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American Morning
Kids Toy Recall; Stock Markets Down; Pakistan Protests; Guinness World Records Day
Aired November 08, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHILDREN: Aquadots.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Killer toys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This toxin can cause you to become comatose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A stunning made in China recall this morning. How the date rape drug got into a popular kid's toy.
Free fall. The dollar at a record low. Overseas markets following the Dow down.
Plus, wild world. The tallest man, the priciest dessert, the fastest dog sled and snakes in a tub. It's world record day on this AMERICAN MORNING.
That's right, "The Guinness Book 2007." A lot of the winners. We're going to show you some of them this morning.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: All of the crazy things that people will do to get into that book.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
Welcome, once again. It's Thursday, November 8th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
An urgent kids toy recall to tell you about this morning. Maybe the most serious one yet. Something labeled a must-have holiday toy could be poison. Chemicals coating them are putting kids into comas. When eaten, the chemical metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug used by criminals because it's powerful to knock out adults and make them lose complete control of their body. In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aquadots. They are made in China. Now millions must come off the shelves. Alina Cho joins us this morning with more on this developing story.
Alina, this sounds very serious.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's very serious. It's incredible, really, if you think about it, John. And to think, these toys just won Australia's Toy of the Year Award. It was also on Wal- Mart's top 12 toys of Christmas.
Now that toy, which goes by the name Bindi's Beads (ph) in Australia and Aquadots in the U.S., is the subject of massive recall. Millions of toys. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing those tainted beads which can induce seizures, coma, even death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER LEHANE, CHARLOTTE LEHANE'S MOTHER: I was just beside myself. I was just so frightened because I literally thought that she wasn't going to make it.
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CHO: Now we should mention that those toys have not been linked to any deaths. But for parents who are still confused about just what happened, we want to explain just how these kids got sick. It turns out a chemical coating on the beads, once swallowed, can be converted into the so-called date rape drug, also known as GHB or fantasy. And if you're not a parent or you don't know what Aquadots are, these are toys that contain brightly colored beads that children can actually arrange into shapes and when sprinkled with water the beads stick together into that shape.
Now the Consumer Products Safety Commission says if you have that toy in your home, of course, take them away from your kids immediately. Contact the company. Moose Enterprises, which distributes the toys in Australia, released a statement calling for its own immediate recall.
And CNN has called the company that distributes Aquadots here in the U.S. We have not heard back. But that company, which is called Spin Master out of Toronto, issued its own statement saying "out of an abundance of caution, we have stopped shipping this item and are working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission." The company has also "made the safety of children our foremost priority."
But, remember, this is the worst possible news for a toy company, especially, John, when you consider we're less than seven weeks away from Christmas. Add to that all of the millions of other toys made in China that have been recalled in recent months. And it's just one more confusing things for parents as they shop for their kids for Christmas.
ROBERTS: Yes. And these little dots, I mean, they're just so attractive for little kids to put in their mouths.
CHO: Oh, sure. Yes.
ROBERTS: The coating is actually a glue, correct, that when you pour water on it, it freezes the Aquadots into the shape that you'd made. What is the company doing to address this? CHO: Well, the company says they're going to add a foul-tasting ingredient to all of the future toys, the future beads, so that children will be discouraged from swallowing them. But right now, you know, the big concern is getting those tainted beads off the shelves. You know, toy stores like Toys "R" Us, companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, they've all put -- basically stopped so that parents won't buy the toys.
But this is a big concern. And again, really confusing for parents as they go out there and try to shop for their kids for Christmas.
ROBERTS: Yes. And then, of course, there's all of those thousands and thousands of these toys that have been bought already.
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: Alina Cho for us this morning. Thanks very much. We'll get back to you with more on that just a little bit later on.
Piled on top of millions of toy recalls that you already have to worry about, close to 500,000 toy cars must now come off the shelves, again lead paint contamination, again, they're all made in China. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's latest recall includes more than 405,000 children's products. That includes 380,000 pull-back action toy cars imported by Dollar General. For the full list, we've got them for you, log on to cnn.com.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, how about this one. Another big plunge on Wall Street yesterday and this morning world stock markets tumble in reaction. In fact, Hong Kong closing down almost 4 percent today. The Dow dropping a whopping 360 points. There's also another big Wall Street bank announcing billions of dollars in losses. That also contributing to jitters on Wall Street. Ali Velshi's at the business update desk.
