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American Morning
Troop Strength: Top Generals Disagree on Force Size; Dubai Port Fire; Al Qaeda Recruits Targeting Minorities in America?
Aired August 27, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): CNN exclusive. The status of a kidnapped Israeli soldier and more in a rare one-on-one interview with a leader of Hamas.
Chased out.
JACK MCCLELLAN, SELF-DESCRIBED PEDOPHILE: I can't live here under this Orwellian protocol.
ROBERTS: A self-described pedophile is on the road again. Where could he land next?
And Hulk Hogan's son seriously hurt. His car flipped and crushed. The dramatic high-speed crash on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. Welcome back. Thanks very much for joining us.
It is Monday, the 27th of August.
I'm John Roberts.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Kiran Chetry is off today.
ROBERTS: We've got some new developments on the dispute between the Pentagon and U.S. commanders in Iraq arguing over the size of the U.S. force there and when soldiers should start to come home. Senator John Warner, a Republican of Virginia, says there will be high-level meetings between the two sides this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: This week I have learned the Department of Defense and our field commanders in Iraq, General Petraeus and another very able field commander, General Odierno, are going to sit down and communicate with the White House team and reconcile such difference of abuse and approaches that they have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon for us this morning.
And Barbara, what have you heard about such meetings taking place?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I think you can count on meetings not just this week, but around the clock for the next two weeks, until General Petraeus comes to town to report to the president the week of September 10th. Everyone is floating trial balloons, everyone is staking out their positions, but here is the bottom line, John.
General Petraeus and the other commanders in Iraq know full well the surge has to start winding down in April of '08. They begin to run out of troops, they cannot keep it going past then. But they want to keep as many combat troops on hand as long as they possibly can. On the other side, the Joint Chiefs of Staff here in the Pentagon say the troops are exhausted, they need to start coming home, they need to start training for possible other contingencies, as they call it.
You know, President Bush always says he listens to his generals. The question this time is, which general is he going to listen to -- John.
ROBERTS: So really, Barbara, it's the difference between -- you know, the commanders on the ground there who are looking at it from field level have a different opinion than the commanders back at the Pentagon, who are looking at this from a much broader sort of 30,000- foot level, if you will, across the entire military, not just what's going on in Iraq.
STARR: That's right. You know, that old cliche really stands here, which is, where you stand is where you sit.
In Iraq, they need as many troops for as long as they possibly can, but General Petraeus is a savvy political infighter. He knows when he comes to Washington the pressure will be full blast at him to recommend to start bringing the troops home.
ROBERTS: So, but all of these recommendations about starting to bring the troops home, are they -- are they moot, seeing as how the whole thing will have to begin to end in April? Or could there be some pressure on General Petraeus that causes him to bring these troops home earlier, such as what Warner also said over the weekend, which is he would like to see the president bring 5,000 troops home as early as December?
STARR: Well, you know, that's interesting that you ask that, John, because there is a school of thought in the military that some sort of token withdrawal, if you will, a small number of troops coming home, would be exactly the signal to send to the Iraqi government, to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Send the signal that the U.S. military isn't staying there forever, try and put some pressure on him. But the question then becomes, is the security progress so thin, so fragile that it could really even afford that?
All of these things are the tradeoffs, all of these things is exactly what all of those meetings are going to talk about -- John.
ROBERTS: There will be a lot of talk about this over the next three weeks.
Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, thanks.
STARR: Sure.
ROBERTS: Heidi.
COLLINS: Deadly fires are burning across half of an entire nation this morning. Fire crews in Greece say they are now battling 170 infernos across the southern part of the country. Police are now offering $1 million for information on the arsonists in some of the fires. They may be responsible for killing dozens of people.
And a wildfire burning in central Idaho has more than a thousand families out of their homes this morning near the Sun Valley ski resort. The winds are actually too strong to fly tankers over the fire, so the resort is using its snow-making equipment to help fight it.
And in Ohio, across parts of the Midwest, the floodwaters are finally receding. That's good news for the people there. Cleanup now getting under way.
The governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, says the level of devastation just cannot be exaggerated. FEMA now assessing the damage and a federal state of emergency will probably be declared in additional areas.
ROBERTS: The son of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan is in serious condition this morning after a spectacular single car crash. Firefighters had to extricate 17-year-old Nick Bollea and another passenger from Bollea's Toyota Celica Supra last night.
Hulk Hogan arrived on the scene in time to see his son get freed. Police say the car was speeding when it hit the median, flipped over, and then slammed into a palm tree. Bollea is in serious condition this morning. His passenger, though, is in critical condition. No charges have been filed.
Actor Owen Wilson is reportedly in the hospital this morning. TMZ and other entertainment Web sites are reporting that Wilson was taken to the hospital Sunday at around noon. Santa Monica police would only say that they respond to do a 911 call and that the person that they responded for is being treated.
