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Airline Equipment Inspections Mean Flight Delays and Cancellations; Random Shootings in Virginia Along I-64; Presidential Candidates Talk About the Economy; Two Children Found Dead in Louisville
Aired March 27, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Nobody wants to fly on an unsafe plane, but everybody wants to fly. And that means thousands of ticked-off passengers from hundreds of canceled flights. Our Miles O'Brien is watching day two of snap inspections.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Banks feel the pinch when times get hard, but you don't know hard times until you run or need a food bank. We'll visit a busy one in southern California.
Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta here.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in today for Kyra Phillips. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: It is 2:01 here in the East and if you're flying American or if you're flying Delta today, you might want to check on your flight. Both airlines are still inspecting some of their older planes. In Delta's case, it is a re-inspection but it still means canceled flights and stranded passengers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LOWRY, DELTA PASSENGER: I was getting ready to board the flight and they said it was canceled. So, you know, we go up to the crown room and stand in line there for about an hour and they tell us it's not canceled. Go back down to the gate. We go back down to the gate. We get there. They tell us it's canceled again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A Delta spokeswoman tells CNN these long lines should be a lot shorter come morning when the airlines should be back on schedule. We hope that's true.
We're going to turn now to our chief technology correspondent, Mr. Miles O'Brien and he's going to tell us what the focus of these inspections are. What are they, Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, it boils down to wiring which is an Achilles' heel for all modern airliners. The wiring which supports and powers the auxiliary hydraulic power unit, wiring that looks like this, bundled together, it's sheathed and it has the potential over time and these are 20-year-old aircrafts, plus, becoming frayed or damaged in some way. That can lead to a short-circuit. That can lead to arcing. Arcing in proximity to fuel vapors obviously a potentially deadly mix.
We saw it is happen back in July of 1996. TWA flight 800, a 747, exposed wires in the center fuel tank. Fuel vapors there, an explosion in midair. Everyone on board died. So the FAA is very concerned that the airlines stay focused on wiring and inspections of those wires.
They issued this air worthiness directive, Don, which is kind of like tablets from the mountain back in September of '06, said to the airlines, go to your MD-80 series aircraft. Take a look at this wiring bundle. Make sure it's not damaged. Make sure it's sheathed properly and make sure it's fastened just right.
Well, the wording was a little bit ambiguous and the fastening wasn't done just right according to American Airlines and that's why they are going back to the second go-round to insure that these wires are just in place and that's why Delta is re-inspecting as well, all of this on the heels of that Southwest Airlines incident, where inspections of the fuselage were apparently not done and the FAA apparently knew about it and allowed to it happen. So there are some concerns out there among the traveling public as you can imagine.
LEMON: I think you said the wiring has been the Achilles' heel for the airline industry and it's been the cause of a lot of accidents. So this is a big deal.
O'BRIEN: It is a big deal. Wiring is something you want to focus on, but in the specific case of this wiring and the way it's attached, whether it's an inch apart or a little bit more than an inch apart, you might say that doesn't sound like a big deal. But the bottom line is it's very important that these air worthiness directives are followed to the letter and that they are written in such a way that the airlines and the mechanics for the airlines understand them clearly and comply with them properly.
So it's a good thing that all of this is coming after an audit by the FAA and not some horrible accident. We should keep this in mind. There hasn't been a big airline that has crashed in the U.S. since November of 2001. It's a pretty impressive safety record they've got going on right now. Having said that, these airlines are economically up against the wall, Don, and a lot of people are concerned that they might be tempted to cut corners on safety.
LEMON: Chief technology correspondent Miles O'Brien. Miles, thank you.
O'BRIEN: You're welcome.
KEILAR: Now, the latest on a developing story from Louisville, Kentucky, where two children have been found dead. The story began unfolding this morning when police at the University of Louisville disarmed a woman. The woman identified as a student was taken to a psychiatric ward and university police then asked city officers to check on the well-being of two children inside this house that you see here. When city police did that, they found those children fatally wounded.
Neighbors in the area saying they are shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was a single mother, raising two children, on her own and I thought doing a very good job. We babysat her dog and her cat when she was gone. I don't get it. I don't get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Shock obviously to that Louisville community. We're going to continue to follow this story. We will be filling in the blanks as quickly as we can.
