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American Morning
Polls Show Huckabee Leading In South Carolina; MLB Steroid Report: Can Baseball Clear House?; Interview with Bob DuPuy; Inflation Tears: Retail Price Numbers Out Today
Aired December 14, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: New polls that just came out about an hour ago, and they really show this amazing turnaround for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee since the summer. This is a new CNN/opinion research poll. It shows that Huckabee is now the leader among likely Republican voters in South Carolina, after polling at just 3 percent back in July. Fred Thompson in second place and Rudy Giuliani, another stunning story there, at 30 percent in July and now at 16 percent, that lead almost cut in half.
For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton still leads with 42 percent. Barack Obama gaining. He's now up to 34 percent from 27 percent back in July, and John Edwards losing a point in his native state, 17 percent in July, now standing at 16 percent for a potential Democratic primary voters there in South Carolina.
CNN's Jessica Yellin is live for us. She's in Des Moines, but she's going to help us go behind these South Carolina numbers this morning. Hi, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Well, this is more good news for Mike Huckabee, and it shows that his surge is not just a one-state phenomenon. Now, he has been trending up steadily in South Carolina. For some time now, he is, by far, the leader in that state and it's because his message has been connecting with that state's evangelicals and values voters.
The people we polled say that they find him to be the most believable of the Republican candidates. So he is now the leader, both in Iowa and South Carolina, two of the key early states, but we should note it is not all smooth sailing for Huckabee. He is not in the lead and has not caught fire in New Hampshire. And even in the South Carolina poll, 22 percent of those we talked to say that they're going to wait to make up their minds until after Iowa and New Hampshire vote. So it's still a wide open race, and it will be very, very tight. Looks like right down to the wire -- Kiran.
CHETRY: You know what's also fascinating, Jessica, with the Huckabee number, is that lately he's been really the victim of a lot of bad press, some at his own doing, some comments that he made about the Mormon religion and other things, sort of putting him on the defensive, but it didn't seem to hurt the numbers in South Carolina.
YELLIN: Well, also those -- some of that came out, I think, as this poll was being taken but you're absolutely right, and part of what's happening here is that as he's surging, he's getting more scrutiny and so, of course, we're seeing him trip up more. He has not gotten this kind of national press attention the way Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani and McCain have for some time now. So we'll see if his numbers hold as he gets the scrutiny and he has to answer very tough questions in the coming weeks.
CHETRY: Very interesting. He doesn't have a lot of money, but he's getting a lot of press now, even if it's maybe not the kind he wanted. Jessica Yellin, thanks so much.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We are also following extreme weather this morning. Another round of wintry mess is heading for the northeast. It's going to be a scene quite like this one, snow coming down in West Hartford, Connecticut, last night, slowing traffic, covering sidewalks. Frustration at Boston's Logan Airport where the storm caused more than 100 cancellations. Ten inches of snow at Logan set a new record, by the way, and you are right in the middle of it.
I-Reporter John Sullivan sent us these amazing pictures of I-95 in Lexington. Where are they? That's not I-95. At any rate, it looked just like a parking lot as it did over much of the northeast. We're tracking the extreme weather this morning with Reynolds Wolf. He's got an eye on this weekend's storm. Round two, live from downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Reynolds, how does it look out there now, and what is it going to look like come tomorrow night or Sunday?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, that's a heck of a question. We're going to deal with all of that for you starting off with what's happening right now. Right now, the snow has stopped. But take a look at some of the snowfall totals that we kind of showed over the last 24 hours. Some of these are really mind-boggling especially up in Whitman, Massachusetts, where we had over a foot of snowfall. Some other interesting totals for you. West Hartford, not far from this location in downtown Hartford, around 11 inches. Here in the city, we had anywhere from six to eight. And with temperatures warming up in the 40s today, much of this will of course begin to melt.
But now, let's show you the big picture of what's coming next. The second prong, if you will, this two-pronged attack in terms of winter weather. We take a look at the wide shot. As you look at this black dotted line, that gives you the path of this system, making its way through parts of the southeast, moving up towards parts of the eastern seaboard. Now, it's going to join up with another area of low pressure right along the coast.
As that pulls northward up near New Jersey, we're going to see those two areas of low pressure formed together, and that's going to be your big weather maker. Now, here is where it gets very interesting. If it follows this path, some parts especially upstate New York, in high elevations could see over a foot of snowfall. Other places like say Massachusetts, anywhere from one to three. Pittsburgh, rather Pennsylvania anywhere from three to six. However, if that area of low pressure moves a little bit farther out into the water, could you see more snow. However, it remains closer inland, it's going to be more of a rain event, something, John, we have to watch very carefully especially over the next couple of hours. ROBERTS: Very important to have all of that information, particularly what's going to go on at the airports and on the roads there. Reynolds Wolf for us this morning at Hartford. Reynolds, thanks.
