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American Morning
Pakistan Turmoil; Brooklyn Teen Shot Dead; Gas Prices Rising; Unsolved Mysteries; What A Gift!; Online Crime Rising; Backyard Lightning Machine
Aired November 13, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Tossed back under house arrest, Benazir Bhutto calls for Pakistan's president to step down.
Under fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put his hands up and police just started firing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Twenty shots. Outrage after a teenager is shot dead by police.
Plus, a shocking hobby. Meet the man who bottled lightning and fires it up in his backyard on this AMERICAN MORNING.
That's right. We're going to meet him a little bit later on our show. We're going to be right live in his backyard and he can show us.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Not a scientist, just a devout hobbyist this guy.
CHETRY: How about that. Pretty neat.
Well, welcome once again. A lot going on today on this Tuesday, November 13th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
Breaking news out of Pakistan at this hour. More chaos for a key ally in the war on terror. Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says it's time for the president, President Musharraf, to go. For the first time she called on Musharraf to resign as president and military commander. She made that demand early this morning after hundreds of riot police surrounded her home and tried to crush another planned protest against emergency rule.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: We feel that these steps to focus the police force on containing the democratic constituency in Pakistan is leading to the neglect of the real threat to Pakistan, which comes from the terrorists and the militants. This police force should be concentrating on investigating and finding Osama bin Laden. It should not be used to detain political leaders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Bhutto had planned to lead a 185-mile march from Lahore to the capital city of Islamabad. Or State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, has the latest developments. She's just a few blocks from Benazir Bhutto's house in Lahore, Pakistan.
Zain, what the former prime minister said today would seem to quash any idea of a cooperation deal between her and Musharraf.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. She's been finding it increasingly difficult to maintain that posture because were she to enter into any kind of power sharing agreement with a man that she has called a military dictator, she would be greatly politically damaged. She's a savvy woman and she's gauged the public mood and realizes that it's going to damage her enormously to have any kind of power sharing agreement with General Musharraf.
That was something that the United States hoped that they would be able to do. They supported that cooperation. But it seems as though that isn't going to happen because it will discredit her, but it puts General Musharraf in a difficult situation.
John.
ROBERTS: Does she plan to stay in the country and continue fighting?
VERJEE: She says she does. I mean she tried to lead this rally for the second time and for the second time the masses have not shown up on the streets. There are reports that the authorities here want to remove her and expel her from Lahore and send her back either to Karachi or to her home town of Larkana.
It's really not clear what's going to happen. Reports from where she is inside, though, say that she's pretty comfortable. People can come in and out and visit her. She can get on the phone.
What this really does, even though it really failed to bring out the masses on the streets, it increases her own image. It increases her popularity. She's barricaded and the world sees her as a victim of General Musharraf.
But it also works in her favor, a lot of analysts here say, because it rehabilitates her own image. For now, though, she says she's going to stay.
ROBERTS: All right. Zain Verjee for us this morning live in Pakistan. Former Prime Minister Bhutto is expected to give us a call later here on AMERICAN MORNING. We'll bring you that just as soon as she calls in.
Now let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, signs of the so-called surge may be getting the job done in Iraq. The Pentagon in the process of bringing a brigade, that's about 3,000 to 5,000 troops, home to Ft. Hood, Texas. That's starting now. They're saying that their strategy has cut sectarian violence and they'll soon find out if a smaller force can maintain that same level of security. If so, they plan to cut the current force of 167,000 troops currently in Iraq down to about 145,000 by next July.
U.S. commanders also report a sharp drop-off in roadside bombings, rocket and mortar attacks. They say some of the drop can be explained by the thousands of ammunitions caches that they have discovered.
John.
ROBERTS: There's also breaking news here in New York City this morning. A mother's frantic 911 call ends with her 18-year-old son shot dead on a Brooklyn street reportedly at the hands repeatedly of police officers. Officers thought that the teen had a gun, but witnesses say it was just a hairbrush. Our Alina Cho is live in Brooklyn, where neighbors are demanding answers from the NYPD.
Good morning to you, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning to you.
Now the shooting happened less than 12 hours ago. So as you can imagine, the details are still quite sketchy. In fact, there are several conflicting reports.
But having said that, here's what we know. Police responded to a 911 call made by the victim's mother around 7:00 last night. According to several reports, the mother said her son was threatening her with a gun. In fact, some reports say that the 911 operator could even hear a man screaming in the background, "I've got a gun. I've got a gun."
