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American Morning
Calls For Spitzer's Resignation Mounts; Mississippi Win for Obama: Race Factor; Market Rally; Where the Jobs are in Pennsylvania
Aired March 12, 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: That's right. And we're going to be speaking to people from the campaign a little bit later today about the moves forward, and where we go from there. But also, the growing controversy surrounding New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. Well, apparently, he kept going back for more. We're learning new details about the sex scandal that could bring down the governor. "The Associated Press" reporting that Eliot Spitzer may have spent as much as $80,000 over the course of years on high-priced prostitutes.
New York State Republicans are now saying that he has less than 48 hours to either resign or be impeached. And a top staffer in the New York State legislature is telling us that transition talks are under way between aides to the governor and to the state's lieutenant governor, David Paterson. As for Spitzer himself, he reportedly spent the day in seclusion with his wife Silda and daughters inside of his New York City apartment.
Mary Snow is now live with the latest developments this morning from Albany, New York. Good morning, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. And really, lawmakers here are saying that things are on hold as they wait to hear what happens. And, you know, asking some of the Democratic lawmakers here in Albany what is really happening behind the scenes and see, the only person who really knows what will come next is Eliot Spitzer. And as you said, a spokeswoman yesterday telling us that he was at his New York City apartment with his family. No public statements since his apology that came on Monday.
But as the pressure is mounting, Republicans are calling on him to step down. And Assemblyman James Tedisco, he is the minority leader here in Albany, a Republican, of course, saying that if Eliot Spitzer doesn't step down voluntarily, he will take action to proceed with impeachment proceedings within the next -- he's giving Eliot Spitzer essentially 48 hours. Here is what he had to say yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES TEDISCO, NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: We have to do that legislatively. I think it's our duty as representatives to remove this obstacle, to remove forward this distraction, and to move forward legislatively, because we just can't get anything done. Everything has come to a grinding halt, and we hope we don't have to call for articles of impeachment. We hope he does the right thing. He loves New York and his family enough to resign almost immediately. The sooner, the better. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: And New York State Democrats really are being very subdued, not really saying much as they watch this unfold. But privately, they're saying the question being asked is not if Eliot Spitzer will resign but when. If he does resign, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson would then become the governor. But again, all we know is that Eliot Spitzer has hired lawyers. He is assembling a legal team, and exactly what is going on between those lawyers and perhaps federal prosecutors is an open question -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Mary Snow for us in Albany this morning. We'll be watching and waiting for sure. Thank you.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to politics. Barack Obama wins Mississippi. Voters choose Obama over Hillary Clinton 61 to 37 percent. And race was a huge factor for voters in the Deep South. According to exit polls, nine out of 10 black voters went for Obama while 70 percent of white voters went to Hillary Clinton. Obama picked up at least 17 of Mississippi's 33 delegates at stake.
And CNN is now projecting that Obama won the March 4th Texas caucuses. With the win, he ends up getting more delegates from the state than Hillary Clinton who won the primary. The victory means 38 delegates for Obama compared to 29 for Clinton. Two-thirds of the state's 193 delegates were at stake in the primary while the remaining third were decided by the caucuses.
And here's how the delegate count stands now. Obama has 1,608. Clinton has 1,478; 130 delegates now separate the two candidates; 2,025 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination, a number that can be reached only with the support of superdelegates now.
And don't forget, too, that if Florida and Michigan get added back into the mix, that 2,025 actually increases so they would need more delegates.
Race was the deciding factor in Mississippi last night. Let's break down the exit poll numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Two in a row for Barack Obama.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm grateful to the people of Mississippi for the wonderful support.
ROBERTS: Obama's win in the Mississippi primary comes just three days after his victory in Wyoming.
OBAMA: It's just another win in our column, and we are getting more delegates.
ROBERTS: Obama was the heavy favorite, but that didn't keep Clinton from campaigning in the state. SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want people in Mississippi to know I'm in favor of you, and I'm going to work for you and I will be there for you.
ROBERTS: Voters appeared to be sharply divided along racial lines. Exit polls indicate Obama overwhelmingly won the black vote, but Clinton won three-quarters of the white vote. More racial politics earlier in the day following controversial comments from Clinton fund-raiser and financial adviser Geraldine Ferraro, who made history in 1984 as the first female major party vice-presidential nominee.
In an interview with a California publication, Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in it." Clinton made it clear that Ferraro was speaking for herself.
CLINTON: Well, I don't agree with that, and I think it's important that, you know, we try to stay focused on the issues.
