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American Morning

Texas Storms; Winning Streak; Iraq Summit; Debt Secrets

Aired May 03, 2007 - 06:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly washout. Heavy winds and pounding rains slam Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You couldn't see across the street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Trees down. Streets flooded. Thousands without electricity. And more extreme weather on the horizon, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

And welcome. It's Thursday, May 3rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you.

Some stories on our a.m. radar this morning. This is a really interesting story today.

CHETRY: Sure is.

ROBERTS: Remember, Imus got fired for saying something that was intemperate, offensive, racist, misogynistic. However you want to -- whatever word you want to use to explain it or describe it. Well, apparently, it might have been in his contract to allow him to do that. Now he's looking for a $40 million payout from CBS Radio. Will he get it? Our legal expert Jeff Toobin has got some opinions about that. He'll be joining us, coming up.

CHETRY: Also, the secrets and lies in marriage. It's not what you think. It's not infidelity.

ROBERTS: Secrets and lies.

CHETRY: It's what you know or don't know about your spouse's debt. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It becomes a vicious cycle of denial and spending and leading to more denial and more hiding. It just becomes unmanageable. Completely unmanageable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, our Greg Hunter did some digging. And it's a disturbing trend. And he's going to talk more about it with us a little later.

ROBERTS: I read somewhere, and this was some time ago, that arguments about money were the greatest source of discord between married couples.

CHETRY: Oh, yes. And I think one of the top reasons people get divorced as well.

ROBERTS: Irreconcilable differences.

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey looking for divine guidance apparently in the next chapter of his life. He has joined a seminary. Not a catholic one, an Episcopalian one. What are the rules with the episcopal church. Delia Gallagher, our faith and values correspondent, is going to look at that coming up.

CHETRY: And we begin the morning with breaking news right now in Texas. The third day of deadly storms pushing across the state. Parts of Dallas/Fort Worth under water. Our affiliate KDAF shot this video of cars almost completely submerged. One woman died when her car was overtaken with water.

And we also received this i-Report video from a viewer named Tom Eaton. And it gives you an idea of just how strong the winds were. This is unbelievable. The rain actually looks like it's going horizontal. Nearly 80 miles an hour in some places. Power lines were down. Almost 300,000 people without electricity right now. And as we said, more severe weather is on the way. Let's bring in Chad Myers now.

Chad, this is really -- the i-Report tells the story. You can just see the rain is coming down so hard and the wind is blowing and it's going horizontally.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: And joining us now to talk more about the storms in Texas, Anita Foster. She's with the American Red Cross in Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Anita, thanks for joining us this morning.

ANITA FOSTER, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: Oh, thank you.

CHETRY: You had a chance to get out there and survey the damage. What have you found?

FOSTER: Last night, as we start to make our way across the area, several apartment complexes with roofs off and, of course, that displaces multiple families at the same time. Residential structures with trees literally through the roofs. You know, as a Red Cross worker, I've ridden out a lot of hurricanes in my career, and last night here in north Texas, if I didn't know better, I would have thought I was on a coastline somewhere.

CHETRY: And that's unbelievable when you talk about -- when we just see the pictures of people submerged in their -- the cars submerged. Apparently one woman was killed when that happened. And then not to mention the power outages. How great is the need right now for shelter and for some help from you guys?

FOSTER: Well, the Red Cross, we are currently operating shelters throughout the area, for people that need that. We tried to get to as many people as we knew were displaced last night as possible. But sun-up always tells you the true story of disaster. And so we'll be out all over the area this morning just taking care of folks. The flooding last night was severe. There was no question. Very high water, driving rain, heavy winds. And it hasn't been the first storm. This has been a repeated pattern here for about a month now.

CHETRY: Yes, that's true, as we just heard from Chad Myers as well. It just happens to be where it gets hit the hardest. And in this case it was Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Anita Foster, thanks for talking to us this morning.

ROBERTS: Was Don Imus simply doing what he was hired to do? A clause in his contract apparently shows that CBS wanted him to be irreverent and controversial. Now Imus has hired a first amendment attorney and may sue CBS Radio for the $40 million left on his contract when he was fired for making sexist and racist comments about the Rutgers University women's baseball team. Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin was shown a part of Imus' contract.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What stands out in the contract is that Imus is supposed to be controversial and irreverent. That's what his statement about the Rutgers basketball team was. How is CBS going to argue that what he said was so controversial and so offensive that it isn't what they asked for in the contract?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: That contract also says that CBS would have to warn Imus before it could fire him for making offensive comments. Sources say that no warning was ever given. We're going to talk more with Jeff Toobin about all this in our next hour.