COLLINS: The search for six trapped miners will go on in Utah. Crews are now planning to drill a seventh hole into the Crandall Canyon Mine. They will also lower a camera similar to the one used in the wreckage of the World Trade Center into a previously dug hole. With a major safety concern, though. Mine owner Bob Murray also made another announcement. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORP.: ... with our miners yesterday and today, and announced that we would be temporarily shutting down the tower mine and laying off 170 persons. This is temporary until the engineering studies are done by the 10 firms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Murray says he will never mine at Crandall Canyon again if the recovery effort fails.
And according to the new "Farmers' Almanac," it might be time to stock up on shovels and long underwear if you live in the Northeast. The almanac is calling for heavy snow in the Northeast this year. Also, temperatures three degrees cooler than normal.
It could be tough in the South as well. Predictions of at least four major frosts.
The best place might be in the West, where it's expected to be milder than usual.
The almanac has been making predictions for almost 200 years now based on a secret formula which looks at things like sun spots and the position of the planets.
ROBERTS: And a few darts thrown in the right places, too.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
Speaking of weather, Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather, live from flooded-out Des Plaines, Illinois.
It looks like things have pretty much dried out there, Rob. A stark comparison to what it looked like over the weekend.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, unbelievable. Folks here certainly happy to see the waters recede.
This neighborhood in Des Plaines, where the Des Plaines River rolls through, at some points knee deep in water. This little flat- bottom boat behind me was used to kind of ferry people up and down this street, used kind of as a gondola to get supplies.
As you can imagine, it was a pretty big operation. A lot of people were digging out and having sandbags delivered to their home to protect what could have been a record-setting flood.
Nine feet was the crest on Saturday. They were forecasting 11. So a bit of good news there.
Now the waters have receded and the cleanup efforts begin, and now all those sandbags that people were putting up against their homes, they are actually putting them on the street. Hopefully, they can say bye-bye to this flood.
But there are -- there is some rain upriver happening this morning. Some strong thunderstorms are rolling through southeastern parts of Minnesota and western parts of Wisconsin. Areas that are already been inundated with record-breaking rainfall last weekend, John, and they're getting a little pounding of rainfall this morning. Hopefully, it's moving quick enough to not have a tremendous amount of impact, but any rain across Wisconsin, where it's a federal disaster area, any more rain they get today is certainly not welcome.
Back up to you.
ROBERTS: Well, what about where you are, Rob? Have things changed? Are we out of this summer pattern and beginning to get into the fall patterns? Is it going to stay dry there?
MARCIANO: It certainly feels like a little bit of a taste of fall this morning. It is cool, it is dry, there's low levels of humidity.
A front that came through that gave us the dry weather yesterday has moved off to the east. So, yes, it looks like the weather pattern has shifted, at least for now. But we're going to get back into more heat and humidity. Summer is not over just yet, and the more heat and humidity you build, as you know, the greater potential for heavy rainfall.
So the next several weeks will be key -- John.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano for us this morning in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Rob, thanks. We'll check back in with you a little bit later on.
Also, breaking news in Dubai this morning at the world's largest man-made port.
CNN's Monita Rajpal is following this from outside of our bureau in London as she checks in with international news.
Monita, how bad is it there?
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, John.
It took firefighters several hours to actually put out this fire at the port which houses the UAE's, United Arab Emirates', second largest oil refinery. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
It occurred in the early hours of Monday morning, where several explosions took place at a chemical storage facility, a chemical storage depot at this port. Again, fortunately, no injuries.
There's no word yet on what exactly caused this blaze as an investigation is pending. But what we do know is that the depot reportedly stored some 25,000 barrels of combustible material and bags of chemical powder. The explosions and the fire was so large that plumes of thick, black smoke could be seen from as far away as Dubai's main highway as the commuters drove into work on early Monday morning.
Now, to put it all in perspective, this is the second largest oil refinery in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is the sixth largest oil exporter.
According to the Emirates National Oil Company, they said there has been no effect on the oil production at the refinery, so there has been no impact there on the output of oil production at this refinery. But it's also a place where U.S. Navy vessels often stop at this port, but according to the U.S. Navy spokesman in Bahrain, there have been no scheduled stops by the U.S. Navy there -- John.
ROBERTS: Monita Rajpal for us this morning in London.
Monita, thanks very much -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to get to straight to our terror watch now and a new warning from the Department of Homeland Security.
It appears al Qaeda may be targeting minorities as possible recruits for terrorism.
CNN's Kelli Arena is in our Washington bureau working the story for us this morning.
Hi there, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi.
