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American Morning
Major Terrorist Attack in Pakistan; New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Decides to Call it Quits; Four People Killed in a Chain Reaction Crash
Aired January 10, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The attack comes just two weeks after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. AMERICAN MORNING's Emily Chang is live at the international update desk in London now with the latest on this. Good morning, Emily.
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Twenty-two police officers have been killed, and at least one civilian we're told. Thirty-nine people have been injured. Police sources tell us the bomber rode up on a motorcycle and exploded himself in front of the high court. It happened just as lawyers were exiting the courthouse to stage a planned protest against the government, but it seems the target was not those lawyers but the police officers.
The scene has been cordoned off and victims are being rushed to the hospital. This, of course, happens just two weeks after the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Tensions were already high across the region, and this is the latest in a wave of attacks ahead of elections scheduled for February 18th. Pakistan is also just about to head into the holy month of Muharram. That's the start of the Islamic New Year, and it's traditionally a very violent month marked by fighting between Sunni and Shiite Muslim.
In fact, our crews on the ground were warned by their security guards before this even happened that today could be a high violent day. So no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but we are on top of it and we will bring you the very latest as it happens -- John.
ROBERTS: Emily, did the authorities there in Pakistan have any idea who might be behind this even though there has been no claim of responsibility?
CHANG: Well, there has been no claim of responsibility. But in the past when these suicide attacks has happened, President Pervez Musharraf has blamed militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and, of course, suspicion is likely to fall on them but, of course, no claim of responsibility yet.
ROBERTS: Emily Chang for us this morning in London. Emily, thanks. We'll get back to you when you get more news -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Also, breaking this morning, President Bush on his first ever visit to the West Bank, predicting that a Mideast peace agreement will be signed before he leaves office. The president arrived in Ramallah overnight for talks with Palestinian authority President Mahmoud Abbas. At a joint news conference just a couple of hours ago, President Bush said that he is convinced both Israeli and Palestinian leaders understand the importance of living side by side in peace, and he said he's determined to help make that happen this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In order for there to be lasting peace, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert have to come together and make tough choices, and I'm convinced they will. And I believe it's possible, not only possible, I believe it's going to happen that there will be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office. That's what I believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The president's meeting with Abbas took place under extremely high security and it comes a day after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
We're also waiting for a major announcement today in the battle for the White House. Just a day after another disappointing performance in New Hampshire, Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has decided to call it quits. Sources say he's expected to officially drop out of the presidential race today. He talked with me Monday on AMERICAN MORNING in New Hampshire and the governor sounded upbeat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to win this thing. You watch. You watch. We got 50 primaries to go. Half of the commentators, the national news media, they're not hearing what New Hampshire is saying. You watch. They're going to send a message. My objective is to be in the top three tomorrow, and I'm moving up. You watch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The next day, Richardson finished in fourth place again in a campaign where the word "experience" has been thrown around a lot. Richardson does have plenty of it both energy secretary and U.N. ambassador, but he did not come close to cracking the top three either in Iowa or New Hampshire.
Other news this morning that could take a close race and blow it wide open. Signs that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is testing the waters for a potential third party White House run. Now publicly, he's continued to say no way. But CNN has learned Bloomberg is quietly polling voters in all 50 states to see if he's got a shot and will make a decision by early March. Bloomberg left the Republican party and became an independent last summer.
ROBERTS: We're also following extreme weather this morning. Snow is heading to Wisconsin today where homeowners in Kenosha County are rushing to clean up after rare tornadoes there earlier this week. More than 100 homes destroyed or damaged. In northern Indiana, they are coping with flash flooding there, heavy rain and record- high temperatures, rapidly melted snow pushing many rivers and streams over their banks. And in Washington State, crews using explosive charges to control avalanches, to control explosions, will safely move the snow before another foot could fall overnight and pose an extreme avalanche danger. Jacqui Jeras is at our weather update desk this morning for us tracking all the extreme weather. Good morning, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMERICAN MORNING METEOROLOGIST: Well, good morning, John. Good morning, everybody. We've got a stormy start across parts of the southeast with fair amount of lightning, and we also might see some small hail and some strong gusty winds. Let's show you where those showers and thundershowers are.
At this hour, the heaviest at this time across the Carolinas and then you can also see some moving up the Appalachians there. Columbia has been getting hit with the wet weather this morning, spraying along I-20 and also along I-95 there. You can see that it's moving up towards the Charlotte area, and then we have some new development in the northern parts of Alabama and also into Georgia, certainly areas that want some of that rain.
