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American Morning
Killer Tornado in Texas; Online Campaign: McCain Launches His Blog; Interview With Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Aired April 25, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Violent storms rock Texas from top to bottom. At least six people killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just so quick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I jumped fences and everything until I got to my kids, because I didn't know if they were OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Tornadoes, hail and high water, with more extreme weather on the move, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: And good morning. It's Wednesday, April the 25th. I'm John Roberts, in Washington, D.C.
Good morning to you, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Good to see you, as well, here in New York this morning.
We have a lot of stories on our radar today. And the first is the wicked weather across the country. That deadly tornado we just talked about. Possibly up to seven killed near Eagle Pass, Texas. We have a live report coming up on that.
And also the nor'easter. What a mess that nor'easter left behind, John. A whole new island created off of Cape Cod. A lot of this beach property, as well, just destroyed there. And our Rob Marciano is on the scene. He's going to show us some of the damage.
ROBERTS: Look at that. That's the sort of stuff that we've seen time and time again with hurricanes. But typically, you know, along the coast of Florida or the outer banks of North Carolina. Not up in Massachusetts.
It's also a really big day in politics. The House is going to vote on the wartime supplemental. Don't forget, they're sending that to the president with timetables for a withdrawal of U.S. troops. The president says he's going to veto it.
General Petraeus is on Capitol Hill talking to the Democrats in Congress today. But he's not going to be talking with Nancy Pelosi. She couldn't make it, but she did have a personal phone call with him. And John McCain making the big announcement today, a couple of months after he already made the announcement on "The Letterman Show," that he's going to be running for president. He's up in New Hampshire today.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, and the March numbers came in for home sale prices, down the most they've been in 18 years. If you're thinking about buy, is it the time? And what if you're trying to sell your house? We're going to get some advise on that coming up.
But right now we're going to get right to the breaking news overnight. It was a line of powerful storms that swept across Texas, including at least one tornado. And we're hearing six, possibly seven people were killed near Eagle Pass. That's a town on the Mexican border.
An elementary school is gone. More than 20 homes and a sewage treatment plan heavily damaged. And there are dozens of people hurt this morning, some critically. The National Guard now going door to door, making sure that everyone is accounted for.
Commander Eduardo Lopez joins us by phone. He's with the Maverick County Texas Sheriff's Office.
Thanks for being with us this morning, commander.
COMMANDER EDUARDO LOPEZ, MAVERICK COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Thank you, ma'am.
CHETRY: Do you have any updates now on the number of people killed and injured? Last we heard, six, possibly seven people.
LOPEZ: That's the way it stands as of right now, 5:00 in the morning. We just got word that -- we were on six and right now it sounds like there's another one that has been taken to the hospital and was air lifted to -- or taken by ambulance to San Antonio and didn't make it.
CHETRY: Do we know where most of the damage and deaths and injuries took place? Were people in their homes at the time?
LOPEZ: Yes. Their homes. As far as we know, they were either in mobile homes. This area has a lot of mobile homes. And, you know, small houses. The area that was hit was Lacita Valley (ph), Lemolinden (ph) and the Swahilos (ph) area. It's the small colonials, small subdivisions outside the city limits of Eagle Pass.
CHETRY: Right. And we are seeing the video.
Commander Lopez, thank you for being on the phone with us. We're seeing some of the video of the destruction and it's just really tough to look at because we know now that there were six to seven people killed when this happened and there are many others, dozens in fact, that are hurt. Some people critically. Let's toss it to our severe weather expert, our own Chad Myers, right now with more on the storm systems that spawned that mess there in Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: We're also going to get back in touch with an affiliate reporter from San Antonio who will be joining us a little bit later in the program. Giving you an on the ground look at how things are down there in Eagle Pass.
Meantime, developing news right now in the pet food recall. The FDA wants to know if human food is affected. It's checking a number of imported food products for the presence of melamine. That's the compound that was implicated in the death of dogs and cats in the United States. Dr. David Acheson is the chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. He joins us on the phone now.
Doctor Acheson, first of all, give us a quick little primer (ph). What is melamine?
DR. DAVID ACHESON, CHIEF MED. OFFICER, FDA CTR. FOR FOOD SAFETY & APPLIED NUTRITION: Melamine is a -- it's actually used as a fertilizer in some parts of the world. It has a very high nitrogen content. And when added to certain kinds of food, to give the impression of higher levels of protein than are actually there.
ROBERTS: It's also used to make plastic products, is it not?
ACHESON: It is. If you take melamine molecules, you string them together, you can make plastic out of it. But this is (INAUDIBLE) what we're talking about. It's the same basic compound, but melamine table ware is slightly different.