ROBERTS: But Ferraro is making no apologies and continues to criticize camp Obama saying that, "What I find is offensive is that every time somebody says something about the campaign, they are accused of being racist." Obama called Ferraro's comments absurd and said such language should not have a place in this campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Well, black voters made up nearly 70 percent of registered democrats in Mississippi, and nearly four out of every 10 voters said the candidate's race was important to them. We'll have a lot more on this, including a complete breakdown of the exit poll numbers a little bit later on this hour. They're very interesting to say the least.
CHETRY: They really are. Well, voters are casting their ballots in Mississippi. Meanwhile, Florida still trying to resolve the impasse over seating the state's 210 pledged delegates and 28 superdelegates. The state's congressional delegation met yesterday and said it doesn't agree with holding a vote by mail. In fact, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer last night, Barack Obama said he is concerned about the fairness of that option.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think there are some concerns in terms of making sure that whatever we do is fair and that votes are properly counted and the logistics make sense. So, you know, there are a bunch of conversations between the various campaigns, and the Democratic National Committee. I'm sure it will get sorted up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Florida and Michigan stripped of their delegates when primaries were scheduled early by the state in violation of party rules. We're going to have more of Wolf's interview with Barack Obama coming up a little bit later as well, and many of the other issues involving this campaign.
Meanwhile, there were cheers on Wall Street while the market makes a turn for the better, way better. So how did it happen? Senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us now at the business update desk with more.
Really?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Believe it or not, yes.
CHETRY: I thought they were cheering something else.
VELSHI: Yes. No, it wasn't Eliot Spitzer yesterday. There was a -- yesterday, what happened is you'll recall late in the morning, there was news from the Federal Reserve that they were injecting about $200 billion into the economy making it more -- making more money available to banks that might have been struggling. Now, the interesting thing about this is the Fed has made two or three similar moves in the past, and it just hasn't had this result.
So all of a sudden, yesterday, take a look at what the Dow did. The Dow ended 417 points higher. That was 3.55 percent. The Nasdaq gaining almost four percent in the day. The S&P 500, 3.7. So everybody was in on this rally. This was the best point gain in about five years, the best percentage gain in more than that. So a very, very strong day.
Most market watchers are saying hang on. This market has been selling off for so long that this is not necessarily a turning point. This was an opportunity for some people who had been selling stocks for a long time to perhaps buy some stocks. However, good news, though. It's Wednesday today. Next Tuesday, the Fed is meeting again. We are expecting that they will cut interest rates, and that should help folks as well.
So at the moment, that caused a good day for markets. We're not looking for a positive open this morning, but that's because I think we gave it all up yesterday.
ROBERTS: You know, the rally that we saw and the one that we saw a little bit last week go up and then down. Are these artificial rallies that are simply stimulated by the Fed's move?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: These are trading rallies. These are because people are making a lot of money. The kind of people who stay home and just watch their computers are professionals, can make money just buying and selling on a daily basis. This is a mugs game for real investors or people who are investing for their retirement right now. Don't pay too much attention.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks very much.
Alina Cho also here this morning with other stories new for us. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody.
New this morning. Southwest Airlines has suspended three employees following allegations it flew dozens of planes that were not adequately inspected by Federal officials. Now, the airline would not say what positions these employees hold. But it did say they are suspended with pay. Southwest has also sped up a maintenance review after the FAA proposed a whopping $10 million fine against the airline. Federal officials are reportedly also looking into alleged ties between an FAA inspector and a Southwest manager.
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour has spent its first full day in orbit carefully examining the shuttle from any possible damage from yesterday's launch. Now, specialists on the ground are looking at possible impact to the shuttle's nose. They're also looking at whether a piece of foam or other debris came off the tank about a minute after liftoff. The inspection is the first order of business, of course, during the crew's 16-day mission during which they'll deliver a giant robot and a huge first section of a science lab.
The White House says the top U.S. commander for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was not forced to resign. Admiral William Fallon's sudden departure comes after a profile in "Esquire" magazine. Fallon says it created a misperception that he was at odds with the Bush administration over Iran. Fallon says he's stepping down because the article was becoming a distraction. Democrats say Fallon's resignation is yet another example of the White House not tolerating descent.
Shocking rates of sexually transmitted diseases in teens. According to a national study by the Centers for Disease Control, more than three million teenage girls, that's about one in four, has an STD. More than 800 teenagers were surveyed. And among them, nearly half reported having sex. Researchers say the most common infection found in young women, the human papilloma virus which can cause cervical cancer.
And Lisa Marie Presley is suing a British magazine for alleging she was fat because of her hefty appetite. Now, Presley filed against the tabloid, which is called "Britain's Daily Mail" for saying among other things, that she was "growing like her dad Elvis." Well, it turns out, they were wrong.
