Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

E. Coli in Indiana; Blackwater Shootings; Underground Fire Kills 5 Power Plant Workers in Colorado

Aired October 03, 2007 - 08:00   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): Trapped underground. Rescue crews fail to reach workers stuck a thousand feet below the surface. What went wrong?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we'll have people down in there to trying and determine what exactly did happen.

ROBERTS: A former Blackwater executive mounts a defense. What he has to say about private contractors in Iraq.

Plus, airborne. Dramatic new video that puts you inside a school bus crash and sheds new light on the safety of your kids.

On this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And good morning. Welcome back. Thanks very much for joining us on this Wednesday, the 3rd of October.

I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Glad you're with us.

There is a mystery this morning surrounding a tragic power plant accident outside of Denver. Nine workers had to go into an underground water pipe. Only four made it out alive. A smoldering chemical fire trapped five colleagues inside. A power company spokesman talked about the daylong rescue effort earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HENLEY, XCEL ENERGY SPOKESMAN: When the fire first started, we pumped down in fresh air through a pipeline and sent them down oxygen bottles. And at that point in time they did have a radio and they were in communication with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, this is a diagram of where the workers were trapped. That pipe 3,000 feet long, carrying water from a reservoir to a plant. The company says that the fire broke out about halfway down.

Family members of those who died in the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse in Utah are in Washington this morning to give some testimony and hope to get some answers as well. They'll be speaking at a House committee hearing today.

Six minors trapped in the original collapse back in August and three others died in the rescue attempt. Inspectors with the Bureau of Land Management found serious structural problems three years before the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse -- John.

ROBERTS: A health alert to tell you about this morning. Ten children from the same elementary school in Indiana infected with E. coli bacteria. Seven of them suffered kidney failure and had to undergo dialysis.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now.

And Sanjay, how would they all get it? I would imagine that perhaps they ate the same food, maybe there was something in the cafeteria?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly could be. You know, they have not traced the source of this particular outbreak. We talk about this a lot, trying to figure out exactly where the source came from.

It could be the food, as you mentioned. There are certain foods that are more likely to transmit the E. coli. They actually hold that E. coli.

It could be person-to-person transmission as well. Keep in mind, John, I don't know how old these children are exactly, we don't have their identities yet, but sometimes just poor hygienic practices can sometimes lead to person-to-person contamination as well.

What's sort of striking here, John, something you just said, is that you have 10 cases. We know that eight of these cases are the specific -- what is known as 0157H7. That's the bad strain of E. coli. Seven of those eight people are requiring dialysis because they've developed something known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. It's a very high concentration.

So this is -- this may be a particularly bad strain here, John, that we're dealing with.

ROBERTS: Sanjay, you know, we had this meat recall from Topps Meat of more than 21 million pounds of frozen hamburgers. Any connection that you know of between that recall and this case?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's so interesting, because you -- this is almost like a medical investigation, to sort of go back, trace. You actually do these questionnaires with the families to try and figure out what sort of foods they ate. Then you sort of tie it together. You tie it into the producers, you tie it into the distributors. It's an investigation. From everything we're hearing so far, John -- and we've been trying to keep tabs on this -- there is no sort of defined source of this contamination. So we don't know for sure.

But more to your question, there are specific foods that put you more at risk. You mentioned one of them. Certainly beef can be a source. Also, fresh, leafy vegetables.

ROBERTS: Right.

GUPTA: As you know, we talked a lot about spinach. But also this idea of person-to-person transmission, sewage-contaminated water. These are all potential sources as well. So we don't know for sure where this is coming from.

ROBERTS: I know you will keep looking into it though.

GUPTA: We will.

ROBERTS: Sanjay Gupta for us in Atlanta this morning.

Sanjay, thanks -- Kiran.

GUPTA: Thank you.

CHETRY: Well, also new this morning, the House could decide if Blackwater security should answer to the same laws as U.S. troops. Blackwater, as you know, has been accused by the Iraqi government of murdering civilians. And the State Department also under fire for not properly overseeing Blackwater.

CNN's Zain Verjee is live at the State Department with new details for us this morning.

Hi, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.

