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American Morning
Iran Using Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes; Flipped Tanker Truck in Boston; Flooding in Pacific Northwest; Bush Wants Congress to Get Things Done; Interview With De-Throned Miss California
Aired December 05, 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: Wait until you hear what she has got to say about it. Wednesday, December 5th. Thanks very much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
And we begin with breaking news. We are hearing from the International Atomic Energy Agency, that's the world's nuclear watchdog group. It says that Iran is, quote, "Somewhat vindicated by the new U.S. intelligence estimate that says Iran stopped its nuclear program four years ago. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will continue to enrich uranium for what he calls peaceful purposes. Barbara Starr is following this from the Pentagon for us right now.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
Well, these kinds of comments certainly now coming fast and heavy almost every day from around the world. The Bush administration, the Pentagon really now trying to sort out what is the new lay of the land with Iran. Military commanders here are going to have to assess all of this and determine what they think about whether Iran still poses a military threat to the United States and to its neighbors in the Middle East.
Next month, we know a classified assessment of risk, if you will, of many countries around the world, Iran, North Korea, other countries and Al Qaeda. All of these risk assessments will be packaged up together in a new report, classified report going to Capitol Hill. All eyes now on what might be said about the threat posed by Iran. If it's not a nuclear threat do they in fact still pose a military threat to the United States -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, do we know any more about how they came to find out this new information that they were able to gather?
STARR: Kiran, there is a number of published press reports this morning actually talking about communications intercepts that the national security agency intercepted some communications from Iranian generals talking about the nuclear program. This whole happening some months back. We have one source indeed that tells us here at CNN that that is one of the key pieces of intelligence but we are going to continue to poke into that story and see what we can bring you later in today.
CHETRY: All right, thanks a lot. Barbara Starr live in the Pentagon this morning.
We're also following breaking news at a Boston today. And live pictures now of the clean up. And you can still see the aftermath. This was an out of control inferno after a tanker truck flipped over. It was carrying 9,000 gallons of fuels at the time it exploded in Everett, Massachusetts, just five miles north of downtown Boston. And some live aerials you get a chance to see the damage. The homes burned in the area, other vehicles.
This tanker was carrying the gasoline and started leaking and ignited burning at least two homes and they say dozens of cars. In fact, the fire chief talked about this earlier this morning saying it was unbelievable that not anyone was hurt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BUTLER, EVERETT FIRE CHIEF: Our major concerns right now, we still have ongoing firefighting operations in the two six-family dwellings. They are still heavily engaged in those operations and we still has some concerns environmentally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And they said they are concerned about whether the gas leak into storm drains. Some roads are now being reopened. The fire chief says it also appears the driver, at least according to witnesses, of that tanker was speeding, he was not hurt and somehow, no one else was either. Two other people though had to be evacuated from the area, including many elderly -- John?
ROBERTS: We're also following rescue efforts this morning in the Pacific Northwest. The heavy rains there had stopped but floods and mudslides are stranding residents across Washington State. This family being pulled out of the waters in Thurston County, Washington. National Guard troops also moving down streets looking for residents cut off by land slides.
A new pictures coming in overnight from the coast guard of some dramatic air rescues. They saved people trapped on the roofs of their home including an elderly man and his dog in Western Washington. Search and rescue teams also scrambling to find people missing up in the mountains.
Many roads and highways in Oregon and Washington are closed to traffic today. A 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 will remain closed until at least tomorrow. It is the main north/south route between Seattle and Portland. Emergency crews say that there is up to three feet of standing water in some spots. Reynolds Wolf is following the extreme weather.
Katherine Barret is live in Burien, Washington. Katherine, what's it looking like today were you are. We obviously see some damage on that home behind you? KATHERINE BARRET, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Severe damage to this home behind me. What happened was this home is on a steep hillside with a beautiful view of Puget Sound but steep hillsides, that porch carries a price as well. And the neighbor's backyard above this home crumbled in an instant and came plowing through.
And you can see, I'm basically standing on the front porch of this house where this mudslide swept the homeowner's car down, slammed it into the front wall of the house and the mudslide pushed the car and the mud, breaking down the living room wall. The homeowner said all of this happened in less than the time it took her to place an early morning phone call to her cousin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA BULL, HOMEOWNER: We talked only about a minute and a half when this huge explosion was. And I said, oh, Jack, I said this -- there's a bomb in my house, hang on and I went to my window and here is my car sticking in the door. And I ran back and I said, please call 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRET: But the homeowner was lucky to escape unharmed and said she was just grateful that had it been one day later, her small grandchildren would have been in this living room where the wall is crumbled and the glass shattered behind me -- John?
ROBERTS: Katherine, very quickly. The type of damage that you see there, is it sort of sporadic or is it widespread.
