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Search Continues for Missing U.S. Soldiers; Immigration Deal; Poisoned Food
Aired May 18, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Heidi Collins is on assignment.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live this Friday morning, May 18th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Sergeant Anthony Schober identified now as the fourth soldier killed in that Iraq ambush. The search for three soldiers he brought alongside still going on.
HARRIS: Immigration deal. Key senators compromise on an overhaul plan, but not everybody's happy. Millions in the country illegally could stay. Critics say it amounts to amnesty.
WHITFIELD: Oil down, gas up. So, what's with the record prices? And who's making a buck? A pump primer live in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Almost a week after the ambush, we now know the identity of the fourth American soldier killed in Iraq. He is 23-year-old Sergeant Anthony Schober. His identification clears up any confusion over the names of three missing soldiers.
CNN's Arwa Damon is embedded with the military teams looking for those men. She is southwest of Baghdad, near Yusufiya.
Arwa, good morning. What is the latest on the search?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the search does continue in all of its intensity. I don't know if you can hear the helicopters, but they are getting ready to take off. They have been landing, taking off, conducting air assaults, carrying out supplies to the troops that are still out there trying to find those three missing soldiers.
Now, we spoke with the platoon commander. It was his men that were killed and are now missing, and he remembered the entire group as having -- as being known for their unique sense of humor that really created a unique bond amongst them. We also spoke with a number of other soldiers who knew those that were killed and those that are missing, and this is how they remembered them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAPLAIN JEFF BRYAN, U.S. ARMY: They're very angry, of course, over the recent incident, but we've dealt with losses of our soldiers before, and I tend to find that these soldiers are not ready to quit. They're ready to just keep going.
PFC. SAMUEL RHODES, U.S. ARMY: And as a platoon, you wind up growing together. You wind up loving each other, because it's who -- it's all you got out here is each other. And it's them that will help you through some of the trials, and you'll be there for them, to help them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: The platoon commander said, "You should not be sorry for the soldiers. They died with honor and they fought with honor."
But really, Tony, these are very trying times for all of these men. They do essentially have to put all of their emotions aside and continue with the search. And they are absolutely determined to find their missing men, making a promise to the families that they will bring their loved ones back home.
HARRIS: So, Arwa, what kinds of difficulties are the teams encountering?
DAMON: It's very difficult to operate out here, Tony. I mean, every area is essentially pretty unique.
In the area right around where the attack took place, moving throughout there, the vegetation is incredibly thick. It provides perfect cover for the insurgents to carry out another ambush and plant roadside bombs.
This entire area is basically a labyrinth of roadside bombs. But the troops are going through, conducting what have now become routine searches, going through the same fields and farmlands, visiting the same homes, looking for perhaps glimmers of information that they might have missed on previous sweeps.
There is also intense missions that are targeted raids where they believe -- locations where they believe the soldiers might be. Much of that information is being derived from detainees. They have rounded up hundreds of individuals here, brought them in for questioning. And I have to tell you that every single time the men leave the base to go out on a mission, there is hope that perhaps they will be the ones to find their missing soldiers -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Arwa Damon near Yusufiya, in the so-called Triangle of Death for us.
Arwa, thank you.
And we are following the deaths of two journalists in Iraq. They were Iraqi employees of ABC News, a photographer and his colleague, a sound man. The network says gunmen ambushed the men as they returned home from ABC's Baghdad bureau.
More than 100 journalists are reported to have been killed in Iraq since the war began.
WHITFIELD: Well, it's not a done deal yet, but key Democrats and Republicans have reached a deal to overhaul immigration laws.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Brokering the deal was hard enough -- months of intense closed-door talks -- but selling it will be a whole lot harder. So even in the victory lap, the sales pitch to the skeptical left...
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: There's broad consensus that 12 million undocumented workers who are here should be offered the chance to earn their legalization.
BASH: ... and even more skeptical right.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: It is not amnesty. This will restore the rule of law. Without legislation, we will have anarchy.
BASH: Under the complex bipartisan plan, the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. would be granted a visa to stay legally. They would also have to pay $5,000 in fines. Qualifying for citizenship would take at least eight years. The proposal also allows at least 400,000 temporary workers each year to fill jobs in the service and agriculture industries.
SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: To my constituents who said do something about this problem, I can say I have tried my best to craft a bill that won't repeat the mistakes of the past.
