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American Morning
Wreckage Found; Chicago Marathon Fallout; Chrysler & UAW; Search For A Pedophile; Spiritual Lessons
Aired October 09, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wreckage is bad.
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CHETRY: Search teams reach a missing plane carrying 10 skydivers overnight.
Center stage. The spotlight shines on Fred Thompson in his first presidential debate. Can he take the heat and live up to the hype?
Plus, what is it about the Dalai Lama?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD GERE, ACTOR: He's clearly my teacher and I'm a student.
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CHETRY: Richard Gere on the appeal of his spiritual leader and lessons for a troubled world. What he says we all can learn about faith and inner peace, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And that was great to talk to Richard Gere about the Dalai Lama.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'm sure it was.
CHETRY: Well, we'll hear more from him a little bit later.
Meanwhile, welcome. It's Tuesday, October 9th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Good morning to you. Thanks for joining us. I'm John Roberts.
The desperate search for survivors is on this morning after the wreckage of a plane carrying nine skydivers and a pilot was found overnight in the rugged mountains of Washington, near Mount Rainier. A rescue team has discovered seven bodies and has camped at the crash site now, waiting for first light, to pick up the search for those still missing. The plane disappeared on Sunday night on the way from Boise, Idaho, to Shelton, Washington. It's a devastating loss for a close-knit community of skydivers. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is at the command center in White Pass, Washington, where he joins us live.
Now what's the late from there, Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're just waiting for daylight. They were not able to complete a full search of the area because this part of the mountain has some very, very steep terrain, heavy brush. It's dark out there. So they were not able to do a full search. They're going to wait for daylight and get back out there.
The way they found this wreckage, it was fairly quickly, within 24 hours of the plane disappearing. They had already found parts of the wreckage. It was because just shortly after the plane got into this area, one of the hunters saw what he thought was a low-flying aircraft and he said that he heard a crash shortly after that. Using that and the plane's last radar ping, the rescue teams were able to pinpoint exactly where it was.
What they found -- what has been described as a devastating wreckage. The tail section of the plane still hasn't been found. And again, three people who were believed to be on board that plane, they also have not been found yesterday.
John.
ROBERTS: So, Chris, what are the theories that they're operating by? That they may be in the tail section of that plane or, as they were skydivers, might they have possibly tried to get out as the plane was going down?
LAWRENCE: Well, all of that could be a possibility, although, you know, getting out as skydivers, we know that -- one of the officials here told us that it appears that that plane crashed at a very high rate of speed, which would probably make it very difficult to make any kind of an exit from the plane. We also know that the plane -- they were not able to engage their emergency locator, which -- and here you're starting to get into a little bit of speculation, but that seems to suggest, at least, that perhaps they encountered a problem very, very quickly.
ROBERTS: All right. Chris Lawrence for us this morning live on the scene from White Pass, Washington. Again, when the sun comes up there, they'll resume the search.
Chris, we'll get back to you soon.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, we're getting a first look now at the bridge that will replace the collapsed I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. The original bridge, seen there, was a steel, eight-lane span that crossed the Mississippi River into downtown Minneapolis. It was built 40 years ago. Well you may remember the chaos that took place. This is surveillance camera video showing the main span and then the rest of the bridge just collapsing back on August 1st. The bridge collapse killed 13 people. And you may remember the hundreds of cars that were on it when it pancaked in just seconds. And here is a look at the new design now. It's called a concrete box girder bridge. Two spans, about 500 feet long with state of the art sensors that are built into the deck. The construction could begin as early as next month and it would be done by Christmas of next year. The winning bid, by the way, came in at $234 million.
John.
ROBERTS: Which is less than what they were thinking it might have cost.
Also new this morning, a path to spying on al Qaeda ruined by a government leak. "The Washington Post" is reporting that the Bush administration was tipped off days ahead of time to the latest Osama bin Laden video message. A private intelligence firm cracked al Qaeda's Internet security and told the White House about it, stressing the need to keep the information secret until al Qaeda actually released it. The firm says, though, within hours, an audio transcript of the tape was leaked to cable news networks, tipping off al Qaeda to flaws in its security, which it has since closed.
Debate over the National Security Agency's terrorist surveillance program will be front and center on Capitol Hill today. House Democrats are planning to introduce a bill that would restrict some of the NSA spying to communications companies and force the Justice Department to reveal details of all warrantless electronic surveillance since 9/11. But contradicting election year promises, Democrats also appear ready to make concessions that could actually extend some of the key powers. The bill would allow the government to place permanent spy taps on the nation's Internet and telephone infrastructure, but it does add a measure ordering the Justice Department's inspector general to audit that program.