LEMON: OK, everyone needs to pay close attention to this. Especially if you're driving on I-20, on I-46, I should say, 64 near Charlottesville. Let me tell you why. Police are warning drivers to be careful today along that stretch of interstate near Charlottesville, Virginia. A 20-mile stretch was closed overnight, get this, after bullets hit two cars, a van, a truck and a state government vehicle. Two people were treated for injuries. So far, there are no suspects in custody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. STEVE FLAHERTY, SUPT., VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: We believe it's more the one suspect. Now, that doesn't mean that they were firing simultaneously at these sites. We believe that one of the sites based on some witness information that it was more than one individual there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Police are not referring to the suspects as snipers. They say it appears to be a case of random shooting.
KEILAR: Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad showing the scars of battle. For three straight days, Iraqi forces have fought with armed militias who claim that they are being unfairly targeted and pressured by the government. More than 100 people have been killed in street clashes, not just in Baghdad, but in Shiite populated areas such as Basra, Kut and Karbala.
LEMON: President Bush said today that an American withdrawal from Iraq at this point would undo any progress made so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It would be a propaganda victory of colossal proportions for the global terrorists' movement which would gain new funds and find new recruits and conclude that the way to defeat America is to bleed us into submission. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, speaking at the Air Force national museum in Dayton, Ohio, President Bush also praised Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki. He called the current crackdown on Shiite militias a bold decision.
KEILAR: Let me take you back a few years now to shortly before the war and a high-level trip to Iraq by three U.S. congressmen. They didn't know it at the time, but their bills were directly footed by Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency.
That is according to a Federal indictment unsealed yesterday in Detroit in the case of an Iraqi-born businessman. It claims the trip was funded by a charity backed by the Iraqi government which allegedly arranged for trips by delegations sympathetic to lifting sanctions. This indictment doesn't name the lawmakers but Congressman David Bonior, Jim McDermott and Mike Thompson made a trip to Iraq at that time.
LEMON: The economy is issue number one for the Democratic presidential hopefuls today. On the campaign trail in New York, Barack Obama says the government can do more to help struggling Americans especially, especially, since the Federal Reserve has already backed a bailout for the investment bank Bear Stearns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we can extend a hand to banks on Wall Street when they get into trouble, we can extend a hand to Americans who are struggling often through no fault of their own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Senator Obama also called for new rules and regulations to keep the markets, quote, competitive and fair.
KEILAR: Obama's party rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, is also weighing in on the nation's economic health. At a campaign stop in North Carolina, she aimed her toughest comments at the current occupant of the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, the Bush economy is like a trapdoor. Too many people are one pink slip away, one missed mortgage payment away, one medical diagnosis away from falling through and losing everything. The oil companies, predatory student loan companies, the insurance companies and the drug companies have had seven years of a president who stands up for them. I will be a president who stands up for all of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Senator Clinton also pledged to make changes to the NAFTA trade deal with Mexico and Canada and she promised what she calls a time-out on new trade agreements.
LEMON: All right, so no matter who wins the Democratic nomination, a lot of Democrats will be unhappy, of course, but how unhappy? Quite a few are threatening to vote Republican if their choice for nominee loses out.
Our Dan Lothian has more on this nightmare scenario for the party. That's lightly said, nightmare scenario. He joins us now from Philadelphia with that. How about it, Dan?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. Well, you know, this is not the kind of news that the Democratic candidates would like to hear. As you pointed out, they are saying if they don't get what they want, if they don't get their candidate, they're willing to jump to the Republican, Senator John McCain.
Take a look at the most recent polling. It's a tracking poll. And it shows that Gallup tracking polls showing that if 28 percent of supporters, Hillary Clinton supporters, if she does not get the nomination, they would instead vote for Senator John McCain. On the Obama side, 19 percent of Obama supporters saying that if he does not get the nomination, then in the general election they would vote for Senator John McCain as well.
Certainly those high numbers of 28 percent with Senator Hillary Clinton perhaps showing that they -- her supporters strongly oppose Senator Obama or are so loyal to her that they would rather vote for a Republican rather than vote for a Democrat.