CHETRY: Well, the White House and Congress working on a new Iraq War funding bill. And Democrats appear to be dropping their demand that the money be tied to a deadline to bring troops home. Instead, the new bill will include goals for the Iraqi government, like disarming militias and passing a law to share Iraq's oil revenue. President Bush is sending top aides to Capitol Hill today.

And just moments ago, CNN learned that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet her counterparts from Iran and Syria at the Iraq conference in Egypt. Secretary Rice will meet with the Syrian foreign minister today in the first high-level talks between the two countries in years. And U.S. official said that the focus will be Iraqi security, also border issues related to Iran. ROBERTS: Reports out of London this morning suggest that Prince Harry's deployment to Iraq is on hold. The delay is prompted by concerns for the prince's safety, as well as worries that his presence will be a distraction for his unit. Once he is deployed, the prince will be shadowed by a personal security detail.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives in the United States today. First stop, Richmond, Virginia. It's her first visit to the U.S. in 16 years. She's going to travel to Jamestown, Virginia, and celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first English settlement and attend the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. No idea if she's going to bet on a horse or not, though. There's also plans for a state dinner in Washington and a chat with the crew on the International Space Station.

CHETRY: She has a busy schedule.

ROBERTS: Just a fun-filled, you know, touristic jaunt over here. It's good (ph) for her.

CHETRY: It sure is.

Well, last week it was the Democrats. And tonight it's the Republicans. The presidential candidates get to debate. Ten contenders for the White House will debate tonight at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Among those in the audience, former First Lady Nancy Reagan. She says her husband always wanted his library to be a place where policymakers debate the future.

ROBERTS: Wall Street opens this morning on a record-setting winning streak. How about a 51-year long winning streak? The Dow Jones Industrial average picked up 75 points on Wednesday to close at 13,211. A new high. Ali Velshi with us now with more on this.

Ali, this has been an incredible run for the Dow.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm actually not here live. This is just a recording because I could just come here every morning and tell you about a new record. There have been a lot of them. And it is an incredible run. And the biggest question people have is, what do I do about it?

Let me give you a picture of what's happened since the beginning of the year on the Dow. Take a look at this. In January, it started a little under 12,500 points. It started moving its way up. And then on February 27th, when Asian markets tumbled, our markets followed. A 461 point drop.

Now a lot of people that day said get back into this market. There's no fundamental reason for this market to have done that. And look what's happens since then. Since February 27th, it's just getting higher and higher and higher. Twenty-one out of the last 24 sessions we've seen higher points on the Dow.

We are now at record highs. And the question is, what do you do? Well, some people think it's all good from here. Americans keep on spending. That's why corporate earnings are good. That's why these deals keep getting made. And that's why you're seeing this market.

But I should tell you guys, there are some clouds on the horizon. Gas, $2.99 this morning, national average across this country for unleaded gas. We are still unsure about this housing situation. What this means to most people is look at your own portfolio, see what it's been doing. If you get advice from someone, see if it's equipped for what could happen. This is by no means a certain thing, but most market watchers think there's no reason for this market to stop generally going upwards.

ROBERTS: Yes, the price of gas hasn't spooked anybody yet. Why would it now?

VELSHI: Well, that's a good point, it hasn't yet. We've got people talking about $3.50. Whether or not you believe that. At some point above $3 people start to get twitchy about their cars and about driving. But we're still right under there.

CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi, thanks so much.

You know, it cheers up a lot of people to look online, check out their 401(k)s in the days when the market's high like this.

ROBERTS: Yes, but the problem is, though, is that buying stock is so expensive now, you want to wait for a little dip, but there haven't been any.

CHETRY: Right. Well, Ali says . . .

ROBERTS: I'm not for what, about, six or eight weeks, right?

CHETRY: Ali says, dollar cost average. Put the same amount in every month. Don't worry about it. Don't look at the numbers.

ROBERTS: Yes, dollar cost averaging between 12,000 and 13,000 is a little difficult.

CHETRY: Yes, well, all right.