The 40-year-old singer says the article forced her to announce she was pregnant before she was ready to. Her lawyer says the allegations deeply upset her and offended her, of course. The magazine says it has launched an investigation.
So, she says now that the truth has come out, maybe the harassment will stop.
CHETRY: Right. She was very upset with that -- how she had to announce to the world that she was pregnant.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Oh, yes. Imagine she wanted to keep it a secret. And she said that she called the media a pack of wolves. At least, Britain's media.
CHETRY: Exactly.
CHO: Of course, we're not included in that. Anyway --
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina. See you in a few.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning." And still ahead, a messy commute could be on tap this morning. We're looking at some snow and rain in parts of the northeast. Rob Marciano tracking your extreme weather. He has the forecast for us in a couple of minutes.
Also, Barack Obama fresh off his win in Mississippi is looking ahead to the general election. Would he ask Hillary Clinton to be his running mate? The question is still out there?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, Senator Clinton is a very capable person. And as I've said before, she'd be on anybody's short list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Much more from Senator Obama coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Rob Marciano is at our weather update desk this morning. He's tracking some extreme weather for us. But not much going. Much of the country is quiet but a little bit of -- perhaps a little bit of snow and rain in the northeast?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's at borderline extreme. We'll go with that, but it's definitely going to cause some problems in spots over New York. Just depends on what part of the state you're living in. We'll take you through the radar in the northeast.
We've got an Alberta clipper that's moving through, and it typically originated from Alberta, Canada. Pretty dry place, but they move quickly then will have a ton of moisture. But this one is coming through nonetheless, and it may cause some problems in spots. You see the white? That's the snow that's mostly through Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Ithaca. And this is all rotating and moving quickly off to the east. Farther down to the south, we are seeing a little bit of moisture across the tri-state area in the New York metropolitan area, mostly in the form of rain. You really ought to go maybe north of Newburgh or Poughkeepsie to get into the mixture of the snow. So south of that line will be mostly just some rain showers. North of it, we'll see some snow and a little bit of accumulation in spots.
That will move quickly offshore and actually develop rapidly, but probably only hit the Canadian (INAUDIBLE). We've got a little renegade storm here that's moving across Lake Okeechobee, just north of Clewiston, Florida, and will be racing towards Port St. Lucie here. It looks like it's diminishing in intensity.
In our next Alberta clipper, which is also moving rapidly, rolling across the high plains and the prairies of North and South Dakota, that will be the next one to affect the northeast. And then, big changes on the way for the West Coast. This is a huge, huge storm. You see the low there, and it's all rotating like this.
It's all going to be moving toward the West Coast. It will be bringing extreme cold and stormy weather for the month of March. And usually, cold weather coming into much of the western half of the country, which will affect the eastern half, I think, Kiran, as we head closer to the weekend in the way of maybe some severe weather. So we're watching that next one coming down the pike. Back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: OK.
ROBERTS: And more politics now. Barack Obama added to his lead last night with a win in Mississippi. But over the past few weeks, the campaign has gotten pretty nasty. Last night on CNN's "ELECTION CENTER," Wolf Blitzer asked him if all of the name calling could hurt the party's chances against John McCain in the November general election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, Wolf, I think if you watch how we've conducted our campaign, we've been very measured in terms of how we talk about Senator Clinton. Obviously, I think I would be the better nominee, and I've been very clear about why I think I can be somebody who brings about change by bringing people together and overcoming the special interests. But I've been careful to say that I think Senator Clinton is a capable person and that should she win the nomination, obviously I would support her.
You know, I'm not sure that we've been getting that same approach from the Clinton campaign, but I'm confident that once we decide on a nominee, we go through the convention that, in fact, the party is going to be unified because people recognize we've got to have a significant shift from the Bush policies of the last seven, eight years, and John McCain represents a continuation of George Bush's policies that have wrecked the economy and have put our foreign policy on a very uneven footing. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You're ahead in the pledge delegates. You're ahead in the total delegate count right now, at least by our estimate, I think by all the major news organizations estimate. If that were to continue, would you consider her, Hillary Clinton, as a possible vice-presidential running mate?
OBAMA: Well, as I've said, Wolf, I think it's really premature for any of us to be talking about VP nominations when we're in the midst of a really important contest. And what I think the voters are still looking for is who is going to be the best advocate for them. Who is going to help them stay in their homes if they are threatened foreclosure? Who is going to help make college more affordable? Who can overcome some of the toxic atmosphere that's existed in Washington over the last eight years? And that has been our continuous message.