Britain is cutting its Iraq force in half and could pull all of its troops out by the end of next year. British forces will go down to 2,500 by the spring of '08. A decision on a final pullout will be made then. There were 46,000 British troops in Iraq during the invasion back in March of 2003.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox tells Larry King that he was always opposed to the invasion of Iraq. Last night he also talked about the need for immigration reform, says Mexicans who have a job in America should be allowed in.
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VICENTE FOX, FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT: They are hired for construction. They are hired to pick up apples in Washington, or crop the vegetables in California. I mean I saw them working, building luxurious hotels in Vegas, by the hundreds of them, 90 percent of them. You need them here. This economy needs 400,000 new jobs every year coming from abroad because you don't have it here.
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ROBERTS: Fox says that he is absolutely against building a barrier between Mexico and the United States. He's currently on a tour of the U.S. to promote his autobiography. Tonight, Larry sits down with former President Jimmy Carter on his program.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Should be interesting for sure.
Well, check out these flames and a fire raging in a Jersey City, New Jersey, luxury high-rise overnight. It is under control now, but at one point flames could be seen all the way across the river in Manhattan. The building was still under construction. It did not have a water source as high up as the 17th floor. That's where the fire was burning. Nobody was hurt.
And there are some new details this morning about what may have triggered a shooting rampage in Crandon, Wisconsin. A friend of the deputy sheriff who shot and killed six young people at a party early Sunday says that Tyler Peterson was enraged after being rebuffed by his ex-girlfriend.
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J.B. VAN HOLLEN, WISCONSIN ATTORNEY GENERAL: Petersen then left the building, retrieved a rifle from his truck, forcibly entered the apartment, and began to open fire. Approximately 30 rounds were fired inside the apartment.
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CHETRY: Peterson was later killed in a shootout with police. One shooting victim is still in the hospital.
A massive illegal immigration sweep in southern California. Immigration and custom enforcement agents arresting 1,300 illegal immigrants in a three-month-long investigation. Most of the suspects are street gang members with criminal records and are convicted sex offenders. The feds say more than 600 of those arrested have already been deported.
Well, the Cleveland Indians are moving on to face the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees have to face their boss. Cleveland's Grady Sizemore lead off the game with a home run. The Indians held on for a 6-4 win, eliminating the Yankees. Also, Joe Torre most likely managed his last game. Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, told a New Jersey paper that Torre is the highest paid manager in baseball and that he wouldn't take him back if the Yankees didn't win the series.
Well, this game got pretty ugly, but a last second game winning field goal by the Dallas Cowboys Monday night was a thing of beauty. The Cowboys scored nine points in the game's final 20 seconds. Nine points in 20 seconds for a stunning comeback victory 25-24 over the Bills in Buffalo. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo through a club record five interceptions, lost a fumble. Two of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns. The improbable victory keeps the Cowboys undefeated season alive. They are 5-0. Just what a Redskins fans want to hear, right, John? ROBERTS: Yes. Well, we'll see how long they can keep it up.
Time to check in now with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new that we're following this morning.
Fresh fallout this morning from Chicago's disastrous marathon on Sunday and near record heat. Our Alina Cho at the national update desk.
And, Alina, worries in Chicago this morning that that marathon debacle could have some kind of a deleterious effect on their bid for an Olympic games.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, the 2016 Olympics, John. But luckily the International Olympic Committee won't be deciding on a host city for another two years. Some people, though, saw what happened at the Chicago marathon on Sunday say it certainly can't be good for the windy city's chances.
And this morning, the blame game continues over exactly what went wrong. New home video shows one stunned runner who couldn't get her hands on a single cup of water. Some even used fountains to cool off. The extreme heat caused hundreds of people to collapse. At least 49 went to the hospital. One man collapsed and died. Race organizers ultimately canceled the marathon midway through for the first time in its 30-year history.
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WALTER SIMPSON, HOSPITALIZED AFTER RACE: I told my wife, I need to go to the hospital and get some fluids. So we called an ambulance and they took us over there.
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CHO: Well, that's what the runners say. But the people who organized the 26.2-mile race say they were prepared and add the runners are to blame for dousing themselves with water to cool off instead of drinking it.
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CAREY PINKOWSKI, EXECUTIVE RACE DIRECTOR: So we had individuals that were going to these stations, stopping, grabbing five, six, seven cups of water, cooling themselves with it and blocking the traditional flow of our procession to the water station. That's something that I will be honest with you, we didn't anticipate.
