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American Morning

Powerful Car Bomb Explodes in the Suburbs of Beirut; Series Of Deadly Car Bombs in Southeastern Iraq; Alan Greenspan Speaking Out

Aired December 12, 2007 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. We start of with the battle for the White House and the new polls just out a couple of hours ago showing the race really intensify, especially in New Hampshire. The poll is the CNN/WMUR New Hampshire President Primary Poll. It was conducted by the University of New Hampshire. Let's take a look at the numbers showing Senator Clinton's former double digit lead in New Hampshire evaporating. Senator Barack Obama now a point behind her in New Hampshire. Clinton at 31 percent, Obama at 30 percent. John Edwards coming in third at 16 percent.
Now, on the GOP side, Mitt Romney has a 13 point lead over Rudy Giuliani and John Mccain. The GOPs rising star in Iowa, Mike Huckabee only 9 percent in New Hampshire. You can catch the Republican candidates in their last debate before the Iowa caucuses, that's taking place today 2 p.m. eastern. And that debate is sponsored by Iowa Public Television and the Des Moines register. Tomorrow, it will be the Democrats turn, also at 2 p.m. You can catch both of the debates live right here on CNN.

John?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news overnight from Lebanon to tell you about. The battle for control of the country boiling over today as a powerful car bomb explodes in the suburbs of Beirut. A key military leader and three other people were killed. The assassination further destabilizes the country with no president as pro and anti- Syrian political parties struggle for control of the government.

And more breaking news. This time from Iraq. These are the first pictures of a series of deadly car bombs in Southeastern Iraq. Iraqi TV reporting as many as 30 people are dead and dozens wounded. It happened this morning in the mainly Shiite city of Amarah. The British left the area in Iraqi hands back in August of 2006. Rival Shiite factions are battling for control there.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, new this morning. Alan Greenspan is speaking out. He is out this morning with some harsh words about the subprime mortgage crisis calling it, a quote, "Accident waiting to happen." Greenspan writes in an opted in today's "The Wall Street Journal" that economic growth around the world is to blame, that it fooled investors into underestimating risk. Greenspan also admits that the low U.S. interest rates set under his leadership probably contributed to the housing bubble. Well, the House Intelligence Committee today gets to ask CIA Chief Michael Hayden about those destroyed interrogation tapes. At the Senate hearing yesterday, Hayden didn't answer who authorized the tapes to be destroyed back in 2005 and why Congress wasn't told about it. The tapes had hundreds of hours of video showing the interrogation of two top al Qaeda members including the use of simulated drowning and a technique known as waterboarding.

ROBERTS: Police in Las Vegas right now are looking for at least two people who they say opened fire on students getting off a school bus. Six people were shot in all and an 18-year-old man is in critical condition this morning. A 17-year-old boy in serious condition. Four others were treated and released. A doctor described the injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JAY COATES, UMC HOSPITAL IN LAS VEGAS: These look like they were, and from all reports, sound like it was a either automatic or semiautomatic weapon. Individuals that we operated were shot both in the chest and in the abdomen. The other individuals that were discharged home or they're here were more minor injuries, either shot in limbs or, you know, soft tissue injuries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Police say the shootings happened after a fight over a girl at a high school.

The husband of missing mom, Stacey Peterson, is making a public plea for money. Drew Peterson is considered a suspect in his wife's disappearance. He has set up a website to raise money for his legal defense. It's called defenddrew.com. The site was suspended last night because apparently it was generating too much traffic.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for some other stories new this morning. The fed cuts a critical interest rate, in a growing fear over recession. So then, why did the stock market take a nose dive in response? Ali Velshi at the business update desk to explain. So, there we go. We got the rate cut. And you see almost a 300-point drop right after.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. The Fed cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point yesterday. So, the Fed rate went from 4.5 to 4.25 percent and immediately when that happens, the prime rate comes down as well. That is the rate that is connected to so many adjustable loans that people have. Car loans, home equity lines, and credit things like that. So, everybody's debt got a little cheaper. Supposedly, a good thing right except that some people wanted a half a percentage point cut.

Look, what happen to the stock market. All day, it was sort of running around, doing nothing. 2:15 that announcement comes out and that market just drops down about 300 points at the end of the day. 294 points at the end of the day. There are real fears of a recession. There is definitely some fear that the Fed is not, as on top of this as it should be. Markets are looking positive this morning, Kiran. Because there has been word overnight, reports out that the Fed is prepared to take other actions that may not be about cutting this key interest rate but other things to make sure that there is enough money in the market for banks. But we continue to keep a close eye on this and the threat of recession that could be looming, Kiran.

CHETRY: What about Greenspan's comments in the "The Wall Street Journal"? Any effect on the market?

VELSHI: Yes. I mean, none of us helps. We had Greenspan saying that. We had the head of Fannie Mae yesterday afternoon, saying that his housing crisis might take until sometime in 2009 to come out. So, you know, all of this starts to sink in and people start to get worried and that's when they start to change their spending habits. That is the number one thing. If Americans are worried and they don't spend, that's the kind of thing that pushes us over the edge into a recession. Ali Velshi, thanks so much.