What now for baseball, after Senator George Mitchell's investigation revealed steroid abuse on all 30 teams and named MVPs, all-stars and Cy Young award winners? The list includes baseball's biggest names, not just sluggers like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Jose Canseco, but also seven-times Cy Young award winner, Roger Clemens. The report says Clemens was injected with steroids and human growth hormone, charges that Clemens' attorney vigorously denied.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSTY HARDIN, ATTORNEY FOR ROGER CLEMENS: It's not right to put somebody in a report with this kind of allegation and lack of proof because there's nothing he can do to combat it. He's not being charged with anything. He has just been smeared with something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
We're going to have much more on the baseball steroid story this morning. Major League Baseball President Bob DuPuy will join us in this half hour of AMERICAN MORNING, and we'll take with steroid investigator and former Senator George Mitchell. That will be at 8:15 Eastern. Talk to him about some of the charges being leveled against him and also where this all goes from here -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, new this morning.
Five men arrested and accused of starting a wildfire at Malibu State Park last month. They released the mug shots of three of the men overnight. They're accused of starting an illegal camp fire then leaving the scene as the flames started to spread without calling for help. The fire destroyed more than 50 homes. It forced 15,000 people to evacuate. Police tracked the suspects down. They used receipts and surveillance video from a nearby store. If convicted they could get several years in prison.
Well, the House has approved a bill that would ban the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods when questioning suspected terrorists. It comes after the CIA admitted it destroyed interrogation video tapes two years ago. The bill passed by a vote of 222 to 199, pretty close. It now moves on to the Senate and the president is threatening to veto it.
In Iraq, word that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is trying to boost his power. His close aides tell the "Associated Press" that he's studying to become an Ayatollah and if he gains that title, he could become even more powerful in Iraq. Al-Sadr is currently battling other Shiite leaders for control of Iraq's southern oil fields.
Well, a high school student in Washington state suspended for warning classmates that a sex offender was on campus. Raydon Gilmorew, a junior at Gig Harbor High School, found a fellow student on a Web site that lists the state's level two and level three sex offenders. Authorities say he created flyers, taping them to vending machines and dropping them off outside of bathrooms, but the school security cameras caught him in the act and punished him. He says, though, he'd do it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYDON GILMOREW, WARNED CLASSMATES ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS: I just think it's the right thing to do. People should know about dangerous people that you're attending class with.
MELONEY GARTHE, RAYDON GILMORE'S MOTHER: I'm frustrated that my son does something right and good, and something that I'm proud of, and he's being punished for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The principal is saying that the student should have brought his concerns to a teacher or an administrator and that he violated the rule requiring approval to post anything on campus.
Things are looking up. Energy costs, wholesale prices, they're saying their biggest jump in decades. Our Ali Velshi is at the business update desk waiting for retail inflation numbers that are also due out this morning. Hi, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That was a tricky and witty double entendre, wasn't it? Things are looking up. Because inflation isn't really necessarily good news for people but that's exactly right. We saw our biggest increase in 34 years in wholesale inflation.
Now, the inflation that you and I pay when we buy our milk or cheese or gasoline or washing machines as consumer inflation, CPI, that number comes out in about an hour and a half and that's going to be the one we're going to be watching closely, and some cases you have to watch it closely. But if you drive a car or you have kids in school or you have to buy medication, you know what your inflation is. You know you're paying a lot more than the government is going to say that you're paying on a year over year basis.
The issue is how much more are you paying for the same things you bought last year? Those kind of things affect what you spend. We're already seeing that between those high gas prices and low home prices, people are spending a little less this Christmas. In fact, it might be a lot less, so we're going to watch this inflation number very carefully and bring it to you when it comes in.
But for now, what we heard is that wholesale inflation, the inflation that producers and manufacturers pay for their raw materials, has had the biggest jump that it's had in 34 years. In about an hour and a half, we'll tell you how it's looking for you -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Ali Velshi, thank you. ROBERTS: An early Christmas gift for two sisters in Kentucky. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy! Daddy!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Their father was recently deployed to Iraq that unbeknownst to them he came home for the holidays, and nothing like a Christmas surprise. So he treated them to the old daddy in a box present, surprising his daughters at school. After the holidays, Sergeant Wild (ph) is going to head off to flight school.
CHETRY: The school helped arrange the surprise obviously, but he had written a letter that he read out to the class or that he wanted it read out to the class saying I'm sorry I couldn't be home, but I wanted you to open this in front of your friends. So they did and there he was. Very cute. Brought tears to my eyes when I saw it.
ROBERTS: I love watching all of those great reunions. They're so terrific.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: And, you know, our troops overseas gave so much to the country, and it's great to see them coming home safely and seeing their families.
CHETRY: Got to remember all of the ones that are still going to be there for the holidays as well.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Remember them as well.
It's 10 minutes after the hour. Looking for love in all the wrong places? Try the airport. Why more frustrated flyers are finding love on layovers coming up.
And baseball still reeling from the newly-released steroid report. Now that the problems are exposed, what will baseball do about it? We're asking the president and Major League Baseball. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour, and some amazing shots of the morning in our "Quick Hits" now.
