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American Morning

Republican Debate: Winners and Losers; Princess Diana Documentary

Aired June 06, 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: Parting shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: We were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: This war was very badly mismanaged for a long time.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Republicans for president slam the White House on Iraq and corner one of their own on immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McCain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McCain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McCain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: The problem with this immigration plan is it has no real unifying purpose; it's a typical Washington mess.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The responses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: First of all, muchas gracias.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And real time reaction from voters. How it could reshape the race for president, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

And good morning to you. It is Wednesday, June 6th. I'm John Roberts in Manchester, New Hampshire.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The day after the debates, I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York. Again, as we talked about the GOP lining up on the stage yesterday in Manchester, taking some questions.

And, John, what did you find the most interesting about the debate last night?

ROBERTS: I thought it was interesting that there was no real clear winner. I thought that all of the top-tier candidates did well for themselves. John McCain had some difficult moments on the immigration issue, but I think he came back particularly on the war in Iraq. And I have read articles this morning, Kiran, and every article has a different winner from last night.

So I think that the top-tier candidates all pretty much did what they wanted to do last night. I was interested to see how well Governor Mike Huckabee, who we had on the problem yesterday morning, did last night. I think it's pretty much unanimous that he did better than any of the second-tier candidates. And we'll see if that's going to pay off for him in terms of advancing his campaign organization, attracting more money to his campaign.

But I think it's pretty clear that the absolute moment of last night was what happened when Rudy Giuliani went to respond to a question from Wolf Blitzer about the bishop of Providence, Rhode Island hammering him on his stance on abortion and a woman's right to choose. It prompted that lightning moment.

Take a quick look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: Catholic bishop, any -- issues...

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: That's the lightning having an effect on our system.

GIULIANI: I know!

Look. For someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that's happening right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: I mean, that was a pretty amazing moment, and the fact that McCain and Romney played along as well and sort of backed away from Rudy Giuliani, thinking that the ex-mayor was about to get the worst from the hand of God there. It's so ironic that it happened at that particular moment.

CHETRY: The blogs were making much of that this morning as well of course. But it was interesting. Not a lot of fireworks when it comes to the candidates going back and forth and attacking each another. We didn't see a lot of that yesterday, but we did see a little bit of lightning, as we just saw there. We'll talk much more about the debate, and John's going to have a roundtable discussion, including an interview with two of the candidates from last night. But also ahead, the cyclone in the Middle East and the effect possibly on oil prices. Take a look. This is Tropical Cyclone Gonu. We're going to hear more about this today from Chad Myers tracking this. This is NASA's satellite. It's huge, and it could have big implications as well for our oil prices. We'll talk about that a little later in the show.

ROBERTS: And We were worried about hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico this year.

CHETRY: Right.

ROBERTS: For the first time since a Cold War-like chill in relations, President Bush comes face-to-face tonight with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They're going to meet in Germany for a dinner marking the start of the G8 summit. President Bush and Putin have traded shots in recent days over the need for a missile-defense shield in Europe. G8 leaders are also expected to negotiate ways to cut greenhouse gases at that summit.

On Capitol Hill both the House and Senate hold hearings today on the tuberculosis scare. The patient infected with drug-resistant TB, Andrew Speaker, will testify in a Senate hearing by phone from the hospital in Denver. The director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Julie Gerberding is also expected to testify. And in the House the Homeland Security Committee will look into the lapses that allowed Speaker to cross into the United States from Canada after he flew back from the Czech Republic. We're going to talk with the committee member, Jane Harman, of California in our 8 o'clock hour.

And just a programming note here, Andrew Speaker will be a guest tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE", that's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

CHETRY: There are some big questions in Washington this morning about Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Will he have to head to prison? And will the president consider a pardon for the former vice presidential aide? Libby is now appealing that sentence that was handed down by a federal judge, 2 1/2 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for lying about his role in the CIA leak case. President Bush not ruling out a pardon. But at the Republican debate last night, Senator Sam Brownback, as well as Congressman Tom Tancredo, said that Libby should be pardoned. Giuliani called the sentence excessive. Romney said that the prosecution was, quote, "out of line" and McCain said that appeals should be heard first before making a decision to pardon Libby.

Also Congressman William Jefferson could get kicked out of the House of Representatives. The House voting to put an ethics investigation on the fast track, meaning Jefferson's fate in Congress could be decided before he's tried on corruption charges. Jefferson was indicted on 16 counts, including racketeering and money laundering.

