Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Extreme Heat; Mystery Solved; Passport Overload; Gore's Son Arrested; U.K. Terror Plot; Be Seen And Heard; Thompson Fact Check
Aired July 05, 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: On the move. New storms rolling into the south right now. High winds and heavy rain threaten to touch off new floods in Texas.
Plus, a new warning out west. Blistering heat expected to send temperatures well over the 100 mark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This heat is oppressive. It will kill you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Bracing for extreme weather, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Oh, it's just been like that since the spring.
Good morning to you. Thanks very much for joining us. It's Thursday, the 5th of July. Hope you survived your Fourth of July, Independence Day. Good morning. I'm John Roberts.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, all hands intact. We're OK. No fireworks exploding in our faces.
ROBERTS: Oh, I was thinking about belly-busting barbecuing more than anything.
NGUYEN: Oh, that too. That's an explosion. Just the type.
ROBERTS: I ate too many ribs last night.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kiran Chetry this morning.
ROBERTS: New this morning. A subway trail has derailed in London's east end during the busy morning rush hour there. It has happened on the central line between the Bethnal Green and Mile End stations. Because of last week's failed terrorist attack, we're told there has been a massive emergency response to the accident. Early reports say the accident may have been caused by an obstruction on the track and there have been reports of at least one injury. Service on parts of the tube right now is suspended.
And also new this morning out of London, investigators lowering the terror threat level there from critical to severe. The British government says they no longer think that another attack is imminent. That level was raised to critical after the airport attack in Glasgow on Saturday. Eight suspects are in custody. All have careers in medicine and may have ties to al Qaeda in Iraq.
NGUYEN: Yes, a new al Qaeda video message is out today. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command, tells Muslims to unite in holy war against the west. It runs over an hour and a half with radical advice and criticism on Iraq, the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
ROBERTS: Rescuers in Mexico are searching for survivors of a massive landslide. Crews are using heavy machinery to dig through tons of rock and dirt that buried a bus carrying at least 40 passengers. So far, only one body has been found. The landslide was triggered by heavy rains in the area.
NGUYEN: Well, forecasters are predicting more showers and thunderstorms for Oklahoma today. Not what they need. But lakes and reservoirs are already filled to capacity. Look at this. Emergency crews say the flooding is expected to last for several more days. They're also keeping an eye on the water supply, making sure it's not affected by a massive oil spill from a Kansas refinery.
And there are more wet weather warnings all across Texas. Heavy rains flooding creeks and rivers. One hundred forty-eight of the state's 254 counties under either flash flood watches or warnings overnight. A number of fireworks shows and parades were simply washed out.
ROBERTS: And in Utah, an evacuation order has been lifted for a number of small communities about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City. Firefighters say a huge wildfire burning on public and private land is now about 50 percent contained. Nearly 66 square miles were wiped out in the blaze, though.
NGUYEN: It's also going to be dangerously hot in the west today. Triple digit temperatures in the southwest, including Las Vegas, and that is where AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is.
And, Chris, you know, we've gotten used to the fact that Vegas gets pretty hot, but this has come awfully quick this year.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. You know, Betty, the high temperature Wednesday just missed the record by 1 degree. And it's supposed to be even hotter today. The record high temperature is 116 degrees. And the forecast for today? 116.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE, (voice over): Nevada is sizzling under an extreme heat warning. And temperatures are still soaring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This heat is oppressive. It will kill you. I mean there's people that die all the time in the heat.
LAWRENCE: Each year, about 175 people nationwide die from heat- related causes. As hot as it is outside, it's that much worse inside of a car. Which is about the worst place you can leave kids or pets in this kind of heat. As we start our experiment, it's already about 114 degrees inside.
I've only been in the car about 10 minutes and it's already at 125 degrees. I'm sweating and it's definitely a lot harder to breathe.
OK. It's been 15 minutes and it's soaring past 135 degrees in here. I'm sweating from literally every pore in my body and it's unthinkable to think of a little child or a pet in a car for that long.
In this weather, heat exhaustion can quickly become heat stroke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you start getting over 105, you can really start to feel it.
LAWRENCE: Doctors are urging people to stay inside, but that's not an option for a 16-year-old training for a college scholarship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a bunch of hot air just going in your face. So it makes you breathe harder.
LAWRENCE: Not everyone is exerting themselves. The Palms Casino Resort is used to being one of the hottest spots in Las Vegas. Just not quite so literally. Hundreds of people guzzled water, slapped on the sunscreen and packed the pool in bungalows to cool off any way they could.
Carlie Mullins (ph) compared this heat to her hometown in Charlotte.
CARLIE MULLINS: It's definitely a lot hotter. You can't even step down on the concrete. It's very, very hot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: You know, right now the city is experimenting with a new alternative to asphalt. In one case, when it was like 131 degrees on black asphalt, it was 26 degrees cooler on this natural pave. Doctors are also urging people to really be on the lookout for symptoms of heat exhaustion, which is when you just sweat really profusely and then get very, very tired, even a little disoriented. That could be a precursors to heat stroke, which is a whole lot more serious.
Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, that's when you stop sweating at all and it becomes a major issue.
