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American Morning
Obama Strikes Back at Clinton; Delta-Northwest Airline Merger Set to Announce Deal; Clinton and Obama Spar During Talk on Faith; Married Couples Living Together in Battle Zone
Aired April 14, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It was an actual jersey in the cement of a locker room, and they dug it up yesterday, but did they get the right one?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: There's a lot of conspiracy theory.
ROBERTS: Or was that a fake? Is the real one still there? I don't know. We'll find out later on.
CHETRY: And we're also talking about possible criminal charges. We have one of our favorite sports attorneys in to talk about it and why baseball is just so superstitious.
ROBERTS: All right. All of that coming up.
But first, we begin with politics and the biggest contest remaining on the Democratic calendar. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hitting the campaign trail in Pennsylvania today after courting the faith vote at last night's "Compassion Forum" on CNN. But just over a week before the state's primary, things are heating up and Obama's controversial remarks about small town working class voters becoming bitter over economic conditions taking center stage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): It was a cordial handshake, a collegial exchange as they crossed paths on stage. But not long before this moment, fresh evidence that the Democratic race is getting ugly again.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Shame on her. She knows better. She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment, she's talking like she's Annie Oakley. Hillary Clinton is out there, you know, like she's out in the duck blind every Sunday. She's packing a six-shooter.
Come on, she knows better. That's some politics being played by Hillary Clinton.
ROBERTS: The centerpiece of this latest flare-up, Obama's comments that small town folks facing tough economic times are bitter and cling to guns or religion. Hillary Clinton accused him of talking down to those all-important Pennsylvania voters.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do think it raises a lot of concerns because it did seem so much in line with what often we are charged with. Someone goes to a closed door fund- raiser in San Francisco and makes comments that do seem elitist, out of touch and frankly patronizing.
ROBERTS: He charged her with a sudden embrace of the Second Amendment, after previously pursuing gun control, framing what he saw as Republican-style smear tactics.
CAMPBELL BROWN, MODERATOR: Hillary Clinton, who was just here, said you were being elitist.
OBAMA: Well, that is, I think a good example of what happens on the presidential campaign, is that we try to tear each other down instead of lifting the country up. I think it is very important to understand, and I think it's unfortunate that in the political process of presidential campaigns, that people have been trying to misconstrue my words.
ROBERTS: It was a rare moment of political confrontation at last night's "Compassion Forum," an opportunity for voters to get inside the candidates and find out how faith would inform their presidencies.
CLINTON: For me, my faith has given me the confidence to make decisions that were right for me, whether anybody else agree with me or not.
OBAMA: What I believe is that God intervenes, but that his plans are a little too mysterious for me to grasp. And so, what I try to do is, as best I can, be an instrument of his will.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain was invited to take part in the "Compassion Forum," but he declined. And if you didn't get a chance to see last night's forum, you can watch it today online at CNN.com/live. The program will re-air today at 8:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, a hearing this morning in Texas about the 416 children removed from a polygamous sect and whether or not they'll be allowed to return to that compound. For the first time, we're hearing from the children's mothers. Some of them spoke to a Salt Lake City newspaper over the weekend describing the minutes after the raid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you imagine what it's like to come back to nothing? To empty, ransacked homes? Many things taken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A judge now ordering law enforcement to confiscate cell phones from the women in state custody after someone used a cell phone to send out images of the living conditions.
Meanwhile, family members are asking Governor Rick Perry for help, saying that some of the children have become sick in state custody. A physician overseeing medical care at the shelter denies this saying the children are in great health. She does say that a dozen of them have chickenpox, that they're likely contracted on the compound.
Meantime, an attorney for convicted polygamous, you just saw him, Warren Jeffs, is speaking out about the raid. He says that authorities may have been duped by a fake crime report. The 16-year- girl who allegedly called authorities to report being abused has still not been found.
Also developing overnight, more than a dozen people hurt after two boats collided on the Mississippi River. Officials say 18 people were hurt when a boat carrying Louisiana prison employees collided with a barge upstream from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Prison workers were taking the boat across the river to get to work.
The coast guard says everyone is accounted for and that no one actually went into the water. Two people were airlifted to the hospital, and investigators are now trying to figure out whether high water levels made those waters harder to navigate.