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CHO: There is also new information today about the 35-year-old Michigan man who died. An autopsy shows he did not die because of the heat, but rather from a pre-existing heart condition. Still, the heat couldn't have helped. And there is plenty of blame to go around today. More than a dozen people are still in the hospital and you can bet other cities are watching what happened in Chicago very closely, John. The New York Marathon is less than a month away, November 4th to be exact, and 90,000 runners are expected to participate in this one, not 36,000 like in Chicago.
ROBERTS: Yes, typically in early November in New York the average temperature is somewhere between 55 and 63. But in this weird fall of weather, who knows what it's going to be like.
Alina, thanks very much.
By the way, the man had mitral valve prolapse. And our Sanjay Gupta is going to be joining us in a little while -- a little bit later to tell us a little bit more about that and how that can present a risk to long distance runners.
Meantime, our Rob Marciano at the CNN weather desk tracking extreme weather. Still hot across the Midwest and the east today.
Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Meantime, Chrysler countdown. A little more than 24 hours to go now before a strike deadline issued by union workers. Our Ali Velshi here now with more on that.
Welcome back, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
You're absolutely right, about 28 1/2 or 29 hours to go before the deadline that the United Auto Workers has set for Chrysler. Now you'll remember this happened with GM and then they ex-ended the deadline hour by hour. The end of the negotiations doesn't necessarily mean a strike but it caught everybody off guard last time when the United Auto Workers did strike General Motors.
General Motors is a much healthier company than Chrysler is. Several months ago Chrysler split up from Daimler, became a private company held by Cerberus Investment, a private equity fund. Now the thing to remember here about Chrysler, it's headed by Bob Nardelli, who was the head of Home Depot. Didn't have great staff relations there. Staff relations are a much bigger issue when you've got unionized workers.
So right now it's not clear what is going on at Chrysler. Does this mean that they are moving closer to a settlement or are they hitting some road blocks that are going to possibly put workers out on strike? Most of the thinks is that the United Auto Workers didn't gain a lot as a result of the strike against General Motors.
So it's unclear. The betting right now is that they won't go on strike. But, remember, this is only two-thirds of the deal. After they get a deal with Chrysler, they still have to go on to Ford, which is still in a very rough position. So the auto worker issue in the United States is not solved yet and this means the auto workers and auto makers are not out of the soup just yet. We'll, obviously, follow this very closely and bring you up to speed with the issues and whether or not we're getting closer to a strike.
John.
ROBERTS: Got to be more competitive but got to take into account those worker concerns, too.
VELSHI: That's exactly right.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much.
Kiran.
CHETRY: And why didn't they think of this before, you wonder? You've heard about the Onstar system in GM cars. It's a satellite navigation that can give you directions or unlock your car. If you're in an emergency, they can call police for you. Well now GM is enabling Onstar to help catch a thief by slowly stopping your car if it's stolen. Even warning the driver to pull over because police are watching. This is going to coming into new GM cars by 2009.
Also there is some new information this morning about the international manhunt for a child predator and about the technology that's helping police officers unswirl a suspect's attempt to hide his image. We're live with Interpol just next.
Plus, one on one with Richard Gere as the Dalai Lama begins a two-day visit to New York today. The actor tells us what he finds so inspiring about the Tibetan spiritual leader. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Food prices are going to keep on rising. That tops your "Quick Hits." That's according to some economists who say that we have not yet seen the full impact of ethanol. Increased demand for ethanol has raised the price of corn, which in turn lead to higher prices for meat and dairy by raising the price of animal feed. Grain prices also rising. There's less grain being produced to make room to grow more corn.
Tighter border security is leading to rotten fruit. Farmers in northern California say they're having trouble finding workers to pick the fruit. That could lead to higher produce prices across the country.
And there's also a shortage of bumblebees. Several species of bumblebee have become more rare recently and coupled with a mysterious disappearance of honey bee colonies, it is create a major problem. Honeybees pollinate about 15 percent of crops grown in the United States. Scientists beginning to get an idea of what might be responsible for the decimation of the bee population. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, international police have begun an unprecedented, worldwide search for a pedophile who thought that he was able to disguise himself. See, his face was digitally altered in computer pictures in a swirl so it was difficult to see. Well, police were able to use a new technology to unswirl that image and reveal his face. He's accused of abusing young boys. Anders Persson is a specialized officer with Interpol. He is the agent involved in this case and he joins us on the phone now from France.
Thanks so much for being with us. Anders, thanks for being with us this morning.
ANDERS PERSSON, SPECIALIZED OFFICER, INTERPOL: Yes. Thank you. Good morning.
