Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Mosque Attack: U.S. Troops on Alert in Samarra; China Strikes Back: Accuses U.S. of Contaminated Food; No Soldier Left Behind: Rescue Robot
Aired June 13, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Overnight, one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines bombed for the second time in 16 months. U.S. troops on high alert this morning, fearing a new wave of sectarian violence.
Plus, betrayal at the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON DEGABRIELLE, U.S. ATTORNEY: It's unfortunate that members of law enforcement are alleged to have violated the very laws that they're helping us to protect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Three National Guardsmen arrested for smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. The text messages that stopped them in their tracks, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. Thanks for joining us today. It's Wednesday the 13th of June. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
It's 6:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 2:00 p.m. now in Iraq and that's where we begin with breaking news this morning out of Samarra. The U.S. military is on alert after an attack at a sacred Shiite mosque. Iraqi police say that suspected al Qaeda insurgents used explosives to hit two towers that were left standing. It's near the famous Golden Dome Shrine.
Now you may remember that shrine. This is the second time that mosque has been targeted by terrorists. That dome was shattered in a 2006 bombing. That attack, a flash point in the war, triggering a wave of sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of people since.
Police say an indefinite curfew is about to go into effect. A senior Iraqi government official is calling today's attack a serious blow to the country. We, of course, have live reports coming to us from Baghdad. So stay with us throughout the morning for the latest updates on that.
ROBERTS: To Capitol Hill now where Senate Democrats are promising a new round of votes on Iraq. And Majority Leader Harry Reid says they will happen before the Fourth of July recess. Reid's plan includes cutting off funding, ordering troop withdrawals and rescinding congressional authorization for the war. He says he wants to, "hold the president's feet to the fire." The measures, though, are not expected to pass.
And a developing story that we're following for you this morning. In just the last few hour, the United States has gone on the attack against Iran, verbally at least. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told CNN this morning that the U.S. now has irrefutable evidence that Iran is arming the Taliban. Burns says NATO forces stopped weapons that were being shipped across the border into Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLAS BURNS, UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE: A pattern of activity. You see the Iranians arming Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank and, of course, arming Shia militants inside Iraq itself. It's very violent and very unproductive activity by the Iranian government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Burns called on NATO to beef up its protection at the border to stop more shipments from getting through.
CHETRY: And a developing story in Fort Hood, Texas, now. A military search team says they have recovered the body of a missing soldier. They found that body overnight. He was Sergeant Lawrence Sprader, found on the rugged army post after a massive air and ground search. An autopsy is being conducted to figure out what caused his death. He went missing Friday. He was on an exercise to test map reading and navigation skills. Sergeant Sprader returned from service in Iraq last September.
ROBERTS: Three National Guard soldiers in Texas were assigned to help the Department of Homeland Security protect the border. Now they're accused of betraying their duty, charged with smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S./Mexico border. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports on this alleged scheme.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The cell phone text message offered Private First Class Jose Rodrigo Torres a lucrative deal. Federal authorities say last Wednesday Sergeant Julio Cesar Pacheco sent these words. "We need to take 24 people to make that happen and you will get 3500 does that sound good?" Torres replied, "24 will b tuff 2 fit but ill try."
The next day federal authorities say Torres picked up 24 illegal immigrants in Laredo and drove them in a van north along Interstate 35. According to those authorities, he managed to get around a border patrol checkpoint with the help of a third National Guardsman, Sergeant Clarence Hodge.
DON DEGABRIELLE, U.S. ATTORNEY: These 24 individuals and Mr. Torres in that van were actually never subjected to the typical immigration check that most people are subject to that go through the checkpoint.
LAVANDERA: The van kept pushing towards San Antonio until border patrol agents stopped Torres near the small town of Cotulla and discover the illegal immigrants. They had done this before. According to court documents, the three men organized about seven other smuggling runs.
DEGABRIELLE: It's unfortunate when members of law enforcement, whose job it is is to help us protect the border and maintain border security are alleged to have violated the very laws that they're helping us to protect.
LAVANDERA: The three accused have not entered pleas in court. Federal authorities describe Julio Pacheco as the ringleader. A far cry from the soldier who received the purple heart for injuries he suffered in Iraq.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And we'll be talking live to the commander of the Texas National Guard about this case. That's coming up in our 8:00 hour this morning.