Either way, police responded here. They say they could see the young man pacing around the apartment. Eventually, according to police, he climbed out the first floor window and began crossing the sidewalk toward police. Now it is unclear whether officers actually shouted a warning before firing and unclear how many shots were fired. As little as 10 and as many as 20 is what the reports are saying.
The police source also tells me the victim was carrying something in his hand when he climbed outside the window and that he had his hand in his pocket. Now police won't confirm it, but several witnesses say what that man was carrying was not a gun but a hairbrush. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so he jumped out the window. He dropped the brush. Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. That's how everything happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had a brush in his hand. Come on. No matter how the police came to the scene of this incident, no matter what happened when the deputies seen him, he did not have a weapon period. He had a brush in his hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now "The New York Times" is among those reporting this morning that the victim's mother actually earlier in the day called a psychiatric hospital seeking help for her son. Some media outlets are reporting that the 18-year-old man had a history of mental problems. John, one theory that police are reportedly looking at this morning is the whole notion of suicide by cop.
John.
ROBERTS: Certainly we've heard that several times, but no doubt a lot of scrutiny will be placed on this particular shooting incident.
Alina Cho for us in Bedford-Stuyvesant this morning.
Alina, thanks.
Kiran.
CHETRY: New information this morning on the San Francisco Bay's biggest spill in nearly two decades of oil. More questions about why the public didn't know sooner that 58,000 gallons of oil had spilled into the waters around San Francisco. The Coast Guard says it found out how bad the spill was hours before it told the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. CRAIG BONE, U.S. COAST GUARD: There's no excuse for the four-hour gap between when we knew what the amount was and when notification should have been made to the city officials. I want to make sure folks know the unified command and anyone in that unified command knew the amount when we knew the amount. However, the gap became in the conversation and in the notification specifically to the entities of the city officials.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes San Francisco, is demanding to know why that four-hour gap happened for the Coast Guard to alert local officials, saying it's very important, especially if you had your grandchildren playing in the sand at that time. The vessel slammed the Bay Bridge last week in a thick fog, ripping a 12 foot wide, 200 foot long gash in the ship's side. Investigators want to know whether the ship's pilot initially down played the damage to his vessel.
Two hundred and twenty cruise ship passengers in Hawaii sickened with a highly contagious stomach flu virus. Health officials say tests confirm the presence of the Norwalk Virus on board the Norwegian cruise liner Pride of Hawaii. The ship returned home Wednesday after a seven-day cruise around the islands. Passengers who felt sick during the voyage were quarantined in their cabin for 24 hours. They were given a $200 credit to use on the ship. Doctors say patients can go from feeling fine to severe vomiting in a very short period, oftentimes the result of food poisoning.
Congressional scrutiny for the cigarette ratings system. A Senate hearing today will examine the system that allows tobacco companies to market cigarettes as regular, light, and ultra light. The Senate Commerce Committee says the current rating system gives smokers a false sense that cigarettes with less tar and nicotine are less dangerous to your health. The committee also released a 1975 Philip Morris memo showing the company knew light cigarette smokers took longer, deeper puffs and smoked more cigarettes a day to make up for the lower level of nicotine. Philip Morris says smokers shouldn't assume that light cigarettes are safer than the full flavor brand.
Well, a health warning for men who take an herbal alternative to Viagra and other impotency pills. According to an investigation conducted by the Associated Press, those pills can be deadly for men who are on heart and blood pressure drugs. Doctors say the so-called all natural products can mix with nitrates and cause blood to flow dangerously slow leading to a heart attack or a stroke. The products are sold under the names Stamina RX, Vigor 25, and Work because they contain unregulated versions of the pharmaceuticals they're supposed to replace.
ROBERTS: Coming up to nine minutes after the hour and time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
Think you're paying a lot for gasoline right now. Watch out. Prices at the pump are going to go up sharply. Ali Velshi at the business update desk for that.
And, Ali, it looks like we're getting into the kind of territory here where people start to change their behavior because of gasoline prices.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, yes, sit down for the surprise, John, from the Department of Energy. They're saying that gas prices are going up, get this, by 15 or 20 cents in the next couple of weeks. Fifteen or 20 cents.
Now the highest we've ever paid for a gallon of gasoline, $3.22 last May. That was a national average. Some people in the country, by the way, paid much more than that.
We're now sitting at about $3.10 a gallon. Add another 15 or 20 cents to that. Look, we were already up 34 cents in a month. We're going to go to $3.25 to $3.30 in the next two weeks. An absolute new record for gasoline.