ROBERTS: Wow. Why are you testing human food products?
ACHESON: Well, we know from recent events that we found it in two kinds of protein concentrate, wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, both of which have wound up in pet food and made pets sick. The FDA wants to take a proactive approach right now and start to ask the question, could this be in other protein concentrates that may be getting into other pet food or other human food. Right now there's no indication that that's happening, but we know that there are other types of protein concentrates that come into the United States. And we think, in the interest of public health, that we should get out there and look for it.
ROBERTS: Is it not true, Dr. Acheson, that it has been found -- traces of melamine have been found in the urine of hogs in three states, California, North Carolina and South Carolina?
ROBERTS: That is correct. That is because some of those hogs were fed scraps from the pet food industry before they realized that there was a problem. ROBERTS: Right. So if it is in hogs and humans eat hogs, is it not too much of a leap to suggest that it may already be in the food chain?
ACHESON: Well, we know how it got into the hogs. It got into the hogs because they were eating discarded pet food. There's no indication so far, and we've looked very hard for this, that any of the contaminated ingredients has been used directly in the human food supply. And we look at where it traces to and there's no indication that that's happened.
ROBERTS: All right. So what products are you testing? I mean, what is this used in that humans would consume?
ACHESON: Well, we're looking at a range of protein concentrates. Things like corn gluten, wheat gluten more, cornmeal, soy protein, rice brands, things like that. Those sorts of protein concentrates are used in a whole range of different kinds of foods, breads, pastas, cereals, pizza, meal replacement beverages, protein shakes, energy bars, that kind of stuff.
ROBERTS: Wow. So it's sort of ubiquitous throughout the food that we eat?
ACHESON: It is. It is widely used. And that's why we think it's so important to get out here proactively, ahead of the curb, be looking for something. Hopefully we won't find it. But if we do, we're going to be one step ahead.
ROBERTS: What should people do until the testing is complete? Should they avoid those products? Should they go on eating them? Give us a suggestion here.
ACHESON: There's no reason whatsoever to avoid these products. As I've said, there's no indication that any of these are in the human food supply right now. This is purely a proactive approach by us to make sure that we get out ahead of something and not simply be reacting to a problem when it arises.
ROBERTS: All right.
ACHESON: So consumers, absolutely, just continue as normal. If we find anything, obviously, we would alert the public, tell them where it is, what it is and what to do about it.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll stay in touch with you, Dr. Acheson. We look forward to the results of that testing and we'll get back to you on it. Thanks very much. Dr. David Acheson from the FDA.
Let's head back to Eagle Pass right now. Leila Walsh is with our affiliate WOAI out of San Antonio. She joins us there live on the ground.
We're seeing some terrible pictures there this morning, Leila. What's it like where you are? LEILA WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, there is extensive damage everywhere. If you take a look, this is all that is left of one home here behind us. You can see a toilet and some pipes. But other than that, the home here is in pieces.
Six people died in this storm, and many of the people who live in homes just like that one right behind us were waiting at shelters. There's an elementary school just up the street from where we are. That was a shelter.
But crews found the bodies of four people in the debris at that elementary school. That's because a mobile home was thrown across the road and crashed into the school there. Four people died. Their bodies were recovered at that elementary school.
Back out live, I want to show you also, this is the mobile command post where we are set up here. And this is the staging area for hundreds of workers who are helping in this rescue area. They don't have the map up here right now, but earlier this was a map that was lit up where crews could come by and see which areas have already been searched. There are hundreds of National Guardsmen out here, along with sheriff's deputies and state troopers. They are all focused right now on trying to find any survivors who may still be trapped in the debris.
John.
ROBERTS: Leila, let me just back up a second. So those people had taken shelter inside the school and the school collapsed or at least partially collapsed?
WALSH: Well, this is one home here, and then the school is just a short way up the road. And what we understand is that there was a mobile home that was directly across from the school. When the tornado came through, that mobile home actually flew across the road and slammed into the school. Again, that school was being used as a shelter. The four people living inside that mobile home died.
ROBERTS: Wow. That sounds like an episode we had recently in the Midwest in which some people took -- or was it Florida some people took shelter in a school. The school partially collapsed, killed a number of people. It's terrible when people take shelter in these places and then they die inside those shelters.
Leila, thanks very much. Appreciate it. We'll get back to you later on this morning.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
Well, he says he's not the youngest, but he is the most experienced. That's John McCain. He's going to tell America today that he officially declares his candidacy for president in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He's going to be stressing strong defense, corporation with Congress and also independent from foreign oil. McCain is 70 years old. It's his second try for the White House.