You know, this may sound hard to believe, but al Qaeda is actually targeting African-American Muslims, apparently believing that they may be more susceptible to joining its cause. The Department of Homeland Security points out a few examples.
One al Qaeda message quoted violent statements attributed to Malcolm X, referring to him as a martyr. Another implored African- Americans not to fight for the U.S. military in either Afghanistan or Iraq. And the notice from DHS says these messages appear intended to convince them to adopt violence in the face of perceived injustice.
Now, it's important to point out that DHS also says it has no information that this approach is actually working for al Qaeda. This advisory, though, follows a report by the Pew Research Center, and that report concluded that African-Americans are the most disillusioned segment of the U.S. Muslim population. And the study also showed that their opinions toward al Qaeda were less hostile than other groups.
So, the bottom line here, DHS suggests this is an area that definitely needs some more studies, some more exploration -- Heidi.
COLLINS: What do African-Americans have to say about it? ARENA: Well, I spoke to a variety of leaders, and they immediately pointed out that, while blacks may seem more sympathetic to al Qaeda sort of as an oppressed group, that they flat-out rejected their tactics and insisted things like suicide bombings just were not OK. And they also basically laughed at this attempt by al Qaeda to single them out, saying, look, African-American Muslims aren't any different from any other American, so, you know, they're just barking up the wrong tree.
COLLINS: Interesting. All right.
Kelli Arena from Washington this morning.
Thanks, Kelli.
ARENA: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Coming up now to 13 minutes after the hour.
Time to make the doughnuts healthier. That tops your "Quick Hits" this morning.
Dunkin' Donuts says that it is dumping all trans fats from its doughnuts by mid-October. When it's all done, there may still be a tiny amount of the artery-clogging substance in Dunkin's doughnuts. But public health advocates are welcoming the change nonetheless.
An apparent bird flu outbreak in Germany to tell you about this morning. About 160,000 birds are being killed as a precaution. It's all happening at a poultry farm in the southern part of the country. The virus that they've detected there, the H5N1 virus, has killed 190 people worldwide.
Well, Michael Vick faces the music today. He'll go to court and plead guilty to fighting -- to federal dogfighting charges.
What does this mean for him legally? Our own Jeff Toobin joins us live from the courthouse next with some answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, this self- described pedophile says he's leaving.
MCCLELLAN: I have no other options here. I'm sure the media is going to find me pretty quick wherever I go.
ROBERTS: What made the pedophile blogger finally decide to leave California, and where is he heading to now?
Find out next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some of the best shots of our morning in our "Quick Hits" now.
Get ready for a celestial show. The second total lunar eclipse this year. Beautiful.
The Earth's shadow will creep across the moon beginning early tomorrow.
I feel like I'm reading a story to my little boy.
Turning into shades of orange and red before blocking it out completely.
ROBERTS: That's a real edition of a good night moon, isn't it?
COLLINS: Yes, it is.
COLLINS: This is what those huge and deadly wildfires though now burning in Greece look like from space. Wow. Look at that.
At least 51 people have been killed, but firefighters around ancient Olympia say for the moment, the ruins are out of danger.
We will continue to watch that one for you.
And the United States won its third straight Little League World Series thanks to a walk-off homer in the bottom of the eighth. I mean, this is something that every baseball player, I think, dreams about.
We're going to be talking to the team's manager and the kid who cracked the game-winner a little bit later on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: It really ruined the day of the Tokyo pitcher, though.
COLLINS: I know.
ROBERTS: You can see that.
COLLINS: But there's a winner and there's loser in every game, though.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
It's day of reckoning for Michael Vick. The NFL superstar is expected to plead guilty today to charges connected with a vicious dogfighting ring. He is expected in court in Richmond at 10:30.
CNN's chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is live at the courthouse in Richmond where Vick is going to enter his plea. He joins us this morning.
And Jeff, what can we expect from Michael Vick? Is he just going to say the words, "I plead guilty," or are we going to hear a lot more about this?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: I suspect you'll hear more, John.
You know, the people have started lining up behind me at about 5:30. There are already more than a hundred people online, which is the capacity of this courtroom. So certainly it will be a packed and dramatic setting, but I think the judge is going to insist that Michael Vick articulate, in his own words, what is it you did? Because it's one thing simply to sign a plea agreement as he has and sign a statement of facts, but many federal judges, when they're taking a guilty plea, say, look, I know that's what the lawyers worked out for you to sign, but you tell me in your own words what you did.
And that's why we may hear something about, was he involved in gambling, did he kill dogs personally? Those are the two issues that I think remain somewhat mysterious, given the legal -- given the plea agreement.
ROBERTS: Jeff, he's also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. What could that mean?
TOOBIN: Well, I think that's a very important factor. It could mean -- I expect it will mean that the sentencing will be delayed for quite sometime. Whatever date is set today will probably be put off as the government keeps this leverage over him.