CHETRY: And President Bush making border security the big push as he tries to revive the immigration bill. It's still not clear this morning if his trip to Capitol Hill yesterday changed any minds. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell summed it up like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MINORITY LEADER: We had a very, very good discussion, including some of our members who are not, shall I say, keen on this measure and others who are still taking a look at it and trying to decide how they're going to vote. I think a lot of that will depend upon what it looks like in the end. And none of us know that yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The senators behind the bill are now working on a limited list of changes. They would be added amendments that would be debated. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he will bring it back to the floor when Republicans can deliver the 25 votes or so need to pass it.
ROBERTS: Well, an update for you now on the story that we told you about last week, the fight over the Flight 93 crash site. The state of Pennsylvania says it will pick up the tab for security on the property, allowing the owner to remove a donation box that he had set up. That box had angered many family members of victims of Flight 93. The National Park Service had even covered it up with a plastic bag at one point. Flight 93 went down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, back on September 11, 2001. The site contains a temporary memorial. $60 million is set aside to build a permanent one.
CHETRY: Intense fighting in Gaza today threatening to break up the Palestinian unity government. Militant Hamas fighters captured key Fatah positions today. Leaders from both parties are calling for cease-fire, but the fighting continues. More than 50 people have been killed in the past three days. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah movement says he will quit the government if the fighting doesn't stop.
Also in Israel today, politics coming full circle. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak winning control of the labor party today. He was swept from power by Ariel Sharon six years ago after his peace deal with the Palestinians fell through. Now he's in a position to defeat Sharon's successor, Ehud Olmert.
ROBERTS: It's almost like all of those Israeli leaders are on a big wheel and it just keeps rotating around and around and they keep coming up to the top every few months or so.
On to American politics now. He's just about at the bottom of the pack of the big four when it comes to the national polls, but Mitt Romney is jumping to the top of the pack in New Hampshire. A new CNN poll says Romney is the favorite of conservatives. He's at 28 percent among New Hampshire's likely GOP primary voters. Giuliani and McCain both have 20 percent. Fred Thompson has 11 percent.
When it comes to who has the best chance of beating the Democratic nominee, though, it's Giuliani with 31 percent. Romney has 25. McCain trails with only 14 percent. Only 6 percent of those polled, however, say that they've made up their mind on who to vote for.
Well, Fred Thompson hasn't officially joined the race, but he came awfully close to doing it last night on "The Tonight Show." Jay Leno asked him flat out if he wants to be president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED THOMPSON: I've never craved the job of president, but I want to do some things that only a president can do. So the answer's yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Thompson talked about his experience as a U.S. senator. He even took a little swipe at those who criticized his decision to become an actor. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: I put term limits on myself, for one thing. I never planned on spending a career in Washington. You know, I often say, after eight years in Washington, I longed for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood.
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Really? (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There's a line you're going to hear again and again in the campaign. Thompson has already formed a testing the waters committee and says that so far he has gotten a warm reception from voters.
CHETRY: All right. So we chuckled the first time. We'll see what happens three months down the road where we hear that line over and over again.
Well first he sued for millions over his pants and now he's crying over them. The plot just continues to thicken with this case out of Washington, D.C. A judge -- he is a judge -- he's seeking $54 million from his dry cleaner for a pair of lost pants. I think it was more than a decade ago now.
Well, he broke down yesterday on the first day of trial. He was recalling the day when the dry cleaners told him that they had found his pants. But when the pants that he was shown had cuffs in it said, "I have in my adult life with one exception never worn pants with cuffs."
This guy needs a real problems, doesn't he, because these are not working?
Anyway, he then called for a break. He left the courtroom in tears. And, as you can imagine, the lawyer for the dry cleaners furious. They've called his claims outlandish. And they get their turn in court this morning. The case is expected to finish by the end of the day.
ROBERTS: Savannah Guthrie's (ph) going to be along, by the way, in our next hour to talk more about all of this from the legal perspective.
An AMERICAN MORNING update for you now. Remember the amazing story of a man whose wheelchair handles got stuck in the front grille of a semi truck and that he was taken off down the street at a ride at sometimes 50 miles an hour. Well, the driver of the truck is not going to face any criminal charges. Prosecutors called it an accident. They say Ben Carpenter (ph) crossed the street in his wheelchair. The light turned green and the driver stepped on the gas. Carpenter was pushed down that road for a number of miles with the drivers coming the opposite way, frantically dialing 911 saying there's a man on a wheelchair stuck to the front of a semi truck.
CHETRY: Yes, the audio recordings of those 911 calls were unbelievable.
