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American Morning
Iraq War Funding; Baghdad Barrier; Virginia Tech Returns
Aired April 23, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): A deadly attack just outside the Green Zone today.
America's top commander in Washington to brief the president.
And will Congress tie war funding to troop withdrawal?
A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "THE HILL": If you talk to them privately, they say we're not shutting down the Department of Defense. Not on their watch.
ROBERTS: The war, your tax dollars, and how it connects to this huge pile of peanuts on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's all about the peanuts.
It's Monday, April 23rd.
Good morning from Washington, D.C.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
You know, I asked, are they going to still be able to use the peanuts that Sean Callebs was standing on in that huge mound? And the answer, yes.
ROBERTS: Not the ones that are crunched, though, I would expect. Those will be...
CHETRY: Who knows? Maybe they will be worth more.
ROBERTS: Hey, stories making news this morning...
President Bush speaks this morning at 9:50 a.m. from the Oval Office after meeting with General David Petraeus, his top man in Iraq. Of course we'll be carrying that live for you here on CNN.
It's all about the war funding bill. The Democrats are getting together this week to try to figure out what kind of bill to send to the president. And we'll also be talking about how peanuts and that supplemental spending bill all mesh together -- Kiran. CHETRY: Yes. I never understood it, and maybe you can figure it out, how all the farm subsidies get rolled into the war funding.
But also on our radar this morning, it is back to school for Virginia Tech. Just a week ago the scene of the massacre, and today they're making their way back to campus. Also, there's going to be a big hearing on campus security in Washington today. And we're going to be talking to Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who is holding that hearing.
ROBERTS: And get this -- Texas-size hail and tornadoes. There's a lot of bad weather headed across the Midwest and the Plains states. Chad Myers of course watching all of that.
Look at those things hit the ground. It's like people dropping -- it's like baseballs are being dropped from the sky.
CHETRY: It is. You're right. And people were hurt. There were some injuries in that, as well. So we'll talk much more about the wicked weather coming up a little later.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
Meantime, Congress this morning sitting down to work on a war spending bill. Democrats are likely to set a withdrawal deadline with any funding bill, but the president has promised to veto anything that has got a timeline attached to it. So what can the Democrats do?
CNN's Dana Bash joins us now from Capitol Hill.
First of all, Dana, what are -- what are the Democrats likely to do?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what Democratic sources tell us, John, is that they're likely to adopt the less stringent Senate language which essentially sets a goal for U.S. troops to come home from Iraq, but not a hard and fast deadline, like the House passed. And this is going to pose a real challenge to the Democrats here this week, because remember, both the House and the Senate passed their Iraq funding bills without even one vote to spare, and now the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is going to have to try this all over again. And she's already hearing -- we're hearing from some House Democrats on the left side of the party, saying that they don't want to support something that doesn't say the U.S. troops should come home for sure by a strict date.
So, it's going to be pretty dramatic, even a nail-biter, before we get to the issue of the president vetoing a bill. He's got to get one to veto, of course.
ROBERTS: Those riffs in the Democratic Party emerging yet again.
Senator Harry Reid has got a big speech coming up today. What's that going to be about?
BASH: Now, you'll remember, of course, he caused quite a stir last week by saying that the war is lost. He is going to give a speech on Iraq today. He's not going to repeat that phraseology, but he is going to go after the president in a big way in this speech.
We have some excerpts. He chides the president specifically on the idea that the president talks about progress in Iraq. Reid says he doesn't see that.
Reid -- listen to this quote. "In describing his escalation of American troops, what he calls a surge," he said, "so far the operation is meeting expectations. The White House transcript says the president made those remarks in the state of Michigan. I believe he made them in the state of denial."
ROBERTS: Oh.
BASH: That is an excerpt we got form Harry Reid. A little pun on Bob Woodward's book there.
But -- so Reid is going to go after the president, but there's going to be something else interesting to watch for, John. He is also going to try to tamp down some restlessness he will admit exists within the Democratic Party about the fact that Democrats have been in power for several month now and they haven't actually done anything to change the president's Iraq strategy. He is going to say he understand that there is restlessness, he's going to call for patience, and remind Democrats, the rank and file, that they have a very slim majority here.
ROBERTS: So we've got President Bush asking for patience on the war and now Harry Reid asking for patience about doing something on the war.
BASH: You got it.
ROBERTS: Everybody's looking for patience.
Dana, thanks very much.
