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American Morning
Flight Risk?; U.S. Passports; Wiretapping Fight; Big Win For Iraq; America Votes 2008; Minding Your Business
Aired July 30, 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: Summer free fall. A new week and a big new drop in the price of gas. How long can it last?
Mad money. The market's gained ground this morning overseas. What it means for Wall Street's summer blues on this AMERICAN MORNING. 9 And good morning and thank you very much for joining us. Good to see you back here again at the beginning of a brand new week. It's Monday, the 30th of July.
One day left in this month. Where did it go?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Summer has gone fast in general.
ROBERTS: I'm telling you.
I'm John Roberts, good morning to you.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
And we begin with the back to work questions for commuters, as well as local news stations, many of whom rely on helicopters and helicopter reports. Well, you couldn't have missed it, that deadly midair crash last week between two news helicopters over Phoenix. Federal investigators are expected to remove the final piece of wreckage today from the site. Two pilots and two photographers were killed. Funeral services for them are set for tomorrow.
This morning, however, the tragedy is turning a new spotlight on the rule book for TV choppers and the risks to get the shots that cameras on the ground cannot get. CNN's Jim Acosta is working this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): They are the eyes in the sky, beaming back bird's eye views of breaking news. In Phoenix last Friday, these two news helicopters were hovering over a slow moving police chase.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, Channel 15 and Channel 3 just had a midair collision. They're in the park. Oh. Oh, man.
ACOSTA: Both choppers spiraled to the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard like a loud gunshot and then about two seconds after that there was this real loud like huge bang. And then just two helicopters coming straight down.
ACOSTA: Four people died, the two pilots and two photographers in each helicopter died. Federal investigators on the scene believe the chopper in the left of this picture, for station KNXV, somehow flew into its counterpart at station KTVK.
News chopper accidents are rare, but they do happen. Three years ago in New York, a helicopter for station WNBC spun out of criminal and slammed into a roof top in Brooklyn.
MARY SCHIAVO, FMR DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, INSPECTOR GENERAL: I think it should be reviewed. It's only going to increase.
ACOSTA: Aviation expert Mary Schiavo says it may be time to require news choppers to put a co-pilot or lookout in their cockpits to make sure they don't get too close.
SCHIAVO: And here that person, the co-pilot, would have served as a lookout and probably would have dramatically increased the safety of the operations.
ACOSTA: Because news choppers typically fly at low altitudes, they don't spend much time communicating with air traffic controllers. Once they're cleared into an area, it's up to those pilots to avoid accidents by sight. Schiavo says that's too risky.
SCHIAVO: The rule of the road, in visual flight rule, the rule in the air is see and avoid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And another solution, we'd have these choppers stay in greater contact with air traffic controllers. But the problem with that is, how do you do that when you're following a high-speed chase.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, very true. And, Jim, you've been up in these. Can you just explain for views how this works. I mean when they say there's one camera man and then the pilot acting as a reporter as well. How do they do both jobs?
ACOSTA: Well, that's the issue here. They are doing both jobs. And what Mary Schiavo and other aviation experts are saying is that, if that person is doing that job, flying a helicopter and reporting at the same time, there really is nobody else in that chopper to keep an eye on these other choppers circling in the area. When you see these high-speed cases, whether they be in Phoenix or Los Angeles, sometimes they are circling a scene, multiple helicopters, and so that is the safety issue at issue here. And there's going to be a review of all of this.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks so much.
Coming up in our 7:00 hour, by the way, we're going to be talking to a former director at the NTSB for more about what they're going to be looking for today as they figure out what went wrong.
ROBERTS: Yes. Also what he thinks the government can do to keep chopper crews and people on the ground a lot safer. Might involve some new regulation. We'll see if the government will tackle something like that.
New this morning. Will it be another rocky ride on Wall Street. We've got some indication this morning from the overseas markets. Tokyo's Nikkei closed flat, up 0.3 percent. And Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.75 percent. And China's Shanghai index was up, as was Australia's market. Stocks in Europe are trading up slightly. All of which may lead to a slight rise here. We'll find out as the futures come in.
Gas prices are down 17 cents in the past two weeks. Checking the CNN gas gauge. The national average is now $2.89 according to AAA. That is down from $2.96 a month ago and $3 a gallon last year. Another survey shows Cleveland with the lowest price per gallon at $2.65. Chicago with the highest at $3.29.
Gordon Brown makes his first visit to the United States since replacing Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister. He's meeting with President Bush at Camp David for their first official sit down. On the agenda, Iraq, the Middle East, Darfur, and U.S.-British relations. They'll appear together just before noon today.