CHETRY: As I understand it, since you launched this public appeal yesterday, you've had some 200 tips come in.
PERSSON: Yes, that's correct.
CHETRY: And how much closer are you to identifying this man that you say is a pedophile?
PERSSON: Yes, that's impossible to say right now, but we have some good tips which we are -- currently are checking up and we are asking our network, our experts in different countries to cooperate with us, which they are doing.
CHETRY: Explain a little bit more about why you guys are trying so hard to get your hands on this suspect. What do you believe he's been up to?
PERSSON: Yes, he's a child molester. And we have been seeing his criminality on the pictures we have received from the German police. And we have for several -- long time now trying to identify him and without success. So finally, instead of just doing nothing, we decided that we'd go public and we'll ask the public, via the media, to step forward and tell us who this guy is.
CHETRY: Right. You believe he appears in about 200 images with 12 different boys. You guys have reason to believe these photos were taken in Vietnam and Cambodian. How were you able to use the new technology to be able to get a better image so that the public could start looking for this suspect?
PERSSON: Yes, it was not Interpol who did that job. It was the (INAUDIBLE) in Germany who did that technique. So I can't really say what kind of technique they were using. But, of course, the job they did was making it possible for us to use these pictures and show them publicly and I'm quite sure that people in the neighborhood of this man, the family, friends or colleagues, they must know him and recognize him and they are the people we would like to get in contact with. CHETRY: Yes, it is interesting how technology has both helped predators, unfortunately, but also helped you guys and the people that are charged with finding them, rescuing nearly 600 victims from 31 countries with the help of sophisticated software. We hoped that this case is another one that ends well, that you guys are able to get your hands on him.
Anders Persson, specialized officer with Interpol, thanks for being with us this morning.
ROBERTS: Boy, can you imagine that guy's shock when he saw his unswirled face.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. They have 500,000 images of child sex abuse that have been submitted from around the world and they're able to try to do that to locate these various suspects. They can't hide no matter where they are in the world.
ROBERTS: Technology finally catching up. Good deal.
Hollywood could grind to a halt as the Writer's Union considers a strike. We'll tell you what they want and what could happen to your favorite shows if they don't get it.
And actor Richard Gere, a long time follower of the Dalai Lama. He'll talk about the spiritual leader's upcoming visit to New York. Kiran's interview ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
You know, Radio City Music Hall, known for the Rockettes and big name entertainers, but soon it will be headlining the Dalai Lama and the teachings of Buddhism. Actor Richard Gere is a longtime follower. I had a chance to talk with him about what he's learned from his faith and from his spiritual leader.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before sitting down he said a little prayer and snaps his finger to remember impermanence, to counter any feeling of pride he might have for sitting on this throne.
CHETRY: This is the throne the Dalai Lama will sit on when he teaches at Radio City Music Hall. The Brooklyn-based Tibet Center is getting ready for his visit. That's where I met actor Richard Gere and we talked about what he has learned from his year's long relationship with this spiritual teacher.
RICHARD GERE, ACTOR: We all are deeply interconnected in extremely fundamental, intimate ways. Knowing of that in the deepest sense radically transforms how we behave with each other, react to each other.
CHETRY: How has it changed you in your life? GERE: The idea that, in fact, the universe vibrates with love, literally with love and compassion and bliss. And to be able to, at some level, taste it. Maybe not own it, but taste it opens up enormous possibilities.
CHETRY: So is it naive to think that you don't get angry as much?
GERE: I don't think Buddhism is an easy thing. I don't think meditation is intended to be a kind of a tranquilizer. It's a deeply challenging thing to keep looking at your mind and realizing, oh, there I go again, I'm getting jealous, I'm getting angry, I'm being impatient. It's very painful break-throughs that you go through in the process of really looking at yourself.
CHETRY: You've known each other for many, many years. Are you friends now? Is there an ease in your relationship where you're buddies?
GERE: I don't know that it every gets to that. It's really kind of difficult to me. I'm a little better at it now than I was 20 years ago or 25 years ago. But, you know, he's clearly my teacher and I am a student and I hope in the best sense of that of trusted friends.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And there is he. Coming up in our next hour we're going to talk more with Richard Gere about human rights, about China and whether the world should be boycotting the Beijing Olympics next year. He also weighs in on, of course, the recent struggles in Myanmar with the monks protesting there as well.
ROBERTS: So, everyone wants to know, what was it like to meet him, to talk to him?
CHETRY: Well, you know, I have loved Richard Gere from "Officer and a Gentleman," of course, "Pretty Woman" and he's just still as adorable and gorgeous in real life as he was 20 years ago.
