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American Morning
California Filing Lawsuit Against Toy Companies; Rep. Gary Miller's Grandchildren Missing; Obama Leading Clinton; Death Toll in Bangladesh Growing
Aired November 20, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts.
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.
Our Alina Cho is following this developing story from our national update desk and joins us.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, good morning to you.
California's attorney general says toy companies knowingly exposed children to lead and failed to warn them about the risk. Now among those named in the suit, 20 companies and 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: The suit, of course, comes on the heels of what some have called the year of the recall. Millions of toys 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's 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 case, has reportedly said the company had been expecting this and is cooperating fully. Now, 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 later this morning, John, something else to watch out for. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and some consumer groups will actually release safety tips for parents, including a list of toys that are currently on the store shelves that they have deemed unsafe.
You know, parents are utterly confused. Just 35 days before Christmas, they don't know what to buy and what to buy -- you know, it's really confusing with the millions and millions of toys that have been recalled this year.
ROBERTS: Anything that can help them out with that I'm sure is going to be welcomed.
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: Alina Cho for us this morning. Alina, thanks -- Kiran?
CHO: You bet.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: World markets on a bit of a roller coaster ride. Hong Kong and Tokyo plunging overnight before making a comeback into positive territory.
All of that coming on the heels of the Dow closing yesterday under 13000 for the first time since August. Today, Dow futures were up.
We also have housing numbers coming out within the next half- hour, so we'll bring those to you as soon as we find out more.
Also new information from the inquest into the death of Princess Diana. A doctor testified about the night she died in Paris that Diana was agitated and pulled an IV drip out of her arm when doctors tried to treat her. The inquest into her death is ongoing and it's happening at the high court in London.
There are funeral services planned today outside of Oklahoma City for the mother of hip-hop star Kanye West. Donda West went to high school in Oklahoma City and where some of her family still live. West died a week ago after possible complications from cosmetic surgery.
Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams, speaks out for the first time since that operation, and his first television interview will be on "LARRY KING LIVE." You can see that exclusive interview tonight. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
ROBERTS: Also brand new this morning. A California congressman is at the center of a family crisis right before the Thanksgiving holiday. Police say Representative Gary Miller's three grandchildren were reported missing last night from their home east of Los Angeles.
They may have been kidnapped by their mother who police say does not have custody rights. Their parents are divorced and appeared to be in a custody battle. Early reports say that the mother might be headed to Minnesota or Georgia.
A sex scandal rocking a suburban Atlanta church. Erik Paulk, the church's 80-year-old leader, says he had an affair with his brother's wife and fathered a child with her. He made the confession after a court-ordered paternity test. Results show that his 34-year-old nephew, D.E. Paulk, is actually his son.
Report say this is not the first or even the second sex scandal that Paulk has been involved in but this time he could be in trouble with the law for lying about the affair under oath.
With just a few weeks left until the Iowa caucus, the race for president there is tighter than ever. A new "Washington Post/ABC News" poll shows Senator Barack Obama now leading Senator Hillary Clinton, 30 percent to 26 percent. It's a virtual toss-up, though, with the margin of error. John Edwards at 22 percent.
And a sign of the tightening race, yesterday, there were more verbal shots with Clinton basically saying, "We can't afford to have a rookie handle the economy," and Obama firing back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), 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: I am happy to compare my experiences to hers when it comes to the economy. My understanding was that she wasn't Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Other polls give Clinton a slight edge in Iowa, the crucial kickoff state on January the 3rd -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Also new on the GOP side, Mitt Romney extending his lead in New Hampshire. Romney leads with 33 percent followed by Senator John McCain at 18 percent. Rudy Giuliani at 16 percent. It's according to a new CNN/WMUR-New Hampshire presidential primary poll. It was conducted by the University of New Hampshire.
Now we may not know the candidates just yet but the location for next fall's presidential debates are all set. The Commission on Presidential Debates picking Mississippi, Tennessee and New York to host the debates. The first one will focus on domestic policy, the last one on foreign policy.
Candidates will sit at a table with the moderator, rather than standing at podiums, and the second will be a town meeting format, including questions from audience members as well as the Internet.
ROBERTS: Coming up to six minutes after the hour, the death toll continues to climb now from the catastrophic cyclone that devastated Bangladesh. Thousands have been confirmed killed. That number expected to keep growing. And relief agencies still faced with enormous obstacles in getting help to people cut off by the storm.
Henrietta Fore is the head of the USAID, the agency for international development. She's in Bangladesh getting a firsthand look at the damage. She joins us on the telephone.
Miss Fore, you've had a chance -- and I know you're only going to be there for 24 hours -- you've had a chance to see the situation there on the ground. How would you describe it and what is the level of need in terms of American aid?
