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American Morning
Heart Disease Warning: More Women Under 45 Dying; Iowa Showdown: Obama Leads Clinton; Ditching the Dollar
Aired November 20, 2007 - ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
We begin with what's shaping up to be a big day for toy safety. After millions of toys have been pulled from shelves over fears about lead paint, the state of California now filing suit against the biggest names in the toy business like Mattel and Toys "R" Us, accusing them of selling toys with unlawful quantities of lead. There are also critical new reports coming out this morning.
Our Alina Cho following this developing story. She's at the national update desk for us this morning. Good morning to you, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, good morning to you. This is significant. California is the first state to take action. Its attorney general says toy companies knowingly exposed children to lead and failed to warn them about the risk.
Now, that warning is actually required under California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, otherwise known as proposition 65. It says that businesses cannot expose people to hazardous chemicals without posting a warning. Among those named in the suit, 20 companies in all, including Mattel, the nation's biggest toy company, and retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys "R" Us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCKARD J. DELGADILLO, LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY: This lawsuit, I think, will allow us to put in place procedures, protocols that will work to keep our kids in a safe place and out of harm's way with respect to lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, the suit comes on the heels of what some have called the year of the recall. Millions of toys have been called back this year, and parents say they're pleased with this latest action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETH COFER, SANTA MONICA, CALIF. PARENT: As a parent, you know, there is no level of safety that you won't take for your child, and so, I think it's really good. I mean, the toy companies might feel like they're going a little bit overboard, but I think that it's absolutely necessary for the safety of our kids. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, CNN has reached out to toy companies. We have not heard back yet. But Mattel, the lead defendant in the lawsuit, has reportedly said the company had been expecting this and is cooperating fully. Now, reports say Wal-Mart will actually try to buy more products from Europe and North America, instead of China, where most of those tainted toys are produced.
Also, if the suit is successful, the companies could each be fined $2,500 per toy sold per day. It could amount to millions of dollars. And something else to watch out for today, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, and a couple of consumer groups, John, will release safety tips for parents, including a list of toys currently on store shelves that they have deemed unsafe.
You know, parents are so confused about what to buy because so many toys have been recalled. And keep in mind, we're just 35 days away from Christmas.
ROBERTS: Yes. I'm sure that anything that could help them will be welcome. Alina Cho for us this morning. Alina, thanks.
Which leads us to this morning's "Quick Vote." Will the toy recalls change your buying habits this holiday? Cast your vote at CNN.com/AM. Right now, 78 percent of you say yes. Twenty-two percent say no. We'll continue to tally the votes throughout the morning. Right now, let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: And there's some news overnight of another man dying after being tasered by police. At least three cases reported in the last week. The latest in New Mexico where a 20-year-old man was tasered after struggling with police. They tried to take him into custody on Sunday, and he died after being rushed to a hospital.
Then in Florida, a 21-year-old man died after being tasered three times. Jacksonville police stopped Christian Allen Sunday night because his car radio was too loud. According to police, Allen got out of the car, pushed the officer and tried to run away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASSISTANT CHIEF RICK GRAHAM, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF'S OFFICE: A physical confrontation occurred between Officer Hurley and Allen. During the struggle, Officer Hurley deployed his taser in an attempt to gain control of the suspect.
LISA JACKSON, ALLEN'S MOTHER: I'm not saying that he was, you know, innocent. In any of it, but I think that they did use excessive force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Allen was then checked by rescue personnel and cleared. But then during questioning became unresponsive, went into cardiac arrest, was taken to a local hospital and then pronounced dead. That makes three taser deaths in the last week here in the United States. And the death of a Polish passenger at Vancouver International Airport makes it four.
Also, just coming out this morning, another suspect joining an American in custody for the murder of a British exchange student in Italy. The victim was stabbed to death in her home earlier this month. Police say she was half naked when they found her. The American that's being held is Amanda Knox. She was the victim's roommate and a student at the University of Washington. Knox's Italian boyfriend also in custody.
This morning, the fourth suspect was picked up in Germany, apparently linked to the scene by a bloody fingerprint on a pillowcase.
Well, there's about to be a drastic drop in the number of AIDS cases worldwide, but it's not because of any cure. It's because the United Nations is admitting that it overestimated the size of the AIDS epidemic. Instead of 39 million cases reported last year, the U.N. AID group now says around 33.2 million people are living with AIDS. It remains a major threat, though. More than 2 million people died from AIDS last year.
ROBERTS: Also, new this morning, the world markets are on a roller coaster. Hong Kong and Tokyo stocks fell sharply overnight before rallying to finish in positive territory. In Europe, the U.S. dollar hit an all-time low. One euro now worth about $1.48. The markets reacting to a steep drop on Wall Street.
The Dow opens below 1,300 today for only the second time since August at 12,958. The new numbers are coming out in the housing market. The fed releasing information on inflation this afternoon. We'll keep watching Dow futures, which right now are up slightly, so it's looking like it could be a good opening on Wall Street -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Hopefully, they're going to rally today. Well, it could be the most important state of primary -- the most important of the primary season. And with just a few weeks left until the Iowa caucuses, it's getting tighter than ever.