Well, a second college is closed because of school threat this is morning. Oakland University in Michigan canceled classes and activities for two days after officials said they found threatening graffiti in three men's rooms. According to the "Detroit Free Press," they referred to possible campus attacks on 4/14. This comes after Saint Xavier University in the Chicago area had to shut down indefinitely after officials found two graffiti threats mentioning that same date.
ROBERTS: The Iraqi government says it has fired roughly 1,300 soldiers and police officers for refusing to fight during last month's government crackdown on Shiite militias. A high-ranking Iraqi official says more than 900 of those dismissed were stationed in Basra, the southern city that saw the most fire. The government says the troops dismissed will now face a court-martial for both showing solidarity with outlaws.
Former President Jimmy Carter is standing by his decision to meet with exile Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal (ph), in Syria later on this week. He told ABC News the group must be included in the peace process for the troubled region. Carter is in Israel this morning where he is getting a rather chilly reception. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other members of the Israeli cabinet have so far refused to meet with Carter.
Washington, D.C. is gearing up this morning for Pope Benedict XVI's whirlwind visit tomorrow. In a rare gesture, the leader of the world's Roman Catholics will be greeted by President Bush at Andrews Air Force Base. On Wednesday, more than 12,000 of the faithful are expected for the official arrival ceremony at the White House. After three days at the nation's capital, the pope then heads to New York on Friday. Activists say they are planning several vigils and rallies this week to protest the church's social policies -- Kiran. CHETRY: Still ahead, talk of a major airline merger heating up this morning. A Delta-Northwest deal would create the world's largest carrier, but what would it mean for the average flier? Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."
And the war of words rages on between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And there's one group loving every minute of it. Not Republicans, but bloggers. A look at what and who are writing about the Democratic dogfight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. You know, we have been talking about the airlines. It's been in the news a lot lately. And now, we could be talking about a big merger between Delta and Northwest. It would create the world's largest carrier, but what would it mean for people like us?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, most mornings in AMERICAN MORNING is live, but once in a while we run into a glitch. So this is actually a taped report that I did several months ago. It's exactly, exactly to the last letter of the same report I did several months ago that we are an inch away from a deal between Delta and Northwest, which as you say, will create the world's largest airline.
Now, first of all, for those of you who fly on those airlines, take a look at this map. These are the hubs for the two airlines. This is all off in the most interesting thing to people about where they are. The red hubs are Northwest. The blue hubs are Delta.
So we've got Salt Lake City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Cincinnati for Delta. Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis for Northwest. So there's always some questions to what will happen.
If these two airlines merge, the new airline will likely be called Delta. It will be headquartered in Atlanta and the head of Delta will be the CEO of the new company. Now, Air France (ph) came. A lot of ownership share in this airline. It's unclear when these airlines merge, whether, you know, a lot of the approval process to go through. But if this merger goes through, then they're thinking the next merger might be Continental and United.
We have already seen the first shoe drop in terms of airline consolidation, so you are likely to see it happen in 2008 because we have seen these bankruptcies of airlines. So we've seen some of the excess capacities in the airlines disappear.
The other problem is with oil above $110 a barrel, that is a major, major expense for airlines. So they need to consolidate in order to try and save money. Bottom line is, it's unclear whether this will result in money savings for passengers because they'll probably get rid of some routes that were otherwise, you know, had a lot more competition.
ROBERTS: We're looking at the economic pressures that you just outlined, do you think we'll see more consolidation?
VELSHI: Yes, absolutely. I think 2008 is going to be the year that you'll see probably a few more airlines disappear and a few more consolidate. But then, you're going to have this big mega airlines.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: That's right. And they don't have to feel obliged to serve us anything.
VELSHI: The tape is fixed. We can go back to live programming now in AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: That is going to start throwing peanuts.
VELSHI: That's right. Grab it as you go in. Grab a peanut.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Ali.
CHETRY: Eloquent style. All right. Thanks, Ali.
ROBERTS: People said that they found their things scattered across 100 yards. A major cleanup effort underway today after a tornado picked up homes in North Carolina over the weekend. And a final taste of winter could follow.
Reynolds Wolf is watching the extreme weather for us this morning. Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, you're absolutely right, John.
Many people across the nation are waking up to unseasonably cool temperatures. And coming up, we're going to tell you how long that cold air is going to remain in place. That and more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: A cold front swept through the Carolinas this weekend leaving this damage you see here in Princeton. A lot of roof damage, a lot of people picking up this morning. It is certainly a mess there.