Chris Lawrence joining us from hot Las Vegas this morning. Thank you. ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour and time now to check on what else is new this morning with some of our correspondents across the country. Chad Myers is off. Rob Marciano live in the CNN Weather Center.
What about this extreme heat, Rob? I mean, 116 in Las Vegas? That's hot in anybody's books.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: What happened to a mysterious disappearing lake in Chile? We told you about this a couple of weeks ago. Jacki Schechner thinks that she's found out the answer now.
Good morning, Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not me personally, John, but this was one of the most popular stories on cnn.com when we first reported it. Now the case of the disappearing Chilean lake has been solved.
A couple of weeks ago we told you about a lake in the Magallanes region in Patagonia that had gone up and disappeared. Well scientists now say the lake essentially sprung a leak. That a water buildup on one side of the lake made a crack and water drained out through a valley into the sea. Experts say it is slowly filling up again, but they do think that the disappearing lake is unfortunately evidence of the effects of global warming.
John.
ROBERTS: Mystery solved. Jacki Schechner, thank you very much. We'll see you a little bit later on this morning.
A new plan to clear the passport backlogs. Sean Callebs is live at the passport processing center in New Orleans. They brought a lot of people in to help out, did they not, Sean?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. In fact, the State Department is asking somewhere between 190 and 200 new employees to spend their summer either here in New Orleans processing passport applications or in New Hampshire.
Now, why is this going on? Well, the government is simply overwhelmed with millions of passport applications pouring in. This after approval of a new law that requires Americans to show valid passports when traveling to either Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Bermuda. We'll tell you a little bit more about the problem this is causing.
And as you may expect, John, the State Department employees are not really thrilled about the prospect of spending their summers here going over those applications.
ROBERTS: Oh, it's always the new ones that they give the grunt jobs to. Sean Callebs, thanks. We'll check back with you.
Betty.
NGUYEN: Former Vice President Al Gore's son is out on bail this morning. He was arrested on suspicion of drug possession after he was busted for speeding in California. And it is the latest in a series of incidents with law enforcement agencies in recent years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once they approached that vehicle, they detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the car. They searched that vehicle. They found additional marijuana, Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Solma (ph) and Adderall. Adderall is an amphetamine used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder.
NGUYEN, (voice over): Twenty-year-old Gore was taken to jail in Santa Ana and later released on $20,000 bail. His older sister, Sarah, came to get him. Their father was in Europe promoting this weekend's Live Earth concerts. The younger Gore faces four drug charges and speeding violations. Police say none of the pills in the car was prescribed to him. Officials say he wasn't charged with DUI because it was determined he wasn't impaired.
This is not Al Gore III's first run-in with the law. In 2003, he was arrested for marijuana possession and later sentenced to a drug abuse program. In 2002, he was ticketed for drunk driving. He was not, however, taken into custody. And in 2000, he was charge with reckless driving, which was later dropped, but he was fined for speeding.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And he is expected to be arraigned on the charges today or maybe tomorrow. You can hear from his father, former Vice President Al Gore. He'll be on "Larry King Live." That is tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
ROBERTS: Just getting a Prius up to 100 miles an hour is news worthy in and of itself.
NGUYEN: I had no idea that you could go that fast. You said the top speed is?
ROBERTS: One hundred and five. Five miles an hour off the maximum.
NGUYEN: He was barely, barely at that point.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine?
The Fourth of July proved to be a dangerous day across America. At least two dozen injuries were reported at various public fireworks displays. Three employees of a Washington, D.C., fireworks show were hurt when unused fireworks exploded after the show was over. One person was air lifted to the hospital with serious burns.
And in Hudson, Florida, a fireworks tent went up in a huge explosion. This isn't the fireworks display. This is the fireworks cooking off. There is the tent. Take a look at this. Police say the fire was set intentionally. One person was charged with arson. A four-year-old boy suffered minor burns.
NGUYEN: Well, John, it was literally a jaw dropper of an upset. The great red, white and blue hope is now in the world's hot dog eating champ. Yes, you can rest easy now. Joey Chestnut unseated Japan's six-time winner Kobayashi at Nathan's famous July 4 th contest in Coney Island. Chestnut swallowed a record-setting 66 dogs in just 12 minutes. My stomach's upset just thinking about that. Kobayashi, though, recently had a wisdom tooth removed. But that did not slow him down. He inhaled 63 dogs. Chestnut is from San Hosea, California, and the first American winner since 1999.
ROBERTS: Yes, there were a couple of moments there after the contest was over that he looked like he was about to hurl, but didn't.
NGUYEN: Yes. I imagine -- isn't that part of what you have to do after the contest?
ROBERTS: Oh, you've got to keep it down. I'm not sure for how long.
NGUYEN: Yes. Oh, no. But once it's done, you're free to let go.
ROBERTS: A little help (ph).
NGUYEN: You almost have to.
ROBERTS: You don't want to do it on the stage when you're accepting your award, though.
A push to reopen Lady Liberty's crown tops your "Quick Hits." The Statue of Liberty's crown has never been reopened to the public after 9/11 and Congress wants to know why. The National Park Service claims the spiral, medal staircase is a fire hazard and a terror risk.