Now, let's take a look also at this contentious Democratic race. You know, obviously we've seen a lot of sharp attacks and some might call it very negative. And so the question then is, how is that impacting how voters feel about the Democratic candidates? And take a look at the latest numbers from NBC and also "The Wall Street Journal."
In the poll, 700 registered voters were asked how they view the candidates. For Senator Clinton, 48 percent have a negative view of Senator Clinton, 37 percent have a positive view for Senator Obama, 49 percent have a positive view, 32 percent have a negative view. And, then, finally, who would the voters feel would be best to unite the country? For that number, Senator Obama wins. With 60 percent saying that Senator Obama would be best to unite the country, Senator John McCain at 58 percent and then Senator Clinton at 46 percent.
So, certainly some strong feelings -- feelings among voters. Certainly among the Democrats and perhaps harsher among the Democrats because it is such a tight race and they still don't have a nominee this far along. Don?
LEMON: All right, Dan Lothian in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Thank you, Dan.
KEILAR: The college student who asked Chelsea Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal is defending his question. Butler University student Evan Strange asked Chelsea Clinton Tuesday about criticism of the way that her mother handled the Lewinsky scandal and if it, quote, might be a sign of weakness.
Now, Chelsea Clinton gave him a rather icy response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSEA CLINTON, SEN. CLINTON'S DAUGHTER: 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)
KEILAR: Evan Strange appeared on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING earlier today. He still insists that his question was legit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN STRANGE, BUTLER UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Number one, she's campaigning for her mom, so I think, you know, any question is -- is valid. And especially when there's a $3 trillion budget at hand, it's a question that needs to be answered especially when many voters want to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So what do you think? Was it OK to ask Chelsea Clinton about her mother's handling of the Monica Lewinsky scandal? We do want to know what you think, so you can just send us an e-mail at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com and we'll show you those results a little later in the show.
LEMON: OK, a lot of people have been trying to answer this question. But just how bad is the economy? Wait until you hear the story of a family that showed up at the food bank. How far and how quickly they fell from grace.
KEILAR: And we've heard a lot about Iraq over the last few days. But what about Afghanistan? We're going to go out with the troops there for a firsthand look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There's some very frightening news into the CNN NEWSROOM. We've been telling you about what police are warning drivers in Virginia. Police are warning travelers to be careful today along interstate 64 near Charlottesville, Virginia. That's because a 20-mile stretch of road there is closed. Bullets hit two cars, a van, a truck and a state government vehicle. Two people were treated for injuries.
So far, there are no suspects in custody. But police are looking at this time, not calling them snipers but saying that there definitely is someone shooting there, random shooting, drivers beware.
KEILAR: It is about 2:17 here in the east, three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM. A developing story out of Kentucky. Two children found dead in their home not long after police disarmed a female student on the University of Louisville campus and then took her to a psychiatric ward. Well, no one was injured at the university, but police say the two incidents are connected. They haven't said how, though.
Puerto Rico's governor and 12 others are facing Federal campaign finance charges. Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila (ph) is accused of soliciting illegal campaign contributions and defrauding the Puerto Rican treasury of $7 million. Acevedo is a Democratic party super delegate who has endorsed Barack Obama.
The U.S. Embassy confirms that a U.S. government official has been killed in an attack on the international zone in Baghdad. The fortified area is home to U.S. and Iraqi government offices. It's been targeted by rockets and mortar attacks since Sunday.
LEMON: Well, if this next story doesn't tell you just how bad it's getting out there for some of us, the economic downturn is just something we read about or we hear about. For others, it's suddenly become a sad fact of life.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports from Riverside, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing inside the Second Harvest food bank and this is a 32,000-square foot distribution center that's responsible for feeding a quarter of a million people each and every month in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The people here say that they've noticed an increase in the number of families who are coming to them for help. The majority are now middle class families.
(voice-over): A tree lined street in the foot hills of Alstina (ph), California, one of the last places you might expect to find a middle class family struggling to feed themselves. But it's where they found homeowners Patricia Guerrero, a former loan processor, recently laid off from her $70,000 a year job.
PATRICIA GUERRERO, FOOD BANK RECIPIENT: It just happened so fast. It happened in a matter of two months.