And as that frontal boundary came through the area, it's leaving something in its wake. And this morning, we're certainly feeling that, not damage, but just some cold air. Take a look at what we have on the weather computer for you.
On the weather computer, we've got temperatures that in many locations are into the 30s and 40s. Say Atlanta, currently 37 degrees, 34 in Charlotte, 40 degrees in Nashville, 42 in Memphis, and Dallas with 41 degrees. And what we're also seeing is a little bit of precipitation making its way through parts of the Bluegrass Region into parts of the smoky mountains. Some of this coming down in the form of rain, but a little bit of snow popping up too just to the north of Chattanooga, not far from Lookout Mountain where the temperatures are mainly into the 30s this morning, and it looks like at the highest peaks may be a bit cooler than that.
Let's go a bit farther to the west where in parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and into Texas, we have freeze warnings. We also have frost advisories that will be in effect, temperatures very chilly there and then back to the northeast. Not so cold in terms of just the temperatures, but when you combine with the windchill, yes, it is very chilly for you in New York with 39 degrees, 33 in Philadelphia, 30 in Buffalo, 14 in Marquette, and 28 in Chicago.
That is the latest on your forecast. Let's send it back to New York.
CHETRY: We've got a little bit of controversy on our hands, Reynolds, so you want to pay attention this morning...
WOLF: Bring it on.
CHETRY: ... between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The bitter rivalry continues, and we are unearthing a curse in our "Hot Shot" now. These are crews digging at the new Yankee stadium. They had to drill through two feet of concrete to dig out a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey.
Now, this was buried by a fellow construction worker, a huge Sox fan and Yankee hater. Well, the news of this surfaced last week. Fears of a hex rose after that. And then because of an anonymous tip verifying its existence, they went ahead and dug it out. Fifteen minutes of digging and there it is.
ROBERTS: Now, I guess, the Yankees are trying to, I guess, scare the guy that buried it by saying, oh, my God, there could be criminal charges here. This cost us $50,000 to dig it up.
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: Excuse me.
CHETRY: $50,000, possibly --
ROBERTS: $50,000 for 15 minutes to dig in with a --
WOLF: That can't be the only one. There has to be another one somewhere, seriously. You don't go through that kind of work. And why use a David Ortiz shirt? Nothing against Ortiz, I love "Big Papi," but why not use a Ted Williams? Why not use a Smoky Joe Wood? You know, go back.
ROBERTS: You mean, something that could really invoke a real curse.
WOLF: I think Ted Williams is the spoiler (ph), is definitely has a little more power there.
ROBERTS: I wonder if maybe this is just a decoy and there is another jersey there.
CHETRY: Right now, there's two -- now, there's two conspiracy theories working this morning. What was the other one you already included out there?
ROBERTS: That was the one because this was just the decoy.
CHETRY: This is just the beginning. This is the decoy jersey. All right. We'll see what happens.
ROBERTS: I'm with you.
CHETRY: We're going to be talking to sports attorney, Ryan Smith, about the whole thing and why, you know, baseball is so superstitious about these curses to begin with.
ROBERTS: $50,000 to dig it up, please.
CHETRY: How about it? Well, if you have a "Hot Shot," by the way, e-mail us, CNN.com am. Follow the "Hot Shot" link. And, oh, you know what -- they say about why it was David Ortiz, by the way -- because the Red Sox back in 2004 staged a monster comeback after being down three games to none and it was game four where Ortiz hit a walk- off homer in the 12th inning to win the game. So there it is. That's why it was Ortiz.
ROBERTS: You know, if they really wanted to punish the guy, they would have made him dig it up with a spoon.
CHETRY: Yes, but they weren't -- you're right. Although $50,000 isn't going to be too pleasant either.
ROBERTS: "Shawshank Redemption" style, you know.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Senator Barack Obama's bitter words about blue collar voters prompting his political rivals to pile on, accusing him of being an elitist. But what are the blogs saying? Our Veronica De La Cruz is watching the Web next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's just about 20 minutes after the hour. The Pennsylvania primary a week from tomorrow. It took so long to get here. The battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton intensifying around Obama's remarks regarding small town voters becoming bitter over economic conditions. Our Veronica De La Cruz has been checking out the blogs to say to see what they've got to say about this. Good morning.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, and bitter seems to be the word on the blogs this morning. Definitely a topic of much of the political discourse online this morning. I want to show this.
