.

CHETRY: You're supposed to get better rates if you're trying to pay for your schooling, as opposed to getting loans for other things.

WILLIS: That's right. Exactly.

And I just want to remind you, Saturday morning we'll be talking about many issues on OPEN HOUSE, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

We'll talk more about the mortgage meltdown. If you're having problems with your adjustable rate loan, you'll definitely want to tune in. We're also talking about preparing your home for a tornado. And buying or leasing a car, which is better?

CHETRY: I need the answer to that. What time is this? 9:30 on Saturday morning, Eastern.

WILLIS: That's right.

CHETRY: All right, Gerri Willis, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

WILLIS: Thank you.

CHETRY: Well, personal finance editor Gerri Willis will -- well, you're leaving now, OK, but thank you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Still ahead on the program, some Las Vegas thrill seekers get a little more than they bargained for, a roller coaster rescue.

And a priceless picture of a tearful homecoming. You're going to meet the Hawes family from Seattle on this AMERICAN MORNING. You don't want to miss it. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

O'BRIEN: We begin this half hour with some news on the economy. The monthly job report is in, and generally speaking the numbers are better than expected. Ali Velshi is here with the details.

Hello, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All around better than expected, Miles.

This number has just came in a few moments ago. This is the monthly job report for March. The unemployment rate for the United States is down to 4.4 percent. Virtually no one was expecting a drop in the unemployment rate. It was 4.5 percent, and most people expecting it would stay the same, or even tick up. 4.4 percent.

Let me show you how this looks over time. Since 1992, in the last 15 years, it's been as low as 4 percent in 2000, but it was as high as almost 8 percent back in '92. So we were edging downwards. Where are these jobs coming from? 180,000 new jobs created in march, they are in construction and retail. The number of retail jobs added in this country in March, double the previous month.

And you'll remember in last month's economic report, job's report, the construction jobs had been cut. We had lost 61,000 jobs. In March we added 56,000 jobs. So the number of jobs added is higher than expected. The unemployment rate is lower than expected, and the average hourly earnings, the amount of money that wage earners in this country, is up .3 percent. That was exactly what was expected.

So, largely, this was a good report. Good report for people who are working. How markets will react when they open again. The bond market will react. It's open today. But when they open on Monday, that's always mixed, because good job's report means people earn more money, which means they can spend more money, which often leads to inflation, and sometimes the market doesn't like that.

But for workers out there, good news today, unemployment rate today 4.4 percent.

O'BRIEN: Always a spoil sport out there somewhere.

VELSHI: Always.

O'BRIEN: But let me ask you this, construction workers in particular -- that really means good news for the future of the economy, right? VELSHI: That's huge. The construction industry in this country -- we talk about home prices and home sales, and if you're not buying or selling, it often doesn't matter to you. It matters because the construction industry in this country is absolutely huge. February had bad weather, it pulled back some of the construction. But now, we've got construction jobs back on. That means homes are being built.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Ali. Appreciate it -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is poised to sign an order to send 12,000 National Guard troops back to Iraq.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now with new details about this latest troop rotation.

Hi, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kiran.

Well, as you say, Defense Secretary Robert Gates this afternoon is expected to sign orders on his desk to send four brigades, about 12,000 Army National Guard troops, back to Iraq for a tour of duty. Let's sort out for people what this all means, because it seems like we hear troop announcements almost every day now. These 12,000 troops are a rotation. They will start going at the first of the year, and it does not signal an overall increase in troop levels in Iraq. They will rotate in. But these troops will do some of the most dangerous duty, we are told. They are earmarked to do base and convoy security.

What is significant here, Kiran, as you have said, is this is going to be the first time the National Guard will be going back to Iraq for a second tour of duty. That means more time for them away from home, of course -- Kiran.

CHETRY: What do you think? Do you think today's announcement an impact on the big controversial war funding debate?

STARR: Well, it does, indeed. These two issues are becoming very much tied together. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have just written a letter to Congress, again, saying they need that $100 billion in supplemental war funding, and they need it as fast as possible. In this letter they warn of what they call, quote, "increasingly disruptive measures," spending restrictions, if they don't get the money. And if those spending restrictions continue, they say, it could affect the rotation of these fresh troops into Iraq. They won't be ready to go, and that means the troops that are there might have to stay longer -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Barbara Starr reporting from the Pentagon on that new news for us this morning. Thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a priceless picture of a homecoming we just couldn't resist. Meet the Hawes family from Seattle, and the Little 5-year-old boy there. We won't forget that moment when he hugged his daddy.

This is AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, it's Friday and it means it's time to check in and see what's on CNN over the weekend. Betty and T.J. are there in Atlanta With a preview.

