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American Morning

Al Gore Shares Nobel Peace Prize; Teen's Weapons: How Did He Get Them?

Aired October 12, 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): Breaking news. Al Gore shares the Nobel Peace Prize.

OLE DANBOLT MJOS, CHAIRMAN, NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared IPCC and Albert Arnold Al Gore, Jr.

ROBERTS: Reaction and the speculation about what he'll do next.

Bedroom bombshell. A teenager builds an arsenal in his room, suspected of planning a Columbine-like attack. What did his parents know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mother had to know about this.

ROBERTS: Plus, the future now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was quick, unobtrusive, a piece of cake.

ROBERTS: At the airport with the first passengers to go through revealing new security on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: It doesn't leave a whole lot apparently to the imagination.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: No. And we asked our viewers yesterday in the "Quick Vote," and the majority said, no thanks, I don't think I like that.

ROBERTS: Yes.

Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks very much for joining us on this Friday, October the 12th.

I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Glad you're with us.

Al Gore awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this morning. He shares the prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their efforts to raise awareness about global warming and for laying the foundation to do something about it.

Here is the announcement from Oslo, Norway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MJOS: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared in two equal parts between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, and Albert Arnold Al Gore, Jr., for their efforts to build up and disseminate great knowledge about manmade climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to conquer such change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Now, in a statement, Al Gore said this morning, "I'm deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. We face a true planetary emergency."

ROBERTS: Al Gore's activism on the environment began well before "An Inconvenient Truth," the film, came out. And so did the criticism.

I asked him about that when we spoke back in July.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Back in 1992 in the campaign, George Bush Sr. referred to you as "Ozone Man". And there are still a lot of critics out there of you saying you're too alarmist about the environment. Are you ever going to be able to win those people over?

AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope so. It's not a political issue. It really is a moral issue. And it is hard to think about this, because nothing in our prior history prepares us for the fact that we have this new relationship to the Earth.

We have quadrupled human population in less than a century. We're using these very powerful technologies to exploit the Earth now. We're putting 70 million tons of global warming pollution every day into the Earth's atmosphere as if it's an open sewer. And of course it's having the effect that the scientists have long told us it would.

The North Pole is melting. It could be gone in 35 years unless we act. There is an area of snow the size of California in Antarctica near the South Pole that has been melting. These and many other...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Well, Gore says he plans to donate his share of the $1.5 prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection. That's a bipartisan, nonprofit organization.

Well, off we go here. Momentary lapse.

But you know what it's interesting, though? Is that Gore really has had this as a signature issue not just for years, but for decades as well. And I think "An Inconvenient Truth" really was sort of the culmination of all of that experience.

I remember talking to him when he was vice president back in 1994 and he was heavily involved in this. So a long time coming for him.

CHETRY: He really was. And it's interesting to talk about the movie, because the movie has really been the flash button for a lot of criticism as well.

And our Miles O'Brien, an expert on all of this about the science of the movie. And for more how accurate it is, we are going to bring in Miles now.

He's our chief technology and environment reporter.

Hey, Miles. Good to see you this morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: You know, so, of course, people can't wait to jump out and pounce. And, in fact, in Britain, we have a judge who actually made some sort of ruling regarding Al Gore's movie. If it's going to be shown in schools, it has to list off some of the inaccuracies in it as well. Are there a lot of inaccuracies in "An Inconvenient Truth"?

O'BRIEN: Well, the judge found nine cases where he felt there were inaccuracies with the science. And if you go through those nine inaccuracies, among them, polar bears have drowned because of a lack of an icepack. Al Gore's statements about how quickly the icepacks in Greenland and Antarctica might, in fact, be melting. Making a link or at least inferring a link between things like increased tornadoes and global warming, where there is no scientific proof.

If you go through all of those statements, they, in some, do not actually go after the central thesis of the film itself, which is that global warming is real and there is a human connection there. As a matter of fact, the judge said in that same ruling when he said, you know, there are these nine mistakes, it is clear that it is based substantially on scientific research and opinion. But it is a political film. And, of course, as he's put it, not party political.

