Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Manhattan Steam Pipe Explosion; Who Deserves the Money? Cities Fight Over Anti-Terror Dollars; New Warning About High-Tech CAT Scans for Heart

Aired July 19, 2007 - 07:59   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome once again, 8:00 Eastern, on this Thursday, July 19th.
I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.

I'm John Roberts.

New this morning on air quality tests in the area surrounding that steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan yesterday, there had been worries that because the pipe that exploded was built in 1924, that asbestos might have been sent into the air. Well, apparently, that did happen because asbestos was found in some of the chunks of debris and also asbestos dust, but we have learned this morning that air quality tests that were done have found that there was no airborne asbestos. But that would seem to be an indication that there's no current airborne asbestos, not to say that when you see all those clouds of steam rising there in these pictures, that it wasn't being blown out of that hole yesterday.

So we've got to get a little more clarification on this. But still a possibility that people who were in that area at the time were put at risk of asbestos contamination.

The explosion happened in the heart of Manhattan, near the Chrysler Building and Grand Central Station terminal. That whole area is shut down this morning. And there is limited train service in and out of an area that brings thousands of commuters into New York City every day. Con Edison workers on the scene right now trying to get everything patched up.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho is as close as possible to the area, just on the outside of the frozen zone. She joins us now.

What's the latest from there, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it bears repeating that the headline is this, John : the Office of Emergency Management says air samples taken here have not tested positive for asbestos. But some of the debris, meaning all that mud, has tested positive. And so, as for what that means for the air quality in general, as you mentioned a bit earlier, that's still an open question.

What we can tell you is that people who live and work in this immediate area, which is being called the frozen zone, are being told they cannot come inside during the cleanup. And there's no telling how long that will take.

Now, we are on the outer edges of that frozen zone, which is why you can see some people walking around here behind me. But just to recap, just imagine the scene.

Yesterday, at the height of the evening rush, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, a 24-inch steam pipe exploded. And I don't think it's an understatement to say it was sheer pandemonium.

People were screaming. They were crying. They were literally running for their lives.

Now, as for what caused this explosion, a couple of likely causes. Possibly rainwater. It did rain here yesterday. Or possibly a water main break.

What happens is, this water gets into the steam pipe. There's a vapor buildup. And that can cause an explosion.

One person died of a heart attack as a result of this. Some 30 others were injured. Some critically.

Now, what's going on behind me right now is some utility crews are laying down some backup pipe. That is in case the power goes out here. But remember, John, these pipes that run underground in the largest city in America, in many cases are more than 100 years old.

So, as bad as the situation is, as much of an inconvenience as it is for many commuters today, it is nothing short of a miracle that it wasn't far worse -- John.

ROBERTS: Alina Cho for us this morning.

And again, Alina, we're looking for some clarification on exactly what that air sampling regarding asbestos means, because so many New Yorkers remember back to 9/11 when they were told -- now, granted, it was by the federal government, not the city of New York, that the air around the 9/11 crater was also just fine.

CHO: Yes, there's one possibility, John. You know, what the Office of Emergency Management was saying earlier is that the reason why these tests have been inconclusive so far is because the area was so saturated that they were waiting for it to actually dry out so they could conduct proper testing. So you can bet that that testing will continue today.

ROBERTS: And obviously going to take a while as well to mitigate the asbestos in that area.

Alina Cho for us this morning on the edge of the frozen zone in Midtown.

Alina, thanks.

CHETRY: And our terror watch now.

Last year it was the subject of a lot of controversy. And this year it's no different.

Just which American cities are getting the most money from Homeland Security to fight terror and which ones are getting shorted?

The state that raked in the grants this time around seemed to be Arizona. And not everyone's happy about it.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Chris Lawrence is live now in Glendale, Arizona, where I'm sure they're thrilled with how the feds doled out the money this year.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. It's a Phoenix suburb. And Phoenix officials say they need every dollar that they got, especially since they're hosting the Super Bowl right here next year.