Good morning, guys.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Miles.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning there, sir. Well, you might have seen this ad. It says everything must go, and everything is gone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the ad, it said come and take what you want, everything is free.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Please help yourself to anything on the property."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: See the problem here is that the ad was bogus, and now that homeowner has lost everything. As you see there, the house completely vandalized.

NGUYEN: Look at that.

HOLMES: Possessions pretty much ripped off. We're going to get into that this weekend.

NGUYEN: And also this, a life-or-death decision. A former morning show anchor made a drastic choice to cut off her breasts. Renee Thiler (ph) joins us live to talk about why she did it.

HOLMES: Also, when parents are deployed -- over half a million children under the age of 5 are waiting for their active-duty mom or dad to come home. That is the most since World War II. And now Sesame Street is helping these kids out. We're going to show you how they're doing that.

NGUYEN: "CNN SATURDAY" and "SUNDAY MORNING" beginning at 7:00 tomorrow.

Hope you're watching, Miles.

O'BRIEN: OK, I need your address, because I'm going to take a couple of ads out, if you don't mind. NGUYEN You better not. We'll come after you.

O'BRIEN: All right, T.J. and Betty, have a good program. Thanks -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, now to the story, the family and the pictures that we've all been talking about. It was a homecoming from Iraq for one Naval officer, and he certainly surprised his son in kindergarten class.

Let's check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PETTY OFC. BILL HAWES, RETURNED FROM IRAQ: Hey, bud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Wow, that's Bill and John, along with mom, Julie. And is your daughter in the picture, too, this morning? Samantha?

HAWES: No, she's off to the side right now. She's kind of watching.

CHETRY: You guys are with us from Seattle. Thanks so much for being here, and welcome.

You know, anyone who saw those pictures, there wasn't a dry eye. Anyone I talked to they said that it really did make them cry. Why did you decide to surprise John like that at his school, Bill?

HAWES: After -- you know, this was his first year in school and I didn't get to see him on his first day, and see all the progress that him and his classmates have made, so I just wanted to go in and, you know, meet all of his classmates and see him doing all of his schoolwork.

CHETRY: And who was running the camera?

HAWES: I think that was one of the local channels out of Seattle.

CHETRY: Julie, what was it like for you explaining to your two young children, six and four, where their daddy was and when he was going to be coming back?

JULIE HAWES, HUSBAND BACK FROM IRAQ: We were pretty open with him on -- with the kids on where daddy was, and we didn't really know when he was coming home, so we kind of just, well, he's coming home soon, he's coming home soon, you know, and we really never gave them as a timeframe. As long as he was coming home soon, they were OK.

CHETRY: And, Julie, what -- did you expect to see that type of response from your son when he saw his dad?

JULIE HAWES: Yes, I really did. I know his emotional state was pretty high, and his reaction was pretty close to what I thought it would be.

CHETRY: Well, John, I want is to can you a couple questions. What is the first thing you did with your daddy when he came back?

B. HAWES: What did you do, kiddo? What did we go do?

JOHN HAWES, SURPRISED AT SCHOOL BY FATHER: Go to Disney Land.

CHETRY: You went to Disney Land. How much fun did you have there?

JOHN HAWES: A lot.

CHETRY: Yes? Tell me a little bit about what you do now that your dad's back. What do you guys do together?

B. HAWES: What did we do yesterday?

JOHN HAWES: We went and rode quads.

CHETRY: See, that's the father and son stuff that, Julie, you weren't doing with him, right?

J. HAWES: No, I was grocery shopping, actually.

CHETRY: Right, because the meal still has to be on the table in the morning. Let me ask you, Bill, what was it like when you finally got a chance to see him after being away from your kids for so long?

J. HAWES: Oh, I can't really describe how it feels. You know, missing almost 10 months, you know, got a lot of catching up to do. But I love everyone over here, and I'm just glad to see him and everyone's doing good, and surprised at how much they've grown. He was like three inches shorter the last time I saw him. So that was kind of a shock.

CHETRY: Right, 10 months is a long time in kid time. I'm sure he's not going to leave your lap any time soon. Thanks so much for sharing your story, because there were just millions of people that saw those pictures that really cried with you guys, and we're so happy you could join us and talk a little to us about it today. The Hawes family, Bill, Julie, John, and a little off to the side, 4-year-old, Samantha.

B. HAWES: You're welcome.

CHETRY: That's a great story. Boy, they do grow fast.

Three inches in 10 months.

O'BRIEN: Wow. Amazing.

And repeated all over the country. Many thousands of times, that kind of story.