So, clearly what we're talking about here is there isn't much debate in the science. The judge didn't even say that. But the point is the response has become politicized, and as a result, people have gone after some of these small points, which, when you look at them, at specific instances, don't add up to really going after the whole thesis.

CHETRY: But the prize is not because of the film, it's because of the body of work on bringing attention to global warming, correct?

O'BRIEN: Well, there's no question he has been talking about this for a long time, and he served as the de facto spokesman for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is a group of the world's leading scientists who, frankly, are not great communicators. Scientists themselves don't do a very good job communicating to the general public. And when you get a group of several hundred smart people in a room, the end result, the statement they make, tends to get watered down.

Al Gore not encumbered by that, served as their spokesman in this case. And on the wake of that tough hurricane season of 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, it had the benefit of some good timing. People were focused in on this subject.

CHETRY: Right.

All right, Miles, thanks for the insight. We appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, it's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for some other stories new this morning.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Back to our top story, big news overnight. Former vice president Al Gore awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with a U.N. panel, for their efforts to spread awareness about manmade climate change.

We'd like to know what you think about all of this. Did Al Gore deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize?

Cast your vote and CNN.com/am in our "Quick Vote" section right now. The numbers are changing a little bit here.

Sixty-eight percent of you say, yes, he does deserve the honor. Thirty-two percent say no. That's down a little bit in terms of the yes from the last time we checked.

And a minor scare at Penn State University after a leak at a nuclear research reactor on campus. According to the school's newspaper, workers noticed several hundred of gallons missing from the 71,000-gallon tank on Tuesday. The school says the leak poses no risk to workers, the community or the environment. It will remain out of service until scientists find the source of that link.

Police say a Columbine-style plot was foiled in Pennsylvania. How did a 14-year-old get his hands on a huge arsenal? We'll talk to the Montgomery County district attorney.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, we have seen two big stories this week spotlighting school violence. Yesterday, a foiled shooting plot in Pennsylvania, where police found this arsenal of weapons in the bedroom of a 14-year-old suspect.

The day before, there was a shooting at a Cleveland high school. After wounding four, the gunman, 14-year-old Asa Coon, shot himself dead.

Here is what a neighbor had to say about that young gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know why he did what he did. Couldn't tell you. Pushed too far, that's all I can think of. You get pushed and pushed and pushed and sometimes you go over the edge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, luckily, the situation at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, the one in Pennsylvania, did not get that far, thanks to another boy alerting police.

So joining us now from Norristown, Pennsylvania, is Bruce Castor. He's the Montgomery County D.A. investigating this Pennsylvania plot.

Thanks for being with us this morning, Bruce.

BRUCE CASTOR, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Well, happy to be here.

CHETRY: Well, it was just stunning to see when the police rolled out all of the weaponry. I know some of them were BB guns, but active grenades, and then word, apparently, of a semiautomatic rifle that was bought by the young boy's mother.

What charges is the boy facing today?

CASTOR: Well, it's a little different in juvenile court than adult court. Putting it in terms that the viewers will recognize, we'll charge solicitation to commit murder, attempted murder, various allegations of risking a catastrophe and putting other people in danger.

In Pennsylvania, the question in juvenile court will be whether these are delinquent acts. We don't have to actually prove individual crimes, but the totality of the circumstances, do they constitute delinquency? If so, then there is a treatment program that the court will prescribe.

CHETRY: I think what is also jaw-dropping to a lot of people and really a nightmare for parents sending their kids to school is that all of this could go on under the nose of a child's parents, meaning that they were aware, at least to some extent, that he had this weaponry. Are they facing charges as well?

CASTOR: Obviously, there are supervision and parenting problems in this home. We are very aggressively investigating how it is that he was able to come up with these weapons, the hand grenades, the semiautomatic rifle. I think it is very likely that at least the mother will face charges, which could come as soon as today.

CHETRY: You know, if this boy's classmate didn't tip off police -- because apparently there was a tip-off -- apparently some exchange took place where somebody -- where the boy possibly asked a classmate, "Will you be willing to help me here?" Can you honestly say that you would have been able to stop this attack had you not been tipped off?

CASTOR: Well, remember, it's not a classmate because he doesn't go to school. The suspect is home-schooled. And he...

CHETRY: But he used to attend a school...

