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American Morning

Search for Missing Skydivers: Wreckage Found; New Information Expected Today on Missing Atlantic City Mayor; Mini-Ultrasound New Way to Find Heart Trouble

Aired October 09, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Tragic end. Search teams find a missing plane carrying nine sky divers and a pilot. The latest on what went on.

Also, a home front fight. A record tour of duty in Iraq -- it turns out it's one day too short for a National Guardsman and many like him trying to collect benefits. What is being done about it?

Also, new fallout from Chicago's marathon meltdown. Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers your questions about how to make sure you stay safe if you work out in extreme conditions on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And welcome. It is Tuesday, October 9th. Glad you're with us.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts.

Thanks for joining us.

Tragic news overnight. The wreckage of a plane carrying nine skydivers and a pilot has been found in the rugged mountains of Washington State. A rescue team discovered seven bodies and is camped out right now at the crash site waiting for first light to pick up the search for those still missing.

The plane disappeared 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 in White Pass, Washington, this morning with the very latest.

Chris, any idea at this point what brought the plane down?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not yet. We know that it was light rain, some pretty heavy clouds. You know, winds, maybe about 15 to 20 miles per hour. But nothing to indicate what went on.

We do know that a man, a hunter right here in this area, did see a low-flying aircraft, and he said he actually heard the crash. Just a few hours after that, the skydivers' home base reported that they had not arrived on time, that they had lost all communication with them. And at that point, the aerial team, the ground team, started searching all day Monday and actually found the plane just about a few hundred yards from where their last radar transmission came through.

ROBERTS: And Chris, when do they expect to be able to get out there? When do they expect to be able to hit the ground and search, I guess, in the immediate area if people saw the plane fairly low to the ground when it did come down, for that missing tail section of the aircraft?

LAWRENCE: Yes, exactly, the tail section snapped completely off. They haven't found it. Probably, the search teams are going to hit the ground again in the next hour and a half, two hours, as soon as the sun comes up.

ROBERTS: Chris Lawrence for us this morning in White Pass, Washington, with the latest on that plane crash -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, John.

Well, there is some new information coming out today that could solve a pretty big mystery, and that's, where in the world is the mayor of Atlantic City? Mayor Bob Levy has been out of sight for two weeks now. So could his whereabouts and his future be revealed today?

Our Alina Cho has been following this unusual story from the beginning.

What's the latest, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, CNN, Kiran, has talked to missing Mayor Bob Levy's attorney, and he tells us that a press release detailing Levy's whereabouts could be out as early as today. We'll be watching for that.

You'll recall that we first told you about this story last week. Levy has been AWOL for two weeks now. He mysteriously disappeared amid a federal investigation into his false claims about his military record.

Now, Levy had campaigned on the fact that he was a member of the elite Green Berets, something we should add, that would boost his military benefits. But he later admitted, though he served in Vietnam, he was never a Green Beret. Last week, the mayor's office issued a short statement saying Levy was on medical leave, but few people know where he is or what he is being treated for, and those people are not talking.

Now, according to a local paper, if Levy does in fact turn up, he will likely resign or be thrown out of office as early as this week. And that, of course, brings up the question of succession.

The consensus is that the city council president will ultimately take over. The balance of Levy's term would then be up for grabs next year. This is all confusing, but because he didn't make it halfway through his term, if he officially leaves office, there would yet be another mayoral election in 2009.

And this isn't the first time that Atlantic City politics have been called into question. Over the past 40 years, five mayors have either pleaded guilty or been convicted for a variety of offenses. And Kiran, half of the city's last eight mayors have been investigated for corruption.

But the big question this morning is, where is Mayor Bob Levy? Few people know, including the public and Atlantic City's 40,000 residents.

CHETRY: All right. Alina Cho, thanks so much -- John.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, there's a small and powerful new tool -- in fact, I have it right here -- to be able to detect heart problems. It's actually a miniature ultrasound that can check arteries in the neck. But can you trust it?

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is here to show us exactly how it works and how this may be helpful in diagnosing problems.

Hi, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Good morning again.

You know, so this is a mini-ultrasound machine. You're just holding it there. And basically what you're looking at here is the transducer. This is a little transducer. It sends off a sound wave.

CHETRY: Right.

GUPTA: And it can detect all sorts of different things in the body. For example, your heart. You take a look at this image here. This is not my heart specifically, but this is what it might look like.