And Ohio Congressman and Democratic Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich wants Vice President Dick Cheney impeached. Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment yesterday, claiming the vice president manipulated and fabricated intelligence about WMD to justify the war in Iraq. In response, Vice President Cheney's office says that Mr. Cheney is focused on doing his job. But he's also going on the offense, calling out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday for saying the war in Iraq cannot be won and accusing Democrats of using the war to win political points. Reid then returned fire. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Senator Reid said he doesn't have real, substantive meetings with the president. Yet immediately following last week's meeting at the White House, he said it was "a good exchange, everyone voiced their considered opinion about the war in Iraq." What's most troubling about Senator Reid's comments yesterday is his defeatism.
SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: The president sends out his attack dog, often. That's also known as Dick Cheney. And he was here again today, attacking not only me, but the Democratic caucus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The House could vote today on the war funding bill that would require troops to start leaving Iraq in October. President Bush has promised to veto it.
John.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Kiran.
Hey, just to clarify, it was Enterprise, Alabama, where that school was hit by the tornado. Eight students died who had taken shelter inside there.
When the top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, goes to Capitol Hill today, there is going to be one lawmaker missing, Nancy Pelosi. He's going to brief the rest of the Democrats, though, and try and convince them that the troop build-up is working. And one key lawmaker, as we said, is not going to be there. Nancy Pelosi had a scheduling conflict, so she spent 30 minutes on the telephone with the general last night. Says she learned a lot from him, but it doesn't seem like many minds have been changed at this point.
Happening right now in Russia, the funeral for former President Boris Yeltsin is just getting underway. This is the scene at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. The church destroyed by Stalin and rebuilt during Yeltsin's regime. Former President's George Bush and Bill Clinton representing the U.S. there. Yeltsin, Russia's first freely elected president, died of heart failure this week. He was 76 years old. CHETRY: Well, turning to real estate news right now. It's buyer's market. It's a rough one for anyone hoping to sell their home. Ali Velshi joins me now with more on the numbers.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People ask me how the economy is doing. And, I mean, try and make sense of this. The Dow is near record highs. Unemployment is really low. But gas prices are way up. And home prices are down again. If you're confused, you're not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI, (voice over): It may be a buyer's market, but that doesn't mean people are rushing to buy.
ANGELA FOX, DENVER REALTOR: It's very tough. There's, you know, a lot of homes on the market and I think that's why we're seeing the average days on market up.
VELSHI: According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales posted the sharpest drop in 18 years, down 8.4 percent. Fallout from the risky mortgage failures we've told you about has played some role in keeping people out of the market. A few weeks ago, we took you to Denver, a market that's been taking its lumps for a while.
LARRY MCGEE, DENVER REALTOR: Certainly we see a lot of foreclosures because we had a lot of first-time home buyers in Denver, a lot of growth over the past decade. When the market contracts, you're going to have a high number of foreclosures.
VELSHI: Nationally, the median price for an existing home, that's the price at which half of all homes sell for more and half sell for less, has been dropping for eight months. Home builders are feeling the pinch. Fewer homes are being built. Even fewer are being planned. The home builders are hoping to flush out the seven-month backlog of homes still on the market.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Now, the reason these home building exercises are a big deal, even if you're not looking to buy or sell a new home, it's where a lot of people work. Over the last few years, it's employed so many people. So when home sales slow down, it doesn't just affect buyers and sellers, it really affects the economy as a whole.
CHETRY: Yes, it is very true. Ali, thanks for that report.
We want to let people know, coming up in just a couple of minutes, we're going to talk to a real estate agent about some tips for buyers and for sellers in navigating this market right now.
Thanks, Ali.
And, John, we're also going to continue covering the weather situation, the tornado that touched down in Texas, unbelievable, last night. ROBERTS: It is the big story of the day, and not just in Texas. Deadly and destructive tornadoes down south overnight. Plus, damage from last week's nor'easter are still being felt. We're there covering that live.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Rob Marciano, on the beach at the shorelines of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where they're measuring the beach erosion by the foot. And evidence of this eroding beach are everywhere. And just this past week, with that nor'easter, a huge hole the size of a football field punched through this peninsula and now once protected homes are exposed to the ocean. A live report coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning.
New pictures in from Eagle Pass, Texas. It's about 130 miles southwest of San Antonio. A tornado killed at least six people there. Authorities believe that there may be a seventh fatality. Some 74 people were hurt.
Chad Myers was telling us to be on the lookout for this all day yesterday. Chad's back in the Weather Center today.
Chad, what should we be looking for today?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Also, we're keeping you updated on the political situation. What about John McCain? What's on his mind? He's making it easy for you to find out because he's going high tech, next.