ROBERTS: The stress level is rising in the Senate as members try to push that contentious immigration reform bill closer to President Bush's desk. The proposal would create a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. But there are concerns that it could be killed off as Democrats and Republicans squabble over changes they want to include in the final package.

Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to stamp out that possibility by forcing a vote tomorrow. But Republicans are threatening a filibuster to keep that from happening.

And the Republican presidential candidates sparred over immigration during last night's debate. Senator John McCain cosponsored the compromise bill was the only defender at the debate here in Manchester last night. The candidates also took turns criticizing President Bush's policy in Iraq.

Here's what they said, beginning with immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: the point is, every illegal alien, almost every one, under this bill gets to stay here. That's not fair to the millions and millions of people around the world that would love to come here.

GIULIANI: The problem with this immigration plan is it has no real unifying purpose. It's a typical Washington mess.

MCCAIN: this is a national security issue, first and foremost. Ever since 9/11, it's a national security issue. People came to Ft. Dix, New Jersey from across our southern border and tried to kill our soldiers. For us to do nothing is silent and de facto amnesty.

ROMNEY: I supported the president's decision based on what we knew at that time. I thing we were underprepared and underplanned for what happened after we knocked down Saddam Hussein.

MCCAIN: I think this strategy needs to be give an chance to succeed. We haven't barely gotten the 5th Brigade over there, which is part of the strategy. I'm convinced that if we fail and we have to withdraw, they will follow us home. It will be a base for al Qaeda, and we will be facing greater challenges and greater sacrifices.

GIULIANI: I've got to make the decisions that I think are the right ones for the country. And my view on abortion is that it's wrong, but that ultimately government should not be enforcing that decision on a woman.

TOMMY THOMPSON (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: And if you're talking about a reliable conservative, it is this Thompson, Tommy Thompson, not the actor, that's the conservative.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Two Thompsons at the debate last night. Tommy Thompson, and even though he was absent, Fred Thompson, who's considering getting into the race. By the way, we're going to talk live with former Governor Tommy Thompson in about 10 minutes time.

And next hour we'll be live with Congressman Tom Tancredo. And, Kiran, will be asking him about that slam of President Bush, a slam so hard you could actually feel it when it hit the ground.

CHETRY: Yes, it was very interesting what he chose to bring up regarding the president, as well as Karl Rove. So it will be interesting to hear what he says about that this morning.

Also some new developments this morning in alleged JFK bomb plot. The last of the four suspects who was on the run surrendering in Trinidad after his friend refused to hide him. Abdel Nur turned himself in yesterday after an intense manhunt that brought the FBI to the island. He told reporters that the whole thing was a conspiracy, that it was set up by American investigators.

All six of the men accused of plotting to attack Ft. Dix are facing charges now. A federal grand jury decided they should be tried on charges of planning a mass killing at the military base in New Jersey. They're being held without bail in a federal lockup.

ROBERTS: This morning there is new video out of Cuba of Fidel Castro. Its Castro's first public interview since undergoing intestinal surgery last summer. In the interview he appears energetic and alert, and talks for about an hour. Castro didn't comment directly on his recovery. He spent most of the time chatting about Cuba's economy and a recent visit with one of Vietnam's communist leaders.

CHETRY: looks like a documentary on Princess Diana's death will air tonight in London, despite some opposition, including Diana's sons; Princes William and Harry making desperate pleas to pull this film. TV executives say it will air with the pictures of the princess after the 1997 crash that killed her. We're going to be live with more on this growing controversy in London in the next half hour.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: And as we just heard him say, he's the other Thompson eying the White House. How does Tommy Thompson think he did last night? He's going to talk to us about the debate coming up in just a few minutes.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Actor and former Senator of Tennessee Fred Thompson is preparing to enter the race, but did not participate in last night's debate. And when the candidates were asked about him, Former Governor Tommy Thompson said he'd welcome the other Thompson into the race, but added that he was the reliable conservative, Thompson. Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson joins me now live this morning.

Governor, always good to see you.

THOMPSON: John, it's always a pleasure. Thank you very much for getting up so early.

ROBERTS: Well, I got up just so I could be with you.

THOMPSON: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: One of the big topics of debate last night was this issue of immigration. Is this an area that's going to tear the Republican Party apart?

