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American Morning
Oil Prices Up; Tropical Storm Noel; Who's In Charge?
Aired November 01, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Free speech or an invasion of privacy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD, (singing): God hates America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Millions awarded to a Marine dad who sued protesters for showing up at his son's funeral.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERT SNYDER, FATHER OF FALLEN MARINE: It wasn't about the money. It was about getting them to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Storm watch. Tropical Storm Noel building strength as it closes in on Florida.
Plus, happy reunion. A family burned out of their home and the best friend they thought they'd lost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's something else. He's more, you know, a part of the family than an animal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Together again on this AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Adorable. We're going to have a little bit more from that family. They thought that the dog didn't make it out of the fire either and then, as luck would have it, he was found.
ROBERTS: Sometimes little miracles.
CHETRY: It's very true.
Well, welcome. It's Thursday, November 1st. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
A fundamentalist church slammed with a hefty bill for protesting a military funeral. A judge has ordered the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, to pay nearly $11 million to the father of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq. Twenty-year-old Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was killed in Anbar province in March of 2006. Church members went to Snyder's funeral carrying signs that read "you're going to hell" and "God hates you." The church protests military funerals because it says the Iraq War is punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. The Snyder family sued the church for invasion of privacy and intentional, emotional distress. But they say the case was never about money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERT SNYDER, FATHER OF FALLEN MARINE: I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families. I mean, that was the goal. The whole time, it wasn't about the money. It was about getting them to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Church leaders, though, remain defiant. Last night the church's founder, Fred Phelps, told Rick Sanchez on "Out In The Open," the judgment will do nothing to stop their protests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. FRED PHELPS, FUNERAL DEMONSTRATION LEADER: They don't want me preaching that God is punishing America by killing those servicemen. And if that's why he's doing it and sending them home in body bags, then the appropriate forum of choice would be their funerals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Phelps says that they plan to appeal the multimillion- dollar jury award. And coming up in just a few minutes, we're going to be speaking with Al Snyder about his family's legal victory.
Now let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the Fed cut pushing oil prices to new highs. It topped $96 a barrel in trading overnight. Ali Velshi is at our business update desk this morning.
And I can guarantee you have your oil barrel with you today.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right.
CHETRY: What happened? The Fed cut affecting oil prices?
VELSHI: I didn't come back just to be next to my barrel. I mean, I would have thought the Fed cut was the lead story. Here it is 6:00 in the morning Eastern and even my oil barrel is already out of date.
This was the settled price for a barrel of oil last night. The highest that oil has ever sat at. And, by the way, for all of you who give me beans about whether it's an inflation adjusted high or not, you know what, $95 for oil is pretty high. $94.53. And that was last night.
Now it's gone up beyond that this morning. Beyond $95. Beyond $96. It's pulled back but it's still in the $95 range right now. There was a gain of $4.15 yesterday and then more overnight.
So we really, really do have to pay attention to oil. There are a lot of reasons why it's not as serious as some people might think. Part of that is because oil, as a percentage of what we spend in a household, is less than it was in 1980 or 1990. But still, at these levels, we do have to be concerned.
Then there's another story. And this is the story of inflation, which we're going to talk about a little later. This is my bar of gold. This is worth a lot more money. We knew this would happen when the Fed cut its rates by .25 percent and the prime rate came down, the dollar went down, too. I'll tell you about that later.
But this bar of gold settling yesterday at $792 an ounce. That's an increase in $7.70. But spot gold, which is not a futures contract, that's if you went and bought a bar of gold right now, is trading at almost $800 an ounce right now, above $796. So we are seeing gold move up toward its all-time high, which is around $850.
So we are seeing commodities much higher today, even though you got a discount on your debt. I'll have more of this throughout the course of the morning.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Can I see that bar of gold one more time?
VELSHI: Oh, you can but I'm not going to bring it in. You can, you know, lay hands on it later on.
CHETRY: Where's your other cuff link, Ali?
VELSHI: I've got my gold cufflinks on too. I'm all about the gold today.
CHETRY: All right. And that thing is real, not a prop, like your iPhone.
VELSHI: Absolutely.
CHETRY: OK. Thanks, Ali. We'll check in with you a little later.
John.
ROBERTS: Ali's a strong guy. Those bars of gold weigh 44 pounds and he's flipping it around like it's a feather.
Also new this morning, Duane Dog Chapman is apologizing and his show on A&E has been suspended after he was caught on tape in a racist rant. The website for "The National Enquirer" has two recorded phone conversations it says are of chapman raging against his son's black girlfriend. "The Enquirer" does not say how it obtained the tape, but it is loaded with the "n" word and other offensive words.