Also, how to capitalize on the biggest slump in home sales in almost two decades. We're going to have some advice for you if you're looking to sell or if you think the time may be right for you to buy a home.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Home sales are down. They're actually way down. The biggest drop in 18 years for the month of March. So what do sellers and buyers need to know? Well, Brandie Malay is a real estate agent. She's also the host of HGTV's "Hidden Potential."
Brandie, thanks for being with us this morning.
BRANDIE MALAY, HOST, "HIDDEN POTENTIAL": Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: So do you think it's as bad as it's been made out to be, the drop for the month of March? MALAY: You know, I think that the media has really kind of overblown everything that's going on. I think the market is in the process of correcting itself and will continue to do so through, you know, most of probably 2008.
CHETRY: Because you think that prices were overinflated?
MALAY: I think in several markets the prices were completely inflated. Not only that, there was so much inventory, so many condos were coming up on to the market and just flooding it and, you know, just making it a tough market.
CHETRY: Some were also saying the bad weather. Does that really affect the sale of homes so significantly?
MALAY: Absolutely. I don't want to go out and show property when it's, you know, sub zero temperatures. I'm from Chicago. I completely understand. That huge cold snap definitely had affects on buyers.
CHETRY: All right. Now if you are a buyer, what is some of the best advice if you're looking for a home now?
MALAY: Well, buyers need to understand that they're not going to go out and steal a home, I mean unless it's in a complete foreclosure- type situation and I don't even know if people want to dabble in that. However, you know, the best thing, I think, for them to do is really align themselves with a realtor and see what comps are out there that support, you know, going in at a certain price. I mean I don't mean comps from six months ago or a year ago. I'm talking about comps in the last 30 to 90 days.
CHETRY: OK. And if you're trying to sell your home, you know, sometimes people say, well, I'm not going to bother to put it on the market if it's going to be devalued so much and if I'm not going to get what I feel my money's worth is. So what do you say for sellers?
MALAY: I think sellers need to be realistic about their expectations about returns on their investment. They're not going to make a killing like say five years ago, but they're still going to make a good, decent return on their investment. You know, I just -- I think that, again, it's not as bad as they're saying it is.
CHETRY: So you think that we're looking ahead to April, we are going to see a little bit of a jump?
MALAY: I definitely -- in my own market in Chicago, I've definitely see things move much quicker than they have over the last nine months. The last, like, 60 days, things are selling again.
CHETRY: OK. Well, that's certainly good news.
MALAY: Yes.
CHETRY: The bright spot.
Brandie Malay from HGTV's "Hidden Potential," thanks so much.
MALAY: Thanks, again.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" now. It's coming up to 26 minutes after the hour.
Ali, Apple Computer reporting earnings later on today, but is there something rotten inside the Apple?
VELSHI: Well, it's kind of interesting because Apple's former chief financial officer said yesterday that Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, knew that something was wrong when he agreed to backdate some options. Fred Anderson, who you see there, settled some charges of stock option backdating with the Securities & Exchange Commission yesterday. He didn't admit to any wrongdoing, but he paid a $150,000 fine and he's going to repay the gains he made on those options, $3.5 million worth.
But he said that he told Steve Jobs that it might be inappropriate to backdate those options back in 2001. Steve Jobs told him he had the approval of the board to do so. And that's interesting because it brings the question up of, did Steve Jobs know that something was wrong?
Apple's internal research into the matter showed that it backdated millions of dollars, $84 million worth of options, but they cleared Steve Jobs of any wrongdoing. Now the focus is back on Steve Jobs.
Apple is one of more than 200 companies being investigated for stock options backdating, which, John, I guess is best described as betting on a horse after the race is done. It's a big problem. And if Steve Jobs is implicated, and this is a big deal for investors.
That said, nothing seems to bug Apple or its investors. That stock was down on this news yesterday and then went right back up. I mean people just love the company.
John.
ROBERTS: Yes, I think their earnings are going to come in above expectations today, aren't they?
VELSHI: Yes. It's a -- it makes money, but, you know, was there something rotten in that Apple?
ROBERTS: Yes, but betting on a horse after the race is over, a great way to earn a lot of money, but not exactly legal.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much.
Top stories of the morning are coming up next here on AMERICAN MORNING. The search is on for survivors of a deadly tornado in Texas. A live report from a frightening night just ahead.
And from beach to breach, the nor'easter of last week is gone. Lots of problems left behind, though, including a whole new island of homes.