If I'm the nominee, then I'm going to go through the process of figuring out what vice president would be most able to continue with those same themes, if something happened to me, who could lead the country, who could serve as commander in chief. And obviously, Senator Clinton is a very capable person. And as I've said before, she'd be on anybody's short list.
BLITZER: Florida and Michigan, they're getting close, we're hearing, to getting some sort of arrangement to have a makeover, to redo their primary. I wonder what you want to -- what you would want to see the democrats in Florida and Michigan do.
OBAMA: Well, I think all of us are interested in making sure that they are seated in some way that doesn't advantage one candidate or another too much. And what we've tried to do throughout the process is just follow the rules that the DNC gave us. They said that Michigan and Florida wouldn't count. My name wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, and I didn't campaign at all in Florida.
And so, what we believe is that there should be some way of arriving at a fair settlement that respects the fact that there were rules in place but also make sure that the Michigan and Florida voters are seated. I'm not going to spend too much time designing what the solution is. I think that whatever the DNC decides we will abide by.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: More than fair I would think.
While a primary redo is up in the air this morning, both campaigns have already turned their attention to next month's crucial primary in Pennsylvania. But, Kiran, a long six weeks until people go to the polls in Pennsylvania.
CHETRY: That's right. We'll see what happens between now and then.
Meanwhile, it was a spectacular sight off the shore. This was sent to us from a viewer. This is a water spout with the sun setting in the background. We're going to get another closer look at your "Hot Shot" coming up. ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, down and out in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM NEIMAN, LOOKING FOR A JOB: I have a family, kids and all that, a house payment. How am I going to find another job to be able to provide for my family?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Six weeks and counting until the next big vote. And it's all about the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM NEIMAN, LOOKING FOR A JOB: This one -- it starts at $9 an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The long road to the White House passes through Pennsylvania, and voters are telling us what matters most to them ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, a touchdown. Maybe not quite in today's "Hot Shot." It was a water spout actually. A beautiful sight to see as long as it stays where it's supposed to be in the water. People were enjoying a beautiful sunset, and nature threw them a curveball. It's from I-Reporter Frank Burke (ph) who spotted this huge water spout off the coast of the Bahamas. And again, it did stay far away from shore.
If you've got a "Hot Shot" for us, send it to us. Head to our Web site, CNN.com/am and follow the "Hot Shot" link -- John.
ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. Next stop, Pennsylvania. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are already campaigning hard for the next crucial primary, but it's a long way away. Not until April 22nd now. They're again focusing on the economy.
Our Alina Cho caught up with Pennsylvania voters to hear about their biggest concerns. It's known for steel and coal. Things are changing there and have been, you know, for the last 15 years.
CHO: Yes. There's been a --
ROBERTS: Pittsburgh has completely remade it.
CHO: Yes, absolutely. It's really interesting what's happening there, John. Remember, Pennsylvania has 33 delegates up for grabs. Every single one of them counts. It is a long ways away, but the candidates are certainly campaigning there. You know, they're calling Pennsylvania the new Iowa, the next big contest. And like much of the country, as you just heard, voters there are concerned about jobs, especially in places like Pittsburgh where hard hats are now being replaced by scrubs, a seismic shift in the city once known for its steel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Regis Wintermantel never dreamed he'd be doing this one day.
REGIS WINTERMANTEL, REGISTERED NURSE: His blood pressure is going to end up dropping.
CHO: He's a critical care nurse at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. A complete midlife career change. The 42-year-old used to be a purchasing manager at a steel mill, but steel is no longer the driving force of Pittsburgh's economy.
WINTERMANTEL: It has its ups and downs. And I've seen two downs, and I didn't want to have to live through a third down.
Right now, the ventilator will --
CHO: So Wintermantel traded in his hard hat for scrubs. He's not alone. Once the steel city, Pittsburgh now touts health care as its number one industry.
BARNEY OURSLER, JOB COUNSELOR: The future of jobs in Pennsylvania is really service industry jobs. That's what's replacing the manufacturing jobs.
CHO: With the Pennsylvania primary just six weeks away, experts say the key to winning here is finding the right balance, crafting an economic message that plays well in Philadelphia and struggling communities like Pittsburgh.
For 18 years, Jim Neiman was a maintenance mechanic at a suburban Pittsburgh electronics plant. A month ago, the father of three lost his job.
JIM NEIMAN, LOOKING FOR A JOB: This one -- it starts at $9 an hour.
CHO: Now, he's looking for work.
NEIMAN: What am I going to do? I have a family, kids and all that, a house payment. How am I going to find another job to be able to provide for my family?