HENRIETTA FORE, USAID ADMINISTRATOR: Well, it is a very serious, devastating cyclone for Bangladesh. And the need for aid is strong and it comes in two parts. The first for immediate assistance, primarily for food, for clean water, for shelter, for people. There are more than four million who are displaced.
ROBERTS: My understanding of it is, is that as the dawn breaks here in the United States today, the greatest threat over there in Bangladesh now is that of a cholera outbreak.
What could USAID do to try to, if not stem the tide of that cholera outbreak, at least treat people coming down with it?
FORE: We have a medical team that is here from the military and they are on the ground now. There is a good deal of pharmaceuticals that have been donated and there are more medical teams coming in. The water, clean water is an issue here for everyone. We have mobile water purification plants that are currently in place in the affected areas.
ROBERTS: Right. We know that there are just a little more than 3,000 people known dead at this point, fears that another 1,000 or more may be missing. Is the death toll expected to go up dramatically?
FORE: They do not anticipate that the death toll will go up dramatically, but any loss of life is much mourned here, as well as elsewhere. Around the world, we are watching, but we are worried about food and people being hungry. They are leaving their fields because there's been so much devastation in the rice patties and wet and with the banana plantations that have been devastated.
And so, people are hungry and they are heading into the villages and towns to get relief food.
ROBERTS: Wow. Our best wishes there as you try to aid the situation, Henrietta Fore. She is the administrator USAID, the agency for international development, joining us on the phone this morning from Bangladesh.
ROBERTS: At eight minutes after the hour now.
(WEATHER REPORT) CHETRY: Well, there's news overnight of another man being killed from a taser, at least three cases reported this week. The latest in New Mexico. A 20-year-old man tasered after a struggle with police. They tried to take him into custody on Sunday and he died after being rushed to a hospital.
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 of the car, pushed the officer, and tried to run away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: A physical confrontation occurred between Officer Hurley and Allen. During the struggle, Officer Hurley deployed his taser and attempted to gain control of the suspect.
L. JACKSON: I'm not saying that he was, you know, innocent in any of it, but I did think that they did use excessive force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Allen was checked by rescue personnel and then cleared but then became unresponsive during questioning. That's when he was rushed to a local hospital after going into cardiac arrest. And he was pronounced dead.
Also this weekend, in Maryland, a 20-year-old man died after police used a taser on him, that was, to try to break up a fight.
Well, there's a new study that's giving us possible new insight into migraine pain and just how it affects the brain.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is at the medical update desk with details. This (INAUDIBLE) it's debilitating for millions of people and any type of new information is helpful.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. That's right. So many people are disabled by migraines and you can't blame them for asking, "Why me? Why do I get migraines while other people don't get them?"
Now this research may shed some light on this issue and it has to do with this image here behind me. What researchers did is they looked at the brains of people who suffered from migraines and compared them to other people. And what they found was that this area right here, this area in here in gray, it was thicker in people who suffered from migraines, this light gray area here.
The cerebral cortex, the outer layer, was actually 21 percent thicker. Now, the big question is, why was it thicker? Was it thicker because of the migraine or as a result of the migraine or the thickness was the cause of the migraine? Was it there even before the migraine?
It's a classic chicken-egg situation. And if they can try to answer the question they might be able to help these people who have migraines better -- Kiran?
CHETRY: And another interesting study found that if you do or are prone to migraines you may be sensitive to other types of pain or even touch?
COHEN: That's right because this area of the brain right here. This area of the brain is an area that has to do with sensory so, in other words, your reaction to pain or your reaction to cold or your reaction to heat. So it's probably not just migraines, it's probably other things that may be involved here.
CHETRY: And then can the research be used possibly down the road to help?
COHEN: Yes. That's what they hope to do. What they hope to do is to figure out is the thickening of the cortex a result of having a migraine, or is it what caused it in the first place. Now once they do that, hopefully they'll be able to come up with better drugs than they have right now.
This right now, they can help migraine sufferers but they are somewhat limited. They can tell people, for example, to try to avoid triggers, like there are certain foods that sometimes trigger migraines. They can tell people to take their medication and to their diet and to exercise. But they really haven't found a terrific, wonderful, great cure for -- treatment for migraines yet.
CHETRY: There are many hoping that's just on the horizon.
COHEN: Right.
CHETRY: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks a lot.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: A billion dollar plan to beef up security in the country's borders put on hold again. "Quick Hits" now. This morning's "Washington Post" reports , it could another year before hundreds of new high tech machines start scanning vehicles for radiological materials at border checkpoints.
