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American Morning
Black Smoke Over London; Bay Area Oil Spill; Finland School Shooting: American Connection Online?
Aired November 12, 2007 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. A giant cloud of smoke in the skies over London right now.
Federal case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This incident should have never ever occurred.
ROBERTS: Investigators on the scene of a spreading oil disaster in the San Francisco Bay. Did the crew or the rescuers drop the ball?
Plus, a mother's love.
REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R), WASHINGTON: You have these hopes and dreams for your baby. It doesn't involve Down Syndrome.
ROBERTS: A congresswoman speaks out for the first time about raising a baby son with Down Syndrome on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And good morning. Thanks very much for joining us on this Monday, the 12th of November.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
We begin this hour with some breaking news and a large cloud of black smoke over London. According to the British press, the smoke is coming from a fire in what's believed to be an old bus garage in an industrial area in east London. These are live pictures this morning.
Emily Chang is live from London with the latest.
And at least from our view it just seems like the smoke just keeps growing as opposed to dissipating a bit, Emily.
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Smoke rising above east London. It's now become a giant cloud hanging over the city.
The most important thing to note at this point, metropolitan police saying that there is nothing to suggest this is terror related. It seems to be a fire in an old bus garage, and they are treating it as just that.
It started just after noon here local London time. Of course, many firefighters on scene, many police as well.
It's burning in an area called Stratford, very close to where the future stadium for the London Olympics will be built. In fact, it's on Waterden Road, which runs right through the site, the future site of the Olympics. It's a very industrial area.
What we know now at this point, no reports of any casualties according to the London ambulance service. It is possibly affecting air travel. It's about five miles from London City Airport, and, of course, as you can see, the smoke so thick, you can be almost certain it's affecting visibility in this area.
But right now at this point Metropolitan Police saying they have no idea what caused this fire. It is simply too early to tell. And of course there are investigators on scene trying to determine that -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right.
Emily Chang.
We'll check in with you throughout the hour to find out more. Thanks a lot.
Meanwhile, we're also following a breaking story out of Gaza, and the number of dead rising now in the wake of a violent attack that happened at a rally that was being held to mark the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. Palestinian sources say that forces loyal to the Islamic militant group Hamas fired on the crowd, killing as many as five people and wounding at least 30 others. Hamas though is insisting that one man was killed Fatah gunmen who fired from rooftops. The rally was expected to be Fatah's biggest show of strength since Hamas took control of Gaza back in June.
ROBERTS: The feds are launching a criminal investigation after the worst oil spoil in the San Francisco Bay in nearly two decades. Investigators are questioning (ph) crew members of the containership about the crash into the Bay Bridge last week that spilled 58,000 gallons of heavy-duty oil. Its speed and communication problems caused the disaster.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho is following this story from our National Update Desk. She's got the latest for us.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Good morning.
There are two big questions, you know, and those are about speed and communications. And part of the investigation will focus on just how fast the ship was traveling and whether there was a breakdown in communication between the captain and the crew. Now, early indications are the accident was caused by human error, not mechanical failure. And as the investigation continues, a lot of questions this morning about what some are calling the Coast Guard's slow response.
Now, the Coast Guard's commander, Admiral Thad Allen, arrived in the area on Sunday and said there was simply a delay in getting the information out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD: By late in the afternoon between 4:00 and 5:00, we had determined based on the ability to move the fuel into soundings (ph) in the tank, what the likely discharge was. At that time we were mobilizing resources and response equipment, putting booms in place, getting skimming equipment that was out there. And it was an error of omission, not commission. It shouldn't have been done, and we're looking into that as part of the spill response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Something else you should know, weather was a factor. There was dense fog in the area at the time. But still, the Coast Guard initially reported just 140 gallons had spilled. It wasn't until several hours later that they realized the magnitude of the accident.
Remember, it was 58,000 gallons in all that spilled into San Francisco Bay. Only 16,000 gallons of that heavy-duty oil have been either recovered or evaporated so far.
At least 200 birds have been killed as a result. Four hundred- plus were found covered in oil on Friday. California's governor declared a state of emergency.
And John, this is affecting the local economy, as you might imagine. At least a dozen beaches are closed. One report says 23 beaches in all were contaminated. Fishing has been banned in certain areas. The cleanup could take weeks, maybe even months, and the investigation could take up to a year -- John.
ROBERTS: An incredible mess in such an environmentally sensitive part of this country.
