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American Morning
Oil Record; Oil's Surge; Pakistan In Crisis; Truth-O-Meter
Aired November 07, 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: Oil surge. Another record overnight. When will it crack the $100 mark?
Pain at the pump. Higher bills at home. And sky-high air fares. What can you do about oil's trickle-down effect?
Late night search. Police return to the home of a fellow officer whose wife went missing.
And a first step at a new life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The surgery has been successful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: News about the historic round-the-clock surgery for a special little girl on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Oh, so much to tell you about this morning. It's Wednesday, the 7th of November. Thanks very much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
And we start with important news about your money this morning. As families start up their cars, crank up the heat in their homes and book flights for the holidays, oil prices are surging to levels that were once unthinkable. Crude shattered another record in overnight trading, peaking at more than $98 a barrel.
And many are asking this morning, why? Analysts say that demand is increasing as supplies and temperatures drop and that it could hit $100 a barrel almost any hour now.
John.
ROBERTS: We are covering this story from every angle this morning. Our Ali Velshi is watching trading going on right now. Alina Cho has got the impact on your upcoming holiday travel plans. Gerri Willis at a gas station in New York City to see how price will blow your family budget. And Veronica De La Cruz for us this morning searching for relief online.
Let's begin with Ali at the business update desk.
How's it looking this morning, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as Kiran just mentioned, oil surged beyond $98 in overnight trading, up to $98.62. We'll going to start regular floor trading in three hours in New York, but we do tend to follow this trend. Right now oil is at $98 the last trade, $98.10. It's moving fairly rapidly. Now we've seen gains of more than $1, in some cases $2 and $3 on a daily basis, which is why some people think we get to $100 perhaps today.
Now why is that important? Well, at $100, you break all calculations about oil adjusted for inflation, which means it is the absolute highest price that anybody's ever paid for oil, although some people think we're already there. At about $110 you start to see this sort of increases on an annual basis for the price of oil that have triggered recessions in the past.
And as you said, it's not just about your car that you fill up or your home heating oil, it's about the impact of oil in everything that is manufactured and shipped to you or moved around this country. So everybody is going to feel this $98 a barrel of oil and where it goes up from here.
John.
ROBERTS: Ali, almost at $100 right now, but what is the actual value of oil?
VELSHI: When you say actual value?
ROBERTS: When I say actual value, I mean, what should it cost in terms of getting it out of the ground, getting it to market?
VELSHI: If it were just a supply and demand issue, with profit for oil companies and refiners, most people say it can be about $50 or $60. It can actually be much lower than that. Some oil companies can make money on oil at about $25 a barrel. That's the minimum. If you weren't getting $25 a barrel, you'd shut down your operations.
That's become more expensive because demand for oil has grown so much that we look further and further afield, deeper in the ocean, in more remote areas. But most people say, if it were $50 or above, it's profitable for everyone involved.
ROBERTS: All right, Ali Velshi for us this morning.
Ali, thanks. We'll get back to you on this important issue.
With the busiest travel days of the year now just around the corner, how bad will surging oil prices impact your holidays? Alina Cho looking into that for us this morning.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, good morning to you.
The major airlines, led by American, have put into place a $20 fare hike on round-trip tickets. Now this may not sound like a lot, but when you consider the fact that this is the seventh fare hike since Labor Day and the biggest in dollar terms, could you be paying a lot more for your holiday travel, but passengers don't seem to mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it does bother me and it hurts in the wallet but I've got to get to my meetings and I've got to do my business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, I have to travel where I have to go. And if fuel prices are up and they need a subsidy to stay in business, that's what it takes, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's too bad that gas is going up so much, you know. It's too high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Well, if you've got to, you've got to go. So passengers say they don't seem to mind. Those were passengers, by the way, that we talked to just about an hour ago at LaGuardia Airport. And to be clear, the airlines do say the recent runup is a reflection of the rise in oil prices. The price of jet fuel is linked to the price of oil and jet fuel, by the way, is the biggest expense for airlines.
Now just for fun, we looked up some round trip fares yesterday with one week advance purchase. Here's what we found. New York's LaGuardia to Los Angeles, $639. LaGuardia to Miami, $354. And to Chicago, $423.
So you will be paying more this holiday season if you're flying. Much of this, John, dos have to do with the rise in oil prices, but it's also an issue of supply and demand. Keep that in mind. Plane are full these days, as you know. The airlines know it. And as one analyst said, they're raising prices because they can.