To the question, do people change their driving habits as a result? That's a good question. Because at $3.22, we did see sales of SUVs and trucks start to fall back. But, guess what, it goes down to around $2.70, $2.80. People start buying those again, as if we have no memory of the fact that gas prices can go up.
The Department of Energy says gas prices are going to stay high at least through spring. They might get to $80 a gallon by mid next year. OPEC seems to have the same feeling. So you're going to see these gas prices high than that summer driving average that we typically get over the next few weeks. If you were thinking about changing your driving habits, this might be a time to do it.
John.
ROBERTS: Let me just back up. You said $80 a gallon.
VELSHI: $80 a barrel. I apologize. $80 a barrel. Even I'm not that much of a pessimist.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, you had me worried for a second. Thanks. We'll see you soon. Whoa.
Jacqui Jeras at our weather update desk for us this morning tracking extreme weather.
We've got rain in the northeast this morning, Jacqui. How long's it expected to last?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: A brush in an angry protester for two of Europe's biggest leaders. Security grabbed the man just inches away from German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday. She was taking French President Nicholas Sarkozy on a tour of Berlin at the time. German police are calling it a minor incident, not an attack.
And there are new questions today about the sudden death of Kanye West's mother. An investigation is underway right now after reports that she died because of complications after plastic surgery. Was she warned against getting it? We're going to hear from a plastic surgeon who refused to treat her.
Also, from the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, to the poisoned Russian spy, we'll take you inside of the lab that is examining evidence from some of the world's most notorious cases.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, we have some extreme weather shots to show you now.
A car hammered into the ground as hurricane force winds brought down trees. This is happening along Oregon's coast. And these pictures come from i-reporter Trina Eaves (ph) in Canon Beach, Oregon. She says she lives just a few hundred feet from the shore where she says the winters are brutal because of the dangerously high winds and surf. As for that car, there was no one inside at the time.
And an aerial view of just how bad the southeast drought really is. Check this out. This is from i-reporter Abbas Haider (ph). He took this as he was flying over what's left of Lake Lanier in northern Georgia. It usually has close to 700 miles of shoreline. Well now the brush fires are popping up where water used to be. The drought's revealing things that have been submerged for years. Even a concrete grandstand from an old racetrack that once stood there. We'll show you more a little bit later. I think we lost that picture.
Also, take a look at this mansion in Georgia. Water conservation officers in Cobb County say that it used an average of 390,000 gallons of water over the past six months. And last month alone it used enough water to fill 1,000 hot tubs. Cobb County says it will start charging these so-called water hogs double for using more than their share. Some residents, though, say they don't think the tactic's going to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We face a real resource issue. A lot of people say, that's just the cost of doing business for me. It's more important that I use this water than it is I worry about reducing my use.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, the recent construction boom in Atlanta is also being blamed for taxing the region's water supply. Our Ed Lavandera is going to show us how it's affecting the current drought later on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: It's not a television show, but it certainly sounds like one. The evidence from some of the world's most notorious crimes is examined at a special lab in Great Britain. Our Emily Chang got to go inside the laboratory, but not before passing the security clearance. And our Emily joins us now live.
This all sounds very cloak and dagger, Emily.
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, John.
The labs are located in top secret locations surrounded by high tech security. Journalists very rarely get a glimpse of what happens inside. The FSS has helped police from more than 60 different countries around the world, including the U.S., crack some of the most difficult criminal cases.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG, (voice over): Madeleine McCann, the London terror bombings, the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Evidence from some of the most notorious international cases ends up here. This is not "CSI." It's Britain's forensic science service.
Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
CHANG: Hi.
We had to give samples of our own DNA just to gain access
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we'll just rub the inside of your cheek three times with the swab.
CHANG: The work here is so sensitive and top secret we could only film live labs from the outside.
So what happens here?
This man is trying to collect evidence invisible to the naked eye. Perhaps fiber, glass, traces of paint, even DNA. Here scientists have used DNA evidence to investigate the serial murders of prostitutes in Ipswitch, the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer in Jamaica, even terrorist attacks.
PAUL YATES, FORENSIC SCIENCE MANAGER: The critical thing with the London bombings was to very quickly to try and find out where the bombs had been made, whether we could then use those things to try and identify others that were involved in the process.
CHANG: The Forensic Science Service also developed the world's first national DNA database with up to 4.5 million entries and conducts breakthrough research used by police forces around the world.
What makes this lab so special?
YATES: What makes this lab so special, I think, is the effort we put into increasing what we call the sensitivity of the DNA technology.