BASH: In the hopes of placating angry conservatives, GOP negotiators insisted no temporary workers can enter the U.S. and no illegal immigrant can become a citizen until the border is fortified, including 18,000 Border Patrol agents and 370 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senator and presidential candidate John McCain has enormous stakes in the volatile politics of immigration.
JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We must meet certain enforcement and security triggers that will let everyone know that we are serious about enforcing our laws and that we're not going to repeat the 1986 amnesty.
BASH: As he played up better border security, a host of conservative critics labeled it amnesty, vowed to block it, and said McCain and other supporters would pay a price. REP. BRIAN BILBRAY (R), CALIFORNIA: You're going to see a lot of people, Democrats and Republicans, be very upset at every one of the senators who think they put together a great compromise, when basically it's going to be seen as a sellout.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash joining us live now.
So, Dana, what are the chances that this deal actually can become law?
BASH: Well, it's going to be tough, Fredricka, for precisely the point that Congressman Bilbray was making in that last sound bite you just heard there, because as much as there is consensus among the negotiators who were in the room, there is pretty much outrage not only on the right among those who say that this is amnesty, but also those on the left, people who are not happy with, for example, the guest worker program. They say that is -- that would hurt American workers, and that it is unfair to have them just come in temporarily and then leave and get no real chance at citizenship.
So, you know, you even heard the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, come out in his reaction yesterday, was that he actually had serious concerns about this. So, this is going to start -- a debate is going the start on Monday in the Senate.
It has unclear prospects there. And then when it gets to the house, who knows what's going to happen, because they, of course, have to run for re-election every two years. They're always running for re-election, and they remember what happened last time in the last election. Democrats got pummeled on this issue of immigration. So they're very skeptical.
WHITFIELD: All right. It still sounds like we have a long way to go on this one.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: Very much so.
WHITFIELD: Dana Bash, thanks so much.
HARRIS: And fears this morning that a huge wildfire along the Georgia-Florida line could spread. Brisk winds and rising temperatures are in the forecast. The National Weather Service issued a dense smoke advisory.
In the northeastern part of Florida, a fire near Lake City covers more than 120,000 acres and is 65 percent contained north of Interstate 10. More than 700 homes have been evacuated. The fire was started in southeast Georgia. It has burned more than 500 square miles. Several aircraft have been dropping water and retardant on the flames.
And Fred, we've been talking about the Georgia fire, what, it seems like a month, a solid month?
WHITFIELD: At least that now. At least that now.
HARRIS: And the winds and temperatures picking up again.
There he is, Chad Myers in the severe weather center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Talk about up.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
HARRIS: Gas prices, yes, busting our budgets.
WHITFIELD: We don't like this kind of up.
HARRIS: No. And what is it doing to the bottom line for retailers? A lot.
More on that coming up in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And you know the trickle down theory applies in that case.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, keeping your food safe. A potentially deadly bacteria contamination sparks new concerns. Tips from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, live, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: She wanted her children to attend good schools. Now she could end up in prison. A harsh lesson in the law in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And preyed on during prayer. A woman is attacked in church right there, all caught on videotape.
HARRIS: What is that?
WHITFIELD: But guess what? The man gets away.
More of this story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Poisoned food. More concerns this morning about potentially deadly E. coli contamination. Nearly 130,000 pounds of beef products being recalled in 15 states in the Southeast and in the Midwest. And we've seen E. coli outbreaks linked to meat and vegetables recently a lot. It seems too much.
So CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me live to discuss the safety of our food.
We're getting real nervous. At least I am. It seems like, you know, we've got to guess every day. What is it we're allowed to eat? What can we do about getting things like E. coli off spinach?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: How safe is it?
WHITFIELD: Possible?
GUPTA: Yes. You know, it's interesting. As you were talking about that beef recall, it sort of reminded me that in the '90s, it was always about beef, the E. coli outbreaks. And now it's become much more about produce, about spinach and lettuce.
The cattle industry was able to shape up, but a lot of people say the produce industry has been slow to respond.
You know, I was sort of curious -- you hear about the triple washing of spinach, for example.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: How effective is that? Does it really work?
We talked a lot about that in the special coming up this weekend. But I want to give you a little bit of a sense of what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): It takes only a pinpoint's worth of E. coli 0157-H7 to make you sick. As few as 100 cells. Young children and the very old are the most vulnerable to its toxin.