CHETRY: This is one you downloaded.

GUPTA: Yes. This is -- it was done with this machine.

You actually put the transducer on your chest wall and you can actually see if there is a problem with the heart, if there is fluid built up around it, one of the valves isn't working properly. Also, in a trauma situation, one of the biggest concerns, Kiran, is could there be fluid that's building up in the belly because of bleeding? If a doctor actually had this thing, stick in their pocket, carry this around almost like a visual stethoscope, take this off, stick it right on the guy's belly and say, yes, it looks like there is a problem, there appears to be bleeding in the belly.

So this is a quick machine. It only weighs about two pounds. You picked it up.

CHETRY: Very light.

GUPTA: A lot lighter than a traditional ultrasound machine, which you'd have to sometimes wheel in from another part of the hospital. You can carry this on an ambulance, for example, as well.

We like to do a lot of these new technology stories, and this is something that sort of caught our eye.

CHETRY: You know, it's just unbelievable how they're able to just really compartmentalize all of that. You see the huge ultrasound machines, they're in a cart, you know, in the radiology room.

GUPTA: Right.

CHETRY: What is -- you talked a little bit about the usefulness. What about some of the drawbacks? Is there -- is there problems with being able to carry this around with you?

GUPTA: I think there's two drawbacks. One is that people may overuse it, quite frankly. And as a result of that, you may get misdiagnoses.

You may think that there's something there, and then that's going to warrant other tests, it may warrant biopsies. So you really need to validate this.

This is really just a preliminary test. You need to validate it with a true ultrasound.

The other thing is that people -- it's not as good. The quality of the image, while that quality there -- and you've seen it a couple of times now. That quality is not bad.

A true ultrasound machine that actually uses a higher frequency is actually maybe a better image. So when you're diagnosing more subtle things, it's going to be better. Now, for trauma, where you're worried about blood building up somewhere, you're worried about blood building up around the heart, for example, a pretty good machine and very quick.

CHETRY: That's right. And like you said, it would be very useful to be able to have that on the road, either in an ambulance or when you're dealing with trauma patients at an emergency.

GUPTA: Yes. You know, we'll see if it catches on. It's not for consumers, although I saw how much you like this thing. You're just sort of playing around with it. It's not for consumers still, but it is for hospitals and maybe something that catches on.

CHETRY: Pretty neat.

Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

CHETRY: And we're going to check in with you in a few minutes, actually. We're going to be talking a little bit more about the Chicago marathon.

GUPTA: Want to go outside and do that?

CHETRY: Head outside and see what it's like for October. It feels like August.

GUPTA: All right. OK.

CHETRY: Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thanks.

CHETRY: We're also getting some good questions for Sanjay about exercising in extreme conditions, as we've been talking about. We're going to head outside. We're going to be in Central Park. And you still have time, by the way, to ask some questions, CNN.com/am, and Sanjay has the answers. That's coming up in our next half hour.

ROBERTS: He served a record tour in Iraq, only to be denied some of his benefits when he got home. How one day at service, one single day, is making such a big difference. A platoon leader digging in and taking on the Army, that's coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Jennifer Lopez in the hot seat.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I've got to ask you about the rumors that are swirling about you being pregnant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Our Lola Ogunnaike sits down with J.Lo for a candid chat about her music, being on tour with husband Marc Anthony, and, of course, those relentless baby rumors. So, is she or isn't she?

Find out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

His unit served in Iraq longer than any other. But when 1st Lieutenant John Hobot went to get his benefits, he was told his service was actually a day short of what he needed to qualify. Well, now he finds himself fighting the Army he served.

Lieutenant Hobot joins me now from St. Paul, Minnesota.

Thanks for being with us this morning, Lieutenant.

1ST LIEUTENANT JOHN HOBOT, MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD: Thank you.

CHETRY: You guys were in Iraq for 729 days. You -- and about 1,200 other members of the Minnesota National Guard. And now the Army says you're not going to get educational benefits because you needed to serve 730 days? I mean, that sounds -- that almost sounds like a joke.

HOBOT: Yes. And the key issue here is it's not necessarily that the days -- there's people that got off the same plane from Iraq, that stepped off the same plane as I did and my soldiers, and their orders read 730 days, whereas 1,162 soldiers' orders say 729. And these guys did the same exact tour, got off the same exact plane, and they cannot apply for the Chapter 30 education benefit.