Were other people involved in this dogfighting ring? Does Michael Vick know about other kinds of criminal activity? He is obliged to tell all that to prosecutors, and they're going to certainly want to debrief him in detail, and that is likely to take several weeks, if not months.
ROBERTS: I mean, what kind of case do you think the Atlanta Falcons have for getting back this $22 million in bonus money that they're looking for?
TOOBIN: I think they have a pretty good case. I mean, here you have a situation where the -- this isn't an injury. This isn't something that's beyond Michael Vick's control.
Michael Vick committed a felony. He decided to get involved in this illegal activity. Thus, he is no longer eligible to play.
The Atlanta Falcons are out a great deal of money. So I anticipate that there will be some sort of negotiation here. I doubt it will come to a lawsuit.
The Falcons probably won't get all $22 million back. I'm sure Michael Vick doesn't have $22 million simply to write a check at this point, but I think the financial repercussions for Vick will be severe, if not actually the full eight figures that the Falcons are asking for.
ROBERTS: Yes. What is it, about $130 million on the line here total as well? A lot of money.
Jeff Toobin, thanks very much.
TOOBIN: Can you imagine?
ROBERTS: No. I couldn't imagine having that money in the beginning, let alone losing it. So...
TOOBIN: Well, I mean, just throwing it all away for dogfighting, just so preposterous.
Anyway, we'll see you later in the day.
ROBERTS: All right. Jeff, we look forward to your reports throughout the morning. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. See you soon.
COLLINS: Take the money and run. Your "Quick Hits" now.
Ninety percent of new Army recruits are taking the quick shift (ph) initiative. It's a bonus that pays $20,000 if soldiers report for basic training by the end of September. That is more than a year's pay for many of the new recruits.
Millions of toys posing a danger to kids, but China says don't blame them. Who is responsible for the health risks?
Coming your way next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: No relief for the feet tops your "Quick Hits" this morning.
A new shoe scanning device that promised to allow you to keep your shoes on as you go through airport security apparently is not ready for prime time. The TSA says the tests revealed what they call security deficiencies. A new upgraded version, though, is going to go into testing soon.
Workers are back on the job this morning making repairs at the Deutsche Bank building near Ground Zero in New York City, getting ready for demolition of the building. Two firefighters died in a fire there nine days ago. Two more were injured in a construction accident on Thursday.
And police are investigating a break-in at the Hartford office of Senator Christopher Dodd. No one's sure exactly what, if anything, was taken. Dodd, a Democrat, is running for president.
COLLINS: It is 7:23 now. And Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
We are talking more China and these toy recalls.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is the story that seems to dominate business right now, and seems to dominate everything we talk about when it comes to China. But China is basically saying at this point, yes, OK, we've messed up, there's some things that we've done wrong, but we're not the only ones at fault here. U.S. designers and U.S. companies need to also take a look at the products and realize that they played a part in that as well.
Now, this is come from China's General Administration for Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The chief of that division said that he actually took a look at some samples of the problematic toys and said there were definitely some flaws there that should have been caught before they even got over to China to be made.
That said, he is still saying that they are going to call for tougher regulations of manufacturers in China, and failure to improve quality, he sees that as impeding China's dominance as a toy maker, because realize so many of the toys go throughout the entire world. So, obviously, this is something that I don't think too many people are surprised by, but they're saying that this is politically motivated and unfair to just target them alone.
COLLINS: OK. Well, I mean, when you go through the toy chest, you find pretty much everything, it seems like, made in China.
ELAM: Yes.
COLLINS: But, you know, when we talk about accountability, I mean, I think that's what most parents really wanted here.
What about the U.S. companies? I mean, they're going to have to decide what things are safe enough to come in, because when you talk about the Consumer Product Safety Commission, you've got like a hundred inspectors. How do they look at absolutely everything that comes in?
ELAM: Well, it's a two-pronged problem, because, first of all, China has a lot of mom-and-pop operators who are designing, so it's hard for them to regulate everything.
COLLINS: Sure.
ELAM: And the same thing with the U.S. It's hard for them to take a look at all of the products coming in. And so this is a matter of the companies being responsible because it hurts their sales.
COLLINS: Well, yes, that's for sure.
All right. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Thanks, Stephanie.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Stephanie. Good to see you.
A story coming up in our next half hour that you can't miss. Remember the self-described pedophile...
COLLINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: ... this guy Jack McClellan? He was up in I think Washington State and moved to Los Angeles. COLLINS: Very brazen.
ROBERTS: Was taking pictures of young girls, said he hadn't acted on his pedophelic intentions, but...
COLLINS: Hadn't done anything wrong, he said.
ROBERTS: Well, he had been posting these pictures of these little girls. The heat came down on him with a temporary restraining order.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: And now he is leaving L.A.