Well, we have some good news this morning for commuters in the San Francisco Bay area. A freeway ramp that was damaged when that tanker truck crashed and set fire to the freeway, well that one won't have to be rebuilt from scratch. That one looks like it can be repaired and re-opened in 10 days. The overpass, however, that collapsed onto that ramp will have to be replaced and that will, of course, take much longer. State highway workers say it is a custom job and they are still looking for the steel to make the new overpass. They had said before five to six months perhaps.

ROBERTS: Yes, difficulty sourcing the steel because they -- it just happened so quickly, nobody was geared up and ready to go with that. It's usually pre-ordered months in advance.

New expanded suicide warnings this morning about antidepressants. Young adults between 18 and 24 will now be included in label warnings about possible suicidal thoughts during the first few months of taking antidepressants. Drug makers, including Eli Lilly, the maker of Prozac, say they'll comply with the FDA recommendation. Since 2005, drug labels have highlighted the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior for children and teens taking the drugs.

CHETRY: Well, there's another turn, another twist for former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey. He is entering an Episcopal seminary. The nation's first openly gay governor, raised a Roman Catholic, is now an Episcopalian. McGreevey can decide if he wants to become a priest after he completes the three year master of divinity program.

ROBERTS: Remember this kiss? Richard Gere getting into trouble in India for his kiss and overzealous embrace of the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty? Well now Gere and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have got something in common. Take a look at this. Ahmadinejad is catching heat for kissing the hand of and hugging an elderly woman who used to be his school teacher. Some ultra conservatives in Iran are calling the act indecent. According to Islamic law, it is forbidden for a man to have any physical contact with a woman that he's not related to.

CHETRY: You just touched me off camera. Good thing you're not there. You would have been in trouble.

ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE). Do you give everybody up that quickly?

CHETRY: Yes, I do.

ROBERTS: We're staying on top of a developing story in Texas right now. There are some terrible storms that hit across the state. Our Chad Myers is tracking today's extreme weather next.

Also, as violence rages in Iraq, should the parliament be taking a two-month summer break? Iraq's foreign minister joins us live.

And lying about debt could cost you your marriage. We're going to take a closer look.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Taking a look now at some live pictures from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This is between the Morgantown and Downingtown interchanges. A section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike closed there after a serious bus accident this morning at about 4:30. It closed a 10 miles stretch of the turnpike, which looks like it remains closed or the traffic getting by very slowly there now it would appear.

A number of serious injuries and some not so serious. Medical helicopters and ambulances had to arrive on scene to take away from of the injured. We'll keep following this for you this morning because, obviously, going to cause some problem for people traveling along the turnpike.

Fourteen minutes after the hour. Chad Myers at the Weather Center in Atlanta. More extreme weather. This time Dallas got hit. Where's it heading now?

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, the biggest diplomatic push to help Iraq since the 2003 invasion is underway right now. Top diplomats from around the world, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, are meeting today and tomorrow in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Joining me from the conference is Iraq's own foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari.

Mr. Zebari, thanks for joining us this morning.

HOSHYAR ZEBARI, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: You're welcome.

CHETRY: Well you've heard, I'm sure, about the big political fight going on here in the U.S. about when American troops will withdraw from Iraq. Do you side with the Democrats who think that it's time for our troops to start leaving, or our president who says there is still a lot of work to be done?

ZEBARI: Our position, in fact, we are not supportive of any fixed timetable or any precipitous (ph) withdrawal from Iraq. This decision, I think, will be made on the ground, and the conditions on the ground will make those choices. We have a timetable, in fact, imbedded in the security council resolution, that every six months we have a review of the security council and if Iraq doesn't want its forces it can ask them leave. At the end of the year, we have another timeline where the security council resolution would be terminated. And unless Iraqi requests to renew it, then there would be no need for any continued mandate of the American or multi-national forces.

CHETRY: OK. Let me ask you about this though. We have countries around the world, and they're all gathering to help find solutions to stabilize Iraq. But there is some concern out there today over plans by the Iraqi parliament to take a two-month recess starting in July. How can they reach agreements on easing the sectarian tensions that are going on in your country if they're not meeting?

ZEBARI: No, in fact, we resolved that issue. The parliament, the Iraqi parliament, will continue to work. There won't be any long recess or summer holiday for two months. They have plenty of work to do to accomplish especially what we are doing. Our (ph) Baghdad security plan has some direct impact on some of the legislation and laws that they need to pass to agree.