And it's Dennis Kucinich versus the vice president. We'll find out from the Democratic presidential candidate why he's trying to unseat Dick Cheney.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Killer storms. Pounding rains, high winds and possible tornadoes turn deadly in Texas, while snow closes roads and strands drivers in the Rockies. The pictures and the new threat of extreme weather on this AMERICAN MORNING.
It is Wednesday, April 25th. I'm Kiran Chetry in New York.
Thanks for being with us.
ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts in Washington, D.C.
Not a great day in Texas at all. It is a big day in politics here, though, in Washington.
The House votes today on that wartime spending bill, sending the president later on this week timetables for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The president has vowed he's going to veto it. The punch- up is going to continue from there.
And in New Hampshire today, John McCain makes the announcement that already he made two months ago, that he's going to be running for president -- Kiran.
CHETRY: He sure did. What a shocker.
ROBERTS: Yes. Who knew?
CHETRY: Exactly. And it will be interesting to hear from Dennis Kucinich, the congressman. You're going to be talking to him a little later as well.
ROBERTS: Yes. He wants to impeach Vice President Cheney. Can you imagine?
CHETRY: Well, it's something that he's talked about for a while, so it will be interesting to get his take today.
ROBERTS: So far he's an army of one on that front.
CHETRY: And I think that's a position he's comfortable in, in many ways. We have some live pictures from Cape Cod today. The sun is just coming up. It's absolutely beautiful there. But a nor'easter left a big hole right in the middle of some beachfront property.
Our Rob Marciano is there to talk about the effects of the beach erosion that have taken place. Some are calling it the worst they've seen in 30 years.
Also, the Baldwin versus Basinger. One of Alec Baldwin's brothers actually steps up in his defense, and we're going to hear from him a little later, as well.
ROBERTS: All right.
Let's get right to our breaking news from overnight, though. A line of powerful storms across Texas, including at least one tornado. We're hearing six, possibly seven people were killed in the town of Eagle Pass.
It's about 130 miles west-southwest of San Antonio, Texas, right hard along the Mexican border there. The tornado hit an elementary school, more than 20 homes, a sewage treatment plant, as well. Dozens of people were hurt, some of them critically. The National Guard now going door to door trying to find more victims.
Judge Jose Aranda joins us by telephone now. He's in Eagle Pass this morning.
Judge Aranda, you have been out there traveling around, assessing the damage. How would you describe it to us this morning?
JUDGE JOSE ARANDA, MAVERICK COUNTY, TEXAS: Well, John, good morning.
Pretty much, I guess the word that I would have is devastating. Just definitely devastating.
The area is not that big of an area. It's about 1,500 acres. And I would say maybe more than 40 homes are damaged. And we probably will do a more better assessment later on today as daylight hits.
ROBERTS: What can you tell us us, Judge Aranda, happened at that elementary school where people had taken shelter?
ARANDA: Well, this elementary school was hit pretty much head on by this tornado. And there was a mobile home that was taken from about 500 feet away and crashed into the -- into the school itself. I would have to correct the fact that there were not -- it was not being used as a shelter, but there were four people in this mobile home.
ROBERTS: Oh, there were four people in the mobile home?
ARANDA: Yes.
ROBERTS: Oh. Initial reports were that the mobile home had crashed into the school, collapsed, and people who had taken shelter inside the school were killed. So these people -- these people were picked up in their motor home, thrown 500 feet into the side of this school?
ARANDA: That's correct.
ROBERTS: That's got to be an extremely, extremely powerful tornado, Judge.
ARANDA: Extremely powerful. There was a wrought iron fence around the school that was just twisted and torn and broken. It was just -- it was just impressive.
ROBERTS: And Judge, finally, have you got any update on the death toll? We heard that the initial estimate is six, there may be a seventh. Do you have anything more on that?
ARANDA: Well, there were six. There were 20 that were airlifted to different hospitals, San Antonio and Laredo, that people were in critical condition. I haven't heard a report of a seventh yet.
ROBERTS: Right. All right.
Well, Judge Aranda, our hearts go out to you this morning. What an unbelievable crisis you're waking up to this morning. Do you mind if we check back in with you a little later on?
ARANDA: No problem. We'll be here.
ROBERTS: That would be great. Thanks very much.
Kiran, can you imagine picking up a mobile home with four people inside it, flinging it against the side of a school 500 feet away? I've never heard that story before.
CHETRY: No. I mean, the power of these tornadoes and of that vortex when it comes down on most people that have survived through it describe it as the sound of a roaring locomotive just plowing through their homes. So it is -- it really is devastating.
ROBERTS: Incredible.
CHETRY: Now, speaking of weather and the lasting effects of weather, last week's nor'easter, well, the devastation can be seen right on the beaches of Cape Cod.