Rob Marciano is also here with us in studio today tracking extreme weather. Still, trying to clean up and assess the damage after that massive ice storm.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: We're hearing about them more and more every day. Airplanes coming so close to each other that they are just seconds away from colliding in the skies or in the runways. It happened again just yesterday. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has been looking into this. She joins us now. How often does this happen?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More often than you think, John. You know, and if you're looking the place to blame, air traffic controllers are an easy target. After all, they're the ones directing air traffic. But they say, they are doing the best they can with what they called limited resources. And that's only part of the problem. The biggest concern is the Federal Government says no matter who is at fault, it could be only a matter of time before a near miss becomes a catastrophic collision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: The latest close call took place Tuesday, southwest of Greensboro, North Carolina. The FAA says a U.S. Airways pilot said he had to bank to avoid a Falcons business jet. On Sunday, at New York's Kennedy Airport, a near collision involving two planes landing on perpendicular runways.

CONTROLLER: Eagle 73, Heavy 747 off to the right on a missed approach 13 left. Eva 632 climb and maintain 200 feet.

EVA AIR: Climb 2000 feet. EVA 632.

CONTROLLER: Eagle 73 you're clear to land. You're clear to land. Just caution wake turbulence.

CHO: The FAA called Sunday's incident a controlled situation. And just last Thursday at Newark Airport in New Jersey a third near miss. The FAA confirmed two planes came within 300 feet of each other, when a pilot operating a departing continental express jet near collided with an arriving plane from Toronto.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D) NEW YORK: New York's skies and New York's runways have become the wild west of American aviation.

CHO: Nationwide, there were 370 incursions so far this year, according to a recent government study. That's an increase of 12 percent over last year. Air traffic controllers say they're overworked and understaffed.

PAUL RINALDI, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: You don't have an extra set of eyes to watch the air field or watch the radar scopes. The air traffic controller, which is the most stressful job in the world, is feeling this two, three, even ten times the amount of stress they'd normally feel.

CHO: And passengers say, this is just one more concern.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something needs to be done before there is a major catastrophe in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to keep my window shade open and keep looking and praying a lot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Well, that's someone way to deal with it. Well, things are so bad that air traffic controllers have called actually called for an urgent meeting with the FAA. The controllers say not only are they overworked, there's a technology problem too. Ground radar, runway lights were outdated. They need to be updated. But, John, the problem is those major improvements could take years.

ROBERTS: So, until those major improvements any kind of short- term solution here?

CHO: Well, listen, you know, air travel, the demand for it, as you well know, is that an all-time high. We're back to pretty 9/11 level. So, more planes in the air, more accidents are bound to happen. Now, having said that, the air traffic controllers say we need more eyes in the sky, more people in the control tower. They're actually retiring at record rates in part because of the stress.

One other thing we should mention is that the federal government is going to announce a plan next week to try to ease congestion. One thing they're looking at, as you know, is to limit the number of takeoffs and landings and that could help too. But technology is a big problem, too. And we could be years away from making improvements in that area.

ROBERTS: And it just takes so long to train a controller. CHO: It does and that is part of the problem too.

ROBERTS: Difficult situation too. Alina, eye-opening report. Thanks.

CHO: You bet.

ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, Defense Secretary Robert Gates blasting NATO for not supplying enough troops and helicopters in Afghanistan. He told the House Arm Services Committee that he is not letting the alliance off the hook as the violence there escalates. He is calling for a shift in Afghan strategy over the next three to five years to counter the resurgent Taliban.

Also, a North African group affiliated with al Qaeda now claiming responsibility for yesterday's deadly car bombing in front of the U.N. offices and government building in Algiers, capital of Algeria. We talked about this yesterday right on our show. The organization displayed pictures of the two men who committed the attack on an Islamic website. The near simultaneous blast killed at least 26 people, 11 United Nations workers; nearly 200 were wounded in that attack.

Still ahead, the Fed cuts a key interest rate by a quarter point. Wall Street though apparently wanting more. We saw the big dip after the news yesterday at 2:15. Gerri Willis is going to be taking a look at the financial fallout from the Fed's action, both the good news and the bad. That's coming up.

Plus, CIA Chief Michael Hayden may have been all smiles coming out of the Senate Intel Committee meeting but inside it was a different story. We're going to talk to a committee member, Ron Wyden, about how they plan to get answers about the destruction of the CIA interrogation tapes. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, to Oregon now where families and officials there dealing with the aftermath of dangerous mudslides. Police actually closed down a section of U.S. 30 yesterday in Clatskanie yesterday right before the mud came crashing through. Dragging cars, slamming into homes. Our Katherine Barrett is there right. She joins us with an update on the families impacted by the mud slide.