But this is turning into a real battle between those who believe that major international cities -- think London, New York, D.C., Madrid -- are the most likely targets for terrorist attacks, and others who say smaller areas like Glasgow and Oklahoma City are just as likely to get hit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice over): Los Angeles International, Chicago skyscrapers, and New York bridges, think of them as Homeland Security's children and Michael Chertoff is the parent trying to keep them all satisfied and safe.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: My job is about hard choices.

LAWRENCE: Chertoff decides who gets more or less money. And this year, Arizona was the big winner. Tucson went from off the list to $5 million. And Phoenix tripled its allocation to $12 million.

MAYOR PHIL GORDON, PHOENIX: This is a mayor of the fifth largest city that is very happy.

LAWRENCE: But like previous years, some bigger city mayors are crying foul.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK: But I think the mistake that is always made is confusing what -- where you're vulnerable to where you're likely to be attacked.

LAWRENCE: Looking at the numbers, New York actually gained $10 million over last year. Contrast that to those who lost money, like Chicago. Boston officials are boiling at their cutbacks. And there's nothing laid back about L.A.'s response.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: The practice of awarding homeland security dollars based on any consideration other than risk has got to stop.

LAWRENCE: Risk is actually number two. Population carries the greatest weight in where the dollars go. And this year, a new index accounts for cities like Phoenix, that are close to the border or have military bases nearby. It's also home to the nation's largest nuclear power plant.

I spoke with Phoenix's emergency management coordinator about why his city lost so much funding last year only to get it back now.

MICHAEL DEBENEDETTO, COORDINATOR, PHOENIX EMC: And they simply prepared us for this. There will be years in which you will get less money. We didn't think we would get that much less money, but we did, and we had a bad year.

LAWRENCE (on camera): But they told you they would make it up to you this year?

DEBENEDETTO: They told us that if we were patient, that they hoped to make it up to us this year or soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, that money can upgrade bomb squads and pay for surveillance cameras and communications systems. Washington, D.C., got a big increase, but officials there and in New York City are still pushing for a system based solely on risk -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Chris Lawrence live for us in Glendale, Arizona.

Thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

CHETRY: There's a new warning for people about those high-tech CAT scans for your heart. They could actually increase the risk of cancer.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us with details now.

Hi, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.

Kiran, if you or anyone you love is thinking about getting a heart CT scan, you need to listen to this.

These scans are terrific. Doctors love them. They give a great image. You can really see the heart, it slices it up into 64 slices so you can see the arteries and if they're getting clogged up or not, but there's always been worries that all that radiation could harm you.

It's 50 times the amount of radiation than a dental x-ray. That's a lot of radiation. And, in fact, this new studies says that for a 20-year-old woman, it would increase her risk of getting cancer over the course of her life by one percent.

Now, one percent isn't much, but you certainly don't want to take any risks to get cancer if you don't have to -- Kiran.

CHETRY: I saw on that heart scan it looked like the patient was Dr. Sanjay Gupta, by the way.

COHEN: That's right.

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

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up to 15 minutes after the hour.

Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.

When you dial 911, you expect somebody to come and help you, but if you're on a cell phone in certain parts of the country, the help may not be able to find you.

What's it all about? Greg Hunter is standing by live at the 911 Center in Rochester, New York, with more.

Good morning, Greg.

GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John.

If you take a look at the Rochester 911 Center, this is state of the art. Constant information coming in. You can see me, CNN, you on delay up there.

And when you call 911 from a cell phone here, these folks cannot only find you on a map, they have a picture of it. Now, this is state of the art. But 40 percent of counties in America don't have this kind of technology where they can locate you when you call for help on a cell phone. But they should be able to do it.

Here's why you can't.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911 Center. May I help you?

HUNTER (voice over): One-third of all calls coming into 911 centers across the country are from cell phones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. My husband's just in here and abused me. OPERATOR: What is your address?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMS)

OPERATOR: What is your address?

HUNTER: Nobody knows what happened to that Missouri woman because state 911 operators say they didn't have the technology to find her.

(on camera): Nationwide, about 60 percent of all counties can find you if you make a 911 call from your cell phone, but 911 experts say 60 million Americans still live in areas that are not able to track wireless callers.