Also prosecuting the prosecutor? "Quick Hits" now. Did Durham D.A. Mike Nifong know that the Duke lacrosse case was in trouble? A police investigator testified yesterday that Nifong privately admitted the case would be difficult to prove at the very same time that he was attacking the Duke lacrosse team in public. The North Carolina State Bar is charging Nifong now with violating its code of conduct. Genarlow Wilson still behind bars for now despite a judge's ruling that his 10-year sentence was a "miscarriage of justice." Wilson is in prison for having consensual sex with a 15-year-old when he was 17. Prosecutors are appealing the judge's decision. They want to try to free him. Another hearing on the matter is set for July 5th.
Breakdown, just in time for hurricane season. One of the country's critical storm satellites is now on the fritz. So what could it mean for predicting storms and keeping people safe and avoiding unnecessary evacuation? We're going to talk about that next on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes now after the hour and back to our top story of the morning in Iraq now. The U.S. military is on alert after an attack at a sacred Shiite mosque in Samarra. It's the same one that was bombed in February of 2006. The one that was credited for triggering that wave of sectarian violence that has engulfed the entire country now. Paula Hancocks joins me on the phone from Baghdad.
Paula, there was a large security presence around this shrine after that bombing back in February of last year. How were people able to carry out this attack and who is suspected?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, what we know from a police official up in Samarra is that at 4:00 a.m. local time clashes broke out between what he call insurgents and the Iraqi national police that were protecting this mosque. Now as you say, the courts (ph) have been protected, but they managed to get through this barrier and that's when they could plant these bombs around the two minarets. And when they detonated, one completely collapsed. The one was very badly damaged.
John.
ROBERTS: So what have Iraqi officials asked the U.S. military to do in response to this?
HANCOCKS: Well, the first thing that the Iraqi government itself has done is called a curfew from 3:00 p.m. local time. That's in about 45 minutes. An indefinite curfew in Baghdad for cars and for pedestrians. And we've spoken to the U.S. military. Now, obviously, they can't talk about operational changes they're making, but we did get an official statement saying that they condemned the violence as another attack on the people of Iraq. But they wouldn't be drawn on whether or not they're going to need more troops to this particular area.
John.
ROBERTS: Is there any concern, Paula, that this could trigger yet another wave of sectarian violence? I mean, could it get any worse than it already is?
HANCOCKS: Well, there is serious concern about that and certainly it's a very tense atmosphere in Baghdad itself at this point. Now we have some statements from the Shiite side. We know that Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, has called for calm. He's called for three days of mourning.
And he's asking for reconciliation within the Iraqi system, blaming the Americans. He says this is the fault of the American occupiers, most certainly the Americans and the Iraqis after the last attack, said that it had all the hallmarks of al Qaeda. At this point they're not being quoted as what the believe is behind this particular attack.
But also Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is calling for restraint. So a little side calling for restraint. But the fact is, they called for restraint after the last attack as well in 2006. And as we well know, that did not work.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, Paula, we'll let you keep working your sources there in Baghdad. We'll get back to you a little bit later on this morning. Paula Hancocks reporting for us on the telephone from Baghdad.
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
Well, there's some concern this morning that a satellite that helps track hurricanes could fail at any moment. It's called QuikSCAT. The satellite is not even scheduled to be replaced for almost 10 years. And if it does fail, forecasters say that predictions will be less accurate. They'll actually be forced to call for wider evacuations to be on the safe side. Our Reynolds Wolf is in this morning with more about this.
So this is a satellite that's up there in space.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
CHETRY: And how do they know it's failing them at this point?
WOLF: Well, they -- it's just having some serious issues. Right now it's actually operating on emergency backup as we speak. And talk about awful timing. I mean we're looking at a big hurricane season coming up. And to give you an idea of exactly what this is, what it does, we're going to take a look at this image that we have.
This is actually off the coast of British Columbia, but not exactly a hotbed of hurricanes, but it illustrates the point. Now these are called wind profile. And it gives us an idea of how strong these storms will be. This area of low pressure right up the coast. And when we're forecasting, it's important to know what your winds are doing, what the intensity that they have when you're trying to judge how strong they might be or, more importantly, where they may be going. Now that's key.
Take a look at this next image. This shows a forecast path that we have at the National Hurricane Center. This, of course, was Katrina.
CHETRY: Oh, yes, we get used to seeing these.
WOLF: We really and truly do. And without QuikSCAT, we could see the path being, well, say for example, from this one, being from the Alabama coast line back over to Louisiana. It could be a much wider spectrum.
Now, with that in mind and knowing how expensive and how dangerous these evacuations can be, up to $1 million per mile on the coast with all these people, this is going to be a huge endeavor for us. However, we really don't have much of a choice and we're always going to err on the side of caution.