And Katharine, it was just so unbelievable to watch yesterday. You now, there were chopper shots getting it as it happened, just that river of mud going past these homes almost up to the rooftops.

KATHERINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. There were four homes here right here that were the most badly damage. Oregon highway cruise have work all night to clear huge quantities of mud, small timber that rushed down the mountainside. By one estimate, at 40 miles an hour, this landslide traveled two miles in just a matter of minutes. Thankfully there was, as you said, some warning. The road was closed.

The families were evacuated before this all came thundering down the mountain from a debris dam that had built up behind a rail bed, two miles up the mountain again. Families were safe. They are safe. I spoke last night to one family that came and actually stood behind a road block, watched as the mud came down and watched as their home was overtaken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY CROM, HOME DESTROYED IN MUDSLIDE: We started hearing a rumbling that sounded like a freight train coming through your house. Some of the worst sounds I've ever heard. We started seeing trees just laying down like toothpicks. The telephone poles down. The water started coming through and it picked my trailer up and laid it on its side, picked it back up straight and sat it down on highway 30.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARRETT: And what you're looking at now is what remains in the middle of the highway still of Peggy Crom's home. This was the family's second brush with disaster in less than two weeks. Last Monday, the torrential rains we had here in the northwest drove 14 inches of water knee-deep throughout their home. They had just begun cleaning that up.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Yes, and you say you, just begun cleaning up, it just seems like a Herculean task to try to get all that mud cleared out. How are they going to do it?

BARRETT: Well, the family, as I said, was cleaning up from last week's flood when their house was now carried away yesterday. The Oregon Highway Transportation Department told me last night, it could take several days to clear all of this away. They hope to have the road cleared perhaps sometime today. It's a key coastal road. In last week's storm, another key coastal road is also been closed, so some transportation difficulties here. The slide right behind me, you can see, is also laying on top of the railroad tracks. It's a little used freight railroad, but still a huge cleanup job ahead.

CHETRY: All right. Katherine, thanks you so much.

ROBERTS: 16 minutes after the hour. CIA Chief Michael Hayden goes back to Capitol Hill today. This time facing questions from the House Intelligence Committee over destroyed CIA interrogation tapes. Hayden was called yesterday to appear in a closed door session of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, CIA DIRECTOR: I'm very delighted to come on down and lay out the facts as we know them and we'll be very happy to let the facts take us where they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is a member of the Intelligence Committee. He joins us now from Washington. Senator, did you get the answers to the questions that you were looking for yesterday?

SEN. RON WYDEN, (D) OREGON: I think we got a start and clearly, we can't get into classified material, John. But I will tell you, in my view, the Bush administration has long played fast and loose with the interrogation rules and the consequences are now coming home to roost.

ROBERTS: What are the questions that that chairman Jay Rockefeller wanted answered was who authorized the destruction to those tapes? Did you get the answer to that question?

WYDEN: I think again we got some information but we certainly don't have a complete answer. I also want to know, in particular, under what authority were these tapes destroyed.

ROBERTS: Right. Within the bounds, and as you said, it was a classified hearing. Within those bounds, what can you tell us about what was said?

WYDEN: You really cannot get into the details. I certainly wish I could and it's particularly relevant right now. I think that the House and the Senate very shortly on a bipartisan basis will approve an Intelligence Authorization Bill that will say this secret interrogation techniques are illegal. We believe we ought to be using the army sealed manual and we think that is both effective and humane and certainly that is going to be voted on by the Congress very quickly.

ROBERTS: Well, if you can't tell us really what happened and what you heard during the hearing, I understand all of that. Let's look forward here. After the hearing, CIA Chief Hayden reminded people that, hey, he wasn't at the helm of the CIA when those tapes were destroyed. Here is what he said following the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYDEN: The taping was done under Director Tenet and destroyed under Director Goss which was before my time. There are other people in the agency who know about this far better than I and I've committed them to come on down and answer all of the questions that the committee might have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So, will you be hearing from former Directors Tenet and Goss and with all of the myriad players involved here, do you expect that you're ever going to get a clear accounting for what happened with those tapes?

WYDEN: We're going to stay at it until we do. I can't comment on who will be appearing soon but we're going to talk to all of the relevant officials. General Hayden did say something publicly that troubles me. He said that it was unnecessary to destroy the tapes in order to protect people at the CIA. That argument just doesn't wash with me, John. I think there are many competent people at the CIA. It's their job to protect their agents and their job to protect the records. I think they can do it confidently and General Hayden's argument for destroying the tapes suggests that they're not confident over there and I don't buy it.

ROBERTS: Now, yesterday, and you might have see it, we talk with John Kiriakou who was 15 year veteran at the CIA, who was involved in the capture but not the enhanced interrogation of Abu Zubaydah. He joins us here yesterday. Here's what he said about destroying those tapes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRIAKOU, EX-CIA AGENT: I don't see the reason to destroy them. There's a possibility that they could be used in a criminal investigation and, frankly, for the historical record, I think it's important to have things like that maintained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Kiriakou also told us that he was not aware the tapes were actually being made. It was a surprise to him, yet he thought that they should not have been destroyed. Do you agree with him?