ROBERTS: Looks like a real nice guy.
CHETRY: He is a very nice guy.
ROBERTS: Hey, a story coming up now in our next half hour that you just can't miss. Remember Kyla Ebbert. We have a photo of her here. She was the woman who was denied access to a Southwest Airlines flight because of the way she was dressed. Well, they haven't limited that just to women.
CHETRY: No. The latest victim of the Southwest Airlines fashion police is a man who had a questionable t-shirt on, let's put it that way. Again, he was told, if you don't turn it inside out or change you're not going to be able to board the flight as well. Yet every time Southwest is contacted about this they say, we don't have a policy, a dress code, and we apologize. So we're going to talk a little bit more about exactly what he was wearing that caused such a stir.
ROBERTS: Simply a play on words, right? We'll tell you what it was when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
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JOHN ROBERTS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Wow. It's still dark in New York. You have noticed it's getting dark earlier and staying dark longer?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Yes, it is. You know, of course I noticed it because it means my baby sleeps longer in the morning. Hallelujah.
View up the Hudson River of the George Washington Bridge. 76 in New York, going up to a high of 80. It will be a partly cloudy day today with the threat of some thunderstorms this afternoon. So take an umbrella with you if you're going to work into New York City.
Welcome back to "AMERICAN MORNING." It's Tuesday, the 9th of October. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
New this morning, a Hollywood writer strike could mean some of your favorite shows -- like "Grey's Anatomy" for you -- could be in jeopardy. The Writers Guild of America in talks with the major studios for a new contract. The old one expires October 31st. If no deal is reached, a strike or lockout is possible. While most shows do have enough episodes to last for awhile, they could run out in early 2008. The issues in the negotiations that are tying things up, writers want more money for DVD sales as well as other forms of distribution, like cell phones.
The runner, who died during a Chicago Marathon, died because of a heart defect, according to autopsy. Chad Schieber's death was not determined related to the heat, they determined, during Sunday's race. Medical examiners said that Schieber suffered from mitral valve prolapse. Marathon organizers are still under fire about how it prepared for the near-record heat that forced them to cancel the race four hours in and forced hundreds of runners to drop out.
We're paging Dr. Gupta about exercising in extreme conditions. If you have a question about it, e-mail us. Go to cnn.com/am. Sanjay will join us at the top of the hour. And he'll also going to answer your questions 8:30 a.m. eastern on "AMERICAN MORNING."
ROBERTS: He knows all about this. He's training for the New York City Marathon in this heat in the fall.
CHETRY: Unseasonable this time of year. They're used to much cooler temperatures for the long run.
ROBERTS: Very much so. Iraq wants $136 million in damages from Blackwater USA, the private security contractor. That is $8 million for each family of the 17 victims they say that Blackwater security guards killed last month in Baghdad. Iraq wants the U.S. government to stop doing business with Blackwater and get them out of the country within six months.
More than 60 people are dead in Vietnam today from the worst flooding in decades there. The crisis is growing since last week's typhoon. People are cut off from food and water. At least 6,000 homes are destroyed. More than 100,000 are flooded.
Coming up to 34 minutes after the hour. The Republican presidential candidates are debating again today. And Fred Thompson ready for his close-up. He'll join his fellow candidates on stage for the first time since joining the presidential fray.
CNN political analyst John Dickerson joins us from Washington to talk about this.
John, big day for Fred Thompson. He has to prove he's more than just a candidate wishing thinking.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. He ambled onto the campaign trail here. He's not been in it very long, about a month. His reviews haven't been great from the pundits or reporters out to cover him. This is his first time to stand with the other men running and show he's really got something worth following for some of his supporters.
ROBERTS: You've been talking with his folks. What is the strategy?
DICKERSON: The bar is low for him so the strategy is to survive, just be straightforward, maybe not engage too much and just try to get through it really, and beat those very low expectations.
ROBERTS: As you said a second ago, John, he hasn't been playing to great reviews on the stump. His ideas somewhat meandering, sometimes contradicting himself. He referred to Russia as the Soviet Union the other day. But the campaign is coming back and saying, well, unlike all of the other candidates that may be very polished, Fred Thompson's authentic. Is that going to cut it in the debate?
DICKERSON: Sure. Authenticity is something voters want but they don't want someone authentically clueless. The hope is that he shows a kind of regular approach that people can connect with. But you know, debates get a lot of criticism, because there are sound bite contests but there's something a candidate has to prepare for and show he has a familiarity with the issues
ROBERTS: Is he going to stand out at the only real conservative in the top tier of candidates?