CHETRY: That's a shame, though, $400 million. That's how much that satellite costs.
WOLF: $400 million. It takes four years to make one of these things. So it is going to be a pricey and, again, really timely problem for dealing with.
CHETRY: And no chance of fixing it?
WOLF: Not a chance. Can't go up there with a socket wrench and do some elbow grease and take care of it.
CHETRY: All right, Reynolds, thanks.
WOLF: You bet.
ROBERTS: Eighteen minutes after the hour now. President Bush is pushing Senate Republicans to revive his immigration reform bill and he went to Capitol Hill yesterday to make a personal appeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of effort. We've got to convince the American people that this bill is the best way to enforce our border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Does the president stand any chance of getting the bill he wants, though? Or any bill at all? A.B. Stoddard is an associate editor with "The Hill" newspaper. She joins us now from our Washington bureau.
So, A.B., what's your sense? Is this immigration bill ever coming back?
A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "THE HILL": President Bush went to speak with Senate Republicans yesterday, not to lecture them, but to plead with them. And he tried to assure them that border security would be his priority in any reform package. And he was very passionate, but he did not change any minds. It was really described by people in the room as, it was very moving. The president was at his best. Not that it was too little, but it was pretty much too late.
ROBERTS: Yes. But that's sort of like, you know, you go to an audition and they say, hey, we really liked your performance, we thought you put a lot into it, but thanks, we're going to go another direction.
STODDARD: That's right.
ROBERTS: He needs to get 15 votes.
STODDARD: Yes.
ROBERTS: You're suggesting he didn't move anybody in the room. Is that just pie in the sky? Could he ever do it?
STODDARD: Well, the problem for him now is, if he wants to engage his critics, the conservative Republicans who so strongly oppose this bill, he needs to move the legislation more towards securing the border first, more of a restrictive package. And the coalition is so fragile already, the legislation that came to the floor really arrived on life support anyway and so he really risks losing Democrats the more he moves towards his critics, and that's where it's really hard for him to keep a compromise alive.
ROBERTS: You know, obviously, he still seems to have some respect in the party. But take a quick listen to what Senator Jeff Sessions told us yesterday morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, (R) ALABAMA: He needs to back off. They always say this is the only chance to pass this bill. Well, of course, that's not true. We can do that again in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The president needs to back off. When a senator says that, how much clout does the president really have left?
STODDARD: Well, there are two things that happened. He made a strategic error two weeks ago when he irritated his critics, accusing them of not reading the bill. And it gave them time to really whip up more opposition among the grassroots. This is now opposed across the country, not just by senators or special interests in Washington.
And so you add that to the fact that the Iraq War is so unpopular, the Republican Party is moving away from the president. They've warned him that they're going to depart from him in September unless there's sudden progress. And so if you look at those two factors, it's very hard for the president to be heard, even by his own party on Capitol Hill.
ROBERTS: A.B., a quick yes or no. President bush, lame duck?
STODDARD: Yes.
ROBERTS: Oh, OK. There you are.
All right, A.B. Stoddard from "The Hill" newspaper.
STODDARD: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Thanks. Appreciate you coming in.
CHETRY: A major immigration raid topping our "Quick Hits" now. Federal agents arresting more than 160 people at a Del Monte food plant in Portland, Oregon, yesterday. Most of them illegal immigrants using phony Social Security numbers. Three managers of a smaller company that supplies workers to Del Monte were also arrested.
Well, anyone who lived at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, between 1957 and 1987 is at risk. That's what they're saying now. Environmental officials say that water at the base was contaminated with toxic chemicals from a dry cleaner. Congress heard emotional testimony yesterday from people whose children suffered birth defects and cancer.
Well, it looks like what's old is new again with a little bit of a twist. Twinkies going back to the future. We'll tell you what's changing so that your taste buds won't be too surprised, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Twinkies are going back to the future. The classic snack cake, you know, with the creamy vanilla center, is actually returning to its roots. It's the banana cream. That's how they started.
Did you know that, John?
ROBERTS: I didn't. Never really been a big Twinkie eater.
CHETRY: Yes, I know, you usually go for the Ho-Hos.
But the filling that first made Twinkies famous more than 70 years ago, that's what they're bringing back. Banana. It's back for a short promotional run. This time, though, banana cream Twinkies are here to stay.
ROBERTS: Excellent. Can't wait.
CHETRY: You can still get the vanilla ones, so don't get too upset.
ROBERTS: A new spin on competitive eating to tell you about this morning. Fifteen brides to be engaged in a cake eating competition yesterday in New York City. They had two minutes to down as many miniature cakes as they could while dressed in their wedding gowns. This isn't that elegant.