Sometimes an early exit isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Here's a student who got a half snow day in New Jersey, all bundled up and scraping an inch of ice off of his car after he was let out of class. And chilled to the bone. This student slushes through the big snowstorm in Providence, Rhode Island. Most of them also got out of class early or didn't have to go at all as the storm slammed into New England.
Now, let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the baseball world is still pouring over this just-released Mitchell report, 400 pages evaluating what's been done to the steroid era. All 30 major league teams had a player or players involved in taking illegal substances.
According to this report, a lot of award winners, all-stars, included in the report, a lot of childhood heroes as well. Also now that that report is out, what will Major League Baseball do? Joining me to discuss is the president of Major League Baseball, Bob DuPuy. Thanks for being with us this morning. You know, George Mitchell summed up those allegations calling it a collective failure. And I think the question that a lot of people are wondering, why it took Major League Baseball so long to act?
BOB DUPUY, PRESIDENT, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: I think there was a general belief that baseball players weren't using steroids, that there wasn't a need to bulk up. And beginning in 1998, when the consciousness really did come to the forefront, a lot of actions were taken, including Commissioner Selig instituting a mandatory program at the minor leagues, which didn't have to be bargained with the union, and laying the foundation for our next collective bargaining cycle, which was in 2002, and we did bargain.
Our very first drug testing program, deterrent drug testing program in 2002, it's been improved three times since and I think the most encouraging part hearing the report is Senator Mitchell's finding that in fact, the program we have in place is working to detect steroids.
CHETRY: My question is, when you read this report, was there surprise? Was there really a feeling this was isolated, because this report paints a widespread picture, no team is without mention, and many, many of the key players of our generation are also mentioned?
DUPUY: I'm not sure there was surprise about the magnitude because when we did survey testing in 2003, five to seven percent of the players anonymously tested positive, which would be 80 to 100 players. I think the biggest surprise for us was that, while our program is working to detect steroids, there seems to be a movement to the non-detectable performance-enhancing substances like HGH, and we need to redouble our efforts to deal with things like that.
CHETRY: We're going to listen to what Balco founder, Victor Conte, told CNN about the current drug policy in the major leagues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR CONTE, BALCO FOUNDER: The world anti-doping agency list has 60 stimulants on that list. For whatever reason, baseball has chosen to put 30 of those stimulants on their list. So if you choose to use steroids, don't use these 30, but it's OK to use these 30.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Is that still the case?
DUPUY: No, that's absolutely wrong. All of that, and he's talking about stimulants. Amphetamines were banned for the first time two years ago. In terms of steroids, all of the (INAUDIBLE) list are included in our list of banned substances. He's just wrong.
CHETRY: OK. Well, is the Major League Baseball going to adopt the guidelines of the world anti-doping agency?
DUPUY: We have done that. All of the substances in the Water (ph) guidelines have been included and again, I think the real challenge is to find tests that work for what are now undetectable, such as hGH.
CHETRY: Isn't the real challenge also is just getting to believe you should play fair?
DUPUY: Well, I think whenever, in any profession but whenever there's money involved, there are always going to be people who are going to try to gain an advantage, and the commissioner is committed to ensuring our fans that we are in fact, dealing with a level playing field.
CHETRY: You know, you talk about how there have been advances and there have been a lot of changes, and a lot of this as we said is part of this steroids era that many are hoping is behind us. But should there be repercussions? Should there be punitive damages, I mean, punitive measures against some of these players?
DUPUY: Well, some players have already been penalized for non- analytic violations, though. It was not testing. Two players named in the report, Jay Gibbons and Jose Guillen were, in fact, two weeks ago suspended as a result of information that came to us from law enforcement agencies, rather than from testing results. And so I think the commissioner will look at the evidence with regard to the current players who are listed in the report and make a decision with regard to that.
CHETRY: What about a criminal component to this? I mean, steroid use is illegal.
DUPUY: Well, the criminal justice system rarely deals with end users. You take our situation with hGH. hGH isn't just an athlete's problem. It's not just a baseball problem. It's not just a professional athlete's problem. These anti-aging clinics, these rejuvenation clinics throughout the country -- it's a societal problem and what we need to deal with more broadly.
CHETRY: We did a -- we did a story about this is affecting young kids because, of course, a lot of these guys are their heroes. And one of them said, if I see Andy Pettitte, next time I'm going to boo. What do you say to the kids who look up to these guys? DUPUY: What you say to the kids is that we are trying. We are going to clean the game up and that the overwhelming majority of our players are clean. Our overwhelming majority of players are good people. They do things in the community, and we need to convince the kids of that. And in fact, our partnership with the partnership for drug-free America, I think, that message is coming across.
CHETRY: Bob DuPuy, president of Major League Baseball, thanks for being with us this morning.
DUPUY: Thank you, Kiran -- John.