E. coli 0157 is also extremely hearty. It's resistant to cold. And in one test it survived on a leaf of lettuce for 77 days.
Mansour Samadpour knows all about deadly bacteria. He's president of IEH Laboratories, a Seattle-based company that tests salad greens for E. coli and other pathogens.
MANSOUR SAMADPOUR, PRESIDENT, IEH LABORATORIES: So every 15 minutes they can double in numbers. So, you could have one cell going in, and after 24 hours you can have billions of them. And toxin is released, it's absorbed, and starts killing the intestinal cells and makes its way throughout the body.
GUPTA: We asked Samadpour to contaminate spinach leaves with E. coli 0157 and then use various methods to remove the bacteria. Washing it off in water, 50 parts per million of chlorine bleach in water, the same as the commercial processors use, and then two commercially available vegetable washers.
SAMADPOUR: This product you have to spray. After that, you mix.
GUPTA: Finally, bleach and the vegetable washes.
SAMADPOUR: We're measuring the amount of bacteria that were on these leaves before the treatment and after the treatment, and we can determine what the impact of the treatment was. GUPTA: Now, the unwashed spinach had 11,700 bacterial colonies. Each is one or two organisms. More than enough to make you sick.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: So, how many people are really going to do all of that to their spinach before they eat it at home?
You know, it's pretty amazing. But, you know, on an optimistic note, talking about the cattle industry, they were able to fix the problem. So I think that this is a fixable problem.
But with the produce industry, this has largely been voluntary. There's no mandatory regulations. The USDA, the FDA still can't even pull products off the shelves. That all has to be done on a voluntary basis.
WHITFIELD: So it's voluntary. That means there's really no penalty, no real incentive for any of these companies to do something about it. It's up to you, the consumer?
GUPTA: Well, yes. And part, you know, I mean -- and that's part of what we really wanted to talk about in the special coming up this weekend.
There are steps that can be taken between the farm and the fork. A lot of those steps are not being taken with produce as of yet.
It was interesting. With all these different washes and stuff as well...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: ... some of them -- you know, take some of the E. coli off. We started with about 12,000 E. coli organisms, and like just vigorously washing them in tap water takes it down to about 3,000.
The commercial washes really weren't that effective at all. Triple washing probably doesn't make that huge an impact. And remember, the most important thing, it only takes about 100 organisms to get you sick.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: That's nothing.
WHITFIELD: And so we're not going to do chlorine washes at home. Is there really anything we can do to try to make sure what we consume is somewhat more safe?
GUPTA: I think there are a few things. And one thing is to think about produce the same way you think about raw meat.
People put those in different categories. Remember, with raw meat, you have a kill step. You cook it. And that gets rid of the organisms. The produce, you don't have that. So use different cutting boards, for example. Wash your hands before and after so you don't spread the E. Coli if it's there to other foods.
And use different cutting boards, things like that. Really make sure you're treating it the same way that you treat raw meat.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. Good advice. Wash those cutting boards.
GUPTA: Wash the cutting boards as well.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: So important.
GUPTA: And don't forget refrigerators, especially in the hotter weather. It can double every few minutes the number of bacteria. So use the refrigerator as well.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: I'm still afraid of eating now. You didn't comfort me any.
GUPTA: Watch the special. I hope you feel better after that.
HARRIS: There you go.
WHITFIELD: All right. I'll be watching. Thanks a lot.
GUPTA: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And you can see all of Sanjay's special investigations, "Danger: Poisoned Food," on Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
HARRIS: Another story we're following, the chorus sounding louder for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Two more Republican senators joining in calling for his resignation.
CNN's Kelli Arena has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If you thought it couldn't get any worse for Alberto Gonzales, it just did. Senate Democrats say they will schedule a no-confidence vote on the attorney general.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: His credibility is shot. Any faith that he can manage on run the department is gone.
ARENA: The latest problem, it seems the Justice Department considered more prosecutors for dismissal than they ever let on. As first reported in "The Washington Post," records show there were 26 prosecutors named as possible candidates for dismissal. Many of them well respected.
In the end, only a handful were let go, but lawmakers say it's still not clear how those decisions were made.
SCHUMER: It just shows a department that has run amuck, where virtually no one is in charge. It's sort of like one of those bumper cars just going from wall to wall without direction.
