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American Morning
Bloomberg Not Running For President; Who Will Bloomberg Endorse?; Teacher's Outburst on Secret Pre-K Recording; Ivy League Free Ride: Tuition Breaks
Aired February 28, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Race for president. But his vote is up for grabs.
This morning -- manhunt continues. A gunman fires into a crowded bus stop. Children in the hospital.
Price check -- $5 bread, $6 cereal, how you're paying for the economic mess on this AMERICAN MORNING.
That's right. Unfortunately, John, everything is getting more expensive. You know, as a new homeowner, I got my first oil bill. Boy, that's a gift that keeps on giving.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, definitely. It definitely does. You got to make sure that you don't keep it up to 80 degrees, because that oil will just, you know, cut through your savings account like a nice bottom.
CHETRY: Time to buy some sweaters, for sure.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: John joins us from Washington, D.C., this morning. Hey, John.
ROBERTS: Yes, good morning. I was here for a charity event last night for a Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. We raised a lot of money. A lot of people really happy last night. A great event. And here we are this morning again talking politics.
He was never really in but now he is really out. New York Mayor and self-made billionaire Michael Bloomberg has announced that he won't make an independent run for the presidency. Bloomberg put in writing in this morning's "New York Times" and laid out what the candidates need to do for his support.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): He's been saying it for months.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I'm not running for president.
I have no plans to announce a candidacy.
They're wasting their time. I'm not a candidate.
Look, I'm not a candidate for president.
ROBERTS: So why is Mayor Michael Bloomberg's announcement drawing so much attention today. Because despite repeated denials, Bloomberg still seem to walk, talk and some say campaign like a candidate.
BLOOMBERG: If you're going to have lower taxes, you can't keep spending money the way we have.
ROBERTS: He crisscrossed the country, funded research and called for change in Washington. But this morning, the speculation ended abruptly. In a "New York Times" op-ed, Bloomberg wrote, "I listen carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not and will not be a candidate for president."
But Bloomberg made it clear that he and his billions aren't done just yet, saying, "The most productive role that I can serve is to push them forward, by using the means at my disposal to promote a real and honest debate."
And in a significant change, included this tease for those still in the hunt, "If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach, I'll join others in helping that candidate win the White House."
And already, there's new speculation about just how much help he'll provide and what he might be offered in return. And already, another non-denial denial.
BLOOMBERG: I don't think anybody is going to ask me to be vice president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Oh, we'll see. Bloomberg had to meet a March 5th deadline. That's next Wednesday, to get on the ballot in Texas. It was the first of several hurdles to an independent run. "Time" magazine's senior political analyst, Mark Halperin, will join us in a couple of minutes to tell us more about what it all might mean. But right now, back to New York and here's Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, John.
Well, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama sparring over the war in Iraq in what could be a preview of the general election campaign. The two taking part in a heated exchange after McCain questions whether Obama knew about Al Qaeda in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have some news. Al Qaeda is in Iraq. Al Qaeda - it's called Al Qaeda in Iraq.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have some news for John McCain. And that is that there was no such thing as Al Qaeda in Iraq, until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A new "L.A. Times" poll suggests a tight race between McCain and either Obama or Hillary Clinton, but McCain does hold the advantage when it comes to dealing with the war in Iraq.
An icon of the Democratic Party says he's had a change of heart. That's Georgia congressman and superdelegate John Lewis. He is now switching his support to Barack Obama. Lewis was backing Hillary Clinton in Georgia's primary. But since voters in his state went for Obama, Lewis says he will, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: This man, this senator, Barack Obama, somehow and some way, has been able to emerge to carry the hopes and dreams and aspirations of being with the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Lewis is the most prominent African-American superdelegate to defect to Obama so far.
And in the countdown to the next round of races, including the Texas primary on Tuesday, Republican Mike Huckabee says he's ready to debate Monday night at a values voter debate. It's going to be taking place in San Antonio if it happens. We still haven't heard if the GOP's presumptive nominee, Senator John McCain or Congressman Ron Paul will be joining him.
That will be quite a debate, you know.
ROBERTS: It would.
CHETRY: Guaranteed to win.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, you know, I don't know that there's any room left for debating in the Republican Party. A lot of people believe that McCain is the nominee, so why bother.
Back to our top political story. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg passes on a White House run. He tells us why in an editorial in today's "New York Times." So who will he endorse?
Mark Halperin is the senior editor analyst of "Time" magazine, also, the author of the "Undecided Voters Guide to the Next President." He joins me now in Austin, Texas. So Mark, what do you make of all of this, the timing for Bloomberg, and the fact that he has finally decided to close the door on a presidential run if that door was ever open?