ROBERTS: Yes, and if demand starts to go down because the price of oil is so high, we'll see if they drop the price.
CHO: Well, we hope.
ROBERTS: All right, it all interconnects.
Alina Cho, thanks very much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
Oh, sorry. Before we get to Kiran, a new poll shows just how crucial gas prices are to Americans and could play a significant role in the race for president. According to new CNN polls released just minutes ago, 67 percent of those surveyed say gas prices are extremely or very important to their vote. Poverty taxes and immigration also big concern. Now let's go to Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Also new this morning, Republicans hold on to one governorship and they lose another. Republican Governor Haley Barbour held on to Mississippi, but Democratic challenger Steve Beshear easily knocked off scandal plagued incumbent from Kentucky, Ernie Fletcher. Voters also chose mayors in several cities. The winners, Luke Ravenstahl remains Pittsburgh's mayor. Sheila Dixon becomes Baltimore's first black woman elected mayor. And Michael Nutter won in Philadelphia, promising to stop guy violence. In Houston, Bill White easily won re-election.
Well, more than 15,000 people reportedly want their names off of the terrorist watch list. The "USA Today" has an article today talking about how they're complain about being delayed at U.S. airports and border crossings. Some are senior citizens. Some are toddlers. They just happen to have the same name as suspected terrorists. There were more than 755,000 names on our terror watch list. The government cannot keep up with the request to clear the names. They say they get about 2,000 a month. The House Homeland Security Committee is going to be taking up that issue tomorrow.
Illinois state investigators went back for a second search to the home of a missing mother. Twenty-three-year-old Stacy Peterson vanished 10 days ago. Her husband, Drew Peterson, is a Bolingbrook police sergeant. Investigators reportedly want to talk to children from his previous marriage. Peterson's third wife drowned three years ago. He claims that Stacy, his current wife, took off with another man. Stacy's aunt says that simply doesn't add up.
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CANDACE AIKEN, STACY PETERSON'S AUNT: She would not leave her babies. That's -- she was so concerned, that's why she was trying to stay together, for the family. And if she was going to get out, she was trying to figure out how to take the children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's right, Stacy Peterson has two small children, a two-year-old and a four-year-old. A group of about 50 volunteers searched for Stacy on Tuesday but came up empty. They're going to be trying again, searching some key areas of interest, as they're calling it, again today.
Well, doctors in India this morning say that surgery was a success on a girl who was born with four arms and four legs. A team of 30 specialists and orthopedic, neurosurgery and plastic surgery operated for 40 hours in all to separate her from what was a conjoined twin that never fully developed. Doctors say that every step of the surgery was successful and that she should be able to walk one day and have a totally normal life.
John.
ROBERTS: That is just a remarkable procedure. Now to the growing political crisis in Pakistan. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto says that she will go ahead with a planned rally to protest the military crackdown there and is challenging western nations to show some political muscle in dealing with President Pervez Musharraf. Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators peacefully protested outside of a university in Lahore. Our State Department correspondent Zain Verjee joins us now live from Islamabad.
And, Zain, pretty tough talk that we're hearing from the former prime minister, Bhutto, today.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, pretty tough talk from Benazir Bhutto. We're also seeing, John, signs of first action that she appears to be taking. Today there's a protest she's holding in Islamabad outside the national assembly. She is rallying her supporters to attend a protest on Friday.
Now the government is saying that that protest just isn't going to happen. They're not going to allow it. But she and her advisers and supporters are saying it is. So it appears as though this could be a significant collision course the situation could be on.
She is also having discussions with General Musharraf's advisers. CNN is hearing that those discussions are now pretty tense. But what we're seeing here are the first signs of the opposition now calling for protests from the public. And if that gains momentum, it could lead to a more dangerous situation.
John.
ROBERTS: Yes, particularly when we see how the military government responds to that.
Zain Verjee for us in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Thanks, Zain. We'll check back in with you a little bit later.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Back here at home, we're seeing our first snowfall of the season for the state of New York. Rob Marciano at our weather update desk tracking extreme weather for us.
Hey, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes after the hour now.