(voice over): Most improvements to 911 technology have been paid for by surcharges on wireless phone bills.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What town are you in?

HUNTER: But not Missouri, where cell phone surcharges are up to the people who have voted them down. That means operators at this Missouri 911 center near Lake of the Ozarks often see this, "no address information," from cell phone calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have 80-some miles to check of shoreline times two.

HUNTER (on camera): Can you get to them quickly?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not if they can't give us a good landmark to find them.

HUNTER (voice over): Even states that do have a 911 surcharge sometimes don't use all the money for that purpose. In 2003, Henry Badillo (ph) and three other teenagers died in a sinking boat in the Long Island Sound because at that time, New York City 911 didn't have the technology to pinpoint their cell phone, even though the state had been collecting a 911 surcharge for years.

(on camera): If the state would have been enhanced 911 back in 2003, would your son be alive?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.

HUNTER (voice over): The Badillo (ph) family sued, but a court ruled the state could not be held liable for her son's death.

Since that tragic accident, New York State has spent more than $150 million upgrading its 911 system. Operators say things have gotten better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he's conscious? Breathing?

HUNTER: Now most New York counties have the ability to pinpoint cell phone calls, even to see a photo of the location. Though a quarter of the counties still aren't covered. But of the $1.20 surcharge that every New York cell phone user pays every month, the state says it still spends almost half on things that have nothing to do with 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think it's almost like a little bait- and-switch advertising. The state is taking the money and using it for a purpose other than what the public believes.

HUNTER: The state says, "We need more than (enhanced) 911 to keep New Yorkers safe. That's why the surcharge is also authorized to fund other important initiatives."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTER: I've got permission to test the system. So I've just called 911. In just a second, somebody is going to hold their hand up and say, "911".

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911 Center.

HUNTER: Who do we have here? Who is it?

It's across the room. OK. It's over here. We can't get there over here, but if we would have been able to get there -- it's live TV -- what they would have showed us, is that they can spot with a picture that I'm up here.

You know what? These guys have a picture up. Let's see what we have here. Come on over here.

This is what we would have seen right -- a picture right here. So they would have said, "911" -- oh, you're calling from our building, or from the parking lot. And that's the kind of technology that have here in Rochester, New York.

Now, the next wave of technology that's coming up, they're going to be able to send video from here to the 911, to send to police, or text messaging from somebody who may be in a closet, who may be being attacked that will be able to come here to a 911 center. But that's going to take time and money and lot of surcharge from 911 bills across the country.

Back to you guys.

ROBERTS: All right.

Greg Hunter, thanks very much.

Maybe later today, Greg, you can go out in the wilderness and phone them and see if they can find you.

HUNTER: If I have their permission, but I'm going to catch a flight back to New York, my friend.

ROBERTS: All right. Greg, thanks very much -- Kiran. CHETRY: Well, there's some dire warnings from the chairman of the Federal Reserve about the housing slump. What does it mean for your home? What does it mean if you're trying to sell or buy?

We're going to talk about that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is speaking up about your home and whether the worst is over for the housing market or if we have a ways to go and how it all feeds into the economy.

CHETRY: So who better to tell us about it than CNN's money saver, Gerri Willis? She's here right now to talk more about it.

Gerri, good to see you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you, guys.

CHETRY: So which way is it? What's next for real estate?

WILLIS: I've got to tell you, the picture is murky and cloudy and not good news. From Bernanke in particular, a fellow who knows a thing or two about the economy, he was speaking to the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. He said the economy's going to do worse than he anticipated, why the housing market, the slump continues.

And of course, my best sources have told me that the recovery doesn't happen until midyear next year. So that squares with what the experts are saying.

But why? The subprime market collapsed. That's what's going on right now, and it is making it more difficult for people to borrow in the markets.

ROBERTS: So, he had bad news about the economy, bad news about housing.

Was he all doom and gloom? Or did he at least have some little glimmer of good news?

