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American Morning
India's Tata Motors Acquires Ford's Luxury Brand Cars; Hillary Clinton's Latest Attack on Obama and His Pastor; Federal Appeals Court Rejects a New York's Passengers' Bill of Rights Law
Aired March 26, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Ford's billion dollar deal to dump another division.
All business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It sounds remarkably like Herbert Hoover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: McCain and Clinton go after each other on issue No.1.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's nothing that would be more expensive to the American people than free health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The most politics in the morning.
And fire frustration. What now after a passenger's bill of rights gets grounded on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING on this 26th day of March on a Wednesday. Breaking news on the transportation front. A number of different angles, not only the airline industry.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. We're talking about Ford Motors as well. Ford deciding to hand over the keys of its luxury brand, both Jaguar and Land Rover to India's number one automaker Tata for the $2.3 billion price tag. That was announced just moments ago. Ford gets to lose it expensive luxury brands and Tata Motors becomes as major player in global the auto industry.
Gerri Willis is here now. And this is a company that's known for the small Nanos that they call. Nanos are like the smart cars. They are available for about $2,500.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. $2,500. And yes, as you just mentioned, I think you pretty much got the entire story here, yes. To the $2.3 billion, Ford is selling its luxury brands to this Indian company called Tata. It might not be familiar to our viewers. This company is known for the cars it makes in the subcompact field.
You can see the Nano right then and right there. $2,500, the price tag on that car. Nothing like Land Rover and Jaguar. A fascinating turn of events. You know, Ford struggled with these brands a little bit, though. It wasn't actually part of Ford's main mission to do luxury at that high end and I think they had trouble with those brands as well.
ROBERTS: So, is this Tata going to be able to do luxury? I mean, Ford can't do it. How can a company that makes a $2,500-car do it?
WILLIS: You know, I think that's a great question, but you probably don't want to write them off yet until you see exactly what they do. It would be easy to underestimate this company without knowing exactly how they're going to come out.
What's interesting to me, though, is they want to establish a firmer global footprint here. They're really interested in having a profile around the globe instead of just in India.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, Ford has struggled, as we know. We talk about the woes of the auto industry. Does this help in any way bolster one of the big three in Detroit?
WILLIS: Well, I think they're going to be able to focus on their main mission here. They really want to clear the field so they can really focus in on their business. You know, they've lost a lot of employees. They've had a lot of, you know, savings goals out there. And so this is just part of the plan to focusing on their main business, try to turn that core business around. They know, you know, it can be profitable. About the buyouts ...
CHETRY: They've been trying to re-align.
WILLIS: They have been and they've lost something like $50 billion in the last two years. So, this is a desperation move and just trying to clear the field so they can really concentrate on that core business.
CHETRY: All right. We'll see if it works for them. Gerri Willis, thanks.
WILLIS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Turning now to Iraq. We're following several breaking news stories this morning. Another attack on the heavily fortified green zone. Mortars injured three Americans. The U.S. Embassy tells CNN that all three are government officials. The attack is being blamed on Shiite militants.
Baghdad is also seeing a second straight day of deadly clashes between Iraqi security forces and militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. This morning, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued an ultimatum. He has given the militants 72 hours to lay down their weapons. At least 18 people were killed today. The fighting began yesterday in Basra after Iraqi forces tried to shut down a civil disobedience movement by the fighters.
Also, breaking news this morning from China. Very tough talk from China after the U.S. says it accidentally sent ballistic missile parts to Taiwan. China is strongly protesting the shipment and demanding steps to avoid, quote, "disastrous consequences."
We spoke to a former United Nations weapons inspector about the mix-up earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM TREVAN, FMR. U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: The worrying aspect of this is how many mistakes had to be made along the way for this not to be discovered until now. Obviously, there had to be an initial mistake in storing these items in a classified area. There had to be mistakes along the way in simple bookkeeping, but not realizing these things were not in the right place. And then there had to be further mistakes in sending the items to Taiwan and then not recognizing that they've been sent to Taiwan for two years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Let's hear our leaders here say the mistake didn't come to light until last week -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, new this morning. The search now for people trapped after an apartment collapsed. This happened in northwest Norway. Police are saying that more than 20 people were inside at the time. 15 people were brought out, all of them injured. At least five are still missing, and unfortunately believed to be dead. Choppers and rescue teams from around the region joined in the search. It's still not clear why this building crumbled to the ground.
Also, in Dubai, an explosion at a fireworks warehouse, triggering a fire that could burn for hours. Right now, firefighters are battling to bring it under control. It's spread to 81 buildings. Two people killed and two more injured. The fireworks may have been smuggled in illegally. They expect the damage to top out at $200 million.
Barack Obama is on the campaign trail today after a bit of R&R in the Caribbean and is likely to face questions about Hillary Clinton's latest attack on him and his pastor. But perhaps the bigger question is this vicious primary campaign hurting the Democrats in general, the Democrats' chance at the White House?