This morning Chapman released a statement about this. He says, "my sincerest, heartfelt apologies go out to every person I have offended for my regrettable use of very inappropriate language. I am deeply disappointed in myself for speaking out of anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation. It was completely taken out of context. I was disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I never should have used that term."
A&E has announced that it is suspending production of his show, "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" until an investigation is complete. We'll have that audio for you a little bit later on, on AMERICAN MORNING.
Another possible hate crime. This time at Colombia University. Police say a Jewish professor at Columbia's teacher's college got a swastika painted on her office door yesterday. This comes less than a month after a black professor at Columbia found a noose on her office door. No arrests have been made.
And there is yet another noose case. This one on Long Island in New York. Police say the head of a black mannequin was found hanging from a noose outside of a home in Valley Stream (ph), along with a piece of paper with the "n" word scrolled on it. CNN is taking a look at the resurgence of the noose and its violent history. Kyra Phillips investigates tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, several hundred State Department foreign service officers are on notice that they could soon be forced to accept orders to serve in Iraq. During a State Department town hall meeting yesterday, a 36-year veteran of the foreign service called the move a "potential death sentence."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK CRODDY, STATE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE: It's one thing if someone believes in what's going on over there and volunteers, but it's another thing to send someone over there on a forced assignment. And, I'm sorry, but basically that's a potential death sentence and you know it. Who will raise our children if we're dead or seriously wounded?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The State Department announced the move last week, saying there aren't enough volunteers to work at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country. It's the largest call up since Vietnam. The State Department says all diplomats take an oath to serve the country, whether it's here or overseas.
A Philadelphia police officer critically injured and the manhunt is on for the gunman who shot him in the face. He was the third officer shot in just four days in Philadelphia. Last rites have now been given to Charles Cassidy. His colleagues and family are asking for your help this morning. Police say the suspect was caught on security camera. Cassidy has shot in the head at Dunkin' Donuts yesterday. They're looking for a black man, 5'11" to six feet tall with a spider web tattoo on his hand, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and has a limp.
NASA shuffling its space walk plans to tackle repairs on a torn solar wing at the International Space Station. Today's planned space walk was supposed to inspect a malfunctioning joint which allows a set of solar panels to rotate toward the sun, thus powering a lot of what goes on there. But mission managers says it's been postponed because the priority is now to fix this torn solar wing. Both of the problem's involve the station's power system and it actually could threaten future construction work if they're not fixed. NASA says astronauts will work on the ripped solar panel either tomorrow or on Saturday.
Well, trying to stop illegals from getting licenses. A public interest group that fights government corruption is now suing New York Governor Eliot Spitzer on behalf of the taxpayers. Judicial Watch claims that his three-tier licensing plan is illegal since people are still legally required to give a Social Security number when applying for a driver's license, something theoretically illegal immigrants would not be able to do because they wouldn't have one. The governor says his critics are missing the point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ELIOT SPITZER, (D) NEW YORK: This is not a conversation about immigration. People have deeply felt beliefs about what immigration policy should be. This is about making sure our streets are safe. This is about not having people drive when they don't have a license. This is about law enforcement knowing who's driving. This is about making sure people have insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Under the new plan, drivers would only need a foreign passport and a second form of I.D. to get one type of New York driver's license.
John.
ROBERTS: It's eight minutes after the hour.
South Florida on alert this morning as Tropical Storm Noel looms in the Caribbean. Storm watches are in effect for coastal Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The deadly storm slamming the Bahamas with torrential rain and tropical storm force winds.
The National Hurricane Center expects Noel to grow in strength. But if it stays on its current path, it will just skirt the coast of Florida. Noel already blamed for more than 80 deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is the deadliest storm in the western Caribbean since Tropical Storm Jeanne hit Haiti back in 2004.
Our Reynolds Wolf is at the weather desk in Atlanta tracking Noel this morning.
Reynolds, who's the track looking this morning? How close to Florida will it actually get?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It still looks like it. Well, right now, John, I mean, it's within 180 miles from Miami as we speak. So it's already pretty close and it is expected, as you mentioned, to go just right along the coast and then veer deeper into the Atlantic.
Right now we do see some signs of strengthening with winds right at 60 miles an hour. This storm is just really charging its way to the north. Let's take this image full so you can get a better view of it at home. It is moving about six miles an hour at this time and it is going to bring some heavy rainfall to parts of the Bahamas. Some locations well over a foot of rainfall.
And this is the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center. There it goes right to the west of Nassau and then moving deeper into the Atlantic. However, John, as you know very well, the storms can be incredibly fickle. They do tend to veer sometimes and that cone of probability that you see. So it's a thing we need to monitor very carefully.