For the first time, Blackwater is under fire from lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIK PRINCE, BLACKWATER USA: ... call us mercenaries. We have Americans working for America.

VERJEE (voice over): Blackwater's CEO grilled about his firm's conduct in Iraq amid charges they are trigger-happy cowboys.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: Blackwater appears to have fostered a culture of shoot first and sometimes kill and then ask the questions.

PRINCE: The bad guys just have to get lucky once.

VERJEE: Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL, says the job of his men is to get diplomats out of danger use war zone techniques.

PRINCE: Defensive fire, sufficient force to extricate ourselves from that danger situation. We're not there to achieve fire power dominance or to drive the insurgents back. We're there to get our package away from danger.

VERJEE: Blackwater's role in Iraq came to a boil after this September 16th shootout where at least 11 Iraqi civilians were killed. Blackwater guards say they came under hostile fire and shot back.

Lawmakers were prevented from asking questions about that gun battle. It's now being investigation by both the State and Justice departments. But plenty of questions were raised about a drunk Blackwater employee who shot and killed the Iraqi vice president's guard last Christmas Eve.

Blackwater fired him, made him pay a fine, and shipped him out of the country. Blackwater also compensated the family.

PRINCE: But we, as a private organization, can't do anymore. We can't flog him. We can't incarcerate him.

VERJEE: The State Department, too, came under fire for what lawmakers said was poor supervision of Blackwater contractors.

REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Is the government doing enough to hold Blackwater accountable for alleged misconduct? And what are the costs to the federal taxpayers?

VERJEE: The State Department's top man on Iraq says diplomats can't do their job without contractor security. But there are strict rules.

DAVID SATTERFIELD, SPECIAL ADVISER ON IRAQ: These policies, these standards only allow for the use of force when absolutely necessary to address imminent and grave danger against those under their protection, themselves and others.

VERJEE: Some lawmakers threw their support behind Blackwater, thanking them for risking their lives to protect U.S. diplomats, reconstruction workers and senior Iraqi government officials.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero individuals that Blackwater's protected have been killed in a Blackwater transport?

PRINCE: That's correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero?

PRINCE: Zero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Some lawmakers question the use of private contractors, Kiran, essentially saying that it's just not a good deal for taxpayers, saying that U.S. taxpayers are paying Blackwater alone more than $1 billion -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Zain Verjee live for us at the State Department.

Thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: It's time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for some of the other stories news this morning.

And back to our top story, the deaths of five workers at a power plant in Colorado. Four workers managed to make it out alive after that devastating fire.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Chris Lawrence is live in Georgetown, Colorado, with the latest for us.

Hi, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.

Those four workers made it out alive mainly because they were lucky to be in the right place. They were actually below that fire in that tunnel. And you may think that would be worse to be caught below it, but in this case, they were able to scramble out through a reservoir that -- through the bottom of that tunnel that emptied out into a reservoir.

The other men, the other five, they were above it. They had to keep climbing up to what they thought was a safe spot.

Now, initially, they were in radio contact with the rescue teams at the surface. Up until about 45 minutes after that fire, they were still in contact. After 45 minutes, they did not hear any more -- any more word from the men down below.

At that 45-minute mark, that's when they started pushing that clean air into the tunnel, but this incident does raise several questions. You know, if the men were saying they were OK at the 45- minute mark, what happened between that time and the time when the rescue teams finally got down there and discovered the men's -- the five bodies of the workers?

Some of the questions will be, what happened to that machine to make it malfunction, to cause the fire? And again, what killed these men? Was it the fire itself, or was it the lack of good, clean air?

We may get some of those answers in a press conference coming up in just a few hours from now -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Such a sad story, though.

Chris Lawrence in Colorado for us.

Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, car sales are in for September. Ford closes out its model year in disappointment, really.

Gerri Willis is in for Ali Velshi with more from our Business Update Desk.

Hi there, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi there, Kiran.

Well, you got it right, Ford sales down 18 percent for September. Quite a disappointment. They've been down every month so far this year for Ford.

What is interesting here, sales at dealerships are town. We had known that deliveries to rental agencies were going to be down, but now sales at dealerships down, too.