CHETRY: Right.

ZEBARI: So that has been resolved. Members of the Iraqi parliament will be in session during this summer.

CHETRY: Oh, that's great to hear. Iran will have a representative at this meeting in Egypt. U.S. officials are accusing Iran of training and supplying weapons to militias in Iraq. Do you think that Iran is helping or hurting your country?

ZEBARI: Well, this is, for the first, time that both the United States, Iran and Syria and other countries are in the same room and discussing one subject, that is Iraq, Iraq security and stability. And we succeeded, in fact, in convincing everybody to attend this all- important meeting. I don't want to jump into any conclusion, but there is a great deal of goodwill among all the participants to have the efforts of the Iraqi government, because the consequences are devastating for not only for Iraq but for the neighborhood.

CHETRY: Right. That's very true.

ZEBARI: So that's why everybody has an interest.

CHETRY: Let me just ask you this quickly before we go. Al Qaeda in Iraq leader, Abu al-Masri, do you believe he's dead or alive?

ZEBARI: Well, we cannot confirm that. There has been some reports, as was the case with Zarqawi before. But at this stage, really, I cannot deny or confirm that report.

CHETRY: OK. Well, it was great talking to you, Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari. A lot of work to do. A lot of things to discuss in Egypt.

ZEBARI: Good speaking to you.

CHETRY: Have a great day. Thank you.

ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes now after the hour. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Husbands with a secret. Financial infidelity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, God, I hope today is not the day she finds out, you know, how much in the hole we really are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Your spouse may be hiding financial secrets from you, at a huge cost to your marriage. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, they say till death do us part for married couples. Those are the words to live by. But the growing number of Americans in debt has created a variation on the vow, till debt do us part. AMERICAN MORNING's Greg Hunter has more on a troubling trend that's going on. Spouses are not being quite honest with each other about the financials of the households.

GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's not a laughing matter either, Kiran.

You know, not only are people in denial about their own debt, but sometimes they lie to their significant other about it. According to some, it's a nation-wide problem on the rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still have this constant problem of, you know, wanting to hide my credit cards and bills and things like that from my husband.

HUNTER, (voice over): Dave Ramsey hosts a daily radio show that deals with debt. Today he's talking about a problem that can rip marriages apart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't know we were six months behind on this bill and three months behind on this bill. That was the scary part, you know, saying, I have been negligent with the finances.

HUNTER: Ramsey sees a troubling, nation-wide trend, couples so deep in debt they lie to each other about it.

DAVE RAMSEY, HOST, "THE DAVE RAMSEY SHOW": They just feel incompetent. Like I've screwed up the money and the last person I want to tell is my wife. Or the last person I want to tell is my husband. He was counting on me to pay the bills and I screwed it up.

HUNTER: We found a man in Seattle who hid big credit card bills from his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess I just didn't want to face up to the fact that I was -- I had a problem with spending.

HUNTER: He wishes to remain anonymous because of the size of his debt.

How much do you have?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little over $70,000. $70,317 to be exact. Very often I have that feeling of, you know, God, I hope today is not the day she fine finds out, you know, how much in the hole we really are.

HUNTER: So the higher your debt got, the more secretive you got?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It becomes a vicious cycle of denial and spending and leading to more denial and more hiding. It just becomes unmanageable. Completely unmanageable.

HUNTER: Eventually, he says, the debt and the lies contributed to the end of his marriage. Now he started a website, dollarbydollar.com, where his debt-o-meter will track payments on his $70,000 balance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, you know what? A couple of years from now, that will be down to zero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I made all the big mistakes, lying to my husband about finances for many years.

HUNTER: Dave Ramsey's advice for couples is quite simple. RAMSEY: Turn off the television, take both their hands in your hands and say, here's what's going on and come clean. Do not wait 24 more hours. Don't put it off. Don't rationalize it. Deal with your deal now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTER: Three tips from Dave Ramsey that your debtor half may be lying about finances. Listen up. Number one, if the spouse won't show the other spouse the bills. Number two, if they're touchy even talking about finances. He says when finances are a sore spot, people get touchy, just like a real sore. And if things just start appearing around the house, you know, new golf clubs, new shoes, you know, expensive dinner receipt, things like that, you may want to be looking at the bills. It's just a good idea for both spouses -- even if one is responsible for the bills, it's a good idea for the other one to know what's going on.