MARK HALPERIN, SR. POLITICAL ANALYST, "TIME": Well, he did have that ballot deadline as you mentioned. But I think that the handwriting book (ph) went right up on the wall when the nominees were determined. Now, John McCain, as you said, the de facto Republican nominee, good friends with Bloomberg and someone who shares a lot of what Bloomberg wants to see in a president. In fact, if you read Bloomberg's op-ed piece, a lot could have been written by John McCain.
Now, the other two possible presidents, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also present genres for Bloomberg. Clinton, of course, also from New York, has worked closely with the mayor. And if Obama is the nominee, which is more likely than a nod at this point, he also has a lot of the same qualities that Bloomberg would offer up. Appeal to independents which McCain also has, and at least the rhetoric of saying Washington doesn't work, I want to change the way things work. The very appeal that Bloomberg would have brought to the race is the very appeal that McCain and Obama have for a lot of voters.
ROBERTS: Yes. You know, an adviser to McCain says it's good to great news. I guess thinking about the idea that Bloomberg could have played spoiler the way Ralph Nader did back in 2000. And here's what Bloomberg said just to reiterate. "If a candidate takes an independent nonpartisan approach and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy, I'll join others in helping that candidate win the White House."
Mark, you suggested just a second ago that both John McCain and Barack Obama got elements of that independence and perhaps bucking some party orthodoxy. But what Bloomberg said there, does that -- does that describe McCain to a greater degree than it does Obama?
HALPERIN: Well, it does certainly in terms of their time in Washington, in part because Obama hasn't been there very long. Look, McCain has made a career out of doing just what Bloomberg says he wants, going after his party when he thinks the country's interest should stand above the party's interest. That's what John McCain has gotten famous for. That's what he's done for most of his career in Washington on a lot of big issues, and that's what Obama is talking about as well.
ROBERTS: Yes.
HALPERIN: Bloomberg's plan all along was to run was to see two nominees on the extremes. People who were more partisan or more associated with the extreme wings of their party. He ended up with two guys who are centrists. Bloomberg only wanted to run, John, if he thought he could win, and I think he sees very little room. And he likes both McCain...
ROBERTS: Yes.
HALPERIN: ... and he also likes Obama a lot.
ROBERTS: Oh, we'll see if he endorses anyone. Mark Halperin for us this morning from Texas. Mark, good to see you as always, thanks.
HALPERIN: John, I call you J.R. whenever I'm down here.
ROBERTS: And I appreciate that to no end. Mark, thanks -- Kiran.
HALPERIN: Thanks.
CHETRY: New this morning. Police in Los Angeles searching for a gunman who opened fire in a crowd including children at a bus stop. He is still on the loose this morning. The suspect described only as a black man, about 20 to 25 years old. Shot eight people yesterday in broad daylight while they were waiting at a bus stop. It happened near a middle school around 3:15 Local time, just as the kids were heading home. Three young girls and a 49-year-old woman were critically hurt. Police say there's a lot of gang-related violence in the area. Investigators are still trying to figure out a motive.
And just west of Los Angeles in Riverside, California, three people were killed after a small plane crashed in a neighborhood. Witnesses say that plane appeared to have trouble shortly after taking off and then slammed into a car and then burst into flames.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE STANLEY, WITNESSED PLANE CRASH: Engine fail, and I look up in the sky, and it's teeter-tottering and it's coming straight down for the house. And it's like last second, it swiveled out, hit the palm tree and nose dived. I took off running towards it and then I started realizing it was blowing up so I took off running the other way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Nobody on the ground was hurt. Investigators are trying to still figure out what caused the plane to go down. Veronica de la Cruz joins us now this morning with other stories making headlines. Good morning, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, Kiran. Nice to see you. And nice to see all of you out there.
We begin this morning with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heading to the Middle East next week for what the State Department is calling part of the follow-up to the Annapolis process. She'll try to push along peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Rice also called for an end to Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel.
And new violence overnight in Gaza. Just hours ago, Israeli troops launching air strikes at a Hamas outpost. It comes hours after Palestinian rocket attacks killed an Israeli student. It was the first Israeli-civilian death in nine months.
More bad news to tell you about for the struggling housing market. Despite a record drop in prices, sales of new homes sunk to a new low in January. According to a new government report, this is the third decline in as many months and a new 13-year low. The Commerce Department adding the average price of a new home, now $216,000 down 15 percent from a year ago. Well, no child should go without the flu shot. That's the latest recommendation from a federal advisory panel, saying all children over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against the virus. The only exception, kids with serious allergies to eggs. The new proposal would affect nearly 30 million children. We'll be talking with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta about it from up straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
All right, 15 goals, 24 seconds. That's what it took for one man to become Canada's newest millionaire. Darwin Head fired off 15 shots during a contest at a Vancouver Canucks game. Head, who says he's been playing hockey for the past 25 years, not only scored the big bucks but also a brand-new car.