CHETRY: Is that what you really want to do right before your wedding?
ROBERTS: I don't know.
The winner finished nine cakes, took home $25,000. The event was designed to promote the television show "Bridezillas." I thought the trick was to fit into your wedding dress, not grow out of it.
CHETRY: Exactly. All right, have fun, ladies. Actually the sugar high, the sugar rush, I can't even imagine.
Also, there's an idea for the budget-minded bride and groom. If you can't afford a big, expensive cake, you can rent a fake one. There's a company in Michigan now offering elegant, multi-tiered cakes -- look at that -- with gum paste on the outside and layers of plastic foam inside. And then there's a spot reserved for a slice of real cake that you would then put on top to be shared by the happy couple. And the price will make you smile. Apparently a standard fake cake costs $100. But if you want to get crazy and go for the custom designed fake cake, that's $150.
ROBERTS: The perfect thing for people who are not planning on the marriage lasting.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I didn't know how much wedding cakes cost. I'm surprise that you have to rent one for $100. I was thinking maybe I could drop a 50 and get the whole cake for real, but maybe that's why I'm not married.
CHETRY: You could get a pudgy the whale for sure from (INAUDIBLE). That's about it.
ROBERTS: A couple of minutes from now we're going to be telling you about China retaliating against claims by the United States that food coming from China is unsafe. They're embargoing our raisins, I thing.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: But you've got some other news about China this morning.
VELSHI: Well, yes, it's about China. I mean we've been talking about this for years, about how much more we buy -- America buys from China than China buys from America. And that's obviously because mainly manufactured goods, which are much cheaper in China because wages are much lower in China than they are here. And then there's this ongoing accusation that China keeps its currency unusually low to make its goods more attractive and less expensive than the rest of the world.
Let me show you how much that trade imbalance with China is. How much that trade deficit is. In 2006, the U.S. exported $55 billion worth of goods to China. The U.S. imported $287 billion worth of goods from China. The trade deficit there is $232.5 billion with China. You often hear this reference to the trade deficit. This isn't new. There's been talk about it for a long time but now both parties in Congress are looking at doing something about it, actually imposing laws that would punish China for keeping its currency low and for, you know, having what it calls unfair trade practices.
The danger here is that that might result in duties on Chinese goods. And the effect here in America, say some people, is that it could trigger a recession because all of those Chinese goods that we buy -- and we buy lots of them -- check the label or "made in" label on whatever you've got, could end up becoming more expensive. As a result of that, our sort of relatively imbalanced economy could be set off.
The other thing, of course, is that if we impose regulations on China, China could do the same thing to the United States. They could start selling some of their massive reserves of U.S. cash. So a lot of issues. A lot of people are saying, well, tough talk is one thing, trade sanctions are another. This is not a trade war that America can afford to have. So that will be a subject in Congress for some time.
I'm going to come back in a little bit, but I just want to tell you, the Dow dropped more than 100 points yesterday on unrelated concerns, which I'll tell you about when I'm back.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll look forward to it.
Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: Yes, thanks (ph). Sunshine.
ROBERTS: AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after this.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, it's the military's worst nightmare. An ambush. Troops under attack. Men pinned down. Survivors, but no way of reaching them. Until now. How a high tech robot can help save lives. Next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Hey, it's Wednesday, the 13th of June. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us today.
We begin with breaking news out of Iraq. The U.S. military is on alert after an attack at a sacred Shiite mosque in Samarra.
The prime minister now calling for an indefinite curfew. It's the second time this mosque has been targeted. An attack last year is credited with igniting widespread sectarian violence.
Bobby Ghosh is the Baghdad bureau chief for "TIME" magazine, and he joins us now on the phone for the very latest. Bobby, thanks for being with us.
You know, unfortunately, we report these types of bombings and violence in Iraq every day. What makes this attack on this mosque today so different?
BOBBY GHOSH, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, Kiran, this is perhaps one of the holiest shrines in Shiite Islam, and the majority of Iraqis are Shia. And the fact that it has been attacked a second time, despite the high level of security, it is bound to raise -- Shiites will be asking questions about why their government and why the American forces were unable to protect this shrine from a second attack.
A lot of the attention in recent days has been focused on this big military surge in Baghdad. But people will be asking whether this surge is leaving other part of the country vulnerable.
CHETRY: And what about the claims of responsibility right now?