BASH: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Iraq's prime minister says he wants the U.S. to stop building a concrete barrier around the Sunnis. The plan was to build a wall around a Sunni neighborhood, separating it from Shiite areas to try to prevent sectarian violence. But as CNN's Arwa Damon shows us, these so-called gated communities which seem to work fairly well here in America, may not be helping anything in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Welcome to Adhamiya, in southwest Baghdad. This is one of two checkpoints into the gated community where Iraqi Army Sergeant Major Ali Hassan is in charge.
SGT. MAJ. ALI HASSAN, IRAQI ARMY (through translator): An insurgent can just shoot an RPG, and then, a few moments later, comes through the checkpoint and wave hello at me. DAMON: His checkpoint is attacked two to three times a week. Many of his soldiers have fled or were killed.
One problem about sealing a neighborhood like this one? You seal the killers in with the innocent. Here, the insurgents are a deadly mix of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni groups. About 30,000 people, innocent and insurgent, in two square miles.
HASSAN (through translator): We haven't been able to fully control the area. But we've been able to choke it off.
DAMON: The idea here is to protect those inside from threats both from the outside, and from within. This is what's left of a blown-out car which had come from inside the neighborhood.
STAFF SGT. BRIAN HOOD, U.S. ARMY: Then you have that mosque right there. That's where we take a lot of sniper fire and stuff like that from them. And it's just a game you play with them.
DAMON: The game here is deadly. Not just one of chasing insurgents, but also keeping the community gated.
STAFF SGT. MICHAEL DIXON, U.S. ARMY: Well, as you can see, they've got the hooks on the top of them. A lot of times the vehicles will come in, chain them up, pull those barriers aside, and then they'll be able to drive in for that night, or until we spot it.
DAMON (on camera): Here along the northern boundary of the neighborhood, the troops say it's been especially challenging. They are constantly setting up these barriers. And as you can see, coming to find them brought down, and having to set them up once again.
(voice over): The military says murders are down 80 percent the last four months. Tips about insurgent activity are up.
Still, about half the stores we see while driving through the market are closed, and trash is everywhere. This man complains about the trash, but Sergeant Major Hassan explains, any time a municipal employee enters the area, they end up dead. Waiting in line in a trip out of Amiriyah, 3-year-old twins are as restless as kids anywhere stuck in the backseat of a car. Their mother tells us that she's still afraid to leave their house. But the kid's father disagrees, saying security inside Amiriyah is all right.
American forces hope he's right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Arwa Damon reporting from southwest Baghdad, the Adhamiya neighborhood -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Virginia Tech students and teachers, as you know, John, returning to campus this morning, just a week after the day that their lives were changed forever. Within the last hour they held a moment of silence for the first two students killed, Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark. They were killed at the dorm West AJ Hall. Other tributes are planned in the next hour.
And our CNN's Jim Acosta is in Blacksburg this morning, at the alumni center on the Virginia Tech campus, with a look at how it's going for the kids and the students, the faculty returning today.
Hi, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Yes, it's a difficult morning, but a lot of students here hope that this will be a part of the healing process. In about an hour and a half from now, we'll see another memorial here on the campus of Virginia Tech, a moment of silence, followed by ringing of the bells, and then a balloon release, where we'll see 32 white balloons take to the skies here over Virginia Tech.
It should be a stirring tribute to those 32 slain students and faculty members who lost their lives in last week's massacre. Earlier this morning, renowned Virginia Tech poet Nikki Giovanni joined us and was talking about why she will be here today. She says she is ready to see this tribute to these students and faculty members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI GIOVANNI, POET: I wanted to be here today because I'm a part of this community, and I think that we've done a banner job in just being stand-up people. I think our students have been graceful. I think that the country has embraced -- I don't think that -- the country has embraced us. The world, actually, has sent good wishes, and I wanted to be here to be a part and to offer whatever comfort little old ladies who write poetry offer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And Giovanni being the poet who said so famously last week, "We are the Hokie nation."
Not every student will be here today returning to class. Many have decided to stay home, thinking that this last week or so has been just too much to bear, too much to handle. And so many students are just not coming back for the semester.
The university is saying that's OK. There will be no penalty for students who drop their classes for the semester. They can pick up where they left off in the fall -- Kiran.
CHETRY: So, is there a majority of students that aren't coming back, or would you say it's a smaller group that decided they were just going to take the grades they had before?
ACOSTA: Well, you know, I don't think we have any official numbers yet, but we saw a huge crowd of students and parent coming back to the campus today, and nearly everybody we talked to said they are determined to carry on. It will be interesting to see what the numbers look like, because it seems out here, at least, that a majority is coming back. But I think we should wait and see what those numbers say.