CHETRY: Do you think this is a bureaucratic mix-up or something more sinister at work here?

HOBOT: Well, yes, I think it's -- I think it's a bureau mix-up. You know, I think either -- why would you pick the 729 days only to deny us Chapter 30 education benefits?

You know, we've been home for 90 days as of tomorrow. OK? And it took them only 45 days to cut our extension orders for a whole brigade but yet they cannot fix our orders for 1,162 soldiers so that we can apply for education benefits?

CHETRY: What do you want to see the Army do at this point?

HOBOT: I want to see them fix it so that my soldiers that went back to school this fall, the men that I promised I would take care of, I would like them to fix their orders, amend it so that it says 730 days, then they can apply for the Chapter 30 education benefits and they can get $500 to $800 more a month while they go to school that they deserve.

CHETRY: You know, the Army says that they are trying to get to the bottom of this and figure it out. They also say they're trying to figure out if a correction should be made in the way that this is decided. They say that they are pursuing a legislative change to clearly define the minimum period of time soldiers must serve on active duty to qualify for a GI bill benefit.

Is a change in the law a good enough solution, in your opinion?

HOBOT: A change in the law will fix the problem from happening to any other soldiers coming back from Iraq that are -- you know, their orders are goofed up because of the 730 days that they put on there.

CHETRY: Right.

HOBOT: If they put a month or something like that, that will fix. But right in the Chapter 30 education benefits, you cannot even apply for it. My soldiers cannot even apply for it because their orders say 729. Whereas, soldiers that got off the same plane have the right orders.

CHETRY: Right.

HOBOT: So this is not going to help us right now and my soldiers. This needs to be amended in Washington, have their orders fixed to say 730, then they can apply for the benefits that they deserve.

CHETRY: So you think that's a simple paperwork thing that they should have been able to take care of? You say you've been back for three months?

HOBOT: Roger that. We've been back 90 days as of tomorrow, and it hasn't got fixed. And they keep telling us that they're fixing it, they're working on it. Well, I know the 1,162 soldiers this affects, and all they need to do is amend those 1,162 soldiers' orders and they can apply for the Chapter 30 benefits that they're already -- you know, they should already be getting right now.

CHETRY: Right.

Well, Lieutenant John Hobot, we want to thank you, first of all, for your service. We hope this gets taken care of.

You might want to listen to our next interview, because we are going to be talking now to Lieutenant Colonel Darryl Darden. He is at the Pentagon and he's going to talk a little bit more about what's going on.

Now, you heard what Lieutenant Hobot said, Colonel Darden. Is this taking longer than it should to get this typo fixed so they can apply for these GI bill benefits?

LT. COL. DARRYL DARDEN, U.S. ARMY: Well, from where he is standing I'm sure it is. The lieutenant brings up an excellent point. And between he and I, I would say to him, hoo-ah for going out and taking care of his soldiers.

Look, the Army has reviewed this. We know that there's been an injustice. And we have put together a process for them to be able to address this and to seek redress for this bureaucratic mix-up, as he called it.

And we're going to have them go, each one of them go, through the Army board for a correction of military records. When they do that, we believe that by January 8, they should be able to receive their benefits.

CHETRY: How come it takes so long? I mean, if it's just a paperwork snafu getting one day changed? I mean, can there be a special circumstance since these guys are going to be having to pay for their whole fall semester if it doesn't get resolved until January? DARDEN: Look, between now and then, you've got some of the greatest minds up here working the issue. And as it stands now, the best course of action is for each one of these soldiers to go through this board. And we believe the most expeditious way to do this is going through this process.

CHETRY: All right. So you guys were saying that bottom line, these 1,200 that served in the Minnesota National Guard are going to get their benefits?

DARDEN: We're saying that by January 8, we believe that we will have satisfied and redressed each one of these soldiers' issues, yes, ma'am.

CHETRY: OK.

Lieutenant Colonel Darryl Darden, thank you for your side of it. Thanks for being with us this morning.

DARDEN: Thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up to 27 minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" here with something that really is a very cool idea.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. GM, you know, I don't think they need -- well, they do actually need the ad, so I'm going to do this.