CARMI NEIMAN, HUSBAND SEEKING JOB: Thank you for calling Kmart.
CHO: Wife Carmi works part time at Kmart. Her salary is barely enough to pay the bills.
C. NEIMAN: You don't know what the future holds for you. It could turn out to be good. It could turn out to be bad. CHO: Many voters in this state share that uncertainty. But Regis Wintermantel is hopeful, retrained and working again in Pennsylvania's new economy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Well, he's certainly one of the lucky ones. What's happening in Pennsylvania, we should mention, is in some ways representative of what's happening in places like Ohio. Think about it. Heavy industry jobs, heavy manufacturing jobs are gone, replaced by things like nursing, teaching and truck driving. But as you heard in the piece, still a lot of people in Pennsylvania and elsewhere having a really tough time finding work. And that is consistent with what's going on nationally, John.
As you know, the jobs report came out on Friday; 63,000 jobs lost in February. The biggest job loss we've seen in five years. You know, we're seeing the losses in heavy industry, manufacturing, places like retail. But interestingly, the gains nationally and in Pennsylvania, health care and leisure and tourism.
And Ali Velshi -- I was talking to him a minute ago, he said places like Pittsburgh near the Canadian border stand to gain from that leisure and tourism boost because of the falling dollar. And, of course, that helps people overseas coming into the United States.
ROBERTS: Right. But, you know, talking about domestic tourism there, you've got to wonder, you know, how robust that industry is going to be with so many people losing their jobs.
CHO: That's right. I think they're hoping that European travelers, Asian travelers, people from Canada coming in, will be enough to help the economy.
ROBERTS: And you feel so bad for those people that are facing all those responsibilities, you know, providing for children, house and home and all that, and they're losing their jobs. I know a few people that have lost their jobs, and it's a real tough market out there.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: It's really sad. You know, this family we profiled, she's making -- she's the breadwinner now. She's making $11,000 a year before taxes. That's $600 a month. $500 of it goes to the mortgage. They are left with $200 at the end of the month for a family of five, for food, for gas, for other necessities. It is incredibly sad, and this is being played out across the country.
ROBERTS: Obviously, it's got to be huge issue in this election.
CHO: It is.
ROBERTS: Alina Cho this morning. Alina, thanks.
CHO: You bet. ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, Barack Obama takes Mississippi and the sights are set on Pennsylvania for both of the Democratic contenders for president. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There is a new fight brewing between the campaigns. CNN political contributor John Dickerson has the full slate coming up.
And the Spitzer scandal goes way beyond politics. He could be in some serious legal trouble. AMERICAN MORNING's Sunny Hostin has details from the investigation. We got that story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Lots of news to tell you about the day after the Mississippi primary. And the big win for Barack Obama.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.
ROBERTS: Now six weeks until the next contest. What are they going to do to stay busy for six weeks?
CHETRY: Well, I mean, there's a lot to do in Pennsylvania. I tell you. It's a big state.
ROBERTS: You live there, right?
CHETRY: Lived there for a long time. So, of course, they are hitting the campaign trail all over. Trying to reach out to different voters and we're going to hear a little bit more from Barack Obama today, as well as somebody supporting Senator Hillary Clinton and her campaign.
ROBERTS: Yes. All kinds of politics to tell you about this morning. But first, a new bombshell in the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal. First, it was Client Number Nine, a high-priced call girl named Kristen in Room 871 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Now from the Associated Press, word that the New York governor may have spent as much as $80,000 on high-priced prostitutes over the course of years. That's $80,000. Right now, he's still in charge but the clock is ticking. New York State Republicans say they will start impeachment proceedings if he doesn't resign.
CHETRY: Investigators say that they have caught onto Spitzer or that they began to catch onto Spitzer when they began following suspicious bank transactions. And now there are some details of that coming out this morning.
AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins us now to explain a little bit about this. The new news also out this morning is that there are reports saying that he may have spent close to $80,000 on this call girl service and that these wiretappings may have happened actually a month before he actually met with this prostitute named Kristen.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
CHETRY: How are investigators now trying to formulate this into their case?
HOSTIN: I have to tell you the investigators know a lot. And we're sort of getting this information on drips and dribbles. But this investigation has been going on for a long time. It's been going on for over a year. And the bottom line is they know just an incredible amount.
They have been following the paper trail. And that's what prosecutors like to do. When I was a prosecutor, Kiran, I liked people -- you make cases either with paper or with people. But people do tend to lie. And they are a little bit unpredictable. Paper is not unpredictable. And that's what they are doing.