THOMPSON: I wouldn't say it is going to tear the Republican Party, but it is going to have an impact, because so many of the conservative Republicans really feel that this bill that's going through Congress at the present time is really just a disguised bill for amnesty, and the republicans who really are following this issue, I don't think really like it. And the people that are supporting it, like Senator McCain, i think are going to have a difficult time explaining their position to the base, and I think that's going to have a chance to not split the base, but i think it will have a somewhat of a tough impact for those candidates who support the bill.

ROBERTS: Senator McCain last night was on defense for most of the night on the issue of immigration. The subject of President Bush and what would you do with him f you became president came up last night. Of course, this falls out of a question that was asked at the Democratic debate on Sunday. Here's what you had to say last night about what you'd do with President Bush if you became president.

THOMPSON: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: how would you use George W. Bush in your administration?

THOMPSON: I certainly would not send him to the United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So that was a joke, but I thought last night that the candidates ran away from President Bush much more than they did in the first debate, in the second debate in South Carolina, and their first debate as well. And some of the candidates were downright harsh on him. Did you notice that people are trying to distance themselves a little more now?

THOMPSON: Well, i think that's common, I think, you know, when the president's approval rating is low. But you notice as soon as I got done saying i would not send him to the United Nations, I also talked about the tremendous virtues that George W. Bush has. He's a wonderful individual. And he's had a tough, tough presidency. I can't ever remember a presidency that has had so many things thrown at him. And I thing, overall, George W. Bush has measured up quite nicely, in a lot of areas.

ROBERTS: As we mentioned right at the top, you brought up Fred Thompson. who wasn't in the room. We talked with Governor Huckabee yesterday, who said that this whole idea of Fred Thompson jumping into the race reminds him of a "Mighty Mouse" cartoon, here i come to save the day. What do you think about that deal?

THOMPSON: I think any time you get another Thompson, that in and of itself is a plus. But I think Fred Thompson has got to get in because people are expecting him to. And until he gets in and until he feels the temperature of the water, and until you start interrogating him, which the press is able to do, there's going to will be a time when he going to go up to the top.

ROBERTS: Should he have been there last night? Because he seems to be trying to have it both ways right now, creating a buzz, and yet not engaging on the tough issues with the rest of you.

THOMPSON: Well I think it would have been nice if he would have been there. But he'll be there at the next one, and that's probably soon enough. I mean, the election is still -- the first caucus is still eight months away. So plenty of time.

ROBERTS: Maybe. It could be next week, depending on how this front-loading thing goes.

Governor Thompson, it's good to see you. Thanks very much. I'm glad I got up early so I could be here with you today.

THOMPSON: Thank you. And keep riding your motorcycle.

ROBERTS: Oh, I will, definitely. You, too.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: We're tracking a major developing story overseas right now. A powerful cyclone, which is a hurricane. It's just in a different part of the country, part of the world, roaring in the Persian Gulf.

We're going to talk about the impact possibly on oil prices coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

ROBERTS: Political blogs are busy this morning analyzing last night's debate. And Jacki Schechner joins us with the buzz on all those blogs.

Jackie, you're going top start with the Dodd meter and how much time each one of the candidates got on stage. SCHECHNER: Yes, I mean, we know that Senator Chris Dodd is a Democrat and he launched this talk clock during Sunday night's debate. It was such a big hit to find out how much time each candidate got, that he brought it back as a public service for the Republican debate. And basically the frontrunner John McCain got 12:44. But Rudy Giuliani not far behind at 12:35. Romney came in at 11:04. The man running the show, Wolf Blitzer, actually had a lot more time this time around, 19:34. But you can imagine with that many candidates he probably had a lot more corralling to do.

As for how the debate itself went, the commentary this morning calling it a solid, meaty debate. And we're going to skip around a little bit because the blogs had a lot to say. Rudy Giuliani seemed to be the man of the hour over at The Hillary Spot, run by Jim Geraghty. This used to be, by the way, the Kerry spot; he's now changed it to the Hillary spot. Said that Rudy was en fuego, that he just seemed to be totally on fire. The same thing was echoed over at Ankle Biting Pundits, which is actually a New Hampshire blog, that out of the top three, that Rudy Giuliani did the best job.