Here is what he had to say about the whole thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCLELLAN: My freedom could be restricted so much just based on my thoughts and speech, given that I haven't done anything illegal across the line in terms it of anything sexual with kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He is saying his freedom has been restricted. I think there are some parents out there that would like to restrict a lot more than his freedom.
COLLINS: Boy, that's for sure. No question about that.
In a little while, we're going to be talking with the man who first served McClellan with a restraining order 30 feet form any children, a playground -- it's -- he says it's too hard to live in California.
So we're going to find out whether or not he is really going to leave. That's coming your way up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A picture this morning from Pittsburgh. And thanks to our friend at WTAE for that. A beautiful shot of all of those bridges.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Across the Ohio, Allegheny. In fact, there's more bridges in Pittsburgh than in Venice.
COLLINS: Really?
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) Pittsburgh.
COLLINS: That was good. ROBERTS: Fifty-nine degrees and sunny there right now, going up to a high of 83. But get ready, 88 percent humidity. So it's going to be a little bit sticky there.
COLLINS: Sticky, yes. We say that down in the South.
ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for joining us, Monday, August the 27th. I'm John Roberts.
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins in for Kiran Chetry today.
ROBERTS: Good to see you. Thanks for coming up.
COLLINS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: New this morning, a very big fire at the world's largest oil port is now apparently out. It happened at the Jabal Ali Port in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. No word yet on what caused it but it took firefighters several hours to finally put it out. So far there's no injuries to report.
CNN has learned that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet tomorrow in Jerusalem. This is preliminary work for a meeting in the U.S. this fall, where Middle East leaders will talk about the creation of a Palestinian state. Part of that is also designed to isolate Hamas.
Iraqi leaders announced agreements this morning on sharing oil revenue, allowing former Baath party members to hold government jobs and the release of detainees. U.S. politicians are pressuring Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to make some political progress there. He is responding to calls to remove him by Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin. Here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NURI AL-MALIKI, PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): I disagree with Hillary, but I say Hillary and Carl have not gone through indifferences and political problems in their political live to the depth of that which is happening in Iraq. That's why when they make their judgments they do so without knowledge of what national interests requires that's why I excuse them.
It is true the national reconciliation is slow but within the right path compared to others, it could be regarded as quick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A spokesman for Iraq's largest Sunni block says this morning's agreement aren't enough to get them to rejoin the government.
A plan to rebuild New Orleans from Senator Barack Obama. It came just days before folks there marked two years since Hurricane Katrina hit. The 2008 presidential candidate says he will work from the top down to speed up the recovery effort by cutting out red tape helping blue-collar workers in the devastated city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to make sure that the hardest-hit areas get attention they need. And that the jobs of the rebuilding go to the folks who have been displaced. You don't need to ship folks in to rebuild here in New Orleans! A lot of folks need work right here! We can train them! Take those young men on the street corners and give them a job! Give them a chance! Give them an opportunity! That's how we rebuild!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Obama is one of several candidates from both sides of the political aisle planning to visit the Gulf Coast region two years after the disaster -- Heidi.
COLLINS: It was literally a do or die decision. A woman was forced to jump from a hot air balloon when it caught fire over British Columbia. The horror all caught on tape. Look at this. Witnesses say relatives watched from the ground as people jumped, some of them with their clothes on fire. Diana Rutledge was one of the survivors and we asked her about it earlier this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA RUTLEDGE, SURVIVED BALLOON FIRE: I looked down and said, it's do or die. You'd better get off this balloon or you're going to die. So, I climbed to the top of the balloon and I got ready to jump off. As I did, I put my arm under this woman that was next to me. I put my arms under her armpits and said you're coming with me. I grabbed her like a rag doll and threw her with me over and then I released her about 10 feet from the ground. She got battered up pretty good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The balloon was actually carrying 12 people when it went up in flames. Police say a mother and daughter were killed.
The self-described pedophile who first fled Washington State for L.A. now says he'll leave California, too. We've been following the case very closely of Jack McClellan and his Web site, where he put up pictures of young girls, and talked about his fascination with them. A judge in California has now extended a temporary restraining order, which bars McClellan from coming within 30 feet of a school or playground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK MCCLELLAN, SELF-DESCRIBED PEDOPHILE: Appears the ACLU and the other civil libertarian attorneys are not going to stand up for me, apparently. And I -- well, I -- I have to leave the state really. I mean, I can't live here under this Orwellian protocol.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: Anthony Zinnanti filed the original restraining order and hand-delivered it to McClellan. He's joining me now this morning from Los Angeles.
Thanks for being here, Anthony. Do you really think he's going to leave California?