CHETRY: That's unbelievable.
DE LA CRUZ: Not too bad.
CHETRY: Fifteen? And he made it in --
DE LA CRUZ: Twenty-four seconds.
CHETRY: Twenty-four seconds.
DE LA CRUZ: And check this out. On top of that, he was picked randomly out of 8.6 million people who applied online...
CHETRY: To do that?
DE LA CRUZ: ... through skill and luck. But you know what? He had to do that.
CHETRY: He worked hard, Rob. They say that he stayed out in the freezing cold, two to three hours a night practicing those shots.
(CROSSTALK)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just freezing out there.
DE LA CRUZ: And it was minus 40 degrees Celsius.
CHETRY: I think after he got picked.
MARCIANO: It's important, though, that there was no goalie.
DE LA CRUZ: Twenty-four seconds. Now, come on.
MARCIANO: Nope. He's rather fine. Nice work. Those Canadians can play hockey.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: 144 feet away. Do you think you could do it?
MARCIANO: I might be able to make one. What are we doing? Is weather next now?
DE LA CRUZ: John?
CHETRY: We just wanted to say hi.
ROBERTS: Oh, hi.
CHETRY: How are you doing? Nice to see you.
ROBERTS: I'm just hanging out.
CHETRY: We do have some weather to talk about in a couple of minutes. So we'll bring you back here.
ROBERTS: I once scored a goal -- I once scored a goal for like six inches the other side of the center line, and that was tough enough. So do it from the opposing blue line, that's pretty good.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may feel like he is stuck between a rock in a hard place. He is back on the Hill today talking about the risk of a recession, while at the same time inflation is rising.
Our Ali Velshi is aboard the CNN Election Express touring Texas. He's in San Antonio today talking to voters about the economy. Good morning, Ali, what are you finding out?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. I'm finding out that this trip is feeling more like Ali's personal history tour of Texas. We're at the Alamo, another historic site in Texas. Here's what's going on in the economy.
We've been hearing it from everybody around us. Inflation and oil prices really are the number one concern for everyone around here. Ben Bernanke was saying the same thing yesterday. He said, look, they lower -- they keep lowering interest rates, but that sometimes stokes inflation and that could be a problem. Here's what he said in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Consumer price inflation has increased since our previous report in substantial part because of the steep run-up in the price of oil. Last year, food prices also increased significantly and the dollar depreciated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, 24 hours ago, John, we were talking about oil that had hit $102 overnight. Yesterday it settled just a little bit below $100. Wow, what a relief. Can you imagine? We're only at $99 and change for a barrel of oil.
Stock markets are mixed yesterday. Ben Bernanke is going to speak again. But at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, we're going to get the first revision of the GDP in the final quarter of 2007. That's the first revision of how much the economy grew in the last three months of 2007. If it is lower than the initial estimate, that will argue that the economy is in fact slowing further. Maybe even heading to a recession. If it is higher than what we expected, that's going to work into the idea that things aren't that bad, they're just slow.
So we're going to keep an eye closely on that, on the price of oil and all of those other stories this morning from San Antonio. And we'll talk to you in a little while, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's hope, Ali, that your location this morning is not a metaphor for what's about to happen to the economy. We'll see you soon. Thanks.
VELSHI: That's absolutely right.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Have a soul enough place. Shut up tight as a drum. All right.
Well, a slow-moving storm dumping several inches of snow across West Virginia overnight. Drivers being warned about the nasty road conditions. There you see someone sliding out right there. God, that's going a little too fast for that road anyway. Wow, that's the worst feeling -- one of the worst feelings in the world, isn't it?
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Icy roads causing that car to spin out. This is Charles Center. Rob Marciano is here tracking extreme weather. West Virginia not the only place that's dealing with this, but, boy, what a mess.
MARCIANO: Yes. That's great video. You know, it looks like everybody was OK.
CHETRY: A little bit of a surprise with that. No, I mean, lucky they were on the road alone.
MARCIANO: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: But you could handle it with all your winter driving skill, right?
MARCIANO: Exactly. With all the stories I've done on winter driving. I should be able to handle that. Just glad I wasn't driving, that's for sure.
We do have plenty of cold air. We have some snow as well to report to you. Take a look at some of the snow totals from this system that rolled through. Some of this is kind of lake-enhanced. But all of it, Burlington, Vermont, for instance, that's just plain old snow. And some of the ski resorts in northern Vermont and upstate New York reporting as much as 10 to 12 inches. So powder day at last, too. Plattsburgh included eight inches there.