ARENA: And senators are still reeling from shocking testimony this week from former deputy attorney general James Comey. He described how Gonzales, as White House counsel, trying to bully his predecessor, John Ashcroft, into approving the controversial NSA surveillance program while Ashcroft lay sick in a hospital bed.
Two more Republicans called for Gonzales to resign, Senators Chuck Hagel and Norm Coleman, and the tone on Capitol Hill changed dramatically.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I have a sense that when we finish our investigation, we may have a conclusion of the tenure of the attorney general.
ARENA (on camera): Justice officials wouldn't comment specifically on the call for a no-confidence vote, but instead said the attorney general remains focused on doing the job the American people expect.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz making his mark in the headlines this morning. Wolfowitz agreeing to resign effective at the end of June. This follows weeks of controversy over his handling of a pay package for his girlfriend.
In announcing the decision, the bank said mistakes were made by -- quoting here -- "a number of individuals." A World Bank panel concluded Monday that Wolfowitz violated staff rules. The White House says President Bush will announce a replacements for Wolfowitz soon.
HARRIS: A righty pitching in the minors. A bum hand. A souvenir from Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a little anger built up, you know, like, at first, you know. But I realized it's something I can't change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A wounded soldier gets a shot at the big leagues. Inspiring story. Man, you'll love this one -- in the NEWSROOM. WHITFIELD: And she wanted a good education for her children. Doesn't every parent? Prosecutors say she lied in order to get it. And now she could go to prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE ECHOLS, DEFENDANT: I was arrested, and I sat in jail for over five hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And it could turn out to be years now.
Legal lesson in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Attacked, and in a sacred place. Check out the surveillance video from a Middletown, New York, church. A man approaching a woman in a pew, reaching into her shirt and grabbing her chest.
HARRIS: Do you believe this?
WHITFIELD: He proceeds. And she fights back, taking a pen and then stabbing him.
The woman runs for an alarm. The man runs for the door. He's captured on another surveillance video camera, but guess what? He gets away. But perhaps not for long, because local media reports police have a person in custody they say does look like the man on that tape.
HARRIS: How about this, a lesson in the law. A Georgia woman says she wanted her children to attend good schools, but prosecutors say she lied to make that happen. Today a jury decides if she should go to prison.
Reporter Ross Cavitt of affiliate WSB TV has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSS CAVITT, REPORTER, WSB (voice over): Jeanine Echols told jurors she put her kids in Marietta schools because that's where her husband's family lived. She had no idea she had crossed the law until deputies came knocking the day after she attended an awards ceremony for her youngest child.
ECHOLS: I was arrested, and I sat in jail for over five hours. I had never seen the inside of a jail.
CAVITT: But prosecutors told jurors Mrs. Echols had been warned she couldn't place her kids in city schools because she lived out in Cobb County. Mrs. Echols, they claim, simply came up with more bogus addresses as a response. GRADY MOORE, PROSECUTOR: Ladies and gentlemen, a lie is a lie. And our law says when you lie to the government, you've committed a crime. Our law says when you lie on something like that, you've committed a crime. Our law says when you lie on something that says (INAUDIBLE), you committed a crime.
I'm sorry to be the one having to stand here and tell you that.
CAVITT: And prosecutors told jurors even though there are 16 counts, the case really is simple. Jeanine Echols, they say, signed legal documents saying her family lived in the city, when, in fact, they did not.
VIC REYNOLDS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Why her? There is something right (ph) about that, folks.
CAVITT: Echols' attorney told jurors the case was overkill, that there was no need for so many charges when Mrs. Echols never intended to break the law.
REYNOLDS: You've been given an unbelievable opportunity to say this is not right. It isn't right.
We're better than this. The system's better than this. The school system is better than this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in Norco, Louisiana. It may surprise you to find out the price you're paying at the pump is still being affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
That and much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: And here we are, the bottom of the hour.
Good morning, everyone.
You're back in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Fred, good to see you.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you as well, Tony.
HARRIS: I'm Tony Harris.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins today, who's on assignment.
Well, new details are emerging from the site of a deadly ambush in Iraq almost a week ago. The U.S. Army now says Sergeant Anthony J. Schober is the fourth American killed in the insurgent attack. The formal identification takes away any doubt about the names of three other soldiers who vanished from the site.
A massive search for them was launched within hours of the ambush. An insurgent group has said that it took the men hostage.