And surprisingly, the Taurus sedan, which is a new model that Ford had a lot of hopes for, sales are down 30 percent. Of course, a lot of hopes being pinned now on the Edge, which is a crossover vehicle, doing well, but not well enough to pull Ford out of this tailspin.

The significant of this story, of course, is that Ford will be entering contract talks this week with the UAW. And as you'll recall, Kiran, last week, GM committed to keeping 73,000 employees on the payroll. Word this week that Ford may not do the same thing. It's going to be interesting to see what happens -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Gerri Willis, thanks so much -- John.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Blackwater under the microscope. The private security firm faced tough questions in a congressional hearing yesterday after a September shooting in which at least 11 Iraqis were killed by Blackwater guards. Our next guest says we're not getting the whole story.

Chris Taylor is a former Blackwater executive, now a grad student at Harvard University. And he joins us from Boston.

Mr. Taylor, there's a lot of questions, and they come up at this congressional hearing, about this congressional report that showed that between January of 2005 and now, Blackwater employees were involved in nearly 200 incidents, more than 160 of which were initiated by them, not in response to return fire.

What are we to make of that report?

CHRIS TAYLOR, FMR. BLACKWATER EXECUTIVE: Well, I think what was implied yesterday was that there should be -- they should be responding to fire. In fact, the greatest threat to not only contractors but to our military personnel, are vehicle-borne IEDs, in which case they would not receive fire from an oncoming vehicle.

Along the force continuum, one of the acts that they can take is to fire around into the radiator of the vehicle to make it stop. That, of course, would not be preceded by fire from the vehicle. So I think it's a little misleading to say that they preemptively fire before -- before they are fired upon.

ROBERTS: And one of the other things that was really widely investigated in this congressional hearing yesterday was this Christmas Eve shooting where a Blackwater employee, allegedly drunk, shot and killed the bodyguard of one of Iraq's vice presidents.

Here is what Congressman Henry Waxman had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAXMAN: If a drunken U.S. soldier had killed an Iraqi guard, the soldier would have faced a court-martial. But all that has happened to the Blackwater contractor is that he has lost his job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: So the question there, is there enough accountability regarding Blackwater? Did this man essentially get away with murder simply by paying a fine and leaving the country?

TAYLOR: No, of course not. What Congressman Waxman referred to was a court-martial, which is the end of a legal process.

This particular incident is still under investigation by the Department of Justice, and if they see fit, they will bring charges to prosecute the gentleman. But the process isn't over yet, and I think it's a very important people that people missed yesterday.

ROBERTS: Now, Congressman Tom Davis, who's the ranking Republican, is concerned about the fallout of incidents involving Blackwater. Here is what he said during yesterday's hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DAVIS (R), VIRGINIA: To date, there has not been a single successful prosecution of a security provider in Iraq for criminal misconduct. Iraqis understandably resent our preaching about the rule when so visible an element of the U.S. presence there appears to be above the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So the question is, Mr. Taylor, are the rules, as they apply to Blackwater, hurting U.S. credibility in Iraq and around the world?

TAYLOR: Well, I think Blackwater falls under the same rules as everyone else. Congressman Price from North Carolina is actually trying to strengthen legislation to ensure that the gaps are filled. And Blackwater and other security companies support that legislation. So the same rules apply. This, of course, is more about enforcement and investigation mechanism than it is about laws on the books.

ROBERTS: Right. Quickly, should Blackwater have the same laws applied to it as applied to the U.S. military over there?

TAYLOR: I think that right now, because the UCMJ does apply, but there has not yet been implementing instructions from the Pentagon. That's going to be a discussion that goes forward as to the constitutionality of trying American civilians in a military court and so forth. But I think it's good no matter what that we're holding people accountable using different systems.

ROBERTS: All right.

Chris Taylor, former Blackwater executive, speaking to us this morning from Boston.

Thanks very much for being with us.

TAYLOR: Thanks a lot.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, "Planet in Peril". And a new haven for endangered species overseas.

A preview of our exclusive documentary ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: CNN has spent the past several months looking at the various threats to the environment. It's a special documentary called "Planet in Peril".

Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently traveled to China, one of the front lines of a fight to save threatened and endangered species.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice over): It's one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Traditions cultivated over thousands of years. Some out in the open. Others hidden from view.

The Chinese like their exotic wildlife. It's used in traditional medicine and it's served as a delicacy. Some of the animals are extremely rare and endangered. Others are more common.

In either case, the appetite is enormous. A population of 1.3 billion people has made China a vacuum for the world's wildlife.

(on camera): I really wanted to get a sense of just what the demand was here, just how much consumption. Take a look. We're in this one back store here, and these are all turtles. You're just looking at thousands of turtles. And this is again just one small store. It gives you a sense of the demand for this type of wildlife here in China.

(voice over): The turtles are legal, and so is most of the wildlife we found in this market. Punishment is stiff in China if you're caught selling endangered species. But that doesn't stop it from happening.

(on camera): This is a storefront here. And I just want to show you something. This is actually deer antler inside that box. And over here is deer bone. These are both being sold.

And over here is actually deer penis. All of that's being sold here. And it's important to emphasize that none of that is actually illegal.

What's of concern though is what else might be getting sold at places like this.

This is actually a restaurant called Strength in a Pot (ph). Let me go inside and take a look at the menu.

(voice over): There is no public seating area inside. It's all private dining rooms. We're shown to one in the back.

(on camera): I'm sitting here with Mr. Chen, who is not only the manager, but also a nutritionist. And he has suggested that we get one of the most popular dishes on the menu. So we're going to give it a try.

(voice over): After we order, a toast with Mr. Chen. The drink is a specialty here, deer antler and blood wine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What did you think?

GUPTA (on camera): It's OK. It's a little bitter, but it's OK.

(voice over): Mr. Chen leaves to check on the food, when we notice a second menu.

(on camera): The first page actually has a platter of dishes that cost about $1,500. What we saw in here was Canadian seal. They have Australian lobster. But they also have tiger paw and tiger penis. This is something we're definitely going to ask Mr. Chen about when he gets back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And the "Planet in Peril" CNN special with Anderson Cooper is going to air Wednesday and Tuesday, October 23rd and 24th.

I know. I switched around the days -- at 9:00 Eastern Time.

Some good stuff they've been doing going all over the place. ROBERTS: Extreme weather in the heartland. Cars tossed around like toys. Homes damaged.

Surveying tornado damage in Missouri, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. A shot of New Orleans this morning coming to us from WDSU, our affiliate in New Orleans. A shot of Lee Circle right off St. Charles Street. 73 degrees, partly cloudy right now in New Orleans right now. Shaping up to be 88 degrees. Sunny early but then looking at some isolated thunderstorms throughout the afternoon, there in New Orleans.

Well, it is Wednesday, October 3rd. Thanks for being with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.

New this morning. Mystery surrounding a tragic power plant accident outside of Denver. Nine workers went into an underground water pipe and only four of them made it out. A smoldering chemical fire trapped their five colleagues inside. A power company spokesman talked about the day-long effort earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HENLEY, XCEL ENERGY SPOKESMAN: When the fire first started, we pumped down in fresh air through a pipeline and sent them down oxygen bottles and, at that point in time, they did have a radio and they were in communication with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: This is a map of where the workers were trapped. The water tunnel is 4,000 feet long. It's a pin stock. It carries water from a reservoir high above the power plant down to the turbines below. The company says the fire broke out halfway down. The workers tried to escape by going up the mountain but they ran into a section of the pipeline that was inclined at 55 degrees and they couldn't go any further than that.

There are disturbing new details about a fatal fire at the Deutsche Bank Building near ground zero in New York. New documents reveal that firefighters were unaware of a hidden escape route. Demolition crews had made an emergency plan to use stairwells that were sealed out with heavy plywood and plastic and had trapped doors but first responders were never notified of the escape plan. Two firefighters died in that fire.