CHETRY: The way that he was describing it, the one gentleman you talked to in particular, it almost sounds like infidelity.

HUNTER: Yes. There's a feeling of, you know, of lying, of being untruthful. The person feels shame. The other person who finds out, what, we have all this debt. And they say, you know, it's like you cheated on me. You weren't truthful with me.

CHETRY: Right. And how common is it?

HUNTER: According to Red Book, they did a survey a couple of years ago, it's about one in three spouses lie to one another about their debt. Dave Ramsey has 300 radio stations, five days a week to talk just about this. He has 3 million listeners. And he says that number is at least that or higher that one spouse is lying to the other about debt. So, it's a growing problem, right along with the debt.

CHETRY: Wow. A very interesting story. Thanks a lot, Greg.

HUNTER: Thank you.

ROBERTS: You know, it starts with lying about finances. Next thing you know you're lying about that ding in your bumper and things like that.

Twenty-six minutes after the hour now. Ali Velshi here.

And I know that I do this from time to time when I think that, you know, maybe the credit card balances are getting up a little bit, pulling out the debit card makes me feel good that I'm managing . . .

VELSHI: That's right. It's spending cash, but you don't have to carry the cash.

ROBERTS: Exactly. It makes me feel good about the way that I'm managing my money. And it also makes me sometimes feel a little safe. VELSHI: Except that there's a bit of a problem with this, in that debit cards don't afford you the same protection that credit cards do. I was speaking with Frank Abagnale the other day of "Catch Me If You Can" fame. You know, he was featured in the movie. He now works for the FBI. And he wanted to point out that in the world of credit card theft, the number of people using credit cards and debit cards, plastic in place of money, is growing so dramatically, but your protections aren't the same on the debit side.

Let's give you some numbers. In March, MasterCard, which is the smaller of the two branded cards, they had 835 million cards issued with the MasterCard logo on it. That's up 11 percent from last year. And 4.2 billion MasterCard transactions in March worldwide.

And a survey came out that says by 2010, worldwide, more than half of everybody will be using plastic instead of real money. Just remember that while it's, you know, using a debit card is like using cash, it may be more convenient than having to carry that cash, if something goes wrong on your debit card, you do not have the protections that you do if something went wrong on your credit card where you can call up the bank and say, I didn't make that charge. I'm not paying for it.

ROBERTS: You have to prove that you didn't do it?

VELSHI: You've got to prove it. Yes. They're going to take that money out of your account until you can prove that it's yours. That's a much bigger deal than just saying, I didn't charge that. That's not mine. So something to be careful about.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Ali. We'll see you back in about a half an hour or so.

Top stories of the morning are coming up next. Hurricane force winds, massive flooding, intense and deadly storms move across parts of Texas. Chad Myers shows us what's to come for today.

And he used to be called governor. Then Jim McGreevey called himself a gay American. Now does he want to be called reverend.

And there will be no cutting loose, foot loose, not in one Arizona establishment. The long arm of the law is putting a stop to those dancing feet.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Killer storms. Heavy wind and high water turn deadly in Texas. Homes damaged, roads closed, and thousands without power today. The latest pictures in the new threat for extreme weather on this AMERICAN MORNING.

And good morning to you. It's Thursday, May the 3rd.

I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

You know when the rain is going horizontal, it is extreme. And there's a lot of problems today. The Red Cross on the scene in a lot of towns in Texas as well. People are homeless this morning. They had to evacuate. And oftentimes, because of the roofs being ripped off, had no place to go.

ROBERTS: Yes, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area really got hit hard yesterday.

Stories on our radar this morning.

The extreme weather in the Southwest, new pictures just in. Take a look at this. This looks like a very, very dark tornado. It's because it's over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

CHETRY: Wow.

ROBERTS: And it's sucking up all that sand. You know how when a tornado is over water it sucks up the water and they call it a waterspout. You can call this a sand spout, I guess.

CHETRY: It looks like a stairway to heaven in a weird way. You know?

ROBERTS: Kind of.

CHETRY: I mean, there you go. Walk on up.

ROBERTS: We're going to be talking to Chad about all the extreme weather coming up very soon.

CHETRY: Also, Don Imus, could he be looking at a $40 million payday even though he was fired for the controversial remarks that he made? Apparently, we have had some people here who've had a chance to check out parts of his contract, and he could have a point.