CHO: Yes.
ROBERTS: Alina Cho for us this morning.
Alina, thanks.
We're also watching another major oil spill this morning. This one off of the coast of Russia, just outside of the Black Sea.
Powerful storms and 18-foot waves have sunk five ships and grounded five others. Rescue crews say an oil tanker broke in half in this storm, spilling thousands of gallons of fuel into the water. At least 23 sailors were washed out to sea. Searchers say they recovered the bodies of three sailors -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Two stories shedding light on the dark side of the Internet this morning. Police in Reno, Nevada, are charging 32-year- old Jason Hunter with using Craigslist to lure teenage boys to his house. He actually sexually assaulted one of them.
The younger boy telling police that he gave them alcohol and that they passed out. The younger boy says when he woke up, Hunter was sexually assaulting him.
Hunter was booked Thursday into the county jail on suspicion of using technology to lure a child. He was actually posing, according to police, as a 20-year-old woman.
There's another story to tell you about, a possible online connection between a school shooting in Finland last week and a teenager accused of plotting an attack on his high school in Pennsylvania. The teen here in the U.S. is suspected of planning his own Columbine-style attack with a huge arsenal.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Norristown, Pennsylvania, with more details on that story for us.
Hi, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
Yes, prosecutors here in Pennsylvania plan to launch their own investigation into this possible link later this morning. If there's a connection, it could offer a new insight into the mind of a potential school shooter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice over): Before he gunned down eight people at a Finland school and before he left this cryptic YouTube warning of his campus attack, Finish authorities suspect Pekka-Eric Auvinen was a visitor to this MySpace page glorifying the Columbine massacre. It was there, investigators in Finland say, where Auvinen may have chatted with a 14-year-old Pennsylvania boy named Dillon Cossey, who police say planned his own school shooting outside Philadelphia last month.
BRUCE CASTOR, MONTGOMERY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's very sketchy. The Finnish authorities have said that there might be this connection, but they don't cite what makes them think that.
ACOSTA: The district attorney handling Cossey's case says he just learned of the alleged connection in an article that appeared in "The Times of London" newspaper. The story quotes Finnish authorities saying the Pennsylvania teen may have used a previously unknown screen name, shadow19462, to visit that MySpace page dedicated to Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. CASTOR: We have a special unit of forensic detectives that deal with just computer cases. And I asked them to tear down the computer and check for this other screen name.
J. DAVID FARRELL, COSSEY'S ATTORNEY: Knowing my client as I have gotten to know him, I would be very surprised if he were engaged in any true planning or encouraging behavior to an individual in Finland who was planning some sort of school attack.
ACOSTA: Cossey's attorney says any connection between his client and the Finland school shooter should serve as wake-up call to parents that troubled teens may be socializing on Web sites that lionize campus killers.
FARRELL: Surely it's disturbing that online there is this hero worship of two killers.
ACOSTA (on camera): And is that poisoning the minds of some of these kids out there?
FARRELL: I would say it reinforces their alienation and feeds into their violent fantasies, absolutely. It's poisoning them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And police in Finland are expected to release a statement later this morning possibly with new information about this potential link -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Very disturbing, to say the least.
Jim Acosta for us in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Thanks -- John.
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: World stock markets tumble this morning. Japan's Nikkei Index falling to its lowest level this year. Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai also closing down sharply. And the culprit, banks in the U.S. losing billions on the mortgage crisis.
Ali Velshi is at the Business Update Desk with what it means for today's market.
Unfortunately, this is sounding all too familiar, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And in fact, I could actually just record my response, because what happens at the beginning of the day doesn't seem to reflect what happens at the end of the day on these markets.
Right now we're waiting on HSBC. After all of these banks that we've heard report exposure to subprime losses, now there are word -- there are reports out that HSBC might have a billion dollars more in exposure to it. Now, let's just look at what happened last week. This is just last week on the market.
This is Citigroup and this is all the bad news -- 4.1 percent loss on the Dow, 6.5 percent on the Nasdaq, 3.7 percent on the S&P. That Nasdaq was running higher than all of the other markets all year. I think at one point it was up 16 percent on the year.
So it had the most air underneath it. There was a sense that tech stocks, which is what the Nasdaq has on it, are somewhat insulated.
Look at what we are -- what we're at year to date. This is assuming you have investments that reflect these.