Ever pulled into a gas station looking for directions? Well, if you have, Google's got a new plan to help you. Starting next month, about 3,500 new gas pumps will have a screen on them with Google maps. Lost drivers can search for local landmarks, hotels, restaurants and the pump will print out directions for you. Eventually you'll be able to map out a specific address. Things are getting desperate for some of television's hottest programs. The writer's strike is closing down ABC's "Desperate Housewives" today. The show will run out of new episodes before Christmas as well. "Housewives" star Eva Longoria brought pizza to striking writers in Los Angeles. Trying to stay on the right side of that issue. Also shutting down, Fox's "Back To You" and CBS's "Rules of Engagement" and "Two and a Half Man."
Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" is strung with a lawsuit. Beeceuticals Cosmetics uses organic honey in its makeup and skin products. It claims that the movie stole its slogan, "give bees a chance." The company says it hasn't decided how much to sue for in damages.
Sparks fly as a plane comes in for an emergency landing with no landing gear. Find out how it turned out.
And the presidential candidates are making lots of claims about experience or lack of it.
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SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rudy Giuliani, probably the most under qualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.
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ROBERTS: So where does Senator Joe Biden's attack register on the truth-o-meter? We'll tell you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: 6:14 on the morning here on the East Coast. We have some shots to show you on our "Quick Hits" now.
This is a moon shot you'll rarely see and it is just beautiful. It's rising over the blue glow of the earth's atmosphere. It was captured by a crew member of the International Space Station while the shuttle Discovery was docked there. Just gorgeous.
Well, is it a $300 million fixer-upper? MIT is suing architect Frank Gehry over what it says are design flaws, mold and lead at the university's Stata Center. The 400,000 square foot building houses labs, classrooms and offices. MIT paid $15 million to have Gehry design it. So far there's been no comment from him.
Well, is it pig abuse or is it just a little extra loving care? A pig gained 100 pounds in nine months. There he is. Now a Minnesota woman wants her pig sitter charged with abuse for letting that happen. The owner left the pot belly pig in her care while she was away on medical leave. Well now the pig's on a diet. There he's eating some bananas. Already lost 15 pounds from his peak piggishness.
How about that, John?
ROBERTS: How would you have a pig any other way except fat?
New CNN polls out just this morning show that the economy is weighing heavily on the minds of Americans and how they will vote in the presidential election. In fact, 82 percent of those polled say the economy is extremely or very important to their vote for president. That's followed by Iraq, health care, terrorism and Iran. Also extremely or very important, global warming. Forty-eight percent say it's a big issue, followed by abortion, gun policy and policies towards gays.
The presidential candidates have been sparring over who has the right stuff and who doesn't. They're using the "e" word, experience, to try to one-up the competition or as a putdown. So what better way to separate political rhetoric from reality than to put those statements through the truth-o-meter. And for that we turn to Bill Adair. He's the Washington bureau chief of the "St. Petersburg Times," also the editor of politifact.com. He joins us from Washington.
Bill, good to see you.
BILL ADAIR, "ST. PETERSBURG TIMES": Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: You got the truth-o-meter all revved up, ready to go?
ADAIR: We're fired up.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's put some of these statements to the test. First one comes from Joe Biden at the recent Democratic debate in Philadelphia, talking about Rudy Giuliani. Let's listen.
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SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rudy Giuliani, probably the most under qualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Rudy Giuliani, probably the most unqualified person to seek the presidency since George Bush. How did that measure up on the truth-o-meter?
ADAIR: Pants on fire.
ROBERTS: Pants on fire. Got to love those.
ADAIR: We gave that our rare pants on fire ruling. You really cannot call Rudy Giuliani under qualified. Here's a guy who has been mayor of the nation's largest city for eight years, who managed the city during the biggest crisis in modern history, and also was U.S. attorney in New York for six years, ran a huge office, prosecuted the mob, prosecuted Wall Street titans. So we call that a pants on fire.
ROBERTS: I love the pants on fire. Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, is going to be on the program a little bit later on today to talk about his new book on how to deal with energy independence. Also at the same Democratic debate was touting his experience as opposed to putting down somebody else's or lack thereof. He said, "I've got the most international experience here." How does that one rank on the truth-o-meter?
ADAIR: Half true. We gave that one a half true because Richardson is right. He served as U.N. ambassador, has considerable experience negotiating with foreign leaders. But to say that he has the most ignores the tremendous experience of Senator Biden, who, in his 35 years or so in the Senate, has been on the Foreign Relations Committee, is now chairman and has, in the case of Iraq, the most detailed and most widely discussed plan about how to go forward in Iraq. So we gave that a half true.