ROBERTS: Another record for Alex Rodriguez in your "Quick Hits". A-Rod of the Yankees finalized a $275 million 10-year contract. It's now the richest contract in baseball history, topping A-Rod's previous $252 million deal that he signed with the Texas Rangers back in 2000. The deal could also be worth an additional $30 million if A-Rod reaches several historic milestones, including breaking Barry Bonds' career home run record. A-Rod was not named in the Mitchell report that accuses dozens of players of using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
And a Christmas holiday for NASA workers will delay the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. It was scheduled to launch twice in early December. But due to delays, the earliest date that they could try again was January 2nd. But NASA didn't think it would be great to have employees working over the Christmas and New Year's holiday so instead, they pushed that date until the 10th to allow as many people as possible to be home for the holidays.
We have debates in Iowa, new poll from South Carolina. We'll talk about the latest political news coming up with John King here on AMERICAN MORNING.
And Madonna is getting a big honor in the music world. The material girl is not the only one. We'll tell you all about it, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour. A major interstate pile-up tops your "Quick Hits".
Heavy snow in Colorado causing a six-car pile-up and so many other accidents on I-70 last night. The police are telling drivers if you're in a crash and there are no injuries or extensive property damage, just exchange insurance information and call police within the next 48 hours.
A ground-breaking agreement for several western states to share water. The bill would help those states suffering from drought to share their water from the Colorado River with eight other states.
And an update on a story that we told you about yesterday. Merck pharmaceuticals recalled a million doses of its Hib meningitis vaccine this week and now says, it will probably not make any more doses for the next year. The CDC says the recall in production suspension though should not pose a public health problem.
And this video just in to CNN. Always entertaining.
A scuffle in South Korea's legislature. A lawmaker choked with his own tie, fighting back with a phone. He was carried out after a fight with members of the rival party over an impeachment motion that may jeopardize their front-running presidential candidate in next week's election.
Boy, between the South Korean parliament and what goes on in Taiwan, sometimes we get a lot of entertaining political video, though.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. It makes our walls of Congress look positively tame. How about it.
Well, a top honor for the material girl this morning. Madonna will be inducted into the rock 'n' roll Hall of Fame next year. Guys in the studio here, you've got to look at this one because it's going to get even funnier.
She's not the only big name. John Mellencamp is going to be enshrined for his contributions and joining him The Venture. Also, composer Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five. And also, the Hall's president calling this class trailblazers. The ceremony takes place March 10th in New York City.
But speaking of the Dave Clark Five, they found quite a fan here at CNN in the form of Rick Sanchez. This is the end of last night's show. There you see him. What is he doing? Is he having some sort -- is he ill or is he dancing? Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, RICK SANCHEZ ROCKS OUT)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How about it. John may look buttoned up, but I think he can do a much better air guitar than Rick? Huh? I can say this because I know he's still sleeping.
ROBERTS: Keep those shovels handy.
CHETRY: You're crying. You're tearing up.
ROBERTS: More of --
CHETRY: Nothing does it for you like Rick Sanchez doing the twist.
ROBERTS: I thought it was the swim. No doubt.
All right. Keep those shovels handy. More of these snowplows are going to be out this weekend as forecasters are expecting a second blast to winter. We'll tell you where most of the snow is going to fall.
And New Jersey, said to become the first state in 40 years to abolish the death penalty. What's behind that move. The story in today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Oh, we want to bring you this beautiful shot this morning. This is one of our cameras pointed at Central Park. It shows the icicles in the foreground and the sun peeking through the clouds every now and then in the background.
It's 33 degrees. Cloudy right now here in New York. Going up to 47 and partly cloudy on this Friday, December 14th. We'll probably be seeing some more icicles over the weekend.
ROBERTS: They're already shot there this morning. I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you. Yes, we're tracking extreme weather for you right now, second blast of winter weather on its way. This is what round one looked like yesterday.
The storm brought significant snow accumulations to Boston and much of New England, Pennsylvania and New York. Now, the storm forced the cancellation of 100 flights at Logan Airport. The second storm now gathering in the western rocky mountains. Forecasters have issued winter storm watches for parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, already hit hard by the ice storm earlier this week.
Reynolds Wolf watching it all from downtown Hartford, Connecticut, which got its own share of snow yesterday. Reynolds, how bad is it going to be this weekend?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, that's a great question. It really depends on the track of this northeastern. If it moves a little bit more out to sea, we could see more snow. If it stays inland, well, it could be a more of a rain event for the northeast corridor.
Let's get things started by showing you some of the delays that we have. People are being affected this morning. You're going to have some backups in a few spots. As we zoom in on our maps, take a look what we have for you.
We are expecting some delays in spots like La Guardia. We could see some issues for you and a few other places like Pittsburgh and rather in Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, we actually have a ground stop in effect at this time. That is certainly something to watch out.
At this time, we also have a winter storm watch and look at the ground that's being covered, from parts of the Ohio Valley clear up through Maine. We're going to be seeing some winter-like weather, no question about it. As we go on to the map, you're going to see where it's all going to start in parts of the plains. So let's put this in a motion. As we do so, we're ready to get things started in parts of Oklahoma, where say up near Wichita, you could see four to seven inches of snowfall southward into Oklahoma City, maybe one to three. But notice as the storm system really begins to crank up, it's going to make its way through parts of the central plains, joining up with another area of low pressure over parts of the southeast and when these two areas of low pressure merge, that's when you'll really going to see this turn into a powerhouse.