The Afghan government is pleading this morning with the Taliban to extend a deadlines for the lives of 22 South Korean church workers. Militants are warning the government to release some of its captured fighters or the hostages will die. Today's deadline was issued by the Taliban leadership counsel led by Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar.
In South Korea, five hikers are dead this morning after being hit by lightning. It happened on two separate mountains just outside of Seoul. Investigators say, in one of the incidents, the climbers were shocked through their medal climbing equipment. Six other hikers suffered serious burns in that incident.
New this morning in Montana. Hot, dry, and windy weather is helping to spread a wildfire burning near Glacier National Park. Firefighters say it more than quadruped in size over the weekend, growing from 1,000 to 5,000 acres. Several other fires are also burning right now across Montana. Crews say the near record heat and low humidity is making it difficult for them to get any of those fires under control.
Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, thanks, John.
Well here's a look at some of the other important stories that we're following with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents. Rob Marciano is watching today's extreme weather live for us in Douglasville, Georgia, this morning.
Hi, Rob. (WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, the State Department is hoping that some interns can help tackle the backlog in passport applications. Sean Callebs is live with that story for us in New Orleans this morning.
Hi, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
It's more than an inconvenience. Just talk to the millions of people who've applied for passports and have waited months and months, missed weddings, missed vacations, missed business trips because their passports did not reach them in time. The big reason the U.S. is toughening its policy, in an effort to thwart terrorism. Now all U.S. citizens going to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda must have passports.
Well, they sent about 100 employees, chiefly paid very smart interns, down to New Orleans to chip away at that. And so far they've been successful here in the city. And remember, Kiran, a lot of people also complained -- why do I have to go to New Orleans in the summer. I expected to work in D.C. That tune has changed a little bit. And we'll explain why in just about a half hour.
CHETRY: All right. Sounds good. Sean Callebs, thanks so much.
John.
ROBERTS: A top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he will wait until today's briefing by the Bush administration before he decides whether there should be a perjury investigation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But Senator Patrick Leahy disagrees with Senator Arlen Specter saying time is run out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: I've given the attorney general a week to look at his answers and to make changes in the transcript if he wants to. If he doesn't, then we'll go from there. Frankly, I feel a number of the answers that the attorney general gave were incorrect. I hope he takes this opportunity to give correct answers. If he doesn't, there are many, many in the Senate, both Republicans and Democrats, who feel he has not told the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Last week, four Democrats called for a special investigation. The request came after FBI Director Robert Mueller contradicted a claim Gonzales made about a visit to then Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital room back in 2004. Mueller said the visit was about the president's domestic spying program. The White House says Gonzales and Mueller are talking about two completely different intelligence operations.
Well, there's a new fight over wiretapping in Washington this morning. The White House wants Congress to make it easier to tap into calls and e-mails from potential terrorists. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is live on the security watch in Washington this morning and joins us.
Jeanne, what's the administration looking for here?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, last April the administration asked for changes and updates to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. But with a congressional recess looming, it's pushing a more focused, more narrow set of reforms. Mike McConnell, the director of National Intelligence, sent a letter to congressional leaders Friday saying, "in light of the urgency of the situation, I offer the attached significantly narrowed proposal focused on the current urgency need of the intelligence community to provide warnings."
One change they're looking for, the authority to intercept communications between suspected terrorists overseas without a warrant when those communications travel through a switch in the United States. Part of the problem with FISA is that technology has changed so much since 1978 when the law was passed and the U.S. government needs to modernize laws to match it.
John.
ROBERTS: Well, why is the White House pushing this now, Jeanne?
MESERVE: Well, for one thing, that congressional recess that I mentioned. Two, renewed concern about al Qaeda and what it may be up to. And there are some who are suggesting that perhaps the administration wants to divert the conversation away from the attorney general and his problems.
John.
ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning from Washington.
Jeanne, thanks.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Americans are showing overwhelming support for surveillance cameras in public places to help fight crime. According to an ABC News/"Washington Post" Poll that was just taken recently, 71 percent of Americans surveyed said they support the increased use of surveillance cameras. Only 25 percent oppose it. Cities like New York, Chicago, and Baltimore are now expanding their surveillance systems.
Well, a major win in soccer results in an Iraqi-style celebration. People -- a party of sorts in the street there you see after Iraq beat Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup. But the pop, pop you hear, no, not fireworks, nut the sound of guns going off. They actually shut out the three-time champs. And it was really a day like no other in Iraq. CNN's Arwa Damon got caught up in all of it and she joins us live from Baghdad. Celebratory gun fire probably not what they recommend, especially in this case where it ended up with some people getting hurt or killed.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, that's right. There were at least four Iraqis that were killed because of that celebratory gun fire. But really this was a very rare moment in Iraq's history. In fact, I'm still grinning about it, just having the opportunity to see for the first time in the four and a half years that I've been here, Iraqis completely united and having such unadulterated fun. I mean the mood in the streets was utterly intoxicating. And it was impossible not to get caught up in the celebrations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON, (voice over): The U.S. military took us into the streets of Cadmiya (ph), where it felt much more like a Mardi Gras celebration than a war zone.