The storm expected to strengthen by 2:00 a.m. on Friday with winds maximum sustained of 70 miles per hour. A very strong tropical storm, but not a hurricane. But honestly, folks, there's not a whole lot of difference between 70 and 74 miles an hour, which would bring it into a category one status. So I would definitely look for that being a possibility.
One thing we have going in our favor in terms of this storm is that we are expecting a front to zip its way into parts of the southeast. And the frontal boundary, when it makes its way southward, is going to be a dry passage. But when it does pass, that front may be almost like a giant shield pushing that system deeper into the Atlantic. I'll tell you, at this time the year, we can always use all the help we can get.
John, we're entering the final month of hurricane season. It all ends on November 30th. But as you also know, we can always pass a little bit longer. We can have some activity as late as say, well, January. It's happened before and certainly could happen again. But we don't see much on the radar after this one.
ROBERTS: At the same time, though, I'm sure folks there in Georgia wouldn't mind a little more of a westward track, bring some rain to those parched areas of the south.
WOLF: It would be a tremendous difference, no question about it. It would mean a lot to us.
ROBERTS: All right. Reynolds Wolf for us this morning. Reynolds, thanks. We'll check back in with you soon. WOLF: Any time.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, you have a can't miss reality show idea? Maybe like anchorwoman? Maybe you want to buy a bus ticket to Hollywood because TV writers may soon go on strike. Twelve thousand writer's guild contracts expired at midnight. And one of the big sticking points is residuals for Internet show downloads and DVD sales. It would mean even more reality shows, although some people say reality shows are a little bit scripted too there, Laguna Beach. Four shows like Leno and Letterman into reruns for awhile but it may not affect anything for a year since a lot of scripts are already "in the can" as they say in that business.
Well, it looks like runners at Sunday's New York City Marathon cannot run to their own tunes. The race bans iPods now and other listening devices they say to insure safety and to prevent runners from getting a competitive advantage. It's kind of interesting. The most competitive runners would never dream of carrying an iPod, many of them say, but some recreational racers like to turn to their tunes for some motivational boosting. Marathon organizers admit the rule will be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. I don't know about you, but cannot run without muse in my ears to motivate me.
ROBERTS: I can't run anyway, so forget it.
CHETRY: Oh, I was -- you're not going to do -- I thought for sure you were going to do that marathon.
ROBERTS: I was thinking about it, but I don't have the time.
CHETRY: If they let you bring the bike?
ROBERTS: If I could bring the bike, I'd do it.
The survivor of a steam explosion in New York is going home today. Your "Quick Hits" now. Gregory McCullough, the tow truck driver caught in the blast in New York City back in July, gets out of the hospital this morning. He suffered third degree burns over most of his body. McCullough has years of rehabilitation ahead of him, but he says he's thankful just to be alive.
And a major milestone in the Katrina recovery today. Grand celebrations will be held for the reopening of the Biloxi Bay Bridge, washed away in the hurricane two years ago. The bridge reconnects Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
What scientists know about this cat could help cure disease. We'll tell you why Cinnamon is such a special kitty. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fifteen minutes now after the hour. Tropical Storm Noel's toll in your "Quick Hits" now. Devastating floods and mudslides in the Dominican Republic, knee-deep water in the roads, people jumping into rowboats to help get around and help others. The storm has killed close to 50 people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba.
Ominous signs on the shores of the storm's next potential target. This was a shot by Teresa Vercimax, who's vacationing on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The ocean is slamming into the sea wall. You can see how close the water is coming there to those stairs. She's also been watching branches fly off trees, she says.
The branches are all pointing toward land and the waves are landing on Ocean Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale because there's not a whole lot of beach left. I-Reporter Rob Orcutt took this picture for us. Tropical Storm Noel is doing a number on the area in terms of beach erosion, even though it hasn't yet made landfall there. You can see the water coming right over into the main beach road there.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, they're some of the most important people in government, from Homeland Security, to health, to legal issues. They make decisions that affect the lives of all Americans and many of them are not approved by the Senate. Why and how much does that really matter? CNN's Jennifer Eccleston joins us from Washington with more.
Hi, Jennifer.
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Well, critics say with 15 months left in office, the administration is staffing the senior government positions with interim appointees in order to escape congressional oversight. Still others suggest it is merely a function of a lame duck administration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BENNIE THOMPSON, (D) MISSISSIPPI: There are so many holes in the vacancy, it could be Swiss cheese.
ECCLESTON, (voice over): Almost a quarter of senior level positions at the Department of Homeland Security remain vacant or headed by interim leaders, according to Congressman Bennie Thompson. And he says that presents a security risk.
THOMPSON: We owe this country the ability to be free from fear. And we really can't offer that if we don't have all the pieces to the puzzle in place.
ECCLESTON: Not so says a DHS spokeswoman. "Only a few positions remain vacant," she tells CNN, and they "do not impact the safety and security of the American people."