ROBERTS: Yes, no question, Biden has got a tremendous amount of experience.
Both the Democrats and the Republicans ganging up on Hillary Clinton. Mitt Romney talking about her experience, or again, lack thereof. He did it at the debate in Dearborn, Michigan. They made it into a TV ad. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton wants to run the largest enterprise in the world. She hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city. She has never run anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, she's never run anything. Mitt Romney taking on Hillary Clinton. Where does that one rank?
ADAIR: We gave it a barely true. He's right on the first three. We couldn't find any evidence that she had run a corner store. She hasn't been a mayor. She has not been a governor. But he goes too far when he says she hasn't run anything. She ran the health care task force in her husband's presidency. She was first lady for eight years and she has a fair amount of management experience, both from that and also from her time in the Rose Law Firm.
ROBERTS: Last one, again at the Democratic debate. Dennis Kucinich talking about UFOs. He admitted he had seen one. Jimmy Carter, we found out, had seen one back in 1969. He said about George Bush, "more people in this country have seen UFOs than I think approve of George Bush's presidency." Where did that one come out on the truth-o-meter?
ADAIR: False. We have to love -- this was one of our best headlines on politifact. The headline was, "Bush Beats Space Aliens by 16 Points." And he would have been right if he had said more people believe in UFOs. But more people have seen, only about 16 percent or 14 percent said they had seen a UFO and Bush's approval ratings are in the 30 to 35 range.
ROBERTS: So if he had said more people believe in UFOs than believe in President Bush, he would have been on safe ground.
ADAIR: He would have.
ROBERTS: Language is precise and that's why you need to be precise.
ADAIR: As we say at politifact, words matter.
ROBERTS: Bill Adair, always good to see you.
ADAIR: Thanks, John. I enjoyed it.
ROBERTS: See you again next Wednesday. We'll run some more statements through the truth-o-meter.
Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, a follow-up to a story we first brought you yesterday. A Homeland Security department employee has been placed on leave after co-workers complained about his Halloween costume, calling it racially insensitive. He wore dark makeup, dreadlocks and prison stripes. Homeland Security is now investigating whether or not to take disciplinary action against Julie Myers, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisor who threw that party, posed for a picture with the employee and voted his costume most original.
Another toy recall to tell you about in your "Quick Hits." Mattel recalling more than 172,000 Fisher Price kitchen toys because children can smoke on small, detachable parts. They've had several incidents of children choking and gagging on these parts in the U.S. and Europe. Customers can contact Fisher Price for a free repair kit.
And still ahead, one on one exclusive with Hillary Clinton. Was she really going on -- what was really going on during her controversial debate answer last week?
Also, a small plane headed toward the airport without its landing gear. We're going to show you how it ended ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning and your "Quick Hits" now.
Oprah Winfrey has pulled a children's book from her recommended reading list. A spokesman blames an archival error for including "The Education of Little Tree." The book's author, Forrest Carter, was revealed to be a white supremacist who wrote Alabama Governor George Wallace's infamous segregation speech.
Rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs won't face criminal charges for allegedly punching a man during a dispute outside of a Manhattan club. The incident happened last month. The 31-year-man said Combs punched him in the face during an argument over a woman. The D.A. dropped the case saying that the accuser stopped cooperating with police.
And talk about easy listening. Many fans of the British band Radiohead paid nothing for the group's new album. The album, "In Rainbows" was released online last month. Radiohead let fans pay whatever they wanted to download a digital copy. In the first four weeks of release, 62 percent of those who downloaded it did not pay a cent. The other 38 percent paid an average of about $6.
CHETRY: Shocking. Shocking that most of them said, oh, I'm just going to take it for free.
ROBERTS: Well, they knew it was going to be a loss leader headed toward this big concert series it was planning on doing.
CHETRY: Right. All right. We'll see.
Eagles, by the way, number one album. First album in 28 years. Knocked Britney Spears off the charts.
ROBERTS: Who would have thought. Who would have thought.
CHETRY: They still got it.
Well, it's time now for this morning's "Hot Shot." Check out this video. It's a small plane. Had to make an emergency landing in Crystal River Airport, Florida. The private plane came down without its landing gear. There you see it coming in quite fast for needing to get to the runway there. And there it goes, touching down pretty smoothly for no landing gear. Some sparks. There were only two people on board. There you see it, still going, and they're both OK.
But look how fast it's coming in. You'll see it again, a couple sparks. There you see . . .