The good news here is absolutely electrifying. I have no idea what just happened, but everyone is out having an amazing time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am very happy today because my team Iraqi is victory in Asia!
DAMON: Some Iraqis in strange costume, others grabbing anything just to make more noise. And some bizarre sights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am woman! My (INAUDIBLE) woman.
DAMON: Euphoria everyone wishes Iraq could have forever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: Kiran, what really made the day all the better was that there weren't any massive attacks against the population that was out celebrating in the streets. Iraqis are saying that this is finally a day that they can just look back and cherish as being one of good times and of fun time. Something that is very rare here.
CHETRY: Also a huge source of national pride, I'm sure, you know, to be able to come back and to win like that. So, yes, it was very good to see, Arwa, the celebrations in the streets and people looking extremely happy.
Arwa Damon in Baghdad for us, thanks.
DAMON: Absolutely. Yes.
ROBERTS: A water spout caught by some iReporters kicks off our "Quick Hits" this Monday morning. These pictures were sent in by Moe Dixon (ph) in Savannah, Georgia. You can't see the location from this distance, but that water spout is over the Wilmington River. Moe says it lasted for a little bit more than five minutes before disappear.
And a new study is blaming global warming for a big increase in tropical storms. The number of storms in the Atlantic has doubled over the last century. And the researchers behind the study say climate change is fueling this spike. Not everyone is sold, though. The National Hurricane Center calls the study, "sloppy science." And just last week, a mayor forecasting agency reduced the number of hurricanes it expects this year because of cooler waters in the Atlantic.
A miracle on the highway. A car is flatted by a 35-ton cement mixer. But somehow the driver lives to tell about it. That incredible story coming up next when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, welcome back to the most news in the morning.
A rally at the site of Brazil's worst air disaster topping our "Quick Hits." Several thousand Brazilians protested yesterday at the scene of a deadly plane crash in Sao Paulo. They say the government is responsible for not fixing the dangerous conditions at that airport. Investigators, though, are saying it was pilot error that caused that crash. One hundred and ninety-nine people were killed in it two weeks ago.
And a fire shuts down part of Paris's subway system for a few hours. More than a dozen people were sent to the hospital after inhaling smoke. That fire was blamed on a mechanical problem on a car. It happened across the river from the Shamps Delize (ph) where the Tour de France was ending just hours later.
And a new fight to kill plans for McDonald's in part of Berlin. The neighborhood staged a rally over the weekend calling it the mcresistance. That's a catchy name. Critics say that the restaurant will take away from the fabric of their community.
ROBERTS: He was generally considered the number three choice among Democratic presidential candidates, but John Edwards is number one in a new poll of Iowa voters. Joining us from Washington with that and more political news this morning, Any Walter, who's a CNN political contributor and editor in chief of "The Hotline."
Good morning to you, Amy.
AMY WALTER, "THE HOTLINE": Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: So let's take a look at these latest numbers. We'll put them up on the screen here. This is a KCCI poll out of Des Moines, Iowa. John Edwards, 27 percent, five points ahead of Hillary Clinton and 11 points ahead of Barack Obama. Now this is only Iowa. It's not national. But it's the early primary states that count. And if the Democrats follow their tried and true tradition of nominating a white male, Edwards is in.
WALTER: Well, you know, Iowa has been key for John Edwards and will continue to be key. I mean this is a state where he did unexpectedly well in 2004. He has been ahead pretty much for -- since we started polling in the state. But he has to win Iowa. In fact, he cannot afford not to. If you look at his numbers in New Hampshire and some of the other earlier states, he's not doing quite as well. So what he's hoping to do is get a bump out of New Hampshire. But the margin is going to be important too. And this is where -- what's going to be very fun to watch, especially for people like me, over the next few months here is, just how well the expectation game is set by some of the other candidates on both sides.
ROBERTS: Right.
Now let's take a look at the other side of the coin, the GOP side. Mitt Romney, according to this KCCI poll, now leading in Iowa ahead of Fred Thompson. He's 11 points ahead of Fred and he's 12 points ahead of Rudy Giuliani. Now what really makes this important is that a latest CNN-WMUR New Hampshire poll also has Mitt Romney leading.
WALTER: Right.