But top posts at the Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Justice are now filled by acting administrators. In fact, at Justice alone, 13 senior level staffers, including the attorney general and his two deputies, are currently acting appointees. So is the administrator of the $600 billion a year Medicare and Medicaid program.
BILL GALSTON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It's unfortunate that departments and agencies don't have the kind of qualified, permanent leadership that they deserve, but not necessarily a disaster for the country.
ECCLESTON: And the vacancy problem is not unique to the Bush presidency. In 1998, 20 percent of senior positions in President Clinton's administration were filled with temporary or acting appointees. Towards the end of every second-term presidency, analysts say there's a rush for the exit. Attracting good people for short term positions isn't impossible.
GALSTON: But it's difficult to get them nominated and confirmed in time to make much of a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ECCLESTON: Well, just this week, President Bush made his nominations for the top post of the Department of Agriculture and Veteran Affairs, but it could take weeks before they're actually confirmed and it still leaves tons of holes at some of the top government jobs.
Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jennifer Eccleston for us in Washington. Thanks.
ROBERTS: More signs of trouble for mortgages tops your "Quick Hits" now. A just-released report tracking foreclosures shows a 30 percent increase from the second quarter up nearly 100 percent from the third quarter last year. One in every 196 homes went into foreclosure.
Sounds a lot like a futuristic movie, but at 10 Chicago gas stations you can pay for gas with your fingertip. To set it up, you need to scan your fingertip and then link it to a credit card. Then the next time you fill up, you just touch the device and it charges you. You don't need cash or a credit card, just your finger.
Jumbo jet, brakes screeching, luggage disappearing and dream vacations becoming nightmares, your airline horror stories are coming up.
And scientists studying this cat have made a major breakthrough. We'll tell you why Cinnamon could hold the clue to help treating disease. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now. Some of the top stories. Scott Peterson won't get the money from the life insurance policy on his wife, Laci. The court ruled Laci's mother should get the proceeds of the $250,000 policy that he took out. Peterson on death row for killing his wife. But his lawyers argue that since his case was under appeal he shouldn't be barred from collecting that money.
Virginia Senator John Warner in the hospital this morning. He has an infection. Doctors say it stems from a minor surgical procedure the 80-year-old Republican had last month. An aide for the senator says it is not serious. Warner plans to retire from the Senate next year.
And take a look at this cat because this cat could hold the secrets to treating feline as well as human diseases. Cinnamon had her DNA decoded by a team of researchers. About two dozen animals and people have had their DNA decoded, but cats could be especially helpful because many diseases in cats resemble human diseases and that could be used in research for vaccines and treatments.
ROBERTS: So this is at the very early stages I take it then.
CHETRY: For Cinnamon.
ROBERTS: Yes. All right.
We're taking a look at the frustrations that all of us face as flyer this week. And you've been sending along some of your horror stories. This morning we're going to take a look at airport security and the long lines there. Is there hope on the horizon that high-tech screeners will help move things along? Our Chris Lawrence has got that story for us coming up in our next hour here.
CHETRY: Yes, meanwhile, we asked you guys to e-mail us and tell us some of your nightmare stories from flying. Her's one from Heather in Ontario. She writes, "we boarded our flight home, began our taxi down the runway and at the last second before takeoff the pilot aborted" the flight, "slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt. Luggage went flying, people screaming and hearts were pounding. We were told it was an electrical problem. Had to get off the plane, waited several hours. (Missed connecting flight) And not much information given. We were then told the problem was fixed and we were put on the same plane!"
ROBERTS: Here's one from John in Wisconsin. He writes, "leaving Chicago" on a certain airline, "we set on the tarmac for one and a half hours, landed in Philadelphia two hours late missing our connecting flight to Barcelona, Spain, for our 40th wedding anniversary, 10-day Mediterranean cruise. The airline lost our bags. After 20 days we're still missing one bag."
We want to hear from you. You can e-mail your horror stories to us at am@cnn.com and we'll all sort of do a group hug in terms of the abuse that we sometimes suffer at the hands of the airlines.
A look at a story coming up in our next half hour now that you just can't miss. One California family has hope, even after losing everything in the recent wildfires.
CHETRY: Yes, we're going to tell you about this happy reunion. They thought their dog had died in the fire. And you're not going to believe where they found their dog again and how he's doing. We're going to tell you all about that story and the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. Thanks for joining us. It is Thursday, the 1st of November. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
Well, a potential death sentence. That's what one long-time American diplomat is saying about the State Department's order to go to Iraq or get fired. Their voices were heard at a town hall meeting yesterday. The department says it's necessary because there are not enough volunteers to work at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad or other parts of the country.