We turn now to CNN political analyst John Dickerson in Washington this morning.
So, Hillary Clinton, did it. She did weigh in on the scandal surrounding Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Let's listen to what she said, John.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I think given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor. You know, we don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives. We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, and you know, of course the Obama campaign immediately, John, responded, saying, well, you know, she stayed out of the political fray. But now because she misspoke about being fired on in Bosnia, now she's stooping to this low. What do you make of it all?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, she was asked the question so she can say, well, I was just replying to a question. Of course, Hillary Clinton knows how to duck a question, too. And she didn't duck this one at all. She re-introduced this question about Wright into the conversation, something that tries to put Obama on the defensive.
And it's a part of the kind of locked-in combat here. Two or three news cycles a day, it feels like of charge and counter-charge, about her in Bosnia or Reverend Wright or whatever other scandal the two are picking at each other about. And, you know, we've got another almost a month of this until the Pennsylvania primary and several more months for the rest of the Democratic primaries.
CHETRY: So, where do the issues go? Where does the policy talk go? I mean, you know, people are saying the economy's on their minds, more than two-thirds of the country believes we're in a recession. And we're hearing this back and forth bickering between the two?
DICKERSON: Well, what happens is the policy is essentially -- they're pretty close to the two candidates. And so what they -- and this is the way in which this combat is sort of locked in, and the process is locked in here. The only way they can find a wedge or in some way to distinguish each other is on these kinds of issues that are certainly not that one most voters have on their minds. And so the campaign, it's almost can't help themselves by trying to take advantage in the spats and this bickering.
CHETRY: The most e-mailed article right now in "New York Times" are comments on op-ed piece called "The Long Defeat" by David Brooks, where he says Hillary Clinton really basically has less than a 5 percent chance of winning the nomination when you break it all down. And that what's happening is it's tearing down Obama, making him much weaker if he were to go head-to-head against John McCain. Is this being overblown or is this a real concern for the party?
DICKERSON: It's a real concern for the party. David Brooks is quoting from a Politico story there, in which a Hillary Clinton supporter says essentially there's a five percent chance of her winning. Her path to nomination is ugly. Obama has the lead among pledged delegates. She has to overthrow that lead with super delegates. And that would be a real blow to his supporters. There's an interesting new Gallup poll which showed that Obama supporters, about 20 percent would defect to John McCain in the general election. 30 percent of Hillary Clinton's supporters would do so. So, there is this great worry in the Democratic Party on both sides, really, that this ugly fight once the nominee is picked, the losing side will be angry and bitter and will not just swoop in behind whoever the eventual nominee is, but will either stay home or move to John McCain.
CHETRY: So, what solutions are the Democrats looking at to take care of that?
DICKERSON: They have no solutions. I mean, essentially the combat is locked in here. Hillary Clinton is being asked to step off the stage. Not to compete anymore. It's over, go home. Of course, that only offends her supporters more than anything else. And so, there is no real solution here to this fight.
And in addition to their not being a solution about how to select the nominee without going through a long battle, there are also these sideline fights about the continuing questions of a do-over in Michigan and Florida. And so, it's as if there are lots of tricky questions for Democrats right now.
CHETRY: All right. Coming up a little bit later, we're going to talk about some of the comments that Chelsea Clinton made on the campaign trail as well when asked about Monica Lewinsky.
John Dickerson, great to see you. Thanks.
DICKERSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Ten minutes after the hour now. The nation's first law to keep you comfortable while stranded on the tarmac has been officially grounded. We'll tell you why and we'll talk to the architect of the passengers' bill of rights to find out what can be done about it. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Recapping our breaking news right now for the top of the hour. A big change on the horizon for the auto industry. India's Tata motors now saying it will acquire Ford's luxury brand cars. Jaguar and Land Rover. This deal will be worth $2.3 billion. Sales of Jaguar have been quite sluggish. Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion back in 1989 and Land Rover for $2.75 billion back in 2000.
But all of this an ongoing effort on the part of Ford to streamline to focus on the car makes and models that do bring in the money for them. And also to find a way to stay competitive in this very, very tough economy right now.
ROBERTS: New warning lights, similar to traffic lights, are now being used to improve safety on the runways of the nation. According, to this morning's "New York Times," the Federal Aviation Administration will install the technology at the nation's 20 busiest airports over the next three and a half years.
The warning system is already being tested in Dallas and Los Angeles. The FAA says it had dramatically reduced close calls. These lights though likely won't help stranded passengers.
A federal appeals court rejecting New York's attempt to require airlines to provide passengers stuck on a tarmac for more than three hours with water, food, fresh air and clean restrooms. The ruling says the issue is one for the federal government to decide not the states.
And joining me now to talk more about this is Kate Hanni who started the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights. She's in San Francisco for us this morning.
Kate, let me get your reaction first of all to the second circuit court of appeals decision?