And I think in this type of federal case, they are looking at a couple of charges. They have the evidence. We now know there's $80,000. We know that there are -- or it's been reported that he had at least seven to ten encounters with different prostitutes and this is something that's been going on for several years.
CHETRY: How did they find that out?
HOSTIN: I think they found it out through the bank transactions. And that's what the paper is about. We've learned that basically there was suspicious activity report. His Manhattan branch manager got a little bit nervous.
He called the Manhattan manager and basically said please take my name off of these transactions. And I think what the prosecutors really are going to look for is the transfer of money to fund an unlawful activity. In this case, that's prostitution. And that is a federal crime structuring.
And a lot of folks are saying that really that the Mann Act does not apply here. I don't know. That's the interstate transportation for prostitution. And I think they are going to be loading this indictment. I think we're going to be looking at structuring. We're going to be looking at the Mann Act. There are a lot of possible charges.
CHETRY: The other interesting thing is how this is going to formulate into any type of defense for any type of criminal charges, because we're still not talking about those. But how does holding off on this resignation play into it.
What do prosecutors have to gain or lose by him staying in office?
HOSTIN: You know, he has -- I confirmed yesterday, he's hired his former deputy as his lead attorney. She's with Paul Weiss. That was a great move by him. He has a female attorney. Her name is Michelle Hirshman. She spent 11 years at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the southern district. She knows the players. And by all accounts, she's smart, she's tenacious. She has been his confidant for a long time. That is very smart.
What she is trying to do is she is calling her buddies over at the U.S. Attorneys Office and she's trying to negotiate. I think the first thing she did was ask Eliot, what do you know? Can you cooperate? Can you offer up a bigger fish? That is unlikely.
The next step as a defense attorney, Kiran, is you try to sort of exchange resignation for no charges. You explain, listen, he's losing his livelihood here. He'll give up his legal license just let him go on as a private person. I don't think that's going to happen. Even though a lot of people are saying that's going to happen.
I think likely they are trying to bargain this down from a felony, perhaps to a misdemeanor or at the very least a felony plea but no time in jail.
CHETRY: This is somebody who was a top cop that was prosecuting these very things that went out to people. Is there some pressure to make an example of him in some way?
HOSTIN: There is no question. And a lot of folks have been saying you can't make an example. I think you can. As a prosecutor, you have that discretion. I was talking to a friend of mine who was a former prosecutor and what he said was if someone steals a loaf of bread to feed their child, you can take that into consideration as a prosecutor.
If someone steals a loaf of bread just for kicks, you can also take that into consideration. And that's what this is about. He got away with this for a long time. And because he was the top cop, he gets held to a higher standard. Fair? Absolutely. Can prosecutors consider that? Absolutely. Will they consider that? Absolutely.
CHETRY: We'll see what happens today. Talk of his resignation again today is sort of swirling around New York. So, we will see. Sunny Hostin, great to see you.
HOSTIN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Sunny. Barack Obama gets another primary win and more delegates after a victory last night in Mississippi. Voters chose him over Senator Hillary Clinton 61 percent to 37 percent. Exit polls show that voters were split along racial lines. 91 percent of black voters chose Obama while 72 percent of white voters chose Clinton.
And CNN is also estimating that Obama has won the Texas caucuses. That means that he's going to end up taking more delegates from the Loan Star State than Clinton who won the March 4th primary. He now leads her by 130 delegates in the overall contest.
CNN political analyst John Dickerson is in Washington for us this morning.
And John, the results in Mississippi really highlighting a racial divide there in the state but not one that's unusual for the south.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that's right. It's something we've seen. It's not unusual for this race. Barack Obama has won among African-Americans. Hillary Clinton got the white vote slightly more. But he won among African-Americans. It was quite a decisive win.
ROBERTS: Yes. You know, in Wisconsin, he had cut into her base among white voters. He actually won white men and almost evened up on white women. But this time around the differences were much more striking. But there's another issue that's overshadowing this campaign that some people say has to do with race. And it's Geraldine Ferraro's comments the other day, where she said that if Barack Obama were not black, or if he were white or if he were a woman that he would not be in this position.
What kind of anxiety is that causing for the Clinton campaign?
DICKERSON: Well, it's causing some anxiety. But basically, what we've seen here in this campaign is back and forth. Everybody is claiming outrage. At one outrage or another.
Last week, the Clinton campaign was outraged that a Obama senior foreign policy adviser had called Hillary Clinton a monster. This week, it's the Obama campaign's chance to show outrage at these remarks by Geraldine Ferraro.