Our other problem here, south of where the rain is is the fog. We've got fog advisories in effect for Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Tallahassee and in southern parts of Georgia. Also notice a new fog advisory has just been issued right along that I-4 corridor where that accident was yesterday. This is a picture from Noah, and it shows you that smoke and fog plume that was visible way up there in space from our satellite image.
That visibility is going to be down to near nothing once again for today as we have what we call an aversion layer in the atmosphere. That means warm air is higher up in the atmosphere so that kind of locks everything in. So all that smoke and all that moisture kind of stays put and we're expecting that to improve as we head through maybe mid-morning between 9:00 and 10:00 -- John.
ROBERTS: Make it certainly is the improvement but they could use it earlier in the day as well. You know --
JERAS: Yes.
ROBERTS: It was early yesterday that that accident happened. Jacqui Jeras for us this morning. Jacqui, thanks. We'll check back with you a little bit later on.
JERAS: OK.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Meantime, investigators in central Florida are working to reopen a stretch of Interstate 4 after a deadly 70-car pileup. They say they do not think it's going to happen today. It was a stretch of Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa that had to be closed down and has remains closed for the last 24 hours. We first showed you the pictures yesterday. You could see that heavy fog yesterday morning. It's cleared and now you can see some of that aftermath. Also, thick smoke from a brush fire that got out of control. Drivers could not see, and car after car, big rigs buses all slammed into one another. In all, four people were killed and nearly 40 others hurt, and there are questions this morning. Could it all have been prevented?
Forestry officials intentionally set the fire that got out of control. There was also a fog warning up at the time. We're going to be getting a live report on the latest on that investigation coming up in our next hour. Alina Cho joins us now with some other news -- other new stories that are developing this morning. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning to you.
We begin with a plan to send thousands of more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The Pentagon is getting ready to send 3,000 more Marines, anticipating an escalation of violence by the Taliban in the spring. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the tour would be a one time seven month-long deployment starting in April. The added forces would boost U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan to their highest point since 2001 to 30,000.
We're hearing now from the former CIA agent who gave the order to destroy videotapes that showed the interrogation of terror suspects. Jose Rodriguez now says he will not testify without immunity. He was supposed to be questioned in Washington next Wednesday. Rodriguez ran the CIA's undercover service in 2005 and ordered the destruction of tapes showing a terror suspect being waterboarded, where he's made to feel like he's drowning. Critics have called it a form of torture.
The manhunt is finally over. Both fugitives who pulled off a Hollywood style escape from a New Jersey jail are now back behind bars. U.S. and Mexican officials tracked Otis Blunt to a $10 a night hotel room in Mexico City and arrested him Wednesday. Blunt and another inmate, Jose Espinosa, you'll recall, escaped from jail last month, digging through the walls of their cell with metal wire and then covering the hole with pictures of girls just like in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption."
Espinosa, you'll recall, was caught a mile and a half from the jail on Tuesday. Blunt had been talking to the Reverend Al Sharpton about negotiating a surrender just before he was caught, but no deal was ever made.
Hollywood's honorary mayor has died. Johnny Grant was a fixture at Tinseltown events for more than a half century. Doctors say he died last night of natural causes. Johnny Grant was a radio personality and TV producer, but he has best known for being that familiar face there in the foreground when new stars were unveiled at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Johnny Grant was 84 years old. Long life. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has a new job. It's going to be a lucrative one. Blair will be an adviser on world, political and strategic issues for the Wall Street bank J.P. Morgan chase. He could make up to a million dollars a year. Not bad. Blair left office in June after a decade as prime minister. It's going to be better for him in the private sector.
And finally, definitely a unique way to teach your kid a lesson, maybe the most unique way. Listen to this story. You won't believe it.
A mom in Iowa decided to sell her 19-year-old's car after she found alcohol in it, but she did it in an interesting way. She took out an ad, as you sea there, in the "Des Moines Register" that reads "Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love their teenage son, selling his car, only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under the front seat, $3,700. Call meanest mom on the planet." That meanest mom, by the way, says she not only sold the car, she's gotten lots of calls congratulating her. Dozens of people -- nurses, school counselors, $3,700, by the way, it was a 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue. Kiran, I think you have a 1999 Vintage car, don't you?
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: It's vintage. It's vintage. That thing runs like a dream. And some Buick Century.
CHO: Is it a '99?
CHETRY: It's a '99.
CHO: Oh, yes, you have.
ROBERTS: Almost an antique.
CHETRY: Very funny. It's vintage. I love it. I say that in the best possible way.
Insult to injury. It would be if one of his friends bought it.
CHO: Well, but you can bet he learned a lesson, at least we hope he did.
ROBERTS: A little tough love there.