ROBERTS: Yes. When you look at the contract and what it allowed him to do and what CBS recognized that he would be doing, I think he's got a pretty good case. And he's got a very sharp lawyer to push it as well.

A brazen armored car heist, in broad daylight as well. New surveillance pictures out this morning. Take a look at this.

Shots fired, thieves racing off. How much did they get? More than $1 million.

CHETRY: And you see the armored car -- oh, you see the shots being fired into the parking lot.

ROBERTS: Right. But it's an armored car, so what good does shooting at it do? CHETRY: No, no, no. He wasn't -- it didn't look like he was shooting at that. It looked like it was parked. Well, that's the unbelievable video.

All right. We'll talk more about that story a little bit later.

Also, excessive force used by the LAPD? There's some fallout after the riot police busted up part of an immigration rally. It was all caught on tape. There was a lot of news media there as well.

We're going to be speaking to L.A. police chief Bill Bratton a little later about the results of their investigation.

ROBERTS: And if you've got anything that you want to know about the news, the stories we cover, or how we cover from them, we want to hear from you. It's "Ask AM." E-mail us your questions or your suggestions at AM@CNN.com.

We'll be picking out some of them throughout the morning, finding out more, and we'll give you the answers as we go along here on this AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Well, we begin in Texas.

Deadly storms pushing across the state. Parts of Dallas-Ft. Worth area under water. Our affiliate KDAF shot this videos. Cars, especially the one on the right, almost completely submerged. One woman died when her car was overtaken by the rising waters.

We also received this I-Report from a viewer named Tom Eaton. It gives you an idea of how strong the winds have been. Nearly 80 miles an hour in some places.

Power lines are down, and almost 300,000 people are without electricity right now. Earlier, we spoke with a Red Cross spokeswoman who witnessed that damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA FOSTER, AMERICAN RED CROSS OF FORT WORTH & DALLAS: Several apartment complexes with roofs off and, of course, that displaces multiple families at the same time. Residential structures with trees literally through the roofs. You know, as a Red Cross worker, I've ridden out a lot of hurricanes in my career, and last night here in north Texas, if I didn't know better, I would have thought I was on a coastline somewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And also, these are some of the pictures we were just talking about.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Thirty-seven minutes after the hour now. News about Don Imus this morning and his contract. A clause apparently shows that CBS wanted him to be irreverent and controversial. Now Imus has hired a First Amendment attorney, a very sharp one at that, and may sue CBS Radio for the $40 million left on his contract when he was fired for making sexist and racist remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

Senior CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin was shown a part of Imus' contract.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: What stands out in the contract is that Imus is supposed to be controversial and irreverent. That's what his statement about the Rutgers basketball team was. How is CBS going to argue that what he said was so controversial and so offensive that it isn't what they asked for in the contract?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Here's another clause in the contract. It also says CBS would have to warn Imus before it could fire him for making offensive comments. Sources say that no warning was ever given.

We'll talk more with Jeff Toobin about all this in our next half hour.

CHETRY: The White House and Congress working on a new Iraq war funding bill, and Democrats appear to be dropping their demand that the money tied to a deadline -- that the money be tied to a deadline to bring troops home. Instead, the new bill will include goals for the Iraqi government, like disarming militias and passing a law to share Iraq's oil revenue.

Within the hour, CNN has learned that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet with her counterparts from Iran and Syria at the Iraq conference in Egypt. Secretary Rice will meet with the Syrian foreign minister today in the first high-level talks between the two countries in years. A U.S. official said the focus will be on Iraqi security, as well as broader issues related to Iran.

ROBERTS: Last week we heard from the Democrats. Tonight it's the Republican presidential candidates who get their first debate.

The 10 contenders for the White House will debate tonight at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Among those who will be in the audience for tonight's debate in Simi Valley, California, former first lady Nancy Reagan. She says that her husband always wanted his library to be a place where policymakers debate the future.

CHETRY: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign has now taken control of the MySpace page that bears the candidate's name. The page has 160,000 friends.

The Obama campaign was concerned about someone else getting control of that Web page. It's an interesting phenomenon. People just take these MySpace pages of stars or celebrities, and there's some confusion -- wait a minute, am I really on the page of the person or is this just a fan?