Also noted as Kiran mentioned earlier this morning, the lightning strike, as Giuliani was discussing abortion, they thought that he handled that extremely well and with great humor.

Also, of the supposedly second-tier candidates, Mike Huckabee made a huge impression on conservative bloggers. They called him polished, funny. They said he was heartfelt on the issue of religion. They called him hands down the debate winner overall over at redstate, which is a big conservative blog. They said he was just incredible. And this is a group blog, so several agreed. They thought his answers on evolution and religion were concise and smart. So Huckabee definitely earning some fans on the conservative blogs.

So that's where they stand right now. Rudy Giuliani coming out on top. And then Huckabee, on the sort of second-tier candidate, also earning himself new fans.

ROBERTS: No question that Huckabee did himself a world of good yesterday, Jacki. We'll just see how it translates into the amount of money that he brings in, because he's still way, way down in the polls. I wonder if he can even break out he's so far down.

SCHECHNER: They're talking about him as a possible vice presidential candidate, so that might be interesting.

ROBERTS: So There you go. Rise to the surface any way you can. Jacki Schechner, thanks.

SCHECHNER: Any time.

ROBERTS: It's 25 past the hour now. Carrie Lee in for Ali Velshi Minding Your Business this morning.

Good to see you.

Who would have thought we would be talking about a cyclone in Oman, off the coast of Oman, that's affecting oil prices.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it is affecting oil prices, mainly in Europe, a little bit here in the U.S. Oman saw its worst storm in 30 years, temporarily shutting down a big Middle Eastern shipping port. Now this cyclone went from a category 5 to a category 1, so downgraded a bit before it hit Iran, but still raising the price of London crude to $70 a barrel. That's a two-week high in Europe.

Oil prices here, though, not quite as high, just below $66. So oil prices here in the U. S. did rise a bit, not as much as Europe. And the point really is that you think that oil is a commodity, that when people have the perception that we get so much oil from the Middle East that it's all one big marketplace, when really we get a lot of oil from Canada, Venezuela, Mexico and other places. So these aren't necessarily moving in sync. Even though London is seeing a big increase, we're still cheaper in price per barrel for oil here.

Now one thing that could affect oil prices and gas prices going forward, we're going to get some inventory reports today looking at inventory piles for oil, as well as gasoline. Those numbers coming out, and we're expected to see decent increases on both fronts, as refineries here get back to their regular schedules. They've had some maintenance issues. So as long as these inventory levels are strong, that could bode well for gas and oil prices. You know, oil comprises about 50 percent of the price of gasoline. So we'll get those numbers later today.

Sounds good, Carrie Lee Thanks so much. We'll check in with you a little later.

(NEWSBREAK)

ROBERTS: outrage in the U.K. this morning. The documentary featuring the final moments of Princess Diana is set to air tonight. A live update ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: And welcome back. It's Wednesday, June 6th.

I'm Kiran Chetry, here in New York.

ROBERTS: And good morning to you, Kiran.

I'm John Roberts, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Actually, Goffstown is the little town where St. Anselm College is. I had a lot of people come up to me yesterday and say, "You've got to say it's Goffstown." And I said, "Well, it's actually Manchester." That's the mailing address of the college, after all. So they get it both ways this morning.

CHETRY: They want their shout-out, too.

ROBERTS: They do. Well, a shout-out to Goffstown this morning. And hope that everybody's doing well.

"On Our Radar" this morning, we've got more analysis. And we're going to figure out where this campaign is going the morning after the Republicans' debate. Of course, the two big issues were immigration and Iraq.

John Dickerson and Republican strategist Amy Holmes are going to be here with us in just a couple of minutes to break it all down -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes. And also, one of the really interesting parts of the debate last night, you heard some of the candidates answering some of the questions that were very interesting when it came to our current president. And Congressman Tom Tancredo had something very interesting to say when asked, "If you were president, what would you have President Bush do in your administration?"

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM TANCREDO (R), COLORADO: I got a call from Karl Rove, who told me that because of my criticism of the president, I should never darken the doorstep of the White House. I've been so disappointed in the president in so many ways.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And he went on to say that, "I might also ask that he not darken the door of the White House if I was there."

So a very interesting stab at the president, and it sort of came out of left field.