GUTIERREZ: Less than 90 days is all it took for Guerrero and her husband to lose their middle class lives.
GUERRERO: We both had good jobs, both very stable, 401(k)s, looking forward to the future.
GUTIERREZ: Then her husband left. Now she's barely hanging on to her home. Her mortgage payments continue to go up.
GUERRERO: My mortgage right now is $2,500.
GUTIERREZ: That's only interest.
GUERRERO: Only interest.
GUTIERREZ: She began drawing unemployment. She rented out her mother's house and her mother Isabelle moved in to help her with the mortgage. She says she's lived off her tax refund for a month. That's gone, too.
GUERRERO: The rental and my unemployment are the only thing that cover my mortgage. Other than that, there's no money left. Zero.
GUTIERREZ: No money for food.
GUERRERO: No money for food.
GUTIERREZ: Utilities.
GUERRERO: No. Nothing.
GUTIERREZ: Patricia applied for food stamps but she says because she owns her own home, she was denied and says she found herself in a middle class no-man's land.
GUERRERO: I never used the system. I've been working since I was 15-and-a-half-years-old. I needed it now and it turned me down.
GUTIERREZ: She says she had no choice but to turn to her local food bank. She says it was one of the hardest things she has had to do.
GUERRERO: I just remember you take off the Tiffany bracelet and you take off -- you don't take in your Coach purse because it is not worth anything anyways. You don't got a dime in your pocket. When I walked in there I was very surprised on how they were and how wonderful this woman was that helped me and everything and then she offered to pay my utility bill that month.
I was like, wow. And it brought tears to my eyes. I sat there and I cried. I was like, this is really where I'm at? I go, no way. You know. This is true. This is reality. This is the stuff you see on TV. You know? And it was hard. It was very hard. But don't get me wrong, I was grateful. I was very grateful.
GUTIERREZ: Patricia Guerrero is eager to go back to work, to hang on to her home until the market turns. But for the single mom, every day it becomes harder to hang on.
GUTIERREZ: It's just depressing for me. I just don't want to get out of bed, but I have to. I have to.
GUTIERREZ: Patricia Guerrero and some of the other families that we've talked to say it's very scary because there is no safety net for middle class families because they have assets and also because sometimes they work jobs, they don't qualify for government assistance programs like food stamps.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Riverside, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Flushing out the Taliban and playing Afghanistan's game of cat and mouse. We are on the ground with Britain's Royal Marine commandos.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: With higher oil prices or expensive European vacations, well, it's no surprise that many Americans are cursing the weak dollar. But the battered buck, well, it has some advantages, too and Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a silver lining to the currency story.
I love this, when you (INAUDIBLE) glass half full.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And actually we've reported this many times, a different version of the story, a different aspect, because a lot of the companies that do business that are listed here at the New York Stock Exchange do business overseas. That cheap dollar has really saved them in the slowing economy here in the U.S.
But the other thing is for overseas businesses that want to do business here in the U.S., it's better than ever because it's so cheap. A study by the consulting firm KPMG found the U.S. offers more bang for the buck so to speak than France, Britain and other European countries.
In fact, out of 10 countries that it looks at, the U.S. was the third cheapest place to do business. Only Canada and Mexico were seen as cheaper. The study measures competitiveness using labor costs, taxes, real estate and utilities -- Brianna?
KEILAR: Even with the cheap dollar, Susan, you've got places like New York and Silicon Valley and they are certainly no bargain.
LISOVICZ: That's right. Those, of course, are major business areas. Whether it's for finance or technology but they still aren't as expensive as they once were. Also the high expenses there are offset by places across the south. Like your stomping ground, Atlanta or at least your temporary stomping ground, Brianna, as well as Tampa and Dallas that KPMG says offer a moderately low-priced business climate. The company says it's the best showing for the U.S. in the 14 years it has compared the countries. So, yes, the glass half full.
But if it's got oil, it's brimming because we're seeing oil prices that are surging yet again. Today up more than $2 to $108 even per barrel, closing back in on the record high set 10 days ago. Stocks moving in the other direction, weighed down by weakness in the tech sector. The Dow right now is down 50 points or nearly 0.5 percent. The Nasdaq is down 1 percent. In the next hour we're going to talk about the fastest-growing city in the U.S.