BARRET: Well, this is one street, one hillside that collapsed but it is so widespread from the north end of the Olympic peninsula. There are bridges washed out, mudslides blocked Amtrak and commuter train traffic. The whole southwest corner of Washington is under water. It is very, very widespread. More than a dozen counties in Washington State and a similar number in Oregon with severe damage. Still power outages in many areas well -- John?
ROBERTS: Wow, a big cleanup ahead. Katharine Barrett for us this morning in Burien. Katherine, thanks -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, we have some breaking news just out of Indiana. Dozens injured this morning after a greyhound bus spun out of control on Interstate 65. This happened just south of Lafayette. You can see the snow coming down. It was a snowfall at the time. 17 people were injured. None seriously. They say this was the first snow of the season that they still are looking for a cause.
President Bush headed to the Middle East next month. The trip will follow a recent agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to start a fresh round of peace talks after last week's Middle East conference in Annapolis. Now, details of the trip were not revealed but Israeli television reported the president will stop in Israel. It would be his first visit as president. He was there years ago as governor of Texas. ROBERTS: Cleaning house in the battle for the White House now. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has fired a landscaping company over immigration concerns. The company Romney hired to worked in his home in Boston is accused of using illegal immigrants. But the landscaper insists all of workers are in the United States legally. The issue first came up last year. Opponents also used it against Romney at last week's CNN/YouTube debate with Rudy Giuliani calling Romney's home a, quote, "Sanctuary Mansion."
Focus on the campaign trail turned to Iran after a new intelligence report said Iran stopped trying to make a nuclear weapon back in 2003. And an Iowa radio debate, John Edwards went after Senator Hillary Clinton for voting to designate Iran's revolutionary guard core a terrorist organization. He says she gave President Bush just what he wanted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Clinton has said she agrees with George Bush terminology that we're in a global war on terror.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand politics and I understand making outlandish political charges, but this really goes way too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Clinton says the vote was meant to encourage diplomacy and not a green light for war. Late-breaking this morning. A dangerous microwave recall to tell you about. GE says they pose a fire hazard in the kitchen. The company is recalling 92,000 built-in combination wall and microwave ovens. They are sold under the brand names of GE, GE Profile and Kenmore.
It says the door switch can overheat and ignite. GE says there have been 35 reports of minor property damage and one incident in which a fire spread to nearby kitchen cabinets. No injuries, though, have been reported. Everything you need to know is posted on our Web site at cnn.com/am -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, it's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for some other stories new this morning.
Home values saying their biggest drop in a quarter century. Now, depending on where you live, you might want to think twice if you're planning on selling your home any time soon. Ali Velshi at the business update desk with more. You do have a silver lining in this cloud as well when you look at the overall picture?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look. There is two silver linings here. First of all, Freddie Mac says the price of homes is down 1.3 percent compared to the same time last year. And that is the biggest drop in the last 25 years. Now, what that probably means, Kiran, is that home prices haven't dropped much in the last 25 years. 1.3 percent is the biggest drop. Now, there's two things that this means.
One, is it's a buyers market for a lot of people so if you're looking at buy, this might be a good opportunity to do so. The second thing is, we know these prizes are coming down which means they're going to go up at some point, probably end of 2008, 2009. If you're selling a house right now, you might want to hang on. Take a look at how the picture looks across the country by region. The east coast down. The west coast down. The Midwest down. But even, when you talk about the east coast, you're not seeing that in certain centers.
The south and the southwest, which is basically everything in the south, except for Georgia and Florida, are up a little bit. Florida is definitely down. And the mountain states are up a little bit. So, you've got the opportunity, if you are looking to buy, you've got very low interest rates, 6.1 is a 30-year mortgage and you've got the fact that while house prices may go down over the course of the next year, they are at record lows at the moment or record drops. Those aren't record lows.
I should clarify in most markets across the United States, the increase over the last five years in house prices is still between 20 and 80 percent. Gerri Willis is going to be on a little bit later with more on housing -- Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, Ali.
And it's now time to check in with Sanjay. Is it better to be overweight but technically fit or be a thin couch potato? A new study is turning conventional wisdom on its head. I know many people are not going to like the answer to this, huh, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it depends on what your perspective is. This is one of the more controversial areas in the world of exercise and exercise physiology. But it is better, according to this new study, to actually be fit and a little bit overweight as opposed to being lean and not fit. This is interesting. Because a lot of people say well, you know, I'm thin, therefore, I must be healthy. At least according to this study, the answer seems to be not so fast.