CHO: Yes.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: For so many people focused on fears of a recession, what does Fed chairman Ben Bernanke have to say about it. We're going to find out later on today. Ali Velshi at the business update desk with more on that. Any idea, Ali, what he's expected to say? ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I hope somebody asks him if he thinks we're heading into a recession and what he's going to do about it. But you know what? As you know, John, you heard this Fed chairman speak for long enough but there are no straight answers, which is why futures are looking a little lower right now but it's going to be a mixed morning. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaking in Washington about 1:00. He'll probably start taking questions about 1:30.
Let's see how markets did yesterday. A big turnaround in markets actually. We had a positive day. The Dow was up 146 points. Nasdaq was up strongly. Same with the S&P 500, probably because everybody was talking about a recession which means the Fed is going to probably have to cut rates. The Fed meets again January 29th and 30th, at the end of the month. They're widely expected to cut rates again by a half a percentage point.
Now, the Fed has cut rates three times starting in 2007, starting in September. Take a look. This goes back to 1998, where Fed funds rate were about 5.5 percent. You can see it went up to about 6.5 percent. It was really low for a while, down to one percent. And between 2004 and this past year, it climbed, about 2006, leveled out and now we started to see a decline.
So we're going from 4.25 percent to about 3.75 percent probably at the end of January. Goldman Sachs and others are saying another one percent or more of a drop after that we might get those Fed funds rate down to 2.5 percent, John. 2.5 percent means that the prime rate will be 5.5 percent. So if that all comes true, it means that loans are going to get a lot cheaper for people but that's, you know, down the road. We take it one day at a time here.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks very much.
VELSHI: OK.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: An 82-year-old war veteran, World War II veteran, is thrown off of a U.S. Airways flight and now he is demanding an apology. Why did it happen and should it have happened? You decide. We'll tell you the story. Decide for yourself coming up.
Also, three separate states have spoken and three separate candidates have come out on top. Can the GOP get behind one person and what will it mean for the party if this kind of indecision continues? We're going to be talking to a Republican insider next on AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Some of the best shots today in our "Quick Hits" now.
Red hot lava forcing more than a thousand villagers to evacuate in Ecuador. The pictures are just unbelievable when you see them. Shooting into the air, it almost looks like fireworks in that shot. They're leaving in the shadows of Tangurahua. Scientists say the 16,000 foot volcano is actually just warming up for a full-blown eruption. They expect that to come in the next few days or weeks which is why those people had to get out when they did.
A record breaking frozen Congo line. Mexico City says 225 children and teenagers held on to the hips to form the longest line of ice skaters ever. A bit wobbly at times but they did manage to hold on. One government employee said it took five tries. The ice is twice the size of a pro hockey rink. The city submitted the results to Guinness to make it official.
One of them maybe on Mount Rushmore one day. In the meantime, some presidential candidates were sculpted in sand. A group called "Team Sandtastic" put it together across the street from the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in South Carolina. It's a place where you see often very elaborate sand sculptures.
The GOP debate is taking place there tonight so they did it in honor of that. Some were flattering than others it looks like. It's estimated that more than 350 tons of sands were used to construct the nearly 20-foot tall work of art. A similar sand sculpture is also planned for the Democrats when they take the stage. How about it, John? Very flattering pictures of some of the candidates.
ROBERTS: There you go.
Sixteen minutes after the hour. Three different states have spoken. Three different Republican candidates have come out on top. This morning, an awful lot of insiders are wondering, can the GOP get behind one candidate? And if not, what does this mean for their chances of keeping the White House.
Joining me now is David Frum. He is the author of "Comeback," a brand new book "Conservatism That Can Win." We should point out, he's also a senior adviser to the Rudy Giuliani campaign. And David Frum joins us now. Good to see you again, David.
DAVID FRUM, AUTHOR, COMEBACK: CONSERVATISM THAT CAN WIN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: So you write in the book, in the very first chapter, you talk about the current state of the Republican party and you say President George Bush, by 2008, he had led his party to the brink of disaster. What do you mean by that? What did he do?
FRUM: We see it in this primaries. You know, everyone is so fascinated by the contest within the parties. The most important fact is that Democrats keep pulling twice as many people out to their contest as Republicans do. They're raising twice as much money. They've got bigger crowds. When you go to these places, you see much more dynamism and excitement on the Democratic side. So what has President Bush left us? A demoralized lethargic party that can't agree on basic principles.
ROBERTS: SO what is fundamentally wrong with the Republican party? Where did it go off the rails?
FRUM: What is fundamentally wrong is that we're still offering in 2008 solutions to the problems of 1978. We've got great ideas for stopping the Soviet Union, great ideas for stopping inflation, great ideas for curbing the rise and crime in America's big cities. That's all yesterday's story.