WILLIS: Well, you know, the good news here, there was good news people have been waiting to here, is there going to be any new regulation out there to save people, mortgage brokers out of control out there? He had a thing or two to say about mortgage brokers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: I think that we should certainly seriously consider some federal licensing or federal -- at least some kind of federal database that will allow states to know if a new broker that's coming into the state has some kind of previous problems in another location.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: So here's what Bernanke is talking about, a small group of brokers, rogue brokers really. They get paid on commission to sell mortgages. They get more money the more complicated the more toxic the mortgage is.

So, guess what? Some people got loans they couldn't afford. Now these bad guys move from market to market. These are really people at the margin, not your average plain vanilla mortgage broker who gets up in the morning and puts their kid on a bus.

These are people who are really bad guys. And it's good to hear Bernanke saying something about how these folks might be regulated.

Chris Dodd, who's chairman of the Senate Financial services Committee, he is saying the devil's in the details, I want to see some real answers here. And, of course, the Fed chairman is going to be going to that committee today.

CHETRY: All right. Well, keep us posted on what happens there.

Gerri Willis, always great to have you. Thanks so much.

And by the way, don't forget to catch Gerri on "OPEN HOUSE" this weekend. She's going to be talking about problems for first-time home buyers, some pitfalls you want to avoid.

Also, the best places to live. And an affordable new vacation trend.

Plus, how to get what you want through negotiating. That's Saturday, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: There it is. A lot of anticipation this morning. Are they anticipating or are they just sleepy in Los Angeles? Because it's 5:30 a.m., and this is when they always do this, the early morning phone calls.

"Hey, guess what? You got an Emmy nomination!"

ROBERTS: Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick going to be out there on stage very soon to announce the nominees from the 2007 Emmy Awards.

CHETRY: Any predictions from Mr. Roberts?

ROBERTS: Yes. I think "The Sopranos" is going to win big, big, big, big this year. And we'll have that for you in just a couple of minutes.

Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Thursday the 19 of July. I'm John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry. CHETRY: We have some new information just into our NEWSROOM right now. The dispute going on between Moscow and London over the case of poisoned KGB agent now, is escalating, Victor Litvinenko, his name.

News agencies reporting that Russia is now expelling four British diplomats and suspending visas for British government officials. CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now from Moscow with more on this developing news.

Hi, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, thanks very much.

We've been waiting for some days now for Russia's response to Britain's decision, two days ago, to expel four Russian diplomats from London over Russia's refusal to extradite the prime suspect in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned, of course, with a radioactive substance in London last November.

It's been a brilliant diplomatic storm between the two countries. Russia's foreign ministry spokesman, Mikhail Kamynin had this to say within the last few seconds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKHAIL KAMYNIN, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, RUSSIA (through translator): Today the ambassador of the U.K. was invited to come to the foreign ministry of the Russian Federation. And a statement was made, vis-a-vis the unfriendly actions taken by (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

The ambassador given an official note with four names of British ambassadors that have been claimed to be persona non grata, and they have to leave the territory of the Russian Federation within 10 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well the Russian foreign minister there saying that four British diplomats being expelled from Russia. Obviously a tit-for-tat measure following the four expelled from London.

He also went on to say that Russian officials would not be visiting the United Kingdom. And visas for British officials wanting to visit Russia would not be granted. And he said that Russia from now on in, would suspend all cooperation with the United Kingdom when it came to counterterrorism. So, this really does appear to be an escalating diplomatic spat -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, it really does. So they announced this ban, Russia did, on the visas for British government officials. Any word on how long that is in effect, or as of right now this is open ended?

CHANCE: It seems to be open ended. There's not any sign at this stage of the two countries finding any common ground, any compromise to try and resolve this. It just seems to get deeper and deeper. In fact, the situation has worsened today with the involvement of the European Union. The presidency of the European Union condemning Russia for failing to fully cooperate with the British authorities. So, very much taking the side of London.

Also, Condoleezza Rice has made remarks, as well. For the first time the United States getting involved. Calling on Russians to honor Britain's request to extradite this prime suspect in the poisoning case.

CHETRY: Wow, that could just add to things, especially some frosty relations over the missile defense shield proposal, as well.

Matthew Chance, reporting for us from Moscow. Thank you.