This is the "Huffington Post".com. Take a look. This is the front page where blogger Nico Pitney, he's the national editor for the "Huf Post," does a comparison, pitting Obama's bitter comments against Bill Clinton's comments from 1991 in which he apparently said, John, all these economically insecure white people are scared to death. He puts the comments up side by side and then he ends his piece by asking readers if they see any similarities there.
And as you know, Hillary has been quick to react to Obama's comments calling him out of touch and elitist. Let's take a look at the blog Talking Points Memo. A user there says to see Hillary going absolutely over the top to smash Obama for making clearly more humanly sympathetic observations in this vein, is just amazing.
Another blog, Politico.com. Mike Allen, he says this. This is a potential turning point for Obama's campaign, an episode that could be even more damaging than the attention to remarks by his minister, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, since this time those controversial words came right out of his mouth.
And then from a Moderate Voice, Joe Gandelman. He is the editor there. He says, once again in a Democratic Party primary twist and turn, McCain must be smiling because this is yet another sign that this bitter campaign will be fought tooth and nail and could go all the way to the convention.
Finally, to go ahead and end it on this bitter note since that seems to be the regular one. I want to show you this Web site from a bunch of pro-Obama supporters. It's called BitterVoters.org, and they call themselves "Bitter and Proud of It." Clinton says we're resilient, but we can't take it anymore. McCain says let them eat lemons, but what we really need is a leader who can turn lemons into lemonade -- Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: It would be interesting to watch the day as well because Barack Obama has got a speech before the Newspaper Editors Association which he is really going to jump on John McCain for what McCain said in response to Obama's comments. And I'm sure that it will go back and forth between Hillary Clinton-Obama today as well.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, yes. Probably you're right about that.
ROBERTS: Yes. And one week to go. It's only got to heat up from here. Veronica, thanks.
We want to know about what you think about all this. This morning we're asking, did you find Barack Obama's comments about small towns offensive? Answer is yes or no.
Cast your votes at CNN.com. We'll track your votes throughout the morning. You can also e-mail us at CNN.com/am. Let us know whether you were offended by the comments, yes or no, and why. Just expound on it a little bit more. Tell us also which candidate you think is more in touch or out of touch with voters. That's at CNN.com/ -- Kiran. CHETRY: Well, still ahead, it's a change of heart for the military, letting husbands and wives who have to fight together in the war zones actually live together as well. We're going to meet one couple to hear how it works for them when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, the army has a marriage problem. Fifteen-month war deployments are tearing marriages apart and making some people make the call to get out of the military. For the first time, the army is trying something unheard of, and that is letting married couples who are both soldiers live together even if they are in the war zone. Jill Dougherty takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Romance on a military base in Baghdad? Well, not exactly. The electricity is out again, but these two officers are in love. Jessica and Brian Hegenbart, married for over three years, deployed together twice. Under traditional army rules, they wouldn't be allowed to live together. But under a policy quietly introduced in 2006, they can if the housing is available.
DOUGHERTY (on camera): Do you think there is an amount of jealous at all among people?
BRIAN HEGENBART, MARRIED COUPLE IN THE WAR ZONE: Definitely.
DOUGHERTY: How's that?
B. HEGENBART: Maybe not true jealousy, but in a joking manner.
DOUGHERTY (voice-over): But the mission of these two Blackhawk pilots is deadly serious. Brian flies infantry troops on air assault missions. Jessica transports military personnel.
JESSICA HEGENBART, MARRIED COUPLE IN THE WAR ZONE: I don't usually worry unless he's getting to the point where he should be home and it's going on a couple of hours. I feel like he should have been home by now. So I try not to think about it otherwise.
B. HEGENBART: So I'm going to call her right when I get back. I'll get back in the office and I'll pick up the phone and call her office just to let her know I'm back, so she doesn't have to worry.
DOUGHERTY: But army rules still apply. No public displays of affection.
DOUGHERTY (on camera): Do you ever hug, you know, each other or kiss each other in public?
B. HEGENBART: No ma'am.
J. HEGENBART: We can't. B. HEGENBART: It's hard sometimes. It can wait until we get back to the room.
DOUGHERTY (voice-over): Tomorrow, the mission begins at daybreak. Lights out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Well, the army says it doesn't keep track of how many couples are actually living together in the war zone. About 40 live- in trailers in so called couples row at Camp Striker in Iraq.