General Motors has this thing called Onstar. I don't know if you've seen it. It's been around for a few years. It's now standard equipment on most new cars.

You press that little OnStar button and you get connected to an operator and you can get directions from them or they can help you out in an emergency. You've probably heard the ads. They can even unlock your car because it's a GPS-controlled system. So it's been fairly successful.

They're going to roll out a new thing on 2009 cars called Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. It works like this: you have to report your car stolen. And if you do, OnStar communicates with the police, the police then track that car because there's a GPS in it, they know where it is.

As they approach the car, the police confirm with OnStar that it is the vehicle they are looking for because OnStar can get the lights to flash or do something to make sure that they are chasing the right vehicle. Then OnStar actually cuts off the fuel supply to the car, bringing it to a gradual stop and avoiding a police chase. Police then successfully apprehend the criminal and you get your car back.

Interesting system.

CHETRY: That is.

ROBERTS: It is, yes.

CHETRY: They should -- why don't they use it in more cars? GM has OnStar...

VELSHI: Well, this -- it's a GM company. OnStar is a GM company.

The interesting thing here is that you do have to report it to the police. So you can't be playing pranks on people or, you know, getting your beloved to not leave, things like that. But it's an -- actually, it's interesting system and we will see whether others will pick up on it.

ROBERTS: The possibilities...

VELSHI: They're endless, yes. For any of you pranksters out there, forget it.

ROBERTS: Threw cold water on that one fast.

Ali, thanks.

VELSHI: All right.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, a story coming up that you can't miss. Our own Lola Ogunnaike had a chance to sit down with Jennifer Lopez. And I know she is a big fan. So it was probably thrilling for her.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OGUNNAIKE: I've got to ask you about the rumors that are swirling about you being pregnant. Do you care to clear the record right now?

JENNIFER LOPEZ, SINGER: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: No. No, she said. Lots of buzz that Jennifer is pregnant. Lola Ogunnaike sat down with her, asked her, like, nine ways to Sunday, even asked her in Espanol if she was pregnant. And she said...

CHETRY: Oh, that -- she didn't want to answer it in English. No translation allowed.

But she did get to sit down with her and dish about a lot of other fun stuff. So we're going to hear from Lola and J.Lo.

ROBERTS: There you go. That story coming up, along with our headlines, when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. And thanks for joining us. It's Tuesday, the 9th of October. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN: And I'm Kiran Chetry. And we start off with some sad news this morning. Rescuers are saying that all ten people were killed in a plane crash near Mt. Ranier in Washington. Searchers are at the crash site right now. They found seven bodies and will begin searching as soon as it's light for the three others that they believe did not make it either. They are saying that the plane crashed at such a high speed that it is unlikely any one survived. Nine skydivers and a pilot were on their way back from a jump near Boise, Idaho on Sunday when the plane went down.

Also new this morning. Deadly car bombs going off in Baghdad. At least 12 people have been killed and dozens more injured. These are pictures from the worse incident. The bomb went off in Baghdad Central

ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. And thanks for joining us. It's Tuesday, the 9th of October. I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. And we start off with some sad news this morning. Rescuers are saying that all ten people were killed in a plane crash near Mt. Ranier in Washington. Searchers are at the crash site right now. They found seven bodies and will begin searching as soon as it's light for the three others that they believe did not make it either. They are saying that the plane crashed at such a high speed that it is unlikely any one survived. Nine skydivers and a pilot were on their way back from a jump near Boise, Idaho on Sunday when the plane went down.

Also new this morning. Deadly car bombs going off in Baghdad. At least 12 people have been killed and dozens more injured. These are pictures from the worse incident. The bomb went off in Baghdad Central Square. Bombings also hit the northern city of Baiji this morning. At least 22 people were killed there and a local police chief a target of one of those attacks. He did survive unharmed.

And Minnesota Transportation officials are unveiling a new design of a new bridge to replace the I35 Wspan in Minneapolis. The bridge collapsed in August killing 13 people. Some 100 cars were on the bridge when it pancaked in seconds. The new design is called a concrete box girder bridge, two spans with 500 feet across, state-of- the-art sensors built into the deck. The construction could begin as early as next month and would be done by Christmas of next year.

Well, in high school maybe you said physics would not impact your life but you were wrong. This morning the Nobel Prize was awarded to Albert Fert of France, there he is on the left, and Peter Gruenberg of Germany. Their research helps the computer industry shrink the size of hard drives. How about that? The Nobel Committee says that without them your iPod would not exist.