According to a new poll at the "Washington Post" ABC news poll, it shows Senator Barack Obama leading Senator Hillary Clinton 30-26. Margin of error plus or minus four points here. John Edwards not too far behind at 22 percent. And in a sign of a tightening race yesterday, there were more verbal shots with Mrs. Clinton basically saying that we can't afford to have a rookie handle the economy, and then Obama firing back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is one job we can't afford on the job training for. That is the job of our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My understanding was that she wasn't treasury secretary in the Clinton administration. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, other polls give Clinton a slight edge in Iowa. The crucial kickoff state on January 3rd.
There's also something on the GOP side to tell you about that's new this morning, and that's Mitt Romney extending his lead in New Hampshire, which is another key early state. Romney leads the field with 33 percent. Senator John McCain in second with 18 percent. Rudy Giuliani in third at 16 percent.
That's according to a new CNN/WMUR New Hampshire presidential primary poll. It was conducted by the University of New Hampshire.
And the places and dates for next fall's big presidential debate are now set. University of Mississippi, September 26th. Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, October 7th. And Hofstra University in Hempstead. That's on Long Island in New York, October 15th -- John.
ROBERTS: An Associated Press photographer in Iraq faces charges of being connected to the insurgency. The U.S. has been holding Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, for more than 19 months now. But now they say that they have "convincing and irrefutable evidence of his guilt."
Hussein won awards for his photographs of the fighting, but authorities have been suspicious of how he was able to get to attack sites so quickly, wondering if he had advance knowledge of those attacks.
Also new this morning, a Coast Guard official in the hot seat for what some call a slow response to a massive oil spill in San Francisco Bay. Federal lawmakers say they're going to open another investigation into the spill. It happened back on November 7th when a tanker slammed into one of the supports of the Bay Bridge. Yesterday 10 members of Congress grilled Coast Guard Rear Admiral Craig Bone about the agency's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF: REAR ADM. CRAIG BONE, U.S. COAST GUARD: They were trying to find out how much was there so that they could accurately inform. I'm not going to make an excuse for not telling the mayor and citizens that they didn't get an amount to say this could have put people in harm's way if they went down to the beaches. I'm not going to make that excuse to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel leaked into the bay. The coast guard says it is initiating a nationwide review to make sure it is ready if another disaster like this happens -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, it's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for some other big stories this morning. And there is an alarming new study about young women and heart disease. Elizabeth Cohen is at our medical update desk in Atlanta with more details for us. Hi, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, this is a really disturbing story because young women think they're impervious to heart disease. They think, oh, that's an old man's disease. And so this new study says that is not true, and they are seeing more and more young women dying of heart disease every year.
We're talking about women between the ages of 35 and 44, and in this study in the journal of the American college of cardiology, they're seeing 100 more deaths of women in that age range. And the study authors call this disquieting. They say that if these numbers continue, it could reverse the trends we've seen in this country of fewer deaths from heart disease -- Kiran?
CHETRY: You know, obesity is a big problem. Are they pinpointing other specifics about why they're seeing this trend?
COHEN: Right. Obesity is a big problem, a growing problem in this country. High blood pressure, cholesterol. And the concern is this. That women in their 30s and 40s are focused on cancer, which, of course, is something that people ought to be concerned about, but that they're not as focused as they should be on getting their hearts in good health.
CHETRY: What are some of the warning signs? What should you be asking your doctor to test you for?
COHEN: Right. What you want to do, actually, first, even before you ask your doctor about testing, is to recognize the signs of having a heart attack in your own head so that you know what to look for because a lot of women miss the signs. Because, again, they think it's an old man's disease. Chest pain, nausea, fatigue, and palpitations, and those two middle ones are ones that women really ought to spend -- really ought to be thinking about.
Because nausea and fatigue are more common among women who are having heart problems than among men. Usually, we think it's that chest pain, and the man falls to the floor and has what people call the Hollywood heart attack. For women, it's often more subtle, more gradual, a feeling of nausea, a feeling of exhaustion.
CHETRY: At the same time, I mean, should you be getting your cholesterol checked? Should you be managing your blood pressure even if you're in your 30s?
COHEN: Oh, absolutely. You should be going to your doctor. You should be talking to your doctor about cholesterol checked. You should be getting your blood pressure checked. All of those things are important even if you're in your 30s and 40s.
CHETRY: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Turning now to Rob Marciano. He's at our weather update desk tracking extreme weather. And it is snowing out west. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. Yes, we've got a little snow out west. Some of that snow trying to make its way east in some spots. Take a look at winter wonderland in places like Montana yesterday.
Snow covering the trees, making it look pretty. Slow go on the roads, but not to bad because, you know, at this time of year, the ground is pretty warm. But I want to show you some of the day time totals for snowfall yesterday across this area.