ANTHONY ZINNANTI, SERVED PEDOPHILE WITH RESTRAINING ORDER: I have no idea. Because Mr. McClellan says one thing and he does another, so unclear as to what Mr. McClellan will actually be doing.
COLLINS: But that's actually a scary statement to say, even just that?
ZINNANTI: Well, yeah, it is. Because Mr. McClellan is full of surprises, isn't he? He has made all kinds of statements and he's corroborated his stated intent with his actions. Eventually that catches up with you.
COLLINS: There are going to be people out there who say if he does leave California, this is a little bit like, you know, not in my backyard. Leaves California, goes to another state where he can do the same type of thing, and it's possible that people might not recognize him as well. I mean he's been all over the place, but mostly in local news in California.
ZINNANTI: Well, it's interesting. Because related to that, Mr. McClellan has become a demagogue in certain respects in the pedophile community.
COLLINS: Wow.
ZINNANTI: Yes. While there is the not in my backyard way of looking at it which I would fully anticipate, Mr. McClellan also enjoys a base of support in this very dark underworld.
COLLINS: How do you know that? What have you heard?
ZINNANTI: We've thoroughly infiltrated that dark underworld. Let's remember my principal practice is criminal defense, so I've lived on both sides of the line with respect to people as such. We have gone into these chat rooms, and we have gone into these board postings, and it would be shocking for the public to see what these people are actually about.
COLLINS: Wow. What is your next move then?
ZINNANTI: Well, I will be following developments with Mr. McClellan -- very closely. Richard Patterson, my partner in this case, and I have not given up. We've provided a zone of protection around children and that was our goal. However, we will be keeping an eye on what's going on.
COLLINS: All right, very good. People are going to expect and hope that you do that. Anthony Zinnanti, thank you so much.
ZINNANTI: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's 36 minutes after the hour.
He wanted out at 30,000 feet. That is what one passenger said about a guy who tried to open up an airline door in the middle of a flight. A heroic Frontier Airlines passenger named Bobbie Vigil, seen here, was one of several people who took him down. He says that they restrained the man with duct tape and seat belts. The flight from Denver to New York landed safely on Sunday.
An airline spokesman said there were 128 passengers and five crew members on board. After determining the suspect was emotionally disturbed, Port Authority police took him to a hospital. He was not charged. But it shows you the difference post-9/11; passengers are willing to get in there and help out.
COLLINS: Oh, yeah. Not a hesitation.
ROBERTS: Yes.
Flying with Cardinals is on your "Quick Hits" as well. The Vatican launched a new low-cost airline. The first flight from Rome to Lourdes, France is leaving today. The airline expects to transport about 150,000 pilgrims in its first year.
Camilla, the wife of Britain's Prince Charles, is staying away from a memorial service 10 years after the death of Princess Diana. She says that she doesn't want to distract from the purpose of the occasion, which is to focus on the life and service of Diana.
A CNN Exclusive, just ahead. A one-on-one with a leader of Hamas and an update on the condition of an Israeli soldier being held for more than a year. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. More than 1,000 people have been forced to evacuate the resort town of Ketchum, Idaho because of this: a 35,000-acre wildfire. Firefighters are worried winds will whip the flames closer to the multimillion- dollar homes. The Sun Valley ski resort is used to making snow, obviously, for skiing, but now they are using the machines to keep the fire from spreading on the mountain.
Evacuation orders have been lifted in parts of Wisconsin. Flood waters are starting recede but thousands people still without power across the lower half of the state.
It's 7:40 now this Monday morning. Rob Marciano is joining us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: A CNN exclusive now: Face-to-face with a leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal. Mashaal is being hunted by Israel, accused of numerous deadly attacks against Israelis. It took CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson years to get access to Mashaal. Here Nic asks him about the fate of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and the Palestinian/Israeli talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALED MASHAAL, HAMAS LEADER: (through translator): Israel, since the establishment of Hamas 20 years ago, has been trying to do the same, to destroy us, weaken us. But it did not succeed. Hamas gets its strength from its people. It comes with democracy, transparency and honesty. And the way it explains the needs of the Palestinians, which is why there is no force on Earth that can isolate Hamas as long as we have our roots spread amongst the Palestinian people.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Can these peace talks in November, can they be successful if Hamas is not part of them? If Hamas is not invited?
MASHAAL (through translator): I think that this conference will fail for many reasons. First of all, because it lacks seriousness from both the Americans and the Israelis. Second of all, because it's called an international conference, but, in reality, it's a meeting controlled and directed by Condoleezza Rice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Nic Robertson with Khaled Mashaal. And we will be speaking with Nic Robertson coming up in our next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
It's 44 minutes after the hour. Cracking the iPhone code to your "Quick Hits" now: 17-year-old George Hotz of Glenn Rock, New Jersey has figured out how to get around Apple's exclusive deal with AT&T. That means he can use the phone with T-mobile and hook up to many overseas networks. Had he to crack the phone apart to crack the code. And now apparently there could be like this small cottage industry that springs up where people buy the phones and rework them, and ship them overseas, which Apple doesn't want.