ROBERTS: So he could take the first two primary state if those numbers hold up.
WALTER: Well, this is the real gamble that some of the other Republican candidates are playing. Somebody like Rudy Giuliani, for example, who really expects not to do well necessarily in those early states, but to get his momentum in a place like Florida, which holds its on the 29th. The question is, will there be a split decision and things will still be in toss-up mode until we get to February? Or will we follow the tried and true method that we've seen over in the past few years here, in the past few presidential cycles where whoever wins New Hampshire and Iowa takes that momentum and just carries it all the way through and there's very little anybody else can do. So we're going to have a lot of fun in the next few months here.
ROBERTS: So Newt Gingrich over the weekend said he thinks that the Democrats are going to end up with a ticket that has Hillary at the top and Barack Obama as the vice presidential running mate. Just for the record, that's something I said a year ago. But . . .
WALTER: Oh, he must have taken that from you, John. I know we heard that from you.
ROBERTS: However, all of the animus between these two over last week's debate moment, does it look like they could ever pair up?
WALTER: Well, you know, there is something very interesting about the vice presidential picks. You know I think you go to models. The first is the Hippocratic Oath for politics, which is make sure your vice presidential candidate does no harm. Right. That's number one.
The second is, just making sure that your vice presidential candidate doesn't overshadow you. And it sure seems like that would be very difficult for either one of these folks. Both are very well known. Both have their own incredibly active bases and it sure seems like that, to me, would be the hardest part in one picking the other. And then, of course, finally, just how much do they like each other personally and how much attacking has gone on for the whole primary campaign will determine just how likely that will be. ROBERTS: Although as we saw with Johnson-Kennedy back in the '60s, that part of the equation doesn't really matter.
Amy Walter, thanks very much. Good to see you. We'll see you again soon.
WALTER: Thank you very much.
CHETRY: Well this one's just an amazing story of survival out of Florida this morning. When you take a look at the pictures you think, how could someone have survived this. A car completely crushed by a 35-ton cement truck. The man driving in the car survived the accident. And not just survived, but untouched. He was even talking to reporters right after the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was just a little pocket where I was left in the car. I couldn't move. They cut me out. After the open heart surgery you know a few years back, I was trying to figure out why I'm supposed to be here. I guess there's some kind of reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wow. He got really philosophical about it. But when you look at the car, it is amazing. It's hard to see where that little pocket he's talking about is when you see the car. Police say all of it happen when a truck driver tried to avoid rear-ending some cars. He swerved off of the road. And when he came back, he ran into that car. The truck driver is also fine, but he is expected to get a few tickets.
ROBERTS: How could you not be philosophical about that.
CHETRY: I guess you're right. But, I mean, boy, not a scratch on him. Moments after that, he was able to talk to reporters.
ROBERTS: Unbelievable.
Time now for more "Quick Hits."
The shooting massacre that left 33 people dead at Virginia Tech is prompting new calls to shore up classroom security. Safety experts say one of the simplest measures would be installing locks on the inside of doors. At Virginia Tech doors could only be locked from the outside when Cho Seung Hoi began shooting last April.
The University of Miami is evaluating the results of a disaster drill involving local police, SWAT teams, and the police chief of Virginia Tech. The dill was meant to help police learn to respond to incidents like the deadly shooting on that Virginia Tech campus.
The Asian markets bouncing back this morning. What might that mean for Wall Street? We're "Minding Your Business" next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour now. Ali Velshi is off today. Polly Nebar (ph) here "Minding Your Business."
And jitters on Wall Street today. Everyone's wondering what it's going to do. Overseas markets looking up, but you never know.
POLLY NEBAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, we didn't have a pretty week last week. We ended down with the Dow down about 4.2 percent. The S&P down 5 percent. The worst performance in the last five years. So people aren't very happy looking forward.
But, you know, the fact is, this was ignoring some of the basic indicators coming in that the economy is looking better than we thought. The earnings season has actually been quite positive. Not spectacular, but quite positive.
ROBERTS: That mortgage thing, though, has got a lot of people worried.
NEBAR: Well, this is the thing. Some people -- so individual investors and investors all over are going into this week looking at the negatives. So we've got the sub prime mortgage collapse, which is tightening up the credit market. We've got a weak housing market. We've got rising energy costs. We've got a whole bunch of negative here that may or may not be related but that have people really jittery and I think the sell-off might continue going forward.
ROBERTS: Really? So despite the fact that the markets were up overseas, you think the Dow may lead a downward trend?
NEBAR: Well, we, you know, this is what investors are saying. The prevailing school of thought is, it's been an overreaction. And if you already looked this morning, pre-market opening, the Dow is up 35 points and some of the other indicators are up.