ROBERTS: Smooth as silk, though.
CHETRY: I know. For no landing gear, how about that.
If you have one, by the way, a "Hot Shot," send it to us amhotshots@cnn.com. Be sure to include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture or video and also please make sure the image is yours and not someone else's.
Well, we're also watching oil price this morning, over $98 a barrel overnight. Gas prices may soon follow. I believe the national average is $3.02 for a gallon right now. Could it go up to $4, even $5? We want to know what you think. So how will high gas prices change your habits, if at all? Will you drive less, buy less, buy less of other things because you're trying to save money for gas? Will you maybe consider driving a more fuel-efficient car or will your habits not change at all?
Give us a vote. We'd like to see what people are thinking about this one. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. We'll have a tally -- the first tally of the votes coming up in the next hour.
ROBERTS: And a look at a story coming up in our next half hour that you just can't miss. It's the latest weapon in the war on drugs.
CHETRY: Yes, it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. There it is. But it could soon be in every police cruiser across the country. Actually it looks a little bit like a radar gun, too, doesn't it. But it's the meth gun. You pull the trigger. It shoots out a jolt of UV radiation and it can detect microscopic amounts of methamphetamine.
ROBERTS: So it is safe and, more importantly, is it legal. That story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING on this Wednesday, November 7th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm John Roberts. New this morning, video taken just moments before a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. Lawmakers greeting local dignitaries and school children. Then after the blast, chaos. The death toll rows to 41 today. The attack yesterday is now the deadliest since the invasion back in 2001. Afghan president Hamid Karzai blames the attack "On the enemies of peace and security." That's a veiled reference to the Taliban.
Disturbing charges about the chief operating officer of the National Children's Museum in Washington. Robert A. Singer is accused of distributing child pornography over the Internet. Singer allegedly sent the images to a police officer who is posing as a woman and a 12- year-old girl. The museum said Singer has been suspended from his post effective immediately and is barred from the property.
A former Illinois Governor sent into federal prison today. The Supreme Court turned down George Ryan's final bid to remain free on bail while he fines to overturn the racketeering and fraud conviction. The 73-year-old is scheduled to report to prison tonight for the first night of a six and a half year sentence. A federal jury convicted Ryan of steering state contracts to friends for gifts and cash. After the high courts decision, Ryan said that he was innocent.
CHETRY: Well, investigators in Illinois went back for the second time to search the home of a police officer whose wife is missing. Stacy Peterson has been missing since the 29th of October. Her husband, Drew, a veteran officer of the Bowling Brook Police Department in the suburban Chicago says that she left him for another man. Her family says she would never do that, especially never leave her 2 and 4-year-old children behind. CNN's Keith Oppenheim is outside of the Peterson's home right now and joins us. So, this is the second search. Did the authorities take anything or do we know what they're looking for at this point?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know at this point, because state police have been very tight-lipped about what they may have found but as you indicated, this is the second time that they have executed a search warrant. They were here last Thursday, and Kiran, they were looking at things like cell phones and computers, and looking at a couple of vehicles. Now, Stacy Peterson has been missing for two-ten days now. She is just 23 years old. Her husband, 30 years older. They've been married for four years.
The husband, a police sergeant, he actually is telling the media that he doesn't even think that she's missing, that she ran away with another man, but her family really disputes that, and their description of the relationship is that she was afraid of what they described as a very controlling husband. What they like to point out, what has not even been involved in any of the volunteer searches. By the way, Kiran, there were about 50 people who were searching through Bowling Brook yesterday, all volunteers, but so far, no sign of Stacy. Back to you.
CHETRY: And as you said, he's also not been named a suspect but this is the second time they've looked through the house?
OPPENHEIM: Exactly, that's an important point. In fact, this is not even being called a criminal investigation, but of course, when you take a look at the video and you see all of those police searching throughout the house, it certainly looks like one.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right, Keith Oppenheim, thank you.
Also new this morning, Hillary Clinton speaking out about her performance in the last democratic debate. Her opponents scored points regarding her confusing answer to questions about allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses. CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley sat down with Clinton exclusively.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand the necessity for criticism. We're getting toward the end of a very long presidential primary process, and I wasn't at my best the other night. We've had a bunch of debates and, you know, I wouldn't rank that up in my very top list, but I've answered probably, oh, I don't know, more than 5,000 questions in the last ten months, and I've been very clear about where I stand and what I want to do for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We have more of Candy Crowley's exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton coming up in our next hour.