But I think at this point people want it move on. They see this as part of the healing process, and I think many students are just eager to get back into class, back into that routine, to get that sense of normalcy that they've not really had for the last week.
CHETRY: You're right. I think you're right about that. All right. Jim, thanks so much.
We have an autopsy confirmation now that the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, did die from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The Virginia medical examiner says that Cho's 32 victims were shot more than 100 times. The evidence shows defensive wounds. They tried to shield themselves.
We're also waiting for more tests to determine if Cho was taking any drugs at the time.
And Seung-Hui Cho's family members, by their own admission, are living a nightmare. We've heard from his older sister, apologizing for her brother's "unspeakable actions," and saying that her family is praying for the Virginia Tech victims.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho joins us now with a closer look at what Seung-Hui Cho's family is going through.
And they really have the classic immigrant story. They came here and did whatever they had to do to make their children's lives better.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's the classic Korean immigrant story, Kiran.
Here's a family that came to the United States 15 years ago with nothing, absolutely nothing. The parents worked very hard, long hours at a dry cleaning business. The mother worked so hard she had to wear a bandage around her arm.
They bought a townhouse in Centreville, Virginia, outside -- outside Washington. They were so proud of their new home that they sent photos back to their relatives in Korea.
You know, and they did all of this for their children. You know, in Korean culture there's this whole notion of success and failure, and really nothing in between. You look at all the accomplishments of the sister -- and there were many -- and you compare that with the brother, and it's hard to believe -- you put them side by side, hard to believe that they were even related.
And when you look at the sister, I mean, here's a girl who chose Princeton over Harvard. She was, by all accounts, social, spiritual. She wrote for "The Daily Princetonian," the paper at the school.
She spent one summer doing an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. I mean, she called it the most amazing three months of her life. She was an economics major, and she went on to work as a contractor for the State Department. So, here's a girl who had a lot of success. Imagine having to follow in those footsteps.
CHETRY: Right. And I'm sure her life is shaped now by the actions of her brother.
Can the family ever be accepted back into the Korean community?
CHO: Well, I think that is the big question. You know, how is this family going to move on?
For now, they're being protected by the FBI. They're in seclusion. Obviously we've not seen the parents.
The Korean media is reporting that they're actually moving around so they cannot be found. But one relative, the great aunt of Cho, said that it would be very difficult. You know, someone thought maybe they'd return to Korea. She said it would be very difficult for them to return to Korea.
It is a very small country. It is gossipy. And she even went so far to say, "If they tried to return to Korea, we would try to block them."
CHETRY: Wow.
CHO: So, I think there's a big question mark in terms of what's going to happen to this family. For now, they're not talking, they're in seclusion.
CHETRY: That is a really sad footnote to this whole thing.
CHO: It certainly is.
CHETRY: As well as the impact on them.
CHO: Well, they're victims as well.
CHETRY: They really are.
CHO: And, you know, and people lose sight of that I think sometimes.
CHETRY: Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: Sure.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: Hey, thanks, Kiran.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Firefighters still trying to contain a wildfire in southeast Georgia near Waycross. So far, 55,000 acres burned. Eighteen homes destroyed. And you can see the smoke from as far away as Atlanta and even Chattanooga, Tennessee.
That fire has been burning for a week now. It was sparked by a downed power line.
Also, parts of western Nevada and eastern California near Lake Tahoe socked with up to 18 inches of snow over the weekend. It's too late for many of the ski area -- the resorts in the area, the ski slopes, because they're coming off a season that saw less than half the usual snowfall, although they do make it.
And what looks like golf balls from sky are hailstones raining down on Allison, Texas. All part of the storm systems that swept across west Texas over the weekend. And that video is just unbelievable. They are coming down like explosions, actually.
And a stunning new videotape of a tornado touching down in Cactus, Texas -- that's the panhandle -- late Saturday. At least 14 people were hurt. They had extensive power outages, 50 people reported missing. Officials, though, think that they simply left town when the tornado alarm sounded and maybe haven't gotten back in touch with relatives yet.
It's 17 past the hour, and we're going to head over to Chad Myers now. He's going to bring us an update.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: The Virginia Tech tragedy brought a new focus to safety on college campuses. The Senate Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing this afternoon to discuss campus security and school emergency notification systems.
Maine's senator, Susan Collins, is the top Republican on that committee, and she joins us now from Capitol Hill.
Good to see you again, Senator.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Good morning.
ROBERTS: What do you hope that is going to happen as a result of this hearing that you're having today?