CHETRY: Well damage control in parts of northeast Missouri this morning after tornadoes touched down in several counties yesterday. The town of Palmyra, Missouri, about 130 miles north of St. Louis, hit very hard. Trees and power lines were down. Roofs blown off buildings and a basketball pole in someone's front yard snapped practically in half. There you see it. Winds were so strong they picked the tractor-trailer up the trailer park off of a tractor- trailer and literally pushed it to another semi.

The search for millionaire adventurer, Steve Fossett has been called off after a month of scanning 20,000 square miles looking for Fossett. The civil air patrol ended the search. Fossett was last seen on September 3rd.

And Virginia Senator John Warner will undergo a second procedure today to treat an irregular heartbeat. Warner was hospitalized yesterday and underwent one procedure to correct atrial fibrillation. It's a condition where the upper chambers of the heart flutter. Doctors expect he will be able to go home this weekend and then get back to work next week. Warner who is 80 is planning to retire when his fifth term expires next year.

ROBERTS: Developing right now, out of Iraq, a close call for a local U.S. ally. This is brand new video from the scene just into us. Poland says its ambassador was wounded in a car bomb last that killed a civilian. The ambassador was treated at a U.S. military hospital and his injuries said to be not life threatening.

Also brand new today, the United Nations is painting an ugly picture of the situation in Afghanistan. The report says this year is the most violent since the invasion after 9/11. Violent attack surge by almost a third with suicide bombings becoming the weapon of choice there. The U.S. also says on average 143 Afghan civilians are being murdered every month.

CHETRY: And Defense Secretary Robert Gates weighing in on Blackwater and private security firms in general in Iraq. Gates said he expects to follow recommendations from a new internal report that will call for more oversight from military commanders. No time frame or other specifics were provided.

Also officials at Oakland International Airport apologizing this morning for denying soldiers the chance to get off of their plane during a stopover. It happened last week. Many of the soldiers were just back from Iraq and said they had plans for a quick visit with loved ones during the layover but officials said they were never told about that where the soldiers had already gone through security screening.

ROBERTS: Our Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather. Heavy rain in Florida now. A flood threat this morning. Rob, for so long they didn't get any rain and now they got too much.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it was just a few months ago where they were in severe drought. Now we're crawling out of that quite quickly. Most of it is in Jacksonville as far as the flooding. The past several days they've been getting these storms that roll off the Atlantic Ocean. Duvall and St. John's County under a flash flood watch until 3:00 this afternoon as these storms continue to roll it. They're all spinning around an area of low pressure that wants to develop in the Gulf of Mexico. We're watching that for potential of becoming a tropical storm. And then this front last night came through parts of Iowa, Eastern Missouri, western parts of Illinois with a number of tornadoes that touched down. A couple of injuries. No fatalities but definitely some damage.

Now, that line has weakened as they typically do at this time of year overnight but it could fire up a little bit more as it heads into the Ohio River Valley. Tropical storm potentially here tomorrow. We'll watch that, but this is a strong storm that will be coming out of the Pacific Northwest. Ahead of it, strong winds and potentially severe storms to the south of it and some higher elevation snow to the north of it. We're getting into the fall time of year where things are in transition and we can get to pretty potent storms because of that. Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: All right. Rob, thanks.

What if you knew that a device could save your life but you were actually never given the option of getting one because of your gender? New studies finding that men get cardiac devices a lot more often than women who might also need them. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from Atlanta. The big question first of all would be why? Why is that the case, Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, we talked about health disparities and people will always say well give us an example of what that means. Here is an example -- we're talking about something known as an implantable cardio defibrillator. Think about, you know, what a defibrillator is. Think about actually implanting that into your body so if you're at risk, you've had a heart attack and at risk to have another heart attack it would actually send a jolt of electricity to your heart.

About 150,000 people around the world have one, including the vice president, Dick Cheney. He has one as well. What this study specifically looked at, well what are the rates of these implantation devices in men versus women? And what they find despite heart disease is the biggest killer of men and women, men are actually more likely to get this device two to three times more likely than women. Pretty startling numbers there looking specifically at this health disparity. The study went on to actually show as well that African-Americans were also less likely to get this device. A good example of what a health disparity might look like. Kiran.

CHETRY: So, how do these devices work to keep people alive?