Meanwhile today, Americans see ordinary income stagnating. They feel under enormous pressure correctly from health costs and uncontrolled illegal immigration, and we don't have answers on those questions.
ROBERTS: And increasingly, they're looking to the Democrats for those answers?
FRUM: Increasingly, they are looking to the Democrats.
ROBERTS: You also write in the book on this idea, the party of all ideas. You said you were looking at the debates and the candidates are still trying to carry on the mantle of Ronald Reagan. Who's the modern day Ronald Reagan? And you write, "I wish a candidate had said, Ronald Reagan was a good man and a great president. What made him great was his ability to respond to the demands of his times. We must respond to the demands of our times." So what does the party need to do to get back on track?
FRUM: It needs to focus on the problems of the person making $44,000 a year, the person -- the absolute middle of the income distribution. That person hasn't seen a wage increase since 2000. He's barely better off than he was in the year 2000, and he's dragged down by health insurance costs and he sees the civil order of his society breaking down because of the inability of the government to enforce the law and the issue of immigration.
They have to concentrate on him. At the same time, we have to avoid the kind of populism of Mike Huckabee and concentrate on long- term economic growth through smart policies, free trade, lower taxes, but to bring benefits to people in the middle.
ROBERTS: You even suggest that they may need to modify their position on abortion a little bit.
FRUM: We have seen tremendous progress in the right to life movement. There are about a million and a half abortions a year, a decade ago. They're about 1.2, and it's trending down. Ironically for Republicans, as fewer abortions, those abortions may become more and more sympathetic to the public. They become the hardest cases and the most dangerous to try to ban.
ROBERTS: So who is the best candidate out there to carry forward this mantle of new conservatism that you put out in this book?
FRUM: Well, I would not say Rudy Giuliani because I'm supporting Giuliani in this campaign but the ideas are available to anybody because the problem is one of the whole party. That we're not yet ready to hear from candidates new ideas. And whenever a candidate offers a new idea, we whack them on the head and say, no, we want to hear the greatest hits.
ROBERTS: And what happens if these policies aren't adopted before the November election?
FRUM: We're on track to losing.
ROBERTS: Really. How badly?
FRUM: Pretty badly. I mean, it would increase Democratic majorities in Congress, too.
ROBERTS: David Frum, some realism this morning for the Republican party. "Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again" is the title of the new book. David, it's always good to see you.
FRUM: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: Thanks very much. Take care -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, an 82-year-old man, a World War II vet, says he wants an apology from U.S. Airways. We're going to talk about what got him thrown off of that flight in the first place. Details next.
Also, a controversial comment about Tiger Woods gets a "Golf Channel" anchor two weeks in the clubhouse, so to speak. We'll tell you what she said ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, "The Golf Channel" is suspending one of its anchors for two weeks after some controversial comments that she made about Tiger Woods. Kelly Tilghman and her co-anchor were discussing the best ways for other golfers to beat Woods. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK FALDO, ANALYST: To take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up for a while until --
KELLY TILGHMAN, GOLF CHANNEL ANCHOR: Lynch him in the back alley.
FALDO: Yes, that's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, the "Golf Channel" said that Tilghman was only joking and didn't intend to be offensive but her words were obviously pretty hurtful and inappropriate. Woods responded to the incident through his agent saying that he is friends with Tilghman, and he called the whole thing a non-issue, Kiran. But still, I mean, take him in the back alley and lynch him.
CHETRY: Yes. I don't think she meant to say that.
An 82-year-old man says he wants an apology from U.S. Airways after he was kicked off a flight for carrying his oxygen tank on board. Bill Sullivan says he was just trying to fly home after Christmas. He boarded the U.S. Airways flight in Phoenix and was heading to Sacramento when the trouble started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL SULLIVAN, PASSENGER OF U.S. AIRWAYS: I was never so rattled and upset and embarrassed in my life. I boarded the plane, and this fellow stopped me and asked me if I had a doctor's permit that said I needed oxygen to take off and to land? And I said, no, I didn't. So he looked at me for a while and he said go ahead and have a seat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: U.S. Airways says even though Sullivan needs the oxygen tank to breathe, he didn't have the proper paperwork to bring it on board. And the captain of the flight did have the right to remove him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN DURRANT, U.S. AIRWAYS SPOKESPERSON: The decision was made by the captain operating his flight to Sacramento to deny him boarding, which, of course, we always regret but that is the captain's discretion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Sullivan, a World War II vet, said he didn't have any trouble when he flew U.S. Airways to Phoenix, just when he was trying to return back home.