And a mass citizenship ceremony held at Disney World. About 1,000 people from 75 different countries were sworn in as new U.S. citizens yesterday as part of Independence Day celebrations. They took the oath of citizenship in front of the famous Cinderella Castle.
British police say they have got all of the major bomb plotters in custody and how they believe this group of doctors got involved in terrorism. Was it an al Qaeda plot years in the making or did they hatch it once they got to the U.K.? We'll take a look next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: This just in to CNN. Take a look at this. Fire on the French Riviera. There are new pictures right now that we're showing you. Hundreds of firefighters are going up against an enormous wildfire that erupted late last night. It's burning in the town of Mandelieu and it apparently started in a car lot. Hundreds of residents and tourists have been evacuated. We're going to keep our eye on this story and give you an update just as soon as we get one.
ROBERTS: Fourteen minutes after the hour now. Britain is lowering its terror threat level from critical to severe. Police say all the major suspects in the car bomb terror plot are in custody. Now they're focusing on the significance of a terror cell filled with doctors. Sajjan Gohel is a terror expert with the Asia Pacific Foundation in London. He joins us now live from our London bureau.
Sajjan, you're thinking on the origin of these thoughts. Do you believe that this was plotted from the outside and then these people sent to infiltrate the National Health Service, or was this plotted from inside the U.K.?
SAJJAN GOHEL, TERROR ANALYST: I think, John, we've got to look at both theories because both of them are very important to analyze. The only time that al Qaeda had preplanned a plot in advance was on September 11th atrocities where they brought in 19 individuals to blend in to the civilian fabric of U.S. society and orchestrate the most devastating mass casualty attack we've ever seen.
Now it's difficult to believe that in the instance of the attacks in Glasgow and London that they would plan to send these guys into work, into the health care system, and then for them to only orchestrate three very basic rudimentary car bombing attacks. What we've seen in the past is that people have been recruited from within the U.K. where the seeds of radicalism have been sowed. And certainly in this instance, it appears that these individuals were targeted primarily because of the fact that they knew each other, they'd met at certain venues and religious events. And that seemed to be the primary thing the authorities are looking at.
ROBERTS: Sajjan, do you think that if this had been an al Qaeda- organized plot from the outside, that the explosive devices would have been far more sophisticated?
GOHEL: Well, certainly I think al Qaeda always is interested in executing spectacular attacks. And what we saw last week failed spectacularly. But that doesn't mean that al Qaeda didn't have any involvement, because there have been terrorists that have really, to be quite honest, have been quite stupid in the past. For example, Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, Zacharias Moussaoui and the individuals tied to the 217 (ph) plot in London.
So this wouldn't be a surprise, but I think people are shocked because these are doctors, that they're seen at educated, intelligent people, that they couldn't execute what looked like quite a basic, improvised explosive device in a car. But we keep in mind that this is such a dangerous precedent and the worry is that it could happen again because al Qaeda always does learn from its mistakes.
ROBERTS: There was another interesting little twist that came out over the last 24 hours. A British Anglican cleric, who's working in Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, said that he had a meeting back in April with an al Qaeda operative who told him, "those who cure you will kill you." He didn't think it had a lot of significance at the time. But now in the wake of this, he's telling the British authorities about it. Is that some sort of clue that this may have been preplanned?
GOHEL: Well, we're hearing a lot of different stories. People are coming forth with what they've heard in the past. And certainly there's been a lot of concern that the health care system may have been infiltrated by individuals tied to al Qaeda.
But I also say, John, that there's a lot of mass hysteria in this, as well. I think after what happened in London and Glasgow, with the attacks being so botched, al Qaeda may think twice before they want to recruit doctors again.
And keep in mind that what you find is that there are clusters. Normally ethnic ones. People of the same background. Like in the 7/7 attack, they were Pakistani in origin.
This is almost to do with an occupation cluster. They were recruited because they happen to be in the same type of occupation, but not because they were doctors. And keep in mind, if they were going to be used because they were doctors, they can have created mass devastation in their own hospitals. They didn't have to plant bombs in London or in Glasgow.
ROBERTS: Right. You say that you're concerned that London is becoming, "jihad central"?
GOHEL: Certainly what we're witnessing over the last few years, since the first major mass casualty plot in March 2004, all the major attacks are being orchestrated or trying to be implemented in London itself. The French security services once had a nickname for London. They called it London is gone (ph). Because if it came home to a number of radical individuals.
And if we look outside at Afghanistan and Iraq, certainly the leading number of most plots are being orchestrated inside London. And certainly in the western world, the U.K. has become a center and gravity for extremist activity. If they can't hit the U.S., they'll go after their allies.
ROBERTS: Right. Certainly causing the British government now to rethink a lot of policies in terms of immigration and visa requirements.
Sajjan Gohel, thanks very much for joining us. Good to see you.