And also, I think more importantly, if you look for the year, the Dow is up 6 plus percent for 2007, and for the entire year it's up 18 percent. So, you know, I think this is looking at having gone to the high of 14,000 a week ago and then going down a little bit. There's a little bit of jitters going on. But it looks like it's a short-term process.
ROBERTS: And you just never know because, as we saw on Friday, it was up all day and then, boom, at the end of the day, right?
NEBAR: Right. And this is the amazing thing. You can't time the market, whether you're a professional or an individual. So we've got to watch this and worry (ph) about that.
CHETRY: And you shouldn't try to time the market.
NEBAR: No. That never works, no matter who you are.
CHETRY: When you come back, you're going to be talking a little bit about "The Wall Street Journal."
NEBAR: The Dow Jones/News Corps deal. Yes.
CHETRY: And also interesting study when it comes to men and women and who makes more money and why in the workplace. That should be interesting as well.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Polly.
ROBERTS: Got something else coming up for you in the next half- hour. You know when you crack open the top of a bottle of water . . .
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: And it's becoming more and more popular. What are you really getting?
CHETRY: I don't know. But you may see a little, tiny mark at the bottom of your water bottle. It says PWS. What does that stand for?
ROBERTS: That is a facsimile. This is not actually on the bottom of the bottles.
CHETRY: Right. This is my terrible artist rendering.
ROBERTS: It says bottled at source PWS. So you're thinking . . .
CHETRY: Which stands for . . .
ROBERTS: Poland western spring.
CHETRY: Here, let's see if it's on this one. Thanks, Bruce.
ROBERTS: Pretty wonderful spring.
CHETRY: He just whispered to me, don't drink it. Perhaps because it -- PWS stands for public water source. There is a lot of pressure now on companies who -- it's really just your tap water. Maybe it runs through a purifier, but it's not coming from anything special. A couple of the companies are now having to admit that. So we're going talk more about that.
ROBERTS: Our Rob Marciano will be back with all of that and more when AMERICAN MORNING returns. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, there's a beautiful shot this morning from WTAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And you can see the sun rising there on the left part of your screen. A beautiful shot. It's about 67 degrees right now. It's shaping up to be 84, partly cloudy today.
And welcome back. It is Monday, July 30th.
So glad you're with us on this Monday morning.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you as we start a brand new week.
Facebook is facing some heat. New this morning for you, the online social networking site is running into the same problem that MySpace encountered. It's being accused of not doing enough to keep sexual predators from using it. Connecticut's attorney general says he has seen three cases of registered sex offenders who had profiles on Facebook.
This morning we're taking a closer look at a wild story in southern California. An admitted pedophile stalking children's events, snapping pictures of little girls and posting them on his Web site. Parents, obviously, are outraged, but believe it or not, it's all legal.
The man's name is Jack McClellan. He moved to California after another one of his pro-pedophile Web sites was shut down in Washington State.
That's a picture of him there wearing a hat to cover his eyes. McClellan says he has never acted out on his obsession with little girls and he only photographs them when they're in public and wearing clothes. McClellan knows that he's got plenty of enemies out there, but he says he has no plans to end his blogs or stop going to family- friendly events to shoot new pictures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK MCLELLAN, ADMITTED PEDOPHILE: Obviously, I'm not doing anything illegal at these things. I mean, if they passed a law saying you can't go to these things to admire kids, I mean, I guess I would have to obey to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Parents want the laws changed to stop McClellan. Coming up here in our next half hour, we're going to talk to the reporter from our L.A. affiliate who interviewed him. We'll also talk with a law enforcement source in hour after that to talk about what could possibly be done to stop this guy.
News about the most badly-injured victim of the New York City steam pipe explosion this morning. That steam pipe, as you'll remember, burst directly underneath Gregory McCullough's tow truck back on July the 18th. He had to put in a medically-induced coma because of all of pain that he was suffering through.
The steam left him with third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. But "The New York Times" is reporting this morning that McCullough has opened his eyes. His family says that they know that he can hear him.
News just in within the past couple of hours. The legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman has died.
Bergman directed more than 50 films and was regarded as one of the great masters of modern cinema. Woody Allen once called him probably the greatest film artist since the invention of the motion picture camera. Bergman's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal" features one of the most memorable scenes in movie history, a knight playing chess with the shrouded figure of death.
Ingmar Bergman was 89.
CHETRY: Well, it's a huge bureaucratic mess, millions of people waiting months for their passports. People have missed vacations, even had to reschedule weddings, you name it. Well, it's been caused in part by the new rules that require passports for travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
So, what is the solution to the mess? Well, believe it or not, they're sending in the interns.