Well, our "Hot Shot" this morning. Germany's new polar bear cub can't even open its eyes yet, and we can't keep our eyes off him or her. Oh, my gosh. I think it's so cute. I didn't even know which one was the polar bear and which was the stuffed animal for a second. Look at that.
Just four weeks old, zoo keepers aren't sure yet if it's a boy or girl, so they haven't decided on a name. It's tiring coming into the world. Look at the poor little thing. They've been feeding the cub who weighs just under four pounds high milk fat every four hours. Zoo keepers say he or she, by the way, is doing just fine. Dreams of swimming already. How adorable.
ROBERTS: So does this mean that kanute (ph) gets the old elbow?
CHETRY: Yes. I highly doubt kanute's (ph) the cutest anymore after this one. How adorable.
ROBERTS: Oh, you grow up and you move on and the new kid in town comes up and captures all the attention.
CHETRY: How about it? Well, if you have a "Hot Shot," send it to us. The address, amhotshots@CNN.com. Be sure to include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture and video and please make sure the image is yours.
ROBERTS: Kanute (ph) has got the edge though on the back store because he was the orphan.
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: There you go.
Well, in public, New York City Michael Bloomberg says he's not running for president but behind the scenes, a different story. He is launched a research effort to test the waters should he change his mind. The 65-year-old Bloomberg left the Republican party and became an independent last summer. A source close to the mayor tells CNN that Bloomberg has set early March as a deadline for making a decision.
And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Would New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have a realistic shot at winning as a third party presidential candidate? Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We will have the first tally of votes later on this hour.
CHETRY: All right. We're going to see how people vote on that question. So please write in.
ROBERTS: A recent poll showed that the majority of New Yorkers would like to see him run. But there are only about 35 percent would vote for him.
CHETRY: That is interesting. Well, you know, it would be a local pride if he did. But whether or not when they got in that voting booth they'd pick him, another story. So we're interested to see how you weigh in on that. Meanwhile, you're watching the most news in the morning.
And wanted -- experienced air-traffic controllers and they're wanted fast, where this morning, the controllers cannot always handle the number of planes in the sky. Is it a dangerous situation? We're going to talk more about it coming up.
And the president's bold predictions saying Israelis and Palestinians will have a peace deal signed before he leaves office. He's making his way around the Middle East today. We're going to have more on that and the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Breaking news on this Thursday, the 10th of January. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Let's get you straight now to news out of Pakistan. A major terrorist attack there this morning. A suicide bomber in Lahore, killing at least 23 people, most of them police officers and injuring nearly 60 others. You're looking at video now coming from Pakistan's GO-TV. Dozens of officers were manning a barricade outside of a court building. They were preparing for an anti-government rally today. Police say the bomber ran up to them and blew himself up. So far, no one has claimed responsibility. A wave of terror attacks against politicians and security forces is sweeping across Pakistan ahead of the recently changed February 18th elections. Those were rescheduled after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto two weeks ago.
John?
ROBERTS: And more breaking news this morning, Kiran. President Bush says 2008 is the year that Israelis and Palestinians will make peace. A bold pronouncement in the president making that predictions at a joint press conference at the West Bank after his overnight meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
You're looking at a shot outside of the building in which they met, the red carpet there and president's limousine down at the end of it. President Bush will be departing in Ramallah which is where the meeting took place, headed back to Bethlehem in just a few minutes.
Our Hala Gorani is live in Jerusalem with more on the president's pledge and that really is a bold thing for the president to say, in reminiscent, Hala, of what President Clinton was saying back in December 2000, when he was trying to force the Camp David Accords.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It's bold, it's optimistic. It's not what analyst say is practically feasible over the next few months. In fact at news conferences yesterday with the prime minister of Israel Ehud Olmert, there was no such statement made. Both leaders spoke of visions for the next 12 months. This is going a step further saying in the next 12 months before the end of George Bush's turn. There will be a tangible signed peace agreement. Listen to how the president put it just a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: I believe it's possible, not only possible, I believe it's going to happen, that there will be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office that is what I believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. And the president also said that the settlements that are in the West Bank, a very, very touchy subject. These are settlements of Israelis living inside of the West Bank, which is a Palestinian area, that those, of course, constitute an illogical, perhaps geographical map. He called it Swiss cheese, when you look at the map of the West Bank.
And there was one finally amusing anecdote perhaps. According to our reporters on the ground, there was a big portrait of Yasser Arafat. This was of course the PLO leader and the ex-Palestinian authority. President who died a few years ago and that the U.S. refused to deal with. Apparently that portrait was, according to American officials, it was asked to be taken down but somehow then reappeared in the news conference hall, either the same or a similar portrait right above the shoulder of George Bush.