Some of these are actually records. Tops in Montana, 15 inches. Geyser, Montana, over a foot. Missoula, almost a foot. And Great Falls also seeing a record there of 7.8 inches of snowfall.
Off to the East Coast now, this area of blue you see right here. There is a winter weather advisory for parts of upstate New York, extreme eastern parts of Pennsylvania. Connecticut, other spots of New England. We got a little bit of winter moisture heading this way.
Temperatures in this area are right around freezing. You can see where the rain turns to snow notably in places like Albany, where we're getting some reports of snow there. Schenectady, 32, 33 degrees. So this is some warmer air moving into this area of snow, so it probably won't stick all that long.
They are de-icing, however, in Newark and Albany, and we're getting flight delays now out of Houston, where fog is a bit of an issue, and I hear some people are traveling today and tomorrow. So we'll keep an eye on that forecast for you as well.
CHETRY: Yes, you hear. I think you're going to be one of them. Meanwhile, we want to -- stick around for a second, Rob, because we want to show these pictures of the dense fog delaying flights in southern California.
There's a picture of LAX Airport right now. Heavy fog shutting down one of two runways for arrivals at LAX. Also delayed some departing flights. Our Ed Lavandera is actually at LAX right now. He is getting ready to take off on his cross-country adventure. He is going to be filing reports for us throughout this busy travel week to see what thing are like, what conditions are like at airports around the country.
And, Rob, so they're looking at this delay today at LAX. When are they expecting the fog to burn off this morning out in southern California?
MARCIANO: As a matter of fact, they have a dense fog advisory out for San Diego up through Los Angeles until 9:00 local time, and then that fog is expected to lift. Until then, though, you could see visibility as low as a quarter mile, which is always a problem for aviation. So up until 9:00, they'll have some issues, though.
Airports generally speaking out there, not open just yet. But as they do, there may be very well be some delays.
CHETRY: Yes. I guess they're running 30 minutes to an hour already, and that's probably just going to sort of snowball and domino effect as the day goes on. Rob, thanks a lot. By the way, we want to hear your stories of flyer frustration. Send us your I-report pictures, any videos that you might have taken, e- mails. The e-mail address is AM@CNN.com, and we're going to be sharing some of the best ones with you all week long -- John.
ROBERTS: A new security measure goes into effect today in Japan. The government is now fingerprinting and photographing all foreigners 16 years and older who entered the country, including foreigners who live there. Japan says the new rules will prevent terrorist attacks and cut crime. Critics call it an excuse to monitor people.
The system is modeled after a similar program in the U.S. The government says anyone who refuses to cooperate will be denied entry and deported.
A new direction for Iowa voters just weeks before the all important Iowa caucus. Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton in a new poll. What does it mean for the two Democratic leaders? John Dickerson weighs in. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixteen minutes now after the hour. Some of the most incredible shots of the morning in your "Quick Hits" now. An entire town in Colombia under water. Hundreds of people are homeless after a river overflowed there. An extremely active rainy season has ravaged parts of the country with hundreds of reported floods and landslides.
A car into a canal and an incredible swim to safety. In Florida, police say an 18-year-old driver veered off on the Don Shula expressway in Miami early on Sunday and plunged into the water. He managed to pull himself out there with swim to shore. A family found him 10 hours later.
Police say the teen was driving fast enough to break enough through an aluminum guard rail, skid across about 75 feet of grass and then land on the far end of the 50-foot wide canal.
Robbers messing with the wrong vet. In Florida, check out the surveillance video, the top right of the screen here. A 71-year-old security guard at a juice shop kicks the gun out of one of the guy's hands and pulled out his own gun and started firing at three armed suspects. They also got ph) in a dark car. Police say the guard has got military experience -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, just six weeks now until the Iowa caucuses, the first presidential battle ground, and there's a new Democratic leader in the Hawkeye state. Check this out.
This is the "Washington Post"/ABC news poll. It has Barack Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton, 30 percent to 26 percent. John Edwards in third place here. It shows here 22 percent. Plus or minus four points, the margin of error. So should Hillary Clinton be worried this morning?
John Dickerson, CNN political analyst and chief political correspondent with Slate.com joins us from Washington. Thanks for being with us, John.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
CHETRY: So do you think -- if you were Hillary's camp, would you be worried at this latest poll? This is among voters who say they're absolutely sure they're going to the polls.
DICKERSON: There's certainly reason to worry. They've been worried about Iowa for quite some time. They've put a lot of staff in there. One or two -- either Hillary Clinton or her husband will be there pretty much from now until the caucus date. This is not good.
As you mentioned, though, the margin of error on that poll is four points, which basically means it's essentially tied. Although if you're Barack Obama, you're quite happy to be on the right side of that tie. And so, there's really a lot of good news in this poll for Barack Obama.
CHETRY: And, you know also, it's just interesting because there's been this daily back and forth that we've seen between Senators Clinton and Obama, and let's actually hear a little snippet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is one job we can't afford on the job training for. That is the job of our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My understanding was that she wasn't treasury secretary in the Clinton administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So is Obama getting some more traction out of being a little bit more aggressive?