Any sense of whether or not it's going to be better today or are we in for more of the same?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm wearing a hard hat today. That's all I know. You know, these things are coming around every corner. It's hard for investors to know what's going on. Yesterday you talked about a 360-point plunge on the Dow. Most of that in the late day of trading.
Take a look at that. That's 2.6 percent on the Dow, 2.7 percent on the Nasdaq and almost 3 percent down on the S&P 500. You mentioned that in Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong followed lower. So did the Nikki.
Now let's just look at the S&P 500 so far this year, because that's a good representation of a diverse stock portfolio. That is this year. It's been very choppy up and down. Turns out to be about a 4 percent gain on the year for those of you looking at your 401(k)s. The other thing that's effecting matters is the dollar. That's really what sent the market down yesterday. The dollar continues to plunge against the euro, about $1.47 to a euro, now $2.10 to a pound and $1.08 to the Canadian dollar, after China said that it might be wanting to invest money in other currencies if the dollar slide continues.
Today we have other news. Morgan Stanley announcing a write down of $3.7 billion and saying it could get worse. As you know, we followed with Citi having a $6.1 billion write down, Merrill Lynch an $8.9 billion write down. All of this referring to credit exposure. Those two companies lost their CEOs over this matter.
Today, also luxury home builder, Toll Brothers, said its numbers are down and the CEO says he doesn't know when this is going to end. We've got retail stores giving us their same-store sales for the month of October over the next couple of hours. We'll bring you those. And Ben Bernanke testifies on Congress today about the state of the economy. So another very busy day. Anybody's guess as to where things are going. Right now, Kiran, futures are lower.
CHETRY: No surprise there. All right. We'll check in with you throughout the morning. Hopefully things will change for the better.
Ali, thanks.
ROBERTS: Six minutes now after the hour.
With the Dow taking a plunge, the dollar falling and a mess in the sub prime mortgage market, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be grilled today by Congress about the uncertain economic outlook. Just last week the Fed cut interest rates by .25 of a percentage point and told investors not to bank on further rate cuts.
Potentially damaging news for the Rudy Giuliani campaign today. His former New York City police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, is expected to be indicted as early as today on charges including tax fraud, corruption and conspiracy. Prosecutors say he accepted apartment renovations from a contractor with alleged mob ties who wanted his help winning city contracts and that he failed to declare his income, a $9,000 a month apartment, an acquaintance paid for.
Kerik was Giuliani's right-hand man during the attacks of 9/11. Giuliani has argued that Kerik's problems should not overshadow his administration's crime fighting record, saying crime dropped 60 percent when Kerik was the city's top cop. John King on what it could mean for Giuliani's White House run a little bit later on this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
More chaos in Pakistan today. There are reports this morning that hundreds of supporters of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto have been arrested overnight and some of them have been charged with treason. This comes after President Bush called Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf urging him to take off his uniform and hold elections on schedule in January. Meanwhile, Bhutto continues to call on her supporters to protest the crackdown at a massive rally on Friday. Dan Rivers is following the story for us live this morning from Lahore in Pakistan.
Dan, you attended a rally with students today. What was that like on the streets?
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was interesting. It was pretty small scale, it must be said. And the thing that it highlighted really was the lack of coordination between all of the various disparate (ph) groups that are opposed to General Musharraf. These activists at one of the universities here in Lahore coming out with banners and chanting "hang the president." And so pretty strong stuff. The numbers were quite small and the police were hanging back. So it was peaceful as far as we saw.
What's interesting, though, is this lack of coordination between, for example, the students, the lawyers and the followers of Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan people's party. As you mentioned, we are hearing from them that up to perhaps 800 of their supporters have been rounded up and arrested overnight. We're still working to confirm those numbers.
But, clearly, a very serious situation still here in Pakistan. And tomorrow she is vowing to bring thousands, tens of thousands possibly onto the streets. And while (INAUDIBLE) near Islamabad in another mass show of opposition against General Musharraf. What will be key, really, is how many people she can get on to the streets tomorrow. If she can get enough, perhaps her movement has a chance of ousting General Musharraf.
ROBERTS: Yes, I also expect key would be, Dan, how the Pakistani officials respond to that demonstrations as well.
Dan Rivers for us in Lahore, Pakistan, this morning.
Dan, thanks.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Bounty hunter and TV star Duane "Dog" Chapman publicly apologizing for using the "n" word about his son's girlfriend in a taped phone conversation that first made headlines last week. Chapman was on "Larry King Live" last night asking for forgiveness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: I'm very sorry for using that word. Please don't think any less of me and I'm going to fix it.
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": How do you fix it?