GHOSH: Well, no group has claimed responsibility as yet. An Iraqi government official I spoke with figured (ph) al Qaeda, and al Qaeda was responsible for the first attack. This certainly bears their fingerprints. It's very much in line with previous attacks they have done in other parts of the country, but it's also typical of al Qaeda not to take responsibility right away.
CHETRY: All right. We're going to try to get some audio issues taken care of and check in with you a little bit later.
Bobby Ghosh with "TIME" magazine on the phone with us from the Baghdad bureau.
Thank you.
ROBERTS: On the other side of the world, it looks like China is declaring war on U.S. food. Chinese health inspectors are saying that more and more food shipped from America isn't up to standard and may be contaminated. One of the foods they said is raisins.
But is this really a health issue or is it a political one?
John Vause live now from our Beijing bureau with more for us.
So, John, political, or is this actually a health issue?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, if nothing else, the timing of all of this is very interesting, but it could also be the start of China pushing back after months of bad press around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE (voice over): Just routine procedures, say the Chinese. Pistachio nuts from California impounded by Customs officials because the shipment, they say, was infested with white ants. "The ants pose a great threat to our forests and environment," says this news report on state-run television.
This is the third time in less than a week U.S. goods have been destroyed or turned back by Chinese officials. Last Friday, the country's food safety authority announced on its Web site that American health supplements and raisins had failed to meet "... the sanitary standards of China." "We will take a zero tolerance approach in dealing with these cases," she says.
For months, Chinese exports have been at the center of scandals around the world, from poisoned toothpaste and cough syrup in Central America, to tainted pet food ingredients in the U.S. But now China appears to be on the offensive.
RUSSELL MOSES, CHINA POLITICAL ANALYST: By and large, these sorts of seizures are being done to essentially say, look, we can play big as well as you.
VAUSE: In Beijing, officials opened their food testing facilities to show it off to international reporters and recently announced a five-year plan to improve standards in safety. And as for all the recent bad press, media hype, says this government official.
"We should face the truth, but it should not be exaggerated because it can cause panic. Actually, it's not that serious at all," he says.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Now, Chinese officials have turned away American goods before, but rarely this publicly. And analysts say China is now sending a clear message it's not the only country that has export problems. And if the U.S. wants a diplomatic food fight, well, it will get one -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, what about that, John? We talked with Ali Velshi about this just a few minutes ago. Is there a danger that this tit for tat could escalate into a full blown trade war?
VAUSE: Well, at this stage, it certainly is just tit for tat. It's very low key, very low level, a message really coming from the Chinese that if the Americans want to play hard, then the Chinese can play as well. What we're seeing here with the Chinese, a very confident government here, a very confident Beijing government, saying, listen, we're not going to put up with this, everyone has problems, we're not the only ones. If you make a big deal out of our export issues, we'll do the same to you.
ROBERTS: All right.
John Vause for us live from Beijing this morning.
John, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, doctors are now saying there may be early warning signs of ovarian cancer. They're telling women to go to the gynecologist if they're experiencing bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, or anything along those lines for more than two or three weeks. Doctors say they hope the recommendations will lead to an earlier diagnosis. It's been thought that symptoms often didn't show up until the cancer was advanced.
And a surprise visit to Cuba topping your "Quick Hits" now.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Forty-one minutes after the hour now, and some good news to report to you.
In Arizona, the mother of sextuplets is doing well after some post-delivery complications. The babies have also improved, breathing on their own now. Five of the six, you'll remember, had been on ventilators.
Look at how tiny they are.
The other sextuplets born in Minnesota, though, are still in critical condition.
No foul play, it turns out, in the death of Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer. Police in Jamaica had thought that he was murdered after Pakistan was eliminated from the Cricket World Cup, but further tests show that Woolmer simply died of natural causes.
And what a night for Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander. He threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit. Verlander struck out 12, topped 100 miles an hour on the radar gun. He was just throwing smoke last night.
It's the second no-hitter in the majors this year. The Tigers' first, by the way, since 1984.
CHETRY: Wow. Pretty impressive. Congrats.
Forty-one past the hour now. Reynolds Wolf is in for Chad Myers.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Forty-three minutes after the hour.
No soldier left behind. A new robot in the works could make accomplishing that a lot safer for U.S. troops.
Sean Callebs joins us now with a look at the BEAR.
And Sean, what's does BEAR stand for?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it sounds like something warm and cuddly, doesn't it? It is entirely different. It stands for Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot.
And this is BEAR. And we actually have a couple of cameras hooked up. And you can see BEAR looking at me.
There are two cameras in there. One is infrared, one is just a regular camera.