Homeland Security has pushing for the machines since last year but now says they need more tweaking before going online.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Thanksgiving dinner with a slice of your wallet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prices have gone up about 15 to 18 percent.
ANNOUNCER: Why the cost of your turkey and trimmings are rising. Greg Hunter investigates.
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's more expensive? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Absolutely, absolutely.
HUNTER: You've seen on a grocery store floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you can save money this season and what will cost you more, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixty minutes after the hour now. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.
Smoke and flames in the streets of the West Bank as Israeli soldiers take up positions at a Palestinian refugee camp. It's not clear who or what they are looking for. But several raids are conducted in the area in the hunt for Islamic militants.
Take a look at this. This could soon be in your future. A car from the future.
Aptera Motors has unveiled a new three-wheeled ultra efficient ride. In this photograph, it almost looks like it's flying because you can barely see the wheels in contrast with the asphalt there. The company says it is going to be available for under $30,000 in the United States. There's an all-electric and plug-in hybrid version that supposedly gets 300 miles to the gallon. It could be available next year.
And if you're looking to replace some old and tired holiday decorations, why not go really high class? This golden statue of Father Christmas can be yours for only $2 million. A jewelry store in Tokyo is selling it. It's a little bit more than a foot tall, weighs 44 pounds and has 23 diamonds in Santa's belt.
Just the thing to get under the tree, huh, Kiran?
CHETRY: Very cute. Very cute.
Well, speaking of having to pay more these days for holiday items. How about the turkey dinner on your Thanksgiving table? It will probably cost you more than it did last year. And a lot of that is due to the high price of gas. But just how much more will you paying?
Our Greg Hunter is looking out for you. He's live at one of the country's busiest food market. It's the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx.
Hi, Greg.
HUNTER: Hey, Kiran. It's the biggest wholesale market in the world. They do $2 billion worth of business a year. There are 50 different wholesalers here. I mean the cat's been sectioned. This thing is huge. It's on 125 acres in the Bronx. I know that sounds weird in New York.
If you look down here it goes down a quarter of a mile. They have everything when it comes to produce under the sun from strawberries to asparagus, that they're seeing their prices rise at the wholesale level and those prices, unfortunately, are passing right along to your table.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTER (voice over): At Manhattan's Garden of Eden supermarket, manager Nicholas Kotsianas says the mood among this year's Thanksgiving shoppers has changed.
(on camera): Last year, this year, what's the difference?
NICHOLAS KOTSIANAS, GENERAL MANAGER, GARDEN OF EDEN: In terms of perception and how they're feeling. They're feeling far more trouble this year. Far more cautious. They want to get more bite for their dollar.
HUNTER (voice over): And that will be much tougher this year because prices have gone up on many Thanksgiving staples. The biggest increase? The bird.
KOTSIANAS: The prices have gone up about corner 15 to 18 percent depending on the brand.
HUNTER: Other must haves: yams and cranberries. Both...
KOTSIANAS: Ten percent increase definitely compared to last year.
HUNTER: Kotsianas says food prices are climbing right along with fuel prices.
(on camera): You're seeing it, without question, the price of fuel and shipping of -- whether it's turkeys or vegetables.
KOTSIANAS: Anything, anything.
HUNTER: It's more expensive?
KOTSIANAS: Absolutely.
HUNTER (voice over): Some good news. Root vegetables like potatoes and carrots are about the same as last year.
Overall, Kotsianas says the cost of Thanksgiving dinner will far outpace inflation.
(on camera): What do you think people are going to pay across America, on average, for Thanksgiving?
KOTSIANAS: Ten percent more than last year. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTER: And that is amazingly close to the annual survey done by the Farm Bureau every year. The Farm Bureau says the cost of this year's Thanksgiving dinner will be about 11 percent more than last year.
But there's more than just higher prices on your Thanksgiving table than just fuel. Here at this wholesale market, they say there's a lot of other things that affect things. For example, supply and demand.
Steve Katzman (ph), the owner of this particular wholesale group, says this box of asparagus yesterday was 15 bucks. All of a sudden, you get a big shipment in and today it's $8.
Also, the weather affects the different types of produce. Downtown, you've heard all those floods -- floods, or you've heard about all that dry weather down there. That was the opposite of that. They say because of that dry weather, these yams are more expensive this year because of that drought in the south.
Back to you guys in the studio.
CHETRY: All right. Greg Hunter, thanks so much.
We'll be here for you, by the way, on Thanksgiving morning if you have any questions about your holiday feast, we have the turkey experts with us to help. We've invited Butterball university to our Thanksgiving.