Ferraro is not backing off them. And Hillary Clinton, while she said she disagrees with Ferraro went no further. The Obama campaign is now saying she should. There is certainly a heavy racial under tone to this. As you remember in South Carolina, there were charges that the Clinton campaign played on racial stereotypes to improve her chances there.
You see the big vote split in some of these southern states. And the idea among Obama supporters is that the Clinton campaign is trying to suggest that he's just the African-American candidate. Put him in that box and that limits his appeal. Part of the argument here is whether he has appeal to represent the whole Democratic Party.
ROBERTS: You know, we have seen in the past when advisors make comments about the opponents such as what happened with Bill Shaheen, when he talked about Obama's past drug use, or Samantha Power last week when she called Hillary Clinton a monster, that they are ejected from the campaign.
Why do you think Geraldine Ferraro is staying on?
DICKERSON: Well, there's a bit of a cat and mouse game here. I think part of the reason that Geraldine Ferraro is staying on is that she's an important figure in Democratic politics, the first female vice-presidential candidate. And the Clinton campaign having already sacked a couple of advisors when the Obama campaign got outraged.
They can't keep doing this and they are pushing back a little bit. And they want -- they are making the calculation that a couple of days' story isn't as bad as a high-profile rebuke of a party stalwart like Geraldine Ferraro, which would be what the Obama campaign is calling for.
ROBERTS: Another big topic of conversation on the campaign trail are the VP (ph) stakes. Who should be whose vice-presidential nominee? Hillary Clinton had suggested a week ago, that made this idea of a dream team might not be a bad one. She seems to be backing off of that a bit. Here's what she said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was way too much. I mean, that was so overblown. You know, every day somebody says to me in a crowd like just happened here at Temple. Oh, I like you both. I like you both so much. And you know, that's an understandable feeling that people have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Saying, John, that people are reading way too much into this idea of a dream team. But in some ways didn't the Clinton campaign step in it when they said, well, yes, we might consider him as a vice-presidential running mate. While at the same time saying he doesn't have the experience to be president.
DICKERSON: Well, the Clinton campaign here is up to a little mischief. They want to float the idea and have. Bill Clinton mentioned it. A key supporter of Hillary Clinton mentioned it. She mentioned it herself. And the reason of this mischief is they are on the one hand running a very hard campaign against Obama. Claiming he is not ready to be commander-in-chief, and then by turning around and saying, well, he might be a good vice president.
It suggests, well, there are no hard feelings. It also suggests, of course, that even though she's behind in delegates, she's somehow at the top of the ticket in a position to dole out vice presidential choices, and also it makes Obama look sort of like a party pooper.
A lot of Democrats want everything to work out nicely in a race that otherwise doesn't look so nice. And so Obama is the one who has to say, oh, I don't want to do this, making him look sort of like he doesn't want to play in the Democratic team. So it's a bit of mischief here that the Clinton folks are playing. And it irritates the heck out of the Obama folks. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: Yes. Certainly, some people suggesting, a lot of them for the Obama campaign, that she shoots down her own argument by saying things like that. John Dickerson for us this morning. John, always good to see you. Thanks.
DICKERSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Here's some new evidence this morning that the beefing up of the roofs of SUVs could improve passenger safety during rollovers. It's a claim that the auto industry had previously long disputed. But in a report released today, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety concludes that if the roof of every SUV was as good as the strongest roof on the market right now, that the risk of injury or death would be reduced by nearly 57 percent. And safety analysts say that that could save at least 200 lives a year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADRIAN LUNO, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: We found that the roofs that take more force to crush them to 10 inches, we saw lower injury rates, lower death rates in those vehicles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A trade group representing the major automakers calls the insurance institute's study, quote, "flawed." Our own Greg Hunter takes an in-depth look at that report coming up in our next hour.
Still ahead, waves, wind and fire. Extreme weather in many different forms. Pictures of the power and the aftermath and where it's all headed, coming up.
Also, a reporter covering a story ends up becoming the story when an angry mob turns on her. Her frightening account, all of it caught on tape, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to most news in the morning. Our extreme weather. And our "Quick Hits" now. And a mobile home up in flames. This is outside of Oklahoma City. And it happened after high winds and warmer temperatures helped fan the flames. It was near a highway. Firefighters say there was another home that was threatened as well, but no one was hurt.
And waves higher than a lighthouse. This one came crashing down, actually over the coast of Spain over top of a lighthouse. Severe storms and hurricane force winds have been battering parts of Western Europe all week.
Plus more powerful winds this time over the border in Canada, sending a pickup truck and trailer home off of a highway and into a ditch. This was in Alberta. An entire wall unit slipped out off to the side of the road. Paramedics had to help one passenger out of that wreck.