All right, current temps, it's cold out there. On average about 20 degrees colder this morning across the northeast than it was this time yesterday morning. So certainly, a cold front plowing through. It is zero and that's Fahrenheit in Toronto. The cold air reaches all the way down to the south. We mentioned this yesterday. We have freeze warnings across northern and southern Georgia, and wind chill advisories remain posted for Orland south to about West Palm, Beach. And there are some of the current wind chills. It's what it feels like.
Currently in Jacksonville, 30. It feels like 33 in Orlando. It feels like 17 in Atlanta, Georgia.
All right. We have our next system that's going to be rolling across the northern tier, the north Dakotas and through Nebraska. Our next Alberta clipper -- it shouldn't bring a tremendous amount of snow but it will bring another punch to the storm-wary residents of the Great Lakes, and we will see anywhere from two as much as five or six inches of snow as this blankets the Great Lakes. They have seen record snow from Detroit back to Madison, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, still struggling to see significant snow here in New York. We got a little bit on Friday, but winter's not over yet.
CHETRY: No. We still got some time. We're talking about that yesterday, right? Middle of March?
MARCIANO: Middle of March.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
Well, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Study hard and you could go to one of the best colleges in the country for free. But it's not out of the goodness of their hearts. We're going to tell you why some Ivy League universities and other really, really prestigious institutions are saying, hey, tuition's free.
And how would you feel if your child's preschool teacher talked to them like this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEACHER: Everybody understand that? You're mean to me so I get to be mean to you.
Y'all are just stupid kids. I swear to God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, one mom thought something wasn't right. She put a tape recorder in her kid's backpack, and she found out things maybe she didn't want to hear. Did she cross the legal line, though? Sunny Hostin with our legal brief ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, a mother in Texas was worried about what was going on in her daughter's pre-kindergarten class. Her normally well- behaved 4-year-old had been suspended four times. So her mom decided to bug the little girl's backpack. When she brought that recording home, this is what she heard.
((BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TEACHER: Everybody understand that? You're mean to me so I get to be mean to you.
Y'all are just stupid kids. I swear to God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, the teacher has been reassigned but apparently also has a history of parental complaints. Her lawyer says the teacher's actions were the result of a medication she was on.
AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins me now with more about this. First of all, you know, there are mini cams and there are things that parents do when they think something's not right. Is it legal to record unknowingly your child's classroom?
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL ANALYST: It depends, Kiran, on what state you're in, and in this case they're in Texas. And in Texas, it's sort of a one-party law. And that means if one party consents to the recording, it is perfectly fine. Remember sort of the Monica Lewinsky debacle and Linda Tripp? And there was a question as to whether or not the tape was legal. In this case, it's a one-party recording state, perfectly legal.
CHETRY: And so, the child's parent acts as the permission, the knowing party in this situation?
HOSTIN: That's right. That's right.
CHETRY: The other thing interesting about this case is that apparently, this teacher had some problems in the past...
HOSTIN: Sure.
CHETRY: ... including being accused of slapping another child back in December. How is she still able to be in the classroom if those types of accusations are out there?
HOSTIN: It really is shocking because in that case, not only were there accusations, the principal and the school district found that she had, in fact, slapped the child and she administratively punished for that. In this case now, we have that in addition to this tape.
The problem I think if this is a public school, and so perhaps this is a tenured teacher. She's now claiming that she was on medication. But the bottom line is, is this a criminal case?
I've prosecuted child cases, and the problem here is that she did this to 4 and 5-year-olds. How do you put a 4 or 5-year-old on the stand? Is that child competent? Is this child abuse? It would be a difficult criminal case, I think, impossible, never impossible.
CHETRY: And what about parents in terms of the recourse that they have? Do they have to be notified that the teacher that is spending a majority of the day with their child may or may not have had prior problems and even hit a child in the past?
HOSTIN: They should have been notified. But, you know, if this was sort of a mental issue, she was on medication, not necessarily. In the public school system, a lot of teachers that are tenure, a lot of these issues are privacy issues, but certainly, this case is now on the forefront. Something needs to happen. It's probably going to be an administrative action, maybe not a criminal action, but those parents have civil recourse always.
And so, let's hope that there's going to be an investigation here and we'll get something going. You have to protect children.
CHETRY: Of course.
HOSTIN: And you have to protect our children. And I hope that's what's going to happen here. You know, kudos to the smart-thinking mom.
CHETRY: That's right. All right. Otherwise, we probably would not have known. Thanks a lot. Sunny Hostin, good to see you.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Coming up at 22 minutes after the hour now. It is an offer that's impossible to refuse. Make the grades, get into an Ivy League school and not have to pay a dime for tuition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Say there's a family making about $50,000 a year, how much will they pay for school now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, parents won't pay anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Won't pay anything? What gives? Chris Lawrence finds out how and exactly why some of the best colleges in the country are offering the free rides now.