CASTOR: ... he's been out of school for about a year and a half.

CHETRY: All right. He used to attend the school with these children?

CASTOR: No. He never attended Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. He was in one of the middle schools. And the guy that he approached was a friend of his who came to police.

Now, obviously, we can't solve the crime without any evidence. But the reason why we were able to get the evidence is because the police and the school district have in place a program that our office initiated to work closely together. And one of the components of that is to constantly remind students that if they hear anything at all that leads them to conclude that there might be violence, they are to contact police and let us evaluate the threat. So, actually, the system worked here.

I'm a parent of two in the public schools here in Montgomery County, so I'm worried that this stuff goes on in Montgomery County. And certainly as the D.A. it troubles me. But I actually am very proud of the way the system worked in this case.

This is outstanding police work in cooperation with parents, students, the school district, and the police. And I'm very proud of the work they did.

CHETRY: Right, because this is an attack that was foiled, unlike what we saw, unfortunately, the tragedy in Cleveland.

Bruce Castor, Montgomery County district attorney.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

CASTOR: OK. Thank you.

(NEWSBREAK) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, the first reaction to those revealing new airport security machines that use radio waves to outline the passenger's body produced that outline, right down to these skivvies. Well, we were being -- they were being put through some real word testing yesterday at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport. And amazingly, the passengers we caught up didn't seem to mind bearing at all.

Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was quick, unobtrusive, a piece of cake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it makes it faster and safer, that's fine with me. I mean, I really don't see a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, that was our "Quick Vote" question yesterday. We asked you what you thought. It was pretty split, but the majority ended up -- 55 percent said, yes, they would mind the more revealing machine. Forty-five percent said, no, it would not bother them.

ROBERTS: It's pretty close. You know?

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, here is a look at a story coming up that you can't miss. We've got the ballot jackpot right here today. A bunch of interesting topics, including one that we just found out about this morning, which is A Gore winning the peace prize.

ROBERTS: Al Gore, yes. Does that mean that he might toss his hat into the ring? You know, there's some speculation that he'd like to do it, but Hillary is pretty strong right now. But if she were to stumble a little bit, might that leave an opening?

CHETRY: That's right.

We're also going to talk about some of those controversial comments about NASCAR cooties and a few other interesting political topics.

All that.

ROBERTS: Do you need inoculations before you go to the track?

CHETRY: I don't think so.

That and much more when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: There is a beautiful shot this morning, Chicago, Illinois. Would you take a dip in the lake today?

ROBERTS: Not today. A month ago, I would have but not today.

CHETRY: Exactly. Times are changing and we're certainly in fall now. It is Friday, October 12th. Glad you're with us this morning.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

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

Al Gore awarded the Nobel Peace prize this morning. He shares the prize with the intergovernmental panel on climate change from the U.N. for their efforts to raise awareness about climate change and for laying the foundation to do something about it.

Here's the announcement from Oslo, Norway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLE DANBOLT MJOES, CHMN, NORWEGIAN NOBEL CMTE.: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace prize for 2007 is to be shared in two equal parts between the intergovernmental panel on climate change, IPC, and Albert Arnold Al Gore, Jr., for their efforts to build up and disseminate great knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: This morning's announcement also increasing speculation that Gore might jump into the presidential race. He said repeatedly that he won't run. Gore plans to donate half of the million and half dollars share of the prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, recovery operations on the plane that crashed in Washington State. They will begin later today but it could be months before investigators find out what caused the crash. The Cessna crashed Sunday killing all ten on board.

In Los Angeles, two men face murder charges for a crash that killed a young boy and critically injured his mother and infant sister this week. Police say they were driving recklessly 90 miles per hour when they slammed into a parked car. That car plowed into a vehicle that was carrying the three victims.

FEMA preparing for disaster by making so-called base plans for a handful of calamities that would include a devastating earthquake in San Francisco, also in St. Louis and plans for a category 5 hurricane hitting South Florida or Hawaii. FEMA has been taken to task for not having disaster plans in place that's been left up to the states in the past.