Our Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather for us today with a look at what we can expect around the nation.
Hey there, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Unless, of course, you're out fishing, then it's a problem. So you think your job is dangerous. Well, have a look at this. A television reporter in South Carolina becomes the victim while covering a crime scene.
Charmayne Brown was reporting on a domestic murder when a crowd suddenly surrounds her. She's the woman in the white jacket there. Some of the people were related to the man who was found dead at the scene. Others related to the grandson who was charged with murdering him.
Look at this. They wrestle her to the ground. They're punching her, hitting her and slapping her. Brown's photographer seen there in the tan jacket tried to pull her to safety. Afterward, Brown said before she knew it people were coming from everywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARMAYNE BROWN, REPORTER, WSPA: My photographer was putting his gear away. He was already in the car and he was looking at what was going on from afar. So it was just me. And she charged across the street, punched me, and pulled me to the ground. And at that point, I just had to try to defend myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Brown thankfully was not seriously injured in the mess. Four people were arrested after the attack.
You've been out there, you know, reporting. You ever run into anything like that?
CHETRY: Not anything that extreme, thank goodness. But, you know, there were also other TV crews there, which is -- those are the people that captured that. And her photographer then jumped out of the car to protect her. But we saw that -- remember that guy that got beat up pretty badly by one of the slum landlords as well. All of that caught on tape by his own photographer. So, dangerous job at times.
ROBERTS: Can be from time to time.
Barack Obama scores a big victory in Mississippi. We're breaking down the exit poll numbers to show you just how he did. It's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: You know, all throughout this primary campaign we have been getting fascinating information courtesy of our exit polls. We did a lot of exit polling in the state of Mississippi last night. The primary that Barack Obama won 61 percent to 37 percent.
Let's break down some of that and see how people voted. We thought that the voting would have been more heavily weighted toward African-Americans initially because they make up 70 percent of registered voters there in the state of Mississippi.
But look at this. It broke down pretty evenly. 48 percent of all voters were white, 50 percent were African-American. Look at the way they voted though. 70 percent of white voters went for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama 26 percent.
That's much different than we saw in the state of Wisconsin though they're very close to what we've seen in other southern states. Barack Obama handily won the African-American vote. Look at this, 92 percent to 8 percent. That is the highest percentage of African- American voters that he has gotten so far.
It breaks down white men 68 percent for Hillary Clinton, 30 percent for Barack Obama. In many states, he had been winning that vote among white men. Hillary Clinton maintained her traditional percentages with white women, 71 percent voting for her, 23 percent voting for Barack Obama.
Now, in terms of -- because this is an open primary, everybody was able to play. And let's look at the way that the vote broke down, Democrats, the Republican to independent. If we can have the next board up here.
71 percent of all voters were Democrat, 12 percent Republican, 17 percent independent. Barack Obama handily won the Democratic vote. Look at this, though. Among Republicans, 75 percent voted for Hillary Clinton, 25 percent for Barack Obama.
You remember that radio host Rush Limbaugh had been encouraging Republicans in Texas to vote for Hillary Clinton because many Republicans believe John McCain would have a better chance against her than Barack Obama. And Barack Obama narrowly won independent voters 53 to 43 percent.
So, that is an argument that many people are making on the Obama side of the fence to say, hey, you need to win those independent voters to win the general election. He does better among independent voters than Hillary Clinton does.
What were the issues that were important to voters in Mississippi? The economy, the number one issue. Look at this. 55 percent of all voters said that the economy was the number one issue for them. And they voted for Barack Obama, 56 percent to 42 percent. Fewer number of people said that Iraq was the top issue and that health care was the most important issue to them. Barack Obama still handily won those voters.
Now, you wonder how big an issue is the economy for people. Take a look at what our exit polling found in the state of Mississippi. Were you worried about your financial situation was the question that we asked. Look at this. 77 percent of all voters say they are worried about their financial situation. 60 percent of those people voted for Barack Obama.
So, it's pretty obvious, Kiran, when we look at how this election is going to go going forward and what the issues are going to be, that the vote will turn on the economy emerging as the absolute number one issue here.
CHETRY: That's right, John. And still ahead, a plan for hope turning into a flash of anger. A big city mayor whose political career is teetering on the break of collapse uses a televised address to get personal and to fire back at his critics over a sex scandal of his own. A stunning moment ahead.
Also, a surprising new study. At least one in every four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. Coming up, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with more on the staggering numbers.
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ROBERTS: Bio bash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am grateful to the people of Mississippi for the wonderful support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Obama puts the pressure back on Clinton.
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