COLLINS: We're going to be bringing together a wide variety of experts. If you think about it, a campus, in many ways, is like a small city. It may have tens of thousands of people coming on to the campus each day, it may have hazards on the campus, 10 have nuclear reactors. We want to identify best practices and then disseminate them.
ROBERTS: Right. Of course, now, what this has sparked again is always what happens during these school shootings, is the debate over gun control. Some people are saying that what we need is more gun control on campus, other people are saying less. One of those proponents is Newt Gingrich. Take a listen to what he said yesterday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRINCH, FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER: Virginia Tech, like many campuses, was supposedly a gun-free zone. In states where people have been allowed to have concealed weapons, in Mississippi and Kentucky, there have been incidents of this kind of a killer who was stopped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, Senator Collins, Newt Gingrich is saying that what we need are more students on campus who are armed with concealed carry permits so that if something like this were to happen, there would be somebody there with a weapon who could counter the threat.
Your thoughts on that?
COLLINS: Well, that's not what the experts are telling us. We do need to make sure that campuses have emergency response plans, that they have a good way to communicate with people, but I really don't see this as a gun control issue, one way or the other.
ROBERTS: People have been talking about a campus alert system. The fact that an e-mail was sent out by Virginia Tech, maybe it should have been a text message that students could have gotten on their cell phones. But my question is, though, if you don't send out the alert until two hours and 10 minutes after the initial incident, what good is the best alert system?
COLLINS: Well, clearly, communication is the major issue, and prompt communications that get to all the individuals on the campus is clearly a challenge for colleges and universities. You have people in classes. They may not be near their computers or checking their cell phones. So, this is one of the issues we want to hear from the experts from.
Different campuses have different approaches. Some use very high-tech approaches, some use loud speakers. We need to evaluate what's going on out there and see if we can help.
ROBERTS: All right.
Senator, I want to switch gears just a little bit. The other big story in Washington this week is the wartime supplemental spending bill. Do you think that the president is going to have to accept some sort of timetable eventually?
COLLINS: I don't think the president is going to accept a timetable, but for the rest of us, I think all of us, or many of us, want to allow the president's new strategy time to work, even if we disagree with it, as I did. And then evaluate what should be done next. General Petraeus, who is going to be briefing us in a classified session this week -- and he told us when he was confirmed that he would know by August whether or not the surge strategy is going to be a success. ROBERTS: Right. Well, let me ask you this question, quickly, if I could, because we're just about out of time. If General Petraeus can't make this work, is there any reason to keep trying?
COLLINS: If General Petraeus concludes that this does not work, then I think all options are on the table, including a significant, but gradual withdrawal next year.
ROBERTS: Senator Collins, always good to see you. Good to see you on Saturday night at the dinner, as well.
COLLINS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.
COLLINS: Thanks.
ROBERTS: The latest wrinkle in the wage gap. Why are women running behind men? And will when will it ever get better?
Stay with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 26 past the hour now. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business".
And you made a lot of the ladies hot under the collar today with your news that we're not getting paid at the same rate in some of the same jobs as our male counterparts.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Are you sitting down for this one? This is yet another study that shows women don't get paid for the same things.
Now, this one is interesting. It shows that one year out of college, women with the same qualifications are making 80 percent of what men are earning. And 10 years, after 10 years of work, they're making less. They're making 69 percent.
Now, you take all the math in this one and you put it all in, that sometimes the hours are different, the types of occupations are sometimes different, parenthood takes its toll. Even after you do all of that, there is still an unexplained gap it, and it shouldn't be going down as a percentage.
CHETRY: Yes, that's why I was asking you about it. I mean, is it because sometimes -- and Suze Orman talks about this a lot -- women don't ask for raises or they don't -- they're afraid to sort of command what they think they're worth?
VELSHI: It speaks to the issue of women not having sort of their solid place in the workforce, whether it's not asking for it, or the fact that, according to this study, employees -- employers assume that young women are going to leave the workforce when they have children or at some point, so they don't promote them the same way. So women are not asking for those promotions, necessarily, and employers are not offering them.
Whereas with a male employee, you have got the assumption that they're going to stick around and continue to take those jobs. They don't -- guys don't feel the need to ask, but they can if they want. Women aren't. So...
CHETRY: Does taking time out for maternity and having children affect you adversely, as well, in terms of the money?
VELSHI: In certain careers it absolutely does. But this study says that it accounts for some of those things.
So, in other words, even if you make allowances for them, there's still this unexplained gap when you have taken all that into account. So, assuming that, let's say, you're a lawyer and you've taken time off because you've had kids, it should be a little lower, but they calculate that, and still the gap is bigger than it should be.