And the coast guard comes to the rescue, not over the ocean, but with a rare land grab. It's our "Hot Shot" of the morning, and it's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Time for our "Hot Shot" of the morning. A dramatic rescue on land for the coast guard. Two utility workers got stuck up in a 140-foot pole in Glenolden, Pennsylvania, when the bucket lift failed. Police called the closest rescuers around. It was the coast guard in Atlantic City. A rescuer dropped down from the chopper like limbs with one worker pulled him up and then went back for the second one. Everyone doing fine. A rare land-based rescue there for the U.S. Coast Guard. If you've got a "Hot Shot," send it to us. Head to our Web site at CNN.com/am and simply follow the ""Hot Shot" link.
Brown University is the latest to offer a free ride to students whose parents make less than 60,000 a year. Brown is following similar offers from Harvard, Yale and Stanford. There's no trick and these aren't loans. But there is a reason why these prestigious universities are giving it all away. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence shows us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're the great American discounters. Payless. Target. Stanford?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to have a sharp change --
LAWRENCE: The prestigious California school is so flushed with cash, Congress has been pushing it to spend more on students. So with the fall, Stanford will offer free tuition for middle-class families.
NIKO MILONOPOULOS, STANFORD JUNIOR: I myself have $30,000 with the loan debt that I'm going to have after just two years here.
LAWRENCE: Junior Niko Milonopoulos has a twin brother attending, and his parents worry whether they can keep both sons enrolled. Stanford costs $36,000 a year times two for their family.
MILONOPOULOS: And it's just every single year, a big burden. We know that this is going to help alleviate it.
LAWRENCE: Stanford joined several Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Yale and now Brown in offering deep discounts.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Say there's a family making about $50,000 a year, how much will they pay for school now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, parents won't pay anything.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Even families making up to $100,000 won't have to pay tuition. And for those under 60 grand, Stanford will cover room and board as well.
LAWRENCE (on camera): What's next, free shipping, and $100 cash back to the first 1,000 applicants?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm not sure we'll ever get to that point.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): So how do we get to this point? With a little prodding from Washington.
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: A university should not be a storehouse of financial wealth.
LAWRENCE: Senator Charles Grassley is the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. He's been urging all schools to spend more on students or face challenges to their tax-exempt status. Stanford's got a $17 billion endowment, and Harvard is twice as big.
GRASSLEY: That's unconscionable that you would be accumulating that kind of money, increasing tuition price the rate of inflation.
LAWRENCE: But before students get a break, they've got to get in. Those numbers don't look so good. Stanford only accepts about one out of every 10 students that apply. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Palo Alto, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right, thanks, Chris Lawrence, for that report.
Meanwhile, it's a question that's come up before, gaining steam now that John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee. Does his birthplace or could his birthplace rule him out for president. See, McCain was born on a military installation in the Panama Canal Zone back in 1936. His mother and his father, a Navy officer, were station there at the time. The constitution says that a president needs to be natural born, but doesn't really elaborate or specify on what exactly that means.
Senator Barry Goldwater once faced the same issue because he was born in Arizona but three years before it was a state. Interestingly enough, to date, no American to take the presidential oath has had an official birthplace outside of the 50 states.
It brings to us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Yes or no. Should people born outside of the U.S. be able to become president? Cast your vote CNN.com/am. We'll have the first tally of the votes a bit later this hour.
And, John, we already know you can't run. I don't think I can run either.
ROBERTS: Yes. I just want a little clarification. Is that for Americans born outside the United States, or is that for people of different citizenship? You know, sort of like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Remember, we're talking about that back in 2004? Is that we're talking about here?
CHETRY: Yes. I mean, I think that it would be interesting to have people e-mail in and weigh in as well, because there is talk of -- if you are just -- if you were not born at all in the United States, or if there is a gray line, your parents were citizens and they just happened to be abroad at the time, because as we said, as this article points out, no one's ever been elected president who wasn't born in just the 50 states.
ROBERTS: Right. Absolutely. All right. We'll see what people say about that.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg makes it official. He's not running for president. Which candidate will benefit from this, and what does it mean for your choice in November?
And it's a state-of-the-art million dollar project to secure our border. But this morning, a major setback that could take years to fix. That story in today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. 6:30 here in New York. I'm Kiran Chetry.
Hey, John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning. I'm John Roberts in Washington, where we're talking politics this morning.
Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he is definitely not running for president. An op-ed piece in this morning's "New York Times" ended that long speculation. So, what does this mean for the campaign and the remaining candidates?
Joining me now here in the studio in Washington is CNN political analyst and the chief correspondent for slate.com, John Dickerson.