DICKERSON: He is. You know, it's interesting, that line from Hillary Clinton is essentially the line that the Republican presidential candidates are using about her. And Barack Obama, though, one of the things you see in this poll is he's been more aggressive for about the last 2 1/2 weeks on this question of Hillary Clinton's honesty and trustworthiness.
And in this "Washington Post" poll, that's where she shows real weakness. So he's been aggressive on the issue where he's got an opening there to take her down a few points.
CHETRY: And explain, you know, for people that may not be -- may not understand, why is Iowa so important?
DICKERSON: Well, Iowa is so important because it's the first contest in the nation for the Democrats and Republicans. The caucus process is one that's very heavily influenced by the grass roots, and it's one where the Democrats are all completely tied up.
In the rest of the country, Hillary Clinton has a big lead. And for challenger candidates like Barack Obama and John Edwards, it's the place where they need to beat her in order to hope to have a national campaign, and it's the one where they got the closest chance of actually being able to do that.
CHETRY: Yes. So it's more about momentum?
DICKERSON: Well, it's about momentum and getting a win. And remember, there was a period where Hillary Clinton was the inevitable Democratic nominee. And when you're -- you know, a giant killer, that's a great story coming out of Iowa.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll see the interesting new poll this morning has Barack Obama at 30 percent. Hillary Clinton at 26 percent. John Dickerson, CNN political analyst, also from Slate.com. Thanks for being with us.
DICKERSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Twenty minutes now after the hour. The Bush administration taking steps against a terrorist attack timed to next year's election. How safe are we also for the holidays especially with the president losing a key adviser on fighting terrorism?
A live talk with outgoing Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: One dad was literally holding solid gold in his hand. Well, tickets to the Hannah Montana show. And he did what few would do. He gave them away for nothing to help a family that have fallen on hard times. His daughter -- he got tickets for his daughter, then she got sick and couldn't go, so he decided to give them to someone else. And he found two little girls whose mom is on disability and could not get tickets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY ADAMS, SCORED FREE HANNAH MONTANA TICKETS: We were just about to leave, and this nice man over there gave me and my sister two free tickets, and I'm very happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, there you go. The mom says she couldn't afford concert tickets, but she brought her kids to the venue just so they could enjoy the outdoor festivities before the show. That's where he spotted them and gave them away. You know, they're the hottest tickets in the country right now. Some of them going for thousands of dollars on the web. He said he also walked away with tears in his eyes that he was able to do something, make those two little girls happy.
ROBERTS: Good for him. What a great feeling to have on this holiday.
CHETRY: Hope his little girl gets better soon, too. She couldn't go. ROBERTS: Wow! Yes. So what are the feelings going to be like in regards to the oil markets this holiday season? Our Jim Ellis of "Business Week" magazine in for Ali Velshi this morning, "Minding Your Business." There's this big battle over how oil should be priced? In U.S. dollars or some other currency?
JIM ELLIS, OPINION EDITOR, BUSINESSWEEK: Right. I mean, right now, the point of it is just geopolitical, you know, sort of tussling about. Both Iran and the number of countries say, let's stop using the dollar. I mean, the dollar is a representation of the United States, which tries to push us all around. But there's more here.
The dollar has been dropping like a rock. I mean, basically, the dollar has dropped about 10 percent versus the euro this year, and it's dropped about 25 percent over about the past five years. And so a lot of Arab nations are saying, we don't want to have decline in currency and have our major import, you know, or export priced in that. So now they're pushing back to say, let's put in the euros, which is a much stronger currency.
CHETRY: With what type of effect would that have if that were to happen theoretically on the prices we pay for gas?
ELLIS: Well, it would basically would have less demand for the dollar. That means we would probably have to raise interest rates in the United States to make the dollar more attractive, but that also means that, we then would have to pay more for things here in the U.S.
ROBERTS: Also, looking like an update on the markets now. This housing report expectedly --
(CROSSTALK)
ELLIS: Yes. If the housing number comes in good, this will be really great. People don't expect it because subprime may not be as bad as we thought.
ROBERTS: We'll see what happens today. So far indicators are pointing up. Jim Ellis, thanks very much.
ELLIS: OK.
CHETRY: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Black Friday right around the corner. That can only be one thing for a lot of families, time at the toy store. But later on this morning, three consumer watchdog groups are issuing new safety guidelines and warnings about some of the hottest toys out there.
This just after a string of recalls recently about lead being in a lot of popular toys. Which leads us to this morning's "Quick Vote". Will the toy recalls change your buying habits this holiday?
Cast your vote for us this morning at CNN.com/Am. Let's take a quick check. Oooh, 79 percent of you say yes, it will change your buying habits. Twenty-one percent say no. We'll continue to tally the votes throughout the morning and bring you a final count just before 9:00 Eastern this morning.
CHETRY: That's a pretty overwhelming "Quick Vote" this morning.
ROBERTS: Wow.
CHETRY: A lot of people making that change.
ROBERTS: Yes. Not really much of a surprise either.