ROBERTS: It's almost 27 minutes after the hour. We're just eight days now until the crucial Pennsylvania primary. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama last night discussed their faith as part of CNN's "Compassion Forum." But there's little compassion between the two camps regarding controversial remarks made by Barack Obama last week.
Joining me now from Houston is CNN contributor is Roland Martin. Roland, good to see you. Let's listen quickly to what Hillary Clinton's show of Barack Obama's remarks last night during that "Compassion Forum."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It did seem so much in line with what often we are charged with. Someone goes to a closed door fund-raiser in San Francisco and makes comments that do see elitist, out of touch and frankly patronizing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Elitist, out of touch and patronizing. Can she hurt him in Pennsylvania by bringing this up in the way that she is?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, bottom line is for the comments to come out so close to the election, when you have them within about four points and you have about nine or 12 percent of people of people who are unsure, of course it could backfire. But what's interesting is I get e-mails from people who say I disagree, it's come as wrong. Then I get people who are from small towns who say, you know what? He was actually right.
And so, it was a very particularly interesting forum to have both of them discussing faith issues and so it would be interesting to see how he continues to drive home the point and say, look, folks are bitter, folks are angry. Sure, I may have said it, you know, in a different way, but as he keeps saying is the crux of my comments are pretty much the same.
ROBERTS: You know, he was fairly subdued in responding to it during the "Compassion Forum" last evening. But just before that at another political rally that he was at, he was much, much more articulated about it, much more worked up about it. Let's listen to how he put it there. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Shame on her, she knows better. She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She talking like she's Annie Oakley.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So he was defending himself prior to this, now he's taking on her. Looks like he's going to be doing the same thing with John McCain later on today at the Newspapers Association. He has to make sure, doesn't he, Roland, that this doesn't become a defining moment in his campaign?
MARTIN: Well, absolutely, and I think what you have to do is also how do you gradually shift the conversation, because you see we're talking about the Annie Oakley comment, all of a sudden Senator Hillary Clinton, she's talking about hunting and she's talking about when she first fired a gun. Someone yesterday asked her when was the last time you fired a gun or the last time you went to church? And she said, hey, you know, we have time to answer those questions later.
And so, that's pretty interesting how he said it, wait a minute, you know, you can't talk about gun control for years and all of a sudden you go to Pennsylvania talking about how wonderful it is to hunt. But also last night, John, I thought a couple of other issues that jumped out that frankly talked about policy. He praised President Bush's policies when it comes to some of efforts in Africa, cutting HIV and AIDS.
But also, he said that if he was president, he will continue to have open the office of faith base initiatives. That was a substantive policy matter. To be frank, that speaks to a lot of whole issue of bitter. That says wait a minute, you're going to -- the faith-based initiative got a lot of criticism from Democrats.
ROBERTS: Yes.
MARTIN: If for him to say, we'll keep it open but if they follow the civil rights statute, I thought that was a very important distinction. Overall, John, to have the Democrats speaking about a faith was very interesting.
Hillary Clinton admitted that for her, her faith was a lot more personal. Obama, I thought, was a lot more fluid in his conversations last night talking about issues of faith and values. But again, a different kind of conversation that we typically hear from Democrats and to hear them talking about abortion within the context of a faith prism, pretty interesting dialogue.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: In fact, let's just take a moment and listen to a little bit of what they've said on the issue of faith last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the face of suffering, there is no doubt in my mind that God calls us to respond.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's very hard to know what that means when life begins -- is it when a cell separates, is it when the soul stirs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Roland, you said it's important for Democrats to talk about faith. But will they ever rival the Republican Party when it comes to faith and values?
MARTIN: John, I think they can because, see, the problem is, for so many years -- and I've written about this on cnn.com since the onset of this election, that the issues of faith and politics goes beyond just abortion, homosexuality. Those are two of the many issues.
What Democrats have to do is to give a talk about absolutely HIV AIDS. Begin the talk about, you want to talk about a prenatal care that in many inner cities across the country, the infant mortality rate that rivals that of some third world countries.
Those are all faith issues, moral issues. And so, how do they embrace them? They have to be able to intertwine them in a conversation. And interesting, John McCain did not accept the invitation. Is that like evangelicals are knocking on his door?