Parts of upstate New York, parts of Vermont, even in New Hampshire, highest elevations could see upward of a foot of snowfall, but as you look into New York, we're looking at anywhere from one to three inches, back up to Boston, same story. Parts of Pennsylvania could see as much as three to six inches of snowfall. But again, John, as I mentioned, the key is where this area of low pressure happened to be. If it stays farther out to see, more of a snow event, more inland. We're looking at a mix of rain, sleet and snow. Could be tremendous, make a tremendous difference on where it goes and we'll hopefully get a better handle on that as we make our way through the afternoon hours.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: All right. You got a clearing in there right now and we'll be checking in with you to get more updates throughout the morning. Thanks a lot, Reynolds.
Also new this morning, an FDA advisory panel giving the thumbs down. This is the third time they've done this for the over-the- counter sales of Merck's cholesterol drug, Mevacor. Advisors say the drug is just too complicated for consumers to try to figure it out on their own whether or not they should be taking it without a doctor's advice. The FDA does not have to follow the recommendation but it usually does.
Also new this morning, already looking forward to next hurricane season in terms of the predictions, one of the leading storm forecasters making those '08 predictions for hurricane season. Hurricane forecaster William Gray of Colorado State University says there will be 13 named storms, predicting seven hurricanes, three major ones. He also says at least one of those major storms will hit the U.S.. Last year's forecast overshot the actual numbers, Gray called for nine hurricanes in 2007 and there were only six formed.
Well, Al Gore is putting his money where his mouth is. The Nobel Prize winner honored for his campaign against global warming, has been taking hits from critics for how much energy he wastes on his Tennessee mansion. Well, now the house is being called one of the most environmentally-friendly. It's outfitted with solar panels, geothermal heating and a rainwater collection system. John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: 32 minutes after the hour. A new CNN poll shows Mike Huckabee with an astounding lead in a key state. What does it mean for the republican race? And the presidential political calendar, what will the road to the nomination look like this time around? Joining me now to look at all of this is our chief political correspondent, national correspondent.
JOHN KING, CNN, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Call me what you will, John.
ROBERTS: John King. Good morning to you.
KING: Good morning.
ROBERTS: Take a look at this South Carolina poll. Mike Huckabee goes from 3% to 24%. Rudy Giuliani from 30% to 16%. What's responsible for that huge shift in numbers?
KING: If you look at this, this is proof of Huckabee's support among evangelicals, big in Iowa, big in South Carolina, the two states where is he taking off. If you're looking at the longer impact on the race, you want to look at that. Rudy Giuliani, the national front- runner, all along, many conservatives looking at this poll saying it is proof what have they said all along, John, that when we got closer to the election and conservatives started paying attention, that the guy with the moderate view on social issues could not sell especially in the conservative south. The Giuliani campaign says no. it's just a Hucka-boom right now. That is the number to watch as you look beyond the first few states but that is a big deal if you are Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, you have to deal with Mike Huckabee not only in Iowa.
ROBERTS: When you look at his rise in the polls it's almost a logarithmic curve the way it goes up so sharply. We talk about this idea how real that is, how tangible is it and will that actually result in votes for him in these primaries?
KING: The question republicans are asking right now, through the democratic prism. Is he Jimmy Carter? Is he going to take off in Iowa and go on and surprise everybody or is he Howard Dean? We're talking about him now and in a month, we'll be saying well that was nice but that was a flash in the pan. Mitt Romney got much more aggressive in Iowa yesterday saying the Mike Huckabee you see now is not the real Mike Huckabee. Look at the record on taxes, crime, spending, immigration in Arkansas, so he's in the front now and because he's in the front not just in Iowa but somewhere else, expect over the next three weeks a lot of hardballing.
ROBERTS: Let's look at the bigger picture as well in the frontloading of the primary process with all of the big states now moving up into February, how that's going to change the equation. In 1992, Bill Clinton's route to the nomination was described by some people as a Lewis and Clark expedition but in recent years we've seen what happens in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina pretty much dictates the way it's going to happen and the case of the republican nomination in 2000 it was all over by South Carolina. What's going to happen this year?
KING: Oh, great. How about I don't know? It's a fascinating state of play right now. You're right, if you win Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, two out of the three usually you've moved on. But we have a fascinating game of chess right now and we don't know the answer. If Mike Huckabee wins Iowa, what happens in New Hampshire? The issues are also very different. In Iowa, he's dealing with social issues, his evangelical base is helping him a great deal. When he moves on to New Hampshire, republicans talk about taxes in New Hampshire. In that state, it's the defining issue and the war in New Hampshire is the biggest issue, even though immigration has taken over in many of the other states.
ROBERTS: And Rudy Giuliani trying to play a strategy of being able to lose in Iowa and New Hampshire as Bill Clinton did and then in places like Florida, which he calls his firewall, New York and California, where he still has a tremendous base of support, being able to go that route to the nomination.