CHETRY: Yes. Oh, here's a story coming up that you just can't miss. Flyer frustration. We've been showing live pictures from Los Angeles International Airport. There was another live look. And you could see the fog this morning. It's all around southern California. It is causing some problems and some delays.
We actually have our Ed Lavandera out in the thick of it going coast to coast, and he's going to see what he's encountering during this busy travel week.
ROBERTS: Yes. There's Ed right there, standing out there at the airport. We want to hear your stories of flyer frustration as well. Send your I-report pictures, video and e-mails to us, AM@cnn.com. We'll be sharing some of them.
Plus, one of the top stories when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well,, if the snow is coming down where you are, you've got rain or something like that. This will brighten up your day. Look at that. Sunrise over Melbourne, Florida, this morning. Thanks to our folks at WESH, WESH-TV for that. Sixty-eight degrees right there, right now, but going up to a high of 80 degrees today.
CHETRY: Hmmm, that's the place to be.
ROBERTS: Nice, nice, nice day. That's supposed to be heading for your Thanksgiving. Tuesday, November 20th, thanks very much for being with us. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. To the world markets. Dow futures up slightly after a wild ride overseas. The Asian markets plunged overnight and then recovered by the end of the trading day. European shares are higher right now as well. But all of the market showing concern about big losses in the U.S. housing market. There are some fresh government housing numbers coming out in one hour that we will bring you.
Also new this morning, thousands of lawyers and protesters in Pakistan are walking free today after spending weeks in jail for opposition to General Pervez Musharraf's re-election. Pakistan's interior ministry says more than 3400 had been freed so far. About 150 reporters covering a protest have been detained this morning. And there's also word the Pentagon wants to nearly double the amount of funding used to train guerrilla fighters in Pakistan. Situation in Bangladesh may be about to go from very bad to much worse. Doctors there are warning about a possible outbreak of cholera in the areas hardest hit by a devastating cyclone. Many places are still cut off from much needed relief supplies. The government of Bangladesh issuing a plea for more foreign aid as the death toll there rises. The U.S. has pledged 35 tons of aid, so have several other countries. More than 3,100 people have died. Local relief groups fear that number could eventually climb as high as 10,000.
ROBERTS: It is a price war in the most literal sense. A gas station owner has been charged with killing one of his competitors who said something when he lowered prices. Police say the shooting happened outside the suspect's station in southwest Detroit on Friday when he knocked back by 3 cents the price of regular gasoline, to $2.93. A fight broke out when people from the BP station across the street came over to confront him.
Drew Peterson wants reporters to just leave him alone. He's a newly retired police officer in suburban Chicago. His current wife has been missing for three weeks. His last wife mysteriously drowned in an empty bathtub three years ago. Another ex said he told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. Yesterday outside his home, he didn't seem to have a worry in the world, except for those cameras.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW PETERSON, SUSPECT IN WIFE'S DISAPPEARANCE: It's mind boggling, you know. It's just like people are looking at me under a magnifying glass, and it's very upsetting. You know, I mean, what I had for breakfast is a big, is newsworthy. It's crazy. Please go home. Thanksgiving is in the next couple of days. Please go home. Please leave me alone. Please don't get involved in my little world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: His lawyer says he doesn't expect Peterson to face any charges, but police have named the 53-year-old as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife Stacy, the mother of their two young children. Authorities have called the case a possible homicide. Kiran.
CHETRY: U.S. customs under fire for pulling over an ambulance that was carrying a critically ill heart attack victim from Canada to a Detroit hospital. Sirens were blaring, and inside EMTs had already revived 49-year-old Rick La Porte twice, but border agents say the ambulance was flagged for a random check. It was pulled over and sent to a secondary checkpoint. The driver had to show I.D., and the patient even had to verbally confirm his name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAT LAUZON, VICTIM'S GIRLFRIEND: Five minutes is way too long. Five seconds is way too long. Unacceptable to stop an ambulance of a heart attack patient dying in an ambulance at the border. I really can't get my head around it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, he is now recovering in Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital after an emergency angioplasty.
ROBERTS: The president's top adviser on fighting terrorism is stepping down. Fran Townsend joins a growing list of officials leaving a key post in the Bush administration this year. Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend is live for us this morning in the north, actually inside the White House there in the Brady briefing room. Good to see you, Fran. Thanks very much for being with us.
FRAN TOWNSEND, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: Hi, John. Good to be with you.
ROBERTS: Sorry to see you leaving too because it's always great to have you as a guest here on AMERICAN MORNING.
TOWNSEND: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Let me ask you this question. First of all, you're leaving with concerns about what might happen here next year. The terrorists could possibly target the U.S. elections. What do you know that we should be worried about?
TOWNSEND: Well, it's not that we know that there's a specific threat, John. What we do know is we saw the Madrid train bombings just before the elections in Spain. After Gordon Brown took office, we saw the bombings at Glasgow. So, we know that Al Qaeda views these periods as being a particularly vulnerable period. We don't have any specific information, but given our experience and what we know, I believe we've got a real obligation to prepare for that transition between the election and the inauguration in a special way. This would be the first transfer of presidential power since September the 11th. And so, we've already begun the planning process for that.