Sean Callebs is in New Orleans this morning with more for us. That's one of the cities where they are trying to clear this backlog of passports.
What's going on?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they began arriving here, I'd say, about a week ago. And these are -- these are very motivated, very bright people. But they are young. They are interns, and they were expected to hit the ground running.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice over): Angry and tired of waiting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pay taxes. I deserve better.
CALLEBS: The passport backlog reached nearly two million. The State Department's plan to ease the burden, call in the interns, albeit the best and the brightest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They brought us in to a meeting and said, you know, if there's a need, we need you to go, and we need you to leave next week and start training. It was a little built of shock factor, I think.
CALLEBS: About 200 employees, many presidential management fellows, paid interns with graduate degrees, told they must go to either New Orleans or Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to process passport applications.
The backlog was created early this year when the U.S. mandated everyone traveling to Mexico, the Caribbean, Bermuda or Canada needed a passport. The result, nearly a 1.5 million more applications than the government anticipated.
BRENDAN DOHERTY, PRESIDENTIAL MANAGEMENT FELLOW: The American public needs their passports and they deserve their passports in a timely fashion. And they really did a very quick, efficient job at mobilizing a large amount of people to address this problem.
CALLEBS: New Orleans handles passport applications from 14 states. It already faced a severe backlog after being closed for months following Hurricane Katrina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the attitude in the department and all the people who have come down from Washington is, we're here to work. We're here to do a lot of passports.
CALLEBS: In June, the New Orleans completed 188,000 passport applications. The newest crop of workers are having an immediate impact. This month, more than 200,000 applications are expected to be processed. By September, the government hopes to reduce the average wait time from three months to two.
DOHERTY: We are making a dent, which is, I think -- it's exactly why we're here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: And you may remember, there was a certain degree of grumbling when the State Department employees found out they were being forced to come either here or New Hampshire, but that has changed somewhat. Their hours are 4:00 p.m. to midnight. So, a lot of these young people are finding out they can get out in the city during the day, do some sightseeing, and they can hit Bourbon Street at night, Kiran.
So things aren't as bad as they thought they would be.
CHETRY: How about that? Looking at the bright side. If you've got to work 4:00 to midnight, New Orleans is the city to do it.
All right. Sean Callebs, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: It's all about what you can do after work.
A bizarre story out of Phoenix this morning.
Police responded to a report of an exorcism on a young girl. When they got there, they found a 49-year-old man choking his 3-year- old granddaughter. Relatives say that he was trying to release some demons.
Police used a stun gun to subdue him. He later died. Investigators are waiting for autopsy results to figure out exactly how he died. The little girl and her mother who was in the room during the struggle were both taken to the hospital.
CHETRY: Trouble at Northwest Airlines topping your "Quick Hits" now. The carrier says it's had to cancel more than 10 percent of its flights in the last few days. The reason, pilots have been calling in sick. Pilot representatives say that Northwest slashed pilot salaries while increasing their hours.
In Washington, D.C., authorities now say that a substance that caused three metro train stations to close over the weekend was commercial rat poison. The substance was detected after more than a dozen dead birds showed up at one of the stations. Police are now trying to figure out who left the poison at those stations.
Well, coming up, it's convenient, it's better than grabbing a soda. But what is in that bottled water you're drinking? It turns out, a lot of it is coming right from the tap.
Rob Marciano takes a look at what you're paying for and how some people are fighting back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, "The Simpsons" are officially a Hollywood hit. "The Simpsons Movie" made nearly $72 million in its debut weekend, blowing away the box office competition.
How much did it blow it away? Well, last week's top-grossing film, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," was second with only $19 million.
Rounding out the top five, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Hairspray" and "No Reservations".
CHETRY: Well, Americans love their bottled water, the one place in the world where you can guarantee it's safe drinking water. We spend billions -- actually, billions upon billions to buy it. But are you really getting what you pay for?
CNN's Rob Marciano is live for us in Douglasville, Georgia.
And Rob, it's funny, because we grabbed two of these bottled waters, and on the Aquafina it says, "Bottled at the source, P.W.S."
What does that mean?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the question. What is the source? And not every label is as clear about that.
I mean, we're getting into the dog days of summer now, Kiran. And, you know, it's warmer, so people drink more water, and more so than they have ever done in the past. Ten, 20 years ago, you wouldn't think about bottled water. But you go around the streets of New York, especially, and people are holding this more than they hold a cell phone or an iPod.
And they're just awash in brands. I mean, some of this is filtered water, some of it comes from wells, some of it's distilled, some of it is mountain stream, and spring water as well. But, you know, what exactly is in here? What you paying for?