HARRIS: A high stakes money meeting on the Iraq War is expected to get underway this hour on Capitol Hill. The key players -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton.
Democrats want the war spending bill to include benchmarks and consequences if the Iraqis don't show progress. President Bush wants the bill signed with no strings. But he says he's open to some benchmarks. He hasn't detailed consequences if Iraq doesn't meet them. The president vetoed one bill that included a timetable for withdrawal.
WHITFIELD: Sky high gas prices -- not a day goes by that many drivers don't fume over it. Well, some analysts say refineries are not keeping up with the demand.
CNN's Sean Callebs joins us from Norco, Louisiana with more on that -- so, Sean, we know that the refining capabilities took a beating from Katrina, as well as Rita.
Now are they rebounding?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an interesting question, because if you look at the refineries here in the Gulf Coast area that got hit, especially in Louisiana, about 38 percent suffered significant damage. The Louisiana refineries are back up and running, just as they were pre-Katrina.
But I have a graph that is very telling. I want you to look at this. If you look at the start of it there, you can see early on, before September of 2005, the U.S. Was operating about 95 percent refining capacity -- capability.
Then came those twin hurricanes. It dropped all the way down to 70 percent overnight because of those punishing storms and the fallout from those.
Now look -- the graph never climbs back up to that 95 percent level. So since Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Has not reached the levels of petroleum that it was refining before those hurricanes. And that's really due for a couple of reasons.
Chiefly, those -- all the refineries undergo certain maintenance at certain times. So that maintenance, regularly scheduled, kind of had to be shifted because so many refineries were simply out of commission. So, Fred, that really had a huge impact, the fact that those refineries couldn't come down and couldn't go through that needed maintenance. And they've had accidents. They've had shutdowns and little problems -- the industry calls them hiccups -- over the past 20 months.
WHITFIELD: And bottom line -- those refineries are old. So is there any hope on the horizon that perhaps there might be some new refineries to be built?
CALLEBS: Really, that is -- that is where the finger is pointed so many times. The simple news is no, there is no good news on the immediate horizon.
The industry points out, look, there is expansion going on at refineries that are out there now. But basically it's just going to add a drop in the bucket. It doesn't -- supply will not meet the demand, which means it looks like maybe we're going to pay higher gas prices for the near future.
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.
CALLEBS: That's going on for a number of reasons. Nobody wants a refinery in his or her backyard, that whole NIMBY argument, for environmental reasons. And, secondly, the industry is cautious about spending billions of dollars needed to build a new refinery with all the calls for new energy out there.
Why build something that could be obsolete in a certain period of time?
WHITFIELD: Right.
All right.
What a prickly argument all the way around.
Sean Callebs, thanks so much, from Norco, Louisiana.
HARRIS: When pump prices go up, convenience store retailers say they feel the pain, too. Take a look at where your money goes. The store where you pump your gas makes about 1 percent per fill up, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Crude oil companies get the lion's share, about 56 percent per gallon. I guess that makes sense. They invest the most.
Here to talk about the retail factor is Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores.
Jeff, great to see you this morning.
JEFF LENARD, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES: The same here.
Thank you.
HARRIS: Trying to figure out if you're on our side on this one. We'll take a tally at the end of the interview here.
But good to see you this morning.
Let's talk about that 1 percent.
Is that 1 percent after all of your expenses are factored -- I guess factored out?
LENARD: Yes, that's after expenses. In the course of a normal year, break even on a gallon of gas at the retail level is about 12 cents a gallon. That pays for all your expenses, credit card fees -- which eat up more than half of that.
Right now we're looking at single digit gross margins. So it's not uncommon to find retailers out there that are actually losing money on each gallon.
HARRIS: Well, how can retailers be in the gas selling business if they're not making money selling gas?
LENARD: What they try to do is they try to use the gas sale to get the customer inside the store, where you can make some money. You make money off a cup of coffee, a sandwich, a pack of cigarettes.
HARRIS: So that price per gallon that we see on the sign is really important. So retailers are taking a hit?
LENARD: Yes. And consumers are incredibly price sensitive. We've done consumer studies. We find that about 25 percent of customers will do a 20 minute roundtrip to go out of their way to save three cents a gallon.
Now, when they do that, they're probably saving about 40 cents on a fill up. It's probably costing them about $2.30 in gas.
HARRIS: So are you having to raise prices on the snacks, the candy bars in the stores, to make ends meet?