They follow about 2,600 people over 12 years to get the results of this study. The people over the age of 60 and that's how they came to this conclusion that increasing and improving your cardio respiratory function, your heart and your lung function even in moderate amounts, seem to make a huge difference in terms of how much longer you would live. So, even if you have a little bit of extra weight, getting up off the coach and doing a little bit of exercise was a really important message here, Kiran.
CHETRY: No, it is. But then, you hear study after study saying, that you know, being a little bit overweight, or having a high body mass index is linked to so many other problems -- health problems. So, how do you fit that into this equation?
GUPTA: Absolutely. You know, you're right. Obesity and being overweight is linked to just about every chronic disease out there. But when it comes to things that actually cause mortality, your heart function and things like that, what they said is that even if you keep the weight, even if you're still overweight, but you start improving your cardiac function and getting up and walking ten minutes a day and doing some other kind of exercise, you get a sort of exponential rewards in terms of your impact in your overall longevity.
So, I think, the message is here don't get discourage even if you haven't lost the weight. You're still doing something good for your body, especially your heart and your lungs, and that might lead to a longer life in the end.
CHETRY: All right, some good news on the horizon. Thanks so much, Sanjay.
GUPTA: All right.
ROBERTS: 12 minutes now after the hour. Federal help may soon be on the way for people caught in the subprime mortgage mess. But not soon enough for some homeowners. What can they do right now. Gerri Willis has got some important advice for you coming right up.
And President Bush says Congress has done very little and better not drags its heels in the next couple of weeks. He wants things done. We'll ask Democratic Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, what he thinks about it ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Shot of the White House this morning. And then, you can see a few of the flakes flying by. Some flurries this morning. It's about 37 degrees. It's going up to a high of 36 today in the nation's capital. Reynolds Wolf in our weather update desk tracking the weather for this morning. D.C. is actually one of the areas that isn't looking at any extreme weather, maybe 1 to 2 inches down there?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks very much. We'll see you again soon. Its 16 minutes after the hour.
President Bush criticized the democratically controlled Congress on Monday, for what he called year's worth of unfinished business. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The end of 2007 is approaching fast. And the new Congress has little to show for it. I call on members to use the time left to support our troops and to protect our citizens, prevent harmful tax increases and responsibly fund our government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, has this so-called do nothing Congress lived up to its billing? As chair of the Democratic caucus representative Rahm Emmanuel is charge with making sure the answer to that question is no. He joins us now from Washington. Congressman Emmanuel, good to see you again.
REP. RAHM EMMANUEL, DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CHAIRMAN: Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: So, the President Bush is lambasting, you saying that you haven't given him the following. Let's put it up on the screen. A bill he can sign on war funding. You haven't re-authorized the warrant list. Wire tapping law. You haven't done the alternative minimum tax pass, 11 of 12 appropriation bills remain unfinished, though with a caveat, he did veto one that you sent to him. Does the president have a legitimate complaint?
EMMANUEL: Well, let's turn the page. First of all, he is asking about to get an energy bill that we're going to do in 12 months with 32 years of Congress as the president have failed to do, which is raise a fuel efficiency standards for cars and get a basically renewable energy portfolio so all of America's energy needs, we're starting to meet our challenges. That is number one.
Number two, after ten years of failing to raise the minimum wage, we got that done. After 4 1/2 years of an intelligence report on 9/11, we got the 9/11 commission recommendations done. After rising costs of college education, we got the largest increase in college sent to the GI Bill. I can keep going on with some of the other things.
So, if you turn the page -- I understand what the president wants to talk about, but he wants to ignore the facts that on a series of fronts and challenges facing America, as rising college costs, rising health care costs, a mortgage crisis, an energy crisis facing America, that off that list of front, we are actually passing legislation that moves America forward, meets its challenges it faces rather than turning its back.
And I would say that the president, you know, after seven years of the presidency and you talk about work undone, the one thing that we know for sure is after adding 4 trillion dollars to the nation's debt will always be in his debt.
ROBERTS: Now you mention this energy bill. The president just threatened to veto that because he doesn't like the tax increases on the energy companies. Or some other provisions he doesn't like. I also count about 20 bills though that haven't been done in the past year. Let me ask you this question. Are you happy with the Democratic record in 2007 and why is Congress' rating so low? Why do 50 percent of Americans say Democratic leadership is not doing a good job?
EMMANUEL: Well, actually, John -- first of all, look. I think that on a series of things we have serious challenges both, here at home and abroad. And were meeting those challenges and it's hard to turn the ship. As I told you, basically, take college education. The costs were rising by 43 percent, prior Republican congresses and the president did nothing about it. We increased that assistance. The largest increase since the GI Bill.
We finally have done in 12 months an energy bill that something in 32 years of Congress has failed them. But let's also then take this on foreign policy. We have basically -- let's look at what has happened in the region of the Middle East. The president disengages from the Arab/Israeli conflict and all of a sudden, he has now decided with one year left, he is going to engage.