GOHEL: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: An increase in your cable tops our "Quick Hits" right now. A new rule designed to increase competition will lead to higher prices. Cable companies are required by the FCC to ship new, more expensive set-top boxes and the cable companies plan to pass those costs on to you. Well, there are some positive signs on the job front. And according to a new survey by "USA Today" and careerbuilder.com, only 5 percent of companies plan to cut workers in the next three months. About a third surveyed say they'll add workers. And half expect no change.
Well, it is your chance to be seen and heard by the presidential candidates. Up next, a look at some of the video entries in our first ever CNN/YouTube debate.
AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour. The death of a music icon tops your "Quick Hits." Bill Pinkney, the last original member of the Drifters, died yesterday in Florida. The Drifters are best known for their hits "Under the Boardwalk" and "Up on the Roof." Pinkney was 81.
The National Guard says new recruiting techniques are paying off. The Guard has more soldiers now than it's had in almost six years and says paying current guards to recruit friends is a big reason why. Guards received $2,000 for everyone they sign up. Kind of a finders fee.
And some serious fireworks on a beach in Florida. A woman walking her dog near St. Augustine found a live bomb from World War II yesterday. It was too old and too unstable to move, so police cleared the beach and blew it up.
NGUYEN: Well, it is a first of its kind opportunity. The chance for you to be seen and heard by the presidential candidates. Internet reporter Jacki Schechner's here to show us how it's easy to do, but, more importantly, it's fun to see other people asking these questions.
Very interesting stuff out there, Jacki.
SCHECHNER: I've got to tell you, Betty, I have a little bit of YouTube envy. I have to say, I think this is the coolest thing to be able to ask a question of the potential future president of the United States. Think about the democratic opportunity to really ask what's important to you. More than 450 people have done that so far. Let's take a look at one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF PRICHARD (ph): Hi. This is Jeff Prichard from Frankfort, New York.
And I was wondering who you think the greatest president of all time is and why. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHECHNER: I'm glad he said thank you. Polite, young man. I wanted to show you, too, how easy it is to do this. You can upload a video from your cell phone. You can upload a video from a file on your camera. You can do it from your digital camera. But YouTube also has a quick capture function, which all you have to do is line up a web cam on your computer. And I did one just to show you how easy it was. It didn't take me any time at all. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHECHNER, (voice over): How web savvy are you, really? You all have these really great e-campaigns. But I want to know if you use the Internet personally. And if so, for what?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHECHNER: So that is my personal question. I encourage you to make your question very personal. Keep it to 30 seconds. Say your name, where you're from and try to get the video quality as good as you possibly can.
Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, so, when people are thinking about doing this and they're a little, I guess, apprehensive because they've never done it before, how long did that take you? It couldn't have taken that long.
SCHECHNER: To line it up and get it to look good or to actually capture it? To actually capture it didn't take me that long at all. But knowing that it was going out on national television, it took me a little while to get it to look just right.
NGUYEN: Well, that's true. You want the lighting to be nice. Make sure you comb your hair when you're asking the question. Make sure you look good.
SCHECHNER: I clearly didn't do that great of a job, but it really didn't take me that long.
NGUYEN: Oh, you did fine.
Jacki, thank you.
SCHECHNER: Sure.
ROBERTS: She still gets nervous speaking in public.
Hey, Fred Thompson is this close to getting in the presidential race. The experts say that he is the conservative candidate or the candidate that conservative voters are looking for. But will they like what they see once he declares? Joe Johns checks on Thompson's conservative credentials.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Some Republicans want Fred Thompson to run just to give GOP prime voters more choice. But for others . . .
FRED THOMPSON: This bill in the Senate right now . . .
JOHNS: The former U.S. senator from Tennessee, and who later starred in "Law & Order," may be the closest thing in the field to a Ronald Reagan conservative who can win in November. But is Thompson really Mr. Conservative?
BRUCE BARTLETT, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Up until now, people have really just sort of assumed that he's a Reaganite conservative.
JOHNS: In the Senate, Thompson usually did vote with conservative. But not on every issue. He was a key supporter of the McCain/Feingold Campaign Reform Act. He voted against one of two articles of impeachment against President Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.
JOHNS: And his views on abortion are already getting the attention of social conservatives. When Thompson ran for the Senate in 1994, he was asked in a debate about criminalizing abortion.
THOMPSON: I do not believe that the federal got ought to be involved in that process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fred Thompson is not pro-life.
JOHNS: Now this video is running on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the American political system . . .
JOHNS: Which parities his abortion views as a "Law & Order" episode.
But anti-abortion groups are quick to point out that Thompson voted their way in the Senate.
TONY PERKINS, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: I think value voters have a lot of comfort on where he stands on that particular issue.
JOHNS: As for McCain/Feingold, Thompson now says part of that bill was a mistake. Will all of this satisfy conservatives?
PERKINS: I've kind of learn from my wife, when it come to politics, I kind of do it the way she does her shopping. I just kind of look and I don't buy until I find exactly what I want.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That U.K. terror plot is still fresh in everyone's mind and that is causing some to wonder just how to save U.S. troops and their families living in Europe. How safe are they? Are they vulnerable to an attack? Well, we are live from London with AMERICAN MORNING as we come back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, ANCHOR, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Thanks to our friends at KHOU in Houston this morning, there you have the last little bit of nighttime slipping away. The sun will be coming up soon, although you're probably not going to see it.