DICKERSON: That's been his campaign scene. He wants to say I'm the real deal out here. Now he's just got to show it. ROBERTS: It's an early debate, 4:00 this afternoon, right?
DICKERSON: That's right. And so he should be rested, you know, not close to bedtime so should be good for him.
ROBERTS: Even we're awake at 4:00 in the afternoon.
John Dickerson, thanks so much. Good to see you.
DICKERSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: New court records show how over-prescribed pro wrestler Chris Benoit was. Your "Quick Hits" now. Prosecutors say that Benoit's doctor wrote prescriptions for testosterone over the last year, more than 50 percent than the recommended FDA dosage. Benoit had nearly ten times the level of testosterone in his system when police say he strangled his wife with a cord and smothered his 7-year- old son and then hung himself on a piece of exercise equipment.
Disgraced track star Marion Jones returned the three gold and two bronze medals she won at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. It comes just days after she pleaded guilty charges related to steroid use. A spokesperson says that Jones is hoping that Olympic record books will be amended to reflect her competitor's achievements.
It's another case of the fashion police out in force on Southwest Airlines. This time it's a male passenger who was told to change his shirt. We're going to show you what he was wearing that caused such a fuss, ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
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ROBERTS: Just about 20 minutes after the top of the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
Boxing for girls in Afghanistan top your "Quick Hits". It's becoming increasingly popular. The girls hope to one day fight for Afghanistan in international competition.
The world's biggest diamond, was it a big hoax? The mining business claimed to find the world's largest diamond, 6,000 carats in South Africa. It looked more like a paperweight to us. But after a series of bizarre events, the expert, who was supposed to verify the claims, says the diamond is just a lump of polished resin, not a diamond after all.
But this thing's for real, this giant pumpkin. It weighed in at 1,524 pounds at a pumpkin fest in Half Moon Bay, California. That's 14-month-old John Price sitting atop that pumpkin. Thad Starr (ph) grew the pumpkin. His prize, $6,000 for each pound, which comes to $9 -- that wouldn't be right. Back that up. What was that math again? $6 for each pound, which comes to $9,144 for his pumpkin. Look at that. Unbelievable. That is a grand gourd if ever I saw one. Kiran? CHETRY: What's going on in Hong Kong? Its air pollution index is skyrocketing. 100 is considered to be a dangerous level, especially for people with breathing problems. Over the weekend in Hong Kong, it reached 144. Everything was in a haze. In fact, people were hospitalized with breathing problems. And there were high concentrations of ozone, despite the fact factories were closed for a holiday.
41 minutes past the hour. We head over to Rob Marciano who's tracking things at the extreme weather center in Atlanta for us.
Are we still breaking records with this heat?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are, and this is more like temperatures we'd see in July and August. And that's when we would see ozone levels high, air pollution a problem in places like Atlanta, New York and D.C.
Temperature yesterday 90 in JFK. 75 the old record so we blew it out by 15 degrees; D.C., 92. It was warmer yesterday than it was for July 4th of this year. Unbelievable temperatures, not only just for one day. There's a good stretch. I don't have to tell you if you live in the northeast.
We have a back-door cool front that wants to sneak down from the northeast. Boston will get cooler. Albany, New York, cooler. Ahead of this one cool front, this secondary cool front is sliding across the western Great Lakes and upper Midwest. If you're thinking it's hot, just think it's going to get cooler here.
It's snowing in parts of northern Minnesota. So we will see cooler weather moving into Chicago. Chicago closer to average today. Tomorrow you'll likely be below average. Cooler weather is on the way for places like D.C., Kiran, will probably break records again today. Unbelievably warm for this time of the year.
Back up to you.
CHETRY: I have to give you a lot of credit, as a Yankees fan, to show up at work today and still be able to get out sentences. You were able to get yourself dressed clearly.
MARCIANO: I'm on the phone with my therapist. I was trying to put it out of my mind, but thank you. I appreciate that, Kiran. Good to see you.
John?
CHETRY: You too. Hey, there's always next year.
MARCIANO: Yeah.
ROBERTS: You're going to bug him about that all morning, are you?
CHETRY: Today, they're out. Tomorrow it will be over. ROBERTS: I wonder what's going to happen to Joe Torre. That's the big question.
CHETRY: I don't. He's gone.
ROBERTS: We'll see.
It's 43 minutes after the hour. Time to look at today's top headlines. If you're just joining us, the search for survivors begins at first light this morning. Overnight the wreckage of a plane carrying nine sky divers and a pilot was found in the rugged mountains of Washington near Mt. Rainier. The plane disappeared Sunday night on the way from Boise, Idaho, to Shelton, Washington.