E-mail us your questions. It's at TURKEY@CNN.com. We'll do our best to answer them live on the air. It'll be Thursday, turkey day, on AMERICAN MORNING.
By the way, we had one of our viewers write to us and said, "If you two were thinking about brining, use three cups of salt, two cups of honey, and bring it up to a boil, let it cool and throw your turkey in the brine.
ROBERTS: I bought this little package.
CHETRY: Oh, you already bought the seasoning?
ROBERTS: Yes. Awesome.
CHETRY: All right. Well...
ROBERTS: It's all...
CHETRY: I'll try that one and you try that one and we'll swap.
ROBERTS: All right. And we'll report back.
After Thanksgiving comes the mad rush to the malls and black Friday. And that could only mean 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 choice, which leads us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question.
Will the toy recalls change your buying habits this holiday?
Cast your vote for us at CNN.com/am. Right now, 84 percent of you say, yes, 16 percent no.
We'll continue to tally the votes throughout the morning.
CHETRY: Also coming up, the holiday travel season. A bit of a nightmare especially around this time of the year with Thanksgiving. Crowds, lines, delays, a lot of people trying to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The government says it's trying to put you in the express lane this season.
We've got a closer look at what you should really expect coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour and today's "Hot Shot" now. Maybe he was applying for a spot in Santa's starting lineup. It comes to us from Missouri this morning. Check this out. A deer bolts from the side of the road and leaps over the hood of a police car. Whoosh, there he goes.
Caught on the -- the officer's dash cam, The cop hit the brakes in total shock. Boy, that was just millimeters away from being road kill there and you can imagine what it would have done to the officer inside the car as well because that was windshield high right there. If you've got a "Hot Shot," send it to us. The address of AMHOTSHOTS@CNN.com, be sure to include your name, where you're from, and little about to picture a video. And one more thing, make sure that the image is yours and not someone else's.
Meanwhile, it's 25 minutes past the hour. Jim Ellis, a "Businessweek" magazine is in for Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good to see you. Thanks for coming in.
JIM ELLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. Thank you.
CHETRY: What do we have got going on?
ELLIS: Well, we're talking a little about that GM was named the car of the year with its Cadillac CTS and it's -- that's a big deal. I mean that it shows that American companies are back when it comes to building sedans.
So for years they've been spending all their time worrying about SUVs and big trucks. But now that the market's changing with higher oil prices and people just want to have smaller cars. This shows that we can build one that actually gets out there. That's good sheet metal. It also has a lot of performance.
But more importantly, awards like that draw people into the showrooms, which means less discounting for the American makers and more profits.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: So -- but this is one thing, though, isn't it? To get named car of the year and another thing to actually be attractive for people to buy?
ELLIS: Yes. I mean, the thing is that often the car of the year isn't what you actually end up buying. But it brings you into the showroom and they can sort of steer you to something else. But the other thing is that this is a company that definitely needs some business right now.
There's a lot of bad things. The big chunk of GM's earnings actually come from home mortgages. So they actually need to get people back into thinking that they can make good cars.
CHETRY: Sounds good. Jim Ellis, thanks so much.
ELLIS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: A look at a story coming up on our next half-hour now that you just can't miss. Green and mean. A mechanic in Kansas is inventing new ways to get double, triple, even quadruple the mileage the big cars like Hummers can get out of fuel.
CHETRY: That's right. We're going to need the self-proclaimed car hacker who can make your car environmentally responsible, also today's headline when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Oh, with rain in the northeast and snow across the upper plains and rain moving into the Ohio Valley tomorrow, here's a nice picture for you. Thanks to our friends at WFTS in Tampa, Florida for this where it's 63 degrees and brilliant sunshine.
Yes, the sun's coming up. Going up to a high of 83 degrees today. There's a great place to spend Thanksgiving.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, the 28th of November. I'm Jeff Stern.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
And we turn to the world markets now. A bit of a roller coaster ride yesterday after news of our troubles in the housing market. The Dow futures, though, are up slightly. Asian markets plunged overnight and ended up recovering by the end of the trading day and the European shares are higher right now as well, but all of the markets concerned about those big losses in our housing sector. Fresh government housing numbers are coming out any moment now and we will bring them to you.
Doctors in Bangladesh warning of a possible outbreak of cholera in the hardest hit areas by that devastating cyclone. Many places still cut off from much-needed relief supplies and the government of Bangladesh issuing a plea for more foreign aid. More than 3,100 people have died and local groups are fearing that number could climbed as high as 10,000. The U.S. has committed 35 tons of aid to Bangladesh.