It's going to be cloudy and rainy again in Houston today. Thunderstorms tomorrow. You know, Texas just getting so much water.
BETTY NGUYEN, ANCHOR, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: They cannot get a break. My mom is in Dallas. And she calls me every day saying, when do I need to start building this ark, because the rain just won't stop.
ROBERTS: And for years they had drought, and now it's the other way around. And so, people have got to be shouting, turn off the tap, please. We've had enough. Give us a break here.
Good morning to you. It's Thursday, the 5th of July. I'm John Roberts.
NGUYEN: Yes. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kiran Chetry today.
ROBERTS: She'll be back on Monday, by the way - taking a few well-deserved days off.
New this morning for you, forecasters predicting more showers and thunderstorms for Oklahoma today, as well as Texas. Lakes and reservoirs there are already filled to capacity. And emergency crews say the flooding is suspected to last for several more days.
And more wet weather warnings across Texas, heavy rains flooding creeks and rivers, 148 of the state's 254 counties under either a flashflood watch or warning overnight. A number of fireworks shows and Fourth of July parades were washed out.
NGUYEN: Yes. Well another look at incredible pictures from France this morning. Just within the past few minutes they've come in to CNN.
There is a massive wildfire in the French Riviera. Hundreds of firefighters in the town of Mandelieu are going up against this fire. You see that there. And it started in a car lot overnight.
There are no reports of injuries here, but hundreds of residents and tourists have been evacuated.
A violent confrontation as Israeli forces push into Gaza in an operation targeting Palestinian militants. Air support from Israeli fighter jets was also involved. The planes fired on armed militants who approached the advancing troops. The two sides exchanged gunfire, and several Palestinians were hit.
There's no word yet on whether anyone was killed.
ROBERTS: And in Pakistan, a top cleric is urging followers hold up in a mosque to surrender. The cleric appeared on television, after police caught him trying to escape the mosque, dressed as a woman.
Almost 1,000 militant students remain inside. The government has threatened a full-on attack if they don't surrender. At least 24 people have been killed in two days of fighting.
NGUYEN: Russia says it won't hand over the man accused of poisoning a former KGB agent. The British government had demanded the extradition of Andrei Lugovoy, who it says killed Alexander Litvinenko last November.
Well, Russia claims that its constitution dictates no Russian citizen can be turned over to a former government.
ROBERTS: A derailment of a London subway train is not related to terrorism, according to police this morning. The derailment happened on the Central Line earlier today, but was reportedly caused by an obstruction on the tracks. One person was injured. Hundreds are being taken off of the train.
And investigators are lowering the terror threat level in London from critical to severe. The British government says they no longer think that another attack is imminent. The level was raised to critical after the airport attack in Glasgow on Saturday.
Eight suspects are now in custody. All have careers in medicine and may gave ties to al Qaeda in Iraq.
NGUYEN: Well, with the terror attacks in the U.K. fresh on everybody's mind, some are asking a surprising question. Are American troops in Europe safe from an attack?
Thousands of soldiers and their families live overseas. And there are concerns that they may be vulnerable to an attack.
Well, CNN's Paula Newton joins us now live in London with much more on this. So, what kind of answers are you getting to that question? Are they safe?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, LONDON: Well, Betty, we want to point out that we did this story a few weeks ago. It was just before this latest terror alert here in London.
But it is stunning, some of the security concerns that were uncovered there by a few people who live in Germany, keeping in mind they're not exactly under the radar there.
I think, many people that you speak to - but certainly, not the majority - feel that their level of security here in Europe is a cause for concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO) NEWTON (voice-over): The Glasgow airport attack brings terror to your doorstep, wherever you might live - especially for Americans living in Europe.
Melanie Buckley (ph) lives with her husband and family at a U.S. military base in Germany. She says she's not paranoid about living in Europe, but ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's things like this. This vehicle, that is a van, that could be carrying anything, is able to pull ...
NEWTON: Even before Britain's latest terror plot, Buckley gave CNN a guided tour of what she says are security soft spots at U.S. military facilities in Germany.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The extremists or the terrorists that would like to make a statement against Americans, would, of course, like to get hold of Americans' children and American families.
NEWTON: Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Wolf (ph) is the garrison commander in Wiesbaden, in charge of security. His wife and five children all live here.
NEWTON (on camera): What do you say to families here who feel that the security just quite isn't what it should be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We go and tell them the truth. From my perspective, it'd be something where there was a credible, specific threat directed against the U.S. military and its families.
NEWTON: And we're not at that point yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.
NEWTON (voice-over): Many soldiers and their families say they don't want to live in an armed camp in the heart of Europe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even with some of the increased threat levels that will ebb and flow in this area, honestly, I feel very safe here.
NEWTON: Under increasing threat, though, there seems no simple answer to keeping such a highly visible group of Americans safe overseas.
(END VIDEO)
NEWTON (on camera): We just want to point out, as well, that at any point in time, when they feel that the threat level is high, those living quarters can be secured, and they are no longer open to the public - Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Paula Newton, joining us live in London today. Thank you, Paula.