And a history-making 15-day mission in space comes to a close today. The shuttle "Discovery" scheduled to touch down at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida around 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. "Discovery's" mission featured a first of its kind space walk that involved fixing a ripped solar panel on the international space station.
ROBERTS: Crude oil hit another record high overnight topping $98 a barrel and could break $100 at any moment now. What's it going to mean for your family's budget this winter? Our Gerri Willis is at a gas station in New York to show us and she joins us live. Good morning, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. Good to see you. You know, this is where most folks really increase an energy prices, first at the gas pump but it also occurs in your heating and lighting bills. As a matter of fact, this isn't new. Prices have gone up 60 percent over the last five years. We're now paying more for health care or for oil than we are for health care and food. So, prices have gone up a lot. Rule of thumb here, John, for every $1 that a barrel of oil goes up in price, your cost for goods and services go up $50 each and every year, so the pass-through is amazing.
ROBERTS: You know, looking at those prices behind you posted on that pump, pretty extraordinary, $3.49, that's for high test, for super gasoline, but there's a trickle down effect with gasoline and oil as well. As it goes up, the price of so many other goods go up, from plastics which require oil to produce them, to everyday goods because of shipping costs. Yes?
WILLIS: That's right. It's input into everything, obviously. And we've been lucky so far. Because retailers haven't passed through a lot of these costs, not yet, but economists are saying it's coming and you should be aware of that. Costs could go up for consumers, for goods overall 1.5 percent in the coming year and considering that, your wages will only go up 1 percent, it's a big cost for consumers. Your spending power is sharply decreased because of these higher energy prices.
John?
ROBERTS: Well, we'll see if that $3 mark is a psychological barrier that causes people to start cutting back on some of the things we're spending money on. Our Gerri Willis for us this morning, Gerri thanks.
Kiran?
CHETRY: We're trying to find the cheapest price for gas that can be a challenge. The web though has a number of sites that can help you navigate the price around the country and of course in your neck of the woods. AMERICAN MORNING's Veronica De la Cruz joins us now to tell us what she's found. Hi, Veronica, welcome back.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. It's nice to see you. I've had a really great website and its called gasbuddy.com which is exactly what you're going to need, Kiran, as the cost of gas continues to go up. And I want to show you how it works. It's a user generated network of over 175 websites which monitors the cost of gas locally, like you said, in your neck of the woods. So for example, Kiran, if you wanted to find the cost of gas in your hometown? Your hometown is what?
CHETRY: Gaithersburg, Maryland.
DE LA CRUZ: Gaithersburg, Maryland, there you go. When you type in the zip code and there you find that Drew BPG 417 has posted that the 7-eleven has the cheapest gas around. Now, if you locate a gas station that's particularly low prices, Kiran, you too can add your post to gasbuddy.com by listing the information there. And if you're curious, you could also gauge the temperature of prices across the country. We have a map to show you and taking a look at the map, it shows that the west coast right now is seeing these gas prices above the $3.27 a gallon mark.
CHETRY: $3.27 a gallon and the cheapest?
DE LA CRUZ: The cheapest gas right now is in Arizona. And I want to show you this other cool slide. Something else to show you. We have this gas calculator that we find at aaa.com. Now, if Kiran, you wanted to drive from Baltimore which is just outside of Gaithersburg, it's like an hour away right?
CHETRY: Yes, if it doesn't have any traffic.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, so, if you wanted to get back to New York City, you would find both cities in the drop-down menu and then you're going to list the kind of car you drive, So Kiran, just for the sake of this exercise, say you drive a '98 Ford Windstar mini van, how's that?
CHETRY: Well, you're close.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, let's put Kiran in her mini van and then the calculator is going to show her approximately how much money the trip is going to cost. Again, you can find the website, gasbuddy.com, aaa.com. It is all available to you on the web. And, you know, I know that you drive a smart car. Is that right?
CHETRY: It's actually '99 Buick, runs like a dream.
DE LA CRUZ: OK, but you know, it's very interesting because if you are an organized person, you can map it out. You can check these websites like gasbuddy.com and find, if you're not necessarily familiar with the areas that you're going, buy the cheapest gas. Yes, if you're going to take a trip, if you're going to go to Gaithersburg, you can go ahead and find all the cheapest all the way down to Gaithersburg. So, pretty cool, though.