KATE HANNI, COALITION FOR AN AIRLINE PASSENGER BILL OF RIGHTS: Well, my instant reaction yesterday morning when I heard was convulsive. I could not believe -- I was in the courtroom when the three very conservative judges were hearing the second appeal, and I knew it was going to go this way, but I just -- somehow I was surprised by it. I do have a question.
My question is, why hasn't Hillary Clinton or any of the presidential candidates weighed in on this issue? New York is her state. And she has not yet spoken on this issue, and we have actually sent out a press release asking for them to address it.
I mean, basically, passengers' rights were just decapitated in New York, which is one of the busiest places you can fly. So we -- our options right now are at the federal level. We really have to get the Senate before June 30th to pass our Passengers' Bill of Rights, which is half way there in the Senate now.
ROBERTS: Let me ask you about that a little bit more in just a second. But the airline association, which is the trade group that represents the airline, said that it was going to oppose, quote, "draconian measures that would have unintended consequences." That was their description of these Passengers' Bill of Rights.
Are they draconian measures? And might they have unintended consequences? The second court of appeals said look this has got to stay in the federal round because we don't want to create a patchwork across the country of differing laws. You know, we can start with making sure the people get food and water, and clean restrooms on flights in New York, but then maybe somebody else decides, well you can't sell anything but sugar-free soda.
So, I mean -- what could the effect of these laws be if there were to be separate laws passed across the country?
HANNI: Well, I'm working with 12 different states and not one of them has asked for a sugar-free soda or anything remotely close to that. They're all modelling the bill after the New York bill. Every one of them. So you know, there's really -- there's no truth to that argument, and they also tell every state -- I testified two days ago in Sacramento for the California bill, and every airline showed up for that to protest and the ATA showed up and they said the same thing.
Patchwork quilt, draconian measure, we can't have this. What they tell the states is we want federal legislation. And what they tell the feds is we don't want to you regulate us. So, you know, basically, they don't want anyone telling them what to do. Talk about draconian measures.
And let me tell you something, when you buy a ticket, you're buying what you think is the contract to get you from A to B, from this time to this time. Well, that contract doesn't include, in my case, nine hours and 17 minutes on the tarmac without food, water and overflowing toilets.
ROBERTS: You know, you were there at the coalition for an airline Passengers' Bill of Rights. We've got a hot line that people can call in to and tell you about their nightmares upon flying these airlines. Let's listen to a couple of those calls then I'll ask you about that.
HANNI: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My child, who is an eight-year-old, has been stranded for almost four hours now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For more than four hours, they required the passengers to remain on the aircraft with no food and the restroom facilities no longer had toilet paper, basic human needs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So without this law there, we still got these problems going on, who's looking out for these passengers and what do you suggest for people who might get stuck in these situations?
HANNI: Well, it brings me to tears. I mean, I'm the one answering the hotline and I call these people back when they're stuck in the planes. There's no one looking out for them. Our group is the only group. We're the only non-profit true aviation consumer advocacy group that will actually help them if they're stuck on the plane.
We have an emergency kit on our Web site which is flyersrights.org that they can download on to their PDA. If they call our hotline, 877-FLYERS6. If we're overloaded, then it will go to voicemail. And that's the only reason we have those recordings.
ROBERTS: Right.
HANNI: Usually, we answer and we're talking to them directly and they appreciate it, like no tomorrow, because they cannot get any help from the airlines. They cannot get any help from the Department of Transportation hotlines. There's nowhere for them to go, other than us. And -- we're a non-profit, you know? And so...
ROBERTS: Kate, you were mentioning that California is trying to enact a similar law to the one that was enacted in New York State. The ninth circuit court of appeals would be the one that they would appeal to there. It has gone to be a very liberal court.
HANNI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Do you think that in that particular court challenge that things might turn out differently than they turned out in New York?
HANNI: Well, I think it's quite possible, because there was a ruling several years ago against Trans American World Airlines, I think it was, or TWA, and it was Chavez versus Transworld Airlines, and they said that the states did have the right to legislate when it came to the delivery of food and beverages and certain things and that was in the ninth circuit.
ROBERTS: Right.
HANNI: So, I do believe there's a strong chance that if we can get Washington, Oregon and California to pass these laws, and I know Mark Leno, his intention is to move forward with the California law. We're flying our preemption attorney out here on the 15th to testify before the judiciary committee. I have a very good feeling about California in terms of the law holding up.
And it also places pressure on the Feds for them to take action. I know that there are many people on the federal government side that want this law. There's only one person holding it up so far and that's been Jay Rockefeller.
ROBERTS: Hey, Kate, we've got go but we're going to keep following this, obviously.
HANNI: OK.
ROBERTS: It's great to have you on again.
HANNI: Thank you. Thank you so much.
ROBERTS: Thanks for the update on this. Appreciate it. Good to see you.
HANNI: Yes, good to see you, too.