Our CNN's Rob Marciano is in Orleans, Massachusetts, a community on the Cape, with a stunning look at a new community that Mother Nature actually formed there.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Yes, it's a new community that people here really weren't looking for.
It's a beautiful morning here on the Cape. We're at low water right now. But when the tide comes in, it just gets increasingly higher up on the dunes.
There's a battle that's been going on here for years, a battle against beach erosion. And evidence of it is everywhere.
Look at how the ocean cuts into this dune. On the other side of this dune are dune grasses that are meant to help protect some of these dunes, but they do just about anything they can to fight off this beach erosion.
You see some snow fences on the other side of this dune as well, help -- are meant to catch some of this sand. They put in rocks to help protect. But in the end, the ocean does what the ocean wants to do. And last week with this nor'easter, and its pounding surf, the ocean took away a huge chunk of this shoreline.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice over): A massive breach here at Nauset Beach in Chatham. It's a huge hole for the ocean to pour through and eat away at even more shoreline.
(on camera): How much is the coastline actually changing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I think -- I've been here close to 20 years, and I've seen it change tremendously.
MARCIANO (voice over): From the air, the changes are easy to see. Streams of sand fan out into the bay, evidence storm swells and waves blasted through the beach.
Even on this calm day, a gentle surf constantly churns the sand along the shore. And for those who live on the coast of Nantucket, the sand is eroding at up to 12 feet a year. Homes well off the beach a decade ago are now teetering on the brink. Some have already succumbed to the sea.
JIM O'CONNELL, GEOLOGIST: So is erosion bad? I guess I'd say from a natural process, it's a very, very good and beneficial process.
MARCIANO: Geologist Jim O'Connell at the Coastal Research facility in Woods Hole explains how it all works.
O'CONNELL: The same process that forces, that created that opening in that barrier beach there also affected the entire shoreline.
MARCIANO: So just where does all of this disappearing sand go? Well, most of it settles somewhere else along the shore, building up beaches in other spots. And as sand builds the beach where people don't live...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those are all seals.
MARCIANO: ... the seals have moved in.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MARCIANO: You know, it's more than just summer cottages that are at risk here. Even though there are a number of homes that are isolated because of this bridge, there are homes back off the beach, like what you're looking at right now, that are protected by this peninsula. And if that hole does not fill itself in -- and the geologist we talked to yesterday said he thinks it should fill itself in the next few weeks -- if it doesn't do that, much like a breach didn't do 20 years ago with a similar storm, you're looking at homes that were once protected by this peninsula exposed to the ocean. And residents here might have to find another place to live.
We certainly hope that doesn't happen, but it's a battle that's been going on for decades, Kiran, and it seems to be getting worse.
Back to you.
CHETRY: What about the possibility of manmade help? Can they try to fill that?
MARCIANO: They try that. They've got a $25 million project right now to try to suck some of the sand up and throw it on the beach, but, you know, inevitably, it gets sucked back into the ocean.
They do bring in big boulders to try to protect their homes. They might protect their homes for a few years. But then eventually, the land and beached around that home will start to give way.
So, you know, in the end the ocean's going to do what it wants to do. And enjoy your beautiful home on the beach while you have it, because it may not be here for generations to come -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Wow.
Rob Marciano, thanks for painting that picture for us this morning -- John.
ROBERTS: That's comforting, enjoy your beach home while you've got it.
Thanks, Rob.
In this campaign season, what a candidate does online can count just as much as what they do on the road.
CNN's Jacki Schechner is here with a site to watch.
I can just imagine who you're talking about this morning -- Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Almost as shocking as McCain's announcement, huh?
We're actually going to be keeping an eye on John McCain's Web site today. I don't know if you can hear the music in the background here. This video went online a few days ago. It's pretty interesting. The music's got a good beat. You can dance to it, if you're so inclined.
We've actually been keeping an eye on John McCain's Web site, or his Web evolution throughout this campaign season. He originally started with his exploratory committee Web site, and he was the first ever we saw to put an exploratory committee Web site online.
It was pretty static, a couple of links, nothing too fancy. But as his competitors both in the Republican and the Democratic fields started to ramp up their online presence, he, too, made a change in his online Web site.
He kept the black and white theme. His campaign told us in February when they made this change that this was intentional, that they liked the way it looked. Now, of course, they're evolving and the Web site is getting a little prettier, a little flashier. They're starting to make a move towards really being ingrained in the online theme.
Now, they launched their blog yesterday. Really, albeit little fanfare. There wasn't much surrounding it -- kind of quietly. But they have opened it up for comments.