WYDEN: I certainly agree these tapes should not have been destroyed and it makes you wonder who was trying to avoid accountability. The reason that you have these kinds of materials is to make sure that you can document what somebody did and I think there may be an effort to duck accountability here.

ROBERTS: And one quick question to you Senator Wyden. Senator Biden, your colleague, although not in the Intelligence Committee believes that independent councils should be appointed to look into this, that it should be taken out of the hands of the Department of Justice and the CIA, Do you agree with him?

WYDEN: I want to have the Intelligence Committee go first. I do not rule out that down the road.

ROBERTS: All right. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon this morning, member of the Intelligence Committee. Thanks for joining us.

WYDEN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: And thanks for being as candid as you could, given the fact that it was a classified briefing. I appreciate it.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, the report that could shake up Major League Baseball, already in the hands of league officials. We're going to tell you how many players might be out at all, surrounding that steroid scandal, coming up. Plus, who is up and who is down, after the Federal Reserve's quarter point rate cut? Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has the answers ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christmas trees are filling your mailbox in the form of catalogs. It's enough to turn Melissa Grossman into a Grinch. This time of year, she gets about 50 catalogs a week.

MELISSA GROSSMAN, CATALOG CHOICE USER: It's a horrible waste of paper and most of the catalogs I don't want.

O'BRIEN: But Melissa has found a new way to slow the flow. A website called catalogchoice.org. This service lets you stop the catalog you would rather not receive. So far, she has dropped 80. The idea comes from environmentalists with the support of the catalog companies who apparently spend about $70 to 80 cents on each catalog, wanted or not.

DAVID MIZEJEWSKI, NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: Helping the catalog industry keep their mailing list, a little bit more leaner and efficient we're actually helping them save money.

O'BRIEN: As it is, merchants allow about 19 billion catalogs a year. 53 million trees are fell to make all that paper. And the energy required to produce the paper would power 1.2 million homes for a year.

MIZEJEWSKI: So the amount of carbon dioxide going into the air, just from the paper production for catalogs is the equivalent of the annual emissions of 2 million cars.

O'BRIEN: So far, about 300,000 have used the site to opt out of catalogs.

GROSSMAN: It starts with, you know, one person at a time. I feel like the company, the party keeps getting bigger and bigger.

O'BRIEN: And hopefully, her pile of catalogs will get smaller and smaller. Miles O'Brien, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

And we talked about the Federal Reserve cutting a key interest rate by a quarter of a point yesterday. And then Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke out this morning about the mortgage meltdown. Calling it "An accident waiting to happen." And an opted in the "Wall Street", General Greenspan writes that economic growth around the world is to blame, that it fooled investors in underestimating risk. He also admits though, that the low U.S. interest rate set under his leadership probably contributed to the housing bubble. Well, CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us now to break down all of this for us. Possibly, a little bit of blame that he is assuming on his part.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right.

CHETRY: For the very, very record low interest rates during his ten year.

WILLIS: Well, absolutely. That's what so interesting here. He is taking a little responsibility here saying, hey, those low rates we had after the dotcom crash and then when we were all worried about deflation in the wake of the Japanese, economies problem, hey, that contributed to this.

The other interesting thing he says, do you know what, he says monetary policy can't solve asset bubbles. What that means simply is, the kind of work the fed does, hey it really can't help out when prices get out of control, like we saw in the housing market. So, some interesting comments. He is kind of re-writing his legacy every day it seems.

CHETRY: As we look at the drop though, it was a quarter point. I guess Wall Street wanted something higher.

WILLIS: Yes. That was not a happy day.

CHETRY: But who wins here?

WILLIS: Well, there are winners out there. Let's consider those folks with adjustable rate mortgages that's out there that are resetting. Some of those folks are going to get some help, home equity lines and credit, good news for you although it may take a couple of months to cycle through to your statement. Credit cards are coming down. And hey, if they aren't making the changes to your credit card rate, why don't you call them and ask them to do it for you.

And of course, there are losers as well. You want to make sure that if you're saving money, you know, that you're getting the very best rates, you can, because at the end of the day, this doesn't help you. You've got a CD, saving account, money market account. You got to make sure that you're getting the very best rate you can. As these rates come down, it hurts your return.

CHETRY: Like you said, you got to do a little bit of leg work here to figure out where it helps on you and as always, also some other major legislation as it relates to mortgages.

WILLIS: That's right. I felt like I had to talk about this morning. Senator Dodd introducing legislation either today or this week to deal with the mortgage meltdown. Of course, he's been watching this for a long time and we've been watching Dodd a long time expecting this legislation. It hasn't happened till now. Finally, he is coming out with something that would get rid of big fees for mortgage holders, liability for lenders and brokers. It will be interesting to see, how this plays out. Dodd has been outspoken but until now, we've seen no legislation introduced.