ROBERTS: What do we know about Al Qaeda's capability of launching an attack here in the United States? I thought we were on top of them.
TOWNSEND: And we are. We know from the NIE that there has been a resurgence of their operational capability. They've begun to re- establish safe haven in the tribal areas. What they haven't got, according to the NIE, is infiltrated operatives inside the U.S., and that is a key target of our efforts.
ROBERTS: Let me ask you about the security at the airports because a lot of people are traveling this week. Of course, the heaviest travel days of the year. We had this troubling GAO report out recently that despite all of the security measures that have been put in place at airports across the country since September 11th, 2001, that these investigators from the government accountability office were able to sneak bomb components through. How worried should people be, and why aren't these things being taught?
TOWNSEND: Well, it is just as you say. They're component pieces that could be assembled later on a plane. It is concerning. And because of that, TSA does thousands of tests constantly, and when they get a component piece past the screener, they stop the line, they train this screener on the spot so they can show them where they made the mistake. And then they retest later. And so TSA takes this pretty seriously and does a lot more tests than were part of the GAO report.
ROBERTS: Yet even so, the GAO investigators managed to get these bomb components through. It would just suggest that there are still gaping holes in the system here.
TOWNSEND: Well, no question we have to continue ongoing training. We have to do spot checking like TSA does now. And it is a concern. But by doing the spot checking, we will improve the screener's performance.
ROBERTS: Hey, I've got to ask you about Saudi Arabia. Because you've been over there a few times. You've had high praise for the Saudis and their efforts to help in the war on terror. There's this case out there of this young woman, this rape victim who's receiving, has been sentenced to 200 lashes. Are you still feeling the same about the Saudis?
ROBERTS: Well, John, the case is absolutely reprehensible. I mean and so let's put that aside. What I've praised the Saudis for is their counter-terrorism cooperation, where it is unprecedented, and we share information that's helped us stopped attacks. This case is separate and apart from that. And I just don't think there's any explaining it or justifying it.
ROBERTS: Yes, I know that you're a former prosecutor yourself, former deputy U.S. attorney, worked with Rudy Giuliani. You going back into law when you leave?
TOWNSEND: You know, I don't know. I'd like to take my experience here in the government and apply it in the private sector. I think that there is in multinational corporations and banks and financial institutions and private equity, people really care about global risk management. And that's basically what I do here in the government. So, I'm going to see what the opportunities are now in the private sector for a while.
ROBERTS: That's a pretty lucrative field out there. Fran Townsend, thanks very much for being with us. The best of luck to you. And again it's always great to have you on as a guest here.
TOWNSEND: Thanks, John. Great to be with you.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll stay in touch. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, a brain aneurysm apparently behind that deadly tour bus crash in South Carolina. Investigators say the bus swerved off the highway after the driver suffered that aneurysm. He was killed. 30 others on board were hurt. That bus was about 25 miles northwest of Charleston on its way to Miami, where the passengers were going to be enjoying a cruise.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, what to expect at airports this holiday season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE BOYD, AVIATION ANALYST: People don't fly a lot. People that know you can't, that don't know you can't bring Listerine through the security checkpoint, and people with a lot of children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Fighting through the holiday rush and what you can do to help make your trip home as smooth as possible ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING right now. We're going to show you a picture real quick of the Shedd Aquarium. There you go. This is from WGN in Chicago. The aquarium is right on Lake Michigan. We showed you the shot because you can see the fog there and some weather concerns making for delays in some areas, including L.A.X. However, here at Chicago midway, they're looking at about 15 minutes or less. So the weather here not making a big difference when it comes to the flights. But thick fog is on the west coast too, and that could be affecting your travel today if you're headed from the west coast trying to get somewhere for the busy thanksgiving holiday rush. We are sending Ed Lavandera to check it out. He's going coast to coast to see just what flyers are facing. And he's starting in L.A., and making his way to New York hopefully in time for thanksgiving. I'm sure you can make it. Just whether or not it's a smooth ride or you have to deal with any headaches. Hi, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. You know, airline analysts have said all year long it's been a brutal year for the airline industry. Although there have been some reports here in the last few weeks that things are starting to improve. We'll be putting that to a test in a big way. This week we'll be hitting four time zones, and hopefully the goal here is to be with you guys in studio on thanksgiving morning, flying from L.A. to New York, making several stops along the way. In all, we'll be traveling 2,868 miles in the air.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Pack those bags, grab your airline tickets, and hang on for a bumpy ride. It's time for the thanksgiving holiday travel adventure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a make shift chair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our flight is canceled.
LAVANDERA: An estimated 27 million people are expected to fly this thanksgiving, a 4% jump from last year. Many of them novice air travelers.
BOYD: Which means people who don't fly a lot, people that don't know you can't bring Listerine through the security checkpoint, and people with a lot of children.