CHAPMAN: Well, I'll continue doing the things I've done, working with, you know, interracial people and I just have to -- I have some classes I have to go to and I need to get a greater vocabulary than what I have, obviously. And when I get mad and my brain searches for a word, I have to find different words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Chapman also said that he is not angry with his son for selling that taped telephone conversation to "The National Enquirer." The woman at the center of the controversy says she thinks Chapman's apology is pathetic because he didn't personally call her or his son to apologize. A&E has suspended production of Chapman's reality show and it's not clear whether or not it will be renewed.
A Boston priest arrested on charges of stalking late night talk show host Conan O'Brien. Police say that Reverend David Ajemian was arrested last week at NBC headquarters while trying to enter a taping of the Conan show. Prosecutors say that he wrote threatening notes on parish letterhead for over a year and even contacted O'Brien's parents. Police say the priest and the late night host may have attended Harvard University at the same time. The Boston Archdiocese says that the priest has been put on leave.
ROBERTS: Coming up to 10 minutes after the hour. Time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
Rob Marciano at the weather update desk.
And, Rob, plenty of cold air in the south. That beautiful October that we had just kind of went out the door when November rolled in.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: More than 100,000 people around the world are trying to make it into the history books doing all sorts of crazy things for Guinness World Record Day. Our Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with more on the annual event.
This has produced some spectacular pictures.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, absolutely. And I want to show you some of the records that have been broken already. Today is Guinness World Records Day. It is an occasion the book is using to encourages record-breaking across the globe.
Take a look at this. At 7'8", George Bell was officially crowned the tallest man in America on Tuesday. Now, not in the world, but in America. This guy's a deputy sheriff from Norfolk, Virginia, and, yes, probably don't want to mess with him. The Guinness World Records website lets you register to participate in breaking a record. And you can also help find the tallest man in your country. You can head to www.guinnessworldrecords.com.
John.
ROBERTS: All right. Veronica, thanks very much. She'll be joining us a little bit later on with some other stuff as well. In fact, though, before we do that, you've got a couple of other wacky things as well, don't you?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. Well, take a look at this. We want to show you this record that was just broken. This is Jackie Bibby. He's known as the Texas Snake Man. And he broke the record for sitting in a bathtub with rattle snakes. He spent about 45 minutes in a bathtub with, get this, 87 rattle snakes Monday. He broke his own record by 12 snakes. So if you guys want to log on, maybe break a record of your own, www.guinnessworldrecords.com.
Anything you guys want to go for?
ROBERTS: No. How about, no. But, you know, the one thing we need to do is check back in because Jackie Bibby was try to break a record by hanging 11 snakes from his mouth.
CHETRY: That's right. What was his previous record? He did it with 10?
ROBERTS: Yes. Yes.
CHETRY: You could break the record, or at least try, for eating plates of spaghetti carbonara, your favorite dish. How many could you . . .
ROBERTS: You know a small portion of that's just a (INAUDIBLE). It's good. It's good.
CHETRY: All right.
Well, there are new concerns about chemicals in the products we use and the food that we eat. In fact, we talked to a new mom who decided to have herself tested. She had her blood tested for the chemical content. She was shocked by what she found. We're going to show you what she found and talk about some alternatives that have been gaining popularity, coming up in a couple of minutes.
Also, deadly mistake. All of them caused by fatigue. Botched landings, flying at the wrong altitude, even falling asleep in the cockpit. Well, there is a new, scary report that travelers should know about. We're going to tell you all about it when AMERICAN MORNING comes back.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
You know, there is a growing trend to avoid plastic products that contain chemicals called phthalates, or bisphenol-a. Phthalates are what makes plastics flexible and bisphenol-a is what makes plastic hard. So at last California banned the use of phthalates out of fears that they could cause damage to the liver and reproductive organs and those types of concerns are revolutionizing the way many people shop and eat. In fact, we talked to a new mom who decided to see if she had these chemicals in her system. Here's Heather Loukmas in her own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER LOUKMAS, MOTHER: And I knew that they were going to find some of these chemicals in my body. I never anticipated that, you know, particularly with the flame retardants that it would be at the levels that it was found. You know, I questioned whether -- what was ultimately passed on to my son. Even if it was just a small amount that got passed on, is the impact greater because he's a baby. You know, he's still developing.
Should we pick some brussel sprouts? Yes.
We have a big garden in our back yard. We don't use any pesticides. We drink organic milk. I give my babies milk from glass bottles because I know that there's a potential for chemicals to leak out of the plastic into the formula. So, you know, I try to make a choice of where I can and about things that I'm aware of.