ROBERTS: Well, you know, he certainly has expressed his displeasure with President Bush in the past, and he has recounted that store they Karl Rove told him back in 2003, "Don't darken the doorway of the White House." But I've never heard him say it in such a public forum and in such a forceful manner. All I can say this morning, Kiran, is I hope that Tom Tancredo has got Secret Service protection.

CHETRY: Well, you can ask him about it, because you're going to be speaking with him there up in New Hampshire live in the next hour.

ROBERTS: Yes, he'll be with us next hour. Yes.

CHETRY: We look forward to that.

Well, also, for the first time since a Cold War-like chill in relations, President Bush will be coming face to face tonight with Russian president Vladimir Putin. They're going to be meeting in Germany for a dinner marking the start of the G8 summit.

President Bush and Putin have traded shots in recent days over a missile defense shield proposal in Europe. G8 leaders are also expected to negotiate ways to cut greenhouse gases at the summit. And on Capitol Hill, both the House and Senate will be holding hearings today on the tuberculosis scare. The patient infected with drug resistant TB, Andrew Speaker, will testify in a Senate hearing by phone from the hospital in Denver.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control is also expected to testify. And in the House, the Homeland Security Committee will look into lapses that allowed Speaker to cross into the U.S. from Canada.

And we're going to be talking with committee member Jane Harman of California in our 8:00 Eastern hour.

So will he or won't he? A lot of people now wondering if President Bush will pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The vice president's former chief of staff planning to appeal his two-and-a- half year prison sentence. Democrats are rallying against a pardon. The president though still has not ruled one out.

ROBERTS: Coming up at 34 minutes after the hour.

Republican presidential candidates squared off last night here in New Hampshire. Who were the winners and the losers, and were there any surprises?

Joining me to look at all of that, Republican strategist Amy Holmes and John Dickerson, chief political correspondent for slate.com.

You folks looking amazingly awake for the fact that you went to bed about 2:30 in the morning.

John, I read your piece on slate.com this morning. You said "lightning but no thunder." You didn't get the fireworks that you were looking for last night, at least on the stage. They came from the sky.

JOHN DICKERSON, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, SLATE.COM: Right, yes. The lightning was in reference to Rudy Giuliani, who had a message from God during his abortion answer. But there was no -- there was some distinction in the candidates on immigration, but we didn't see the kind of sharp elbows that we saw in the Democratic debate Sunday night, or that we saw in the last Republican debate where they mixed it up on the war and a few other issues.

ROBERTS: Right.

Amy, who do you think won it last night? I have read several different reports, and each report thought that somebody else won.

AMY HOLMES, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, there was no clear winner. But for my money, I thought John McCain won because he didn't lose. That he was going into the debate tonight with a very sensitive topic of immigration, backing a bill that is deeply unpopular among Republican voters and conservative voters. In his own state, half of Arizonans polled are against this bill. So, the fact that John McCain was able to get through it with nine guys who were all opposed to this bill, they hit the bill, but they didn't hit McCain.

ROBERTS: Yes, he was on the defensive most of the night.

Rudy Giuliani was one of the strongest people coming out against this bill.

Take a quick listen to what he said about the McCain-Kennedy bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The problem with this immigration plan is it has no real unifying purpose. It's a typical Washington mess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: John, we thought that it was going to be McCain and Romney who got into it, because they were trading barbs on the campaign trail. And we were warned going in to last night's debate, watch for some fireworks. But it turned out it was Giuliani and McCain who were into it last night.

Romney tried to soar above it all.

DICKERSON: That's right. McCain and Romney, both sides, their camps were saying, you know, we're going to define each other on this issue. But Giuliani brought it up. And then in a back-and-forth with McCain over the details of the bill, Giuliani said, "Well, I've read the 400-page bill." A little sort of intellectual macho there, showing that he read it, and then debating McCain on the fine points of it.

So, Giuliani, yes, did a little -- went on offense a little there.

ROBERTS: And we should also point out, too, that Duncan Hunter was the only one that read the national intelligence estimate prior to the Iraq war.

Were you surprised, Amy, at how vigorously the candidates ran away from President Bush? We played that statement from Tom Tancredo, and we'll talk to him about it next hour. But bordering on harsh on a couple of occasions.

HOLMES: Well, certainly with Tancredo. He finally found his voice in this debate, and it was angry and very anti-Bush.

We knew going in that the candidates were not going to -- wanting to be associated closely with the president. But there was no love on that stage for President Bush last night. And they went out of their way to say Bush mishandled the war.