ROBERTS: Well, they took control because they wanted to be able to maintain content. The guy that owned the Web page or ran the Web page says he wanted to be -- or somebody said that he wanted to be paid and that they didn't want to pay him. And he's denying all that. So, I don't think it will hit litigation, but certainly a little bit of a controversy there.

A new report out says that terrorists are increasingly turning to the Internet to streamline and protect their operations. Communications, recruitment, research top the list of uses. The report says that chat rooms and Internet sites have replaced meetings in mosques and community centers, making recruitment much harder to detect. Tricks also abound, with terrorists finding ways to share e- mail and documents with little chance of detection.

The study will be presented to a Senate panel later on today.

CHETRY: And from governor, to gay American, to reverend? The next phase in the life of Jim McGreevey may be the most startling of all. We're going to give you details on that story next.

Also, caught on camera. The streets of Miami become a scene of a monumental armored car heist. How much did the thieves get? And we'll show you more of the pictures, firing shots right there in the parking lot.

We're going to find out more about it on AMERICAN MORNING.

The most news in the morning here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's 44 minutes after the hour now. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

The surprising life of former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey taking another interesting turn. CNN has confirmed that McGreevey has enrolled in a seminary school, and it appears that he's thinking about becoming an Episcopalian priest. McGreevey stunned the nation back in 2004 by announcing that he was gay.

AMERICAN MORNING'S faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher, joins us now.

He was a Catholic, he's been attending an Episcopalian church for the last couple of years, St. Bartholomew's in New Jersey. Now he's entering an Episcopalian seminary.

Are the rules looser?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's say this, that, you know, the Episcopalian Church has been arguing about this for some time. In fact, it's a huge issue for them right now. So this is going to highlight it even more, whether to allow openly gay bishops, openly gay priests.

And there are some in their congregation, some churches, that say absolutely not, but the Episcopalian Church is organized in such a way that they don't have one Vatican saying this is the way it is. Of course, in the Catholic Church, that would be a no for him.

But let's also say this, that he has enrolled in this seminary as a student, but not necessarily as a student of the priesthood. There are two separate tracks.

So, you can take this divinity course, which he is going to do, without necessarily taking the course to be a priest. That is done through St. Bart's Church, or through the church where he's been received.

ROBERTS: Although he has told people in the past before he got into the career track of politics that he thought about becoming a priest, so...

GALLAGHER: Yes.

ROBERTS: So he could be going back...

(CROSSTALK)

GALLAGHER: Well, in his memoirs, let me tell you -- I've been reading them, and he says that throughout his younger years he thought many times about the Catholic priesthood. So...

ROBERTS: So, the Episcopalian Church allows priests to marry, allows the ordination of women priests.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

ROBERTS: And according to a local New York newspaper, St. Bartholomew's ordained an openly gay priest named Gene Robinson three years ago.

GALLAGHER: Right. And we've heard of him.

ROBERTS: So if he wanted to become a priest, it looks like he'd have a pretty good chance of doing it.

GALLAGHER: Yes. Apparently, it happens very much at the diocesan level. So, it's up to the local bishop and to a board there which consists of certain members of priests and lay people to decide whether to accept him.

There's a whole process of discernment. He has to write a spiritual autobiography, for example, in order to be accepted to this program. But it's a separate track from this divinity degree that he has definitely enrolled in. So, we'll have to see whether or not he's actually going to go and take that track. ROBERTS: Well, he certainly seemed to want people to know about this, because typically the seminary doesn't make public the names of its enrollees until after -- after the school year is done.

GALLAGHER: Absolutely. They had to get permission from him to do it. So, he's clearly happy to get that news out there.

ROBERTS: We'll keep watching it. We'll check back with you.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

ROBERTS: Our faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher, for us this morning.

Thanks.

GALLAGHER: Thank you.

CHETRY: About 15 minutes before the top of the hour. We're going to head out to Chad Myers, who's very busy this morning tracking the severe weather for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Fifty-two minutes after the hour.

It's been more than 20 years since Kevin Bacon cut "Footloose" in a movie about a town that banned dancing. It was about a town in Oklahoma, though most of the movie was shot in Utah.

Now it's an Arizona restaurant that faces fines of up to $700 a day if it continues to allow dancing outdoors. Arizona law states that dance halls must be completely enclosed. No dancing in the great outdoors.