ROBERTS: Kate Hanni from Coalition for Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights.
CHETRY: You know, it was our "Quick Vote" question today. She's right when she says that most of the public opinion is actually in their favor. Do you agree we ask this morning, with the court's decision to strike down New York's Passengers' Bill of Rights law?
And right now, only 20 percent of you say, yes. 80 percent saying no. We also got some very interesting e-mails coming in and we're going to be sharing those with you in a couple minutes. And you still have time to weigh in on the "Quick Vote," by the way. Go ahead and e-mail us, cnn.com/am. We'll do a final check right at the end of the show.
CHETRY: There's a major study out on premature babies and it gives insight into exactly what happened when they grow up. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be here to explain, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the tiny village of (INAUDIBLE), Nengah Arsan begins his morning by preparing to go fishing. It's been in his family for generations. They specialize in ornamental fish, the ones that grace many living room aquariums.
NENGAH ARSAN, FISHERMAN (through translator): When I was young, reef was beautiful. There were lots of fish around.
DAMON: But that memory came dangerously close to being something his son would never know.
ARSAN: I became a destroyer.
DAMON: Arsan and his family used potassium cyanide to stun the fish making them easier to catch, but about 30 percent of the fish died in the process. And it's not just about the fish. Potassium cyanide, one deadly squirt can kill two to three square kilometres of corral in about a month. And just a decade, this reef became a haunted of its former beauty. Cipto Aji Gunawan is part of a national NGO that is trying to introduce eco-fishing.
CIPTO AJI GUNAWAN, TELAPAK: Actually, this situation at the moment is very critical. 33 percent of fish live and depend on the reef.
DAMON: But not off the shores are (INAUDIBLE) anymore. These days, Arsan heads out not with cyanide but with nets. It's absolutely amazing. It's hard to believe that this is the reef just six years after the men stopped using cyanide. Arsan carefully spreads his net underwater. When he sees a fish he wants, it's chipped into the net and once caught, the fish are put into what's called the decompression bucket.
At first, Arsan and the other fishermen didn't believe that they could catch enough fish using the nets to financially survive, but they've actually tripled their income.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Bali, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Well, we just heard about the Federal Appeals Court that decided to reject a New York State law that would require airlines to provide food, water, working toilets and fresh air. I know the announcement does make you laugh.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Right? Working toilets and fresh air on lengthy delays on the tarmac. More than three hours. So, we've been asking you to e-mail us your thoughts. Mitzi from Pennsylvania wrote in on this. "If the states don't start taking responsibility, how long will it take the Feds? Passengers forced to endure those hardships should start and continue to sue.
ROBERTS: And as Kate Hanni was saying she continues to pursue the federal Passengers' Bill of Rights.
Jeffrey from Louisiana sent us in this e-mail. The federal judge who shot downed the idea that food, water, working toilets and fresh air are necessity for travelers should have to do without all of the above.
It didn't go on to say whether it should just be on the airplane or life in general.
CHETRY: Well, Heather from Sarasota has a different take. She says, I agree that it should be a federal decision not just a state one. All those amenities should be offered to passengers during long waits on the tarmac, but it should be done nationally. And it seems that people want an instant fix of what is affecting without looking at the consequences that temporary fix might bring.
So she's within -- what we ask in this, our "Quick Vote" question. Only about 20 percent of those who voted this morning feel that maybe it shouldn't have.
ROBERTS: She's in that 20 percent?
CHETRY: Yes, she is.
ROBERTS: There you go.
CHETRY: There's a new study right now that shedding light on a totally different topic. We're talking about pre-mature babies and the long-term risks that they face as they grow up into adults. Duke University researchers tracked the records of more than 1 million babies and then followed their progress from birth to adulthood.
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now to discuss how these preemies faired. It is very interesting. Well, first tell us what stands out the most, because they have made a lot of medical advances in how these babies that maybe ten years ago wouldn't have survived can survive now.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, absolutely. And so that's going to skew things a little bit in terms of what they're lives are like. There's a couple of things that always stood out to me, though. When you look at premature.
First of all, they define that as less than 37 weeks for the purpose of this study. So in case woman are curious about that.
It was a huge study. As you pointed out, almost 1.2 million children sort of followed along for a long time. So that really gives you a good analysis of this. But I think the thing that was most important -- when you think of, you sort of get out of that risky period. There in the hospital, they've been born prematurely, they may be sick for some time, but then they sort of through it.
What they found in the study is the mortality rate still stays high for some time even as old as 13 years for girls and up to 6 years for boys. So, they're the risky time period, sort of, is a little more extended.
Also, what they found is that preemies in the studies were less likely to have children themselves. They have decreased reproduction. They were less likely to go on. In fact, if you look at adults across the spectrum, 68 percent of term babies go on to have children, women -- you know, girls. 25 percent are premature babies. Also, decrease in education overall.
CHETRY: It's a huge difference.