We've heard that before, but with a much -- much stronger last night.

ROBERTS: And John, what about Governor Mike Huckabee? Vice presidential material there?

DICKERSON: Well, yes, he had another strong showing, you know. He -- what interested me is obviously social conservatives play a strong role in this party. And his answers were something they will like. And also, he's a great spokesman for their point of view. So I should think that he's happy with his performance.

ROBERTS: I'll tell you, there was so much last night. We could slice and dice in it a million ways. And we'll continue to do that. We'll get you both back on a little bit later on.

John Dickerson, Amy Holmes, thanks very much -- Kiran.

CHETRY: There are indictments for the Fort Dix Six. It tops our "Quick Hits" right now.

A federal grand jury deciding the men should be tried on charges of planning a mass killing at Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. They're being held now without bail in a federal lockup.

And a planned memorial to Flight 93 is being held up. The man who owns some of the land wants $10 million for it. He's placed a cash donation box at the site. Relative of victims are outraged by it. He says he's using the donations to pay for security.

And a documentary on the final moments of Princess Di's life set to air tonight despite appeals from her sons and a lot of the outrage in Britain. We're going to hear what TV execs are saying this morning. We get a live report from London next on AMERICAN MORNING.

The most news in the morning is here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up to 43 minutes after the hour. Some breaking news this morning.

Of course every Wednesday, the pope, Pope Benedict XVI, holds a little bit of a public audience in St. Peter's Square. He was driving around the square in his pope mobile today, and apparently a bystander tried to jump into the vehicle.

Now, not sure if he tried to get into the driver's compartment or if he tried to get into the back part there where the pope rides. But typically, he rides around in a pope mobile that his surrounded in bulletproof glass. He has been known on occasion though to ride in an open-back vehicle.

So not sure which one he was riding in. We should get video of that in just the next couple of minutes. But again, somebody trying to jump inside the pope mobile today as the pope held his regular Wednesday audience in a little drive around St. Peter's Square.

Also in the news, trying to get back to normal at Virginia Tech. Some "Quick Hits" for you now.

Norris Hall, where 30 of 32 victims were killed, will reopen in two weeks' time. It won't hold classes anymore. Instead, it will be used for office space and labs that could not be moved.

A bus driver in Hartford, Connecticut, has been fired for leaving a 4-year-old disabled boy on a bus by himself for three hours. The boy's mother says her son can't speak or eat and was left on the bus on an 80-degree day with the windows rolled up.

And remember that outrageous lawsuit over a pair of pants lost by a dry cleaners in Washington State? Well, the man behind the lawsuit, who happens to be a judge, is backing down just a little.

He's now seeking $54 million. That's down from the original $67 million that he sought. He said he is suing for fraud because a sign in the shop promised "satisfaction guaranteed". Suing for everything from the cost of the pair of pants, to leasing a vehicle to have to drive to a dry cleaner farther away -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, I bet that's a great courtroom to have to show up in when he's the judge, right?

Well, there's a new documentary out today on Princess Diana's death, and it's set to air tonight despite a lot of controversy surrounding it. Princes William and Harry still making desperate pleas to pull this film.

For the very latest, we turn to CNN's Max Foster, who is live outside of Buckingham Palace for us this morning.

It is not the actual documentary itself, but some photos that the producers are going to include that really has people upset, right, Max?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, deeply distressing. That's how the princes' office described this, and wholly inappropriate. These are pretty strong words for the princes' office. They don't normally get involved in thing like this.

But the princes do see themselves as custodians, if you like, of the princess' memory. And they see that any pictures, if they are published of the scene of the crash, is a real violation of that memory.

So they're going out of their way to try to do something about this. They wrote a letter to Channel 4. Channel 4 didn't respond to that quickly enough, they didn't feel, so they released the letter to the press. That's how we know what's been going on.

And then their private secretary, in a pretty rare move, actually went to the television cameras with an interview and actually made a statement about this. And he said that even though you don't see Diana in any of the pictures featured in this documentary that will go out tonight, it's still inappropriate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE LOWTHER-PINKERTON, PRIVATE SECRETARY TO THE PRINCES: It doesn't matter that you can't see the princess' features, her actual -- the princess' features, her actual body in the shots. We know that she is in that car. The whole scene is redolent of the tragedy of her last moments on earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We haven't heard anything from the princes today. That was a statement from yesterday, but we do expect them to be lobbying probably behind the scenes to try to get Channel 4 not to run this documentary tonight, at least with the pictures within it.