ROBERTS: The American commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus made a startling accusation to CNN that Iran's ambassador to Iraq is a member of the elite Qods Force, the Iranian paramilitary brigade that the U.S. claims is responsible for smuggling weapons and explosive into Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, MULTINATIONAL FORCES, IRAQ: We have confirmation from a variety of different intelligence sources and methods. So, that's very, very clear. The Qods Force controls the policy for Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The United States is getting far more aggressive about Iran's suspected involvement in Iraq. So, where is all of this heading? Robin Wright of the "Washington Post" has reported extensively on the problem. She joins me now from the "Washington Post" newsroom. Robin, good to see you as always. Any evidence that you know of to substantiate General Petraeus' accusations about the ambassador and what would the implications of that be?

ROBIN WRIGHT, "WASHINGTON POST:" Well, he's not the first one to make this accusation. There had been Iranian dissident, web sites for example that have long charged the ambassador was a member of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and of course Al Qods Force is a foreign operations branch of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. I do not independently know that it's true. He has been very active, for example, posted in Afghanistan and there had been earlier reports that he worked with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

ROBERTS: So, obviously, they wouldn't be able to touch him personally because he has got diplomatic immunity but it just at all kind of raises the temperature a little but more, doesn't it?

WRIGHT: It does. One of the interesting things about this accusation is that the Qods Force is the focus of U.S. foreign policy at many levels in Iraq. The United States has been considering whether to designate the Qods Force, sanction it in a way as a terrorist organization under an executive order. This is one of the options on the table as the U.. tries to figure out how to squeeze Iran's presence both in Iraq and at a broader level because of its support for extremists around the region.

ROBERTS: Now, looking at a couple of articles that you've recently written, the Iraqis seem to be of two minds about this. Muwafaq al-Rubaie who is the national security advisor told you that Iran is increasingly supplying more sophisticated weaponry to attack U.S. interests in Iraq. Meanwhile, President Jalal Talabani is demanding the United States release six suspected members of the Qods force. There's a little bit of bad cop/good cop going on here.

WRIGHT: I don't think they're totally inconsistent. The fact is that the Iraqis do want better relationships with the Iranians. Jalal Talabani, the president, has longstanding relations. Many members of the government were in exile in Iran. There is a solid history to this relationship. At the same time, the Iraqis, I think, are concerned that the Iranians are playing more of a role in supporting militants who are targeting some of their forces as well as the U.S., which is protecting the Iraqi government. So as you point out, they are contradictory themes here.

ROBERTS: So, Robin, where do you think this is all heading? Is this a prelude to military action?

WRIGHT: Oh, I think it's a long way from any kind of military action by the United States either on the nuclear question or on targeting as the "New Yorker" recently suggested, Iranian Revolutionary Guard bases inside Iran. The fact is there a long course of diplomatic actions that the United States intends to try before anything is even contemplated militarily which I don't think would happen before next year, if it happens at all.

ROBERTS: Robin, it's always good to talk to you. Thanks for joining us this morning.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: New court records about the prescriptions for pro wrestler Chris Benoit topping your "Quick Hits" now. Prosecutors say Benoit's doctor wrote prescriptions for testosterone over the last year that were more than 50 percent over what the FDA recommends. Benoit had nearly ten times the normal level of testosterone in his system when police say he killed his wife, 7-year-old son and then himself.

Marion Jones has returned the three bronze and two gold medals she won in the Sydney Olympics back in 2000. She pleaded guilty last week to 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.

Still ahead, it was the hottest weather on record for the Chicago marathon and most runners simply were not prepared for the high heat and the humidity. Coming up, we're going outside to Central Park with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He actually is training for a marathon. He has been reading some of your e-mails, and some questions this morning about exercising in extreme weather and he'll have some answers when we come back.

Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Jennifer Lopez in the hot seat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOLA OGUNNAIKE: I've got to ask you about the rumors that are swirling about you being pregnant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Our Lola Ogunnaike sits down with J-Lo for a candid chat about her music, being on tour with husband, Marc Anthony and of course, those relentless baby rumors. So, is she or isn't she? Find out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: 19 minutes to the top of the hour. What is going on in Hong Kong? Its air pollution index is skyrocketing. 100 are considered to be dangerous for people with breathing problems. Over the weekend in Hong Kong, it reached 144. As you can see by these photographs, leaving everything in a smoggy haze. There were high concentration of ozone, despite many factories being closed for a holiday.