LENARD: No, you just try to sell more things, because when you're dealing with price sensitive customers, the last thing they want to do is...
HARRIS: Jeff.
Jeff, are you telling me the price of a candy bar is not going up?
If you want to go and get a six pack of beer from your favorite gas station or convenience store, are you telling me that the price of that six pack is not going up?
LENARD: You can't do it. Somebody will go somewhere else. I'd go somewhere else, you'd go somewhere else. What you try to do is you try to find new ways to attract customers -- you know, coupon them at the pump, do whatever you can to get them inside the store away from that gas only purchase.
HARRIS: Are you leading the fight -- is your association leading the fight -- I mean who are you angry with, at this point, or are you angry with -- I'm trying to find some outrage on this story.
LENARD: I think frustration is a pretty key word. Obviously, customers are frustrated. You hear a lot of that at the pump. We hear it a lot with the profit margins or, if there are any profit margins, on a gallon of gas. No one likes $3 gas. And I think everybody would love to see it $2. But that's where we are right now.
I think if there's any real frustration with retailers now, it's some of these bills that are going through Congress looking at gouging legislation. It doesn't really define what gouging is, but it's possible that a retailer could be fined $150 million, which is kind of a hit when you have one store, and 10 years in jail.
HARRIS: Is the...
LENARD: So...
HARRIS: Is the fear that the retailers will bear the brunt of any new legislation?
LENARD: Yes, that's exactly the fear. Because I think most people assume that the retailer selling that major brand oil is somehow responsible for the high prices, when they are just, you know, have a branded contract. They have a contract to sell a specific fuel.
HARRIS: All right, Jeff, great to see you.
Thanks for your time this morning.
LENARD: Thank you.
HARRIS: I mean -- I guess -- I think you're on our side.
All right, Jeff.
Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Meaning he's having a tough time, too.
HARRIS: Yes. Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Just like the average consumer, who is cringing at filling up their tank.
HARRIS: Which is something I have to do when we finish up today?
Let's check in with Chad Myers now in the Weather Center -- Chad, we just got new numbers.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HARRIS: The price of gas up -- unleaded regular $3.12...
WHITFIELD: Ow.
HARRIS: ... Per gallon nationwide.
WHITFIELD: Ow, ow, ow.
MYERS: What have you done for me lately? HARRIS: Hello.
MYERS: Have you changed your air filter?
HARRIS: Good question.
MYERS: Have you checked your pressure in your tires?
WHITFIELD: Ooh.
HARRIS: Do your part.
MYERS: Do you believe -- I took -- you know, you know what the air is like here in the spring, with all this yellow pollen in the air.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MYERS: I took my air filter out and then hit it on the ground and it made a cloud of dust.
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow!
MYERS: and I went well, that's costing me some money.
WHITFIELD: Chad Myers bringing us all down to earth.
MYERS: So, go spend $4...
WHITFIELD: deflating some of the outrage.
HARRIS: No, no, no, no.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: He's absolutely right. Do your part.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HARRIS: Very good, Chad.
MYERS: And you know what?
I put 35 pounds, or whatever the maximum PSI, and -- a little less than that, but I mean it's a little bit of a harder ride, but I can get tell you what, I can get three or four more gallons...
WHITFIELD: Yes, you get more.
MYERS: Yes. Three or more miles per gallon just from that car itself, so...
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much for that reminder.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
MYERS: There you go.
HARRIS: And...
WHITFIELD: That makes us a little less angry now, a little bit more responsible.
MYERS: It's a little of your own fault, right?
HARRIS: Yes. Exactly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still to come in THE NEWSROOM this morning, they're still trying to save the whales.
Remember the story?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HARRIS: We've been following this this week?
WHITFIELD: Yes. Save the whales.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
Scientists try to get two injured humpback whales back where they belong. We'll take you live to Sacramento straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And a Marine's dream deferred by the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CPL. COOPER BRANNAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: When I was younger that, you know, my ultimate dream was to become a major leaguer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ah.
So, from tossing grenades to now throwing fastballs, he is living his dream, straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
COMMERCIAL
WHITFIELD: Immigration overhaul -- key Democrats and Republicans cut a deal to change the nation's immigration laws. The plan would clear the way for some 12 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. To become legal. That's after they pay a $5,000 fine.