Isolating serious, he has understood that that's a mistake. He has now decided to do that. So on a series of issues at abroad and home, we have inherited a basic crisis in America's capability at home and abroad and we're turning that around.
ROBERTS: But, again, are you happy with the Democratic record this year? Would you have liked them to have done more particularly on this idea of ending the war in Iraq which is what you were elected to Congress for?
EMMANUEL: No. We were elected to do a series of things. To change the direction of this country from Iraq to the economy. I wish the president had signed the children's healthcare bill that we sent them, that Democrats and Republicans have reduced for 10 million children. He choose to veto that because of his insistence that tobacco companies be defended.
ROBERTS: But Nancy Pelosi says that she is disappointed with what Congress has done to end the Iraq war. She says they haven't done anything.
EMMANUEL: Look. What I'm viewing is I think we have a lot of challenges in this country. I am personally, I'm certain the things that we've gotten done, happy with the steps we've taken, not happy with the pace we're taking. I'm happy with the direction we're trying to do but not the pace. And the most important thing, you say that -- I don't want to get into political analysis. Why is Congress slow?
Well all of us are low because the country is unhappy with the direction and we're trying to change that direction. And second, when you compare Democrats versus Republicans, the country by big mark chooses Democrats because we represent change in a new direction.
The Republican represents fidelity of a president's status quo and keeping the course the president set. Republican members of Congress consistently vote with the president. We are the ones challenging the course of the president and that's why the American people choose Democrats over Republicans repeatedly by big margins.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we will keep watching to see how much it can get done before the Christmas recess. Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, always good to see you. Good to have you on.
EMMANUEL: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Still ahead, we're talking about America's mortgage crisis. A lot of homeowners are worried and they can't wait for the government to decide whether or not anyone qualifies for some help. Gerri Willis is going to show us what you can do to protect your family.
Also, she had sex with a 14-year-old student. She avoided prison time and was told to stay away from minors. Well, now, Debra Lafave is in some trouble again. We're going to talk about what cops said she did this time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
While, you might want to have them hold the ice next time you're out on the town for a drink, the "Chicago Sun Time," must be a slow news day. They did a spot check testing ice cubes for about 50 restaurants and bars in the city. But one-fifth of them came back with very high levels of a certain bacteria. Let's just say, they say that 21 of the cubes were dirtier than water you would find in a toilet and three of them tested positive for this fecal bacteria.
But they said that you shouldn't be necessarily alarmed because people aren't dropping dead or getting very ill but that, you know, there are safe levels and not safe level. People need to be washing their hands, obviously, if they work at these restaurants. My other question, though, was doesn't the alcohol, doesn't that kill some of the bacteria?
ROBERTS: No, not to the degree that it would need to.
CHETRY: As was going to say, maybe if had you a martini.
ROBERTS: Order your martini straight up and not on the rocks. Order it warm, too.
CHETRY: How about it?
ROBERTS: When the streets are flooded, there's only one way to get around. That's your "Hot Shots" this morning. People need kayaks to navigate Interstate 5 in Washington State yesterday. As you can see in this AP photo, the busy highway was inundated with about five feet of water. Look at how high the water is up to that road sign. The storm causing major problems across the Pacific Northwest for two days leaving flooded homes and highways and its making a lot of widespread damage there.
If you've got a hot shot, send it to us. The address is amhotshots@cnn.com. Be sure to include your name and where you're from and a little bit about the picture or the video. And on more thing, please make sure the image is yours and not someone else's.
Well, CNN is taking a close look at the subprime meltdown all this week. And our personal finance editor Gerri Willis will be joining us every day with important tips on how to protect your money.
CHETRY: Soon the federal government may be stepping in, coming to the rescue of some homeowners but many of them needs the help right now before their subprime adjustable rates reset any higher. And Gerri joins us now. Great to see you, by the way.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you guys.
CHETRY: So, before this happens, what should homeowners do?
WILLIS: Well, at least, I have some good news this morning. OK, a 30-year fixed rate down and nine month low. 5.8 percent according to the Mortgage Banker's Association this morning. So, if you're going to refinance, the rates are low that's the good news. The bad news is that lenders are very conservative right now. They want to make sure that you have a credit score of 650 or higher so you have a pretty decent credit score. You have to make sure you didn't document your income and assets. I know, it's surprising that you might have to document income and assets.
And you have to have at least 10 percent equity. This is the tricky thing right now. Because, equity is the amount of money you pay to principal on your mortgage loan plus any appreciation. But you may not have appreciation right now. In fact, your home may have lost value so you may have no equity.