KING: On the republican said it's a huge gamble. Rudy Giuliani thinks I can camp out here, I'll do OK, OK, OK, not great, be 0-3, maybe 0-4 and win here and take off. It's never been done before. Can be done this time with a compressed calendar? Maybe. Al Gore tried this approach back in 1988. He didn't win back then. Other candidates have tried it in the past, wait for a state that's more favorable to them. Most of the time, momentum kicks in and this is a state where you can be a pro-choice republican as Rudy Giuliani. So the issue is portfolio, much better for him, a lot of retired New Yorkers down there. But usually momentum kicks in but we don't know this time is if you have a fractured beginning, one guy wins New Hampshire and maybe somebody else win South Carolina. This could drag on, could drag on generally, it breaks late. Three weeks from now, two weeks from now, we might be having a very different conversation. It's the same on the democratic side.
ROBERTS: In 1992, the nominating process on the democratic side lasted until April the 7th. Will this all be over on super doper Tuesday?
KING: More likely the democrats will end faster but we still don't know because we can't answer the Iowa question. If Barack Obama can win Iowa, most believe he would then win in New Hampshire because the independents in New Hampshire, including republican independents in the state of New Hampshire would see an opportunity to cross into the democratic primary and knock Hillary Clinton down, that most people think if Barack Obama wins Iowa, independent republicans in New Hampshire will, it will hurt John McCain. It will leave the republicans a chance to knock Hillary Clinton out. And then he comes to his state, South Carolina where African-Americans make up at least half of the democratic electorate.
So, if Obama can start winning, look for a quick one there. If she starts winning, look for a quick one there. If John Edwards wins Iowa, somebody else wins New Hampshire, we're playing chess again and this could go on. We're talking mythical horse race. Again, the issues are very different. In Iowa, they're talking about leadership because the policy positions are well-known. We move on to Nevada which we haven't talked about - it's health care and labor unions. New Hampshire, it's the war. So you have different strategy by each of the candidates and also different issues as we skip through the states.
ROBERTS: Part of what makes this all so exciting.
KING: And in the end, who can explain this is the best way to do this, question mark. I can't dance and I can't draw a question mark.
ROBERTS: John king, always great to see you. Thanks for joining us this morning. Kiran.
CHETRY: The city of Manchester, New Hampshire, has disciplined a city employee for procuring the town Christmas tree from the cemetery. Apparently, the guy forgot to run an ad asking for a Christmas tree donation. So, he then got a crew cut down a 50-foot spruce at the Pine Grove Cemetery. The city of Manchester has apologized and said it will plant a new tree in its place. The mayor's office said that it had no idea at the time where the crew got the tree.
Glow in the dark cats and why doctors did it and how that technology may be used to help treat humans, coming up.
Also a fatal blow from the death penalty in New Jersey. The garden state set to become the first in four decades to outlaw capital punishment. Will others follow suit? Legal analyst Sunny Hostin has some answers for us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: 41 minutes after the hour. The color purple for honest Abe, a new $5 bill will soon go into circulation, hosting splashes of color and new security features to keep the counterfeiters guessing. There's a great big purple "5" on the back. The government says it aims to have 1.5 billion bills ready to go into circulation in March.
The big eight has arrived in Times Square as in 2008. It traveled there by subway from the Bronx. The eight actually took the six train and had to transfer to the "N" train to get to Times Square. It's seven feet tall. It's got 180 energy-saving light bulbs this year. It will be on display at the Times Square information center until December 19th.
Cloned cats that glow. Researchers in South Korea say they were looking for a way to treat genetic disorders in people, when they discovered that some of the cats that they genetically engineered, there you go, when you put an ultraviolet light on them, glow a fluorescent red. Typically, a cat would glow a sort of a greenish color that typical green color that you see in night vision goggles. But because they modified a gene in skin cells using the virus, it's called an altered fluorescence gene, they glow red like that. They hope that the research can help cure human genetic diseases. Some cute glowing red cats there, Kiran.
CHETRY: All righty. Well, New Jersey poised to become the first state in 40 years to outlaw, abolish the death penalty. State lawmakers giving their final approval to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Governor Jon Corzine is expected to sign the bill into law next week. Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins with us now with more on the impact it could have. First, why New Jersey?
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING, LEGAL ANALYST: You know, it's interesting, New Jersey hasn't used its death penalty but why not New Jersey? New Jersey has reviewed it. They had a state commission review it and I think what really is interesting is that there has been a movement, Kiran, about re-examining the death penalty. I'm going to get hundreds of e-mails every time we talk about this, it's that sort of topic, we get a lot of e-mails. And Kiran, you and I have discussed it before but really...
CHETRY: We feel strongly there's too many questions to continue with the death penalty?