And that's where the problem is, that it's easy to explain it away, except that there's just a bigger gap. This study says that it is because of that discrimination, that people thing women are not going to advance as much. So, as a result, they simply don't promote them as much.
It's troubling.
CHETRY: And that's disturbing. From 80 percent out of college down to 69 percent 10 years later.
VELSHI: Yes. And by the way, a quick fact. Women have higher grade point averages in every major, including math and sciences.
CHETRY: That doesn't seem fair, does it?
VELSHI: Yes, it doesn't seem fair at all.
CHETRY: All right, Ali. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
VELSHI: OK.
CHETRY: And we hear a lot about the toll that war is taking on our troops. How about the toll on the families left behind? Coming up, a look at how one soldier's seven children and his very busy wife are dealing with his long deployments.
Also, AMERICAN MORNING'S Sean Callebs on what we're calling peanut politics right there at the top of the hill.
Hi, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
It's not every day you get to wade through three billion peanuts, so why not take advantage of it, right? Well, if Georgia and other peanut-producing states they're going to continue to fill warehouses like this, they need to get millions and millions. And guess what? They want it tacked on to the Iraq war spending bill.
We'll explain why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Monday, April 23rd, start of a brand-new week. I'm John Roberts in Washington, the nation's capital. Good morning, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Beautiful shot of DC today. I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York. I think it is just as pretty, but I don't have any windows in here.
ROBERTS: We'll get you a couple. Everything is possible.
Some of the stories on our AMERICAN MORNING radar today, war funding. The two appropriation committees in the House and Senate meeting this week to decide what kind of bill to send President Bush. It looks by all indications that is going to include some sort of timetable for troop withdrawal. The president this morning speaking with his top general in Iraq and he'll be addressing the American people making comments after that meeting at 9:50 our time. We'll get that to you just as soon as we can. Kiran?
CHETRY: We want you to meet this fascinating family, the Snell family out of West Point for our children of war series. Seven boys ranging in age from 12 years old to I think the youngest one is 20 months old. Their father has been deployed to Iraq. It's his second deployment and we're just going to bring you a taste of what their everyday life is as we talk about the sacrifices not only of the military, but the military families left behind. So it's a good one, John.
ROBERTS: And we're going to have Ryan Fitzgerald on this morning. Ryan who? He's the guy that posted his cell phone number on youtube asking people to call him. He saw that guy that was giving away free hugs and decided, well, here's an opportunity to put myself out there and talk to people who need to talk. Guess how many thousands of phone calls he's gotten?
CHETRY: I don't know, but we can add 1,001 because we called him as well today.
ROBERTS: And he called us back so he'll be on the show in just a few minutes so make sure that you stay tuned for that.
Coming up, back to our top story here today, President Bush meets with his top commander in Iraq General David Petraeus in Washington this morning before briefing the American people about it. There are reports that the general is seeing mixed results from the president's troop build up. CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, there's lots of debate over the idea of whether or not this surge is working, as well as funding for the war with Democrats wanting to attach a date certain for troop withdrawal to it. What does Petraeus hope to do this week while he's in Washington? BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the generals are saying so far mixed results from the troop surge. Tthe question for General Petraeus, is he in the position of sending a mixed message about all of that because he is going to be talking to the president, talking to the leaders on Capitol Hill, trying to get them to pass a spending bill that will not have any limitations, that will not call for a specific timetable on troop withdrawals. The president making it very clear he does not want that. But General Petraeus and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are already saying the clock is ticking in Iraq. There are, there is limited U.S. patience. It is not an open-ended commitment. So, when you look at those statements, there does seem to be some question of whether or not the ground work now is slightly being laid for some sort of lowered expectations that possibly there will have to be some ratcheting back if the Iraqi government does not make the political progress that the administration wants it to and whether that progress can be made is very problematic at the moment. Suicide car bombs now the major threat causing the major casualties and fatalities to the Iraqi people and U.S. casualty rates, U.S. fatalities, John, the month of April already is on track, tragically, to possibly be the deadliest month for U.S. troops this year so far.
ROBERTS: Let me just get you to drill down on that idea of reducing expectations. In an interview with the "Washington Post," General Petraeus said it's quite likely that we're going to have to accept some level of violence and bombings in Iraq which may sort of be along the same lines that people in northern Ireland had to deal with for so long. Is that a way to say to the Democrats, look, we can still make progress even while these heinous crimes and bombings and suicide attacks are going on?