Well, there is some criticism coming from both sides of the aisle still, but President Bush does seem to like the plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I look forward to a good vote out of the United States Senate, as quickly as leader, Reid, can get the bill moving. And then, of course, we look forward to working with the House of Representatives to take this first step and convert it into a successful second step.
I really am anxious to sign a comprehensive immigration bill as soon as I possibly can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Congress begins debating the bill on Monday, the most significant changes to immigration law in perhaps four decades. HARRIS: Look, it is a whale of a problem -- how to get two injured humpback whales back into the Pacific Ocean. They're stranded up a river -- the Sacramento River.
Let's go there live to CNN's Kara Finnstrom -- Kara, great to see you.
Good morning.
Look, what is Plan B?
Because Plan A yesterday didn't work out so well.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it didn't. But they are going to stick with Plan A. They're hoping that today, as they push this forward a little bit more, perhaps these whales will start responding.
And I wanted to tell you that just within the last 10 minutes, these whales treated us to a wonderful show. The mother and the calf both surfacing, blowing out air and swimming around this area -- in this containment area in the river behind us.
That's the most we've seen of these whales, actually.
A little bit -- in about an hour or two, we expect more wildlife officials to come out here. And they will be kind of gauging how these whales are doing and making plans for what to do next.
They say, you know, for the most part this is an experiment. They just have never dealt with anything quite like this before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIETER FOLKENS, ALASKA WHALE FOUNDATION: We are in new territory. We've never been in a situation where we had a cow/calf pair, both of whom were injured -- or are injured -- and they're 77 miles up a freshwater river. This is all brand new to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FINNSTROM: You can see the Coast Guard out here already this morning now to try and lure the whales back. Wildlife experts have turned to some whale recordings. You can't see this on the surface, but underneath they're using recordings of humpback whales feeding and socializing. You can hear some of the sounds right now.
And the hope is that by playing these sounds out in front of the whales, they can entice the whales to come towards them and that way lead them back to the ocean.
Now, again, this did not work yesterday. But there are so many different types of sounds they can play and so many different types of combinations, that wildlife experts are telling us they feel they have to be patient and try more combinations and see just what connects with these whales. They say they feel they have a number of weeks, probably, that they could do this for where the whales would be safe in these waters.
HARRIS: Hey, Kara, can you...
FINNSTROM: Tony.
HARRIS: Can you have your team record some of that and send that back to us?
That was -- that was interesting.
Let's make that happen, OK?
FINNSTROM: Record some of the whales?
HARRIS: Yes. No, some of the sounds that -- that the teams are using.
FINNSTROM: Some of the sounds. Yes. Well, we did -- we did send some back. And these are sample sounds. And that's the best we've been able to get. It's not the actual sounds they're using, but it does give you an idea. The sounds -- they're kind of out the -- there they are. They're kind of out of this world.
HARRIS: We love it. We're trying to listen to you and listen to the sounds. Let me shut up a second and maybe we can hear a little bit of it.
Can we?
(HUMPBACK WHALE SOUNDS)
HARRIS:
How about that?
Kara, that's great.
Thank you so much.
It's a story that we will obviously be following days and -- let's hope not weeks.
All right, Kara, thank you.
FINNSTROM: You bet.
Let's hope they get back.
Thank you.
WHITFIELD: A righty pitching in the minors. A bum hand, a souvenir from Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANNAN: I had a little anger built up, you know, like at first, you know?
But I realized that it's something I can't change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A wounded soldier gets a shot at the big leagues. An inspiring story, indeed. That's straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
COMMERCIAL
HARRIS: Hey, Fred, we were supposed to be pod casting today.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HARRIS: T.J. Is going to take care of that for us.
WHITFIELD: I know. I know.
HARRIS: You know why?
WHITFIELD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) today.
Anderson Cooper, the big man is in town today.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes.
HARRIS: He's at the world...
WHITFIELD: He and his team.
HARRIS: ... In the headquarters, here in town today. So we're going to spend a little time with Anderson. And T.J. Is going to handle the pod cast for us. Appreciate that, T.J. Holmes.
You can catch that pod cast every day, 24/7, right there on live pod. Just download it. Go to cnn.com.
WHITFIELD: Yes, no excuses.
HARRIS: No excuses.
WHITFIELD: Be informed, no matter where you go.
HARRIS: Take it with you. Make it a part of your life 24/7. WHITFIELD: Very convenient.