The owner of the San Tan Flat says that his place is a restaurant, not a dance hall, and that he put up walls to cut down on the noise. The people who live nearby are still complaining that all of those boots stomping on the floor are making noises and sort of, you know, creating mini earthquakes.

CHETRY: First of all, I'm wondering, where did they get that sign? Because that's very original. You know, usually it's a deer crossing or something like that. But it's two people dancing.

ROBERTS: I would imagine you go to the sign store to pick up something like that, though I could be mistaken.

CHETRY: All right.

And then what do you do? You're in the clink, and everyone around you is, you know, a hardened criminal. Well, I just did a little bit too much jitterbugging on the street. I should be out if I make bail.

All right. Well, also caught on tape, a sheriff's deputy charged with using excessive force during a confrontation.

It happened in Hillsborough County, Florida. Melissa Langston, rushing to the emergency room to see her father who had just had a heart attack, was pulled over for speeding by Deputy Kevin Stabins. Deputy Stabins apparently didn't believe her story.

The anxious Langston pulls into the hospital parking lot while the ticket is still being written, and the Deputy Stabins gives chase. Let's look what happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEPUTY KEVIN STABINS: That was not too smart.

MELISSA LANGSTON, PULLED OVER FOR SPEEDING: I need to get there. I'm sorry, but...

STABINS: Out of the car.

LANGSTON: Oh my God.

STABINS: Out of the Car! Put it in park. Put it in park!

Out of the car. Hands behind your back. Now you're going to jail.

LANGSTON: Please let me get to my dad. Please...

STABINS: That was not smart.

LANGSTON: I was just -- the emergency room...

STABINS: But I told you not go anywhere, didn't I?

LANGSTON: But I said I was going over here. Please. My dad's having a heart attack.

STABINS: Good. Now you're not going to get to see him because you're going to jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Unbelievable.

ROBERTS: Ooh. That last comment, that wasn't good.

CHETRY: Well, he's been suspended now for five days without pay, and all charges against Langston were dropped. Her father, by the way, has since been released from the hospital but says that the whole episode is very upsetting.

ROBERTS: I can see that it would be. Coming up, an embarrassing mix-up gives kids watching the "Handy Manny" show something their parents never expected. Just the name almost says it all, doesn't it?

Plus, a new warning about the possible side-effects of antidepressants. We're paging Dr. Gupta.

And did the LAPD use excessive force in breaking up an immigration rally with teargas and rubber bullets? We'll talk with the chief of police live in our next half hour.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, some kids and parents got quite an unwelcome surprise when trying to watch "Handy Manny" on Tuesday morning. Instead of the cartoon, which is about a bilingual handyman, some Comcast customers in New Jersey instead -- get this -- saw pornography. Apparently, some hard-core porn accidentally made its way onto the Disney Channel.

Now, Comcast admitted that the programming error happened, and said it only occurred in New Jersey, if that makes you feel better. Not nationally. But I'm sure that for parents who were watching it that hour, they had some unfortunate explaining to do to their little ones.

ROBERTS: Well, thank goodness it was only in New Jersey.

Fifty-eight minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business".

How much is motherhood worth? The question we're asking today.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a great survey. It comes out by salary.com every year, and they sort of evaluate based on a lot of surveys, tens of thousands of surveys, what stay-at-home mothers should be paid for their work.

Let me show you the chart here.

First of all, it's 92 hours in a week. Forty hours of base pay, 52 hours of overtime. Here are the jobs. Some of these are very obvious.

Housekeeper, 22 hours: day care center teacher, 15.7 hours. These are equivalent to what mothers do. Cook, 13 hours; computer operator, nine hours; laundry machine operator -- that's a big one -- six hours; janitor; facilities manager; CEO, because of the decisions that get made by a mother on an ongoing basis; van driver; and psychologist.

You end up with a total of 91.6 hours when you combine the base pay with overtime pay. $138,000 is what a stay-at-home mother should earn. If they work outside the house and still are a mother, they should get $85,000 on top of their salary.

CHETRY: How about that? But CEO -- and don't CEOs make millions and millions...

VELSHI: No stock options to being a mother.

CHETRY: Yes.

VELSHI: Your options are in your kid's education and whether they pay it back.

CHETRY: It doesn't seem like it's enough.

VELSHI: So it's -- yes. I mean, it's a good reminder. It sounds lighthearted, but it's a good reminder of the way we should be thinking about this sort of thing.

I'll give you some time to think about it.

The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

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