ROBERTS: The first game of the national championship series marred by a controversial call and some misbehaving fans. Trouble started in the seventh inning when Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks was called for interference for a hard slide into the Rockies Kaz Matsui. Diamondbacks fans started throwing bottles, water bottles that is and other garbage onto the field. The Rockies manager pulled his players off of the field. The game was delayed for several minutes about eight. When it resumed, the Rockies won 5-1 to take the first game of the National League Championship series.

An irreverent view on politics and lots of other things from Stephen Colbert last night, one of the topics Colbert addressed was that bathroom incident involving Senator Larry Craig.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Would you invite Senator Larry Craig on?

STEPHEN COLBERT, "THE COLBERT REPORT": Absolutely, in a minute. He's a senator. You know? And my character supports him.

KING: Support him?

COLBERT: Absolutely.

KING: You like him?

COLBERT: Well, he's an oppressed minority. He's openly gay man. Who ...

KING: He's openly gay.

COLBERT: He's openly gay. He used gay code when he said I am not gay.

KING: That's the gay code?

COLBERT: That's the gay code. That is the best way to prove you are not gay is to say I am so gay. Larry, are you gay?

KING: No!

COLBERT: Loud and clear, sir. Loud and clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Colbert has a new book out reflecting his trademark- mangled syntax. The title of the book is "I am America and So Can You."

CHETRY: It's time for our Friday version of "Ballot Jackpot." Our segment where we stuff political hot topics in a box, here it is. We pull them out at random and we let our guests weigh in.

ROBERTS: Joining us to play today are democratic strategist Jamal Simmons. He is down there in Washington and Repubican strategist, Jennifer Millerwise-Dyck, both joining us from our facility there in D.C. Kiran, I took the first one last week, why don't you go first today?

CHETRY: All right. And here we go, we grab aha, a Nobel Gore. You know, it was announced just 3 1/2 hours ago in fact that indeed Al Gore won the Nobel Peace prize.

Jamal, are you going to start putting on a Gore '08 bumper sticker this morning?

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I had my Gore bumper stickers in 2000 and I'll be happy to put them back out again. I think this is a great vindication for Al Gore. You know, there's no bigger, there's no good consolation prize to have the presidency taken from you but this gets pretty close.

ROBERTS: Jennifer, from your standpoint, Republicans have been pretty harsh on Gore, particularly over this issue of global warming going all the way back to the campaign of 1992 when George H.W. Bush referred to Gore as the ozone man. Is this vindication?

JENNIFER MILLERWISE-DYCK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you know, I guess, I'm one of those people who assume that the Nobel Peace prize went to those who actually worked on peace issues, like former recipients such as Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela. You know, so, I think it's interesting, but what I think will be really interesting is whether or not this is really going to energize those Gore supporters who want to see him get on that ballot.

Hillary Clinton's campaign has to be incredibly concerned about this because there is a legitimate part of the population of Democrats out there who are just not happy with the two frontrunners and want to see them on the ticket. I think it would be marvelous.

ROBERTS: So, are you suggesting Gore was not deserving of the prize?

MILLERWISE-DYCK: I'm just suggesting that I think historically it has gone to those who have been working on peace-related issues like Northern Ireland, the Middle East, etc.

ROBERTS: All right, Jennifer.

SIMMONS: Come on, Jennifer. You guys took the presidency and now, you want to take the Nobel Peace prize?

MILLERWISE-DYCK: I was there. We won the presidency.

ROBERTS: This is one you don't give back.

Oh, new topic. I love this one. This is fabulous. Nascar Cooties. Homeland Security Benny Thompson wanted to send staffers, maybe some other members of Congress, to Nascar events in Concord and Talladega. And said before you go, they were there to check out the health services there, and said before you go; you might want to consider getting immunized for hepatitis, tonsillitis, bursitis.

CHETRY: Diphtheria, influenza. It almost seemed that it was a joke, Jamal.

SIMMONS: Well, I think in all seriousness, I think there was some concern that these folks were going to go to health facilities and they are going to be viewing some first-responder facilities so they may need to get some inoculations for that. Obviously, you don't need any shots to go to a Nascar event. Most Americans find that to be pretty silly.

ROBERTS: Jennifer, this is just irresistible for Republicans.