But Kiran, it looks like it's going to go ahead. Channel 4 is being pretty stubborn on this.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, Max -- John.

ROBERTS: It's now coming up to 45 minutes after the hour.

So, the dry cleaner is in Washington, D.C., not Washington State.

To find out what else is going on across the country weather- wise, let's check in with Chad Myers, who's down in the weather center in Atlanta.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Body armor for police dogs in Britain tops our "Quick Hits" now.

Well-dressed dogs in South Yorkshire, England, will be wearing $700 jackets to protect them not from being shot, but from being stabbed. A British police dog was stabbed while trying to disarm a guy with a knife last year.

And more cutting-edge crime-fighting from England. Police in Brighton think that crime goes up when the moon is full. So they're going to put more officers on the streets during full moons. Cause and effect, there you go.

And "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for marriage? Some trouble for Larry and Laurie David. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Following two breaking stories right now.

Trouble in Vatican City this morning. Someone tried to jump into the pope's pope mobile as he began his regular Wednesday audience. Security got to the man who had jumped over the barricades and was going toward the pope.

We're going to have a live report on all of that at the top of the hour. Not clear if the pope was in the open-backed pope mobile or if he was in the one that was surrounded by bulletproof glass.

We'll try to get that for you in the next few minutes.

We're also getting word that protesters are moving in on the G8 summit site in Germany. German police used water cannons against the demonstrators there -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, I guess the enthusiasm is gone. After 14 years of marriage, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David and his wife Laurie David are calling it quits. Well, for now.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Lola Ogunnaike is here with more on that and her conversation with a blast from the past as well.

Which is what, Robin Givens?

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

CHETRY: All right. So let's talk about the Davids. What happened?

OGUNNAIKE: It's over for now. It doesn't mean that it's over indefinitely. But it's over for right now.

They're split. They're not divorced just yet. They're still living together. But after 14 years, they're calling it quits.

It's amicable. But again, right now it's over.

CHETRY: And they have two kids, right?

OGUNNAIKE: They have two kids, 12 and 14. They're very happy, but it just didn't seem to work out.

And you know, she's been touring and having a great time doing her environmental causes. She was out on tour all last year with Sheryl David (sic) -- I'm sorry, Sheryl Crow. And the two of them were touring the world, spreading the whole tree hugger green movement. And she's back home right now, and maybe they've decided that they're good apart.

CHETRY: Wow. All right. So the Davids separating, but not filing for divorce at this point.

OGUNNAIKE: Not quite yet.

CHETRY: What the heck's going on with Robin Givens?

OGUNNAIKE: A blast from the past. Can you believe it? That's some old school gossip. People who really decided that it was over, and it was absolutely over.

She's got a book out right now, it's a memoir, "Grace Will Lead Me Home". And, you know, she talks about her relationship with her mother, she talks about getting into Harvard, her acting career. But obviously the juiciest part is about her relationship with Mike Tyson.

And I spoke with her last night. And she was very forthcoming. And she's equally as forthcoming in the book.

She talks about the abuse, doesn't shy away from that at all. And she talks about him choking her, him beating her. And, you know, she says she was trying to love the pain away and she wanted to be there for him. But ultimately, she decided that it was too difficult.

CHETRY: Yes, and one of the most disturbing things -- and I think we have it up on the screen -- is a quote. She's quoting what Mike Tyson said to her. "Remember when I was going to kill you? Don't worry, I've changed my mind. I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to make your life so miserable, that you're going to cut your own throat."

Now, when did this happen?

OGUNNAIKE: How bizarre is that?

CHETRY: Very.

OGUNNAIKE: But the thing that she said which was so interesting to me is that they were friends. They had a really, really intimate relationship. And even when he was threatening to kill her, she felt like she could talk to him about it. They could intellectualize that process.

So, she was like, well, you know, Mike, you don't have so kill me. Maybe I'll leave. Maybe I'll walk away. Maybe you need a timeout.

It wasn't until it got really bad, until he was threatening her, and her family was there to witness it, that she decided, I've got to get out of here.

CHETRY: And so do they talk today? Do they speak today?