Back to you, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Hala Gorani for us today in Jerusalem. Hala, thanks very much. A big story that we'll keep watching for you this morning.
Kiran?
CHETRY: New this morning, because of lagging support from allies, 3,000 more marines will be on their way to Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is considering sending troops to deal with the Taliban, expected spring offensive. The Pentagon spent months asking allies to send their troops, they refused. If they get the green light, the marines' tour will be a single seven month-long deployment that starts in April.
A search under way for a marine who vanished from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and is eight months pregnant. 20-year-old Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach has not been seen since December 14th. Her mother says Marie had witnessed an incident in Camp Lejeune and was set to testify about it. A reporter who talks with the missing marine's mother also spoke with Nancy Grace last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her mother told me was on the 14th, that's when she was notified by her housemate. And the next day, she is at the next business day, they contacted police, the sheriff's office and she told me because of her marine status, they had to wait until she was of a certain status before they could actually go ahead. That she had to be a deserter status before they could go ahead and file the missing persons report.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Obviously, Nancy Grace was saying it doesn't make any sense. Sheriff says that they held off going public until their investigation revealed suspicious activity. Authorities have found the marine's cell phone, her car and say there was suspicious activity on her bank account.
Air-traffic controllers are sounding the alarm about what they say is calling a staffing emergency that's left four key cities vulnerable. The Air-Traffic Controllers Union says experienced controllers are retiring too quickly and that the remaining controllers can no longer safely handle the volume of air traffic into New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Southern California during peak hours. The FAA says airline passengers are not at risk and that new controllers are being hired.
Well this is a potential breakthrough in Alzheimer's treatment and something that anyone who has a loved one with this disease will want to hear about. Doctors may have found a way to reverse symptoms within minutes. Here's how it works. Doctor say Alzheimer's patients have too much of a certain protein in the brain, so they're injecting a molecule that can neutralize that protein, improving how patient think almost immediately. We are going to be speaking more about this with Dr. Sanjay Gupta coming up at the top of the hour.
And we're learning about another potential clue, this time for autism. Researchers have found what could be a genetic trigger for it. It is estimated that autism now affects one in a 150 children. The discovery was reported online in the "New England Journal of Medicine." Again, that genetic trigger can increase the risk of autism. The study found 100-fold.
ROBERTS: 37 minutes after the hour. A day after a disappointing outcome in New Hampshire, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has decided to call it quits. Sources say that he is expected to officially drop out of the Democratic presidential race today after two straight distant fourth place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. That announcement expected sometime this afternoon, probably from the capital of Santa Fe.
Republican Mitt Romney is changing tactics, redirecting money to Michigan. A state that many observers say is a must win after a second place finish in Iowa and New Hampshire. On Wednesday, Romney pulled the plug on advertising in South Carolina and Florida. He really asked to win Michigan. He was born there. His father was a former governor. The Michigan primary is next Tuesday.
And more signs that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is interested in becoming a president. He has launched a research effort to see if there is enough support nationwide for an independent presidential run. The source close to the mayor tells CNN that Bloomberg has set early March as a deadline for making a decision. He still publicly denies that he is interested in the White House.
And working mothers get time off for having a baby. Should high school students get the same treatment? High school students? We'll get the legal argument ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Coming up now, 19 minutes to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. Quick Hits.
A surfer claims that he caught the biggest wave of his life or maybe ever and has the pictures to prove it. 42-year-old, Mike Parsons and three friends surfed waves more than 80 feet high, about 105 miles off Southern California. They only had a tiny window in between storms when the giant swells were ridable. Look at the size of that wave.
A little bit of different water. Homes along a river in Indiana, now part of it. This is an aerial view of the devastation along the Tippecanoe River in Buffalo, Indiana. The flooding killed three people there and damaged hundreds of homes across the state.
And here's a close-up view from I-reporter, Michelle Mikulski (ph). She lives below the Norway Dam in Monticello, Indiana. And you can see there's water up to the roof here. She says that the river was completely over the road devastating all of the houses across the block.
Rob Marciano is off today. Jacqui Jeras, at the extreme weather center in Atlanta. Those folks having such a tough time with all that rain there, Jacqui.
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CHETRY: Thanks, John. Well, pregnant high schools students in Denver asking for maternity leave. They want four weeks off after delivering and not be penalized with unexcused absences. The current rules require them to be back in school the day after they get out of the hospital. Working mothers of course get maternity leave and should this apply to high school students as well.
AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sunny Hostin joining us now to talk more about this. There seems to be no uniform policy in the Denver School District and this has brought to the attention of the board by two counselors who say, look, the chances of these girls being able to graduate drops even more if they're facing unexcused absences and trouble for missing school.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And really, this is illegal. The bottom line is Title IX protects against gender discrimination. And Kiran, that's exactly what this is. Their male counterparts, the men that impregnated them can finish school. Can do what they need to do while the women cannot. And that is what Title IX protects against. If you think about statistics, there are 850,000 teenage girls that get pregnant every year resulting in about a half a million live births.
And so what do you do? If you do not allow them to continue and finish school, you're creating basically a class of women that are uneducated, and that is not the result that we want as a society. The schools have to do something because it is the law.
CHETRY: So what seems to be the rub? I mean, in some of these schools, they don't have to deal with it because there aren't many or even any pregnant teens. But in other schools, it sort of seems to be on a piecemeal basis. Do they need to figure out some sort of alternative ways that these girls just study and get caught up on their studies while they're out?
HOSTIN: They must. And the bottom line is that is the law. And these schools must do something about it, whether it be letting them finish school or having them home school. Whatever the case may be, the law requires that they figure something out. District by district or for the entire school board. I'm actually surprised that they don't have something in place.
CHETRY: As you say, if it's the law -- it's the federal law, why are individual school districts not having a policy?
HOSTIN: I don't know. This law was passed in 1972 when it was routine to expel a pregnant woman. And so you've seen cases brought against schools that receive federal funding, against colleges. And they always are won and so are typically won. So I am very surprised that we are seeing this now. The girls are asking for maternity leave. That is something that an employer gives. I think that's the wrong term. What they need to -- I guess be asking for is that they are given the same considerations to continue their education as their male counterparts, because we're talking about gender discrimination and not sort of maternity leave.
CHETRY: Very interesting. All right, Sunny, we'll see you back here in the 8:00 hour. We're talking real life weekend at Bernie's Scam as well as a little bit of flap between Britney Spears family and Dr. Phil. So it should be interesting.
HOSTIN: It is fascinating.
CHETRY: Interesting, Sunny.
ROBERTS: Four people killed, 70 cars and trucks in a chain reaction crash. A major interstate still closed. Now, there's finger-pointing over what triggered it. A live report coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: A major interstate, I-4 in Florida, is still shut down this morning after a dramatic and deadly 70 car pileup. It took place in thick fog and smoke. As you can see from some of these pictures, we first showed you yesterday on AMERICAN MORNING, you could barely see the road because of that fog. Four people killed. Investigators are checking the wreckage and the burned and mangled cars and trucks this morning. And there are questions this morning about just how it happened. It was smoke from a brush fire that got out of control, then mixed with the heavy fog.
CNN's John Zarrella is live in Polk City, Florida this morning, with more on that investigation. Hi, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Well, the authorities are describing it as literally running into a wall of white smoke yesterday morning. And as you can see, the same conditions exist here again this morning. You can barely see your hand in front of your face. Authorities are telling us visibility here on this stretch of I-4 now, which is still closed and is remaining closed, visibility is less than three feet.
It does not appear that I-4 will open any time this morning and perhaps not any time today, authorities say. In fact, roadwork to repair the road behind me had to be suspended at 3:30 this morning because of just how thick the fog and smoke is.
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ZARRELLA: It was a tragedy born out of deadly fog and smoke. About 70 vehicles crashed on a highway between Tampa and Orlando, as a brush fires soupy mix blanketed the area. Sounds of metal grinding, mangled steel filled the darkness. Poor visibility hampered rescue efforts and rescuers walked the long stretch of highway, checking vehicles for the injured. One of those injured, a sheriff's deputy, worked to save others, even as the cars piled up.
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY: He drove out of the vehicle crash area, approximately 50 or 75 yards, stopped his vehicle, and then went back to try to help others involved in the crashes.
ZARRELLA: The deputy was said to be haunted by what he had seen and those he couldn't save. Among them, a man he saw burned to death. Florida officials are investigating the crash and the role smoke played in it, from a fire that had started as a controlled burn but grew out of firefighters grasp.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a lot of people hurt. A lot of people. And there was no warning.
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ZARRELLA: Now Interstate 75 is literally just a few hundred feet behind me here. And you can see absolutely nothing. Now yesterday morning, FHP says that their troopers, Florida Highway Patrol Troopers did patrol the highway shortly before the accident. And at that point in time, they did not deem the fog and smoke thick enough to close down the road.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Which is unbelievable, when you see the pictures. Yesterday, when you first took those live pictures, you didn't even know what you were looking at.
ZARRELLA: No, you did. And absolutely when you saw aerial pictures looking over the top of it, it was like looking at a thick blanket of snow, literally. All you could see was white for as far as you could see, with pillars of smoke coming up from the accident and from the cars that were on fire. Horrendous, horrendous scene here yesterday.