The Dow is up 4.65 percent. The Nasdaq, still not bad. That's not a bad gain. That's like a bad year on the upside, 8.8 percent.
The S&P 500 though, the most diversified of all of those indices, only up 2.5 percent. And we still have a month and a half to go. The trend hasn't been great.
So it really is a good time for those of you who have a financial adviser or manage your own accounts in your 401(k) to look at that pie chart and see where you are and the kind of losses that you've had. This is kind of important to start looking at.
You never want to be down for the year -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali Velshi for us this morning.
Ali, thanks.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
A live look out of London today. A bit of a closer shot with this fire that they are trying to work on, a large fire sending a cloud of dark, black smoke over the city.
It's believed to be in an old bus garage on the east end of London. At least 30 firefighters battling that fire, affecting visibility in the area. London City Airport just five miles away.
We're bringing in Jim Boulden now. He joins us from the rooftop of our London bureau to give us more of a sense of exactly how big we think this thing is.
Hi, Jim.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This almighty explosion took place about six miles from here. We're in west London. This, of course, fire is in east London. It's not too far from Stratford, which is the area where the London Olympics will take place in 2012. And there was a huge plume of smoke that went up about an hour ago. An almighty explosion, we're told. And this whole part of London was just absolutely covered with smoke.
Of course, many people's first thoughts turned to terrorism, but now we are being told, as you said, an abandoned bus depot or garage seems to have gone up in flames. I wouldn't be surprised if there are going to be a lot more firemen on this scene very, very quickly. This huge plume of smoke covering a part of London, as you said, near London City Airport, just a few miles form that, and it will certainly be affecting flights in and out of what is effectively London's fourth airport -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Jim, can you repeat for us -- I think we lost you for a second there about what you said when it comes to whether or not this was an explosion.
BOULDEN: Well, we heard from witnesses -- they said it's an almighty plume of smoke. And it was a big -- you know, a lot of people thought it had really rattled the area.
I'm not saying it was specifically an explosion, but the fact that a huge amount of smoke very quickly and the fire that started did turn a lot of people's attentions, of course, to terrorism. But as you say, it looks like it is a bus garage on fire.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Boulden for us on the roof of our London bureau this morning.
Thank you.
ROBERTS: As America honors its veterans today the military is facing the enormous burden of caring for a whole new generation of combat-scarred troops. President Bush addressed veterans yesterday in an American Legion post in Waco, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I thank our nation's veterans for the fine example that you have set for our country. I thank you for your courage and your patriotism and your devotion to duty. I thank you for standing up for the men and women of our armed forces. And I thank you for all do you to support the families they leave behind during this time of war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President Bush yesterday in Waco, Texas.
To talk more about this now, the plight of veterans in this country and where the military is headed with engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army vice chief of staff General Richard Cody joins us now.
General Cody, good to see you. Thanks for coming in.
I was stunned by a figure that I read recently that in the year 2006, almost a half a million American vets were homeless at some point in the year, and the fact that 25 percent of America's homeless counts themselves as veterans.
How did that situation arise?
GEN. RICHARD CODY, ARMY VICE CHIEF OF STAFF: John, I don't know. You know, we've got 24 million American vets right now, mostly from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and about four million right now from the Persian Gulf War.
Truly great Americans. They've earned the right to be Americans. In many cases they have given it all, and we as a country need to do better by our veterans.
ROBERTS: So how do we do better by our veterans? Because in addition to that, we now have tens of thousands of troops who are returning after doing National Guard duty in either Iraq, in Afghanistan, that have lost seniority at their jobs, might have lost pay, are having a difficult time being reemployed, even though there are supposed to be safeguards in place to prevent that from happening.
CODY: Well, a lot of things that we're doing right now for our veterans coming out of this war is to make sure those things don't happen. We want to take care of our wounded, for sure, our National Guard and Reservists who have served so well six years into this war, done tremendous things. And our employers that employ these guard and reserve soldiers, for the most case, are stepping up and assisting to make sure that they go back to the job that they have. But there's more to be done for sure.
ROBERTS: Right. I mean, certainly we're not seeing what happened during the Vietnam War., where returning soldiers and Marines were publicly ridiculed and degraded. The situation is not like that. I still see praise for our fighting men and women everywhere I go.
But we asked General Russel Honore about this over the weekend. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, FIRST U.S. ARMY: I guess if we are what we watch, and when you watch you sometimes see more, a little more attention to Hollywood starlets than we do to those who serve or those who have served, we need a resurgence in our patriotism. Patriot in America shouldn't be something that is talked about in the back closets. It should be praised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What do you think, General Cody? Does America need a resurgence of patriotism?