GUPTA: Well, you know, basically, it's actually a little electrical sort of system that is implanted underneath the chest wall. Some leads are actually threaded directly to the heart. If someone develops an abnormal heart rhythm for some reason because they've had a heart attack or something else, it will sense that and immediately send a jolt of electricity. So, instead of waiting for someone to come with paddles, these are for people who are extremely high risk in developing a heart rhythm abnormality and then get shocked if you will immediately to try and break them out of that rhythm so that they can, you know, not die a sudden cardiac death. CHETRY: All right. So what do you do to make sure your doctor addresses this or gets you the right treatment if you do indeed need or could benefit from this device?

GUPTA: Well, you know, I think there's a message here for patients and for physicians. You know, we're always reminded that again heart disease is the biggest killer of women as well as men. If you're someone who has had a heart attack, or if you're a woman who has had a heart attack or an African-American who has had a heart attack and you're worried for some reason about having another one, if you have heart failure, your heart is not working as well as it once did and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator which is what this device is, an ICD, may be a good device for you. Ask your doctor about it and say are you a candidate for this?

CHETRY: All right. Sanjay Gupta, good advice, as always. By the way, if you have a question for Dr. Gupta, e-mail us at CNN.com/am. Sanjay will answer your questions, all of them. He opens up the mailbag tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: It's coming up to 21 minutes to the top of the hour.

K-Mart has got the blue light special but at Wal-Mart it's about green lights. Wal-Mart says it has sold already 100 million energy- saving light bulbs. Wal-Mart pushed these bulbs by cutting prices and expanding shelf space for them and says the bulbs save the consumers money and they also help fight global warming.

Mix news for the U.S. auto industry. Last month's sales numbers are out. Ford led the way with the most popular ride in September and sold more than 56,000 F-series pickup trucks but overall sales at Ford were down big, a whopping 21 percent. The Chevy Silverado pickup came in second, selling more than 52,000. They need to sell some passenger cars though. The Toyota Camry rounded out the top three.

A major flag flap in Reno, Nevada. An enraged man caught on tape after he sees an American and Mexican flag on top of one another. Problem was the Mexican flag was on top of the American flag and what are the rules for flying the flag anyways? A veteran takes matters into his own hands ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: A major flag flap in Reno, Nevada to tell you about. This one is really incredible. An enraged man who says he is a U.S. veteran cut down the American flag outside of a store there because the Mexican flag was flying above it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took this flag down in honor of my country. With a flag with a knife from the United States Army. I'm a veteran. I'm not going to see this done to my country. If they want to fight us, then they need to be men and they need to come and fight us but I want somebody to fight me for this flag. They're not going to get it back. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The man had no takers on that particular invitation. The store is owned by an American. He said he simply wanted to appeal to his Mexican customer base but he appears to have made a pretty big faux pas here. What are the rules when it comes to flying an American flag and the flag of another country? Look at that. He has Mexico on top of the United States. That is apparently a big baddy. According to the Betsy Ross home page resources on USHistory.org "when flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation during a time of peace." So what the store owner was basically saying, inadvertently, I guess, is that the Mexicans defeated us.

CHETRY: Yes. I wonder how many times or whether or not that veteran had gone in there before and said change it? Because he seemed very fired up. That seems like the end of a long debate.

ROBERTS: He was a little ticked off about it.

CHETRY: Yes, he was.

ROBERTS: I'd love to get Lou Dobbs on the phone too this morning and see what he thinks about it.

CHETRY: He's probably up, sipping coffee, watching us.

ROBERTS: Lou, if you're out there, call us. We'd like to hear what you have to say about it.

CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM is just minutes away. And Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: Kiran, good morning. Lou Dobbs line one for John Roberts coming up in the NEWSROOM this morning.

Some more of that smuggled video. A CNN exclusive on the NEWSROOM rundown. The tape documenting the ruthless crackdown in Myanmar. Reports say the military regime is pulling people from their homes and emptying monasteries.

What went wrong in Colorado? And underground fire at a hydroelectric plant leaves five workers dead.

Most federal workers are supposed to fly coach, did you know? But a review finds many are upgrading to pricier seats on your dime. All of the morning's breaking news. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour, right here on CNN. Kiran, back to you.