ROBERTS: We heard just about an hour and a half ago that some asbestos has been found in the site of the steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It was found in the debris and the dust. Tests done on current air quality show that this are no signs of airborne asbestos, but not to say that there weren't signs of it when the whole thing went off yesterday. I'm sure we'll be hearing a little bit later on in the day, more on this.

The explosion happened in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Grand Central terminal, all nearby. That whole area shut down this morning.

We have new iReport photos just in to CNN. Stergen Stolichavich (ph), gave us some pretty dramatic shots here. You can see what was going on, on the side of the road in that whole area during the time when the steam was just billowing out of that hole.

One of the most eerie photos that we have seen today are of shoes left on the sidewalk, as people literally ran out of their shoes, to get away from that area. Eerily reminiscent of what happened during 9/11.

One person -- there's that shot of the shoes. One person died in this -- died from a heart attack. Several others are in critical condition this morning, including the driver of that tow truck that you see in the middle of that crater; that's 25 feet wide and 15 feet deep. He was in that crater as the steam was billowing around him. We have reports that he's burned over 80 percent of his body.

Lots of great iReports in on this one. This one, by far, the best video so far shot by Nick Parish, who works in the area. If you listen here, you can actually hear the steam roaring out of that hole. Take a quick listen.

That was so incredibly loud. And like that for a significant period of time until they shut off the valves that fed that broken piece of pipe.

CHETRY: Still, for five hours afterward, you could still see the steam rising. Witnesses describing it like a volcanic explosion.

Meantime, helping hands for wildfires, topping your "Quick Hits" now. Crews from Canada, Australia, even New Zealand, will be called in to help fire crews in the U.S. that are battling these large wildfires burning in 12 Western states. They say the triple-degree temperatures are adding to the problem, as well as the dry, dry weather, lack of humidity, lack of any type of rainfall, and also the winds.

They're saying the National Guard could also be called out to help in those states.

Well, some people are cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina saying that they're getting stiffed. One company says that FEMA owes it about $150 million. Some people even walking off the job until they get paid. FEMA, though, shifting the blame to state and local officials saying that the paperwork has to get approved at the state level before they can pay. They say that incomplete paperwork is often to blame in these cases.

Religion is going to be an important part of the 2008 presidential election. Tom Foreman's going to be there with a raw reality check. A look at God and politics, coming up next, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: A cavalcade of clowns tops your "Quick Hits" this morning. Hundreds of clowns marched to the Basilica of our Virgin (ph) of Guadalupe in Mexico. The reason for all of this? To thank her for blessing them with employment. Clowns, happy to be gainfully employed.

CBS is still looking for the right host to host the "Price Is Right." The network's entertainment chief says the search is taking so long because Bob Barker was such a legend. Barker has retired, the show is in reruns right now.

Emmy nominations also being announced this morning. This is the big news today.

CHETRY: That's right. We're just about five seconds away. Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick hosting. They are getting set to walk out right now and announce the nominations. Let's listen in to a little bit -- we hear the clapping. Let's hear who's up.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

DICK ASKIN, CHRMN., ACAD. OF TV ARTS & SCIENCES: Good morning. I'm Dick Askin, chairman of the board of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

It is my pleasure to welcome to you the 59th Prime Time Emmy Awards announcements. Joining me to present the nominations are Kyra Sedgwick, currently starring in TNT detective series, "The Closer" and Jon Cryer, one of the men in the CBS comedy series, "Two and A Half Men."

Welcome.

JON CRYER, ACTOR: Thank you, good morning. KYRA SEDGWICK, ACTRESS: Thank you.

ASKIN: All yours.

CRYER: Thank you, good morning.

SEDGWICK: Good morning, everybody.

CRYER: OK, Kyra, ladies first.

SEDGWICK: Thank you, Jon.

The nominations in the drama series category are "Boston Legal," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes," "House," "The Sopranos".

CRYER: The nominations for lead actress in a drama series are Patricia Arquette, "Medium", Minnie Driver, "The Riches", Edie Falco, "The Sopranos", Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters", Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order, Special Victims Unit", Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer".

I don't watch that show. So I don't know. Who is that?

SEDGWICK: Thank you.