CODY: I think we do. And Russ Honore is certainly one of our more patriotic generals. He's a personal friend.
But you know, you go to places like Bangor, Maine, or Dallas airport and you see our soldiers coming back from war, and the first thing the soldiers see when they come off the airplane is a corridor of veterans. And most of those veterans, by the way, John, are Vietnam veterans who never had that time of homecoming. And it's very, very moving to see our soldiers being welcomed home by veterans who know the cost of being a soldier...
ROBERTS: Right.
CODY: ... who know the cost of going to war and fighting for this great nation. And they're the first ones to step up. And quite frankly, we didn't take care of them as well as we should have, certainly the Vietnam vets. But they're stepping up every day and welcoming home our soldiers.
I just think today on Veterans Day Americans needs to know there's 300 million of us, and right now they're being protected by about 170,000 soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors, and they're keeping the terrorists off our shores. And I think we ought to take time as Americans to say, you know, our lives haven't changed much since 9/11 because our soldiers are out there every day taking the fight. As one soldier told me, 9/11 was a home game. From now on every fight has to be an away game.
ROBERTS: Right. Well, certainly our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of the U.S. military, as they are overseas. And the country really needs to I think pitch in to help the veterans who are coming back.
General Richard Cody, it's good to see you, sir.
CODY: All right. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Thanks for coming in.
CODY: And Happy Veterans Day to all our great veterans.
ROBERTS: And the same to you, sir -- Kiran.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
"Baby Talk" magazine recently chose that little cutie as their cover girl, a baby with Down Syndrome. And she's an increasingly rare sight. A staggering 80 to 90 percent of women who receive a prenatal diagnosis for Down Syndrome decide not to go through with the pregnancy.
I recently sat down with Washington State congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. She's the first sitting member of Congress to have a baby in more than a decade. She and her husband Brian got initial testing and learned that there could be a problem. They decided against any further testing before having their son Cole.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCMORRIS RODGERS: You have these hopes and dreams for your baby, and it doesn't involve Down Syndrome. So when you first receive that news, it is -- it's very difficult to get your arms around it. And it makes -- it makes all of the difference when you actually hold that baby in your arms and you -- and you -- and you just see him for the wonderful person that he is.
CHETRY: And what do they tell you about the prognosis for Cole?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: He's more likely to have heart challenges. Babies with Down Syndrome are -- they have a higher risk of leukemia. They have a higher risk of, you know, vision problems and hearing problems and thyroid.
CHETRY: So as they're ticking off this list of worst case scenarios, Brian, and you're there with your newborn, I mean, how much does that take away from the joy of a new baby?
BRIAN RODGERS: Well, it certainly does. And I think the hardest part for me was to let go of my dreams for my child and embrace the dreams that his potential is there.
CHETRY: What have you learned and how have you gotten this fast education of Down Syndrome?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: If a baby's born with Down Syndrome, then they automatically get plugged into early intervention. We have already plugged Cole into a network of people like physical therapists and other people that are helping us already maximize Cole's development.
CHETRY: You talked to me briefly about some of the outpouring of support you got in the form of letters, e-mails, calls from people you never knew before. What is the -- what is the prevailing piece of advice or thought that they give you?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: They want me to know that Cole is going to bring us tremendous joy. And he already has. They want me to know that Cole is a very special little boy and that he's going to impact our lives in ways that we cannot even imagine. This Down Syndrome community of people in this country has been tremendous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And we're going to talk to the Rodgers tomorrow about how having Cole has affected her job in Congress and how she feels about being a voice in Washington for the Down Syndrome community.
We're also going to be speaking a little bit more with Sanjay Gupta, as well as others, just about some of the moral and ethical questions behind being able to find out so much about your unborn child when it comes to health, as well as other concerns because of the advances they have been able to make in genetic testing.
ROBERTS: I tell you, they've got a lifetime of work ahead of them. I admire their commitment. Incredible.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Breaking news, we're continuing to follow the scene out of London this morning. It's Monday, November 12th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: And good morning to you, I'm John Roberts. We start with the breaking news, take a look here. A large cloud of smoke over London. It's just about out now though. The smoke is much lighter. Earlier in the day that was heavy, heavy thick black smoke but firefighters seem to have gotten the upper hand here. Coming from the fire in what's believed to be an old bus garage in an industrial area of east London that ironically is being leveled to make way for the Olympic site for the year 2012. Our Emily Chang is live from our London bureau. She's up there on the roof and she's got the latest for us. Any idea what started this fire at this point, Emily?