CHETRY: We'll be watching.

And by the way, Tony, pay attention to this next story. Because you never know what you need to get your loved ones for Christmas. HARRIS: Oh, boy.

CHETRY: it's of course less than 3 months away which means Neiman Marcus is rolling out it's annual Christmas book and these are some gift ideas. Obviously, you have to be loaded to get your hands on some of this stuff. But it has some ideas for somebody who has everything. Everything, of course, except maybe giant dragon topiary for the person. You can get them this; it's only $35,000. I do think you need a backyard too to make that one happen.

Also for someone with a sweet tooth, this is a portrait that's painted in chocolate. That's only 110 grand. How about that one? For the classical music lover, a concert by some of the best musicians in the world. It's hosted by Regis Philbin. You can't put a price tag on that but I guess they can at Neiman Marcus because it's $1.6 million. And if you like water, there's this submarine. I wonder if the crew comes with it. They are drinking coffee and checking out the picture. That is $1.4 million by the way for that pretty cool looking submarine. And finally, diamonds are a girl's best friend and you could be a girl's best friend with this 305-karat uncut diamond necklace that will run you a cool mill. Any gift ideas there for your lovely wife?

ROBERTS: Yes, a couple but I'm afraid it's a little out of my league.

O.J. Simpson may be running late. Your "Quick Hits" now. A judge has ordered Simpson to give his Rolex watch to the family of Ron Goldman and Simpson also must give up video game royalties and memorabilia seized by police when they arrested him last month. But only the stuff that he can prove belongs to him.

A man somehow got into the Los Angeles home of actor Nicolas Cage and tried on Cage's leather jacket. Cage asked the man to take off the jacket and escorted him outside and called security. No one was hurt in that incident.

Breaking down stereotypes by laughing at them. Oscar Nunez plays a gay Mexican on the hit show "The Office." We'll talk to him ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The first music downloading trial is under way in Minnesota. Jamie Thomas was sued by Sony BMG for illegally sharing 2,000 songs. The music industry brought legal action against 26,000 people but others settled the cases rather than go to trial.

Verizon Wireless is borrowing a trick from Apple's iPhones. Two of Verizon's new phones will feature the touch screen technology made popular by the iPhone. Those phones will be out in a few weeks' time.

CHETRY: All right. Well, how do you, how do you like to have this one in the living room in your home, the set of "The Tonight Show." Instead of throwing away the old seat, Jay Leno decided to auction it off for charity. So up for bids on ebay -- the old desk, a sofa, a chair, the two cocktail tables, an ottoman, and an area rug. But don't you need the whole fake L.A. background to really make it seem like "The Tonight Show" set? Anyway, the bidding is, right now, at $15,665. The money all goes to Bailey's cafe, which is a New York cultural organization.

Well, this week CNN is uncovering America with a look at the faces and people changing our nations. And our focus this week is on Latino-Americans. We've talked to the star of the hit show "Ugly Betty" already this morning. And now, we get a chance to meet Oscar Nunez form "The Office." "The Office" of course is a show that often pokes fun at those ridiculous stereotypes like the one that we're about to see in this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MALE 1: Both my parents were born in Mexico. And they moved to the United States a year before I was born.

MALE 2: Yeah?

MALE 1: So I grew up in the United States.

MALE 2: Wow.

MALE 1: My parents are Mexican.

MALE 2: That is -- that is a great story. That's the American dream right there, right?

MALE 1: Thank you. Yeah.

MALE 2: Let me ask you, is there a term besides Mexican that you prefer? Something less offensive?

MALE 1: Mexican isn't offensive.

MALE 2: Well, there are certain connotations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Oscar Nunez joins us from Los Angeles this morning. Good morning, Oscar. Great to see you.

OSCAR NUNEZ, "THE OFFICE," ACTOR: Good morning. Good to see you.

CHETRY: You're actually Cuban, right? You're a Cuban-American?

NUNEZ: That's right.

CHETRY: But do you ever face people like, you know, the Steve from "The Office" in real life when it comes to those types of stereotypes?