The nominees for lead actor in a drama series are, James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos", Hugh Laurie, "House", Denis Leary, "Rescue Me", James Spader, "Boston Legal", Kiefer Sutherland, "24".

CRYER: The made-for-television movie nominations are --

(END LIVE FEED)

CHETRY: All right. Well, there you go. That's funny because she was nominated, Kyra Sedgwick. And then she had to continue on. It will be interesting to see if Jon Cryer is nominated as well. He's in "Two and a Half Men"

ROBERTS: "Two and a Half Men".

CHETRY: With Charlie Sheen, which is a pretty funny comedy.

ROBERTS: Yeah, its very good, actually. They both play very good parts.

But out of those three nominees that we saw, I'm saying that the "The Sopranos" are going to win. It's going to be Gandolfini, Edie Falco, and "The Sopranos". I think as a send off, they've got to give it to them all.

CHETRY: They usually do that. I mean, a historic, groundbreaking series in the last year -- at TV movie.

ROBERTS: And Lola Ogunnaike is going to have the rest of the nominations and a little bit of reaction for us coming up here.

CHETRY: All right. Well, meanwhile, if there is one big truth that has emerged from the last few elections, is that religion matters, actually. And for the next few days, CNN is going to take a close look at the role that faith plays in this presidential race.

ROBERTS: To start us off this morning, Tom Foreman has the raw reality of religion in politics. All hail, Tom, this morning.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be hailed. It's a nice thing. Yeah, I agree with you on "The Sopranos". They'll eat it up.

You hit it right on the head. The fact is that religion matters, more than your age, or gender, your income, how you feel about God largely determines how you vote. And people really want to know what their president believes.

Look at this. A Pew Center study found that while a quarter of Americans think President Bush talks about his faith too often, more than half say the president mentions his faith about the right amount, and an additional 14 percent say he should talk about God more often.

So what religious questions do folks want to ask the current crop of candidates? You can expect questions like that, in our YouTube debate on Monday. I've been looking at some of these, and they are fascinating. As you, the voters, get to reach and talk to these candidates directly about their beliefs.

By the way, another Pew Center poll shows that on the Republicans side voters already say that Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is the most deeply religious candidate. On the Democratic side, they say Barack Obama is considered the most religious. He belongs to the United Church of Christ. The least, they say that these people are the best connected to their faiths.

The least connected to their faiths? Voters say that's Rudy Giuliani, a Catholic, for the Republicans. And Hillary Clinton, a Methodist, for the Dems. But here's a surprising twist in the "Raw Politics". Despite that, those two, Giuliani and Clinton, are getting the most support in the polls from religious voters.

CHETRY: That is interesting.

FOREMAN: Yes, and people are --

CHETRY: We're probably going to hear them talk about their religion a lot more. Hillary Clinton spoke about the impact that Billy Graham made on her, in the days after the Lewinsky scandal. So I think they're going to get a lot more public about their faith.

FOREMAN: And well, the Democrats in a calculating way are doing precisely that. They are saying we need to talk about our faith more, because they know there's a faith shift towards the Republicans.

We're going to have a lot more about this tonight. We are going to have some special reports on "AC-360". It's called "In God's Country", special report tonight. We started them last night, we have more tonight. Including a talk with this very noted Protestant pastor, Rod Parsley, who talks about the separation of church and state and whether or not that really is, -- as many of us were taught in schools -- something that comes from our history, or something that we kind of created along the way, and that evangelicals would like to overturn now.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to this. As you said, a tremendous amount of interest in all this.

Hey, it is Thursday, which means that we're "Paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta" to answer your questions. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: And it's time once again to open up our "Medical Mailbag". It's answers for your questions from Doctor Sanjay Gupta.

ROBERTS: Sanjay is standing by in Atlanta.

Sanjay, our first question comes to us from Minnie in Michigan. The questions: "Is it OK to substitute eating fruits with drinking juices?" What do you say?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The answer, Minnie, is no. And I think probably a lot of people understand that eating the real stuff, eating the fruits is probably better than fruit juices.