And this is a prototype. But once it's completed, it will be what the military uses to go into a battlefield.
It will lower these spatula-like hands and then lift the wounded and take the wounded out of the line of fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice over): This is a robot called the BEAR, and stands for Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot. It's designed to pull the wounded to safety.
Its developer says it will mean the difference between life and death.
DANIEL THEOBALD, VECNA PRESIDENT: What happens right now is the guy's out there wounded, his body goes out to grab him, he gets shot. His buddy goes out to grab him, he gets shot.
CALLEBS: This is video Vecna used to convince the Pentagon the BEAR can work. The robot can lift 500 pounds, has night vision and heat sensors to help find the wounded. But after spending $3 million in development, it's still at least two years away from being battle ready, and experts say the BEAR may never get out of the lab.
JAMES KUFFMAN, CARNEGIE MELLON ROBOTICS RESEARCHER: The price tag for keeping the Iraq effort going is phenomenal. And so on the one hand, if you're balancing out supporting longer-term research for new technology and providing supplies and needed food for our soldiers, it's very hard to balance those two.
CALLEBS: On top of everything else, Vecna anticipates the same front-line troops fighting would operate and service this complex machine.
And then there is the obvious concern.
THEOBALD: It certainly is a question of what are the parts of the robot that are vulnerable to gunfire.
CALLEBS: Developers say small arms fire should not be a problem, but anything more lethal could take it out.
THEOBALD: But the great thing is you don't have to send a letter home to its loved ones.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: Yes, indeed, that is the great thing about the BEAR.
We're going to put it to the test. Anybody who has seen me in real life knows the girth that I carry. Now, this thing is supposed to be able to hold 500 pounds. So I'm going to try to pour myself in here. And this is the way it will actually carry the wounded off.
It can close this spatula-like arm a bit and basically hold somebody, walk out. The wheels, the tread still not done on the bottom. But look at this infrared camera, because as it's carrying somebody off, the camera can walk -- can pan down and the military can get an idea just how badly somebody is wounded.
Now, there are a lot of cables and stuff sticking out all around this, John, but when this prototype is done, all this is going to be encased. And there will be Kevlar on the outside to make the BEAR as safe as possible in a hostile environment -- John.
ROBERTS: That is unbelievably cool, Sean. Hey, real quick, when could it be deployed?
CALLEBS: It could be deployed, they say, two to three years. And the way it would be deployed, say there was a Bradley tank, an infantry unit out, a mule would go behind those individuals and keep the robot inside. So if somebody was down, the robot could be deployed quickly. And basically anybody can be trained to operate this pretty quickly.
ROBERTS: That's a pretty amazing piece of technology. Only the folks at MIT could come up with that.
Sean Callebs, thanks.
CHETRY: And as he said, it can hold him with ease. Just carrying Sean Callebs.
ROBERTS: Obviously. It looks like he's about to be carried over the threshold there.
CHETRY: Just hold him all day. Yes. Cute couple.
Well, a developing story we're following right now. A demonstration for peace in Gaza ending in violence this morning when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the crowd, killing at least one person, injuring dozens more.
The head of the Egyptian delegation to Gaza who has been trying to broker some sort of truce between the rival factions, Hamas and Fatah, was at that rally. Not hurt. But also, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warning that if this deadly fighting continues in the Gaza Strip, the situation in the territory would be liable to "collapse".
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up to 52 minutes after the hour now. And some breaking news for you this morning. This follows on with the latest news out of Iraq, the bombing, the second bombing of that Golden Dome mosque in Samarra. This was the one that was bombed on February 20th of last year that triggered all of the sectarian violence across Baghdad. And now it has engulfed the entire country.
Earlier today, two minarets at that site were bombed. They had been left standing after the Golden Dome, as you can see behind that minaret, had been completely taken down. One of the minarets collapsed completely.
Now as a result of that, the political bloc of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has said that it has suspended its participation in parliament. Earlier, Muqtada al-Sadr had issued a call for calm, as had the leading cleric in Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. But now we're hearing that Muqtada al-Sadr has again said -- because he has done this before -- that he is suspending his participation in parliament.
Not sure where this is all going to go now, not sure whether this is going to trigger another escalation of the sectarian violence, as if it could be escalated to any greater degree than it already is in Iraq. But we could see some dominoes falling here.
We're going to stay with story all morning. So make sure that you keep it right here on CNN for the very latest -- Kiran.
CHETRY: John, thanks.