ROBERTS: Also flyer frustrations this morning. Reports of fog in both Chicago and Los Angeles that could delay flights this morning. Here's some live pictures for you this morning from L.A.X. Coastal fog. Never mind but believe me, you see there is no sense in putting up the pictures because all you see is the fog. The coastal fog is expected to burn off by mid morning, Pacific time though.
CHETRY: Yes, we've been talking about air travel all morning just one glitch in the weather can back up thousands of people trying to get home for thanksgiving. Last week, President Bush announced a plan that would hopefully try to do a little to alleviate this epidemic of aviation delays, talking about opening up some east coast air space. But will that really make a difference in your holiday travel?
Marion Blakey is a former FAA administrator and she joins us this morning from the thick of things at Reagan National Airport in Washington. Thanks so much for being with us.
MARION BLAKEY, FORMER FAA ADMINISTRATOR: Glad to be here.
CHETRY: Let's talk about a little bit about that. You introduced the program, President Bush called the thanksgiving express lanes to free up some military air space along the east coast during the thanksgiving rush. Do you think that's going to help alleviate a lot of these delays?
BLAKEY: I think it's a terrific idea because it gives a whole block of time that the militaries agree to stay out of that space and it will mean that dispatchers and FAA and pilots can plan which before was never true because you could only use it on a dynamic basis and never knew when it will be available. So yes this is a big step.
CHETRY: You know, this year, we have 24 percent of flights arriving late. They say that is the worst record since they started collecting data 13 years ago. What is going on this year that seems to be compounding the problem?
BLAKEY: Well, I mean, the bottom of it, of course, is that more Americans are flying. We have a huge increase and people taking to the air, which is great. The economy is good, people want to fly and of course, they want to fly when on the schedule that they want to get there. So that means that you do have full flights this holiday. We're expecting them to be over 90 percent full so that means if you do have a weather glitch, there's really nowhere to put someone on the next flight going out and you wind up having a lot of backup delayed flights if the weather is bad. And as you know thanksgiving is notorious for that so we'll see.
CHETRY: And we're dealing with fog in some airports specifically on the west coast already this morning as the early part of the week, people are trying to get to thanksgiving now. What about long-term, Marion? What are some of the plans in the works to help alleviate this long-term?
BLAKEY: You know that's the very good news for passengers. And we need as a country to really get behind what we call the next generation air transportation system because congress is going to have to step up and fund about $1 billion additional a year to give us a satellite-based system so that planes can fly point-to-point on the optimal trajectories, you know, a lot less fuel burned and get there quicker and more dependable.
And in the long run, even have planes able to fly closer together because it's a much more precise system that helps us even enhance safety. It gives us a lot of environmental benefits. And if the blueprint is there, we know what we need to do. And the FAA has actually let a contract for the transceivers, the ground base part of this satellite system but we're going to have to fund it; and it's something that people are going to have to be committed to because all over the world, everyone is trying to move to this kind of system.
CHETRY: You said 1 billion. There are other estimates that put it as high as $2.5 to $3 billion a year for the new satellite system.
BLAKEY: Yes, that includes the cost to the airlines, the cost to all those flying, because, remember, it's not just a question of the infrastructure. Then the planes have got to be equipped...
CHETRY: Right.
BLAKEY: To be able to use it. So, yes, I think those are the kind of figures that we all have to come to terms with.
CHETRY: On top of that, some of these busy airports need more than two runways for takeoff and landing as well. So a lot to think about. Marion Blakey, a former FAA administrator, and president and CEO of Aerospace Industries. Thanks for being with us this morning.
BLAKEY: Delighted to be here.
CHETRY: Also, if you want to know if your flight will be on time, you can get real-time information on delays and other considerations you may want to think about before heading to the airport at fly.faa.gov. Also, we want to hear your stories of flyer frustration. Send us your i-Report pictures, videos and e-mails. The e-mail address is am@CNN.com. We'll be sharing the best ones with you all week. ROBERTS: Thirty-five minutes after the hours now. Got some breaking news to tell you about this morning. Housing numbers, new housing starts for new homes and apartments just in. Take a look at this. Up 3 percent for the month of October. They had only been expected to go up about 1.4 percent. That compares with negative 10.2 percent in the month of September. Dow futures which had been looking up obviously are going to go up a little bit higher. Could be a good opening on Wall Street. Will it hold for the rest of the day? Stay tuned to CNN and we'll tell you.
Right now how is the weather going to do? Is it going to hold out for the thanksgiving holiday? Or are we going to be the dumper? Our Rob Marciano is down there in Atlanta with more on that. Well, Rob, which way is it going?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Look at it this way. Well, you know, Thanksgiving is kind of a holiday where you all gather around the table and hopefully inside and you know, it doesn't really matter what the weather does. But getting to grandma's house is always an issue. We're already seeing that this morning. It's only what, only Tuesday.