STARR: That is the major issue right now. What General Petraeus and other commanders quietly behind the scenes are beginning to say, they can't solve the suicide car bomb problem. These are spectacular attacks. You keep hearing the same thing as you say, northern Ireland, Israel, if someone wants to strap on a suicide bomb and kill themselves and kill a large number of civilians, there is really almost no way to stop that. They're trying to lay the groundwork that that is the kind of spectacular attack that is going to be seen for months, if not years to come in Iraq and they need to lower expectations that U.S. troops are going to be able to solve that part of the problem, John.
ROBERTS: And of course Barbara, we hope to hear from the general himself as he's spending most of this week in Washington. Thanks very much, appreciate it. Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, Congress is going to start debating that war spending bill and there are a lot of extras and add-ones in it, including $25 million to spinach growers, $252 million for a milk subsidy program, $500 million in wildfire aid for firefighters out west. We were interested in the $74 million going for peanut storage. AMERICAN MORNING's Sean Callebs is literally on top of the story, literally today in Quipman (ph), Georgia with a look at where your tax dollars might go. Hi, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Exactly right and really this landscape I'm stand on, these peanuts, become somewhat of a battleground. We're standing inside of one storage facility. There are about 400 of these scattered among the 10 peanut producing states and in this one, you got about 3 billion peanuts inside. I want to show you what it looks like from the outside just to give you an idea how many peanuts are in here. This massive warehouse you're looking at now from the outside is filled all the way to the top.
Well, farmers say they need millions of dollars if they're going to be able to store their peanuts until the market is right for them to sell. Guess where they want to get that money? They want it tacked on to the Iraq spending bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Peanut farmer Armond Morris lives and works about 900 miles from the nation's capitol, but his livelihood has become seemingly inexplicably intertwined with the Iraq war spending bill. And why? Congress is considering authorizing $74 million so farmers can store peanuts. That measure was tacked on to the much more serious war spending bill. Farmers say they need the help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's frustrating and, yes, it would stop the production of peanuts if the farmer has to absorb that and it's not a laughing matter, really, it isn't.
CALLEBS: But it is fertile ground for late-night TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, we both have our problems. You have an unwinnable war sinking America into a permanent morass and I have my own problems.
CALLEBS: Unlike soybeans and corn, peanuts can't really be stored on a farm, so they end up in a massive shed like this until farmers can squeeze the best price out of companies like Peter Pan and Jiff. Half the peanuts in the United States are grown in Georgia. No surprise then that a Georgia lawmaker is pushing this agenda.
REP. SANFORD BISHOP (D) GEORGIA: It is an emergency. It will determine whether or not this industry in America survives.
CALLEBS: Peanuts are not as profitable as they used to be. More and more farmers are today using their land to grow other crops. Still, critics call the measure an outrageous example of pork.
TOM SCHATZ, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVT WASTE: I think taxpayers understand the difference that this is an effort to simply buy votes.
CALLEBS: Armond Morris stresses the money is needed to preserves an important staple of American life.
ARMOND MORRIS, PEANUT FARMER: If they come home and eat a peanut butter sandwich with some bread and some milk in the evening. That is the most nutritious food that they could eat.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CALLEBS: Armond and all the peanut farmers in the 10 states that grow them can qualify for this $74 million. It had been offered through the farm bill since 2002, but, Kiran, it was left out of the last farming spending measure. The question is this an emergency? The industry points out, if it got the $74 million it would be less than one tenth of 1 percent of all the money that would be in that big spending bill. Kiran?
CHETRY: That's what's so strange about Washington. It is left out of the farm subsidy bill, but it's put in the war funding.
CALLEBS: Exactly right. Farmers are disappointed because they had this if you want to call it subsidy or supplemental pay since before World War II. So they've really grown used to it. They depend on it. It's a razor thin margin between profit and loss for farmers so if they don't get this, a lot of them say they're going to stop growing peanuts and turn to other crops. One final measure Kiran, three billion peanuts, if you can tell me how many peanut butter sandwiches these peanuts could make, I'll eat that many sandwiches. Go ahead take a guess.
CHETRY: How many peanut butter sandwiches, half a million.
CALLEBS: Eighty two million.
CHETRY: How about that and just a quick question because we were talking about it, they don't care that you're stepping on the peanuts, that's OK?
CALLEBS: They say that it's OK because these are taken out. Then they're loaded from, it's called a flow tube and then they're cleaned and then they're roasted and then they're mashed and made into peanut butter or they're used for seeds to grow more peanuts next year.