Brianna, back to you.
KEILAR: All right, looking forward to it. You started glass half full but then you did kind of get glass half empty there, Susan. And you don't have a choice. That's your job.
LISOVICZ: It's tough these days.
KEILAR: All right, thank you.
LEMON: China finally got -- let the international press into Tibet. That's good, right? Well, their nothing to see here tour got interesting. We'll explain that one.
KEILAR: Flushing out the Taliban and playing Afghanistan's game of cat and mouse. We're going to be on the ground with Britain's Royal Marine commandos.
LEMON: Who is in their family tree? We'll explore the branches linking the presidential candidates and famous Americans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The Chinese government is a little red-faced today. Well, that's after an organized tour of Tibet designed to show everything calm and quiet ran into a demonstration by Buddhist monks.
CNN's Eunice Yoon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Journalists on the tour of the Tibetan capital, the first of international reporters allowed into Tibet since anti-Chinese protests broke out there two weeks ago. The visit was carefully managed by the Chinese government, part of Beijing's campaign to show that life in Tibet is returning to normal.
Yet this outburst by 30 Buddhist monks at Tibet's sacred Jokhang Temple showed the situation is anything but calm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They don't trust us. They treat us unjustly. They lock us up and don't allow us to go out.
YOON: The monks were talking about China's crackdown on anti- government protesters. The largely peaceful demonstration started on March 10th, the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. The protest turned violent and peaked on March 14th with buildings burned and shops looted.
There's now a heavy police presence in Tibet. Reporters saw roadblocks and checkpoints. One police officer offered journalists this explanation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're just here to apprehend people who have no license or are speeding. YOON: The roughly two dozen reporters from organizations like the "Wall Street Journal" and "USA Today" were escorted by government officials and police who blamed the Dalai Lama for fomenting unrest. The Dalai Lama has criticized violent protests and urged dialogue with China.
(on camera): Yet the trip wasn't open to all media outlets, including CNN. We are one of several Western news organizations that has become a target of angry Chinese bloggers who believe that our coverage is unfair.
(voice-over): The government says the outcry reflects wider public sentiment.
QIN GANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): You in the media should all reflect on this public outcry. It is a reaction by all Chinese people against irresponsible and unethical reporting.
YOON: After the monks' outburst to international media at the Jokhang Shrine, reporters say the area was sealed off by police as China tries to repair its image overseas and the run-up to the Beijing summer Olympics.
Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad showing the scars of battle. For three straight days, Iraqi forces there have fought with armed militias who claim they're being unfairly targeted and pressured by the government. More than 100 people have been killed in street clashes, not just in Baghdad but also in Shiite-populated areas like Basra, Kut and Karbala.
LEMON: And the U.S. Embassy confirms that a U.S. government official has been killed in an attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad. The fortified area is home to U.S. and Iraqi government offices. It's been targeted by rocket and mortar attacks since Sunday.
KEILAR: Well, last week, we observed the five-year mark in the Iraq War but remember, American and coalition forces became deeply involved in Afghanistan a year-and-a-half before the first bomb fell in Baghdad.
CNN's Nic Robertson went on a patrol with a British commando team in the heart of Taliban country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This is the Taliban's heartland, the desert plains and river valleys of Helmand Province. We're on a British army helicopter flying from a resupply base to an outpost of war. Below us, the poppy fields that supply much of the world's opium and more hidden dangers.
(on camera): We're flying into the forward operating base which is a really good thing, because the Taliban are using more and more roadside bombs these days.
(voice-over): Being in the air is no guarantee of safety either. The Taliban would like nothing better than to shoot one down. We've arrived on the eve of a big operation. Britain's elite royal marine commandos are gearing up for battle with the Taliban.
2ND LT. DAN EATON, BRITISH ROYAL MARINES: Our mission as the left hand troop is to conduct an advanced contact north to the 335 Northing.
ROBERTSON: Second Lieutenant Dan Eaton is briefing his troops for Operation Claymore. He is 24, commands about 40 men, and this is his first posting after training. He confides to us his deepest worries, as he readies his unit.