EMILY CHANG, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: John, right now, Metropolitan police saying that they don't know what caused this fire and it's simply too early to tell. We're live on the roof of our London bureau. We're about six miles from where the fire is burning in east London. As you say, it was very, very thick, dark smoke earlier. Now, it has come to a lighter gray smoke and it looks like the fire has very much calmed down.
We're now being told that the fire is burning in an abandoned warehouse that was in the process of being demolished and it's in an area called Stratford, which is the future site of the London Olympic Games supposedly happening there in 2012 and a lot of construction happening there at this time. We don't know, however, if this warehouse was being demolished for the purpose of the Olympic Games. Of course, several firefighters and police officers on scene trying to determine what caused this fire but it looks very much now like everything is under control. There are no reports of any casualties at this point. Nearby businesses have been evacuated but it looks like the fire is very much dying down. John.
ROBERTS: Obviously security, terrorism, a huge concern for the Olympics and the fact that this building was actually on the site of the Olympics might lead some people to make that connection but do police believe that this is just a fire that started by accident at this point?
CHANG: John, right now, Metropolitan police are treating this as just a fire. They say there is nothing to suggest this is terror related. And of course, when anything like this happens in London, that's always a concern but right now Metropolitan police believe this is simply a fire and as I said it's too early to tell the cause and if indeed there are any terrorists links.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, certainly some very dramatic pictures. As we look at a live shot there again what you see is mostly steam now. The color of that smoke coming off the fire so it looks like firefighters have got it under control. We'll keep checking back on this though. And of course, any further developments as to what may have caused this, we'll get them on right away for you. Kiran.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, we're following other breaking story out of Gaza this morning. The number of dead now up to seven in the wake of a violent attack. It was a clash that took place at a rally. The rally was being held to mark the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. Palestinian sources are saying that forces loyal to the Islamic militant group, Hamas fired on the crowd of mostly Fattah supporters killing as many as seven people and wounding 30 others. Hamas though telling a different story. They say that at least one person was killed by a Fattah gunman who was firing from the rooftop. That rally was expected to be Fattah's largest show of strength since Hamas took control of Gaza back in June.
Also new this morning, police sergeant Drew Peterson now officially a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Stacy. And police say the case is now being treated as a potential homicide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. CARL DOBRICH, ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: It was starting to strongly point to Drew Peterson being a person of interest. I would say that right now Drew Peterson has gone from a person of interest to clearly being a suspect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The 23-year-old Illinois woman has been missing since October 29th. The case gained national interest because Drew Peterson's previous wife was dead. She was found in a bathtub. It was ruled accidental. Well, now a judge has ordered that her body be exhumed to determine if her death was indeed an accident as it was ruled by a coroner's jury.
Also, new this morning, extreme weather sinking ships off the coast of Russia and sparking a major environmental emergency. It's all happening in the straight of Kerch outside of the Black Sea. Powerful storms, 18 foot waves sinking five ships and grounded others among them an oil tanker that spilled thousands of gallons of fuel into the water. At least two sailors are dead. 23 sailors washed out to sea. And an urgent search is going on for them right now.
ROBERTS: Mapping Muslims. The Los Angeles Police Department saying it will use census data to pinpoint a potential hot beds of extremism. Top brass say it's part of an outreach program and community policing. But not everyone thinks it's so innocent. Some Muslim groups are saying that they are being profiled for no reason which brings us to our "Quick Vote" question of the morning. Do you support the mapping of Muslim communities to support community policing? Right now 69 percent of you say yes. 31 percent say no. We'll continue to update the votes throughout the morning. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, we're getting word, just in now, about the death of Donda West. She's the mother of rap sensation Kanye West. CNN confirming she was undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure. She died Saturday night at the age of 58. The cause of her death, the exact cause has not been released. Our Lola Ogunnaike, has met both Kanye and his mother, Donda. She joins us now to talk about more about this. So, they did confirm there was some sort of procedure taking place but not whether or not that caused her death. Do we know anything else?