COLLINS: I know.
ROBERTS: O.J. Simpson's book, "If I Did It", will not be on store shelves at Barnes & Noble. Despite becoming a hot seller on line, its seen on Barnes & Noble top online. The book comes out in the fall. Borders says that it's going to stock the book but is not going to promote it.
You're probably eating or drinking it with your breakfast right now. High fructose corn syrup is in about everything, but this morning there is a new warning going out about it. We'll tell you all about that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
"Quick Hits" now: Illinois businessman says he is running to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Republican Jim Oberwise (ph) says the Democratic controlled Congress is out of touch with mainstream Americans. He's already lost bids for both Illinois governor and for the Senate. Hastert announced he would not run for a 12th term in office.
And a pinched nerve in her neck and shoulder will keep the first lady from going to Australia next month with the president. Her office says she hurt herself while hiking earlier this year. She's been undergoing physical therapy ever since. Her doctors have asked her not to travel overseas worried that long flights could make the problem worse.
John Edwards says he is putting together a strategy for fighting cancer. The Democratic presidential candidate says he wants to bolster research funding and create support networks for those fighting the disease. Edwards says his wife's battle with breast cancer has driven home the need for action.
ROBERTS: If you start your morning with -- a Dunkin' Donuts, you might feel just a little bit better about it.
COLLINS: Where'd you -- anyway.
Just a little bit -- the chain says it will all but eliminate trans fats by the middle of October. They're replacing their current oil with a blend of palm, soybean and other oils. I don't really know what the other oils are, but --
ROBERTS: They say that in all of the 50 menu items, of which I imagine 38 are doughnuts.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Are going to be replaced. This is not a trans fat doughnut. I know you can't eat doughnuts.
COLLINS: No.
ROBERTS: So we will present this to Elizabeth Cohen.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you!
ROBERTS: Chocolate with sprinkles on it.
COLLINS: That's nice. Isn't he nice?
COHEN: Thank you, sir. That looks delicious.
ROBERTS: It all kind of fits together because we're talking about sugar and other things this morning. A good chance right now that if you're eating or drinking anything breakfast-related that you could be ingesting it right now. It's in just about everything we eat these day, high fructose corn syrup.
A new study on that, though, linked to the nation's obesity epidemic and Elizabeth Cohen is here with all of that.
What did the study find?
COHEN: Well, this study founds that high fructose corn syrup can be a danger to your health. It's a scary notion because, I mean, no one ever sits down to a meal of high fructose corn syrup. No one ever says, "Honey, let's have high fructose corn syrup for dinner."
ROBERTS: And yet you are.
COHEN: Right. It's in so many different items. What this study found is that high fructose corn syrup has high levels of "reactive compounds". That is words that they used. They say these compounds can go out there and cause tissue damage that is linked to Type II diabetes, which we all know is at epidemic proportions.
This is one of many studies that sort of puts the sort of -- that kind of casts a shadow on high fructose corn syrup. But to be fair, there are lots of studies that high fructose corn syrup is no worse than just table sugar, that sugar is sugar, and sweet is sweet and there is no difference.
COLLINS: But sometimes when you are trying to get, quote, "healthy" snacks for children. You go with a fruit snack route or whatever. First or second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup.
COHEN: Right, and so you have to read labels really carefully if you want to avoid it. Plenty of scientists would say you don't need to avoid it, it's not that important. But there are also scientists who would say read those labels. There are some products out there that don't have high fructose corn syrup. They're hard to find, but there are some.
ROBERTS: Help us out here with some of the products that we might not know and yet it is in. You brought some examples.
COHEN: Right. I think, ketchup is probably the best example. I think most people wouldn't think you're going to have high fructose corn syrup in ketchup. But, indeed, it is there. And as Heidi mentioned, it's often like the first or second ingredient in all sorts of things. Sodas, ice tea, cookies -- not very surprising. Protein bars, I mean, who would think that protein bars would have high fructose corn syrup. But they do. Lemonade -- it is in so many different things. The industry loves it. It's really sweet and it's sweet and it's really cheap, so food makers love it.
COLLINS: There you go.
COHEN: Right.
ROBERTS: Cheaper than sugar?
COHEN: Yes, oh, absolutely.
ROBERTS: So the jury is still out, but warning signs out there right now?
COHEN: That's right. ROBERTS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: "Quick Hits" now: China is hitting back at Mattel saying that designers and importers should share the blame for more than a million recalled toys. A government official said the thought that the backlash hitting the Chinese goods is politically motivated and unfair, but also called for tougher regulations.