CHANG: Here scientists can develop a comprehensive DNA profile from a single cell.
ANGHARAD DURKIN, DNA EXPERT: If it's a full profile, that would be a one in a billion. So that's one person within a billion would have that profile.
CHANG: This past summer, Portuguese police came here hoping to advance their investigation into the May disappearance of the three- year-old English girl Madeleine McCann. DNA evidence could be the only hope in solving this mystery.
YATES: We're equally there to exonerate the innocent, as we are to convict or to assist in the conviction of the guilty.
CHANG: But above all, scientists say, in this and every case, they just want to find the truth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG: As for the Madeleine McCann case, the FSS won't comment on it because it is a live, ongoing investigation. Her parents, Kate and Jerry McCann, have been named official suspects in the case and the FSS is said to be examining DNA from their apartment and their rental car in Portugal.
John.
ROBERTS: So, Emily, a question for you. Why did you have to give a sample of your DNA when you went into the lab?
CHANG: Well, the FSS is very concerned about contamination. And basically if any of our DNA turned up in an inquiry, we could be eliminated from that inquiry because we had visited the lab as visitors.
ROBERTS: That's what I thought. Emily Chang for us this morning in London. Fascinating stuff. Thanks.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, we're going to have the latest on the death of Kanye West's mother. We're going to hear from a cosmetic surgeon who says that he turned her down for surgery unless she was willing to do one thing. We're going to tell you what that was and the implications of the risks of plastic surgery ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
How about this one? An anonymous donor gave $100 million to Erie, Pennsylvania, to charities there. Now 46 charities, including a food bank, homeless shelter, and three colleges are going to be splitting the money. Mike Batchelor is the head of the Erie Community Foundation and he's in charge of giving out the money and joins us now by phone.
Mike, thanks for being with us.
MIKE BATCHELOR, PRESIDENT, ERIE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: Sure thing. Thanks a lot.
CHETRY: First of all, congratulations. How did you find out about this news and what was your reaction?
BATCHELOR: Well, it's, frankly, something that we have known about for a long time. It's been in the works for quite a period of time. And I can't give a lot of details because we've agreed to protect the identity of the donor, but I can say that the gift was funded by a trust and the Community Foundation is receiving $100 million from that trust and then our job is to work with 46 charities to help them implement a gift, which for each one of them is historic. CHETRY: Right. Now you sat them all down yesterday, or the heads of some of these charities, and let them know that they would be a receiving the gift. Were they shocked?
BATCHELOR: Oh, yes. Absolutely. Most of them had no idea why they were coming to the office. Although I suppose word started to spread a little bit.
CHETRY: What type of difference is it going to make for Erie?
BATCHELOR: Well it's, you know, for each charity, their share is $1 million or $2 million. And you have to remember, it's the biggest gift they've ever received. Some the biggest gift was $25,000. One organization, their total budget is $10,000. So to receive $1 million or $2 million is just unprecedented.
Bottom line is, they'll be able to do more great work for their clients, serve more people. It's a very heartwarming situation because the heads of the charities are just so grateful and feel so rewarded for their work.
CHETRY: Right. And what a time of year for it to happen, right around the holidays when charities are kicking into full gear. I know that, you know, that there is -- it's just human nature, even though they say they want to be anonymous, to speculate about who it might be. And so I'm sure that there's been some buzz around Erie about who may have made this generous donation. Is there any speculation about who it may have been?
BATCHELOR: Well, you know, there's been speculation and a lot of it is wrong, frankly. But some of the charities respond very positively to our request for anonymity. They don't want to speculate and they want to honor the donor's request. And they really sort of do it as almost a spiritual thing to, you know, honor what the donor wants. So they're just moving on and doing good work and are very grateful.
CHETRY: Wow. Wonderful. Great time of year. I spent about two and a half, three years in Erie back in 1996. It wasn't me. I just don't have that kind of money.
BATCHELOR: Well, I'll agree to keep you anonymous if it's you.
CHETRY: I'm looking at some of the famous people. Of course, you know, Tom Ridge came from Erie, Pennsylvania, but we'll stop speculating. I'm just looking around at some of the names. Of course, Fred Biletnikoff, as well, a famous football player with the Oakland Raiders. Anyway, congratulations . . .
BATCHELOR: Got to give you a no comment, sorry.
CHETRY: I know, no comment. Well, Mike, congratulations.
BATCHELOR: Thank you.
CHETRY: It's all going to a great cause. So you guys are going to be able to do some great things with that very generous donation. Take care.