CHETRY: Is he getting support at least?

WILLIS: Well, I think he was still looking for sponsors this week, cosponsors for this bill. You know, there are several bills out there, but here is what I've been complaining about. Congress has been looking at this for months and months and months. 1.5 million people, who have gone into foreclosure and in the meantime, we have no legislation.

CHETRY: We got an election coming up. You know.

WILLIS: Wake up, people. Let's go.

CHETRY: All right. Gerri, we will be watching all of these developments, as you will for us, throughout the week. Thanks.

ROBERTS: 28 minutes after the hour. Great news this morning from the sports world. Injured Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett is walking on his own just months after doctors said that he would probably never walk ahead. More of his amazing recovery, just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

And it's down to the wire. The Republicans debate today. The Democrats go at it tomorrow. Their last debate before the Iowa caucuses. And the important evangelical vote, still up for grabs. Which way are they leaning? We will ask Franklin Graham ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: We're following developments out of Iraq on this Wednesday, December 12th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning to you. And I'm John Roberts.

This just in, in the past few minutes. The British announcing that they will take over control of the southern port city of Bhasa and then out to the Rockies next Sunday, December 16th. In the meantime, A series of deadly bombings that the British left in august of 2006. 27 dead. 151 injured in southeastern Iraq this morning. Three car bombs went off within minutes of each other in the town of Amara, rival Shiite factions battling for control there.

CHETRY: Also, there are some more breaking news just out of Lebanon now. A powerful car bomb killed a key military leader and three other people in the suburbs of Beirut today. There are pro and anti-Syrian factions struggling for control of the government with no president. Lebanon's Minister of Communications is blaming the attack on parties influenced by Syria and Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARWAN HAMADEH, COMMUNICATION MINISTER, LEBANON: Syrian-Iranian are now after having hit civilian institutions, the press are targeting the Lebanese army. The only body in Lebanon who can balance of power of Hezbollah and other militias in the country. This is why I believe that what I have witnessed today is a translation of the threats that were given yesterday by Vice president Shara of Syria and come at the moment where Lebanon is seeking its road to stability and to peace to electing the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, the Syrians this morning issued a statement condemning today's assassination.

Also, a historic meeting, a peace meeting taking place right now in Jerusalem. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators taking part in the first peace talks in nearly seven years. It comes though amid new violence. Palestinian militants firing 16 rockets toward Israeli hours after Israeli forces ended an incursion in Gaza. Today's talks are expected to last several hours.

ROBERTS: The first votes in the Iowa caucuses will be cast in three weeks tomorrow. Today the republican contenders will square off in the Des Moines registers presidential debates. It's the last debate before the caucuses. CNN's Dana Bash joins us live from Des Moines now. And Dana, this is the last opportunity for Mitt Romney to face-to-face try to highlight the differences between he and the surging Mike Huckabee. What issues will most likely provide those attack points for Romney?

DANA BASH, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, number one has got to be immigration, John. As you know, Mitt Romney put up the first negative ad there. His campaign calls it a contrast ad against Mike Huckabee on the very issue of immigration because it is so incredibly hot here in the state of Iowa. But Mitt Romney is also determined to go after Mike Huckabee on other issues he thinks he has a sweet spot, on taxes, his record on taxes and perhaps some of his record on giving clemency to people in jail back in Arkansas. So, we can expect possibly to have some of that but I can tell you the debate, the format of the debate is interesting. Apparently they're being encouraged not to interact so if they do, in fact, interact it will be very telling as to where we are right now in the race.

ROBERTS: Wow, hey just wondering, what does Huckabee have that he can hit Mitt Romney with? It doesn't seem like he had that much the other day.

BASH: You know, it's really interesting to watch the way Mike Huckabee deals with this because he says over and over again he is not running a negative campaign. His campaign doesn't put out press releases like the others do against him, saying negative things about his rivals but Mike Huckabee does get his digs in his own subtle ways. He says he likes to use metaphors and he says that he has been somebody consistent on issue like the issue of life , like the issue of gay marriage. That is no question that dig at Mitt Romney and also he has digs at it at Fred Thompson who perhaps is the only other real contender here in Iowa. So, he does it in his own way but does it in a folksy way that people might not know it but the message is very, very clear what he is trying to get out there is he a guy he thinks feels best to evangelical voters here in the state and that he's the guy he thinks is best to go on to be the nominee. Whether or not, moreover today it will be interesting to see.

ROBERTS: All right, it will be interesting to see this afternoon. All right. Dana Bash for us this morning in Des Moines. Dana, thanks.