LAVANDERA: It's been a turbulent year for the airline industry, record flight delays, long lines at security checkpoints, lost baggage. Even the White House is getting involved this holiday season.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES: These failures carry some real costs for the country. Not just in the inconvenience they cause, but in the business they obstruct and family gatherings they cause people to miss.
LAVANDERA: President Bush has ordered some air space normally reserved for military flights to be opened up to commercial flights although some say that will hardly help alleviate congested flight paths. The Federal Aviation Administration says it will be have more air traffic controllers on duty. The Transportation Security Administration says it will bring in extra manpower to help with security screenings. But some aviation experts say the air traffic control system is so outdated and vulnerable that it doesn't take much to send it into a tail spin.
BOYD: One little glitch, one little snowstorm, one line of thunderstorms, and the whole system really gets a ripple effect that hurts everybody.
LAVANDERA: All travelers can do is hold on and try to enjoy the ride.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And you can see the thick layer of fog that is blanketing L.A.X. Airport here in southern California. Several runways across southern California are shut down because of the fog that is around here. So we'll see what kind of delay and what kind of delays this causes. You can see inside L.A.X., the ticket counter is just starting to open up here this morning. And people, as they're beginning their long journey, their holiday journey here trying to reach their loved ones before thanksgiving. We'll see how this starts off here this morning in L.A. and hopefully, Kiran, we'll be able to be with you in studio Thursday morning there in New York. Back to you.
CHETRY: We're hoping you can make it. What's the status of your flight right now? Do you know if you guys are experiencing problems because of the fog?
LAVANDERA: We're still several hours away. We've got a midmorning flight. We're going to continue to do some live reports from here this morning and start talking to folks. So, hopefully by then, about 11:00 Pacific time, all of this will have burned off, and we'll be able to get off on time. We'll see how it goes.
CHETRY: All right. Good luck. Pack your patience. Thanks, Ed.
Coming up at 8:30 Eastern, we'll be talking to Marian Blakey, a former FAA administrator. And also, we want to hear your stories of flyer frustration. Send us your i-Reports, pictures, videos, e-mails. The e-mail address am@CNN.com, and we're going to be sharing some of the best ones with you all week.
ROBERTS: Let's hope we have enough bandwidth for that.
How long will the GOF stick around for air travelers today. Our Rob Marciano tracking extreme weather from the CNN center. Good morning, Rob. What's it looking like?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John. Well, we'll start out in L.A. where Mr. Lavandera is. We have visibility that is down to .06 mile. That's about as close to zero as you can get. These highlighted areas is where we have a dense fog advisory out until 9:00 local time. That includes San Diego, Long Beach, probably Orange County and L.A. as well. Houston has reports of visibility down to a quarter of a mile also. So, we're looking at some hubs that are having fog issues. In the New York City area, rain and some wind issues. JFK to La Guardia to Philadelphia, might see some delays later on today because of weather. Also, a little bit of fog in Chicago. Midway, you may see some delays. And there's always a problem with volume there. Atlanta to Tampa, the southeast, if there is a spot, the southeast in the inner mountain west may be the spot to see the least amount of travel delays today because of the weather. Tomorrow though, pretty decent storm that's gathering itself. Cold air behind it, warm out air ahead of you. You know what that means, thunderstorms from St. Louis up to Chicago, and then rain moving in for thanksgiving day across the northeast. Looks to be a busy weather day today, tomorrow, actually next three days, John, and that's when people are on the move. So, we'll try to keep you up to date.
ROBERTS: Boy, that's all we need. Rob, thanks very much.
47 minutes after the hour. They are calling it a rogue cell phone, doesn't seem to belong to anybody, but it's causing all kinds of problems. Our Veronica de la Cruz is looking into that for you. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Ten minutes before 8:00 here on the east coast. Ten minutes before 5:00 out west where Ed Lavandera is making his way from L.A.X. all the way over here to the east coast. We're going to have more on the flyer frustration with this busy holiday travel time.
Meanwhile, if you're just joining us, some of the top stories this morning. California filing suit against 20 toy companies, including Mattel and Toys "R" Us, for selling toys with "unlawful quantities of lead." If the suit is successful, the company could pay $2,500 fine for each violation.
Concerns about the U.S. housing market sending stocks on a wild ride overnight. Asian markets initially plunged in reaction to a 218-point loss on Wall Street yesterday. But the Asian markets did finish higher this morning, and now the Dow futures are up, plus there are new government housing numbers expected to come out in the next hour. John. ROBERTS: In your tech headlines, a rogue cell phone that calls 911 by itself. Plus holiday travel tips. Our Veronica de la Cruz joins us now with more on that. Rogue cell phone?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, CORRESONPONDENT: A rogue cell phone. Yes, I found this during one of my favorite web sites right now, it's called swish.com. A small town in Iowa terrorized by, get his, what they are calling a rogue cell phone. The phone keeps calling 911 over and over again, about 400 times in a two-day period alone. The phone rings, operators pick it up, but there is no one on the other end. Officials believe it's a disconnected cell. Now, under FCC rules, all phones, even though it's not under a service plan, can still place emergency calls, and officials are working to track this cell phone down. Until they find it, John, they have to keep answering the line in case it's truly is an emergency.