Houston at Intercontinental, we got ground stops and effect for low visibility. Chicago ground delays, volume, low visibility, already over an hour ground delay programs in effect for Chicago. Teterboro a little bit small but that's increasing. D.C., this is a fresh delay. Departure delays 30-minute out of D.C. there and that's on the increase and also White Plains, Raleigh, Knoxville. These white-coated counties are under dense fog advisories this morning. Have reports of less than a quarter-mile visibility at Houston Intercontinental. That's one of the reasons for the delays there and although these airports are not open for departures just yet.
Out in southern California, dense fog advisories in effect until 9:00 there with very low visibility. There probably will be some delays. Look at these high temperatures. Childress, Texas, Dodge City, Kansas, into the 80s yesterday. Grand Island, Nebraska 79. Right now, in that part of Nebraska is 39 degrees. So we've got a huge change in temperatures that is going to take effect over the next two days. Look at the difference in Kansas City tomorrow, 39 and Nashville, 71.
You know what that means this time of the year. We've got the battle of the air masses so we're going to get a front, we're going to get showers and thunderstorms. We're going to get delays because of this and this will push further to the east on Thursday and Thursday, thanksgiving day, be it a parade or if you're just trying to get to grandma's house off the I-95 corridor, there could be issues there. So, wish the timing was better but that is never the way it works.
John, back up to you.
ROBERTS: That is an awful lot of moisture in the air. Thanks, Rob.
Push for safer school buses tops your "Quick Hits" now. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is proposing new rules that would increase the height of seat backs to protect kids in accident. She also said she would make federal funds available to schools who want to buy new buses with seat belt. These buses cost $10,000 more than a regular school bus does.
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 an aneurysm. He was killed, 30 others on board were injured. The bus was about 25 miles northwest of Charleston, on its way to Miami and only about 45 miles from its point of departure.
Parents are paying ridiculous prices and performing some wacky stunts just to get their hand on Hannah Montana tickets. Where the fortune to the right person, the one father just gave them away. There was a good reason and a heartwarming result. We'll tell you about it coming up.
CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, muscle cars going biodiesel.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A transformation of what I call old technology to new technology.
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CHETRY: How you can increase your horsepower while doubling your gas mileage. Even rocker Neil Young is following the craze.
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NEIL YOUNG, ROCKER: You get 100 miles with a gallon instead of 10 miles per gallon.
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CHETRY: Is biodiesel for you? Find out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: He was holding solid gold in his hand and tickets to the Hannah Montana show sold out across the country. People going to extraordinary lengths to get their hands on them and one father did what few would do, he gave them away for nothing to help a family that fell on hard times. His daughter got sick, she wasn't able to attend the show so he decided to go and find somebody he could give them to and he found two little girls whose mom is on disability and couldn't afford to buy tickets.
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EMILY ADAMS, SCORED FREE HANNAH MONTANA TICKETS: About to leave and this nice man over here give me and my sister two free tickets and I'm very happy!
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CHETRY: Well, he says he teared up when he saw the little girl crying. The mom said she couldn't afford concert tickets but brought her kids to the venue so they could walk around outside and enjoyed the festivities before the show. Hannah Montana tickets by the way are the hottest in the nation right now, some going for thousands of dollars on the web.
ROBERTS: Wow. Seventeen minutes now to the top of the hour. He is not your average mechanic. He can soup up your high-performance vehicle and help save the environment at the same time.
CNN's Sean Callebs introduces us to a man who can turn your gas guzzler echo friendly.
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SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Automotive whiz Jonathan Goodwin is out to prove muscle cars can do this but can also dramatically improve their miles per gallon and ratchet back harmful toxic emissions. Seriously.
JONATHAN GOODWIN, AUTOMOTIVE WHIZ: What is wrong with having a cool, efficient vehicle? You don't have to trade something off is the whole concept here.
CALLEBS: This truly is a gear-head going green. From his modest shop in Wichita, Kansas. It's all about engine conversion, hummers, escalates really anything vehicle. The first thing that goes is the gasoline-guzzling engine.
GOODWIN: It's the transformation of what I call old technology to new technology. So that's where you're getting your gain.
CALLEBS: In goes the diesel engine that is much, much more powerful. Burns less fuel and runs on clean biodiesel, that comes from vegetable oil, not petroleum. It takes this Escalade from 400 horsepower to a thousand horsepower and doubles the fuel mileage to about 25 miles per gallon.
GOODWIN: The big problem with a performance diesel motor is when the people step on the gas, it has got a black smoke train a mile long. Now, when you run biodiesel, that stuff is gone.