More tough times for Army recruiters. The general in charge says the recruiting year beginning October 1st with fewer recruits signing up for basic training than in any year since the Army became an all volunteer service back in 1973. The Army is trying to increase its active duty force to relieve strain on war-weary troops. Army officials say it will take extra effort to reach their recruiting goal of 80,000 this year.
ROBERTS: A plan to fix bridges gets a $23 billion trim in Congress. A House committee approved a bill that allocates only $2 billion to fix the nation's worst bridges. The original version of the bill called for $25 billion in repairs. You're looking at the I- 35w bridge collapse there in Minneapolis back into the summer. Lawmakers balked at the more expensive version because it would have been funded by a 5 cent a gallon gasoline tax.
It was so scary that NASA didn't want you to know about it and feared that you might stop flying. Now the agency is promising to release the full report that it was keeping secret on airline safety. NASA surveyed 24,000 pilots and spent more than $8 million on the study. According to the Associated Press, it found that there are twice as many near midair collisions, runway accidents and bird strikes than other government reports have been showing.
CHETRY: Well, also new this morning, Duane "Dog" Chapman, the bounty hunter, is apologizing after he was caught on tape in a racist rant. The website for "The National Enquirer" recorded two phone conversations or released the recorded phone conversation it says are of Chapman raging against his son because he has a black girlfriend. "The Enquirer" doesn't say how it got this tape, but it is loaded with the "n" word and other offensive words. We just want to warn you of that. Here is a brief bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN: It's not because she's black. It's because we use the word "N----R" sometimes here. I'm not gonna take a chance ever in life of losing everything I've worked for 30 years because some F-----G N----R heard us say "N----R" and turned us in to the "Enquirer" magazine. Our career is over. I'm not taking that chance at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, this morning, Chapman released a statement, my sincerest heartfelt apologies go out to every person I've offended for my regrettable use of very inappropriate language. I'm deeply disappointed myself for speaking out of anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation. It was completely out of context. I was disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race but her character. However, I never should have used that term.
A&E, by the way, announcing its suspending production of the show "Dog: The Bounty Hunter" until an investigation is complete.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We've got brand new information this morning about a boy who admitted to starting a 38,000 acre wildfire in L.A. County. According to the "L.A. Times", the boy lived on a ranch that offers therapy for physically and mentally disabled children but he was not a part of that program. Prosecutors are still deciding whether to file charges. Officials say that the fire burned down more than 60 buildings, including 21 homes.
The price of oil surges again this morning. Now, around $96 a barrel. That's as high as it's ever been, depending on how you adjust for inflation. The sharp rise yesterday came on a report that oil inventories are lower than expected causing a concern about supply headed into winter when demand increases.
CHETRY: Well, 31 minutes past the hour now. South Florida is on alert as tropical storm Noel looms in the Caribbean. Reynolds Wolf is closely watching the storm track from the CNN weather center for us. Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Severe drought has three states fighting over what's left of Lake Lanier. Your "Quick Hits" now. The Governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida are meeting to decide who gets how much water. Lanier is in Georgia but supplies all three states. Georgia says that there was only 80 days of drinking water left for 3 million people in Metro Atlanta. The other states have a longstanding complaint that the water is critical to their economies and Atlanta uses a little too much of it.
And confessions from Warren Jeffs. The polygamous sect leader. Transcripts of tapes made during jailhouse visits have just been unsealed. He renounced his role as a prophet and admitted to being "immoral" with his sister and daughter. The tapes reveal his deteriorating state of mind and health in the months leading up to the trial. Jeffs will be sentenced later this month for two rape convictions.
For it or against it, that's the question that many people are asking about Hillary Clinton's stance on drivers licenses for illegal immigrants after her unclear answer in Tuesday's debate.
And in the Republican race, the buzz is all about Mike Huckabee. We'll find out what it's all about when we talk to him live, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now. You know that drug cartels have a navy. Colombian marines say they sees two submarines used to ship drugs, one had a five-ton capacity. The Colombian navy says they belong to the country's largest rebel group.
North Korea could begin dismantling its nuclear program later this week. That's from a top U.S. official. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said talks went well on disabling a reactor that produces plutonium for bombs. The north has agreed to disabled its main complex by the end of this year.
Images of children working like slaves have forced the GAP to take some immediate action. The clothing company's head is flying to India, where some of these photos were shot, some of these images were shot to meet with all of its vendors. The GAP also says a non- government organization in India is helping to step up child labor inspections and to certify products.