NUNEZ: Not face-to-face. No one would actually say that, I think, unless there's something wrong, you know, something heavy has fallen on their head. I think but, you know, people maybe still have those attitude. I'm pretty sure, even though it seems ridiculous when you see it like that on TV and it is ridiculous. Yes, I think some people... I mean, the perfect example, the man with the flags. Yeah, I don't know. Did he go in there and ask him to take it down? He surely was really revved up about that.

CHETRY: He was. We're actually going to look into to figure out what the situation was with that because he was very peeved about that situation.

NUNEZ: Yet he is a veteran so I can see that, too, you know?

CHETRY: Right, exactly. You know "The Office's" boss, of course, Michael, played by the character, Steve Carell. He seems to be constantly offending everyone. He seems like he is the exact opposite of politically correct and he always has something. He is stumbling his way through life it seems. And you know, in a way, it's able to poke fun at some of the stereotypes of people. Do you think that's a good way for TV to address it, turning it into a cultural commentary but allowing people to laugh about it?

NUNEZ: Yes, I do. Actually, when you were saying that, I was just thinking of "All in the Family." He also did things like that. Carroll O'Connor and with the thing with Michael Scott, it comes from a place of innocence. He really doesn't know half the time what he is saying or doing. So it's kind of forgivable because it's not with malicious intent, it's just out of ignorance. So, yes, it's a good tool to bring that to light and just show people, duh, just how ridiculous stereotyping is and all that stuff you should learn in kindergarten.

CHETRY: Right. Do you think by being able to, I guess, put laughter to it, put it in comedy helps diffuse some of the tensions that people can often feel?

NUNEZ: Absolutely. I think we do need to take it down a notch in general just -- again, that man very upset. I could see, he was really upset and I think that the tone of the country is just everyone just needs to turn down the, you know, the noise just a little bit.

CHETRY: Yes. I mean, in fact, it would be interesting to get your perspective because this has become a big election year issue, immigration issues, of course, the big comprehensive bill that was turned down and the fire right now about securing our borders. In fact, there's another debate going on about whether people that are serving their country, whether their relatives are here illegally should be given the ability to stay in the country, rather than being deported. Where do you weigh in on some of those issues, Oscar?

NUNEZ: Well, it's an issue because it is an election year. If it wasn't, we would be all fine. It wouldn't be an issue. It would be just living our lives. But it's brought to the forefront because it's an election year. And I weigh in the -- I just think common sense should really play a large part in this whole debate. People are in this country whether they are here illegally; they're here, so you have to deal with them. Unless citizens, you know, these guys marching up and down the border and people who want them out of the country arm themselves and arrest them and take them across the border themselves. Unless they want to do that, there has to be another way to deal with this because the people are here and they're not going anywhere.

And the best way to deal with these problems is to sit down at a table and speak to human beings with each other and resolve these issues. If you take health care away from illegal immigrants and someone's child gets sick. The disease doesn't know whether your child is a citizen or not. There will be diseases and all kind of things will be happen. We're cutting off our noses, bite our faces. This bill that didn't get passed was going to be passed but a small amount of people who are really vocal and angry started making phone calls and Congress and the Senate backed away from the bill, so that now we may see, you know, vegetables in fields rotting because there is no one to pick the field. Again, cutting off our noses from our face. So all of these things need to be resolved by speaking and not yelling and resolving things, moving them forward, not gridlock.

CHETRY: Hey, it was great to talk to you this morning. "The Office" is hysterical. Congratulations to all of you guys. You're putting on a good show. Oscar Nunez from "The Office," thanks for being with us this morning.

NUNEZ: I appreciate it. Have a great day.

CHETRY: You too.

ROBERTS: A quick look now at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.

HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Pricey plane tickets on your dime. A review finds two-thirds of the government workers improperly upgrade to first or business class.

CNN exclusive -- video smuggled out of Myanmar shows the brutality of the regime's crackdown.

A chemical fire at a hydroelectric plant in Colorado. Five workers killed.

A man accused of stealing 123 parking meters. NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour, on CNN

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. Hope to see you right back here again tomorrow.

CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins starts right now.

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