Our Rob Marciano is tracking the atmosphere here in the United States. How is it looking today, Rob? As hot as it was the last couple?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: In some spots, yes, John. And in some spots, I'm sure we had some nasty smog with all that heat, something that we would typically get in July and August, but we've seen temperatures warmer now than we've saw, say, the fourth of July. All ahead of this cold front that is starting to squeeze some of that heat out of the atmospheres in places like D.C., over towards Raleigh, Durham into Philly. You might see a continuing heat today but this cool front will start to send some cooler air behind it and then a reinforcing shot of air behind that which will bring in even more cool air for the Western Great Lakes.

Pretty strong cold front and associated low pressure moving into the Pacific Northwest. This could bring damaging winds up towards British Columbia and there are high wind warnings out now for the south coast line of Oregon with winds expecting to get in the 60 to 80 miles an hour in the radarscope. Now beginning to show some of that moisture scooting into the west coast. 56 degrees in Chicago. This is tomorrow for daytime highs. So, remember the record-breaking high temperature we had in Chicago a couple of days ago?

Well now, we're looking at not record-breaking cool but at least below average temperatures for tomorrow. 82 degrees will be the high temperature tomorrow in D.C. and 70 New York. That's closer to average but still East coast at least from New York down to Atlanta will be above average the next few days. Temperatures this morning in New York City were in the 80s when we got into work this morning. So that is unusual for July or August, let alone be October. Back up to you, John.

ROBERTS: Unbelievable. All right. Thanks, Rob.

Forty-two minutes after the hour. Rumors are swirling that Jennifer Lopez is pregnant with twins. The superstar is currently on her first concert tour and according to our Lola Ogunnaike, J-Lo's baby bump is quite visible.

You spoke with her one and one. How was it? LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I spoke with her. I talked to her about the album. I talked to her about the marriage. I talked to her about the tour and, of course, I had to ask her about the pregnancy. Let's take a listen to what she had to say, John.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER LOPEZ: I think with the two albums coming out and it just seemed the perfect time. I've always planned tours and never really got there. It takes a lot of time. You have to take time out. And I think being that, you know, I did a movie and then I went and I just decided to concentrate on music for a while, like I said, the two albums, it just seemed like the perfect time. When they offered me to go with Mark, obviously, it was kind of a no-brainer.

OGUNNAIKE: Now, what have you learned from touring with him? Because he has toured often, what have you learned from him? What has he taught you about life on the road?

LOPEZ: He is definitely a veteran. And I actually went on the road with him twice. He really demystifies the whole thing. It's like its work, you go out there every night. You're there to spread love and play the music that they want to hear and play your hits and don't get fancy.

OGUNNAIKE: He hit that one note and it lasted for like 15 minutes.

LOPEZ: He does that all the time. He makes me sick.

OGUNNAIKE: He's a hard act to follow. How do you guys negotiate?

LOPEZ: I told him don't hold the note so damn long? What is wrong with you? I got to come on after you. You know? But we have a totally different show, do you know what I mean? He does what he does, I do what I do.

OGUNNAIKE: It's hard not to be pessimistic about love, especially if you've had relationships that didn't work out.

LOPEZ: Yes, when you get to a certain point in your life, yes, absolutely. You know, it's like you can be two people. You can become either the bitter, jaded, I'm not, you know, love sucks person, I'm never going to get married ever again or you're going to go, I'm going to believe and I'm going to stay bright and happy and know that, you know, my time will come. You know.

OGUNNAIKE: I've got to ask you about the rumors that are swirling about you being pregnant. Do you care to clear the record right now?

LOPEZ: No. No.

OGUNNAIKE: No?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: So she is saying no, no, no? You asked her every way.

OGUNNAIKE: I even asked her in Spanish. I said (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) and she said I'm not even going to answer in Spanish.

ROBERTS: You didn't ask her if she had what is it? (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)? A baby bump?

OGUNNAIKE: Baby bump. Yes, you know. I had to practice being bilingual all of a sudden. She wasn't answering in English and she wasn't answering in Spanish either.