Which brings us to this morning's quick vote. The poll results in the early primary state influence your vote. In the past a lot of people are looking at Iowa and New Hampshire and said, depending on what happens there, I might change my mind. Cast your votes for us at CNN.com/am. Right now though, looks like we got a pretty independent folks out there. 9 percent say yes they're looking at that early primary state and it will influence their vote. 91 percent say we're independent, we're going to make up our own minds. We don't care what happens in Iowa and New Hampshire. We'll continue to track the votes throughout the morning. Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, a bombshell about to drop on major league baseball. The daily news, "New York Daily News" reporting that baseball officials received a copy of the Mitchell report on steroids and that that report named 60 to 80 current or former players. The report comes after a nearly two-year investigation by former Senator George Mitchell and is expected to be made public in the next few days.

Also, some great news to report right now. Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett who was hurt in the season opener is now walking on his own. Take a look at some of the amazing first pictures. This is from "Sports Illustrated." It really is a remarkable comeback. It was just months after a spinal cord injury. So severe that initially doctors thought he would never walk again. Everett was even on life support for the first few days after he was hurt back in September. His Bills' teammates say they are absolutely thrilled by this and they hope to see Kevin in person soon.

Well, if Frank Sinatra is still doing it his way. He turns 92 today. Coming up, we'll tell you how Sinatra's son is keeping his father's name and music alive.

Also ahead, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tapping into the text savvy crowd. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Veronica de la Cruz checks out the controversial leader's online blog.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Evangelicals remain a key voting block for any candidate running for president but conservative Christians have yet to rally behind one candidate. Franklin Graham joins us now to discuss the race for the White House and also talk about a project close to his heart, Operation Christmas Child, which we'll get to as well. Franklin, thanks for being with us this morning.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT, "SAMARITAN'S PURSE": Thank you.

CHETRY: It's interesting late yesterday, an important endorsement came from a leading conservative publication, "The National Review." They wrote our guiding principle has been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment that candidate is Mitt Romney. Do you agree?

GRAHAM: Well, I'm staying out of it. I've met Mitt Romney. He certainly is a nice guy. The Mormon issue is not an issue for me whether a person is a Catholic or a Jew. I think most evangelicals that is not an issue. We look at the person and we look at what they stand for, moral issues that affect the bible, what the scriptures teach. So Mitt Romney certainly is a very capable person and everybody on the republican side. If any one of those was a candidate, you've got a good, strong candidate. And there is some possibilities on the democratic side.

CHETRY: Well, you have the power of the pulpit saying you're not endorsing any candidate now or at all?

GRAHAM: No, I want to stay out of it. I'm a minister of the gospel and I want to tell people about god's son Jesus Christ who came out of heaven to this earth to take our sins and I want whether it's democrat or republican, I want people to hear the message that I have to say and I don't want them to be turned off because I support this or that candidate. God is not a republican and he is not a democrat. We need to kind of keep that in focus.

CHETRY: Yes, we see a lot of other religious leaders especially coming in and endorsing certain candidates. In fact, we saw the Pat Robertson endorsing Rudy Giuliani. The National Right to Life has endorsed Fred Thompson and Bob Jones endorsed Mitt Romney. It would seem though that when you're looking at the candidates and I know you're not personally endorsing one, but evangelicals are looking around at these different candidates. What about Mike Huckabee? A southern evangelical pastor seems to come down on the same side as many evangelicals when it comes to issues like pro life as well as others.

GRAHAM: Well, I have never met Governor Huckabee. I know a little bit about him and what I know about him, he certainly seems like a very fine individual and if he was a candidate, could be a very strong president if he was ever elected to that position. But I really, I don't know him.

CHETRY: All right. Finally, let me ask you about Rudy Giuliani because he is, of course, leading in the national polls on the republican side. If he were to become the nominee, would you support him?

GRAHAM: Well, you know, he did a great job here after 9/11. When you look at, when this city was in turmoil, this man took charge. So I mean he's an incredible individual and I have the highest respect for him. I would certainly disagree with him on some of the moral issues. But he certainly is a strong leader.

CHETRY: Let's talk a little bit about your Christmas charity. This will be the 14th year of Operation Christmas Child.

GRAHAM: Yes.

CHETRY: Of Operation Christmas Child. You have children fill these shoe boxes.

GRAHAM: Yes.

CHETRY: With various little things and these go out 8 million this year alone to children in need.

GRAHAM: That's correct.

CHETRY: Tell us about it.

GRAHAM: We just ask people to pack a box and it's still not too late. If it's for a boy, put items for a boy and if it were a girl, put a doll or something. Put school supplies, put some toiletries and put your picture, put your name and address because we want every child who gets a box to know who gave the box.

CHETRY: And have you a wonderful story actually about a little boy, an orphan, who received one of these boxes. What happened?

GRAHAM: Well, the little boy, he didn't want the box. He said I want parents, I don't want a box. Well, open the box, you know, there are some toys in there. He opened it and there was a picture of a couple with an address. He wrote them and about six months later they came to visit him and that couple adopted that boy so god put the parents in the box.

CHETRY: That's a wonderful story. A lot of people in need around this time of year. Your website samaritanspurse.org, if people want to know more. Great meeting you this morning. Thanks so much, Franklin Graham. John.