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: We don't know anything else, Kiran. The exact cause of death has not been disclosed. What we do know is that she did undergo cosmetic procedure this weekend. The two were also extremely close, Kiran. I don't think people understand just how close they were. She quit her job as a chairwoman of the English Department at Chicago State University to manage his career. The two wrote a book together which was released in May and he even had a song on his last album, "Late Registration" dedicated to her called "Hey, Mama." She was always at his performances.
I spoke with her actually at the Video Music Awards this past September. She looked to be in optimal health. I didn't see anything wrong with her. We spoke about the feud between her son and 50 cent were involved in, the lyrical feud. And I asked who she thought would win and whose album would sell more. And of course, she sided with her said. She said good music would win out and her son actually went on to sell 957,000 albums in September and it debuted at number one on the billboard charts. So, he was the victor. At least, she got to see him be a huge success.
CHETRY: Yes, I'm sure that she was very proud of him. It must be just devastating for Kanye given how close they were.
OGUNNAIKE: I can imagine. It's extremely devastating. We know that he's a sensitive guy and I can't imagine how, what he's feeling right now. I mean, the two, they were inseparable. He often wrote about her in his music.
CHETRY: He has not made any public statement about it?
OGUNNAIKE: No public statements yet. Nothing on his official website but I'll be following this definitely.
CHETRY: All right. Lola Ogunnaike, thank you.
ROBERTS: John McCain's mother and Hillary Clinton's questions are among the topics stuffed into our CNN ballot box, proclaimed BALLOT JACKPOT just ahead. Stay with us for that.
And a live look this morning from the warriors walk here for you at Ft. Stewart in Georgia, home of the third infantry division. Each tree representing a soldier who died serving in Iraq. Four years ago, they had 30 trees and now they say they are running out of room. We'll talk with the caretaker of the Warriors' Walk. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: How about this? They say lightning never strikes twice. But what about this guy? Kevin Eldrige, he certainly alarmed some neighbors in New Castle, Oklahoma, when he fired up this lightning machine, known as the Tesla Coil. It can bring the fire in the sky right down to earth. Now, thanks to youtube anyone can watch when he sends the sparks off. And apparently, neighbors called the fire department and they said that having that 16-foot Tesla coil is not really any type of violation. They couldn't do anything about it.
ROBERTS: It would be terrific on Halloween though, wouldn't?
CHETRY: Creepy. Well, time now for ballot jackpot. We stuff our political hot topics in a box, we pulled them out and ask our guests to weigh in. And today, we're switching. We have two journalists, two great political journalists that have been following the campaign joining us in Washington, Cris Cillizza. He's a reporter for "washingtonpost.com." And Emily Heil, a reporter from the congressional paper, Roll Call. Thanks to both of you for being with us today.
ROBERTS: Good morning, guys. Are you ready to play?
CRIS CILLIZZA, REPORTER, WASHINGTONPOST.COM: Ready.
CHETRY: Let's grab one out of here.
Oh, this is a pretty funny one. "Thanks, Mom." Some comments during an interview when John McCain as well as his 95-year-old mother Roberta McCain weighed in on his competition, Mitt Romney. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTA MCCAIN, MCCAIN'S MOTHER: As far as this Salt Lake City thing, he's a Mormon and the Mormons of Salt Lake City had caused that scandal and to clean that up is not even again, is not a subject.
JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The views of my mother are not necessarily the views of mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Of course that look on John McCain's face is pretty priceless. Emily, that's what you get when you have your mom in an interview, right? You never know what mom's going to say.
EMILY HEIL, REPORTER, ROLL CALL: You know, it just goes to show that no matter how a powerful guy you are, you can still be embarrassed by your mom. But you know I really think in all seriousness, that Senator McCain's mom represents a number of people in the country who either don't know much about Mormonism or they have negative views of it. And so I think that the Romney campaign right now is struggling with this. You know, should we address it to answer those questions that people have or try to correct or, you know, address that sort of negative impression, you know, people have about Mormonism.
ROBERTS: Let's go for another topic here. Planning questions. Cris, why don't you handle this one. It happened in Iowa a couple days ago. Hillary Clinton's campaign apparently had asked a young woman to ask her about global warming. Some people are saying this reinforces the perception, the negative around Hillary Clinton that she's too scripted and they're afraid to take real questions from real people. How does this reflect on her? Is this a real faux pas or just a minor incident.