ROBERTS: Now, there you go.

OGUNNAIKE: She did talk about the tour at length and she says that she is having a great time on tour. It's something that she never did before. Marc Anthony demystified the whole process. One song that she does not want to perform if she didn't have to was her first hit "If you had my love." She sang, she says about 7 million times and she is so over it.

ROBERTS: So you saw the concert, what do you think?

OGUNNAIKE: I thought it was great. I thought it was great. She definitely was performing but I've seen Jennifer perform when she has not been in, without a bump and she was careful. She was careful.

ROBERTS: Yes? So you definitely think...

OGUNNAIKE: Not a lot of dancing, not a lot of execution because Jennifer throws herself around the stage when she is not with the bump but with a bump she is more careful.

ROBERTS: So, you definitely saw a bump, right?

OGUNNAIKE: I saw a bump.

ROBERTS: Because I made the mistake once of saying when are you due and she said I'm not and I've never asked the question ever again.

OGUNNAIKE: That's a hard question especially when you've just had a big meal and it's not a bump but in this case, I think it could be a bump.

ROBERTS: All right. Good. We'll see. She can't hide it forever.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes, I know. The truth will come out eventually.

ROBERTS: She will set it free. Lola, thanks.

The CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Hey, Heidi. HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John. That's right, we're tracking the Washington plane crash all morning in the NEWSROOM. Crews searched the wreckage at daybreak now. The sky diving plane carried ten people and so far, seven bodies have been found.

And scandal at Oral Roberts University. A friend of televangelist Richard Roberts joins me live in the NEWSROOM. Former professors claimed Roberts diverted school money for home remodeling, clothing, and Caribbean trips.

And a bad marriage can kill you. Researchers find heart disease goes up when marital bliss sours. Ouch. Join me in the NEWSROOM top of the hour on CNN. John.

ROBERTS: We will see you then, Heidi. Thanks.

More free music tops your "Quick Hits." We told you about the band Radiohead offering its album online for free or whatever you wanted to pay for it. Now, Oasis, Jamiroquai may follow suit. According to the "Telegraph" of London, those two groups like Radiohead are not signed to major labels.

First television, now music. TiVo teaming up with Rhapsody to offer about 4 million songs that can be played on subscribers' computers at any time. TiVo is trying to stay ahead of cable companies, which already offer music on digital video recorders.

Flying the not so friendly skies. One guy made it on to a Southwest Airlines plane only to be threatened to be kicked off. His questionable wardrobe choice ahead.

And we've been talking about the near record heat at the Chicago marathon. Could the runners or the race organizers had been better prepared? Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been looking through your e-mail questions. He's out there in Central Park with some answers. Hey, Sanjay.

ROBERTS: Nine minutes to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. A hot hazy day there in Central Park in New York. And that is where Kiran and Sanjay are. Hey, Kiran.

CHETRY: Hey, John. You know, today, we're just feeling how sticky it is and how hot. I definitely wouldn't want to run today. As we saw, the tragic results of the Chicago marathon where one runner died and dozens others were hurt or got sick in the near record heat and they ended up in the hospital. I'm here in Central Park with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And it is sticky and it has been. If you saw what the conditions were like 88 degrees, high humidity, that day in Chicago, would you have run? Because I know you're a marathoner.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, I would have been very concern about it. I would probably would have still run because you know, you train for this event for months and I think people really get geared up for it but you really have to expect that you're going to have appropriate hydration and you got to drink a lot more than you though if I would drunk in the first place. That's something I learned early in my training is that I became dehydrated more quickly than I thought I would.

CHETRY: And especially in the heat?

GUPTA: Yes, especially in the heat. Yes, absolutely.

CHETRY: All right, these are some questions because we had a big response to this. A lot of people wanted to know what you thought of different things. One of them coming from Frank in Philadelphia. He asks what is the ideal drinking solution for marathon running. I've heard it's a mixture of water and orange juice and iodized salt. Is there some magic formula?

Well, you know, I'm not a big fan of a lot of the sports drinks as you. I think water does fine for most athletic exercises but marathons I think are different. In marathons there are three things that are happening. Obviously, you need to stay hydrated, you're also losing sodium, salt in your sweat and you're losing sugar. So you can develop hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar. So, to have sort of drink that sort of fulfills all those three things becomes critically important as you get further down the race. A marathon is something that's even shorter than that where you're starting to feel light- headed that is a drink you may want to consider. But water I think for the initial part is fine.