They say they're going to be blogging throughout McCain's announcement tour. And some of the comments are negative. They are letting the positive and the negatives come through. And that's something that at least one online Republican strategist, David All (ph), says is actually promising for McCain, that they're going to let people weigh in with both the good and the bad.
We don't see a lot of candidates who let that happen necessarily. They like to filter out the comments -- John.
ROBERTS: Jacki, John McCain is going the be 71 in August. How tech savvy is he?
SCHECHNER: You might be surprised. You know, we found out that when McCain ran for president back in 2000, he was actually using the interactive online community back then.
He did a virtual fundraiser. It was an hour-long Webcast. He charged $100 a head and raised some 50 grand.
So think about it, back in 2000, seven years ago, he was already using this online interactive medium, and he did it again last month. He did another, like, online virtual fundraiser, charged $100 a head. It was pretty successful.
ROBERTS: Breaking the mold. Jacki Schechner, thanks very much. We'll see you a little bit later on.
Do you have a question about the news, the stories we cover or how we cover them? We've got the place for you to get some answers.
We call it "Ask AM". E-mail us, send us your questions or your suggestions at AM@CNN.com. That's AM, which stands for AMERICAN MORNING, at CNN.com.
We'll pick some of the questions that we get and find out more, and we'll give you the answers to those as we go along here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Kiran.
CHETRY: That's right. We got a pretty good one yesterday. People wanted to know what happened to the guy who was put in jail -- I think it was in Arizona -- because he had a very rare strain of TB.
ROBERTS: You know, you can ask all sorts of questions. A lot of people out there don't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. If that's something you want to know, e-mail us.
CHETRY: All right.
And speaking of asking questions, coming up, we're going to be talking to Dennis Kucinich about what he is thinking about with his plan to try to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. And does anyone in Congress stand with him? He's going to join us next.
Also, you heard the angry words of Alec Baldwin, that voice-mail message left for his daughter. Now the question is, who released those tapes? We're going to have the latest on the Baldwin-Basinger battle when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now to 46 minutes after the hour.
Here in Washington, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is trying to unseat the sitting vice president. On Tuesday, the Ohio congressman introduced articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney and explained why he's targeting the vice president and not President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that it's very important that -- that we start with Mr. Cheney, because if we were to start with the president and pursue articles of impeachment, Mr. Cheney would then become president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Congressman Dennis Kucinich joins us now.
Climbing up the ladder here, Congressman.
You're one percent in the polls in the presidential race. What do you say to people who say Dennis Kucinich is just trying to attract attention to himself, trying to get support from the left by unleashing this idea?
KUCINICH: We're in an illegal war. We went into that war based on lies. The vice president played a signal role in that. And he's also talking about -- he's beating the drums for war against Iran, using the same tactics.
It's time that someone in the Congress stood up and challenged it.
ROBERTS: So this isn't about publicity?
KUCINICH: This is my responsibility to protect the Constitution. The vice president took an oath to protect that Constitution and to preserve, protect and defend it. He hasn't done that. And so these articles of impeachment lay out a very powerful case, I believe.
ROBERTS: What are you charging in the articles?
KUCINICH: Well, first of all, that he purposefully misled the country, the Congress, and the American people -- for that matter, the media, although that's not in the articles -- by fabricating a cause for a war against Iraq, saying that they had weapons of mass destruction.
Secondly, by purposely misleading the country and saying there was a connection between Iraq and Iran. And that was significant because -- excuse me -- Iraq and al Qaeda, and that's significant because of al Qaeda's role in 9/11.
And so then you go to Iran. He has been consistently beating the drums for aggression against Iran, and that is a violation of not only the United States Constitution, but it's a violation of the U.N. charter.
ROBERTS: Your fellow Democrats don't seem to have much appetite for pursuing impeachment against Dick Cheney. Nancy Pelosi says it's not on her agenda, Harry Reid says the same thing. Democrats remember what happened to the Republicans when they impeached President Clinton.
And here is what Congressman John Murtha said to Wolf Blitzer about it in "THE SITUATION ROOM" on Monday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I think it's not responsible to get involved in that area right now. What we want to do is get the White House working with the Congress, working with the international community trying to solve these problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He says it's not responsible to do this. What do you say?
KUCINICH: Well, John Murtha is a good friend of mine. Ad the fact of the matter is that John Murtha wouldn't have had to be up there challenging the war if we weren't lied to about getting into war.
It's imperative that this administration be challenged. And the vice president played a central role in it.
And so, what I'm saying is that we have an obligation to stand up for the Constitution. And I might add that I believe that you wills start seeing members of Congress signing on to this resolution.
ROBERTS: Well, keep watching, because right now you're sort of on an island by yourself on this whole thing.