ROBERTS: Well, stories of real life close encounters from a group of former pilots. They say that the answer to the age old question, are we alone, may be no. And yesterday in Washington they asked the U.S. government to reopen its investigation into UFOs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These appeared in about 10 to 20 seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw something that defied logic and challenged my reality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you had been here 10 years ago and standing out here and looking up there at the lights and the view, you would have been astounded. You would have been amazed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Another retired Air Force pilot says he once saw a triangular craft in a clearing in the woods that suddenly took off at a speed impossible by earthly standards. But the feds closed the book on UFOs more than 30 years ago.
Which brings us, though, to this morning's Quick Vote question. Do you believe in UFOs? Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. We will have the first tally of votes in our next hour. And if you think you've seen one, tell us about it. E-mail us your story at am@cnn.com.
CHETRY: Or pictures if you have them. We know for sure at least one presidential candidate believes in UFOs, Dennis Kucinich.
ROBERTS: And one former president too. Jimmy Carter said he saw one back in 1969.
Well, a story coming up in our next half hour here on AMERICAN MORNING that you just can't miss. A man who can make lightning. And, no, he's neither God nor Morgan Freeman.
CHETRY: Yes, how about this for a backyard ornament? Well, there it is. We are going to show you exactly how this guy in Oklahoma is able to get that thing up and running and what his neighbors think as well. He's going to show us how it's done. That story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's not young Frankenstein, but it's definitely weird science. A man with a lightning machine in his backyard in Newcastle, Oklahoma. Here's a live picture. It's actually a very large Tesla Coil, invented back in the 1890s by Nickola Tesla, the father of alternating current. We'll be talking with Kevin Eldredge who put that thing together. Why do get it? And what his neighbors think about it just a couple of minutes.
Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, the 13th of November. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. It certainly gives up a pleasant sound as well for this hour, doesn't it?
ROBERTS: Sort of like the sound of an ax murder hears in his head just before he kills someone.
CHETRY: Wow, all right, well we're going to check in with Kevin, very fascinating hobby for sure.
In the meantime, developments this morning in the search for a missing mom in Chicago and the new focus on her husband's previous wife. Her body may be exhumed as early as today to undergo a second autopsy. Peterson, Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in a bathtub. This is as the finalizations were being put on their divorce. Her death back in 2004 was ruled an accident. Her family has believed all along it was not an accident. Authorities have now reopened the case in light of his most recent wife going missing. Savio's nephew appeared on "Headline News" at Nancy Grace program last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigation?
MICHAEL LISAK, KATHLEEN SAVIO'S NEPHEW: Both hard. I mean, it's really hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't imagine.
LISAK: We're basically re-living it all over again. I mean, all the emotions are coming back. And you know, when this all happened at first, you know, it was a shock of course. You know, we dealt with it. We had to make all the arrangements. And you know, we didn't really have time to sit and think what's going on. And as the years have gone by, we've definitely had questions and with this Stacy being missing now, this has bringing all the emotions, bringing it all back, you know, bringing it back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Drew Peterson has been suspended now. He's pictured there from the Bolingbrook Illinois Police Force, and he has been now named a suspect in his current wife Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Meanwhile, the volunteer search for Stacy has been refocused now. Ground searches now taking to water searches instead as ice starts to form.
Well, we're also going to be talking a little bit later, by the way, with the sister of Drew Peterson's third wife Kathleen Savio a bit later in our program.
Also, there's a new question this morning about the death of Donda West. She's the mother of rap star Kanye West. West's publicist is now denying an earlier statement which says Donda died after undergoing cosmetic surgery. "Access Hollywood" tracked down the doctor an Andre Aboolian, who says he met with Donda and declined to do plastic surgery on her over the summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANDRE ABOOLIAN, COSMETIC SURGEON: She was interested in some kind of cosmetic procedures, and we had discussed that in order for her to go through with the procedures, which she was a good candidate for, she need what's called the medical clearance, which is just about anybody over the age of 40 is required to have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: An autopsy is set to be performed tomorrow. It may determine the cause of death. We're also going to talk to Dr. Sanjay Gupta a bit later about the risks of getting plastic surgery.
ROBERTS: 34 minutes now after the hour. A college student who asked Hillary Clinton about global warming at a campaign appearance says she was given the question by Clinton staffers. The Grinnell College student says she wanted to ask about energy policy but was given a question on climate change instead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MURIEL GALLO-CHASANOFF: When I asked how it worked, he said, raise your hand. When she asks for questions, raise your hand, and she'll call on you. So, I mean, I don't know for sure that she knew in advance, but there were like 200 people there, and everyone was raising their hand. I was 1 out of 4. It doesn't seem random exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The Clinton Campaign admits the staffer encouraged the question but insists Senator Clinton was not aware of it.