CALLEBS: What is the downside? Why doesn't everyone use it?
GOODWIN: Yes, it's high-end. Not cost-effective for someone to run out and you know spend $40,000 to double the fuel economy, but I have no shortage of customers.
CALLEBS: California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is converting his Wagoneer vehicle. Rock icon Neil Young is having his 1959 Lincoln Continental totally overhauled. This behemoth will soon be tripped out as an electric car with a diesel generator. Young took me around for a ride around Wichita. One last spin before having the engine removed.
YOUNG: A 19-foot long car, the longest car ever made at its time, weighing 2 1/2 tons. It's the heaviest car ever made at its time, will get a hundred miles to the gallon instead of ten miles to the gallon.
CALLEBS: As for Goodwin, he is not looking to put car manufacturers out of business. He just wants to open people's eyes to the power of green technology.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Wichita, Kansas.
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ROBERTS: A hundred miles to the gallon for a '49 Cadillac. Wow. Neil Young was filming the work by the way on his car for a documentary that he is making about its conversion. Interesting stuff coming up.
CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now. Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what lies ahead. Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John. That's right, slow going on the NEWSROOM rundown, unfortunately fog. One of the culprits holding up holiday travelers today in southern California. Look at that, rain and snow could mean delays at airports in the northeast as well.
Also parents hit the stores. The state of California goes to court. It is suing toy makers and big retailers over lead in play things. Tell you more about that.
And this lady is dumpster diving for food. Not because she has to. She says she eats what Americans waste. OK. Join me in the NEWSROOM for other appetizing stories coming up at the top of the hour right here on CNN. John.
ROBERTS: All right. That one sounds fascinating. Heidi, will see you then. Thanks very much. Kiran.
COLLINS: Yes.
CHETRY: Drew Peterson wants reporters to just leave him alone. Of course, he's at the center of a mysterious disappearance of his wife. The newly retired police officer in a Chicago suburb. His current wife has been missing for three weeks and his last wife mysteriously drowned in an empty bathtub back in 2004. And another ex just a couple of days ago saying that he told her that he would kill her and make it look like an accident. Yesterday, outside of his home, he didn't seem to have many worries, except for the cameras.
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DREW PETERSON, SUSPECT: It's mind boggling. You know, it's like people are looking at me under a magnifying glass and it's very upsetting. You know, I mean, what I have for breakfast is a big, is newsworthy so 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 with my lawyer.
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CHETRY: Well, his lawyer says he doesn't expect Peterson to face any charges. Police have named though the 53-year-old a suspect in the disappearance of his wife Stacy and the mother of two young children.
Joining me now with more on the Drew Peterson speaking out before the cameras I guess you could call it, as a prosecutor, would you be looking at that?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST: Of course, I would be looking at it. Everyone is looking at it. Every potential juror is looking at that. I think his attorney may be giving him wrong advice. He is a suspect. We don't know if there are going to be any charges. The bottom line is jurors watching, with the world watching it, with the nation watching it, he has to be extremely careful. I looked at it and it looked a little menacing to me. He is approaching the camera. He is very cavalier. That is not the message that you want to send out to viewers and to jurors.
CHETRY: Because at the end of the day, if this does go to trial, it really is about the way the jury perceives you that determines whether or not, I mean with all of the evidence, of course.
HOSTIN: Of course. You know, jurors are asked have you watched any of this coverage? And jurors are going to have to say that they watched it. I think it's a very dangerous thing for him to do that. I always advise clients when I went to the other side of the aisle and became a criminal defense attorney, don't talk to anyone because also anything that you say can be used against you. It's an exception to the, it's not even an exception to the hearsay rule, it comes in. So, all of that information, anything that he says is going to be used.
CHETRY: It's interesting because he has done two appearances on a national morning show, right?
HOSTIN: Yes, yes.
CHETRY: So far. It reminds me a little bit, unfortunately, Scott Peterson, a man by the same last name. He appeared with Diane sawyer, i think, appearing to cry but then contradicting some other statements. And attorneys scooped all of that up.
HOSTIN: He scooped it and he was hammered. Look at the O.J. trial. People are, you know, testifying on tape in front of everyone. And when you go on trial, that stuff comes up. If you say anything that is different, it's going to be held against you. I just don't know this new trend that you're seeing people testifying on camera, which really equals testifying on camera is a bad thing, lawyers, no, no, advise your clients.
CHETRY: Zip it, right. All right, Sunny Hostin, thanks so much. HOSTIN: Thank you. John.