It's a little frustrating for me to know that we can't control whether or not these chemicals are getting into our bodies. Hopefully as people become more aware that these chemicals are in these products and that they are inevitably getting into our bodies, that they'll start demanding safer alternatives for themselves and for their children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Heather took part in a new study out today with 35 Americans from seven states, all of them had the chemicals in their bodies. You can check the results on the website, isitus.org. Coming up also, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be giving us a reality check. Can we ever purge our bodies of these types of chemicals.
And also Greg Hunter is going to shows us the huge demand that's been driving sales of toxic free products. We have a couple to show you here on set. This is a company that's really taken off. This Born Free company. They make baby bottles that do not contain phthalates, that we talked about, or the bisphenol-a. And then another big push that's been going on are these tin or aluminum, rather, water bottles, rather than using plastic water bottles.
And they cost a little bit more, frankly. Are consumers willing to pay that price to make sure they don't have these types of chemicals in their bodies, even though there hasn't been a lot of definitive research on just how much harm they do.
Well, it brings us to our "Quick Vote." And we want to know, would you be willing to pay more for toxin-free products? These questions about things like phthalates and bisphenol-a. Cast your vote, cnn.com/am. We're going to have a tally, the first tally of votes coming up a little bit later in the hour.
ROBERTS: American heroes going homeless. Your "Quick Hits" now. A new study says veterans make up a quarter of the homeless population. The most recent data from 2005 estimates that close to 200,000 vets are living on the streets. The Veteran's Affairs Department says that includes 1,500 who served in Afghan and in the current Iraq War.
Thousands of valuable items are missing from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. A National Archives audit has found more than 80,000 artifacts unaccounted for. Inspectors have been investigating allegations that a former library employee stole from the Regan collection. The audit sites a near universal security breakdown at the Reagan Library and sloppy bookkeeping that has slowed the investigation.
Well, take a look at this picture. What's wrong with it? Barack Obama says nothing. The presidential candidate answers critics who posted it on the web.
And country music's biggest and brightest stars turned out for the CMA Awards last night. One presidential candidate was there as well enjoying the show. We'll have the highlights coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Some "Quick Hits" for you now.
Nick Bollea, son of wrestler Hulk Hogan, in handcuffs after turning him in on charges related to a dramatic car accident that happened this summer in Florida. Check out the aftermath. There's his car. The 17-year-old was charged with one felony count of reckless driving with a maximum sentence of five years for that charge. Police say Bollea was racing another car before the accident and a passenger in his car, a good friend, was critically injured. He's out on bond this morning.
And J. Lo finally confirming what's been rumored for weeks, that she and hubby Marc Anthony are expecting. A big congratulations to her. She made the announcement at a concert in Miami last night. The last night of their tour together. Afterwards Marc Anthony leaned over, he kissed J. Lo on the belly. It will be the first child for both of them. No word on when it's due.
And there she is, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree being cut down and loaded up for the trip to New York City. The 84-foot-tall Norway Spruce coming from Shelton, Connecticut, this year. The tree was hoisted on to a 115 foot long trailer for the long trip. It's not expected to arrive until tomorrow and then will be all set up and trimmed a bit later this month.
ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Time for your "Hot Shot" now. A dessert that's guaranteed to give you a tummy ache and the old buyer's remorse when you're done. I don't know if you get a bigger pain in your stomach or your wallet. A restaurant in New York City has set the Guinness World Record for the most expensive dessert, $25,000. A blend including 14 of the most expensive and exotic chocolates from around the globe, topped with a truffle that sells for $2,500 a pound, infused with five grams of edible 23-carat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. There's an 18 carat gold bracelet with one carat of white diamonds at the base of it. But all it's missing is the cherry.
CHETRY: You get to keep the bracelet I take it?
ROBERTS: I would think you probably do. And, oh, there's the cherry right on top.
CHETRY: Just goes to show you, you can sell anything.
ROBERTS: OK. And if you've got a "Hot Shot" send it to us. The address is amhotshots@cnn.com. Be sure to include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture or video. And one more thing, make sure the image is yours and not someone else's.
CHETRY: Make sure the dessert is your $25,000 desert, not someone else's.
ROBERTS: A look at a story coming up in our next half hour here that you just can't miss. The 41st Annual Country Music Awards. A buddy of yours did well last night.