EATON: It's so close to the end of the tour, is casualties within my troop. I've had one already and at this late stage, I'd prefer not to get any at all.
ROBERTSON: An American B-1 bomber screeches overhead in a show of force. The men of D company, 40 royal marine commando are searching for Taliban.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you ever see people with weapons coming through here? Because we hear -- we hear quite a lot of reports.
ROBERTSON: He wants to take on the Taliban, but avoid the risk of killing civilians. And that often means putting his men in danger.
MAJ. TONY CHATTIN, BRITISH ROYAL MARINES: They have to push the men slightly further forward to get the enemy to move, and then be able to smash them.
ROBERTSON: As we follow him into a village, we are doing exactly that.
CHATTIN: Always feel a degree more tension as we start to come up here.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Yes, why is that?
CHATTIN: Just -- we just had a little -- a fair number of engagements up here. And not helped, quite a few of the lads as we approach north. Quite a few of the lads saw families leaving compounds from the west.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A tell-tale sign, an ambush could be coming. Eight hours after leaving, we're back at Fort Gibraltar. No casualties but frustration with the Taliban cat-and-mouse game and a sense that this could go on for many years.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The Clinton/Obama race -- our Bill Schneider looks at whether the bitter Democratic divide will help John McCain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's talk some politics. Leading our political ticker today, the worst idea ever for New Hampshire and Iowa, it comes from Florida senator, Bill Nelson, who thinks presidential primaries ought to be clumped into regions, which would take turns being first. This wouldn't solve this year's problem with Nelson's home state and Michigan, both of whose Democratic primaries apparently won't count because they were moved up too early.
KEILAR: Well, that brings to us the superdelegates. Almost 800 Democratic party leaders and elected officials who likely will end up choosing this year's nominee. Tennessee governor, Phil Bredesen, suggests they all just get together in June after the final primary and take a vote. He and many other Democrats think the sooner a nominee is settled on, the better.
LEMON: And this is why one of John McCain's former rivals is helping him raise money today in Salt Lake City and in Denver. Well, before Mitt Romney gave up his own campaign for the GOP nomination, he called McCain a nonconservative and McCain called him a waffler. Now all is forgiven, or at least put aside, in the name of party finances.
KEILAR: The college student who asked Chelsea Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal is defending his question. Butler University student, Evan Strange, asked Chelsea Clinton Tuesday, as you may recall, about criticism of the way that her mother handled the Lewinsky scandal and if it might, "be a sign of weakness."
Chelsea Clinton gave him a rather icy response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF HILLARY 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.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Evan Strange appeared on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" earlier today, and he still insists that his question was legit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN STRANGE, BUTLER UNIVERSITY STUDENT: No. 1, she's campaigning for her mom, so I think, you know, any question is -- is valid. And especially when there's a $3 trillion budget at hand. It's a question that needs to be answered, especially when many voters want to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now we asked you to e-mail us your thoughts about this: Was it fair to ask Chelsea Clinton about the Lewinsky scandal?
LEMON: Well here's what some of you are saying, and it's very interesting stuff.
Tom from Virginia -- here's what Tom writes: "If Chelsea Clinton can represent and speak on her mom's behalf for the most important office in the world, then those voting for Hillary should be able to ask anything, including the press."
KEILAR: But Linda from New Hampshire, well, she sees it a little differently. She writes: "I do not think it was appropriate and her answer was perfect -- none of his business!"
LEMON: All right. John from Pennsylvania summed it up succinctly. He writes: "Valid question? Yes. Appropriate? No."
What do you think? Send us are e-mails cnn@cnnnewsroom.com. We'll have more of them just ahead in the NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: The longer Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battle each other and the nastier these battles get, the more ammunition they're going to give John McCain. That is the conventional wisdom. But now it appears that they may give him votes, too.
Here's CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): The division in the Democratic Party is becoming increasingly bitter. The most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows the percentage of Barack Obama supporters who say they would be dissatisfied or upset if Hillary Clinton wins the nomination. It's gone from 26 percent in January, just after Clinton won the New Hampshire primary, to 41 percent now.
What if Obama wins? A majority of Clinton supporters now say they'd be dissatisfied or upset.