MILLERWISE-DYCK: I feel sorry for Jamal having to answer that one. I mean, I'll tell you, this is just another example of how out of touch Democrats are with American people. I mean, in 2004,you had John Kerry who was in Wisconsin thinking that lamb borefield (ph) is Lambertfield. You have Hillary Clinton hobnobbing with Hollywood all the time. You have Barack Obama who thinks that wearing a flag pin is equivalent to false patriotism and now you have this. I mean, it's just that every turn it never stopped, surprising you how out of touch they are with their average Joe.

SIMMONS: I got to tell you guys, if I was the Republicans and had a war in Iraq that was falling apart and a bad economy, in terms of the deficit spending and all that, I would be looking for silly things like that to talk about, too.

MILLERWISE-DYCK: You're the ones who brought it up.

CHETRY: Let's talk about another topic I just pulled out of here. Aggressive Obama. Obama is talking about phase two of his campaign. Will it be too little, too late, as we've seen Hillary Clinton sort of been able to step over him and gain some major headway in some of these latest polls, Jamal.

SIMMONS: Look. I think this is what campaigning is about. Politics ain't beanbag, as they say. And so I think this is Barack Obama picking himself up and starting to take these last three months on. The question is, does he have enough time? That's what the voters have to decide that. Anybody can win?

CHETRY: What do you want to see him do differently, Jamal?

SIMMONS: Well, I think he has to take Senator Clinton on directly. I think he also has to talk about his campaign from a perspective of not just change but change to what and I think the campaign may be moving toward doing some of those things. And if he's successful, you know, if he can beat Hillary Clinton in a Democratic primary, you can certainly beat Republicans.

ROBERTS: And Jennifer, what can Republicans do to try to keep Obama from beating Hillary Clinton? Because it seems to me that everything I hear on the campaign trail they really are looking forward to going up against Hillary in the general.

MILLERWISE-DYCK: Yes. If you're in the Hillary Clinton campaign, you're now looking at not just getting it from the republicans because Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are invoking her name regularly on the campaign trail. But now you're looking at it from the Barack Obama campaign.

What is really going to be the test for Obama, I think, is to see if this attack, kind of strategy can work which it can work. There's a reason candidates go negative is because it does work. That is if he can try to figure out a way to define her campaign and why he doesn't think she can be successful in a very simple phrase. In 2004, it was John Kerry was a flip-flopper. He needs to be able to figure out how to do that to Hillary Clinton if he wants this really bad.

ROBERTS: Boy, so far she seemed pretty invulnerable there.

Jennifer Millerwise Dyck, Jamal Simmons, good to see you again. I love the Nascar thing. It was priceless. Will see you again next week.

SIMMONS: Good to see you.

MILLERWISE-DYCK: Thank you.

CHETRY: Well, a rescue at sea topping your "Quick Hits" now. A navy pilot rushed to the hospital after being pulled from the Atlantic Ocean. He ejected before his fighter jet went down, happened about 70 miles off the coast of Virginia. There's no word yet what the problem was with the jet and the pilot's injuries are not life threatening.

Also, a 450-year-old discovery made in Pensacola, Florida. Researchers dove Thursday for a closer look at a ship wreck they say from get this, 1559, at the bottom of Pensacola Bay. The first ship was found 15 years ago and they say as many as five others could be down there.

ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a dieter's best friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People could partner with their dog much like a gym buddy to lose weight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: How simply walking your dog can lead to a happier, healthier life. Four-legged workout bodies ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Forty-three minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.

Crawling babies tops your "Quick Hits" now. It's the "babies 'R us" derby in Manhattan. Crawling babies in a 10-yard dash. The event is a preview for the American baby fair this weekend in Long Island where all babies are encouraged to enter in the hourly races to see who can crawl the fastest.

Hundreds of hot air balloons filling the skies at the International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. Some of them pretty interesting as well. Look at there. You got a panda bear, flying bears and bunnies and turtles in the skies over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The fiesta soars through Sunday. And it's not just humans that are gearing up for Halloween. The gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo are already trick or treating. This gorilla has played with the ghost, filled with some Halloween treats but don't worry, not candy. Keepers are giving them healthy treats.

Coming to 44 minutes after the hour. Reynolds Wolf in for Rob Marciano in the CNN weather desk tracking extreme weather. We had lots of rain overnight.