An important debate in Washington D.C. today about a ruling that could put 20,000 convicted drug dealers back out on the streets. It's over the U.S. Sentencing Commission's decision to reduce jail time for crack dealers. The move was made to address a disparity in sentencing guidelines that some groups consider racist because the penalty is much tougher for those convicted of dealing crack rock as opposed to powdered cocaine. Last night on "Out in the Open," one federal judge who will testify today told Rick Sanchez that it's quote, "Fundamentally Unjust."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REGGIE WALTON, U.S. DISTRICT COURT WASHINGTON: There are a significant disproportionate number of African-Americans who are affected by the disparity between crack and powder.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, most of the people who use crack are African-Americans. Most of the people who use cocaine are not African-Americans. They're white. And you get a slap on the wrist if you use cocaine, whites, and you get the book thrown at you if you use crack and you happen to be black. On its face, that doesn't look right.
WALTON: Well, I think the perception is not a good perception and I think, as a result of that, there has been, you know, an outcry in the African-American community about the unfairness of the disparity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: New sentencing guidelines went into effect at the beginning of this month, but the Justice Department is warning of dire consequences if they are applied retroactively, releasing thousands of prisoners across the country.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, some extreme weather hitting the Pacific Northwest. Winds of up to 90 miles an hour blowing across Oregon and Washington State. In fact in Oregon, the winds blew the roof off of a firehouse. 125,000 people lost power after winds blew branches onto power lines.
36 minutes past the hour now. Jacqui Jeras is in our weather update desk tracking extreme weather. Pacific Northwest going to get a break today, Jacqui?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, after 65 years on the Las Vegas strip, the Frontier Hotel and Casino went out with a bang. We see this a lot in Vegas, lately don't we? There it is. The implosion of that hotel. Less than an hour it took for them to implode the hotel. And there it goes, that's the final swoop after all that dynamite has set off. Company that both bought the property is demolishing it so it can build any luxury resort, modeled after New York's Famed Plaza Hotel. That's set to be open in 2011.
ROBERTS: Well, there were some frightening moments in Israel over the weekend. Take a look. It was an explosion at a basketball game. Television and security cameras show a security guard diving on the explosive. Police say it was thrown from the stands. The security guard lost three fingers in that blast. I bet he tried to find out who threw the explosive and how it got past the security in the first place.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. It's not lightning in a bottle. It's lightning in his backyard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started with some small ones back in the early 1990s. And just went up from there and couldn't stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How one man's fascination with lightning led him to create his own? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN ELDREDGE, TESLA COIL BUILDER: I like lightning. I like to watch lightning. Sparks and just picture of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How it works and what do his neighbors think. We'll talk to the lightning man ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: A talk about catching lightning in a bottle. Our next guest has gone above and beyond that. He built a machine to create lightning in his backyard. Hobbyist Kevin Eldredge joins us now from his backyard in Newcastle, Oklahoma. And this is the perfect time of day, Kevin, to be doing this interview because we can see your machine lighting behind you there, lightning up the night sky with those lightning bolts.
This is called a Tesla Coil. They were invented well over 100 years ago. We should point out you're not a scientist, you're a hobbyist. But why were you fascinated by this form of electricity?
KEVIN ELDREDGE, TESLA COIL BUILDER: I've just always been fascinated with lightning since I was a little kid.
ROBERTS: And why did you decide to start building these instead of model boats or airplanes or something like that?
ELDREDGE: Oh, everybody has to have a hobby. And this just happened to be mine.
ROBERTS: You know, we're taking a couple of hits every once in a while on your microphone there because of the amount of power that's coming out of that Tesla Coil. We've seen this tabletop size. They're popular for science projects, maybe even six feet tall but what's behind you. There looks like the mother of all Tesla Coils. Why did you go that big?
ELDREDGE: I had the room and the resources, so I thought why not?
ROBERTS: I had the room and the resources. How many volts you putting out there?
ELDREDGE: That's asked question a lot. It's hard to really say. I would just estimate between 1 and 1.5 million votes.
ROBERTS: A 1 to 1.5 million volts. Is that getting close to what we see in lightning?
ELDREDGE: No. It's quite a bit shy of real lightning.
ROBERTS: Right. So, how difficult is it to build something like that in your backyard? ELDREDGE: What's that?