HOWARD DEAN, DNC PARTY CHAIRMAN: That is the only thing that could make John McCain president -- if these Democrats get divided.
SCHNEIDER: Could it? According to the Gallup Poll, about one in five Obama supporters say they will vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee. And if Obama's the nominee, more than one in four Clinton supporters say they'd vote for McCain.
How high is that? You have to go all the way back to the Reagan years to find that many Democrats willing to vote for a Republican.
But the bitterness of the Democratic division is not the only reason so many Democrats are considering voting for McCain.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't torture or treat inhumanely suspected terrorists we have captured. I believe we should close Guantanamo. SCHNEIDER: A lot of Democrats like McCain. Last month, Democrats were split over McCain -- 44 percent said they like him. How many Republicans like Hillary Clinton -- 19 percent. Nearly 80 percent of Republicans dislike her.
Obama claims he can appeal to Republicans. Can he? More than Clinton. Thirty-five percent of Republicans say they like Obama. But that's still not as many as the number of Democrats who like McCain.
(on-camera): In his foreign policy speech Wednesday, McCain's message was: I am not George W. Bush. Yes, McCain supports Bush's Iraq policy. And, yes, Bush has endorsed McCain. But McCain never mentioned Bush's name. He did, however, identify with a Democrat -- Harry Truman.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Who's in their family trees? We'll explore the branches linking the presidential candidates and some famous Americans.
KEILAR: The little blue pill turns 10. How has it changed our lives our and our culture? We've got the answers in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: A golden retriever needs retrieving. We'll tell you how this pooch's predicament ended. Oh, look at this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Oh. Otis, did you have to do that to me without warning? That's actually a real good song.
Ten years ago -- you know, you see what's -- Viagra. Ten years ago, a little blue pill hit the market. Suddenly, everyone was talking about something, few people even mentioned out loud.
Here's our chief medical correspondent -- the NEWSROOM has gone crazy -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is the 10- year birthday for Viagra. A couple of things you may not know about the medication though. One is that it has really done a lot to actually ease the stigma of simply talking about erectile dysfunction, even having segments like this. Before Viagara, about one in 100 men were actually treated for erectile dysfunction. Those numbers have gone up considerably.
And here's an interesting piece of history that you may have heard -- is that when Viagra was originally developed, it was developed to treat chest pains. It wasn't such an effective measure for chest pain, but the people in the trial, the men that is, did not want to give the medications back because of the side effect treating erectile dysfunction. It is a drug that has obviously become very popular. Take a look at some of the numbers there. Three Viagra pills are taken every second. One billion Viagra tablets prescribed to date used by 35 million men around the world -- $1.7 billion sold by the end of last year.
Now, it's also important to keep in mind from a medical perspective that when a man goes to the doctor with symptoms of erectile dysfunction, it's an opportunity for the doctors to try and figure out are there other things that might be causing this. Is there a problem with the heart; is there a problem that could be possibly leading to stroke; is there diabetes. So this is an opportunity for doctors and men to actually have a conversations.
There are also potential side effects. Some men have complained of a greenish/bluish hue in their vision when they actually are taking Viagra. And there have been rare reports of sudden hearing loss. There's also facial bloating and body aches that have been reported to some extent.
Well, of course nowadays, Viagra isn't the only pill on the market, Cialis and Levitra are on the market as well. They all work in pretty similarly ways, although Cialis -- the half life is much longer, they say it can last up to 36 hours.
So happy birthday, Viagra. Back to you for now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
And you may want to mark your calendars for this one -- very serious story. Next Wednesday is World Autism Awareness Day. CNN will bring you a report on autism on noon Eastern, April 2.
This weekend, CNN's "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta is also exploring the issue. He goes one-on-one with the CDC and asks whether childhood vaccines are safe. That's Saturday and Sunday 8:30 a.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
KEILAR: Well, among the many things that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have in common, would you believe Brangelina? Strange, yes. But they do.
And CNN's Kate Bolduan plays six degrees of separation, or more even, with the candidates' family trees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: We've got some big problems that are going to be left behind by this Bush administration.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Barack Obama is so critical of George Bush you wouldn't guess they were cousins. But they are; tenth cousins once removed, a new genealogy studies shows, with a common ancestor in Massachusetts in 1662. Some other unexpected connections. John McCain and Laura Bush are sixth cousins. Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie are ninth cousins twice removed. And Barack Obama and Brad Pitt are ninth cousins.