Reynolds, what's it looking like where we are today?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, more of the same. I hate to sing a song second version but that's really going to be the weather situation for you in parts of the northeast. We're not just talking about New York where you have scattered showers this morning. You're also going to be seeing much of it through a good part of New England.

In New York, we are getting a little bit of a break for the time being but we're beginning to see more development forming out towards the west so don't put away the umbrellas just yet. You're going to be dealing with more scattered showers later this morning through the mid-day hours and possibly in time for the drive home. There, we're starting to see more shower activity just offshore from Boston. Much of this is going to be rolling to the north up in Portland, Maine, also at Lewistonn and even into Banger before the day is over.

And some spots may be dealing with some flash flooding. Look out for spots where you have poor drainage, low-lying areas and as it's going to be some issues for you as you make your way into the mid-day hours. The reason we're seeing this that big area of low pressure that's bringing the rain but it's also going to bring delays for many spots especially in New York. We got at least an hour delay in many locations, Boston same story. And Philadelphia, you're also going to be dealing with the scattered showers and also the wind. So expect some delays there as well. That's your forecast.

Let's send it back do you, John.

ROBERTS: All right, Reynolds. Thanks very much. We'll see you soon. Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, there is a scientific explanation it looks like now for craving chocolate. Researchers say it's actually bacteria in your stomach that can trigger the desire for chocolate. They found that chocoholics had different levels of the bacteria in their bodies than those who didn't crave chocolate. They're hoping the discovery can lead to new treatments for certain types of obesity.

ROBERTS: CNN "NEWSROOM" just minutes away now. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John, good Friday to you. Hello, everyone.

Al Gore on the NEWSROOM rundown of course this morning. His campaign to slow global warming wins him the Nobel Peace prize. We are gathering reaction all morning right here in the NEWSROOM.

He spent months in jail for a conviction that was overturned and now Jena 6 defendant, Michael Bell back behind bars this morning.

And a kick down in a holding cell. Handcuffed prisoners go at it with their feet. They were arrested for misbehaving. Get this, at a baby shower.

It is Friday in the NEWSROOM, top of the hour, right here on CNN. John, back to you.

ROBERTS: We will see you then, sir. Looking forward to it.

HARRIS: OK.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: World War II weapons topping your "Quick Hits" now. The army corps of engineers returned to a middle school in Orlando, Florida to destroy more munitions including a rocket and a grenade. It's the third weapons discovery in the area in the past few months. The army stopped using the land near the school as a bombing range back in 1946.

Olympic gold indeed tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies for the winter games in Vancouver in 2010. They could cost you as much as $1,100. The most expensive ticket for a competition $775 for the gold medal match in men's hockey.

And a new idea for a slimmer body. Head out with your best friend. If your best friend is a dog, that is. We'll show you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.

You know, researchers have long known that having a pet can improve your mental health. Well, now they're discovering how dog lovers are getting a leg up on their physical fitness.

CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us in our "Fit Nation" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Since January, Tom Gayeski has lost 14 pounds. Not at the gym or using any fancy equipment or diet. He has done it just by walking his dog, Max.

TOM GAYESKI, STUDY VOLUNTEERS: I was coming off hip surgery so I needed to exercise and needed motivation.

GUPTA: Both Gayeski and Max were part of a study conducted by Basset health care in Cooperstown, New York, to see if people who walked their dogs had a better chance of losing weight than those who didn't have four-legged friends.

ALLAN GREEN, BASSETT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: People who are overweight tend to have overweight dogs and maybe people could partner with their dog, much as you partner with a gym buddy to lose weight.

GUPTA: And in Tom's case, it worked. Not only has he lost weight, Max, the dog, shed some pounds as well. Researchers found that anyone with or without a dog lost weight by walking. But they found that those participants with dogs have an edge. They're more likely to keep the weight off because they keep walking. It seems the pet, not weight loss, is the prime mode to exercise.

GREEN: I think the bottom line is that if you stick with the program, whether it's walking your dog, riding a bike or going to the gym, it will work for you. I think one of the secrets is that each individual needs to find out, find something that they enjoy doing and stick with it.