But let me give you a couple of specific reasons why. A lot of people may look at the labels on fruit juices and realize that when you drink the juice, you're getting a lot of sugar, in addition to the juice itself. That's something to keep in mind.

Also when you try to transfer the good stuff, if you will, from fruit into fruit juice, you don't always get it. So you're missing some of the good stuff in that fruit juice. One of the most important things is fiber. That's something you get in fruit. You won't get as much of as in fruit juice. Not as good. Still better than some of the other sugary sodas, but stick to the fruit itself.

CHETRY: Our next question is a good one about taking these so- called off label drugs. S.D. Williams, from Philadelphia, wants to know what exactly off label means? He says, "If I check out a drug and it says the drug is off label for a certain condition, does that mean it is illegal for the doctor to prescribe it?"

GUPTA: The answer is no. It is not illegal for the doctor to prescribe it. This is a little bit of a nuanced area. Let me see if I can try to explain it. A lot of times the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, will approve a drug for a specific use. So approve a certain chemotherapy, for example, for a certain type of cancer. But as doctors start to use it, they may recognize that it has an effect on another type of cancer as well. They'll say we want to use this drug in an off-label way for the treatment of the other cancer.

It is not illegal. And sometimes it leads to more studies that actually gets it approved for this other purpose as well. Doctors should inform you of this, though, if they're going to use it in an off-label way.

ROBERTS: Finally, Sanjay, Morisol, in Colorado, wants help deciding between two popular weight loss surgeries. She writes: "My doctor and I have been discussing the pros and cons of gastric bypass and the lap band. What guidelines would you recommend for making a decision between the two?"

GUPTA: This is a seriously topic and a serious discussion to have with yourself and your doctor beforehand.

First of all, there's a couple of criteria. Usually, they say, you need to be at least 100 pounds, or so, over your ideal weight before considering this sort of thing. You also need to go through some of the psychological evaluation to make sure you're going to tolerate the operation well and you can tolerate the post operative period as well, in addition.

The two types of procedures you're talking about, gastric bypass. Essentially, what that is, is they create a small pouch of your stomach, at the top of your stomach, then they sort of reroute your intestine so your food goes more directly into your intestine.

The disadvantage is that you don't absorb as many nutrients. The advantage is that you'll probably lose a lot of weight pretty quickly.

Lap band, is a less invasive procedure. That is one of the advantages. That involves just basically putting a little band around the top of the stomach, then actually squeezing it so you get a feeling of fullness much more quickly. It may not be as effective as gastric bypass, in comparison, but much less invasive as well.

But again, you really -- this is a serious topic. I'm glad you asked the question. Make sure you talk to your doctor about it. And some of those -- the psychological evaluation, your overall ideal weight, important things to look at as well.

ROBERTS: Great.

CHETRY: Well, Sanjay, thanks so much. We do this every Thursday. So if you have a question for Sanjay, go to cnn.com/americanmorning and send us an e-mail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

New York air tested for asbestos today after that massive steam pipe explosion.

Video showed a doomed Brazilian jet liner apparently driving at a high rate of speed.

War in Iraq: U.S. officials in Baghdad updating Congress by video link this morning.

Tom cruise, his latest project irks the Germans.

NEWSROOM just minutes away. At the top of the hour on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Time for another "CNN Hero", incredible people making a difference in their communities. Today a man helping injured troops who have returned home. And he's doing it in a special way that only a few can. Bob Kunkel is today's "CNN Hero".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did this start?

BOB KUNKEL, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: The newly injured had no idea how dramatic their lives have been impacted. And I have experience in that area. And I knew I had to do something.

I was with the 9th Infantry Division. My knee joint was blown out. So they took the bottom part and welded it to the top. I did not cope well. You name the self-destructive behavior, I did it, times 10. Now I view all that experiences as training for what I'm doing now.

My name is Bob Kunkel. I have the privilege and honor of being allowed to interact with the new injured at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I function as a friend. I teach jujitsu, so that an injured person can become empowered in protecting themselves.

He went that way, so you step here.

There's a connection. They've been in combat, I've been in combat.

You're laughing, they know.

My purpose is to steer someone to make better choices in life.