CHETRY: And certainly coming in handy with what we're going through right now. Thanks a lot.
John?
ROBERTS: It's coming up to 20 minutes to the top of the hour. Say goodbye to your flowers. A mild fall takes a quick turn, the first snow and certainly not the last for one area of the U.S.
And a controversial new tool can help find Meth users. The Meth gun can scan people to find the drug. But what legal issues does it raise? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We want to show you some of the most compelling shots today in our "Quick Hits" now. A man saved his best friend from catastrophic flooding in Mexico. You see the pictures now, wading through chest-deep water, this is the situation in one of the small villages Villahermosa there in Mexico. 20,000 people trapped on their rooftops, water was as high as nine feet in some areas and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, that severe flooding in Mexico, also killing at least 16 people.
Well, the great lakes looking more like the great ocean, Justin Marquee from Michigan said this shot. This is Lake Superior as high winds howled over the waters and you see the waves slamming ashore as well. They got quite a weather maker yesterday in the great lakes region, and as well, lake effect bringing the first snow this season to Upstate, New York coating towns around buffalo.
It may seem early but you know, for that reason it's right on schedule actually. These five to ten inches is nothing for them up there. They average close to 100 inches per season. That's a shot from Cassadega (ph), New York, by the way. 48 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano joins us now to talk a little bit more about those weather makers that were bringing that snow. Hey, it's old hat for them, right? It's November.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: 14 minutes now to the top of the hour.
A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll just release this hour. Top the "Political Ticker" this morning. 82 percent of you said the economy is issue number one in next year's presidential election. That was followed closely by the Iraq war. Health care, terrorism and potential conflict with Iran rounded the top five concerns for many Americans.
On Capitol Hill last night, lawmakers in the House voted to stop a measure calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. The proposal sponsored by presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich accused Cheney of manipulating intelligence and purposely leading the country to war.
Last night's vote 218 to 194 was lunging along party lines. It sent the measure back to the House committee for further study that effectively kills it. This is the third time Kucinich has tried to bring the measure to the House floor for debate.
A Democrat getting back into the Kentucky State House. Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher lost yesterday's election in a landslide. Democrat Steve Beshear hammered Fletcher throughout the campaign over charges that the governor handed out state jobs to political cronies.
The major republican presidential candidates are suddenly looking in their rear view mirrors. Anti-war candidate Ron Paul is organizing another online fund-raiser for this Sunday. Veteran's day. His last online fundraiser set a record for GOP candidates, $4.3 million in a single day. And Ron Paul is going to join us in about 30 minutes' time, live right here on AMERICAN MORNING to talk more about his aspirations for the oval office. And you can find all of the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.
CHETRY: Well, methamphetamine addiction a problem that has destroyed many lives. Well now, there is a controversial new tool that police can use to try to scope out Meth labs and spot users, but it could also lead to unnecessary searches. We're going to talk about whether or not it's legal and how it's working to help solve this problem, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now to nine minutes to the top of the hour. And if you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headline this morning. Oil prices have shattered another record, and now flirting with $100 a barrel for the first time in history. Crude prices peaked above $98 in overnight trading. It's having an immediate impact on gas prices, airfare, and home heating cost. There's a shot of a gas station in New York. You can see the gas prices well above $3 a gallon there. We'll have a live report oil trickle-down effects coming up at the top of the hour.
Illinois state investigators went back for a second search to the home of a missing mother. 23-year-old Stacy Peterson vanished ten days ago. Her husband, Drew Peterson, is a Bowling Brook police sergeant. He claims Stacy took off with another man. Investigators reportedly want to talk to children from his previous marriage. Peterson's third wife drowned three years ago.
Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is defying a government banned in going ahead with a protest rally. She is urging her supporters to rally on Friday against emergency rule. The government of President Pervez Musharraf promises to stop that rally. Lawyers are on the streets again today demonstrating against the government's suspension of the constitution.
It took 40 hours, but doctors in India performed successful surgery on a 2-year-old girl born with four arms and four legs. A team of 30 surgeons separated the girl from her conjoined parasitic twin that never fully developed. Doctor says the procedure went wonderfully well and said she should be able to walk one day and have a normal life.