CILLIZZA: Well, I mean, of all of the questions to plant global warming? Sort of struck by that. I would have planted a Senator Clinton, you're pretty great, aren't you kind of question? But look, it doesn't do her any good, the worry as you point out John is that she's inauthentic. That she's too political. When things like this pop up, it just reinforces that. It's just like the debate last week we saw where she sort of waffled on a question over drivers license for illegal immigrants. There is that perception out there with Senator Clinton and anything that she or her campaign does to forward that narrative is not a good day for her.
ROBERTS: Yes, obviously.
CHETRY: All right. Let's grab something else out of here. Here's another one. Huckabee's buzz. And this of course, we talked about Mike Huckabee over the past couple of weeks because of some of the dark house feeling that he is actually moving in ahead and then some polls in Iowa have him polling in first place. Emily, how unheard of it would be it for Huckabee to have a surprise win there and pick up on that momentum?
HEIL: Well, Huckabee has always been the candidate that people like to like. You know, he's ahead in some polls in Iowa and he's putting all of his eggs in the Iowa basket. You know, that's really where he sees his success coming from. He's really been a dark horse but you know there's a sense that maybe if he could take Iowa then that would build momentum for him nationally. That's certainly his hope.
ROBERTS: OK. Let's go to jackpot box again. New Hampshire polls. Chris, why don't you tackle this one. Mitt Romney ahead in Iowa, ahead in New Hampshire by double digits in some cases. He lags way behind in the national polls. Look at that lead that he's got in New Hampshire. Is there a chance, Chris, that Romney could put together a win in Iowa, a win in New Hampshire, get momentum to become the nominee or because the nominating process in those primaries are stacked so differently next year that winning in Iowa and New Hampshire doesn't matter the way it used to?
CILLIZZA: You know, John, we won't know until we know unfortunately. I wish I had a crystal ball and could tell you. Look, winning Iowa and New Hampshire if you're Mitt Romney has got to be a good formula for success. There is polling out in South Carolina too that has him right competitive there with Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson. I just think that people like to say that they don't look at other states and how they vote. Of course they do. We all want to be with a winner. And I think that's absolutely essential to Romney's chances. He looks good in Iowa. These two polls, as you rightly point out, have him really strong in New Hampshire. If he wins those first two, that ball starts rolling down the hill. I don't know if anyone can stop it.
ROBERTS: Yes, sometimes when you get that snow ball it begins to build up, not only steam but also piles on a lot more support and the rest of the states just fall in line.
CILLIZZA: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: We have to see what happens. Cris Cillizza, Emily Heil, thanks for playing today.
HEIL: Glad to be here.
ROBERTS: Good to see you. We'll see you again soon.
CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at a look at what lies ahead. Good morning to you, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning there, John. That's right, it's Monday in the NEWSROOM and these are the stories we're looking at. On the rundown now, an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. A criminal investigation today. Did human error cause a cargo ship to hit a bridge and spill that heavy crude? We'll look at that situation.
Also, a school shooter in Finland. Did he have contact with a suspected school plotting in the U.S.? Police are looking into that as well.
And why aren't more young people voting? I talk live with a young man who made a documentary "18 in '08." It's pretty interesting, too. Well, breaking news when it happens. NEWSROOM - top of the hour on CNN. John.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Heidi, we'll see you then in just about 12 minutes from now.
New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg says he doesn't want school kids to visit the United Nations until a number of safety hazards are addressed. The U.N. complex was built back in the early 1950s. It lacks fire detectors and sprinklers on many floors. The New York Fire Department issued 866 violations at the U.N. last year in the first inspection of the U.N.'s 55 year history.
CHETRY: A live look now from Fort Stewart, Georgia on this Veterans Day. They call it the Warriors Walk. A tree planted for every soldier they have lost in Iraq. Four years ago they had about 30 trees and now they are running out of room. We're talking live with the caretaker of the Warriors Walk coming up in just a moment.
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CHETRY: Welcome back. Well, it's a living memorial to members of the third infantry division who lost their lives serving in Iraq. There's a live picture right now. Just beautiful. This is at Georgia's Ft. Stewart, the Warrior's Walk. It has grown from 34 trees to more than 300 Eastern Red Bud tree. Each tree symbolizing a fallen soldier from the third infantry division. Joel Jacobs, a veteran and caretaker of Warrior's Walk. Joe, thanks for your service on this Veterans Day and thanks for being with us.
JOEL JACOBS, CARETAKER, WARRIOR'S WALK: Thank you so much. Good morning.