ROBERTS: The passport backlog has got a lot of travelers frustrated, and the State Department going to extremes. Hundreds of young diplomats and civil servants have just been reassigned to processing passport applications.
AMERICAN MORNING's Sean Callebs is live in New Orleans, where many of those young people will find themselves living and working for the next couple of months.
Good morning, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, NEW ORLEANS: Yes. I think I'm going to spend the next 50 days making some welcome cards for people who are going to be heading down here.
Basically, the State Department has told CNN that somewhere around 200 new hires - and that breaks down to people that have been hired for about three years - have been given the choice, called an offer they can't refuse, to spend eight weeks this summer working in either a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, passport processing site, or here in New Orleans.
And John did a bit of checking. The average daytime temperature here is 91 degrees. The temperature up there 83 degrees. Up there they can watch the presidential candidates posture. Down here, get ready for the heart of the hurricane season.
Where do you think all the applications are going to go to work?
ROBERTS: Well, you know, New Orleans is a fun place to be during the summertime. True, it's hot. And true, there's always the threat of hurricanes.
But you've got the French Quarter there. The Big Easy, not a bad place to work.
How long is - are they expecting that, you know, a couple of months there, six weeks or so, and they'll get that backlog all cleared up?
CALLEBS: I don't know about getting the backlog all cleared up, because it is a large backlog.
What they're doing - well, they're telling the employees they have to work eight weeks. And the government will pay for their trip down here, their time down here. And they'll also pay for a one-time, four-day trip back to visit their family, loved ones, things of that nature.
But the backlog right now, somewhere between 500,000 and a few million in passports. That's, of course, because the law that was approved back in 2004, that went into effect in January ...
ROBERTS: Woops.
CALLEBS: ... U.S. passport when they go to either Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean. But because of this backlog, that was even suspended. Right now, all they have to do is show proof that they have applied for a passport. And once again, it kicks in in October this time.
ROBERTS: Yes. And then there's another one that kicks in, in January, or sometime around January of next year - they said it's not hard and fast - where, if you're traveling either by boat or by land, you're going to need a passport to come in. So, there's going to be another bubble of passport applications.
CALLEBS: Yes. I think there's a lot of frustration, too, among congressional members, because they've been hearing it from constituents.
This shouldn't have snuck up on the State Department, on the government. This was approved back in 2004.
Now, last year, they approved 12.1 million passports, the year before, 10 million.
Already this year, they've approved 10.3 million, and the State Department says it is on track to approve somewhere close to 18 million. But they first have to get all that paperwork done, and it is going to be a lot of work.
Right now they're asking employees who have retired to come back in, and they are going to open some processing centers, which is the reason they are sending them to New Orleans and to New Hampshire - 24 hours to deal with all this.
ROBERTS: Well, you've got yourself a whole summer full of stories ahead of you, Sean. Thanks very much.
CALLEBS: Indeed.
ROBERTS: I apologize, by the way, for the minor little technical difficulties in there.
NGUYEN: Well, trouble at a traffic stop tops our quick hits today.
Al Gore III is out on bail after getting pulled over going 100 miles an hour in a Toyota Prius.
California police found marijuana and a handful of prescription drugs that he didn't have a prescription for. He's had at least three similar brushes with the law in the past.
And senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama, says he is the future, and the Clintons are the past.
Obama made the comment while campaigning in Iowa, where former President Bill Clinton joined his wife on the campaign trail this week.
Michael Moore takes on the health care industry in his latest movie, "Sicko."
And coming up, Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes on the movie, checking the facts to see if Moore is getting it right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Michael Moore's controversial documentary, "Sicko," is just out in theaters. It is a stinging indictment of health care in the United States.
We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for some perspective and fact- checking on Moore's film. He joins us now from Atlanta. Good morning to you, Sanjay.
Let's take a look at a clip here from "Sicko."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MOORE, DIRECTOR, "SICKO": This guy broke his ankle. How much will this cost him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a huge bill when he's done, right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) everything is free.
MOORE: I'm asking about hospital charges, and you're laughing.
Even with insurance, there's bound to be a bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, that's a clip from inside a London hospital.
Sanjay, is that an accurate depiction of England's medical care system?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA: Well, I mean, one of the things he's trying to strike at is whether or not the health care system is free over there. And as you might guess, John, I mean, it's much less transparent.
In the United States, there's a private party insurance system, so you obviously see the bills. You see how much you're paying in premiums, things like that.
You don't see it as clearly in a lot of countries, including England. A lot of those things, again, as you might guess, are sort of absorbed in the taxes. They pay much higher taxes. And a much higher percentage of those taxes goes towards health care.
So, is it free? No. I mean, they're saying it's free. It's really not. And so many things, it's sort of absorbed in a different way.
ROBERTS: And let's not forget that there's a two-tier medical system in England, as well, because so many people are dissatisfied with the public health system.
GUPTA: Yes. A very good point. I forgot to bring that up.