OGUNNAIKE: They still have -- they are cordial, but they do not -- they do not maintain an active relationship, no, not at all.

CHETRY: All right. So that's her book, "Grace Will Lead Me Home".

OGUNNAIKE: But she's not into the tattoos on his face at all. She thinks that's a sign of self-hatred.

CHETRY: And who is? Except him, I guess.

Lola Ogunnaike, thanks so much.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

CHETRY: John.

ROBERTS: Hey, we've got some video in from St. Peters's Square in Vatican City just a couple of seconds ago. We want to bring it up for you now. I'm going to be looking at this for the first time as you are as well.

There's the pope in St. Peter's Square in the open-backed pope mobile. You can see the guy jumps over the barricade there, trying to get into the back of the pope mobile there with the pope.

Security detail wrestling that fellow to the ground. Apparently, the pope wasn't even aware that this fellow had come over the barricades.

Watch. You can see him there, a man without a shirt on, jumping over the barricades, trying to get into the back of that vehicle.

Pope Benedict XVI has taken to driving around St. Peter's Square in this open-backed vehicle. You remember back in 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot in the stomach by Mehmet Ali Agca, and after that they drove the pope around in that bulletproof pope mobile, the one that looks like a big glass box. But Benedict XVI wants to be out there among the people, so he chooses for the most part to drive around in that open-backed vehicle, particularly when he's in the Vatican. Sometimes in his overseas trips he'll take the up-armored one.

But the man apparently was trying to get into the back of the vehicle. Didn't ever pose a direct threat to the pope, because he never got in to where he was trying to get to.

And you can see the pope's security detail there treating this guy pretty harshly, wrestling him to the ground, took him away. Obviously he'll be under arrest and will spend the rest of the day explaining to the police force why he tried to get into the back of the pope mobile there. Certainly, he probably had some message he wanted to pass along there.

CHETRY: And the interesting thing, John -- perhaps the interesting thing though is the pope never misses a beat. Pope Benedict continues waving and going on with the crowd, almost oblivious, if you will.

ROBERTS: Well, as I said, he didn't even know that the guy had come over. He was looking the other way.

CHETRY: Right. But, I mean, there was certainly a lot of action going on.

ROBERTS: It's quite noisy down there in St. Peter's Square. It's quite noisy down there in St. Peter's Square, though, when the pope is driving around. People cheering. It's quite likely that you would never hear the sort of commotion even though it was happening only a few feet behind you.

CHETRY: Yes. There you see it once again, just launching himself over that separation. And quickly taken down by the detail.

ROBERTS: It looks like he was trying to leap right into the back there from the barricade. And one of the security officers seemed to block him from doing that. So, it could have been bad, but the security detail reacted quickly. And the pope coming away unscathed from that.

Look at that. See, he caught him before he got anywhere near jumping. Fortunate this morning.

Hey, still to come this morning, we've heard from Tommy Thompson. Ahead, we're going to talk with Tom Tancredo this morning after the Republicans debate.

That's ahead in our next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.

The most news in the morning is on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's three minutes before the top of the hour. Carrie Lee is "Minding Your Business" for us this morning.

And we're talking beer.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are talking beer. Never too early, right?

Well, we're talking about Anheuser-Busch. Shares hit an all-time high yesterday, closing above $53 a piece. This after a newspaper report said that the large U.S. brewer could be targeted for a shake- up.

Now, this is reportedly happening from a hedge fund called Pershing. "The New York Post" reporting this story, saying that they're putting together $2 billion for a fund that would take a look at one specific iconic American company.

Now, the speculation here is that the company is Anheuser-Busch. Pershing reportedly saying that they're looking at a company that has to have one of its division's value unlocked, another division that needs to be sold, and one that is misunderstood. So, people trying to put the pieces together here.

And this comes as Anheuser-Busch, like a lot of domestic breweries, have seen U.S. sales slump. Anheuser gets three-quarters of its sales from the U.S., but this is an area that hasn't seen a lot of growth.

Warren Buffett, interestingly, owns five percent of Bud. He hasn't been able to turn it around that much. So we'll see if this story does come to fruition and if they're able to make some changes. But the idea here, that the hedge fund would get in by a bunch of shares, and then try to influence management and the way the company's run.

CHETRY: Interesting.

LEE: Yes. CHETRY: Carrie Lee, thank you.

LEE: Sure.

CHETRY: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

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