HOSTIN: There are a lot of questions. We've seen in the Innocence Project that people that are on death row sometimes are innocent but I think that the legal case that has been made is that the studies have shown it's not a deterrent to crime. Studies have shown that it's inconsistent with the evolving standards of decency and even the Supreme Court has now put a moratorium on the death penalty and the Supreme Court has found, you know, we're going to look at this and we're going to determine whether or not legal injection, which is supposed to be the most humane form of capital punishment is now cruel and unusual. And again, when we talk about indecency, it used to be death penalty by gassing, death penalty by hanging and we've moved away from that to lethal injection and now the Supreme Court is reviewing it. And what's very interesting is that the New Jersey State Commission found that life without parole is cheaper. A lot of proponents of the death penalty say it's very expensive to keep someone in prison for life. Well, it's about $30,000 cheaper in New Jersey to keep someone alive forever as opposed to putting them to death.
CHETR: There are several other state legislatures that have actually taken this up, as New Jersey becomes the first one but it's been discussed Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska and I think it was in 2000 in New Hampshire, they did vote to repeal it and it was overturned. It was vetoed by the governor.
HOSTIN: That's right.
CHETRY: But will New Jersey become a model that other states are going to look to, to see how effective or if there's any way they can gauge whether or not this moratorium or actually abolishment of the death penalty is effective?
HOSTIN: I think so. I think the other states are going to look at it and again, there's a re-examination or trend towards re- examination of the death penalty. We're seeing it at the highest level, at the Supreme Court of the United States and we're also seeing it now in New Jersey. So, it's going to become a state by state issue is my prediction, that's all I can do because really we're predicting what is going to happen in the future but certainly this is a step to seeing again the re-examination of the death penalty.
CHETRY: Sunny Hostin, thank you.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Your "Quick Hits" now, the Senate joined the House in voting to extend the retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65. The bill would change a 1990 Federal Aviation Administration regulation, forcing pilots to leave the cockpit at the age of 60. They say they're making the change because the average 60 year old is far more fit than they were in the past. The bill now goes to the president's desk for approval.
Looking for a new cell phone? Veronica de la Cruz shows us some new models that won't break the bank for you. They got lots of jazzy features. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: About ten minutes until 8:00 here on the East Coast. Ten minutes to 5:00 if you're joining us out west this morning. And here's a look at your headlines. We're tracking extreme weather. There's another winter storm that's headed for parts of the U.S.. Here's a look at what round one looked like yesterday. Boy, the snowplows out in full effect in many parts of New England, Pennsylvania and New York. The new storm is gathering in the western Rocky Mountains. Forecasters actually issuing winter storm watches for parts of Oklahoma and Kansas today through Saturday and then of course, it's making its way eastward, could dump up to a foot of snow in some parts of the northeast as well over the weekend. We'll continue to track it for you with our Reynolds Wolf this morning.
Meanwhile, police arresting five men they say started the Malibu wildfire last month. The men were reportedly drinking at a popular party spot when the fire started. The fire destroyed 50 homes, causing $100 million in damages. Police say that instead of trying to put the fire out or call anybody, those men simply drove away.
Better mileage and more ethanol. Two goals of a scaled back energy bill that passed the Senate, calling an industry wide average of 35 miles a gallon for cars, small trucks and SUVs that needs to be met over the next 13 years. The bill passed after democrats stripped out billions in new taxes on big oil and now goes to the House, where it is expected to pass next week.
The Reverend Al Sharpton says the government is retaliating against him for criticizing civil rights record. Federal agents subpoenaed financial records for his national action network and some of his other businesses on Wednesday. He says they swooped down on his workers between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. Wednesday to investigate campaign finance and tax evasion charges that go back to his 2004 presidential run.
ROBERTS: 50 minutes after the hour. If you travel a lot, you probably noticed a lot of airports across the country look far different than years ago, trying to make that layover a lot more entertaining for people, more bars, more lounges and it's having an interesting effect. Our Ali Velshi here "Minding your Business" this morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So many people out there are actually watching us at airports right now and we have a survey that tells us where the best airports are to meet up with people. In fact, the survey, it's from Strategy One. It was conducted for a deodorant "Axe." You figure that out, and by Spurling's best places say that one in ten adults has personally met somebody or knows somebody who has met somebody at an airport or during a flight.
Number one, airport in the country, standby, Philadelphia International Airport. Because they've got that sort of centralized area, so you can go in through any security, get to any gate and you still can meet up in the same place with people in the central area, while consuming chick fillet.
CHETRY: Do you think this distinction because it also factors in these airports that have a lot of delays.
VELSHI: Well, Philadelphia has a lot of delays. U.S. Airways seems to be topping the list of major airlines for close to a year now on major delays. Newark international, number two. Great place to meet people
ROBERTS: Some people spend four days there.
VELSHI: That's right. Again, you see busy airports. JFK, I find that one hard to believe because it's so many different buildings. Washington-Dulles works well. La Guardia also rounding out the top five. If you travel through O'Hare, one of the busiest in the country that only makes 13 on the list so go back to the gate. If you're at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, buy yourself another newspaper, it is number 18. If you're at Washington National, make sure you got some politics to talk or watch us. At 31, Midway, you might have fewer delays than you do at Chicago and O'Hare, but you're not going to get a date.