ROBERTS: Radio talk show host Warren Ballentine is calling on his listeners and all African Americans not to buy anything tomorrow. He is calling it a blackout to protest against what he says injustices in the legal system that has been illuminated by The Jena Six case and Genarlow Wilson, among others recently. Ali Velshi is here to take a look at the buying power of black America, as he's "Minding Your Business." Good morning to you.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. It's a feasting. Thank you. It's good to be back. It's a fascinating story the buying power of black Americans. We have really concentrated in the last two years, on the increase in the buying power of Hispanic American which is actually very strong. But in fact, the rates of increase in purchasing power are the same percentage-wise. Take a look at this, African-Americans is expected to move into about over $1 trillion a year in purchasing power by 2012. You know, the rate of that increase as you can see, 34 percent, almost as high as Hispanics and Asian- Americans.
Home ownership amongst African-Americans, however, is the lowest of measured minority groups at about 47 percent. Non-Hispanic white house holds have home ownership in the 75 percent range. And when you sort of blend it all together, you get about in the high 60s, which is fairly good amongst industrialized nations. Now, let's talk about buying power, what we're talking about here in terms of a blackout. The greatest buying power for African Americans in the United States is in order. New York, California, and Texas. That's where these are the states that would be hit the most.
In terms of buying power as it grows, you're going to find that in the states which have the largest share of African-American consumers and those are Mississippi, Maryland, and Georgia. So, it's a fairly significant matter when you talk about something that measures and shows the impact of African-American buying power in America. It is very significant, as you would expect it to be, but it is growing. Buying power and business ownership is growing. In fact, business ownership, small business growth in the African-American community far exceeds the national average.
ROBERTS: So, how effective a protest could it be if a number of African Americans follow this call to blackout and don't spend any money tomorrow? And would it hurt a lot of black business?
VELSHI: Yes, well that's issue is how you decide not to spend that money. If you're not spending, if you're spending it in places where there are high concentrations of African-American consumers and high concentrations of African-American businesses, yes could you end up hurting more than you help. In other places where you got high concentrations of African-American buyers but not African-American businesses, the percentage impact might be too small. It will be interesting to see, these things are effective on one level and that is to show, to remind people of what kind of economic strength there actually is. I don't think it's an economic hit that it's going to take but it is effective to show that picture.
CHETRY: A couple other things, though, how many people are actually going to do it.
ROBERTS: Right.
CHETRY: And how widespread is the feeling that it would work and also, didn't they try to do this or at least there were some sort of e-mail campaign about not buying gas for a day, whether or not that would have an impact?
VELSHI: The gas is widely debunked, this isn't going to matter, and this is in the right protest. It's not the way you should target it. This might have a greater sentimental effect on people. People might say, all right, I might do it just to make the point. But who knows, we'll have to see.
ROBERTS: It's an interesting idea. Ali, thanks.
CHETRY: Now, we're going to check on our "Political Ticker" now. Comedian Steve Colbert is a fake pundit on TV but it looks like his presidential campaign could be the real deal. At least on paper. Colbert is going to file paperwork to run in South Carolina's Democratic primary. And he didn't file as a Republican because that would have been too expensive. $35 in South Carolina. Colbert will need $2,500 or to get 3,000 signatures and apparently that's the route he's going to meet the Democratic requirements. Even, if he does get all of those signatures which apparently his campaign says they have, it won't necessarily put him on the ballot. Because, there's a committee that then reviews whether or not his candidacy is actually viable and that's when they decide whether or not to put him on the ballot.
Well, Hillary Clinton now says she supports an immigration plan like the one proposed by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. One day after she stumbled over the question during a debate. When we say immigration plan, meaning giving driver's licenses in New York State to illegal immigrants. Well, during the debate Clinton said that the plan made sense but she stopped short of saying, she was in favor of it. Clinton's Democratic rivals hammered her on that point saying that she flip-flops on the issue.
Clinton now is ready to fight back with the boxing gloves and endorsement given to her by a major union, the American Federation of State County and municipal employees, which has 1.4 million members, announced its endorsement of Clinton yesterday and actually gave her the boxing gloves. There you go.
Startling words from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld coming to light this morning. "The Washington Post" got a hold of some memos in his staff telling them things like, keep elevating the threat, quote "Link Iraq to Iran" and come up with, quote "Bumper sticker statements" to rally support for the war. Rumsfeld sent 20,000 memos during six years at The Pentagon, 20 to 60 a day. So many that they used to be called by some members of the press, snowflakes. Well, find all the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.
ROBERTS: More "Quick Hits" now. A house oversight hearing today will look at flaws in the FDA's program for inspecting foreign drug manufacturers, prescription drugs and drug ingredients come into the United States from as many as 6,700 foreign companies. Official says it would take up to 13 years to inspect every establishment just once.
Mormons may know the secret to living longer. According to the new study out of the UCLA, life expectancy for Mormon men is a decade more than the typical American male. A decade more. Mormon women live six years longer than the average female. The studies say its four optimum lifestyle characteristics, married, never smoked cigarettes, attended church at least weekly, and had at least 12 years of education.