CHETRY: All right, water for the initial part. Kathy in Monroe, Louisiana asks should people with mitral valve prolapse, this is the condition they found in the runner who did lose his life in Chicago, not run marathons?

GUPTA: And I know that you have this as well.

CHETRY: Yes. I have diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse as well.

GUPTA: You could have people who are completely asymptomatic. We never have a problem with this. You're going to have people who have mild cases and people with severe cases. We don't know for sure what the answer is or how severe this person's case is. But I think it really depends on each individual in terms of how big a problem it is for them. What I would say is get it checked out. A marathon is a huge strain on the body so you got to make sure that you actually checked that out before the race.

CHETRY: Let's get in one more quick question, to build up endurance or stamina, is it important to work your sweat up or get your heart rate up? This is from Raven Sparta in New Jersey.

GUPTA: Well, a guy who can start sweating in about two minutes after I exercise. The sweat is not as important as you might imagine. That is just an indicative of your own body's cooling mechanism. Getting your heart rate to a certain rate really seems to make the difference. One thing I've done I think makes a huge difference is actually heart rate monitor training. I wear a heart rate monitor. What I found is actually easier than I thought because you can keep your heart rate around 150 to 160 for me and not work as hard but still would have a very good physical exercise.

CHETRY: And it might have helped those runners if they would have been wearing one, maybe some wore but they could have gotten an indication. Wait a minute, I'm really high here.

GUPTA: Some advanced notice, absolutely.

CHETRY: All right. Sanjay, always great to see you. Thanks. We really should use this opportunity to do a little bit of exercise.

GUPTA: Let's go running later on.

CHETRY: By the way, if you have a question for Dr. Gupta, e-mail us. Go to CNN.com/am and Sanjay will be here to answer all of your questions as he does every Thursday morning when he opens up his mailbag. John.

ROBERTS: And if not do the exercise at the very least, think about it. It's almost just as good right. Quick look now with what CNN newsroom is working for the top of the hour.

COLLINS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Sky diving plane down in Washington state. Crews search for the wreckage at daybreak. All ten people aboard feared dead.

More than a dozen people killed in northern Iraq. Suicide bombers target Sunni leaders.

A possible motive surfaces in the Wisconsin-shooting spree. Six people killed by an off-duty deputy.

New medical findings. A bad marriage can break your heart in more ways than one. NEWSROOM top of the hour, on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: A couple of minutes to the top of the hour. Another clothing incident for Southwest Airlines. A passenger wearing a t- shirt with a somewhat off-color joke about his fishing prowess was told he could not board the flight while wearing it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE WINIECKI, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: 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 130 people to put a new shirt on was unbelievable embarrassment.

At least two women recently complained that they were told to cover up by Southwest employees who thought that their outfits were too revealing. So, we've been asking all morning, should airlines be the fashion police. we've been asking you to cast your vote at cnn.com/am. Here's our final check this morning. 31 percent of you say yes, 69 percent say no. The airline should not be the fashion police. Obviously, these two people said they were asked to cover up when southwest airlines thought their outfits were too revealing. We've been asking you this question all morning. 31 percent of you say yes, 69 percent say no the airlines should not be the fashion police.

Obviously, I was the third to think that yes they do get some say in the matter. And check this out. Amazing video coming to us from Australia this morning. This could be the world's luckiest kangaroo. The driver is lucky, too, there wasn't a major accident here. We counted ten cars breaking, swerving or going off the track to avoid the roo before he moved along. The cameraman not even sure there for a little while, which to follow the cars or the kangaroo. It happened over the weekend during a race in (INAUDIBLE) Australia. That's about two and a half hours west of Sydney. What do you think Kiran was going through that kangaroo's mind right then? Oh, my god, where am I?

CHETRY: Yes, he is like, exactly. This doesn't look like the outback anymore. How the heck did I get over here? But you're right, ten different cars missing that kangaroo. It is unbelievable. Some pretty fancy footwork by that kangaroo so congratulations. I'm glad we had a chance to show that video.

Hey, that's going to do it for us. Thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. Hope to see you back here tomorrow.

CHETRY: I will see you tomorrow. Kiran.

ROBERTS: CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins begins right now.

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