GUPTA: It's a huge difference. They don't go on to have as many children themselves. And it's unclear why. Also their education levels. If you look at the socioeconomic factors tend to be decreased in premature babies. What is exactly driving all this is unclear.
It could be the health ramifications associated with being premature, immune problems, vision problems, developmental problems, or it could be something that I thought was very interesting. This idea that why were they premature in the first place? Was it, you know, the household in which they were born? We know that there's a higher use of drug use and drug abuse among moms whose have premature babies. So, it's unclear. But I thought this is very interesting. How long it takes.
CHETRY: What can women do to make sure that they carry to full term?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting. And you're obviously experiencing this right now. Taking good care of yourself. All the obvious things like not smoking, good prenatal care. But I think there's a couple of things that women pay attention to that's really important.
One is something known as preeclampsia, which basically means that your blood pressure starts to spiral out of control. That is associated with pre-term labor. So, getting regular blood pressure checks.
Also, gestational diabetes. Your blood sugars could tend to go up as well. That's also associated with pre-term labor. Beyond the obvious things and I'm sure most pregnant moms think about. These are two things that need to get checked as well, their blood pressure and their blood sugars.
CHETRY: All right. So, as you said, 37 weeks to 40 -- well, hopefully not to 42. (INAUDIBLE) but that's what's considered a full term?
GUPTA: Exactly.
CHETRY: Very interesting. Thanks a lot, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Major break up in Antarctica. Massive chunk of ice is about to break away from an ice shelter. Just how big is it? We'll tell you, coming up next.
And a surprise question to Chelsea Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal and how it may have affected her mother's reputation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSEA CLINTON, CANDIDATE'S DAUGHTER: Wow. You're the first person actually that's ever asked me that question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What exactly she was asked and Chelsea's full response, when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. 8:30 here on the East Coast including Washington, D.C. where we're taking a live picture right now. Forty-nine degrees right now, but it is shaping up to be a beautiful day. It's partly cloudy, it's going to be 67 degrees. So, a little taste of spring for all those who have the fever this morning.
ROBERTS: Beautiful day there today. Please let it last into the weekend.
We're following breaking news out of Baghdad for you this morning`. Three Americans seriously hurt after a mortar attack inside the green zone. The U.S. embassy is telling CNN the injured Americans are government officials. The fighting between Iraqi forces and militants linked to Maqtada Al sadr are raging for a second day as well and Iraq's Prime Minister has issued a 72-hour deadline to those militants to surrender.
Just a short time ago, Major General Kevin Bergner told us why Al Maliki gave the ultimatum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. KEVIN BERGNER, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES/IRAQ: There's no question what the Prime Minister has directed and is undertaking here, is intended to improve the overall security situation in Iraq. He's doing this as a result of his assessment that without this operation, there would not be a very hopeful prospect of moving security any Basra.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And a bulletin this morning from the Agente France press saying that Muqtada Al Sadr, the Shiite leader has urgently asked Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki to remove troops from Basra and hold talks to end the violence.
CNN's Barbara Starr is live at Pentagon this morning. She's watching all of this and as well a meeting there this morning in an hour and a half, President Bush goes over the Pentagon at 10:00 to learn more about the possibility of troop withdrawals and what the future might hold, and Barbara, you're learning some of what the president is going to hear this morning?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. The President will come here. It is a very important optic for his relations with top military leaders. He is coming here to the Pentagon to hear from the Joint Chiefs of Staff rather than calling them to the more formal atmosphere of the White House.
Top military officials are now telling us that the chiefs in about 90 minutes will tell the president they are onboard, of course, with the general plan that calls for a pause, if you will, in any further troop reductions in July after all five surge brigades come home.
Let the surge end, and then take about a six-week pause to see how the security situation sorts out, especially in light of this latest fighting just breaking out. The military says they need to really figure out what the long-term security gains really are, but the chiefs will also tell the president, we are told, that they want to see more continuous assessments of that security situation.
Keep the assessments ongoing so that when they can bring more troops home, that can happen as quickly as possible, because it takes about six weeks to bring a brigade back from Iraq, so the clock certainly is running.
Third, the chiefs will tell the President they want to see the troops come home when they can, because the chiefs are increasingly concerned about readiness. The force is stretched thin, the troops are exhausted and the chiefs say they need to have troops trained, ready and rested if another conflict were to break out or more troops were needed for Afghanistan. That is one of their major concerns -- John.
ROBERTS: Barbara, is there any worry there at the Pentagon that this conflict now between the army and the Iraqi security forces may have an affect on drawing in the troops that were included in the surge?
STARR: Well, at this point nobody is saying that, but to be clear, you know, it's certainly something that they are looking at, because this, again, becomes a real test of Iraqi security forces. Can they deal with the Mehdi army down in Basra? Can they deal with the fighting, breaking out in Baghdad. The attacks again the green zone.