KUCINICH: Actually, I think there are millions of Americans who are standing behind me. And I think that when you're seeing state legislatures taking action, such as the Vermont Senate, you're seeing that there is a call across this country for accountability. And that's what this is about.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll...
KUCINICH: This is about accountability.
ROBERTS: ... keep watching it. Thanks very much for coming in.
KUCINICH: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Appreciate it.
KUCINICH: I appreciate it.
ROBERTS: We'll be following this along -- Kiran.
KUCINICH: Thank you.
CHETRY: Interesting. Very interesting, John. Thanks so much.
Well, we're going to head over to severe weather expert Chad Myers right now. He's going to bring us an update on more of that system that spawned the tornado that we saw in Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, we've heard the tapes, but the big question is, who released them? It's the latest bitter salvo between Baldwin and Basinger ahead.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back.
We all heard the videotape last week. Well, Alec Baldwin's family is stepping up on his defense -- it's an audiotape, rather -- over the scathing phone message that he left for his 11-year-old daughter. And when that became public, you know, there was big buzz out there about it.
And Brooke Anderson has been following all of the back and forth, including some of his own family members stepping up to his defense. BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
Last night on "LARRY KING LIVE," Steven Baldwin appeared on the show, and he said, hey, you know, although there have been anger issues in the past, that Alec has really become a "cooler customer" recently. And listen to what else he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN BALDWIN, ALEC BALDWIN'S BROTHER: You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that he made a bad choice. I mean, that's obvious. But people in every walk of life around the world make similar ones every single day. Unfortunately, this has taken on the tone that it has and it's been blown into the proportion that it has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: He also said, Kiran, that Alec is one of the most honorable, loyal and loving human beings that he's ever met, and he just wants everyone to play for Alec and his family, that it's a very delicate, sensitive situation.
CHETRY: Well, it's turned into a mess legally, too, because he lost visitation over this.
ANDERSON: Right, temporarily lost visitation rights pending that May 4th hearing coming up over these custodial issues. But yes, it's been a bitter, contentious custody battle for nearly six years now.
CHETRY: Yes.
ANDERSON: Kim and Alec fighting over this child.
Interestingly, Harvey Levin of TMZ.com -- you know TMZ.com, the one who got the tape, released the tape...
CHETRY: Right.
ANDERSON: ... said that he has good reason to believe that Ireland, the child, wanted this tape released and was happy that it was released.
CHETRY: Right.
ANDERSON: So a lot of people have problems with that. People are very concerned about the child's well-being and welfare.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: Yes.
CHETRY: The other thing buzzing over the Internet today are reports that maybe Rosie O'Donnell is leaving "The View". What do you know?
ANDERSON: I knew you wanted to get to this. Yes.
Well, TMZ.com, again, the only one reporting at this time that there is buzz, there is talk that Rosie O'Donnell could announce this morning on "The View" that she's leaving at the end of her contract this summer. She only signed a one-year deal.
And that's been a big question. What's Rosie going to do? Is she going to stay? Will she leave, have her own show, or is she just tired of it? Because there's been a lot of controversy.
As you know, the whole Donald Trump feud. But there's renewed vigor in "The View" in this 10th season with her arrival.
CHETRY: She's been great for "The View" ratings-wise.
ANDERSON: She's been great -- 500,000 new viewers. You know, 3.8 million people watch the show. It's a spike of 17 percent.
So I can't imagine that "The View" would want her to leave, but we'll see what happens.
CHETRY: All right. Well, you have to keep us posted on that one, Brooke.
ANDERSON: I will.
CHETRY: Thanks so much.
ANDERSON: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Following late developments out of Texas for you this morning. Several people killed after a tornado touches down in Eagle Pass. A live report from the scene straight ahead.
Plus, one tough kid. That 4-year-old football fan who survived this end zone crash -- ouch -- and his parents, they both join us on AMERICAN MORNING.
The most news in the morning is on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. I'm Ali Velshi, "Minding Your Business".
You'll recall that a few months ago TJX Companies revealed that about 45 million credit cards had been stolen -- or information on those credit cards had been stolen. And it was -- it was over the course of 18 months. Well, now a group of banks is suing the companies. TJX Companies is the parent of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeSense and Winners in Canada, and TK Maxx.
It says its systems were hacked. Well, consumers and credit card holders, as you may know, have zero liability in cases like this, but the banks do. So a group representing 300 banks is planning to file suit in the state of Massachusetts, where TJX is located. The case is going to be filed there. And Massachusetts lawmakers are also considering a bill that would make retailers liable when hackers breach the security systems and steal credit card data.
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