CHETRY: Yes, entertainer of the year award honors going to Kenny Chesney. This is the third year out of four that he has won it. And we actually spoke with him a couple of minutes ago. He stayed up early just to talk to our show. So we're very thrilled about that.
ROBERTS: I take it that means he's not going to work today?
CHETRY: I think they gave him the day off, after all of that, after his huge tour around the country and, yes, his big win last night. So we're going to hear what he said. He has a couple of funny stories about what happened at some of the after parties as well.
ROBERTS: That story plus today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns. Stay with us.
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JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. A possible solution to the crisis in Pakistan. Welcome back. It's Thursday, November the 8th. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. And we are just getting word this morning that Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president is announcing that election will indeed be held before February 15th, this according to state television. This news, of course, welcome news, hopefully it will have a good effect on what's been going on, the unrest there on news of Pervez Musharraf disbanding the constitution, arresting many in the judiciary, and the protests that have been taking place because of this. In fact, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has said that there would be more protests if he tried to not allow these elections to go forward.
So maybe some movement, maybe some chance for some reconciliation here. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf again announcing that these elections will be held and that they will be held before February 15th according to state television. We'll bring you more news on that as soon as we get it.
Meantime, other news that's new this morning. The search for the missing Illinois mother of two. Investigators are now saying that they want to talk to her children. One of them just 2 years old, the other 4 years old. 23-year-old Stacy Peterson vanished 11 days ago. Her husband, a local police sergeant, who says that she left him for another man. Her family strongly disputes that saying there's no way she would leave her children. This is Drew Peterson. He's 30 years older than Stacy.
He's been married three other times and his third wife drowned in a bathtub back in 2004. It was ruled an accident at the time, but the state attorney general state attorney's office now says that it intends to re-examine that case. We are going to talk to John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" a bit later this morning.
A prisoner shot dead -- who shot a Florida police officer and killed him then escaped in the sheriff deputy's van is now back behind bars this morning. A police manhunt for the latest -- for the suspect ended last night with the arrest of 40-year-old Michael Mazza. He is accused of killing Broward county sheriff's deputy Paul Rhine while being transported from jail to a court appearance. Authorities say Mazza confessed to shooting the veteran officer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL LAMBERT, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: The goal is always to try to resolve the case before the funeral. It helps bring closure to the family and I'm happy that we were successful in bringing it to a successful conclusion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Police now say that Mazza will be held at a maximum security jail in Dade County Florida.
Well, will there be another O.J. Simpson trial? A Las Vegas judge will decide today whether or not prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Simpson to trial, faces charges of armed robbery and kidnapping for the incident where he went to a hotel room to reclaim some of his personal memorabilia.
ROBERTS: It's a job where even the smallest miscalculation can lead to a terrible end. But hundreds of pilots, airline mechanics and air traffic controllers have complained that they are making mistakes because they're too tired. That's according to "USA Today". The paper looked at NASA safety records going all the way back to 2003. The reports show there were six cases where pilots fell asleep in mid- flight. The NTSB has reportedly linked pilot's fatigue to ten commercial accidents since 1993 that killed a total of 260 people. The agency will addressed the dangers today at a hearing in Washington.
The flow of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States is slowing. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, the DEA says prices for the drugs are rising and purity of the drugs is decreasing, both indicators that supply is beginning to shrink. The DEA credits Colombia and Mexico for helping to disrupt the supply.
34 minutes after the hour. After a huge down day at the DOW, and indications that the bears will be in control again today, all eyes on Ben Bernanke. He testifies before Congress today. Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" this morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. So, you were there and you had Ben Bernanke in front of you. You were one of these congressmen, what would you ask him? What would you want to know from Ben Bernanke, if you had the one chance to get him to tell you something?
ROBERTS: What's the outlook for the economy and inflation?
VELSHI: What do you think?
CHETRY: What can we do about the weak dollar?
VELSHI: Well, the beauty is these representatives theoretically represent you and the constitution says that or the law says that Ben Bernanke here or the Fed chief has to go before congress twice a year just for the sake of it. Give his statement on what he thinks the economy is doing and open up to questions to representatives and the issues he's going to talk about are the ones that Kiran and John and probably you are thinking about right now for probably four major topics.
He is going to deal with housing of course, which is top of mind for everyone. The credit crisis which we seemed to get news on every day. That's the one that's hard to measure. The continuing soft U.S. dollar. It's thinking against major currencies and of course oils sky rocketing heading to $100 a barrel. These are all issues that he is likely to talk about and representatives are likely to ask him about. The issue here of course is that when the Fed cut rates last week, they issued a statement that said that the risks between inflation and growth are roughly balanced and that means the Fed is not likely to move again at the next meeting of interest rates.