(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: Here's a glimpse into an apocalyptic future. That's what's coming out of an international conference on global warming this morning in Brussels. After all-night negotiations, more than 120 countries signed a report that says 30 percent of the Earth's species risk extinction if average temperatures rise by 3.5 degrees in the coming years. It also predicts drought, hunger and disease. Ten of the world's natural wonders are now at risk, including the Great Barrier Reef off Australia.

James MacDonald of ITN takes us down under.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES MACDONALD, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): It's a chance to experience a spectacular world beneath the sea. But to these divers, a visit to the Great Barrier Reef is serious business. Reef Check Australia keeps an eye on the health of the coral, and up close you can see just how fragile it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corals have been around for huge amounts of time, and yet there are several different pressures that can actually affect them as a sort of like living organism.

MACDONALD: Often called the world's largest living organism, stretching 2,000 kilometers, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat. It's faced overfishing and pollution, but nothing quite like this. A recent report by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming could make the reef functionally extinct within 50 years.

SELINA WARD, UNIV. OF QUEENSLAND: We're not acting fast enough to combat climate change. And we need to do that in order to save reefs.

MACDONALD: Reef researcher Selina Ward says a rise in sea temperature can lead to widespread coral bleaching, which can kill off much of the coral's life-support system. Millions of people rely on reefs around the world as a source of food. They protect coastlines from damage, and the natural beauty attracts plenty of visitors.

(on camera): We're in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of northeastern Australia, and even on a rocky day today, you can still have a clear view of the coral reefs and the marine life that lives here.

(voice-over): No one is sure how it will adapt to climate change in the long run, but there is consensus on this -- the thought of an Australian without the reef is unthinkable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a dreadful shame if they weren't there as a source for us, and for our children in the future. I think it's a call to action and a wakeup call to all of us.

MACDONALD: James MacDonald, CNN, on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHETRY: Well, now we're moving into prime home buying and selling season, and it's one of the rockiest in recent memory.

Ali Velshi is here with a preview of our series next week, looking at some key information, what buyers, and also sellers need to know.

Hi there.

VELSHI: And, Kiran, we're looking at the things that aren't involving buyers and sellers, a whole lot to do with the housing market, sort of where you fit in. We're going to looking at some specifics of the real estate market next week.

Here's a sampling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think? Look at this grand, magnificent entrance.

VELSHI (voice-over): Home buyers are beginning to emerge from hibernation. But not everyone is happy with the spring climate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually the average days on market in this neighborhood is up in the 190 range.

VELSHI: Good for buyers. Also helping them a surge in foreclosure properties.

ANDREW NAGEL, DENVER REALTOR: In the neighborhood I'm going to take you, there are 51 active listings. I would say 20 to 30 of those are foreclosures or bank-owned right now.

VELSHI: But there are signs of recovery for sellers, too. Sales of existing homes are rebounding. Some places where housing sales were dormant are picking up.

DAWN MUELLER, DETROIT REALTOR: In Detroit our suburbs are still fairly reasonable, a good value.

VELSHI: But what $300,000 buys you in Michigan gets you basically a large closet in L.A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not as much of a view here, no. You get to see your neighbors.

VELSHI: The fallout from risky mortgage companies means home buyers and sellers are increasingly worried about financing.

BARRY GRAZIANO, NEW YORK REALTOR: As far as a preapproval goes, it just shows the seller that you're working with somebody who's prepared to buy, and for the buyer, it gives them some strength on negotiating.

VELSHI: Once you own a home, going green can save money, changing everything from your light bulbs to the roof over your head.

RICHARD COOK, ARCHITECT: We had a thermostat out there. It was 170 degrees in the middle of August out on the tar beach. We put this out there. We put the tiny seed in. They started growing. We dropped the temperature down to the low 90s.

VELSHI: But some home improvements may seem antisocial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I got older, I started to snore.

VELSHI: Married for 33 years, but now sleeping in separate bedrooms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think what it does is it takes out the tension of sleeping together, not the romance. It takes out the tension of sleeping together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: And of course anything that takes the tension out of sleeping together is a good thing, right.

Kiran, back to you.

CHETRY: It says snoring room on the actual blueprint. That's hysterical.

VELSHI: This is why you have to watch this thing next week. People think that buying and selling a home is exactly the way it's always been, but for a rocky market. There are trends all over the place that you have to know about. This thing about separate bathrooms is becoming really big. I mean, separate bathroom became big.

CHETRY: Right, well, in the '50s there was the conversation pit; now there's the snoring room. How about that?

VELSHI: Tune in all next week for this.

CHETRY: I certainly will. Thanks so much, Ali.

And by the way, you can join us for an in-depth look at the housing market from to bottom.

Mandatory viewing for anyone looking to buy, sell or renovate. It's all next week on AMERICAN MORNING.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: That's all from here on this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Betty Nguyen starts right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com