ROBERTS: So, what should people watch for when they are shopping for a refinance?
WILLIS: Well, you want to watch for fees. Fees are 2 percent to 3 percent of the value of your loan. So, that's pretty much money. And typically, people roll that money into their loan so they don't think much about it but you really should. Check out documentation fees. Those are usually junk fees that can add up to hundreds of dollars. You want to make sure you don't pay that.
ROBERTS: The thing I always love in Florida was the intangible tax. You didn't know what it was for, they couldn't explain it, but they charged you anyway.
WILLIS: And they had a great name for it, right?
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHETRY: If you're looking for a 30-year fixed is that something you should go for now or the adjustable rate?
WILLIS: You know what, at the end of the day, right now, the (INAUDIBLE) is flat. Three in one arm. The rate is about the same as for a 30-year fixed. You might as well choose the 30-year fixed right now. It makes no sense to choose anything else. That is the best option out there for most folks. And also, look into the FHA Backed Loans. For a lot of people out there, that is going to get you some help in getting an even better rate.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you. A real peace of mind with a fixed mortgage rate.
WILLIS: That's right. ROBERTS: Gerri, as always, thanks.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Well doctor say, cutting back on salt can save your life. But we've been looking at the foods that are full of salt and you'd never know it. We're paging Dr. Gupta and we will get the top stories of this. So, the hidden salt numbers - percentages of salt in some food that might shock. Others, you might now about. But either way, Sanjay is going to break it down for us coming up.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, there she is, Miss California. Well, not exactly. It's the latest scandal to rock the pageant world. Find out why she was stripped of the title when we talk to her live ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Oh, here's a great look at the runway! WFAA, Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport things are looking up. 44 degrees and sunny. You're looking at a high of 72 degrees today and so far that airport looks smooth sailing for the most part. It is Wednesday, December 5th. I'm Kiran Chetry. How come every camera we take, the weather is so much pleasant than where we are.
ROBERTS: Now, its because it's still dark in the pacific northwest and the others ones are snowed in perhaps.
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: We'll check that out. And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
Breaking news for you this morning. We're hearing from the International Atomic Energy Agency this morning. That's the world's nuclear watchdog. It says Iran is, "somewhat vindicated by the new U.S. intelligence estimate."
The reports says Iran stopped its nuclear program four years ago, probably will not have the capability to build a bomb before 2010 and maybe not even until 2015. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the report, "a victory" but says his country will continue to enrich uranium, despite calls from the United Nations to stop.
We're also following breaking news this morning outside of Boston where a tanker truck exploded sending flames roaring through a neighborhood. These are live pictures of what is left of the damage there. At least two nearby homes and dozens of cars burned in Everett, Massachusetts. It's a little less than five miles north of downtown Boston.
Now, we're learning that the driver may have been speeding. Amazingly, no serious injuries reported, not even to the driver. More than 200 people had to be evacuated to a nearby shelter and many of them were elderly people -- Kiran. CHETRY: Well, also new this morning. Rescue efforts in the pacific northwest. Heavy rains have stopped but the floods and the mudslides are stranding residents across Washington and Oregon. The coast guard going in with helicopters scooping people off of roofs. This was one that took place in western Washington state. A rough few days for folks there.
Well, the former teacher who had sex with a 14-year-old boy is in some trouble again. Police in Florida say Debra Lafave was arrested for discussing her personal life with a teen waitress at her new job. That waitress is 17 years old and a violation of her probation which bans Lafave from having any contact with minors.
Last night, Lafave's former boss appeared on Nancy Grace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DENNIS CUTINE, DEBRA LAFAVE'S FORMER EMPLOYER: A misunderstanding. Again, when you have fellow coworkers and you might be sitting around a table chatting, you know, we have a lot of employees here and they will sit in the front and take care of their side duties. A lot of conversations are struck up at that time. But I've never witnessed any inappropriate behavior by Debbie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Lafave avoided going to prison back in 2005 and now she could go away for 15 years for that alleged violation.
Well, state police in Illinois executing another search warrant in connection with the disappearance of Stacy Peterson. This the fourth search since she disappeared October 28th. They say that they wanted to get a chance to file a search warrant to be able to check on the vehicles that have already been seized from that residence. Her husband, Drew Peterson is a former Bolingbrook, Illinois police sergeant and is considered a suspect in his wife's disappearance.