A first look at the new design for the bridge that will replace the collapsed I-35W span in Minneapolis. It's called a concrete box girder bridge. Two spans, 500 feet long, with state of the art sensors built into the deck.
Interpol investigators tell us this morning that they are following tips from around the world after revealing the face -- there it is -- of a suspected child sex predator. Police used a remarkable new technology to un-twirl the image and reveal the perpetrator's face.
Britain is cutting its Iraq force in half and could pull all of its troops out by the end of next year. British forces will go down to 2,500 by the spring of 2008. 46,000 British troops went into Iraq back in March of 2003.
And contract talks for now, while a strike deadline looms tomorrow for Chrysler and the United Autoworkers. The strike threat may not have the same punch as the one that faced GM last month. Chrysler has half of its assembly line shut down to clear a backlog of vehicles. Those workers are still being paid.
CHETRY: More free music tops your "Quick Hits". We told you about the band Radio Head offering its album online for free or whatever you want to pay for it. Now, Oasis and Jamiroquai may follow suit according to the Telegraph of London. Those two groups, like Radio Head, are not signed with any major labels.
First TV, now music. Tivo is teaming up with Rap City to offer about 4 million songs that can be played on subscriber P.C.s at any time. Tivo is trying to stay ahead of the cable music companies, which already offer music on their digital video recorders.
Google reaching a new milestone, $600 a share? Analysts say the company is on a tear. But what does it mean for investors this holiday quarter? We'll talk about it coming up.
Also, the fashion police once again at work for Southwest Airlines. We'll show you what one passenger was wearing that nearly got him kicked off a flight. That's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. "Quick Hits" starts with a shocking new e-mail scam to be on the lookout for. Someone in South Dakota got an e-mail from a guy named Eddie, who said he was a hit man, who would have a change of heart and call off the hit, if the person who received the e-mail gave him $8,000. So be on the lookout for that.
American businesses will lose $7.5 billion this year because of fantasy football. An outplacement firm came up with that number, saying more than 13 million players are spending ten minutes a day during work, managing their fantasy teams.
If you're like most Americans you spend more time with your computer than with your significant other. 64 percent of people confess to that this year and 84 percent say their relationship with their computer is growing. That's according to a survey conducted by SupportSoft.
CHETRY: Just remember that on Valentine's Day.
48 minutes past the hour now. Some top stories on today's political ticker. Fred Thompson prepping for his first debate with the other Republican candidate this afternoon in Dearborn, Michigan. Thompson has been practicing for two weeks at his campaign headquarters in McLean, Virginia.
President Bush touting successes of his No Child Left Behind program at a White House Rose Garden event, happening this afternoon. The president is expected to talk about across-the-board improvements in fourth and eighth grade reading and math.
Idaho's lieutenant governor may decide to run for Larry Craig's Senate seat. Jim Risch says he's expected to make an announcement today. Craig will finish out his term, despite losing an appeal to overturn his guilty plea over a bathroom sex sting.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says that he'll get results in reducing greenhouse gases. How? He says he'll put a cap on carbon emissions.
You can find all the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.
ROBERTS: Another clothing incident for Southwest Airlines to tell you about this morning. A passenger wearing a tee shirt with a somewhat off-color joke on it about his fishing prowess was told he couldn't board the flight while wearing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE WINIECKI, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: She's like, "Sir, either you turn your shirt inside out or change it or I'm going to have to ask you to come off the plane." So to undress in front of 132 people to put a new shirt on, it's unbelievable embarrassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: At least two women also recently complained that they were told to cover up by Southwest employees who thought they were dressed too sexy. Remember Kyla Evert, the Hooter's waitress, who got on there with a mini skirt? And then there was another woman who was wearing a low-cut dress, who was told she had to wrap herself up as well.
We want to know what you think. Should airlines be the fashion police? Cast your vote for us this morning at cnn.com/am.
Let's look at what our results are so far. We don't have any results yet. There you go. Get online.
CHETRY: We could do a deal, you get us somewhere on time and we'll dress however you want.
ROBERTS: What do you think about that?
CHETRY: You don't lose our luggage and we'll cover up.
ROBERTS: You want so much. You're so demanding.
CHETRY: We're going to check in on the results of that "Quick Vote" in a just a couple of minutes.
ROBERTS: Also, an update on the story we told about yesterday. Hundreds of nudes hit South Beach yesterday for a photo shoot for Spencer Tunick. Tunick is famous for photographing large groups of nudes. There were nudes on rafts and nudes on balconies, nudes simultaneously opening hundreds of bottles of champagne. No nudes flying on Southwest Airlines.