ROBERTS: Don't these things have GPS these days?
DE LA CRUZ: You would think they'd be able to find this cell phone. Crazy. All right that's swish.com. Lots of you, as you know, traveling for this thanksgiving holiday. We wanted to show you a couple of cool websites that might help ease the stress. Flightstats.com is a real-time flight tracker, that let's you check for delays at your arrival or departure airports, even give you the weather at those locations. It has user ratings, five-star systems for things like airport lounges, ATM availability and cleanliness. There are also reviews, this one from a passenger in New York who says unless you want to take a bus to the subway, be prepared to take an arm or leg to take a cab or limo into the city. There is almost, inconceivably, no subway access to LGA. Also, e-comments on leaving La Guardia saying, you'll never be on time. Again, that was flightstats.com.
ROBERTS: That goes without saying, what's it called again?
DE LA CRUZ: Flightstats.com. It's a great website. Also, you can e- mail us at am@CNN.com just in case you have travel tips. And don't forget to send us an i-Report tomorrow. I'm sure there will be lots of great i-Reports. I mean, yesterday I have a travel story of my own. I'll share it with you later.
ROBERTS: So real quickly.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, I got the bag back, and the handle completely broken off. And I took it into delta to show them, and they said, well, nothing we can do about it because the damage was to the outside of the bag.
ROBERTS: No, so buy a better suitcase.
DE LA CRUZ: That's exactly what she said to me. Crazy. There's my i-Report for you.
ROBERTS: We'll add that to the list.
Black Friday right around the corner. And that can only mean one thing for a lot of families, more time at the toy store. But later on this morning, three consumer watchdog groups they're issuing safety guidelines and warnings about the hottest toys out there. This just after a string of recalls recently about lead being in a lot of popular toys, which leads us to this morning's "Quick Vote." Will the toy recalls change your buying habits for us this holiday. Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. Right now, 79% say yes, 21% say no. We'll continue to tally those votes throughout the morning. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, there's more fallout from record high gas prices. Just how much more will you be paying this year to get the turkey dinner from farm to table? Our Chris Lawrence is looking out for you coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wow. Time now, 57 minutes past the hour. Jim Ellis of "Business Week" magazine is in for Ali Velshi, "Minding your business" this morning. You're talking about Hewlett-Packard earnings and exactly what it takes to be a successful American company these days.
JIM ELLIS, OPINION EDITOR, "BUSINESS WEEK" MAGAZINE: Right, Hewlett- Packard, I mean, in a time when we're hearing nothing but bad news from corporate America, about not being able to manage costs, not being able to make sales. Hewlett-Packard knocked it out of the park. I mean, the third quarter earnings were up 38%. That's a lot. And also, even better, it showed that what you have to do to be a successful American company. It's basically not sell in the United States.
CHETY: Really?
ELLIS: 67% of Hewlett-Packard sales are outside the U.S.. They are major sellers to China, Brazil, Russia, India. All the countries that have much faster growing economies than we have. And basically, that's the way you succeed nowadays.
CHETRY: How do they market outside the U.S.? They market actually locally. They basically are big sellers of personal computers over there. I mean, basically, their personal computer business in China s growing about 100% a year. We don't have that kind of growth here now. But what it shows is that there's still a way that American tech companies can succeed even if it doesn't mean selling to you and me.
CHETRY: So selling overseas. What about manufacturing?
ELLIS: Well, manufacturing overseas is pretty well been taken over anyway. Basically, all things that are sold here in the tech sector are generally made in China or other parts of Asia. But the thing is a lot of those profits still come back to the United States. And so we actually benefit from that.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Ellis, we'll see you a little bit later in the next hour.
ELLIS: Sounds good. ROBERTS: Story coming up in the next half hour that you just can't miss here on AMERICAN MORNING. Do you suffer from migraines? Scientists say, if you do, you may have a different brain than your peers who don't get those severe headaches.
CHETRY: Yes, this is a puzzling, but it may be a key to unlocking the debilitating headaches for people. Why the size of the part of the brain that detects pain, touch, and temperature matters. We're going to have much more on that study as well as the day's headlines. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.'
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Full court press.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE You want to protect the kids. That's what it's about.
CHETRY: California takes on the toy industry in a landmark law suit.
Travel nightmares. Already problems at the airport. So, will delays keep you from making it home for the holidays. Plus, alternative power. Hollywood hotshots burning rubber in fuel efficient Hot Rods.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to trade something off.
CHETRY: Going green never looked so cool on this AMERICAN MORNING.
That's the future, biodiesel fuel. We're going to take a look. Pretty neat. Well, welcome, it's Tuesday, November 20th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts. And toy safety making headlines again this morning.
The state of California is filing suit against the biggest names in the toy business like Mattel and Toys "R" US, accusing them of selling toys with unlawful quantities of lead.
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