CHETRY: It is bittersweet because you look at how beautiful it is especially with the sunlight bouncing off that walk this morning but then you think every one of those trees represents, you know, a life of promise that was snuffed out too soon as these men and women lost their lives fighting for our country.
JACOBS: Well, I wouldn't say that it more so represents a living memorial that we continue to honor the sacrifice that they paid for the country and don't forget. There's a poem that's spoken at every dedication called honor and one of the lines from it is, we will speak of you often so your memory doesn't fade into the night. And at the end of the poem, and we will honor you. And I really think that that's the perspective the Warrior's Walk really represents to the soldiers and the community.
CHETRY: You know, you've talked to the families of some of the soldiers that have been honored at the Warrior's Walk. What do they say it means to them as they come to visit?
JACOBS: It means a lot that their loved one, friend, and fellow soldier is honored in the sacred grove. As I said before, the Warrior's Walk is of hallowed ground at Ft. Stewart and the surrounding community and it's a place where families and friends, where they can come back at any time and connect and be with their loved one and leave mementos and be with them and many people find solace on here every day.
CHETRY: Do you get people visiting even those that have not lost loved ones?
JACOBS: Absolutely. There is somebody walks Warrior's Walk every day and whether you're a soldier, a civilian, a retiree, when you walk Warrior's Walk, you always leave with I would say a perspective. It makes you think but it also makes you proud.
CHETRY: Yes, it certainly is understandable. You know, you're a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army. You had a tour in Afghanistan, two tours of duty in Iraq and this is coming at a time when opposition to the war in Iraq at least has reached an all-time high. Is it difficult right now to be a veteran?
JACOBS: It's different being on this side when you're used to be in the soldiers over there with them. But I'm very proud of my service and I'm very proud of the soldiers and the rest of the military that continues to carry the torch of freedom forward for us.
CHETRY: One little note. The Eastern red bud tree you guys chose that because it blooms in April and that's about the same time that the first people lost their lives in the third I.D. in Iraq. That also, very touching that you are remembering those small details with those beautiful trees out there and again if we could say Happy Veterans Day to you, we would like to say to you. Thank you once again for your service, and for all our men and women in uniform past and present that are serving and protecting our country. Joel Jacobs, thank you.
JACOBS: Thank you so much. And have a great day.
ROBERTS: Coming up now to five minutes to the top of the hour. We have been telling you this morning about a fire in east London that sent a cloud of thick black smoke across the city. We asked for I- reports and we're getting them. We just got this photo in from an i- Reporter named Jack in London. This is the view from his apartment, which he said is about two miles from the fire. He said he could see nothing but smoke outside of his window. It was a bus depot that went up in flames. It's about 600 yards from where the new Olympic Stadium is going to be. That whole area being demolished to make way for the 2012 Olympic site.
Quick look now at what's coming up on CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour.
COLLINS: TV stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A San Francisco Bay oil spill. Now a criminal investigation.
Stocks take a tumble across Asia and Europe today. We watch the Dow.
Violence at a rally to mark the anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death.
And a fast moving kangaroo keeps police hopping. NEWSROOM, at the top of the hour on CNN.
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ROBERTS: Final shake at this morning's "Quick Vote" to tell you about. We asked do you support the mapping of Muslim communities to support community policing? 69 percent of you say yes, 31 percent say no. To everybody who voted, thanks very much. We'll do it again tomorrow.
CHETRY: And we live you with this today. A kangaroo on the run in Melbourne, Australia. The chase and the capture all caught on tape. Surprises actually doesn't happen more often there. The animal stopped traffic, actually knocked down a young boy and ended up tearing off a police officer shirt towards to shreds there. Police and wildlife workers stayed on its tail. They cornered the animal, wrestled it to the ground. Oh, there you see the shirt. Opps, and return the kangaroo to its natural habitat. They pack a punch and kick you with those feet.
ROBERTS: Get one of those and that will work out.
CHETRY: Well, thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you back here tomorrow. ROBERTS: See you in the NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins begins right now.
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Monday morning, November 12th. Here's what's on the rundown, did human error lead to an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. A federal criminal investigation is now underway this morning. We're going to be talking live with Coast Guard commandant.
And a school shooting in Finland. The school attacked, plotted in Philadelphia. Are the two linked? And an elderly couple loses their life savings to a phony flower delivery man, Bandits with a Bouquet, in the NEWSROOM.
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