GRAHAM: Thank you, Kiran.

ROBERTS: It's coming down to 44 minutes after the hour. Some breaking news into CNN from Laussane, Switzerland. Some moments ago, the IOC, the International Olympic Committee has officially stripped track star Marion Jones of the five medals, the three gold and two bronze, that she won in the year 2000 Olympic Games. Jones, you remember recently came out and admitted that she had in fact used performance-enhancing drugs. So, again, the IOC today announcing it has stripped Marion Jones of those five medals. There they are three gold, two bronze that she won in Sydney in the year 2000. No word yet on where those medals will be allocated.

The ubiquitous blog can be found all over the world wide web but who is actually doing the blogging? Our Veronica de la Cruz joins us now with one blog she found that it just might surprise you who is behind it.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we might think of blogging as a kind of a new thing. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a blogger and he has been blogging for a while. Take a look at his blog. You can find it at www.ahmadinejad.ir. His posts are available in Persian, Arabic, English and French and his tone is definitely not as fiery or maybe as angry as he comes across in some of his public speeches. What's really interesting here are the replies from people all over the world on the right-hand side. We're going to take a look at the blog at some point. They are all seemingly uncensored. There are positive remarks like this one.

Nadim K in Lebanon says "Mr. President, congratulations on your recent victory." Of course, that there a reference to the recent U.S. recent intelligence report that found Iran stopped developing its atomic weapons program. There's actually one from Isis Wong from China who writes "I find you a very intelligent and smart president." That's a positive.

Here are some of the negative ones. American Ken McFly writes "Die slow." Another post from an American which asks " shut up please, would you? I get a headache reading your nonsense stuff. So, John, I just want to point out that not every American post is negative and it seems Ahmadinejad enjoys reading the comments. He writes back and this is what he writes. "The purpose of running this blog is to have a direct and mutual contact and communication with the viewers. Not let this communication tool become just a one-way medium."

And here's the irony, John. An article found on "The New York Times" web site today points out that web site and blogs in Iran that are critical of the government are censored. You know, apparently even Ahmadinejad's own blog, once blocked by mistake alongside google. So, just in case you wanted to take a look at www.ahmadinejad.ir.

ROBERTS: Blocked perhaps because of the tone of the comments? Not necessarily the commentary?

DE LA CRUZ: Yes. Maybe. Yes.

ROBERTS: Fascinating.

DE LA CRUZ: Really interesting though.

ROBERTS: Veronica, thanks. The CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: Hey, John. Good morning to you. Good morning, everyone. Here is what is on the NEWSROOM rundown this Wednesday morning.

Triple car bombing in Iraq. Dozens of people dead or wounded. Is this the end of the lull?

The fed chips away at interest rates. The cut not big enough for investors. Will they rethink that today after the Dow's big slump yesterday? She thought she would get five years on a cocaine plea but a young woman gets 24 years instead. We talk to her following this week's Supreme Court ruling on fair drug sentences. You are in the NEWSROOM. We get started in about 13 minutes or so at the top of the hour, right here on CNN. John, back to you.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Tony, thanks very much.

HARRIS: OK.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. We know everything costs more - gas, food, even holiday gifts this year but it is still possible to stay within your budget this holiday season. We will meet one mom who really is an inspiration. She has it all together. She has done all of her shopping and she has made sure that everyone is taken care of. How did she do it? Well, she has tips for keeping everything on track this holiday season when we come back.

Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a rare glimpse into the life of Frank Sinatra.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he became, as they say, larger than life, this amazed him. He was never very comfortable with that.

CHETRY: AM's Lola Ogunnaike sits down with Frank Sinatra, Jr. for a revealing look at old blue eyes. Frank Sinatra behind the stage and limelight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: For any families it's the season to be sensible. We're talking about rising gas prices, also food prices is jumping and putting a major crimp in the budgets of holiday shoppers. Carla Ruechel of Wisconsin had a serious strategy to stretch her dollars and she joins me now from her home. Karla, thanks for being with us.

CARLA RUECHEL, ORGANIZED HOLIDAY SHOPPER: Thank you for having me.

CHETRY: First of all, congratulations that even on a budget, you got at all done and taken care of. I'm sure you're the envy of many people this morning. But you did have to cut corners this year. Not only because of rising gas prices, but also the cost of every day food items like milk and other things on the rise as well. How did you determine how much you had to stretch this season?

RUECHEL: Well, what it is a basic strategy and my husband and I sit down probably in September and we make a budget and we make a list and we basically have to just stick to that.

CHETRY: So you decided on the budget. You started saving. It's really interesting because when you say you have a strategy you're not kidding. You figured out you had to shop for 30 people this year so break down for us how much you decided to spend. Start with your kids, you have three boys.

RUECHEL: We have three sons 15, 13 and 7. What we basically did is set a price limit for each of them. Approximately $300 for each. We also picked names on each side of the family and we set a budget for each name and actually we came in a little bit under the $300 for each of the boys so we did really good.