ROBERTS: We bring our attention to Iowa now. 29 days and counting to the first votes cast in the race for president. The caucus is there. It is getting tighter and as it gets tighter, it gets ever more negative. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live for us this morning in downtown Des Moines. They had a radio debate yesterday. President Bush was the focus of a lot of the attacks but they still kept swinging at each other, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They certainly did, John. You can imagine, people are counting those days. It was a very unique debate. There were no cameras inside of the debate room but, obviously, the fireworks were flying. There were three different subjects that they covered - immigration, China and Iran. You can bet when they hit Iran, that is when they started swinging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran is not a problem. MALVEAUX (voice-over): The bombshell over Iran dominated the democratic debate, each candidate taking a swipe at President Bush for maintaining his aggressive posture against Iran even after an intelligence report revealed Iran had abandoned its nuclear ambitions in 2003.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I still feel strongly that Iran is a danger.
MALVEAUX: It was just the red meat the democrats were craving, to set themselves apart from the current administration.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They should have stopped the saber rattling; should never have started it.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You cannot trust this president. He is not trustworthy. He has undermined our security in the region.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president - who just weeks ago was talking about World War II - he, the vice president, the Neocons have been on a march to possible war with Iran for a long time.
MIKE GRAVEL (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What the intelligence community has done is drop-kick the president of the United States.
MALVEAUX: But several candidates attempted to drop-kick the steady front-runner Senator Hillary Clinton on the same issue. They criticized her for supporting legislation which designated the Iranian revolutionary guard as a terrorist organization. Edwards says it not only opened the possibility for President Bush to take Iran to war but, was, in fact, nearly a declaration of war. Clinton bit back hard.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I understand politics, and I understand making outlandish political charges, but this really goes way too far. In fact, having designated the Iranian revolutionary guard a terrorist organization, we've actually seen some changes in their behavior.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, John, interestingly enough, when it comes to that resolution, designating the Iranian revolutionary guard as a terrorist organization, Senators Dodd as well as Biden voted against that measure so they did not agree with Senator Clinton, Senator Barack Obama missed that actual vote. But all of them seem to take this as an opportunity to go after Clinton. The Clinton team, obviously, not letting any of those charges go unanswered -- John.
ROBERTS: Suzanne, I was talking to some folks last night and they wonder if this feud between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama might give John Edwards a chance to run right up the middle. What are you hearing there? MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely. That is really a possibility and something the Edwards' camp itself is looking at as a potential advantage for him, while the two of them are hitting at each other, he essentially is free of much of the criticism here. Of course, Team Clinton has been hitting back saying these are outlandish charges that he is making but, for the most part, he essentially has not been getting criticized by the rest of the candidates.
ROBERTS: Hey, another quick question. How cold is it there?
MALVEAUX: John, it's really cold here. I think it's cold in a lot of places. It's snowing here and it's going to snow. It is cold.
ROBERTS: I tell you. There's nothing like...
MALVEAUX: But 29 more days. 29 more days.
ROBERTS: Nothing like cold in Iowa caucus time. Suzanne Malveaux for us in Des Moines. Suzanne, thanks very much.
MALVEAUX: I am counting the days.
ROBERTS: I'm sure you are. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, we all know that we are better off cutting down on salt but how can you avoid it when it's really everywhere? The hidden places where there is a ton of salt in your food. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for some answers.
Also, still ahead, she was crowned Miss California. Only to have her tiara taken away days later. Officials are now saying it was an accounting error? We're going to talk to the former Miss California about what she is doing about the whole thing. She joins us live next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Remember all of those futuristic visions about paperless office? The computer age hasn't exactly delivered on that promise. In fact the average U.S. employee turns out 10,000 pages a year. But architect Leigh Stringer has found the blueprint for a solution.
LEIGH STRINGER, ARCHITECT: I'm analyzing my total paper saved.
O'BRIEN: She is saving paper by using a new software called Green Print. The $35 program looks for pages that you really don't need like blanks or those with just a few random lines of gobbledy- guck. And you can remove any other page you don't want, as well as those ink hungry ads.
STRINGER: You can create a setting that tells you how many pages you saved and, based on 6 1/2 cents per page, I paid off mine in a day. It does make you feel good.
O'BRIEN: Greenprint is the brain child of Hayden Hamilton.
HAYDEN HAMITON, C.E.O. GREENPRINT: It saves the average family about a hundred dollars a year in ink, in toner and paper. And it has really positive impact on the environment.
O'BRIEN: He got the idea when he worked at Ford and saw all of those stacks of wasted paper gathering dust near printers. He started selling Greenprint a year ago, planting the seeds with this viral video.
Right now, there are about 30,000 people are using the Greenprint software and Hayden figures they are saving about 7,000 trees. Imagine if we all started printing as lean and green.
Miles O'Brien, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ROBERTS: It's coming up to 44 minutes after the hour. Doctors say eating less salt can save millions of lives but salt can turn up where you least expect it. We're paging Dr. Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. He's in Atlanta. So, where is this showing up where we might not expect it?