Maliki has a very short time frame to really get a handle on this, otherwise he has to call in coalition forces to help back up the Iraqi forces, and that's something that the U.S. really doesn't want to see happen. They want to see the Iraqis front and center in this latest round of fighting. That's the kind of security gain that gives the U.S. the assurance they could bring more troops home, John.
ROBERTS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks for that. Look forward to more reporting on the president's meeting later on today -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, some new economic numbers in. Not the best news to tell you about this morning. The government reporting that factories experience a bit more weakness in February. The numbers in for orders for manufactured goods fell for a second straight month. More evidence of the economic troubles that have been gripping the country.
This is Consumer Commerce Department actually reporting that the demand for durable goods as they're called dropping 1.7 percent last month, and that was disappointing to analysts. They were hoping for a small rebound from the prior month and Gerri Willis is here following all of this for us this morning. You're probably not surprised?
WILLIS: Not surprised because we know the economy's having its problems. Durable goods orders either high-ticket items. It costs a lot of money. It's not something that's cheap. No surprise, the economy is suffering and people are ordering fewer goods, especially durable goods.
CHETRY: So, you're trying to figure out what you can hold off on as a household and if it's buying the new fridge or ...
WILLIS: Or a small business operator, a business operator.
CHETRY: All right. Well, other news breaking this morning from the economic world is Ford announcing a deal. Ford announcing this morning that it sold its luxury brand Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors of India, $2.3 million. It's less than half of what Ford originally paid for Jaguar and Landrover.
Well, turning now to politics. Senator Barack Obama back from vacation and on the campaign trail, Chelsea Clinton also putting her foot down. In the meantime, John McCain preparing for a major policy campaign speech. That's going to be this morning in Los Angeles. Now, this comes after he picked up the endorsement of former First Lady Nancy Reagan. You see the two of them together yesterday.
McCain is also focusing on the economy. The housing crisis is both the fault of irresponsible lenders as well as Americans who borrowed more than they could afford. And earlier this morning, we spoke with one of his advisers who said McCain only wants to bail out those who really deserve it and need it.
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CARLY FIORINA, FMR. HEWLETT-PACKARD CEO & CHAIRMAN: He also went out of his way to say that there are truly needy homeowners who through no fault of their own find themselves in a situation where a mortgage they can no longer afford and HE wanted to distinguish those homeowners who may be cash strapped but credit worthy from others, either speculators or irresponsible investors, who don't deserve a handout.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: CNN will carry McCain's speech live. It begins at 12:00 noon.
Hillary Clinton teams up to campaign with her daughter Chelsea. And Chelsea showed some toughness on the campaign trail yesterday when a student from University in Indiana asked her if the Monica Lewinsky scandal hurt her mother's credibility.
Here's her answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
C. CLINTON: Wow. You're the first person actually that's ever asked me that question. In the, I don't know, maybe 70 college campuses that I've now been to, and I do not think that's any of your business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That is supposed to be the last question at this event. Chelsea said she didn't want it to end on that note so she took one more about global warming.
Senator Barack Obama's vacation is over. It was a short one, and now he's back on the campaign trail today with a town hall rally in North Carolina. That was video of him in the Virgin Islands chatting on the cell phone. North Carolina's primary May 6th, there are 115 delegates at stake there and most polls show Obama with a double digit lead in that state. John.
ROBERTS: Scientists say gigantic and arctic ice shelf is ready to break off. Take a look, it's behind me here. One of the most popular stories on cnn.com this morning. The ice shelf is just a shade bigger than the entire state of Connecticut. And British scientists say it's just a very narrow strip of ice that is keeping it from breaking away. They're blaming the whole thing on global warming.
Rob Marciano at our weather update desk in Atlanta this morning. He's been taking a look at this as well. And this isn't the Wilkins ice shelf, Rob, and scientists are saying the whole thing is in danger of collapse. ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, it's the warmest part of the continent itself. This peninsula on the western fringe right here if you look at the whole continent. And, yes, it's really broken apart in just a matter of days. So, that's alarming but that's the way these things go. She mentioned that a good majority of the rest of the continent that is actually going through a cooling phase.
Nonetheless, this is happening and we're comparing it to states like Connecticut. Hopefully, we'll stop ramping the size of these things up. That certainly seems to be the ongoing trend. Once the ozone whole layer heals, trying to think maybe the entire continent will begin to warm.
Regardless, look at how just distinct and square and rectangular these blocks of ice are, bigger than the size, you saw the aerials. This is the satellite feed, those aerials are traumatic as well.
All right, let's talk about North America. We're looking at New England, and the northeast. Seeing a little bit of rain, just some showers, some snow at maybe north of I-90, up through parts of upstate and northern New England, but this is all breaking apart.
So, you're going to get into some nice weather I think, across parts of the tri-state area, the I-95 corridor. In the afternoon, some spring like weather there in upstate New York. Well, you still have a couple weeks before you get to spring. Spring-like floods continue across parts of Mississippi down through Louisiana later on, in the next week or so, the floodwaters there will take their way into the Gulf of Mexico.