CHETRY: You know, part of your strategy was head out there right on black Friday. How did you plan ahead for the best bargains?

RUECHEL: Well, this I do every year. I have my little notepad every year. I have all of the names listed in it. I sit down with the ads Thanksgiving Day and I go through the ads and each store is written down and what I need to buy from each store with the price next to it and I take that with me shopping so every store I'm in, I know exactly what I need to get, exactly what I'm spending, and checking off the names as I go.

CHETRY: Do you have any advice for those of us who certainly haven't planned as well as you have? How do you get this stuff taken care of?

RUECHEL: Well, the main thing is you know, putting it on paper. Make a list for yourself. Start saving early. Start saving in August or September, put a little cash away here and there and when you do make your plan, you have to stick to it.

CHETRY: You also said you spend $600 a month on food and $300 on gas. You got your 4x4 parked right now, rising gas prices. Was that something that you notice was a big strain for your family's budget?

RUECHEL: Absolutely. My whole paycheck, most of my paycheck goes for food and groceries. I have three growing boys. We go through about ten gallons of milk a week. So, absolutely we have to watch what we're spending and keep that extra cash put away so we have it for the gas and groceries.

CHETRY: Well, hats off to you because you certainly have figured out a plan and then stick with a budget. So, good going for you, Carla. Carla Ruechel, a very organized holiday shopper. We could learn a few lessons if we listen to her. Thanks for being us this morning.

RUECHEL: Thank you, Kiran. Have a good day.

CHETRY: You, too.

ROBERTS: Six minutes now to the top of the hour. Today is Frank Sinatra's birthday. He would have been 92. A new book is out showing a rare glimpse of the man behind those striking blue eyes. It's called "Frank Sinatra, the Family Album." Who better to remember Frank Sinatra's family than his son, Frank Sinatra, Jr. Our Lola Ogunnaike caught up with him in Atlantic City performing some of his father's favorite hits.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK SINATRA: The summer wind came blowing in from across the sea.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: This is a great shot of the two of you. Your sister and your father. You just look so happy. You're a cute little kid, weren't you. Look at those cheeks.

FRANK SINATRA, JR., SINGER/PERFORMER: Yes, right. I was just adorable.

OGUNNAIKE: Eat them up!

FRANK SINATRA: Night and day.

OGUNNAIKE: What was it like having Frank Sinatra as a father?

SINATRA, JR.: Well, it wasn't very nice if I did something wrong. Many times, I felt a size 7 shoe where I sit down.

OGUNNAIKE: OK. What if you did something good?

SINATRA, JR.: If it's something good, he would say "keep it up." You know, things like that.

OGUNNAIKE: When you look through this book, he looks like your normal everyday dad.

SINATRA, JR.: That is what he was.

SINATRA: Fly me to the moon.

SINATRA, JR.: But he never could understand the amount of attention that was given to him and his life. He said, he used to call himself a saloon singer and I'm just a saloon singer and I'm just doing my job. When he became, as they say, larger than life, this amazed him. He was never very comfortable with that.

SINATRA: Start spreading the news.

OGUNNAIKE: What does it feel like to sing those songs for you.

SINATRA, JR.: It is wonderful really. And we're here at Harrah's in Atlantic City because this was like one of his biggest places that he ever worked and he just loved it. You know? And now they still want music. The man is gone but we still have the music.

SINATRA: And did it my way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: It's great that he is getting so much acceptance because you think it would be difficult as a singer to live in the shadow of your father. Someone like Frank Sinatra's voice is so incredible. You know, the legacy is all about the music but we see a lot more than that in this book.

OGUNNAIKE: We see so much. The great thing about this book is it is so intimate. Charles (Pinon), the archivist worked closely with the family and gave him unprecedented access to all of these amazing Sinatra photos. You see him with Norman Rockwell. You see him at home playing with his grandkids. You see him with his dogs. You see him with shots of him with Sammy Davis Jr. and the rest of the Ratpack. It's just really an incredible intimate portrait of the man. We've seen shots of him on stage and stuff like that but you never really seen him at home behind the scenes.

ROBERTS: And another way of remembering Frank Sinatra coming out next year? Right?

OGUNNAIKE: Yes. They are going to issue a stamp actually.

ROBERTS: Do we have a picture we can put up? There you go.

OGUNNAIKE: Old blue eyes, right?

ROBERTS: Fantastic! A great way to remember him.

OGUNNAIKE: There's actually a great baby shot in here of Sinatra. He apparently was 13.5 pounds when he was born.

ROBERTS: Yikes.

OGUNNAIKE: And they had trouble pulling him out and the forceps injured him but you know, he made it out.

ROBERTS: Thankfully they didn't grab him by the throat that's for sure. Lola, fascinating look at that. Thanks.

It's 57 minutes after the hour. Here's Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, we're going to take a quick check of the quick vote when we come back. Right off the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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