The buzz about Mike Huckabee. Well, find out what it's all about when we talk to him live that's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, 6:47 on the East Coast. And if you're just joining us, here is a look at some of the headlines this morning. The father of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder killed in Iraq, has been awarded nearly $11 million by a federal court jury in Baltimore. Al Snyder sued the Westborough Baptist Church after its members demonstrated his son's funeral. They've done this at many many funerals around the country. The church claims that the war is God's punishment for tolerating homosexuality. Leaders of the fundamentalist Kansas Church say they'll continue picketing and they're planning to appeal the court judgment.
Also in the news today, tropical storm Noel is blamed now for 80 deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm is now slamming the Bahamas. There's torrential rain and tropical storm force winds. Storm watches are in effect now for Florida, the coastal Miami Dade and Broward Counties, concerns about storm surge and flooding as well.
The U.S. military is cracking down against Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq. The Pentagon now saying publicly that the U.S. is flying manned spy planes over the border area and providing intelligence to Turkey. U.S. troops are also understanding orders to capture any rebels they find. The Turkish Government had threatened a full scale ground attack if the U.S. and Iraq fail to do something about the rebels.
And severe drought has three states now fighting over water. The Governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida are meeting today to try to work out how best to split up the remaining water in Georgia's Lake Lanier. Georgia says there's only 80 days of drinking water left for 3 million people in Metro Atlanta.
John?
ROBERTS: It's coming up at 11 minutes to the top of the hour.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is surprising a lot of people in the new poll. It seems that he pretty much came out of nowhere and beat a lot of formidable contenders in the latest American research group poll in Iowa. He's second among Republican candidates behind Mitt Romney but ahead our Rudy Giuliani. Governor Huckabee joins me now. When you look at the numbers, Governor Huckabee, 27 percent for Romney, 19 percent for you, and Giuliani trailing you, I mean, that would seem to be good news but when you look at the national polls, you're still deep down in single digits and at some point, the national polls and the state polls have to come together for you to be successful. Why is it that you're catching fire in Iowa, but not broadly across the nation?
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, actually, we are. The Scott Rasmussen poll this week puts us now up ahead of Mitt Romney in the national polls and in the tracking polls. That's a very significant position for us to be in, considering the small amount of money that we've had up to this point. But John, that's what's changed. In the last two weeks, people are starting to contribute. They now believe that I can win and that's been the only holdup. I mean, for all these months, people said best candidate, all of these things, great experience, but could he win? Well now, they're saying yes he can and it's beginning to show in the money.
ROBERTS: You've had a money problem up until recently, the last six or eight days that you raised as much money as you raised in the first three months of the year.
HUCKABEE: Right, we had upgraded our web server three times in a week just to handle the traffic and hire people to answer the phones and open the mail. It's been that good. ROBERTS: What was it that caused this groundswell? Was it the values voters' summit last month at which you polled second in the broader polling and were the clear favorite among people who attended the summit?
HUCKABEE: It's been a cumulative affect of the values voter poll, I think it's been the debates but then probably that could have (INAUDIBLE) for us; of course the Chuck Norris endorsement and now people are afraid to not support me. They think Chuck might show up on their door and, you know, put the karate chop right through the wood and there you go.
ROBERTS: You know, you've been handling this with typical good humor. You say, better a dark horse than a dead horse.
HUCKABEE: Yes.
ROBERTS: And as to the criticism you're attracting and you said, you know, a hunter doesn't aim his gun at a dead carcass.
HUCKABEE: Exactly.
ROBERTS: It's going to be something a lot. But you're still getting a lot of criticism from a lot of different fronts, not just your fellow candidates. Betsy Hagan, who is the Arkansas Director of the Eagle Forum said to the "Wall Street" journal, quote "Huckabee was pro-life and pro-gun, but otherwise a liberal. Just like Bill Clinton. He will charm you but don't be surprised if he takes a completely different turn in office. And Phyllis Schlafly who is the founder of the Eagle Forum says that Huckabee destroyed the conservative party in Arkansas. How do you respond to that sort of criticism? People say that you're a liberal in conservative clothing.
HUCKABEE: I just wish those ladies loved me as much as I loved them. They are wonderful ladies. I was shocked by some of the statements. In fact, especially this idea that I'd left the party in shambles. When I came into office, there were 11 Republicans in the house out of 100. There were 30 when I left. I gave more money to Republican candidates than did the state party through my pact.
ROBERTS: So, why are they saying this? What do they know?
HUCKABEE: You never please everybody in politics, John. You know, with some folks on the very far right and very far left are the ones who really don't like me and if the people on the far extremes find me unacceptable, I may just be the right acceptable candidate to most of America.