If you're injured, you're still the same person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, I feel fortunate to have met somebody like bob. You know, someone that can kind of understand the disability, but that can also teach me a skill that I can pass on to other people.

KUNKEL: I've taken soldiers out for coffee, out for a drive, and dinner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?

KUNKEL: And you can just see how people relaxing. It's my way of showing my true appreciation for their sacrifice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And the nominees are? Well, this year's Emmy nominee awards just announced 10 minutes ago.

ROBERTS: And AMERICAN MORNING's Lola Ogunnaike was watching very closely. She's here to separate surprises from the shoo-ins.

Good morning to you.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN HOLLYWOOD CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

ROBERTS: So what were the surprises, what were the shoo-ins.

OGUNNAIKE: Well, "24" did not make the list for outstanding drama this year. But Kiefer Sutherland nominated for best drama actor. The show, not as good. Clearly, the people think it's jumped the shark, but they still think that Kiefer is strong.

ROBERTS: The Emmy nomination got through the perimeter.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Look at the drama series ones, real quick. "Boston Legal", "Grey's Anatomy", "Heroes", "House" and John's pick here, "The Sopranos". That's not a huge surprise, it's their final season.

OGUNNAIKE: Not a huge surprise, final season. Sentimental favorite. So that could be it -- but "Heroes" might be the dark horse here. They could actually come in and take it.

ROBERTS: No way. "Sopranos" got five, ten, 15 nominations.

CHETRY: The only ones beating it, in fact, 17 nomination for I left my -- wait. What was it? "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee", the mini series.

OGUNNAIKE: The mini series.

CHETRY: But let's check out the comedy series real quick.

OGUNNAIKE: Oh, yes.

CHETRY: We have "Entourage", of course, is the big crowd favorite. "The Office" also pretty big. "30 Rock", "Two And A Half Men," and "Ugly Betty".

OGUNNAIKE: "The Office" won last year, but I'm pulling for "Ugly Betty" and I think the crowd likes "Ugly Betty".

Interestingly enough, "Desperate Housewives" which won in 2005, was snubbed last year for this category and snubbed again this year.

ROBERTS: Now, there is some shark jumping going on with that show.

OGUNNAIKE: But Felicity Huffman was nominated. ROBERTS: Just like "Grey's Anatomy", too.

OGUNNAIKE: Snubbed again, actually, good point. But I think, "Ugly Betty", the critics like it, they have huge ratings. The show won a Golden Globe last year, both for the show and more America Ferrara's performance, so .

ROBERTS: A great "Grey's Anatomy" it was the fairy episode when Meredith fell off the dock. And I just thought, there goes the shark.

CHETRY: Let's look at reality, real quick.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes, reality TV.

CHETRY: We have "Amazing Race", which is always fun to watch, "American Idol," of course, that the one that gets a lot of hubbub, but not many awards; "Dancing With The Stars", "Project Runway", and "Top Chef".

ROBERTS: Tamil Lakshmeet (ph) deserves her own Emmy award.

OGUNNAIKE: Just for being beautiful? John, you don't win an Emmy just for being hot, I'm sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

But the interesting thing about this is "American Idol" is this ratings juggernaut, huge on TV. Big old loser when it comes to the Emmys. They've never won. I interviewed Ryan Secrest last year. And he told me, every year they get all dressed up they ride over there in the limo together and every year they lose, they go out to a huge dinner and drink a bottle of wine, and go home.

ROBERTS: I guess that's the way to do it.

OGUNNAIKE: That's their routine.

ROBERTS: Laugh all the way to the bank, too.

CHETRY: That's very true.

Lola Ogunnaike, breaking it down for us. Thanks so much.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: And that's going to do it for AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks so much for joining us. We hope to see you again tomorrow.

CHETRY: Meantime, CNN NEWSROOM, with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. The news just keep coming into the NEWSROOM. We have a lot for you on the plate today.

It is Thursday morning, July 19. Here's what's on the rundown.

Is New York City's air safe this morning? Experts check for toxins after that tremendous steam pipe rupture.

HARRIS: Final moments of a Brazilian airliner caught on tape.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com