GUPTA: In all sorts of places, John. There's no question about it. First of all, you're right. A lot of people are talking about salt. The FDA actually held hearings to try and figure out how they could cut salt out of restaurant food, for example.
The study that you're talking about from the American Medical Association talks about the fact that you can save 150,000 lives by just reducing salt intake by a half and a lot of studies showing even small decreases in your salt intake can have a significant good effect on your blood pressure. We eat too much salt. I think a lot of people get that.
On average, you shouldn't be eating more than about 2,300 milligrams. On average, we eat about 4 grams a day. So, that's obviously way too much. Part of it, may not be quite our fault because as you said, John, it does show up in all sorts of different places. Let me give you a few examples here, people always ask for example.
So, here's a few -- Cereals, for example, if you don't think about salt, you don't think about it in the morning but in fact, cereals can have salt, 300 mg for a single cup. If you eat two of these servings, you're going to get 600 milligrams. Soups, they're notoriously bad. Soups are about a thousand milligrams per serving. Even the low sodium soup still have about 500 milligrams.
Ketchup and various other condiments. You get about 200-300 mg of sodium per serving of some of these condiments. And then bagels, 500 milligrams. If you get cheese or something else like that or everything bagel you're going to get even more salt. So, it's in lots of different places. But the processed foods in particular appear to be the worse. I mean, things like hot dogs. Just the preservatives in those foods that's where a lot of hidden salt lies -- John.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, really quickly, other than, you know, trying to give up the salt shaker and going to salt substitutes like potassium salt, how can you cut down your salt intake?
GUPTA: Well, you know, getting rid of the salt shaker just off the table. Studies have shown that it would actually decreased the amount of salt that you eat. Because you actually, people have a tendency to sprinkle it on food but also getting rid of the processed foods. That is a huge thing. People use the salt to try to preserve food, eat more natural foods if you can. That's the best way to do it. John.
ROBERTS: And stay away from the snacks in the machines, too. I've also heard is also a good tip.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks. If you got a question for Sanjay, e- mail it to us. Go to CNN.com/am. He's going to be back tomorrow to answer your questions as he does every Thursday when we open up Sanjay's mailbag here on AMERICAN MORNING. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Christina Silva thought her dreams had come true and was wearing the crown as Miss California U.S.A. but just four days after she won the pageant, there you see it in an emotional win, pageant officials called her and told there has been a mix-up with the scores and not only is Christina not the winner, then they wanted her to call the real winner and tell her she was handing over the title.
Well, Christina joins us now along with her attorney, Wilfredo Trevino Perez. Thanks to both of you for being with us.
CHRISTINA SILVA, DE-CROWNED MISS CALIFORNIA: Thank you.
WILFREDO TRIVINO-PEREZ, ATTORNEY FOR MS. SILVA: Thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: Christina, I can't imagine what a huge disappointment it must have been to you. You said your family was in the crowd, that people were crying and they were so happy, phone calls were taking place back and forth. When did you first discover, how did they explain to you that, you know what some this was an accounting error. You didn't really win.
SILVA: Well, thank you for letting me speak. Basically, I won Sunday, November 25th at the Orpheum Theater. And my life changed. I was so happy. It was such an accomplishment. You know, I was completing against 90 beautiful, intelligent women and I achieved a huge goal. You know, Monday came, Tuesday came, Wednesday came, Thursday came. Everything was still great. Everyone was excited for me. And Thursday evening, unfortunately, I got the bad news that I wasn't the winner. CHETRY: Wow. And how did they tell you?
SILVA: Well, you know, they had me bring my parents, which I thought, OK, you know, I'll bring my parents. And I was told to go to sign contracts. You know, I was told that, you know, they're going to give me my prizes. You know, they never gave me an inkling that there was anything wrong. And you know, ten minutes with coming to Mr. Lewis' home, who's the executive director, he basically said Christina you're not the winner, Miss Barstow is the winner and there was an accounting error.
CHETRY: Why did they want you to call her?
SILVA: You know, I can't really answer that. All I now this was 30 to 35 minutes after they just threw a bomb on me that I didn't win. And they insisted on saying, Christina, you did the honorable thing, you call her. You let her know that she's the winner. You are going to be the good girl out of this. You call her.
CHETRY: And so did you?
SILVA: Yes, no. He had her on speaker and I had called Miss Beasley and I told her, you know, the situation but I'm holding my mother's hand and I'm still in shock that she just told me that I wasn't the winner.
CHETRY: And now, do you think there is some funny business that is going on?
SILVA: You know, from the moment they had told me that I wasn't the winner, I just felt in my heart that something is wrong. And, you know, since that day, you know, things have been coming up. You know, Mr. Lewis has not been accurate with his stories as far as what the real excuses have been as far as an accounting error.