CHETRY: I got you. Well, if they're mashed, you're helping them on their way. So thanks for your part, Sean Callebs, thank you.
Students and teachers are returning to classes this morning at Virginia Tech. It's just one week since the shootings on the campus. Students actually had the option, they could take the grade that they earned before the tragedy. They could even withdraw from a course. Earlier though I spoke with two students and Professor Nikki Giovanni about how important it was for them to return to campus and help get things back to normal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI GIOVANNI, ENGLISH PROFESSOR, VIRGINIA TECH: I'm glad to be back on camps and I'm looking forward to being back in the classroom. I don't teach on Monday. I teach on Tuesday, but I wanted to be here today because I'm a part of this community and I think that we've done a banner job in just being stand up people. I think our students have been graceful. I think that the country has embraced, I don't think that -- the country has embraced us, the world actually has sent good wishes and I wanted to be here to be a part and to offer whatever comfort little old ladies who write poetry offer. CHETRY: Are there going to be changes, do you think, in the security situation on the campus? Do you think that they're prepared to make sure that students and faculty are protected for the future?
GIOVANNI: I have absolute confidence in Charles Steger and in his leadership and I'm sure that he's going to do everything that needs to be done. As for me and my classroom think that my job right now is to listen and we have a thing here called Carol Lee (ph) doughnuts. And so tomorrow I'm bringing in two dozen Carol Lee doughnuts and Starbucks coffee and we're going to sit and talk and get a sugar high and listen to each other. And I think that that's what I do. The rest of it is out of -- Steger will do what needs to be done. I have no doubt of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Speaking about the president of Virginia Tech. She also said she thinks it is important, she's a poet of course and a professor. She thinks it is important for students to write down their thoughts. She believes that that will be very helpful in getting past this and moving forward after the tragedy. Coming up at 9:45 this morning, there will be a special service to honor the 32 victims of the shootings.
The war in Iraq taking a heavy toll on America's fighting men and women. What about their families? Up next seven kids and one mother deal with life without dad as he deals with another tour in Iraq. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.
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CHETRY: This week we're meeting families for our special series "Children of War." You may remember the pictures of sailor Bill Hawes (ph) surprising his son John in kindergarten class. He was away in Iraq for seven months and it touched all of our hearts to see his reaction and it made us wonder how many other kids are out there and coping with this and what they miss most when mom or dad is away for war. I recently paid a visit to West Point and met the Snel family. Here's their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Not every family can instantly organize a pick-up game in their yard, but the seven Snel brothers are in a league of their own. While they play kickball their mom Techie (ph) runs interference. The only family member missing from the game, their dad. Major Joe Snel who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. When he first told you he was going to Iraq again, how did he tell you guys?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: He was crying.
CHETRY: Were you guys crying, too?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Yeah. CHETRY: Your dad's been gone, it will be nine months, what is the hardest part?
ZECHARIAH SNEL, FATHER IS SERVING IN IRAQ: Helping my mom take care of all the brothers.
CHETRY: No small task after putting Andrew down for a nap, Techie plays with Jonathan. Then it's off to the doctor and back in time to greet the older kids home from school. There's Christopher's tears to tend to and Jeremiah in a tree. How are the deployments been in terms of trying to deal with raising all of those boys by yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've been getting harder with the boys get older and them understanding a whole lot more. The oldest especially because of his age. He's just at that age group where it would be great to have a daddy there with him.
CHETRY: Besides the occasional phone call, 12-year-old Jacob's only contact with his father is through e-mails. What is it that you miss the most about your dad?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Taking us bowling, to the pool, to movies.
CHETRY: The younger boys have a tougher time remembering their dad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah? Looks like daddy, doesn't it? That's not daddy.
CHETRY: Jonathan wasn't quite two when he last saw daddy in person. Do you worry about him getting hurt?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CHETRY: Not really. Why do you say yes?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Because I heard a lot of news stories that many people have gotten killed.
CHETRY: And you said you do not worry, why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just know he'll be safe.
CHETRY: You just know that in your heart?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Yes.
CHETRY: Confidence for a boy who must now face the worries of a man. If you had guys a genie in a bottle and you could wish for three things and they would happen immediately, what would you pick?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: After dad to come home, I can't think of anything else.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHETRY: And the earliest the Snel brothers can expect to see their dad is September. As we know, some of those dates for coming back keep sliding and sliding as the security situation in Baghdad changes.
ROBERTS: Boy, seven kids at home waiting for him. I hope he's got an angel on his shoulder.
CHETRY: I know, me, too. I think he does and they think he does as well.