About 15 to 20 percent of the people, actually, John, buy supplemental health care. So, that sort of gives you an indication, there might be some dissatisfaction. And they're not getting everything they need - dental, eye care - and just shorter waiting times, things like that. They pay extra for that.
ROBERTS: Let's take a look at another clip, Sanjay, where Michael Moore talks to a woman who was involved in a car accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: Laura Burnham (ph) was in a 45-mile-an-hour head-on collision that knocked her out cold. Paramedics got her out of the car and into an ambulance for a trip to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get a bill from my insurance company, telling me that the ambulance ride was not going to be paid for, because it wasn't pre-approved.
I don't know exactly when I was supposed to pre-approve it. You know, like after I gained consciousness in the car? Before I got in the ambulance? Or I should have grabbed my cell phone off of the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Is that true, Sanjay, that in an emergency situation like that, needing an ambulance, you need to get pre-approval?
GUPTA: Well, yes, I mean, it does seem very illogical when sort of portrayed that way. But, in fact, that situation could happen. We did some homework on that.
It's possible that an ambulance charge may not be covered. It's even more likely for that to happen, if the hospital where the ambulance takes you doesn't take your type of insurance. So, it's an awful situation for this particular woman. And it's not the way the system is designed, but it could happen here.
ROBERTS: Overall, Sanjay, should we trust what Michael Moore says in this film?
GUPTA: You know, it's interesting. After watching the movie, you know, there's a lot of things - I mean, I think the thrust of it is probably pretty accurate. We spend over $2 trillion, or around $2 trillion, in this country for health care. And we don't have as much to show for it as we probably should.
Unfortunately, he takes some liberties, I think, with some of the numbers. For example, he says in Cuba, $25 per capita for health care. It's closer to $250, so it was almost a magnitude of 10. Still, far lower than in this country. But some of the numbers you can't quite trust. I would say this, though, John. In the United States, the health care system, a lot of people we talked to said the health care system is really designed for disaster management.
So, if you need a liver transplant tomorrow, you're probably going to be able to get on the wait list and get one much sooner than several other countries.
As far as primary care, we should be doing a much better job. We don't spend nearly enough towards preventative care in this country. And I think it's going to hurt us in the long run.
ROBERTS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta this morning with a look at Michael Moore's new film, "Sicko."
Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
NGUYEN: The end of a credit card row tops your quick hits right now.
The first lady of France, Cecilia Sarkozy, is giving up her credit card. She drew some heat for using a government credit card to buy lunches totaling roughly $550.
Now, she was given the card to buy gifts for wives of other heads of state. But there were complaints she had no official duties that would warrant her having it.
And the Winter Olympics are headed to Russia. This was the scene in Sochi, when the Black Sea resort town found out it would host the winter games in 2014. Sochi beat out Pyeongchang in South Korea.
While his son was getting arrested, Al Gore busy planning the Live Earth concerts, where things aren't going so smoothly either. We're going to tell you about those problems with the concert.
That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up to 10 minutes before the hour.
Taiwan turns to Ozzy Osbourne. That tops your quick hits. Taiwan was failed 14 times to join the United Nations. Now it's sending a local band on an 80-city concert tour to spread the message that it wants to be included in the U.N.
Osbourne is helping the band by setting up 20 of the U.S. shows, but it's unlikely that the 15th opportunity would end in success. Not if China's got anything to say about it.
The music industry continues to suffer from illegally downloaded music. Total sales dropped by five percent last year. That's despite the fact that online sales nearly doubled. Experts estimate that 20 billion songs were downloaded illegally last year.
The box office record, books have been transformed. Optimus Prime and the giant robots of "Transformers" demolished all previous hauls, bringing in $27 million on Tuesday, its first day of release. That easily beats last year's Tuesday record of $16 million that was set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."
NGUYEN: Well, John, Al Gore's got a lot of trouble this morning. His son is out on bail, and due back in court to face possible drug charges.
And now, one of his big Live Earth concerts scheduled for Saturday might be in trouble. Lola Ogunnaike joins us now to explain.
Good morning.
So, what's the trouble with the concert?
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA: Well, the trouble with the concert is this, Betty. They've decided to cancel the Rio concert and ...
NGUYEN: Flat-out cancel it.
OGUNNAIKE: Cancel it. A judge in Rio decided that there were just not enough police officers to handle this 700,000 people expected to descend upon Copacabana Beach.
And it's a shame, because this is going to be, one, the only free concert. And two, Pharrell, Lenny Kravitz and Macy Gray were expected to perform.
NGUYEN: And they may, yes.
OGUNNAIKE: So, this was going to be a really good show.
NGUYEN: Which I was surprised, though, because it's not like it just popped up out of nowhere. They should have had plenty of time to get enough officers.
OGUNNAIKE: Not like it popped out of nowhere. But the guy is saying, look - the judge is saying - I don't want to risk these people's lives here.
And organizers, though, are saying that they will hope to overturn this, so the show may still go on. But as of now, it's canceled.
NGUYEN: Canceled. All right. Well, there are still other shows to come. What, seven in different cities?
OGUNNAIKE: Seven other cities are still having shows. And NBC is making sure that they don't face a similar fate the MTV and VH1 faced when they were airing the Live Aid concert in 2005.