Let me say this. When I had asked him after bawling and crying, I said what prompted you to go back to look at the ballots? He said, you know what? When you were called the winner, there was a lot of booing, Christina, and in my gut, I had to go back to find out the real winner. I mean, that right there tells you a lot, that there is a lot of booing. I mean, it's irrelevant to who the judges choose.
CHETRY: Yes. You know, they said the statement actually came that said we support Christina, this is from the pageant, in her quest to seek the truth. At the end of the road she won't find an ounce of discrimination, preferential treatment or impropriety. What she will find is simple human error. Wilfred, I wan to ask you about this. You have asked for them to release those pages, the supposed pages where they did these spreadsheets to find out about this accounting error. Are you going to get that information and get to the bottom of this?
TRIVINO-PEREZ: We're hoping. Mr. Lewis said he would be cooperative on the air. Nevertheless, yesterday, I sent the communication to his office requesting certain information. I have not received a response to date. There is an addition error here. Something is not adding up. There have been multiple excuses given. They all contradict each other. We just want to get at the truth at this point.
We're not blaming, we're not saying that something discriminatory has taken place. However, because of the way things have been playing out and the multiple excuses, you know, that may be a possibility and that is what I'm here to get at. I want to get at the truth and once we have the truth, we'll determine what our options will be, whether legal or administrative.
CHETRY: What about getting the title back, Christina? Do you see that in the future or no?
SILVA: You know, this is my first competition beauty pageant I've ever done in my life. I can assure you this will be my last. You know, I was a woman of dignity and character before this crown was on my head and I'm still a woman with dignity and character without this crown on my head. I'm going to continue to do all of the things that I strived to do so I don't need this title to represent who I am. I know who I am and I do represent California. I'm a native Angelino and so I know California and in my art heart I will always be Miss California.
CHETRY: All right. Christina Silva, boy, tough situation to have to go through. And Wilfredo Trivino-Perez representing her. Thanks so much for representing here this morning.
SILVA: Thank you.
TRIVINO-PEREZ: Thank you for the opportunity.
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran. On the NEWSROOM rundown this morning.
A big mess, national guard troops rescued flooded homeowners in the northwest. The region hoping now to dry out and clean up today.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney firing his landscapers. Report say the company hired illegal immigrants.
And his body found floating face down in the pool at his South Florida mansion. Fast money. (INAUDIBLE) claims. The death of a rising Wall Street star.
Plus breaking news as it happens. You're in the NEWSROOM at the top of the hour here on CNN -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Heidi, thanks.
ROBERTS: Ditching their dignity all for their daughters. Hannah Montana madness hits a new level or does it actually descent to a new low? Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Still not convinced that tickets to a Hannah Montana concert are insanely valuable? Then, take a look at this. It is Dads in drag doing it all for their daughters. It was part of a radio station promotion in Detroit. They wanted to get their hands on a concert ticket so they had to dress as Hannah Montana.
The dancing was just a warm-up for the real competition. They call it the drag race. You can hear the little girls shrieking in the background, cheering their dads on. Looks like they got a clear winner there. Nice wigs, by the way. The winner will be handing over the tickets to the daughter. Even better, they have to go then with their daughter.
ROBERTS: So, what do you think the daughter whose dad took the nose dive at the starting line said to her dad after that?
CHETRY: How could you do this to me, Dad? I really wanted to go to that concert.
ROBERTS: That's good a pretty good imitation.
CHETRY: I tell you what, my dad would do a lot of things on for me but dressing up in a wig and a skirt, no way.
ROBERTS: Oh, well. Why don't you ask him. We'll see if he does.
A quick look now at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
COLLINS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Flooding strands homeowners in Oregon and Washington. The national guard to the rescue.
A gas tanker explodes outside Boston. Homes and cars go up in flames.
GE recalls 90,000 microwave ovens because of fire danger.
For the third time, the Supreme Court takes up the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
And who would rob boy scouts selling Christmas trees? NEWSROOM, top of the hour, on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Final tally of this morning's quick vote question. We asked how much does the candidate's religion matter to you. 28 percent of you say a lot, 18 percent say a little bit and 54 percent say not at all. So, for 46 percent it does matter and 54 percent say now. To all of you who voted, thanks very much. We'll do it again tomorrow. And thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: We'll see you back here tomorrow, as well.
CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins starts right now.
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events come live into the NEWSROOM this Wednesday morning. It's December 5th. Here is what's on the rundown now.
Under water in Washington and Oregon. Today, homeowners get ready for the big flood cleanup.
And moms and dads, is there a toxin in your baby's formula? Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates.
Plus, two men dead. A community now divided. A man takes the law into his own hands.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