OBAMA: You know, when they do these genealogical surveys, you're hoping that you're related to somebody cool.
BOLDUAN: Senator Obama already learned one of the names on his list a few months ago, and did not sound too pleased.
OBAMA: Paul Revere or somebody, but Dick Cheney, that's a letdown.
BOLDUAN: Turns out Obama is also distantly related to five former presidents, Bush, Ford, Johnson, Truman and Madison. But that's not unusual says one of the researchers.
CHRIS CHILD, NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOC.: He can trace them back, say, 400 years, it's not particularly surprising to find these interesting connections. People come into our library all the time and we do find, say, a half dozen presidential connections.
BOLDUAN: Senator Clinton is distantly related to Madonna, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette. A spokesman for Hillary Clinton tells CNN: "You'd think with all that singing talent in the family she'd be able to carry a tune, but now it makes much more sense how he snagged a Grammy."
But will these discoveries have an impact on the campaign?
CHILD: Well, these connections are 400 years ago. So I don't think they should necessarily have an impact on voting.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Researchers say they had less luck tracing John McCain's lineage. But they did find Hillary Clinton is linked to Camilla Parker Bowles, Barack Obama to Confederate general, Robert E. Lee.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Driving in Virginia, in or around Virginia today? We're going to tell you why you may need to be very, very careful.
KEILAR: When it comes to money, just like anything else, what you don't know, it can hurt you. And our Gerri Willis will be along to answer your questions about your money and, of course, how to hold on to it.
LEMON: OK, everybody, look at this video.
KEILAR: So cute.
LEMON: Wow, poor thing. It's a golden retriever, he needs retrieving. We'll tell you if he makes it out or not.
KEILAR: He's a cute guy.
LEMON: Seriously.
KEILAR: We're hoping for him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Golden retriever, thankfully retrieved.
LEMON: Yay.
KEILAR: This is a dog named Tracy (ph) on a walk with her owner when she walked too far on a frozen lake. Then she fell in. Now her owner, alarmed of course, called 9-1-1 and an ice rescue team was deployed. The rescuers grabbed Tracy and got her back to dry land and her grateful, grateful owner.
LEMON: Oh, look how cute she is.
KEILAR: And we were teasing this story saying, we'll tell you what -- you know we couldn't tease a story like this unless there was a happy ending, of course.
LEMON: Tracy. Yay, all is well with the world.
KEILAR: Tracy looking good there, walking around.
LEMON: And the next hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.
All right. Here's a question: who is shooting cars on I-64? Police in Virginia won't say a sniper's on the loose, but -- but they say they want to catch the shooter nonetheless. We'll get the latest on the search here.
KEILAR: Your stocks are down, your house payment is up, your job's on the line and you can't afford gas for your car. Our Gerri Willis tackles your toughest issues this hour.
Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN Center in World Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is still on assignment in Iraq.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right, this is a frightening story for anyone who drives. Police are warning travelers to be careful today along Interstate 64, near Charlottesville, Virginia. A 20-mile stretch was closed overnight after bullets hit two cars, a van, a truck and a state government vehicle.
Two people were treated for injuries. So far, there are no suspects in custody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. STEVE FLAHERTY, SUPT. VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: We believe it's more the one suspect. Now, that doesn't mean that they were firing simultaneously at these sites. We believe that one of the sites, based on some witness information, that it was more than one individual there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, police are not referring to the suspects as snipers. They say it appears to be a case of random shooting. A case of random shooting.
So, joining us by phone now from Charlottesville, Virginia, Corinne Geller with Virginia State Police.
OK. You're saying it's not a sniper, but it appears -- someone is taking aim at cars.
VOICE OF CORINNE GELLER, SPOKESPERSON, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: Well that's right, Don. We are basically still very much in the interview and analysis phase of this investigation. We're still receiving leads. We're following up on each of those leads. We're also waiting for analysis to come back from the ATF lab regarding the ballistics that were collected at both the scenes and the vehicles.
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