GUPTA: Green also believes that people need reasons to get out and get moving. Animals require exercise. He says put the man and the beast together and that is better than underused treadmill sitting in the basement.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: There you go, new use for that cat that's just sitting around the house.

CHETRY: For that dusty golden retriever in your basement.

My dog helps me too by sitting there and begging so bad for my food that I end up giving him little pieces.

ROBERTS: Our dogs become sort of like our treadmill. We use it to hang clothes on to dry. Just kidding.

Here is a quick look at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.

HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace prize for his global warming campaign.

Jena 6 defendant Michael Bell jailed again this morning. Find out why.

A home-schooled teen in court today, accused of plotting a Columbine style attack.

All Banquet pot pies recalled. They're linked to dozens of cases of Salmonella poisoning.

And new concerns today about lead in many name brand lipsticks. NEWSROOM, at the top of the hour, on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, with Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace prize today for his work fighting global warming, it, once again, puts the spotlight on the environment. As part of our "Planet in Peril" series we put this powerful images to a song by R.E.M. called "Until the day is done." The song is going to be in their new album but that's not going to be out until the spring of 2008. So this is your chance to hear it early.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: From the area you get a chance to see how much of the rain forest has already been destroyed.

R.E.M. (singing): Where are we left to carry on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at endangered turtles being sold in a market? Exactly.

R.E.M. (singing): Until the day is done. Until the day is done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is literally one species that holds the cards. It's our species, human beings, that controls the future for just about every life form on our planet.

R.E.M. (singing): Until the day is done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: "Until the Day is Done," REM. The "Planet in Peril," a CNN special with Anderson Cooper, airs Tuesday and Wednesday, October 23rd and 24th at 9:00 Eastern. And if you'd like to see more of "Planet in Peril," you can download "A.C. 360" podcast, go to CNN.com/planetinperil. Download it now.

CHETRY: And we got a preview, it was fabulous. It was so beautifully shot too. I can't wait to see the whole thing.

Well, what a way to start the weekend for former Vice-President Al Gore. Overnight, he won the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts to spread awareness about man-made climate change. He's going to be sharing the honor with the panel from the U.N.

And all morning, we've been asking what you think about it. Do you think Al Gore deserve to win the Nobel Peace prize? Hundreds of you have been voting on our Web site CNN.com/am. Here is the final tally. Let's take a look. Sixty-eight percent of you say yes, he did deserve it, 32 percent of you say no. He did pretty much the same all morning.

ROBERTS: 1514 of you rang in this morning. So, very popular topic. We thank you for doing that today.

Hey, a vicious beating behind bars caught on tape. You got to see this. A jail security camera in Lawrence, Massachusetts shows one prisoner being cornered and kicked by four others yesterday while they were handcuffed in a holding cell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was kicked a number of times by all four individuals. Now you see the officers respond, run into the room. And with pepper spray, they separated the combatants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Police say the video didn't have any audio they're not sure what started the fight.

CHETRY: They did say the four men will be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon because in Massachusetts if you kick with a covered foot that is a weapon. They were originally arrested after a fight, get this, at a baby shower.

ROBERTS: Oh my goodness.

CHETRY: How about this? I now pronounce you man and robot? That could happen in the future? Well, according to one man who got his doctorate from the University in the Netherlands. His thesis, "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners" predicts that due to changing attitudes toward marriages and improvements in robotics, people someday marry robots.

ROBERTS: It's kind of like "Blade Runner" where Harrison Ford falls for the "skin job" as they call it.

CHETRY: Well, all right. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you back here Monday.

ROBERTS: Have a great weekend.

See you in the NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Watch events coming into the NEWSROOM live on Friday, Monday. Friday or Monday? It's Friday, October 12th.

What is on the rundown today? Vice President, Oscar winner and now Al Gore is a Nobel laureate. We got reaction.

HARRIS: An arsenal of weapons. Police say a home-schooled boy planned a Columbine-style attack. He is in court today.

COLLINS: Ladies, how safe is your make-up. You may be glossing with leaded lipstick. Shades of gray in the NEWSROOM. HARRIS: And happening right now, a Pennsylvania teen in court this morning. Police say he was planning a Columbine-style attack at a nearby high school. Well, authorities say they found.

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