ROBERTS: How much would you pay for a piece of history? "Quick Hits" now. A Dutch man is shelling out $220,000 for a section of the Eiffel tower's old staircase. He bought the 15-foot long chunk of iron at an auction in Paris on Monday. The original staircase was dismantled back in 1983 and cut into 20 sections. The investor says he knows where he will keep his piece of history but, for the moment, he's keeping it a secret.
A Florida homeless man may not be homeless for long. Mark Spraedly earned a $25,000 reward for helping police catch a suspected cop killer in Bradworth County, Florida. Spraedly says he recognized the suspect from a mug shot that he saw on television. The suspect was later arrested at a local pawn shop. Spraedly didn't say how he was going to spend the cash but he did say he deserved it.
The Broadway strike, and the writers' strike - how each might be acting your holiday entertainment plans. Our Veronica de la Cruz shows us what you can do about it next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Well, we have this new video just coming into the CNN NEWSROOM showing police clashing with protesting journalists. This is in Karachi, Pakistan. The protests continue weeks after President Pervez Musharraf dismissed that country's Supreme Court replacing it with his own supporters. The move all but secured his re-election bid. About 150 reporters were detained during this morning's violence.
And the King of Spain now has the best selling ring tone in his country. 500,000 people downloaded a sound bite from last week's summit in Chile to use as their ring tone. It's when he said this to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
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KING OF SPAIN: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
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CHETRY: All right. Maybe we didn't hear that in the translation. So, let's hear it in ring tone form.
There you go. It's "why don't you shut up?" I guess creatively scratched as a DJ got a hold of that. The rings is estimated to have made more than $2 million by the way for companies selling it. It's a big hit over there in Spain -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, any time a president tells another one to shut up, it becomes a popular ring tone.
The stage hand strike has forced more than two dozen Broadway theaters to shut down during a busy holiday week. Industry insider says Broadway shows raked in $30 million last year at this time. If you're one of those holding a ticket for a canceled performance, our Veronica de la Cruz has some resources for you. She joins us this morning.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. The good news is that not all of the performances have been shut down. Not all of them.
ROBERTS: All the big shows.
DE LA CRUZ: All the big shows, yes, I know. But you know, Broadway.com, that's a web site that you want to check out, it's going to take you to the no strike zone and it's going to show you which shows are still running. For example, John, you can so see Blue Man Group. You can see Stomp. You can also see Pygmalion but if you already bought your ticket at the box office for a show that has been canceled, you should be able to get a refund and telecharge and ticketmaster are issuing automatic refunds.
And if you bought your tickets on eBay, then you need to check the refund policy from the person that you bought the ticket from. We scanned some of the seats up for bid and some sellers specifically say no returns or refunds. Others will give you back your money if you send back the ticket within a given amount of time. Now, we also contacted popular ticket Web sites, (INAUDIBLE) and sittingmyseats.com (ph) and they have similar refund policies.
As you know, John, there is news this morning of another strike. Like about 500 CBS news writers have been threatening to walk off the job today. So, I know something that you guys talked about a little bit earlier. And all of this is happening as the Hollywood writers' strike continues. Speaking of which, Latimes.com. You want to check this web site because they've got this great programming grid that lists most TV shows and where they stand in the production season.
For example, "Nip/Tuck," John, no re-runs. They have 14 of 14 episodes completed. However, shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Gray's Anatomy," only between nine and 11 completed which means they will be headed to re-runs. And as you know, all of the late night talk shows are ready in re-runs. So, kind of spoiling some of, you know, holiday entertainment if you're going to be parked in front of the coach.
ROBERTS: And as we record last week the new season of "24" has been delayed because they have only shot about four episodes.
DE LA CRUZ: One of my favorite shows.
ROBERTS: They want to make sure that they can get that all in one run.
DE LA CRUZ: Do you watch that show?
ROBERTS: "24"?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
ROBERTS: Of course I do.
DE LA CRUZ: All right.
ROBERTS: Veronica, thanks very much.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course.
ROBERTS: All right -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. In fact, that, his ring tone is Jack Bauer's ring tone.
Speaking of ring tones, he loves "24." Here's a quick look at what the CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
COLLINS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Holiday flyers slowed by heavy fog in southern California.
California sues Mattel, Fisher-Price, and other companies over lead in toys.
Pakistan says it's released thousands of protesters that were held under the state of emergency.
Are foreclosures causing a crime wave in Cleveland?
And researchers pinpoint brain differences in people who get migraines. NEWSROOM at the top of the hour, on CNN.
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CHETRY: Before we leave you, we want to get a final check of the "Quick Vote" this morning. Will a toy recalls change your buying habits this holiday? 83 percent of you saying yes, 17 percent saying no. And to all who voted this morning, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Somehow, I think is going to be a game.
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