HARRIS: Download it right there on your -- on your iPod.
WHITFIELD: We love that.
Well, how about this?
Something we love as well -- from the battlefield to the ball field. A Marine makes the jump to professional baseball.
Here's CNN's Larry Smith with the story.
It's this week's Life After Work.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many kids, Cooper Brannan grew up with a very simple dream.
BRANNAN: I always told my dad when I was younger that, you know, my ultimate dream was to become a major leaguer.
SMITH: Like many Americans, the events of September 11th hit Brannan hard and encouraged him to put his dream on hold. He joined the Marines after high school.
BRANNAN: I felt like at that time the Marine Corps could give me what I needed, which was, you know, honor, discipline and respect.
SMITH: Like many soldiers, Brannan returned home after two tours in Iraq injured after a flash bang grenade accidentally exploded in his left hand.
BRANNAN: At first, I thought we got hit by a mortar. It was, you know, I started coming to. I felt a little dizziness and couldn't see very well. I started coming to and I started seeing guys like rushing over to me, and I couldn't hear anything.
SMITH: The blast resulted in the loss of one finger. But after several surgeries and months of rehabilitation, Brannan was able to regain the use of his hand.
BRANNAN: You know, I had a little anger built up, you know, like at first, you know?
But I realized that it's something that I can't change.
SMITH (on camera): But this is where Brannan's story becomes unlike any other. Last November, in San Diego for the 231st birthday celebration of the U.S. Marine Corps, Brannan and one of his buddies saw Padres G.M. Sandy Alderson and Manager Bud Black. Brannan's friend walked up to them and began bragging about Brannan's athletic ability.
BRANNAN: So he goes over there and talks to them. And I'm thinking oh, crap, you know? They're going to -- they're going to think this is, you know, another person coming up, trying to get a free ride, you know?
The next thing we know, he takes it serious. And, you know, I ended up getting the call in January.
SMITH (voice-over): When Brannan reported to spring training in February, it had been almost four years since the right hander last pitched competitively. The 22-year-old knows he's got a long way to go to make it to the big leagues, but says he has no regrets.
BRANNAN: My father-in-law actually, it's a funny story. He wrote me a letter in Iraq, my second time, before I got hurt. And he said if it means you and my daughter taking a break to pursue your career -- you know, he's telling me, you know, that, you know, if you want to break up with my daughter, that's fine -- to pursue your career.
That -- it was just a funny story. But, you know, he was being serious, you know?
It's not that he wanted to ever push me away, but he wanted me to not have regret. And look where I am today.
SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: Now that's a great story of inspiration.
HARRIS: And more than a bumper sticker slogan, no regrets, huh?
WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes.
HARRIS: That is a cool story.
WHITFIELD: I love that.
HARRIS: All right, Larry Smith with that.
WHITFIELD: We'll be looking for him.
HARRIS: Absolute.
WHITFIELD: A nice follow-up to come.
HARRIS: Yes. And he's playing professional baseball. He may not make it to the majors...
WHITFIELD: Oh, please.
HARRIS: ... But he's living his dream
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes.
HARRIS: ... Playing professional baseball.
WHITFIELD: That is a lot to celebrate.
Very good.
HARRIS: Still to come in THE NEWSROOM this morning, the hot button immigration issue boiling right now -- new deal old debate. Live to Capitol Hill, in THE NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And killed in action -- the fourth victim of the Iraq ambush now identified. The search for his missing comrades is still underway. We've got late details coming up in THE NEWSROOM.
COMMERCIAL
WHITFIELD: Good morning again, everyone.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Heidi Collins this morning.
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Here's what's on the rundown for you.
Sergeant Anthony Schober now identified as the fourth man killed in the Iraq ambush. The search for three soldiers he fought alongside now in its seventh day.
WHITFIELD: And Democrats and the White House trying to cut a deal on war funding and benchmarks this hour.
What standards should Iraq be held to?
We ask its U.N. Ambassador.
That's live.
HARRIS: A woman in prayer attacked in the pew. Surveillance tape you've got to see.
It is Friday, May 18th, and you are in THE NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: Almost a week after the ambush and we now know the identity of the fourth American soldier killed in Iraq. He is 23-year- old Sergeant Anthony Schober. His identification clears up any confusion over the remains of the three missing soldiers.
Coalition forces are now in their seventh day of searching for them.
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