Well, like you mentioned, there is one company on Friday that says it's going to make it crystal clear now as to where its water is exactly coming from.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice over): Don't let that scenic logo fool you. This water is not bottled from a mountain stream.
Now PepsiCo plans to spell it out for consumers, adding the words "public water source" to the label of its Aquafina brand. And in case you didn't know, Aquafina is actually just purified tap water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That would make me never want to buy Aquafina again, knowing that it was bottled public water. Like, just tap water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. No, that's just not cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's -- what am I paying for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does that make you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like I've been bamboozled and hoodwinked all this time.
MARCIANO: In a statement on Friday, PepsiCo said, "If this helps to clarify the fact that water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do."
Coca-Cola's Dasani does the same thing, purifies and bottles public drinking water. One environmental group found at least 25 percent of bottled water is actually just tap water. Sometimes purified, sometimes not.
MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: We are now exposing an underbelly truth. That is, a big percentage of bottled water in this country is tap water.
MARCIANO: San Francisco's mayor banned city workers from buying bottle water, citing environmental concerns and saving the city half a million a year.
And let's face it, it's expensive. Brands like Fiji can cost $8 a bottle or more at high-end hotels. Ironic that drought have led to water shortages on the island that exports it.
In total, Americans snapped up $11 billion worth of bottled water last year, all in a country that has some of the cleanest public water in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MARCIANO: So now it's becoming a big debate around the country -- tap versus bottle. And, you know, if you filter this stuff, distilled water, it actually takes some of the good stuff out of it, some of the minerals that are good for our bodies.
So you think you're drinking something that's really, really good for you, but you've got to read the label. And at least Aquafina is becoming more clear as to what they're going to put in that.
The other issue, Kiran, is an environmental one. So many of these little bottles floating around, they're not all recycled. That would be the ideal situation. But a lot of them end up in landfills, so they're clogging up our landfills as well. This is a petroleum product, so there's a global warming issue also.
I guess a lot of it has to do with convenience, too. I mean, you're running out the door, Kiran. You want a cold drink of water. It's a lot easier to grab that bottle out of the fridge than go to the cupboard, get a cup, put some ice in there and pour the water. It's certainly a little bit more convenient.
But at least we're talking about it now, what's in the bottle and what are you getting?
CHETRY: Yes, you're right. And, you know, there's just little things people can do. I mean, you can refill the same bottle instead of, you know, throwing it out every single time and getting a new one. And then, you know, the filters that filter your tap right as you're pouring it are popular as well.
So, you're right, Rob, at least we are talking about it, because it's very, very interesting and it affects a lot of people.
Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Forty-six minutes now after the hour.
There has been a lot of concern lately over Chinese products, but environmentalists are becoming just as concerned as what the Chinese themselves are exposed to, as in the air there.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on assignment in China, and here's what he found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The air here in Beijing is very hazy. Just being out here on the streets, you really get a sense of just how much pollution people here are exposed to. But the problem isn't just here. In fact, according to the World Bank, 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are here in China.
(voice over): Linfen is considered the most polluted city. And one could see why air quality is such a concern.
Linfen is a manufacturing center, and goods made here and in other Chinese cities make their way around the globe, and make a lot of money for China. But the same industry fueling China's growth is also ruining the air.
Mercury output from coal factories makes for hazy, unhealthy skies. And according to the World Bank, more than 700,000 Chinese people die every year from respiratory or cardiac complications triggered by air pollution. And there are studies showing China is about to catch up with and may have already passed the United States ass the largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is pushing for reform before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. To reduce smog, the city plans a two-week ban on at least a million of its three million registered vehicles.
(on camera): Clearly, though, much more remains to be done before pollution from China becomes even a bigger and more worrisome export.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Running in heels topping your "Quick Hits".
Women all over Russia taking part in 100-meter race. The catch is that the race is run in 3.5 inch heels. The winner gets the equivalent of $4,000 to spend on a shopping spree.
Look at them go. That's pretty good, 3.5 inch heels.
John, there's no way -- oops.
ROBERTS: Not for people in New York.
CHETRY: That's what would happen to you.
ROBERTS: Three and a half inch heels is like flats in New York.
CHETRY: You're right. And that girl looks like she went way over the limit. It looks like she has six inches on.
Anyway, congrats. It looks like fun. It looks like people running for the subway in New York on any given day, anyway. And there's no prize.
And pass the fries. Kids in Collinsville, Illinois, spending the weekend filling the world's biggest Ketchup packet. Eight feet tall, four feet wide, and 1,500 pounds. It's part of a school fundraiser for the Heinz Company.