Viewers complain that there was not enough coverage of the concerts, too many commercials. NBC is saying that they're going to do their best to make sure that there's coverage, wall-to-wall coverage.
So, there's a three-hour special on the main network. Bravo, which is a subsidiary channel, is airing 18 hours.
NGUYEN: Wow.
OGUNNAIKE: And CNBC is airing another seven hours. So, you're not going to be able to get away from this concert. You're going to flick the channel ...
NGUYEN: Yes, you're going to get plenty of it.
OGUNNAIKE: ... more concert, more concert, more concert.
NGUYEN: And they're going through a lot of strategic planning to make sure that this is environmentally friendly. Correct?
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly. They're saying, look. We don't want this thing to be - we don't want this even to be hypocritical.
NGUYEN: Of course.
OGUNNAIKE: We want to make sure that the things behind the scenes are environment - excuse me -- environmentally sound, as well.
NGUYEN: Environmentally safe? Yes.
OGUNNAIKE: My tongue clearly not working with the environment today.
So, they're saying that one, the light bulbs will be energy efficient. Two, they are encouraging people to carpool and take bikes there, as well, public transportation.
NGUYEN: That's one big bike rack that they're going to have to set up
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly. One mass of bike racks, and bike chains everywhere.
And they're also - there are intense recycling programs in all of the seven cities.
NGUYEN: That's good stuff. All right. We'll definitely be able to watch it in many outlets. Thank you, Lola.
OGUNNAIKE: You won't miss it.
NGUYEN: Except for the Rio concert, which is canceled for now. All right.
Well, you can hear more from Al Gore tonight, because he is going to be on LARRY KING LIVE. That starts at 9 p.m., Eastern. ROBERTS: Surging doctor visits top your quick hits now. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were more than a billion doctor in hospital visits in the year 2005. It represents a 20 percent increase in doctor traffic in the last five years.
The most commonly prescribed medication, by the way - antidepressants.
And a smoking ban in Afghanistan. The government announced this week that smoking will be banned in schools, hospitals and government offices. The ban will eventually include hotels and restaurants.
Well, China has taken a lot of heat recently for tainted products. Now, a study by its own investigators comes back with some startling findings.
That story when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, here's a follow-on to a story we brought you yesterday. There is a happy reunion between a man and a violin in New York. Yes, the rare violin was turned into the lost and found in the city's subway system.
The owner says he lost it when he fell asleep in Brooklyn subway station. And it is estimated to be worth $100,000.
What a Good Samaritan to send that back.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine how relieved that guy is? I mean, he must have been just sick when he discovered that it was gone.
NGUYEN: When we were talking yesterday, we didn't think that anyone would truly turn it in.
ROBERTS: Whatever comes back off the subway ...
NGUYEN: New Yorkers.
ROBERTS: ... you know - the big black hole of New York.
Hey Stephanie Elam here now, minding your business, at 57 minutes after the hour.
And China - we all know that there's problems with Chinese imports. China discovering, oh, well, maybe things aren't as good as we thought they were.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA: Yes, actually having a little bit of a response here. Good morning to you, John and Betty.
Well, what's happening now is that China is actually acknowledging that there are some problems there. They said that there's widespread quality control as well as safety issues, as it relates to domestic products. And that means, ones that are sold within China.
Obviously, this is something we don't hear about much here, but it does, obviously, play into how things work there.
Now, the main finding coming from this watchdog group is that nearly a fifth of domestically sold products failed quality standards.
In the first half of 2007, a quality control watchdog group reviewed 114 types of products from 6,300 companies. And they found that over 19 percent of them were substandard. That's a huge number, if you think about it.
They also said that 26 products were especially low quality, including bottled water, linens. Grass-cutting equipment actually did really poorly, as well. And that there are major quality problems existing with things such as canned fruit, dried fish.
And also, vermicelli noodles, interestingly enough, were also really substandard, due to high levels of bacteria, contamination and extra additives that didn't need to be in there, as we heard with the melamine, remember that was a dog food issue. So, this is another issue.
One interesting point here though is that larger companies actually did better than they expected them to do, with basically 93 percent of their products passing muster.
But the interesting part, I should also note, is that there was an editorial coming out of the state-run newspaper. And it was saying that the U.S. should not start a smear campaign against Chinese products, just because they've had some issues with just a few products here. But obviously ...
NGUYEN: A smear campaign is what they're calling.
ELAM: A smear, yes.
ROBERTS: What's wrong with the lawnmowers?
ELAM: The grass-cutting equipment? I don't know what the exact issue was. They didn't exactly say what the issue was with them.
But a lot of the other, like food and consumer products, it was extra things that didn't need to be in there.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Like bacteria.
ELAM: Yes, bacteria. And also, they had a recall of two brands of diapers in rural areas of China - that was just yesterday - because of excessive amounts of fungus.
NGUYEN: In diapers.
ELAM: In diapers. NGUYEN: Woo! That could cause problems.
ELAM: Yes, that would be upsetting.
ROBERTS: Buyer beware, yes.
ELAM: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, 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