John, always good to see you.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: Why do you think Bloomberg closed the door here? Did he just not see any reason to run? Did he think he had no chance of winning? What do you think it was?
DICKERSON: Well, his advisers have said that he was going to run if you have people from the extremes of the two parties. But in fact, what we have is candidates who are likely to get the nomination in the Democratic side. And John McCain looks obviously to get the Republican nomination who are more in the middle fighting for those independents who have reputation of independent action.
At least, McCain does. Obama's still a bit of a blank slate. But there's no room here for the Bloomberg candidacy given who looks like they're going to be the nominees.
ROBERTS: In terms of what he might do going forward, here's what he said in this op-ed piece, quote, "If a candidate takes an independent nonpartisan approach and embraces political solutions that challenge party orthodoxy, I'll join others in helping that candidate win the White House." Who does that describe, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John McCain?
DICKERSON: Well, he's going to pick. This is the great thing about the new Bloomberg role. He's going to be this kibitzer on the side, who will be able to say, you're being independent, you're not fitting. And he's got a lot of money and influence perhaps to make that call. So, it could describe any of them. We'll see how they behave when they get their own party's nomination. ROBERTS: So, Hillary Clinton's got five days to make the case and try to pull out a couple of victories in Texas, in Ohio or, according to people like her husband, it might be all over. And yesterday, the campaign got another blow when Georgia Congressman John Lewis said,"Sorry, I know I've been supporting Hillary Clinton, but I'm switching to the Obama side of things." Here's what he said about it yesterday. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: This has been hard. This has been difficult. There comes a time when you have to make a decision. As a superdelegate to the Democratic convention next summer, I will be casting my vote for Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, John, how big is this? And could this lead to wholesale defections among members of the congressional black caucus who have been under enormous pressure to throw their allegiance behind Barack Obama?
DICKERSON: It is why it's big, the superdelegate question. Neither of the candidates looks like they're going to win the pledged delegates. So, it's a big debate about these 800 superdelegates. This argument that Lewis said basically, I want to be with the people. That's the argument that Barack Obama is making in winning these 800 superdelegates.
So, it helps Obama's case with this very, very important group. And it's just one more piece of momentum. You'd think he had enough momentum, but he's getting just one more piece as we go into these two crucial contests.
ROBERTS: And again, do you think that more members of the congressional black caucus will defect?
DICKERSON: They could. It depends. You know, Lewis is a very, very major civil rights leader and so for him to move is a very big deal.
ROBERTS: Very influential figure. John Dickerson, as always, thanks for your expertise. Good to see you.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Thanks. Well, new this morning. A small plane crashes on a residential street. It happened in Riverside, California. Three people on board that small plane were killed. Witnesses say that it looked like the plane had trouble even right after takeoff from Riverside Municipal Airport. Here's a shot of some of the debris afterward. The plane landed on a car and then burst into flames. No one on the ground was hurt.
Police in Los Angeles are searching this morning for the man who opened fire on a bus stop yesterday afternoon. Eight people hurt, including five children who had just been let out of school. Four people are hospitalized, said to be critical. Police have been working to get information that will help them find the shooter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. RUBEN DE LA TORRE, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We are searching and we have video, we have witnesses. So, well, the videos around here will be sought, in terms of the business. See what we find. So, you know, we're actively involved in finding who did this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Police said they think the gunman was shooting at someone else but missed his target. Other witnesses say he just seemed to fire randomly into the crowd of what look like a semiautomatic pistol.
A setback in the plan to secure the Arizona border with Mexico. This morning Washington and police reports said technical problems are forcing the White House to rethink a 28-mile, quote, "virtual fence." Officials say the $20 million worth of sensors and cameras did not work as planned. The project will now reportedly be delayed by at least three years so the technology can be improved.
Well, travel could be slower if you use Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It's due to weakening concrete supports that hold the rails in place. Amtrak says cracks in the ties were caught early and don't pose a risk, but it is forcing some trains to slow down in spots from 135 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour in some cases. The company that makes the ties is replacing them. But installation will cost Amtrak nearly $24 million this year and next.
37 minutes past the hour right now. Rob Marciano joins me. You're shaking your head. Do you take the Amtrak a lot?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Only a quarter as old as everybody else. You're watching "The Most News in the Morning." And still to come -- rattling the wrong hive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that. There's a guy running over. Get away from there! Run! See, that's what I'm talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A reporter goes to the park for a story on angry bees and gets more than expected. We've got that coming up.
CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- grocery store poor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Where do you think it's going? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to $5.49.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: $5.49 for a loaf of bread? Start clipping your coupons. Why prices are sky high at the checkout. Greg Hunter is looking out for you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now and a horse taking an unexpected plunge after wandering on to a frozen pond. This happened in Lebanon, Ohio. Take a look. The animal was shoulder-deep in frigid water, about 20 feet offshore. A firefighter went out in a boat. Attached a rope to the horse's halter and was able to then guide the animal back to safety. He is doing OK today.
Attacked by bees. One local Phoenix reporter had perfect timing. He was at a park. He was covering a previous bee attack, when a swarm surrounded two people. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a guy running over. Get away from there! Run! See, that's what I'm talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There it is. On Tuesday, fire officials say that a man was walking his dog when bees stung him 100 times landing him in the hospital.
And we have an update to a story that we first brought you yesterday. The dramatic video of a Tampa police officer who was drag by a speeding car. Well, the cop is speaking out this morning. Keit Truong says he would do it all over again. He says that he kept his hand on the wheel to keep it centered and to stop the driver from slamming into something.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIET TRUONG, SURVIVED HIGH-SPEED DRAGGING: I was just trying to keep him from heading off on the left side, hitting -- he was trying to hit some telephone poles. I don't know if he pushed me out or he jerked the vehicle. All I know is I went flying out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He sure did as his partner watched on. Even jumping into his cruiser, trying to do anything he could to slow down that speeding suspect. Well, he and his partner are going to be joining us live in the studio to talk about the entire ordeal. It's coming up on the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
John? ROBERTS: Wow, so lucky to be alive. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Turkey this morning, asking the NATO ally to answer some questions about its incursion into Iraq. Seven days ago, Turkish troops crossed into Northern Iraq. The Turk says its part of an effort to stop Kurdish rebel attacks. The Iraqi government is condemning the move.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is tracking this developing story. She's across the river for us this morning.
Barbara, what's the secretary asking for this morning?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John. Secretary Gates is delivering just one message to the Turks and that is put it into reverse gear and get out of Northern Iraq. The secretary making clear to Turkey, he and the Bush administration wants the Turks out in a matter of days. Not weeks. Not months. Listen very quickly to what the secretary had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The United States believes that the current operation must be as short and as precisely targeted as possible. The Turkish government should make clear to the Iraqi government and everyone concerned, exactly what their intentions are and the limited goals and scope of their operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now, this may be really a test of U.S. leverage at the end of the Bush administration, John, because, while the U.S. is providing intelligence to the Turks for those operations against those PKK rebels in Northern Iraq, the U.S. may not be able to push Turkey very far. The U.S. still wants to keep Turkey happy because it wants access to Turkish military bases and Turkish air space. For its part, Turkey this morning is saying, short term just may not be something that they're ready to define yet.
John?
ROBERTS: So when they say short term, it's something that they're not ready to define. What does that mean in terms of the antagonizing factor for Secretary Gates?
STARR: Well, the secretary says he's not making any threats and he really has nothing to back it up with. But he is making U.S. policy clear. That it doesn't want to see Turkish troops inside Northern Iraq for very long. Iraq is a sovereign country and, of course, the Iraqis in Baghdad, the Iraqi government is very concerned and very upset about all of this. So the problem right now is tensions are high on all fronts.
Secretary Gates is really trying to make the case. There's no military solution to the PKK terrorist problem that everybody has to sit down and talk and figure out a way to deal with this.
John?
ROBERTS: All right. Barbara Starr for us from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the most news of the morning. And still ahead, forget filling up your tank. Loading up at the grocery stores now getting more and more expensive. Our Greg Hunter is looking out for you. He's shopping this morning.
What are you finding, Greg?
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, well, prices are high. And a lot of people are upset about it. Why are the prices so high and where are they going? Well, you won't want to miss this when AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: This just in to CNN. Sears, the big national retailer that also owns the Kmart chain is reporting a huge drop in profits. Our Ali Velshi joins us now live from San Antonio, Texas outside the Alamo. He is touring the state on CNN's Election Express.
Ali, how big a deal is this?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a pretty big deal. First of all, it reflects what people are thinking. They're slowing down on their spending. Sears and Kmart stores have decline in profitability for all the reasons that a retailer would. Their inventory is building up which means their merchandise is not moving out as quickly. Their profits are lower because they're reducing prices in order to try and clear that inventory. And people are just not shopping as much as they were.
Now, Sears has had a problem for some time. It was taken over by the same guy on the same day that Kmart was taken over, a few years ago. And it has just not succeeded as a retailer. We've talk about this before. It's a little bit sleepy. They don't move their merchandise well enough. The stores are not organized well enough. They've been struggle with this for some time.
So part of this decline in profits is probably because of the economy and people slowing down. Part of it is just because Sears has not been a well-run operation for sometime. But when you look at a 47 percent drop in profitability, that is a big deal. And Sears has said it's got something to do with the slowing economy.