Well, switching gears now, for years networks pitched Thursday as their must-see TV to viewers. But now many critics say that Wednesday is actually going to be the new night to watch. In fact, season four of "Rescue Me" starts tonight. And also, an irreverent comedy called "Lil' Bush" premiers on Comedy Central.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Lola Ogunnaike joins me now with why Wednesdays may be the new night to TiVo.
Good to see you this morning.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too.
CHETRY: Now, this "Rescue Me" has a cult following. It's on FX, and it's starring Denis Leary as a firefighter post 9/11.
OGUNNAIKE: Absolutely. The show is really gritty, and there's a lot of energy. Denis Leary writes a lot of the episodes.
And last season's was a huge cliff-hanger. He was in the middle of a fire. Does he get out?
Spoiler alert. He does indeed get out. But what we don't know the answer to is whether his wife, who had sex with his brother, who the baby belongs to. Is it him, is it his brother's? We'll find out this season.
CHETRY: Wow. It's been a primetime soap opera.
OGUNNAIKE: Oh, yes. Sure. Maury Povich in primetime, yes.
CHETRY: So this is interesting because they're hoping that it will make headway once "American Idol" comes back to Wednesday nights.
OGUNNAIKE: Absolutely. That's the problem with Wednesday nights, because "American Idol" has been this massive juggernaut.
But people -- the executives are saying, look, we're going to throw things out there and we hope they stick. ABC is trying three new shows, the biggest one being "Private Practice," which is a spin- off of "Grey's Anatomy". Then you've got NBC, which is trying "Bionic Woman," which is an update of the '70s series, the hit '70s series, "Bionic Woman," which I think is going to be really good.
CHETRY: That should be great.
OGUNNAIKE: I hear it's really edgy.
And then CBS is trying "Kids' Nation". Sounds really bizarre -- "Lord of the Flies" meets "Survivor".
CHETRY: Wow. And I just want to really quickly -- and maybe we don't have time for it right now, but we'll show it later...
OGUNNAIKE: Sure.
CHETRY: ... a little clip of "Lil' Bush," which is the...
OGUNNAIKE: Oh, yes. Absolutely.
CHETRY: ... satire cartoon on Comedy Central.
OGUNNAIKE: An animated series. "Lil' Bush," it's imagining the president as a little kid in grade school, and the whole administration is grade school kids. "South Park" meets "Little Rascals".
CHETRY: Actually -- and there's a little Clinton with two little Lewinskys.
OGUNNAIKE: And a little Condoleezza. There's even a little Tony Blair.
CHETRY: We'll see if that one catches on.
We'll be right back in just a moment.
Thanks, Lola.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, border beware. How the men meant to protect the U.S. border from illegal smugglers cross over and become smugglers themselves. How did it happen? And who are the men responsible?
Next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fifty-eight minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi here again "Minding Your Business".
And McDonald's opening the door, so to speak, to public scrutiny.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mothers in particular. McDonald's has figured out that in its quest to be seen as healthy and good for you, McDonald's is going to allow starting next Wednesday six mothers -- they're calling them moms -- quality correspondents -- into McDonald's stores, restaurants, processing plants, orchards. Didn't quite know McDonald's had orchards.
CHETRY: And I said, well, where do they grow the McNuggets?
VELSHI: That's right. Clearly, they have to grow the McNuggets somewhere.
And the test kitchens. Four thousand moms applied to do this. Six of them will be getting the job. They'll get a laptop computer, their travel will be paid for, they're between 35 and 42 years old.
CHETRY: Savvy marketing, in your opinion?
VELSHI: Well, they're going to -- you know what's going to happen? They're going to keep a journal. That's what the laptop is for. They'll keep a journal, it will be posted on McDonald's Web sites and, theoretically, other mothers will be able to read about how good the food chain is and how healthy the food is and how clean the kitchens are, and things like that.
ROBERTS: Do you know something? Here's a mom who I think should be participating in this because it's obvious.
VELSHI: You seem very excited.
ROBERTS: She has a lot of interest in this particular topic.
CHETRY: Well, you know, McDonald's...
VELSHI: The fresh McNuggets?
CHETRY: ... McDonald's fries, unrivaled. Let's just -- but I think it's funny because they're claiming that they're going to have no input. McDonald's is going to have no input on what these women write.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: So they could technically rip on McDonald's. VELSHI: They could. And some people have said this is a risky strategy. But the fact is, McDonald's is letting these mothers in. Let's see what happens.
CHETRY: All right. I've never met a McNugget I didn't like.
VELSHI: I should have brought props. Yes...
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: We're discussing hot dogs, though, in the next hour.
Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: We're going to be talking about that. That's right.
ROBERTS: All right. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