CHETRY: John Zarrella, thank you. And by the way, those were live pictures we were just showing you a second ago of the scene today, looking quite similar, John, to the way it did yesterday, where at least from the sky, it looks like you can't see anything.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, yes, sorry, I thought you were talking to John Zarrella. There's a lot of Johns here. It's a terrible situation there, in terms of loss of visibility along the whole I-4 corridor. Its eight minutes to the top of the hour now. The world's cheapest car unveiled by an Indian company. We'll tell you how much it would cost to ride around in one of those, coming up.
And a new clue in the mystery surrounding autism. Doctors say they found another reason why the disease can suddenly pop up in families, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: The world's cheapest car, just $2500. Would you buy it? Take a look. There it is. It looks a lot like a smart car. The Indian auto maker Tata Motors unveiled the car. It's called the Nano. It will make car ownership affordable for millions more people they say. And some say the cheap car will make India's already crowded streets even worse. Others are worried Tata may have to sacrifice quality and safety to make a car at that price. The company's chairman says the car will not be a polluter and that it will meet all safety standards.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE). I'll tell you, $2500 for a car?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, just so you know, Tata which is a major Indian corporation. It's not just a car company, it's a conglomerate. They are the ones betting on Land Rover and Jaguar to buy that from Ford. So it's a major, major company.
ROBERTS: So they made cars ranging (INAUDIBLE).
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CHETRY: Would you drive one?
VELSHI: Yes, totally. Especially in New York, parking spots.
ROBERTS: Park it backwards. So, yesterday, Dow up a little bit but earning season down as well.
VELSHI: Yes. If you're worried about your investment, this is one more piece of information. Starting today, you've got where into the earnings season. These are the earnings that companies report for the fourth quarter, the last three months of 2007. And earning season, as I always say is the report card on how business in America is doing.
Alcoa usually kicks off the earning season. It did so last night. It beat the estimates that it was expected to earn by a little bit. That's a good sign. I mean, they're selling all sorts of aluminum and things are still being built. Except that when you drove down into any of these major company's earnings, what you find is that the profitable is not coming from sales here in the United States, its coming from sales to other places like India, like China, places that are growing. Can't get enough of steel and aluminum. That's where those sales are.
And you look at major corporations like Coke and IBM and things like that, they're selling things overseas. So we have to break that down and see how things are doing in the United States. This earning season, fourth quarter of 2007 is expected to have the weakest profit growth in six years. Why? Well, those woes at the big banks. We're going to get those bank reports and butt for Golden Sachs. You're going to see a lot of losses next week. Higher energy prices. That means businesses have to charge more. They have to pass on those energy prices. Sometimes if they can't, that eaten their profits, and of course weak holiday spending. In within the next hour or so, we're going to get reports from the retailers about how they're sales were in December. Again, we are not looking for good numbers there. So we are looking for a pretty rough earning season over the next few weeks. That's going to affect market trading as well. The biggest thing affecting trading today will be what we're hearing from Ben Bernanke at 1:00 this afternoon. So if you're investor likes to keep an eye on your investment, this is a period where you want to do that a lot.
CHETRY: All right. Ali, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: New York City Major Michael Bloomberg has launched a research effort to test the waters for a presidential run. The 65- year-old Bloomberg left the Republican Party and became an independent last summer. A source close to the mayor tells CNN that Bloomberg has set early March as a deadline for making a decision.
And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Would New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have a realistic shot at winning the White House as a third party presidential candidate. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. Right now, 22 percent of you say yes, 78 percent say no. We will continue to tally your votes throughout the morning.
CHETRY: All right. Well, melting snow causing major problems across Indiana. We're going to tell you about that and all the extreme weather from around the country coming up.
And the manhunt is over. The second fugitive who pulled up a daring Hollywood style escape from a New Jersey jail that led to the death of a prison guard is now back behind bars. Where was he caught and what was he doing? Well, we're going to talk about it. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
In and out.
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BILL RICHARDSON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you for all you did for us.
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CHETRY: One candidate ready to pull out of the race. Signs the billionaire mayor is ready to jump in it. A shake-up in the battle for the White House this morning.
New surge. Thousands of marines heading for Afghanistan. Where will the Pentagon get the troops?
Plus, it's not your stomach. Is it all in your head? New evidence in the brain showing why we overeat and what we can do about it, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And Welcome. Thanks for being with us on this Thursday, January 10th. I'm Kiran Chetry. ROBERTS: And good morning to you, I'm John Roberts. We're following breaking news of a major terrorist attack in Pakistan this morning.
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