ROBERTS: As we said, you did well in that Values Voters Summit, the poll. They represent a quarter of Republican voters. How important are they going to be in 2008? Will they be as important as they were in the last two election cycles in which they helped propel George Bush to the White House?
HUCKABEE: If they coalesce around a candidate they will be incredibly important. And in fact, they will be the margin of victory. If they scatter and splatter, sounds like a hash browns order, doesn't it? But if they scatter and splatter all over the place, then they'll be completely insignificant and they'll just be part of the lost.
ROBERTS: And here's the problem. If Rudy Giuliani becomes the nominee, they may, as you say, scatter and splatter. Is Giuliani the type of nominee that you could you get behind, would you support him?
HUCKABEE: Well, I'm going to support our Republican nominees. Certainly, I look on that stage and I say any of these guys are better than any of those guys. And I like some of those guys over there personally, but I think in terms of where they would take the country on court appointments, taxes, healthcare, education, even in national security, I think our side's got a better team.
ROBERTS: And people look at the idea of a Giuliani-Huckabee ticket, and I know that you joke, maybe I might have him as my running mate but seriously, would you a line with him if you were to pick you as his running mate. Should he become the nominee? Could you support him in?
HUCKABEE: Well, I want to make sure that right now I just focus on being at the top of the ticket and figuring out who I've got to pick. I'm going to support our nominee. I mean, I feel like it, again, our guys are going to be better for the country in the future, but I want to get a pro-life, pro-family, traditional marriage pro- second amendment guy, and that would be me.
ROBERTS: Thanks for coming in this morning. Congratulations on your recent success. We'll see how far you can take it.
HUCKABEE: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Good to see you. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, a Federal jury slaps a fundamentalist church with an $11 million of judgment for picketing the funeral of a fallen marine. We're going to talk to the marine's father who sued the church about his emotional and legal victory ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Well, a heartwarming story coming out of a terrible situation in Southern California. A family displaced by wildfire thought that they lost everything, that included their dog, and that is, until they came home. Well, apparently we don't know if the dog came home or not. But we'll find that for you. Like the incredible journey.
CHETRY: No, he did come home, little brownie but I don't know if we have pictures of him right now.
But let's tell them about another story that's coming up that you don't want to miss. Because, for those of us who love bacon, sausage, other processed meats, a scary new finding in a report that's out, saying that for every 1.7 ounces of processed meat you consume over, what is it, 500 grams, you are putting yourself at risk. Your cancer risk especially for colon cancer goes up by 20-some percent. That's a scary statistic given how much those types of meats are just a part of our diet.
ROBERTS: And we're talking, not just the heavily processed foods like a hotdog, we're talking about deli meats and things like that as well. So, a new concern out there. Why health experts say that no amount is considered completely safe. We're going to have that coming up for you.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
CHETRY: Multimillion-dollar punishment.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God hates America.
CHETRY: A jury's message for protesters at military funerals and the marine dad who took them off.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't let them get away with doing this to our military.
CHETRY: The bounty hunter, hunted. Duane Chapman is seriously in the doghouse this morning. His show is suspended, after he was caught on tape repeatedly and angrily using the "n" word.
Plus, flyer frustration.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just seem like there's a lack of common sense sometimes.
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CHETRY: Your nightmare stories of airport security on this AMERICAN MORNING. And welcome. It is Thursday, November 1st. I'm Kiran Chetry. Getting a lot of the e-mails about nightmare horror stories. Right?
ROBERTS: Listen, I could write a few myself. I just might, too. I'm John Roberts, good morning to you. We begin this hour with a look at oil prices topping $96 a barrel in trading overnight. That's an all-time record, depending on how you adjust for inflation. The Fed cut yesterday helped boost prices as did worries about supply as the dollar goes down, the price of oil goes up because it's traded in dollars. Ali Velshi with the business update desk with more on this. What is the overall effect going to be, Ali? VELSHI: Well, the overall effect is, you know, as obvious as it's going to seem. It's going to make its way through to gasoline prices and to your heating oil prices. This is actually out of date. This is where oil settled in New York yesterday at $94.53. The highest it's ever settled at. In overnight trading, as you just mentioned, it surged past $95 into $96, pulling back a little bit but it is above $95 right now and what we haven't seen is a complete adjustment to gasoline prices across the country, but we have seen them picking up and most oil experts say they will continue to do so. We'll also see that in home heating oil, which affects mainly the northeast of the United States but starting to click through.
This is one of those reasons why we are worried about inflation even though the Fed rate cut came yesterday at quarter-point rate cut, one of the other measure that we often look at is gold and I got my trusty gold bar here.
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