ROBERTS: I say how difficult is it to build something like that?
ELDREDGE: Well, it took one year to build this one particular coil right here. It was a little hard, but I managed to do it.
ROBERTS: Right, you know, people might wonder with all that electricity flying around and you've got the warning sign there right beside you. How dangerous is this? I got to look at your preflight checklist if you will, and one of the things on it is make sure the dogs are in the house.
ELDREDGE: Right. Don't let them out.
ROBERTS: How dangerous is it? I mean, if they were to get in proximity of that machine, would they be electrocuted?
ELDREDGE: Yes, they would.
ROBERTS: And you also have in your checklist, no pacemakers. What's the reason for that?
ELDREDGE: Just in case it might interfere or cause a problem with pacemakers.
ROBERTS: Wow. Hey, can you trigger the machine for us now and let us see what it looks like?
ELDREDGE: OK.
ROBERTS: Go ahead. That looks like something right out of young Frankenstein. And I know that in that Broadway production of that show, they've actually got a small one of those, don't they?
ELDREDGE: I'm not sure what size they use.
ROBERTS: And what do the neighbors think about this? I understand the first time you fired it up, the fire department came running out.
ELDREDGE: They've been out several times. People have called in stating they saw power lines down, and they came to investigate.
ROBERTS: Are people pretty used to it by now, though?
ELDREDGE: What's that?
ROBERTS: I said, are people pretty used to it by now? I know it's awfully noisy where you are there.
ELDREDGE: Yes, they're used to it by now.
ROBERTS: And is 16 feet as large as you're going to go, or might you go even bigger?
ELDREDGE: I think it's as big as I'm going to get.
ROBERTS: All right. We don't blame you. Kevin Eldredge for us this morning otherwise known as the lightning man there around Newcastle, Oklahoma, with his Tesla Coil, 16 feet tall in his backyard. Kevin, thanks very much.
CHETRY: Pretty cool. We'll check back with him in a year, and it will be 36 feet.
ROBERTS: As far as hobbies go, that's an unusual one.
CHETRY: Sure is.
All right, let's check out the "Political Ticker" right now. And a big endorsement for Fred Thompson. The National Right to Life committee expected to throw its support behind the GOP candidate today. The nod couldn't come at a better time. Thompson's poll numbers have been lagging since his late entry into the race a few months ago.
Well, John McCain invoking Ronald Reagan. McCain says that he will lead America out of tough times just like Reagan did. McCain says the Vietnam war was not lost on the battlefield but by low spirits at home, and he won't let that happen with Iraq.
Barack Obama appears to be gaining on Hillary Clinton. The nation's first primary state. A new Maris (ph) poll out of New Hampshire of democrats showing Clinton with 36 percent, Obama 25 percent. Now, just last month, Clinton led Obama by 21 percentage points.
And a bizarre racial incident in a Louisiana state campaign. This woman, Democrat Carla Dartez, who is white, called black civil rights leader Hazel Boykin "Buckwheat." It happened while Dartez was thanking Boykin for her campaign help. Boykin's son who heads the local end up lazy peach after says he called Dartez. She broke down crying and apologized. She said she didn't realize it was a racial stereotype, but the Boykin's aren't buying that explanation. You can find out more about all these stories and the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.
Also, one program note. We want to remind you to be sure you watch the Democrats debate coming Thursday night at 8:00 eastern. CNN is hosting it in Las Vegas. Wolf Blitzer will be the moderator, and of course, John will be asking some of the questions along with Campbell Brown. It should be really interesting.
ROBERTS: This should be a lot of fun. Heading out there today for a little bit of, you know, work on it and make sure everything is ready to go for Thursday night. Hope that you'll join us, 9:00 eastern here on CNN.
A hot dog for heart health? A new study of mice shows that eating nitrates like those contained in cured meats helped them survive, even recover faster from a heart attack. The study is from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. Of course, eating nitrates do have other deleterious effects though on your health.
Also, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. You can buy just about anything on Craigslist. Apparently, even sex and drugs. A look at how some criminals are taking advantage of the website. What's being done about it? That's when we come back.
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ROBERTS: 51 minutes after the hour. If you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headlines this morning.
Turkish helicopter, gun ships attacked abandoned villages inside Iraq. According to Iraqi officials, tensions between the two countries have been escalating recently. It was the first major action against Kurdish rebels since Turkey's Prime Minister meet with President Bush met earlier this month.
News from Pakistan overnight. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says it is time for President Musharraf to step down. She made that demand for the very first time, and police placed her on house arrest for the second time. Bhutto has been banned from leading a massive protest against President Pervez Musharraf and his decision to suspend elections.