CHETRY: The tabloids are abuzz with Jennifer Lopez pregnancy rumors. Our Lola Ogunnaike sat down with J.Lo and she'll tell us what they talked about and what she saw. That's coming up, 8:45 eastern time.
Also, some health headlines topping your "Quick Hits" now. Questions about the quality of blood being stored in blood banks. There are new studies showing nitric oxide in the blood breaks down in storage and that could contribute to heart attacks or strokes in people who received transfusions. Nitric oxide helps oxygen move through the body.
A bad marriage or troubling friendship could do real damage to your heart. A study done in England found that people unhappy in marriages were one-third more likely to suffer from heart attacks or heart problems down the road. They say the same in other close relationships as well. Researchers say it all boils down to stress.
Google hitting a new high, shares passing the $600 mark for the first time ever. And Wall Street observers say that 700 is not that far away.
Still ahead, they're trying to figure out what killed a 35-year- old runner at the Chicago Marathon. The heat outside or actually a congenital defect. The autopsy is in and our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is paying us a "House Call." That's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 56 minutes after the hour. Quick up you on the "Quick Vote." Should the airlines be the fashion police? So far, 37 percent of you say (AUDIO PROBLEM); 63 percent say no. (AUDIO PROBLEM) at this point.
Fortune cookies are famous for promising health and happiness, right? Well the largest U.S. distributor of fortune cookies, New York-based Wanton Foods, is mixing in some bitter with the sweet in its new cookies. So you might end up opening something like this: "Today say disastrous day." Or how about this one, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and "It's over your head now. Time to get some professional help." The company said it's responding to customer requests for actual predictions rather than just excellent cryptic sayings.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS ANALYST: They stopped being fortune cookies a long time ago. They started being statement cookies a long time ago.
CHETRY: Right. Just start bringing the crazy 8 ball to the table.
VELSHI: Exactly.
CHETRY: Well, speaking of that -- 56 minutes past the hour -- we want to know, is Google, which is now broken that threshold, up to $600 a share, is it overpriced or going to continue to climb?
VELSHI: The good thing about TV is somebody recorded me saying several years ago that I thought it was overpriced at $100. So that's why I continue to come to work early in the morning. I tell you where Google's been over the last several years since it started, I guess, in 2004. It priced at $80. A lot of people thought that was outrageous and it never traded at $80, up above $100 the first day it traded. And it has been straight up from there, topping $600 yesterday.
And Google really has a number of innovations coming up that are designed to make your life as a user or as a worker substantially easier and less complicated. It's really going with that Apple model of making it easy for the user to understand versus some of some of the struggles that Microsoft has with fantastic products and fantastic software that really take a commitment to understanding how to use them. So you're going to see that battle heating up over time. The other thing, Google has -- YouTube, which has turned out to be a remarkable success for them. So Google stock is up.
Oil prices are down. Oil prices dropped fairly substantially, down $2.20 to $79.02 a barrel. That's off five bucks from its all- time high, which was set on September 20th. Let's see if that follows through to gas prices. Gas prices are still 50 cents a gallon on nation basis, higher than they were one month ago.
The U.S. dollar is steady. I think 99 cents will now get you a Canadian dollar. So it's gone down a little bit, still about $1.40 for a Euro and still more than $2 for a pound. And that's not just about your travel. That is going to affect prices of things that we buy because we buy so much imported product. I'll talk to that in the next hour.
ROBERTS: Time to plan another ski trip to Whistler.
VELSHI: That's absolutely right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. I'll see you in a bit.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, a story coming up you can't miss. We continue our one-on-one with Richard Gere.
Despite my facial expression, it was fascinating. Where he's talking about China, he's welcoming his spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama is coming to New York and we'll hear much more from Richard Gere, coming up in the next half hour.
ROBERTS: You do like wrapped with attention there, I have to say.
The next hour of "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
CHETRY: Breaking news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have located the downed aircraft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A missing plane carrying ten sky divers found overnight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wreckage is back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Turning up the heat where a disastrous Chicago Marathon took a wrong turn. Did the windy city blow its Olympic dreams?
Plus, freeze. A news photographer snaps a suspect on the run, then helps police make the arrest. This morning, the rest of the story, the dramatic confrontation, on this "AMERICAN MORNING."
And welcome. It's Tuesday, October 9th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. The desperate search for survivor this morning after the wreckage of a plane carrying nine sky divers and a pilot was found overnight in the rugged mountains of Washington near Mt. Rainier.
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