Now, John, yesterday, one of the home builders reported a big drop in profitability. And they said that it is the cease-less talk of recession that's causing this problem. It's really not. We're reporting on what people are actually doing. People are not shopping at Sears or not buying homes because they heard on the news that they shouldn't. So this is very real. And it is exactly what we're hearing on our trip through Texas. People are concerned about the economy and holding back a little bit.
John?
ROBERTS: Although, there are some economists who believe that this whole thing could feed upon itself, that bad news begets bad news and may drive the economy down even further?
VELSHI: Yes, you're right. But you know what the one thing that matters, it's not actually and Greg's going to talk to you about this -- it's not just inflation. It's the fact that do you think you're going to be able to pay for the increase in what everything costs.
If you think your job is in danger of disappearing or your job does disappear, that's the one thing that matters. We haven't seen massive job losses. We haven't really seen many job losses yet, other than in specific areas. So that is the thing we want to keep our eye on. Where is the job situation going? And that's what will tell us whether this economy is coming back or getting worse.
ROBERTS: Ali Velshi for us this morning, outside of the Alamo in San Antonio. Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: OK.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke saying that there is no end in sight to the economic downturn and the pain is spreading from the gas pump to the housing market and now even to the corner market. Here's how Bernanke describe this situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The incoming information since our January meeting continues to suggest sluggish economic activity in the near term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So what does it mean to you? Our Greg Hunter grabbed the shopping cart, headed out to find out. He's live this morning in New York, looking out for you.
Hey, Greg?
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Well I'll tell you, food price are up. And that breakfast is going to cost you a lot more money these days, along with lunch and dinner. So why are prices so high?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To buy things that are on sale, use coupons.
HUNTER (voice-over): Consumers trying to save money with food prices skyrocketing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I used to spend about $100 a week. It's now going up $120, $150.
HUNTER: In just over a year, milk prices have gone up more than 17 percent. Eggs nearly 35 percent, bread, almost 6 percent, and with wheat spiking over $12 a bushel. Garden of Eden Supermarket Manager Juan Larios says bread prices continue to rise. Just how a loaf cost $4 last year.
And where do you think it's going?
JUAN LARIOS, MANAGER, GARDEN OF EDEN SUPERMARKET: It's going to go to $5.49 starting out next week.
HUNTER: Why? With the dollar near historic lows, it costs more to import the fruits and vegetables people like to eat year-round. Higher fuel prices mean farming and shipping costs more. And with more corn being used to produce ethanol, cattle cost more to feed which means the price of milk is up too.
LARIOS: This just cost $3.49. About a year ago, it was down to $2.99, $2.79.
HUNTER: Food price inflation, suggests more problems for an already-slowing economy.
JOHN WILLIAMS, SHADOWSTATS.COM: People have to drive to work. They have to heat their homes. So they're not going to be cutting back on food and energy. If the food and energy prices go up, the amount of money they have to spend more on optional items declines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTER: Williams, who runs shadowstats.com says hey, we're already in a recession and things are probably get worse, especially food and energy. He says the real inflation rate without the techniques the government uses to lower it is really between 7.5 percent and 11.5 percent. When I asked him where he thinks inflation is going, he says in the next two years, it's going to go to 20 percent. I'm at the Amish Market down here in New York City. Back to you guys.
CHETRY: Wow. Boy, that's not the news many people wanted to hear. Unbelievable. All right, thanks, Greg.
John?
ROBERTS: Other news that people probably don't want to hear, Kiran. Tens of thousands of clinic patients may have been exposed to Hepatitis C and other illnesses. We're paging Dr. Gupta, coming up, at the top of the hour.
And expert advice on what Hillary Clinton has to do to win next Tuesday. And what Barack Obama has to avoid. We'll talk live with former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, coming up in our next half hour.
And there's a manhunt on right now for a gunman who opened fire at a crowded bus stop. Live from the chaotic scene just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: On the run. A gunman blasts a crowded bus stop. Kids in the hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heard right after schools and let off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: His decision final.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: I'm not running for president.
BLOOMBERG: Look, I'm not a candidate.
BLOOMBERG: I'm not a candidate.
BLOOMBERG: I guess you're not going to run for president 2008.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: New York's mayor puts it in writing. The "Most Politics in the Morning."
And caught on tape. An officer dragged by a speeding car. How he survived a terrifying ride on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Yes, what a harrowing ride for Officer Keit Truong. He's going to be joining us a little bit later in the hour, John, to talk about just what was going through his head and some of the quick decisions he made that possibly save his life as he was being drag.
ROBERTS: He is so fortunate to be alive looking at that car speeding through those streets and what could have happen to him.
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