A history-making 15-day mission in space comes to a close today. The shuttle "Discovery" scheduled to touch down at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida today. Around 1:00 eastern, "Discovery's" mission featured a first of its kind space walk to fix a ripped solar panel on the international space station. The job was a success. Now let's hand it over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Thanks, John. Meth addiction has affected the lives of millions of Americans. In fact, an estimated 10.4 million Americans, 12 and older have used methamphetamine at one time or another with 1.3 million current users, at least that's according to a 2005 national survey on drug use and health. You know, police officers are often the first front lines when it comes to dealing with the problems of Meth and now they have this. It's a Meth scanner, a new device that could be used to help fight the Meth problem.
It's being tested right now by police in Arizona, as well as Missouri. The device uses ultraviolet light. It can stand clothing, skin, surfaces and if Meth molecules are detected the handler is then alerted. Joining me now to discuss the legality of this device, AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin. Thanks for being with us.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
CHETRY: How is this different? Let say then, police officers using canines for example to sniff out drugs?
HOSTIN: Well, it is different and as because the fourth amendment is implicated here. What the viewers need to know is the fourth amendment ensures that people have the right to be secure in their persons and their effects and places, in their homes. And so, police have to really have a reasonable suspicion that something like this is going on, and this test is whether or not you have an expectation of privacy, and we know that you have an expectation of privacy in your home. You may or may not have it in your car. You may have it in your person. You may -- you have it in your handbag. You have it in your locked trunk.
And so, it's a little bit different from canines. The Supreme Court has found, well you know, if there's a traffic stop, a dog sniffing around your car is not a search. This hasn't really been tested yet so it's very, very different.
CHETRY: So, it seems because what's so fascinating is this can detect a microgram of meth. This amount is so small and you could only see it under a microscope. So, it seems that that would be the helpful part for investigators but also where you get into the legal gray area because it's not a plain sight issue.
HOSTIN: That's right, because again, when you're dealing with the fourth amendment, something in plain sight is not a search. Let's say you're driving in your car, as many of us do, and your cocaine is in the back seat. A police officer pulls you over because the police saw you're speeding and looks into the car, if it's in plain sight that is not a search. The police officer can arrest you right then and there.
CHETRY: Right and how is this different though from, for example, let's say one of the sobriety checkpoints or even if you do get pulled over for speeding and they smell alcohol on your breath. I mean, people that are users of Meth do have some tell-tale signs I guess that they could possibly be on the drug. I mean, is that then probable cause to be able to use the scanner?
HOSTIN: Well, one thing is with plain sight, if this thing is sort of enhancing your vision because you can't see the Meth on you unless you have the scanner. It's really not in plain sight. It's a little bit different than sort of the sobriety test because in the sobriety test, you have the right to say no to a breathalyzer. In this, what police are posing is just doing it. And that scares me, it just scare a lot of people. What if I've hooked somebody and all of the sudden, that person was taking Meth and now I have a microgram of Meth, I get pulled over because I'm speeding, which people do and now I'm arrested for Meth possession.
It's a very, very slippery slope and I think it's something that really needs to be tested. Law enforcement officers are using it. We know that Meth is a huge epidemic but again people have the right, the right to be free of government action that encroaches on their privacy.
CHETRY: This is interesting. So, we talked about some of the legal issues about this coming up at 8:30. We'll actually going to talk to one of the sheriffs who is using this to talk a little bit about how this is working.
HOSTIN: I'm very interested in finding out what the officer is doing. I mean, you know, I prosecuted cases like this, but we need to make sure that we do not encroach upon the privacy of our citizens.
CHETRY: It will be very interesting to see how this is working in practice as well. Sunny Hostin, thanks for being with us.
HOSTIN: Thanks. Good to be here.
John?
ROBERTS: Four minutes now to the top of the hour. Tom Cruise honored last night. Katie Holmes trading in sneakers for heels, right by his side on the red carpet, two days after running the New York City marathon. And the surprising new study, this igniting a big debate. Is being overweight so bad for you after all? Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with us in New York to explain. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well Tom Cruise honored last night at the museum of the moving image here in New York. He walked the red carpet with his wife, Katie Holmes, just two days after she ran the New York City marathon. Doesn't look any worse for the wear. Congratulations. The museum hopes the dinner, its 23rd Annual raise $1 million for its mission about educating the public about film and TV.
ROBERTS: A look down at a story coming up in our next half hour that you just can't miss. There's a new rock star on the Internet, 70-something and has he got the Midas touch.
CHETRY: Yes, we're talking about Presidential hopeful Ron Paul. He set a new fund raising record.
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