Some people think the Fed should be moving higher to curtail inflation. Some people think it should cut more to get this economy going. So, that should be an interesting session and it is sure to move markets that, happens at 10:00 Eastern this morning.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Sounds good.
ROBERTS: I'll be listening to it.
CHETRY: We can't submit our questions ahead of time in.
VELSHI: No, but I can e-mail like a congressman or something that people would like to add, so if you got anything, let me know.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali. Well, senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama is calling a web picture of him quote "A classic dirty trick." Here it is. It was a shot in September during an Iowa fund-raiser for Senator Tom Harkin. He didn't have his hand over his heart in front of a giant American flag when other candidates standing next to him did. Someone added the caption when a voter asked him about, we don't see the caption here, but when the voter asked him about it, Obama explained that it was during the national anthem. They were trying to say that it was during the pledge of allegiance and that it's not the first time he's been a target on the net.
However, according to U.S. code during a rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present, except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with their right hand over their heart. There's a look.
CHETRY: Well, there is a new mayor in town, and he is out to stem the violence. It's turned Philadelphia into the nation's murder capitol. Mayor-elect Michael Nutter joins us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Also, it is the biggest night in country music and it was a huge night for Kenny Chesney. He took home the biggest award which is "Entertainer of the year." We're talking about the CMA's and we spoke to Kenny himself just a couple of minutes ago, that exclusive chat ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: 20 minutes now to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning and your "Quick Hits" now. In picture, guns drawn after students challenged President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Here a Chavez supporter points a handgun around the door aimed at two unarmed protesters during clashes in Caracas. Official there say, at least eight people were hurt, one may have been shot.
Throwing wood on the fire. Some amazing flames shooting high to the sky at a lumberyard as it burns in Georgia. Flames towered over a nearby highway sends sparks over neighboring business. No injuries were reported, though. Firefighters were able to get it under control.
Well, he's not called McDreamy for nothing. At least, well, maybe he is, actually because it's looking awfully dark there. We were supposed to show you a picture of "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey joining striking writers on the picket lines outside prospects studios in Los Angeles. Still no deal in that strike, three days in, several big network shows have now shut down and announced layoffs.
Its 41 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano looking after your weather for you this morning. Is it McDreamy or McYucky?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: All right. Well, damage control for the Giuliani campaign, topping our "Political Ticker" this morning. As we've been reporting, an indictment against Bernard Kerik could come down today. Kerik is expected to be charged with tax fraud, corruption, conspiracy. The charges could prove embarrassing for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign since' the appointed Kerik is chief of police in New York and then later endorsed a failed bid for him to become the director of Homeland Security.
Well, lawmakers vote to protect gay and lesbian workers by -- the democratic-led House of Representatives on Wednesday defied the White House veto and thread and voted to protect millions of Americans by outlawing work place discrimination based on sexual orientation. We're going to bring you more on that story. But listen to the (INAUDIBLE) in the "Political Ticker." See what else is next.
Slave labor helps build -- actually let's not bring in this one either. Let's take a quick break. You know what? Go ahead to cnn.com/ticker and find out all your day's political news there.
ROBERTS: All right.
Coming back around now, there's a new man in town in Philadelphia. It's going to be a couple of months before he takes office but Michael Nutter has already declared a war on crime. Philadelphia has the highest murder rate among the nation's biggest cities. There were 406 homicides in the city last year and nearly 8 percent increase from 2005. There have already been 344 murders this year, that's just off of the pace for last year. So, how can the new mayor bring the city back?
Mayor-elect Michael Nutter joins us now from Philadelphia. Mr. Mayor, congratulations on your win. Looking forward to you taking control of the city and seeing what you could do there. You said day one you're going to declare a crime emergency in some of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods. Exactly what are you planning to do?
MICHAEL NUTTER, PHILADELPHIA MAYOR-ELECT: Well, John, first, thank you very much. It's great to be here on AMERICAN MORNING. We have to get a handle on what's happening out in the streets of Philadelphia. There is a crime crisis unfortunately here in our city. I have to appoint a new police commissioner, come up with a game plan to re-convince Philadelphians that we can actually do something about crime in our city, much like cities, like New York and Chicago and many others across the country have done.
We have to send out the message. You cannot carry illegal weapons in the city of Philadelphia. We will target repeat offenders and those most likely to commit crimes in our city. It's a new game plan. It's a new day and a new strategy.