A new threat from Iran today. The nation says it has developed a 2,000-pound laser-guided smart bomb. Iran's defense minister says it will use the weapon on its enemies when the time comes. The U.S. in the past has warned that statements like these from Tehran may be exaggerations.
And some relief at the pump. Gas prices have been in a summer slide. Is it too good to be true with the holiday weekend ahead? We will talk about that next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Fearing a massive teacher retirement, "The New York Times" reports, school districts across the U.S. are spending thousands of dollars to keep baby boomers from retiring all at once. To make things worse, the paper says many younger teachers are opting out because of the stress of working in low-performing schools.
ROBERTS: Coming up to 56 minutes after the hour. Stephanie Elam here "Minding Your Business".
I filled up the car up with gasoline, leaving the Outer Banks of North Carolina, on Sunday morning, $2.82 a gallon for premium gasoline! I couldn't believe my eyes!
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Wow! That is pretty good. I guess it goes along with what we are about to say here.
It's a small drop, but over the last two weeks gas is down three cents, to an average of $2.75. So it's still a little bit expensive but, it was still down overall.
ROBERTS: But that was premium, though.
ELAM: Oh, that was premium? Oh, excellent.
ROBERTS: Yeah, I think it was like $2.62 for regular.
ELAM: That's like the old days.
ROBERTS: Almost.
ELAM: Almost. So, this is according to the Lundberg Survey here, This follows a drop in the crude oil prices. Of course, you've seen the world stock markets having a lot of volatility lately. Well, that's affected it. And economic growth, some are saying that could allow economic growth to slow down.
So, of course, we like to tell you the highest and the lowest here. The highest average price for self-serve is $3.12 a gallon. That would be in Honolulu. The lowest average price $2.51 a gallon and that would be in Phoenix. And in case, just because we have Heidi is here, I figure we'd talk about Atlanta, to let you know that Atlanta is at $2.68 a gallon. Still below $3.
COLLINS: That's very good.
ELAM: Makes people feel better I think when you hear that.
COLLINS: Yeah, no question about it. Stephanie, keep bringing those low prices to us.
ELAM: I will do my part.
COLLINS: OK. I know will you.
ELAM: With my Nikes and the train (ph).
COLLINS: That's a good idea.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Stephanie. We love it when you bring good news.
ELAM: I try my best.
ROBERTS: Looks like the stock market is going to go up today?
ELAM: Looks like we will. We had an up week, last week, so good thing.
ROBERTS: Thanks.
COLLINS: 15,000 by Christmas, the Heidi index.
ROBERTS: Here is a look at a story coming up in our next half hour that you absolutely cannot miss. This is incredible stuff.
COLLINS: It is. Something new in the crime-fighting tool box for British police. Look at this. We'll tell you about this unique high-tech innovation that could capture criminals in the act. Paula Newton will have the story for us -- and the helmet cam.
ROBERTS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(voice over): Face the music: Michael Vick in court in a matter of hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes a big difference whether he has, say, a suspended sentence, or if he spends 12 to 18 months in prison.
ROBERTS: Will justice be served? Herculean effort: Saving the 3,000-year-old site of the first Olympics from dozens of wildfires.
Plus falling foundation: New numbers on home prices coast-to- coast, a trend not seen since the '70s. What you need to know about your biggest investment on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Good morning. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us. It is Monday, the 27th of August. I'm John Roberts.
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. I'm really glad we made it to this spot. We're a little out of breath.
ROBERTS: That's right because we look like Kramer coming in the door of a "Seinfield" episode. Aah, thanks for being here.
A day of reckoning for Michael Vick. The NFL superstar is going to be in court today where is he expected to plead guilty to charges connected to a vicious dog fighting ring. CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is live outside the courthouse in Richmond, Virginia; he has more.
Are we expected to actually hear something from Michael Vic today, Jeffrey?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: You will certainly hear him say the magic word, "guilty". Because he has to literally enter his plea, but most federal judges ask for more that have from a defendant pleading guilty.
Most federal judges say, Mr. Defendant, tell me what you did, why are you pleading guilty? That will probably be the most interesting part of the guilty plea today. Because Michael Vick's statement of facts in his guilty plea agreement, which was released last week, was a very heavily lawyered piece of writing. And it wasn't precisely clear what role Michael Vick played.
Basically, he admitted to being kind of the financier of this dog fighting operation but the judge may want to hear, in his own words, what did you do? How involved were you? And that will be certainly interesting to hear.
ROBERTS: Is Michael Vick compelled to answer those questions?
TOOBIN: Absolutely. Because the judge can say, fine, you don't want to tell me what you did, I'm not accept this guilty plea. I'll put this case down for a trial. We'll have a trial.
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