But John, we do have another system that will bring more rain to the areas of the Midwest. That have seen the flooding. So, we'll watch for potentially bringing those rivers back up -- John.
ROBERTS: We're getting rain in all the wrong places there, Rob. Thanks very much, though -- Kiran.
CHETRY: There is a shocking new report out on federal air marshals showing that in '99, every 100 flights, there is no air marshal onboard. The FAA not really agreeing though. CNN's Drew Griffin in his "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" -- take a look.
Also operating on inoperable cancer, doctors removing six organs to get to a tumor and then they're able to put everything back together the right way. That woman was just given six months to live. She is here today and we're going to meet her and hear more about the amazing surgery that saves her life. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: They are the last line of security. Undercover federal air marshals. You may not know their onboard until something goes horribly wrong. But now we're learning that most flights still take off without air marshals onboard. Drew Griffin from our CNN's Special Investigations Unit joins us now from Atlanta. What did we find out in talking to people, Drew? DREW GRIFFIN, SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: John, we've been after this four months ever since we tracked down a tip from a high-level federal law enforcement that said, I'm flying all time and no longer seeing air marshals onboard. They have to check in with him and he with them on flights, it just wasn't happening.
We have tracked down several sources in this. Numerous pilots and air marshals themselves telling us less than 1 percent of the 28,000 domestic flights a day are actually covered with federal air marshals. Some of those air marshals did talk to us on camera, they wanted their identities protected. They fear retribution.
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GRIFFIN: I would say one percent, less than one percent? Would I be far from the mark?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. You'd be far from the mark.
CAPT. DAVE MACKETT, AIRLINE PILOTS SECURITY ALLIANCE: Anywhere near the covers that they are asserting they have. It's -- I think they're waisting (ph) past the graveyard hoping against hope that this house of cards that they call airline security doesn't come crashing down around them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Now, the TSA certainly doesn't agree with our report, but the TSA will not go on camera with a sit down interview. Instead, they've been dealing with us through e-mails and more specifically, John, with their own counter-report on the TSA Web site. We've link that to our cnn.com report so you can see the whole thing, but this in essence is what the TSA is saying about our report.
While the exact number of flights that air marshals protect is classified, because we don't want to play a mathematical guessing game based on percentages, the actual number of flights that air marshals cover is thousands per day. "This represents exponentially more than one percent and is well into double digits. The Federal Air Marshall Service force employs an intelligence driven and risk based approach to covering flights. That's not what we're hearing from the air marshals themselves.
We took our information to Tim Roemer, a Democratic congressman, former congressman from Indiana. He was a member of the 9/11 Commission, and as you know, John, and he said, look, this is one more example of the TSA not doing its job. The screeners we know have been failing, air cargo going on to passenger planes is unchecked and now this. He says it's indicative of an agency that's in trouble.
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TIM ROEMER, FORMER CONGRESSMAN: I think we've got a lot of work to go. I think complacency has set in to some degree, and think we need to come up with some ideas to shake up this 5-year-old department and make sure it works better from the TSA across the board.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: And, John, I just want to make sure that if anybody wants to see all of the TSA's response on their Web site, we have a link on ours showing you what that agency is saying about our report.
ROBERTS: I'm sure a lot of people will be very interested in that information. Drew Griffin for us this morning. Interesting report. Great report from Atlanta today. Thanks, Drew -- Kiran.
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kiran, good morning to you. Good morning, everyone.
Ultimatum in Iraq on the NEWSROOM rundown for you this morning. U.S. and Iraqi forces go after militia fighters for a second day. And the oil-rich city of Basra, the Prime Minister giving them 72 hours to surrender.
Tell-tale signs about the direction of the U.S. economy. A slew of economic reports to stew over this morning.
And a new Web site targets young girls. Listen to this. Provocative dress, breast augmentation. Where's the video? Rich boyfriends, miss bimbo, shocks parents.
Plus, a question about Monica Lewinsky, Chelsea Clinton answers. Hear it in the NEWSROOM.
We get started about 13 minutes away at the top of the hour, right here on CNN.
CHETRY: I don't think I'm going to let my daughter have a computer. I think I'm sticking with the abacus.
HARRIS: No. No time soon.
CHETRY: Thanks, Tony.
Well, inside out surgery. Doctors give a cancer patient new life. This woman was told she had six months to live and some doctors decided they could do it, despite the fact that it was so risky. They had to remove six other organs to get a tumor that was snaked around her abdomen. Well, she's with it along with her doctor. How she doing today and how did they pull off this groundbreaking surgery. We're going talk to them about it coming up.