ROBERTS: Mr. Mayor, one of your plans is to put more police officers on the street. The current police commissioner Sylvester Johnson had some disagreement with you on that. Take a listen to what he said about that idea, and then I want to ask you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYLVESTER JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: That we didn't create. We didn't create the education, we didn't create the poverty, we didn't create the unemployment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, he's saying that more police is not the answer. What do you say to that?
NUTTER: Well, the police commissioner himself testified in city council when I was still there over a year ago that he needed 500 more police officers and I agree with him. I've used his own statistics as part of that measurement, but we also have to better utilize the officers we have. We have 6,600 police officers. We need more officers on the street, less in special units. It's all about how you manage the force that you have and I just think we can do a better job.
ROBERTS: He also says that this stop and frisk policy that you plan to institute is going to undermine the goodwill that he has spent years building up in some of these neighborhoods.
NUTTER: Well, John, what's undermining the goodwill in Philadelphia is that we have, unfortunately, one homicide and five shootings a day. That is disrupting order in our communities. We're going to target our enforcement; we're going to legally use the strategies that many other cities have used across the country. It's really about changing a mind-set and a culture that somehow people think they can run our streets with illegal weapons. If someone has an illegal weapon, I'm coming after him and we're going to take that weapon.
ROBERTS: We should also point out that you plan to, one of your first moves will be to replace Johnson with a new police commissioner. Don't know if you got anybody in mind at this point, do you?
NUTTER: Not at the moment. Police commissioner Johnson has already announced that he's retiring. So, we're actively looking all across the country and in the city to find the best police commissioner that we can to make Philadelphia one of the top safe cities in the country.
ROBERTS: Now, you said this about the city's image. You said quote, "The place is a filthy mess. It says a lot about us and our attitude toward each other." Those are pretty harsh words. You also said that Philadelphia is suffering from a self-esteem problem. Is calling it a filthy mess the best way to try to instill a sense of self-esteem, Mr. Mayor?
NUTTER: John, I think, the first thing is if you have a problem you have to acknowledge it. I'm a very direct person. Philadelphians have gotten to know me. But also, the shot that the viewers are seeing is of a beautiful city. Philadelphia is an incredible place. There's no other place like it. But we have to be honest with ourselves. We need to clean up the city. There's nothing wrong with saying it if it's true.
ROBERTS: Well, Mr. Mayor, good luck to you. We certainly wish you a lot because the city definitely needs it. While you're attacking all of the other problems, anything you can do with the eagles? They're not having a great season.
NUTTER: I've been talking with them about it but Coach Reed and I have an agreement. I don't give him plays and he's not going to tell me how to run the city. But we're working on it.
ROBERTS: All right, Mayor-elect Michael Nutter from Philadelphia. Thanks for being with us. We'll see you again soon.
NUTTER: Thank you, John.
CHETRY: Sometimes you just can't help some.
ROBERTS: 3-5, you know...
CHETRY: Ouch.
ROBERTS: Compared to last year.
CHETRY: Well, how about this one. Another head rolls at FEMA over that fake press conference. Aaron Walker, FEMA's press secretary has resigned now. FEMA did not say whether the resignation was volunteered by Walker or whether or not FEMA asked for it. During the California wildfires, you may remember, FEMA scheduled a press conference, no real reporters were there and FEMA staffers posing as reporters asked the questions.
Well, it was a big night for country and even bigger one for country star Kenny Chesney. He won "Entertainer of the Year." We talked to him a few minutes ago. We're going to what he says about the honor and about what went down at some of the after parties, coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now to 52 minutes after the hour. If you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headlines this morning. A hot holiday toy could be poisoning children. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says millions of aqua dots must come off the shelves. Kids have fallen into comas because chemicals coating the product become the date rape drug when swallowed. Like millions of other recalled toys, these were made in China.
Pakistan will be under a state of emergency for at least another month according to the president of the country's ruling party. Parliamentary elections will be held some time around February 15th. Musharraf is promising. Reports this morning that hundreds of supporters of opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto have been arrested over night in an attempt to prevent them from joining a mass protest tomorrow.