Here's a live look at a 85-foot-long concrete back yard fence. The owners say that this landscaping project has become an international nightmare. Why the government is calling the fence a national security threat.
We're going to go to the battlegrounds next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
Love dogs, but have no time to walk or own one? Your "Quick Hits" now.
A California company is renting out dogs to people who don't have the time or space to make the pet a permanent friend. For about $100 a month they're doing it. Not everyone's happy about the arrangement, though. Animal rights groups think that it's confusing for a pet to have multiple owners.
If you're afraid of bees, stay away from this guy's house. A Washington man says his home has been invaded by incredibly aggressive yellow jackets. He swats them, they come back; he sprays them, they get angry.
The next stop for him, professional help.
And talk about aggressive. Check out these jumping fish in Florida.
Wildlife officials there say collisions between people and these sturgeon are happening at a record pace. At least 12 attacks have been document in the last two years.
Sturgeon can grow up to eight feet long and weigh several hundred pounds. So you could see it would be dangerous for one of those things to hit you. They're also protected, so it's illegal to catch them.
And it's not just Florida where there's a jumping fish problem. Remember David Mattingly's report on the Illinois River a little bit earlier this year? Boom -- there you go. It's Asian carp that are the problem there.
Now, they do get the fish to jump by putting a mild electric shock into the river, but...
CHETRY: Oh, really? That's all?
ROBERTS: ... that's not as insulting at getting fish-slapped upside the head.
CHETRY: I bet you they're both equally shocking. Look at him. He's trying to do a little -- you know, just a little speaking there on camera and he just got whacked over and over again.
ROBERTS: One of those left a mark. It definitely did.
CHETRY: Ouch. Anything for the story. And they had a really healthy dinner as well afterwards. ROBERTS: I don't know. Asian carp don't taste so good, I hear.
CHETRY: I bet.
All right. Well, there's an unusual battle that's brewing along the U.S.-Canada border in the border town of Blaine, Washington. A family has put up a border of its own. It's a wall along their yard to protect their property. But that's setting off a minor international crisis.
Kara Finnstrom is live in Blaine with more details.
What's going on here with that wall, Kara?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right behind me, you can see a white post and this ditch. This actually marks the border, the international border. And just crossing over it would mean making an illegal crossing.
That's Canada over there. Here in the U.S., this is the wall that's causing all of this controversy. The question is whether this poses a security threat to both countries.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHIRLEY LEU, HOMEOWNER: Do you not have a legal right to defend your own property? .
FINNSTROM (voice over): Shirley Ann and Herbert Leu had no idea building this concrete retaining wall at the end of their yard would set off an international incident.
LEU: We would lose all of our property and all of our dirt down into this ditch if we didn't have something holding it back.
FINNSTROM: A joint U.S.-Canadian agency the Leus have never heard of ordered them to tear down their wall in the name of national security.
ELLIOT FELDMAN, ATTORNEY FOR INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY COMMISSION: The construction here creates a very dangerous precedent.
FINNSTROM: Elliot Feldman represents the International Boundary Commission, or IBC. Its job, to maintain the border and keep a 10- foot space on each side for patrols and surveillance cameras like the one on the Leus' block.
The Leus, who spent $15,000 on their wall, are suing to keep it, something the commission isn't used to dealing with.
FELDMAN: This is the first time in 100 years that anyone in the United States has challenged the authority of the commission.
FINNSTROM: An attorney for the Leus says that the commission doesn't have jurisdiction over property rights on the U.S. side of the border. BRIAN HODGES, PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION: There's a Canadian law that allows the International boundary Commission to regulate property on the Canadian side of the border, but there's no similar law in the United States.
FINNSTROM: The Leus point to the fact that the clearance zone is inconsistent.
LEU: There's no clearance. There's no 20-foot clearance all the way up and down the border. It's got trees and bushes. Anybody can hide in those bushes.
FINNSTROM: A case in point -- neighbors say drug smugglers have been caught in their yards.
(on camera): Because you were living on the border, was there anything said to you when you bought your house?
LEU: No. No. I figured, OK, I've got the best of go countries. I've got America here, I've got Canada here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FINNSTROM: And making all of this even more complicated, the commissioner who ordered this wall down was abruptly fired by the Bush administration, and he's now suing for his job back.
That could hold it all of this up in court. So the Leus' attorney tells us it could be several weeks at the earlier before the Leus know the fate of this wall -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Kara Finnstrom live for us in Blaine, Washington.
Thanks.
ROBERTS: New questions are being raised this morning about the rules for television helicopters after a deadly midair crash in Phoenix on Friday. The risks they take to get the shots that cameras on the ground can't get, that story coming up in our next hour of AMERICAN MORNING
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