CHETRY: Less bars.
VELSHI: Less bars and L.A.X. number 33 on the list because you folks in L.A. are too cool to talk to the person next to you at the bar. So you can find that list, it's quite entertaining actually. I don't know whether there's anything scientific about this or this is the author of the list's personal experience about hooking up at airports.
ROBERTS: But some single people who fly a lot might want to use this as (inaudible)
CHETRY: They also went on to offer tips. Don't ask for e-mail addresses within the first 15 minutes, you'll look pushy.
ROBERTS: Take your time to get to know them. You'll be in line for awhile.
VELSHI: Yes, that's exactly right. You're going to see a lot of people flying from like L.A. to San Francisco via Philly all of the sudden.
CHETRY: Exactly. The best way to get there.
VELSHI: That's right. There's a whole web site to be based on this, best hookups for your flight.
ROBERTS: Ali, you always have entertaining news for us. VELSHI: Well, I'm glad to have something other than doom and gloom.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
ROBERTS: 53 minutes after the hour. Changing gears just a little bit here. A manhunt for a robbery suspect in Florida is over. Your "Quick Hits" now, police say 30-year-old Leon Davis turned himself in to sheriff's deputies. He is accused of setting two women on fire while robbing an insurance business. They say he also shot a man who tried to help them. The women suffered burns over 90% of their bodies. They are still in intensive care.
A ton of pot found along interstate 80 in Omaha. The U.S. attorney's office is considering what charges to file in connection with the almost 2,000 pounds of marijuana estimated to be worth more than $3 million. Police say they found it when someone pulled over a camper near the stash. The driver was arrested.
He revealed a black eye after baseball turned a blind eye. Senator George Mitchell, the man who named names on how the majors can clean up their act, coming up live in our next hour here.
And looking for a new cell phone, our Veronica de la Cruz shows us some new models of phones that will not break the bank for you, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Coming up now to three minutes to the top of the hour. Are you in the market for a cell phone this holiday season? Our Veronica de la Cruz takes a look at some of this year's best deals in our tech hits this morning. Good morning to you.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. There are so many cell phones to choose from and switched.com is recommending four phones they love that won't break the bank. Now, the LG boomer comes in at about $50. It's perfect for those of us that are addicted to text messaging and why would that be? Well, take a look at it. The keyboard pops right off the back, of course that makes it easy to type a message. It also plays media and it comes equipped with a camera. Now, this next one is called the Samsung, $100, small, it looks cool but that means the screen is too small. The camera doesn't take the best picture. Now, from the makers of Blackberry, the new red pearl, AT&T is selling this for less than $100 and apparently comes in a nice leather box with a big bow, two pens. How is that for some incentive, John?
Finally this one right here, move over Ipod, here comes the Samsung Beat. This all in one, shoots pictures, video, makes phone calls and it plays your MP3s. And the Samsung Beat is only available on T-mobile. Again, a quick rundown - the LG boomer, the Samsung Juke, the red Blackberry pearl and the Samsung Beat. Now, speaking of cell phones, when it comes to service, you got to make sure you read the fine print, right? Yes, you do.
ROBERTS: I never read the fine print in my life. Perhaps I should.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, this is the reason why a Canadian man is fighting, get this, a cell phone bill that is nearly $85,000. The story is all over the web this morning. Apparently the man had been downloading movies, pictures and TV shows using his cell phone as a modem. He says he wasn't aware of the cost these kinds of files would incur. The company, Bell Mobility agreed to lower the bill to $3,300. The 22-year-old man is still fighting the charges.
ROBERTS: Do you need to read the fine print to know that or is that just a matter of common sense?
DE LA CRUZ: Well, you know, I don't know. He was probably very handy with technology and thought he was doing something super cool, got his bill and it was $85,000.
ROBERTS: He should become handy with reading then in that case. Veronica, thanks very much.
CHETRY: I see no fine print on this so it looks like I'm in the clear.
DE LA CRUZ: No, no.
CHETRY: Oh, it was the bill. All right, fine. Thanks, Veronica.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
ROBERTS: Clean up hitter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Widespread illegal use of anabolic steroids.
ROBERTS: He is highlighting baseball's steroid problem but what's the solution. Senator George Mitchell joins us live.
Medical marvel. New hope for patient's unable to communicate beyond blinking their eyes.
Wing and a prayer. A special suit to help humans fly. No parachute needed on this AMERICAN MORNING.
It looks like flying squirrels more than anything. Don't they?
CHETRY: That looks like fun. How do you break? I guess you don't.
ROBERTS: Right now, they're using parachutes but there's one guy, one fellow who'd come after who wants to be able to land with this flying squirrels.
CHETRY: Right, that is his quest. So, can he do it. ROBERTS: That's a little complicated. It's Friday, December 14th. Thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry and we begin with extreme weather. Another winter blast expected to make its way from the Midwest to the East Coast today and before.
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