ROBERTS: What a great story and more coming up this week as well, right?
CHETRY: Actually, we are going to meet a woman when Broadway and Baghdad collide. It's pretty interesting. She's one of the only Broadway actresses starring in a performance while her husband is actively deployed in Iraq and she brings us her story, as well. We're going to see that for you on Wednesday.
ROBERTS: Broadway meets Baghdad, that's great. Looking forward to that.
CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Tony Harris at the CNN center now with a look at what's just ahead. Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning to you. We've got these stories on the NEWSROOM rundown for you. Virginia Tech students heading back to class this morning. A moment of silence next hour for the 32 shooting victims.
Pay gap, a new study finds women earning less than their male peers straight out of college and the gap only widens with time. Researchers blame out and out discrimination and child bearing.
She wore the Miss America crown in 1944. Today 82-year-old Venus Ramey is gunning for thieves on her farm. Betty's in for Heidi this morning. NEWSROOM, we get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Tony, thanks much. We'll see you then just a few minutes from now.
Coming up, we've told you about this guy all morning long. He gave out his cell phone number on youtube encouraging thousands of people to give him a call just to talk, well, they did. And we talked to him, as well. We'll have him on next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Why on earth would anyone give out their phone number, especially their cell phone number on youtube? And what would you do if you started getting thousands and thousands of calls using up all your free weekend minutes. One fellow is dealing with that situation. Ryan Fitzgerald, who put his telephone number on youtube, reaching out to people, asking them to call in just to chat. Jackie Schechner found him. So Jackie, why don't you lead off here and talk to our good friend Ryan Fitzgerald.
JACKIE SCHECHNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you with us?
RYAN FITZGERALD: Yes, I'm here.
SCHECHNER: How are you?
FITZGERALD: I'm good thank you. How are you?
SCHECHNER: Good, good. So where do we stand on the call count at this point?
FITZGERALD: 3,420 now.
SCHECHNER: That's not bad. How many minutes have you used up?
FITZGERALD: I've used up, I think close to all of them right at this point. The weekend has spared me since it is free nights and weekends.
SCHECHNER: Your minutes expired about 5:00 this morning right.
FITZGERALD: So now it's all (INAUDIBLE) all the minutes, I'm using them up now.
ROBERTS: Hey Ryan, why did you want to do this?
FITZGERALD: The biggest reason I did it was not just to have people call me and say hello, I did it for the people that are at their house, it's 4:00 in the morning any time of the day they just someone to talk to, you want to tell me your life story, I've had people do that. I've gotten tons of different types of people from all across the world, Cyprus, Mexico, Tokyo. I've taken calls from everybody.
SCHECHNER: I have to jump in here, because I called you at 4:00 this morning and you didn't pick up the phone.
FITZGERALD: I'm sorry. I was sleeping. When I sleep I put it on silence because I didn't sleep yesterday. I was awake for 34 hours talking to people. I did not sleep and I did want to be by the phone because it still is the early stages of what I'm doing and I'm trying to pick up every call I can and I do check the voice mail and I do return calls.
ROBERTS: You know Ryan, usually when Jackie calls a guy, they pick up the phone. What do you parents think of all this?
FITZGERALD: Actually my mom has no clue, she lives in Connecticut, so I don't see her much. My dad, Kevin, he's actually at work right now. I told him about all this and he is not against it but he's not exactly for it. He doesn't understand that I do have a reason behind it. He thinks I just put my phone number on there just for, you know, whatever. But there is a point to this and for the people that don't see it, I'm sorry, but I know that there are many people out there that do understand that there is a whole point and there is a moral behind this.
ROBERTS: We wish you well, Ryan. We'll check back with you in a couple of days to see how you're doing. How about that?
FITZGERALD: Yeah. No problem, you too, have a nice day.
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us too Jackie.
Here's a quick look now at what CNN's NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM. Students returning to class at Virginia Tech one week after a shooting rampage took 32 lives.
Iraqis protesting a wall around their neighborhood. Today the U.S. military said it will abide by the prime minister's wishes and halt construction.
Gas prices jumping nearly a dime close to last summer's record high.
And the Dow flirting with 13,000 today, NEWSROOM top of the hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That's going to wrap things up on this Monday for AMERICAN MORNING. John you know what his number was by the way?
ROBERTS: No.
CHETRY: 867-5309.
ROBERTS: Jenny, tell me about that number (INAUDIBLE) got that one. Hey thanks. It's always good to spend three hours with you in the morning Kiran and we'll see you again tomorrow. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Betty Nguyen begins right now
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