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CHETRY: Well, an unprecedented operation has given a woman from Florida a second chance at life literally and it also is offering new hope for other cancer patients. Doctors at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Medical Center took out six organs to remove a deeply buried tumor and they were able to then put those organs back and the patient is doing
OK. Brooke Zepp and her surgeon Dr. Kato join us now from Miami. Thanks to both of you for joining us this morning. This is really amazing when you hear how extraordinary this surgery was, and Brooke, first of all, tell me how you're feeling?
BROOKE ZEPP, ORGANS REMOVED TO TAKE OUT TUMOR: I'm feeling like I have a whole new life. Like the world is just open to me now.
CHETRY: You were given a prognosis, they told you this was inoperable, this tumor, because of the location and where it was and you had six months to live. How did you go from that to finding doctors that were willing to give it a try and to save your life?
ZEPP: Well, actually, I was given that prognosis when I was first diagnosed last May, and the hospital where I was diagnosed in Florida could not treat my rare cancer. It's leomyosarcoma (ph), and leomyosarcoma is so rare that the American Cancer Society doesn't even recognize it for research. So, very few doctors know how to treat it.
So, I was left really in a quandary at that point, and went to a major sarcoma center and they also said at that point it was very inoperable but that possibly if I did a lot of chemo, and radiation, that at that point surgery might be possible.
But I came to Dr. Kato in September, and he said he could operate on me then, and when I went back to the other doctors, they convinced me to go ahead and do more chemo and more radiation, and I kept hoping that I could do something less risky, but I was finally just desperate for Dr. Kato to see me again and thank God he did.
CHETRY: And Dr. Kato tell me a little bit in lay person's terms, this was a 15-hour operation that involved removing six organs. How did you figure out how to do this and how did you actually pull it off?
DR. TOMOAKI KATO, PERFORMED SURGERY ON BROOKE ZEPP: Well, the first few hours of surgery is really, we have to make sure that we can do the surgery. Because once we took all the organs out and if we cannot put it back in, you know, she's in trouble. So, we have to mobilize all the organs, try to go into the very deep inside, that's where the tumor was, to see if we can do that. That time it's almost all organs were just connected to her body with the major blood vessels called the abdominal aorta and then vena cava.
So, once we do that, make sure we were fine and we just cut the abdominal aorta and vena cava. And took all organs out together. And connected with the tumor together.
CHETRY: Yes, that is really fascinating. But this is something you've never done before, so were you hoping that this would work, but weren't sure that it would work. As we can see, Brooke, you look fabulous. You feel like you have a new lease on life. Does this open the door to more cancer patients who have been told, perhaps, Dr. Kato, that their cancers were inoperable to have a new option?
KATO: Well, yes. The answer is, yes. Not necessarily for everything, but if the cancer is more of a locally invasive, the inoperable reason was because of the location, very near the vessel that feeds into the abdominal organs. I think this operation has a possibility.
CHETRY: Wow. Well, I want to thank both of you for being with us. Brooke, I know you've gone through a lot, really amazing, and you look wonderful. And Dr. Kato, thanks so much as well.
KATO: Thank you.
ZEPP: Thank you.
CHETRY: Right now, we're going to bring in our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a little bit more about the surgery. Is it fascinating to you? I mean, you're a surgeon. I marveled that you guys are able to do anything like this to begin with. But boy, to remove almost all of your body parts, I mean to be almost eviscerated and then she's sitting there today alive.
GUPTA: It's kind of like taking the engine out of a car, repairing it, the whole time the car is still running and you got to get that engine back in there pretty quickly. So, it's a pretty amazing thing. You also go, I mean they took all these organs out. You need these organs certainly the liver to survive. So, they have to take it out and put it back in a very timely fashion. It's like doing several different transplants all within a very short period.
CHETRY: Why is this the first time we've seen this done then?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think that's -- the way surgery work, the way medicine works is you build on previous knowledge. We've talked about this with other surgeries that we reported here on AMERICAN MORNING. But this idea that you know, we do transplantation often. That's obviously becoming a well defined science. This idea that you can take out several organs out of the person and put them right back in is something I think people have thought about. They've done single oranges.
There was a story that we reported about taking a man's heart out, taking several tumors out of the heart and then putting the heart back in. That was one of the first times I remember hearing about this sort of, this idea that you can take it out, fix it, and put it back in. Doing six at once, or just building on a lot of the existing knowledge.
CHETRY: Very incredible. Sanjay, good to see you. Thanks.
GUPTA: All right, Kiran. Thanks.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: Should airlines be forced to provide passengers stuck on a tarmac with water, food, and fresh air and rest rooms? We asked you in our "Quick Vote," what you said as soon as we come back.
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ROBERTS: Final check of our "Quick Vote" this morning. Did a federal court make the right decision when it struck down a New York state's airline passenger's bill of rights law? Eighteen percent of you said, yes, way to go, 82 percent said what are you thinking about? No!
Thanks for voting. We'll do it again tomorrow.
CHETRY: Eighty-two percent of people who like air.
ROBERTS: There you go.
Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you again tomorrow.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris starts right now.
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