The pentagon reporting successes in the so-called surge strategy. They are bringing a brigade about 3,000 to 5,000 troop home to Ft. Hood, Texas. They're also reporting a sharp drop in roadside bombings, rocket and mortar attacks. A live report from the Pentagon on that coming up at the top of the hour but right now, let's go back over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
Well, crime online, more and more. It appears people are using the online classified site like craigslist.org to solicit sex or even sell drugs. Our Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with what she found checking out Craigslist online. Hey there.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning. And you used Craigslist before, right?
CHETRY: Yes, I think I checked to see if there was somebody who could figure out how to set up my new plasma TV a couple of years ago.
DE LA CRUZ: It's a very, very popular website. So, we're going to go and tell you all about what's been happening. We've been hearing about a lot of different crimes. As a matter of fact, starting to Omaha, Nebraska. A group of investigative journalists at a local TV station have uncovered postings, at least 30 postings a day involving sex. Postings for hookers. High tech hookers. Also, it's not just sex, but also drugs. Check this out. People finding interesting ways to get around all of this online.
I want to show you this posting out of Philadelphia. It says, "Trade my coke for your pot. I have a 12-can fridge pack of coca-cola zero. What I need is a heavy duty aluminum or nonstick cooking pot suitable for making everything from spaghetti to steaming clams." So, I mean, what are you thinking there.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Yes, they're creative in their trying to disguise what it seems like they're looking for.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. So, I mean, we really don't have proof that they are talking about trading drugs here, and that's the big problem is neither do the police.
CHETRY: Yes, and, you know, we talked last week about these four girls. Somebody put their name and address and seemed to ask them to solicit sex on Craigslist, and they were sort of stuck in a lurch as well because whose job is it to help them?
DE LA CRUZ: Right. Who is policing that? It's not just that yesterday we were talk about that guy who lured the two boys to his home in Reno, Nevada. And then it's not just that. There was also another case in April, a Washington state home. You probably remember this woman. Her home ransacked. Do you remember that? Because somebody had gone and posted a fake ad letting people come over and take whatever they want. So, that is the big problem here. The site isn't really policed. They are relying on users to police the site. You can go ahead and flag and remove ads that might look suspicious. Again, big question here on Craigslist.
CHETRY: And so how is Craigslist handling it? And how are they responding to this?
DE LA CRUZ: So far, they haven't really said much. We haven't seen any comments from Craigslist, per se. So, again, they're relying on the users to go ahead and police the site themselves.
CHETRY: They have to be aware. Because really what you're doing is you're soliciting strangers, either way.
DE LA CRUZ: If you invite people into your homes or go into people's homes. Yes.
CHETRY: Veronica, thanks a lot.
John?
ROBERTS: In April, a Washington state home was vandalized after someone posing as a landlord. Whoops, that's the wrong thing. What's that doing there? No idea.
New pictures coming out this morning of Lakshmi. You remember her. She was the little girl in India who had an extra set of legs and arms from a parasitic conjoined twin. She had surgery successfully to remove those. The pictures and update from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That's coming up for you at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Coming up to a minute before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi here with "Minding Your Business" with news about Etrade Financial. It's not just a trading...
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct, yes, a lot of people think of etrade as a stock trading platform. It's also a bank, gives mortgages. Yesterday a City Bank Analyst. You know, this analyst follows each other banks suggested that Etrade Financial might be in some trouble. The customers are starting to take their money out of the banking site because of exposure to mortgages. The stock ended up plummeting 58 percent yesterday on this downgrade news.
Countrywide Financial, the largest mortgage lender in the country said in a filing, that if somebody downgrades its company, it could be out of business. Here's the danger. When you downgrade a company, it makes it more expensive for them to get credit for the company to actually borrow to stay in business. And with all of these banks continuing to announce that they've got more losses exposed to because of money that's exposed to this mortgage crisis, it's getting harder for the banks themselves to borrow money.
Think about it in your own terms. If you miss a payment on your credit card, then try to get a credit line increase. Your interest rate will go up. You won't get as much money. So, the banking woes continue. This has been the stuff that's affecting markets. For the moment, however, we do look like we have a positive open on the Dow this morning. But anything can change. Still a couple hours to go.
CHETRY: All right, Ali, thanks so much. We'll check with you throughout the show. Meanwhile, the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
Exit strategy. Troops leaving Iraq. Violence on the decline. Is the war turning a corner?
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