Overseas, stock markets are sliding this morning a second time in a week that it dropped here in the U.S. It spread throughout the world. The Japan's Nikkei fell by 2 percent, the Hong Kong Hang Seng index lost nearly 4 percent. Yesterday, the Dow industrials were down 360 pointing down again today. With the Dow taking a plunge, the dollar falling, and the mess in the sub-prime mortgage market, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be grilled today by congress about the uncertain economic outlook. Just last week, the Fed cut interest rates by quarter of a point. Told investors not to bank on further rate cuts. Now, let's move to, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, country music's reigning king wins yet again. Superstar and my good friend, Kenny Chesney, was voted "Entertainer of the Year" at the 41st Annual Country Music Association Awards last night. This is his third win in just four years. Joining me on the phone from Nashville, Tennessee, this morning, the man himself, Kenny Chesney. Hey, Kenny, good morning.
KENNY CHESNEY, ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR: Good morning, how are you?
CHETRY: Wonderful and thank you for agreeing to stay up to talk to us this morning. What an honor. Three out of four years in a row. What did it feel like this year?
CHESNEY: It felt that really good. I mean, it was very satisfying. The year that me and the guys had out on the road, this year was very special and you know, to feel the passion from the fans that come see us every night was really amazing, you know, and to have the, you know, the industry recognize it like they did was really, you know, it kind of sounds like cliche sometimes, but still to get recognized for it was really special tonight and like you said, it was my third "Entertainer of the Year" trophy in four years and so if it hadn't happened so many times, and there's a short list of guys and girls that have done that so it was pretty cool.
CHETRY: So, for example, in 2004, you had a lot of surprise and excitement, winning it three times now, does that diminish any more or are you just as excited at the first time you won it?
CHESNEY: Oh, no, it's almost as if it solidifies it a little bit more. You know, I told my manager tonight; this is my favorite one, even more than the first one. You know, the first one is pretty nerve-wracking. You know, the night tonight, it was really great, when Reba McIntyre called my name, it was a really great feeling because a lot of work went into being able to stand in that spot, in front of a lot of my heroes and in front of a lot of my friends and peers, and it was, you know, great to be able to get up there and thank them and thank the fans for just an incredible ride that we've all been on.
CHETRY: So, you did, you had a heck of a year. 62 million people came out to see your shows. Of course, I went to the one in New York. It was fabulous. Our own Robin Meade over at "Headline News," she sang on stage with you at the Atlanta Show.
CHESNEY: Yes, she did. She's a pretty good singer, actually.
CHETRY: I know, I was impressed. A little jealous and impressed. But, you know, you are known as one of the nicest guys. You took your mom last night. Did she have a blast?
CHESNEY: I did. My mother had an absolute blast. We went to all of the parties afterwards and ended up at a party where she absolutely stalked George Strait the whole night, and she did. It was a lot of fun, though, and he was real nice about it.
CHETRY: So, even though her son's "Entertainer of the Year" she's starry-eyed over the other country music stars.
CHESNEY: Oh, yes. No doubt about it. She didn't care that I won "Entertainer of the Year" at all. She was wanting to hang out with George and I let her.
CHETRY: Well, that is great. You're a good son, of course. Kenny, congratulations once again for the win.
CHESNEY: Thank you.
CHETRY: Get some sleep and thanks for talking to us this morning.
CHESNEY: I will. I'm going to bed right now.
CHETRY: Thanks, Kenny.
CHESNEY: Bye.
ROBERTS: Kenny's mom was stalking George Strait all night? C'mon.
CHETRY: How about it, though. You know, I mean, she's used to Kenny, that's her son.
ROBERTS: He sounds like a real down-to-earth guy.
CHETRY: He is. He's wonderful and we appreciate it because I know it was a long night for him but he stayed up to talk to us.
ROBERTS: Today, country music is so popular. I listen probably to more country than I do rock 'n' roll these days.
CHETRY: I got to check you iPod. (INAUDIBLE)
ROBERTS: Real surprise. You got to find it first.
How did the date rape drug get into a child's toy? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the chemical process that could be putting kids at risk ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: High anxiety, markets tumble overseas. The dollar sinks. The Fed chief in the hot seat on Capitol Hill today.
Deadly additives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHILDREN: Aqua dots!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The date rape drug in a made in China toy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This toxin, can cause you to become comatose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How could it happen?
Plus toxic plastic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just don't want to take the chance with your children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: What's in your baby bottle, your water bottle even? Consumer's revolt and change the way everyday products are made and sold on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. It is Thursday, November 8th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Breaking news just coming in to us this morning from Pakistan. A promise from President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections by February the 15th, but Pakistan will remain under emergency rule for at least another month. This is as protesters raged for another morning, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto calling on her supporters to protest with a massive rally tomorrow. CNN's Dan Rivers is following this story for us, live n Lahore, Pakistan. And Dan, this pledge of holding elections by February the 15th.
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