They must begin to talk about it over and over and over again and not see that ground. And if you watched the applause last, last night, the audience seemed to give a lot more to Obama with some of his comments than what Clinton said. They have an opportunity, but they cannot ignore people of faith. They will do so at their own peril.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll see if this ignites a greater conversation. Roland Martin for us this morning.
Roland, good to see you, thanks.
MARTIN: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: A couple of other stories new this morning. President Bush will be getting a Cabinet-level briefing today on where the airline industry stands when it comes to safety inspections. American Airlines, as we know, a nightmare for passengers last week, is said to be back on schedule today. They had to ground 300 planes, cancel more than 3,000 flights and it left hundreds of thousands of passengers with major headaches at airports around the country.
But there maybe more troubles soon. The federal government has recently ordered audits of maintenance records and analysts say that means older jets are more likely to be grounded for time-consuming inspections. American, United, and Northwest are flying the nation's oldest fleets on average.
The mayor of Phoenix, Arizona wants to know if a crackdown on illegal immigrants is violating civil rights. He's now calling on the FBI to investigate. The patrols ordered by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who's no stranger to controversy, has sparked protests.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon says it's discriminatory harassment. Officers are carrying out, he says, improper stops, searches and arrests. The patrols that have gained the support of people who don't think the government has done enough against illegal immigration. The sheriff also saying it's ironic the mayor wrote the letter on the same day that U.S. immigration agents approved the patrols.
Aid workers fear there could be more deadly riots in impoverished Haiti over rising food prices. Now, the president of the World Bank is asking for global help. Robert Zoellick wants countries to pump $500 million into the United Nations' World Food Program. Protests and looting in Haiti have already left seven dead. Haiti's prime minister was removed for failing to increase food production.
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 34 minutes after the hour. Now, here's Alina Cho with other stories making headlines this morning.
Good Monday morning to you.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good Monday morning to all of you. A little bit bleary-eyed this morning. Good morning, everybody.
New this morning, the Dalai Lama says his representatives and the Chinese government are talking. The Tibetan Buddhist leader who's in Seattle right now for a conference would not give details about the talks, but the Chinese officials maintain that the Dalai Lama is behind the recent protests in Tibet. The Dalai Lama denies it.
This morning, Beijing is announcing it's taking more steps to improve air quality during the summer Olympic Games in August. Officials say they plan to stop most construction in the weeks leading up to and during the Games. Also, 19 industries have been told to cut emissions by 30 percent. Beijing is one of the world's most polluted cities.
600 earthquakes in 10 days. That's what scientists at Oregon State University say happen off the Oregon Coast. It's the biggest seismic swarm ever recorded there in an area that's not typically known for this kind of seismic activity. Researchers say at least three of the quakes registered a magnitude 5.0 or higher but few if any could be felt onshore.
And in case you haven't noticed, our very own Kiran Chetry is very pregnant.
CHETRY: You're kidding me.
ROBERTS: I thought it was the breakfast that she eats every day. CHO: Well, you know, her appetite has been a little healthier lately.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Is it that (INAUDIBLE)?
CHO: Well, you know, those sausage biscuits are -- anyway, she's not -- lot of people don't even know she's pregnant, honestly.
But anyway, we got together all of us here at CNN for a very special shower. There we are. With a very special theme that was eco-friendly. You can see all the girls there. And there on the right, we should mention, is the lovely wife of our fearless leader, Jen Kline, who was our hostess for the day.
But we all had a great time. And it was eco-friendly as we mentioned. So, all of the gifts were green. I had no idea until I got this invitation how many green products were available for babies, you know. I mean, you name it, everything. Clothes and some kids stuff, too. We got some good gifts.
ROBERTS: I was going to say the potato salad was green too but for different reasons.
CHETRY: You have to look because that's my first born Maya. She's 2. Since she was born they've just made so many changes. And people have become more aware of -- you know, trying to avoid certain additives in plastics and try to do things the right way.
But I got to tell you two things. First of all, Alina Cho impeccable taste, as everyone knows. I'm looking at the outfits this baby is going to wear for you know, a week until they grow out of them. It's going to be the most stylish little organic kid running around the place. I mean, mustard-colored (INAUDIBLE) made from organic bamboo. But I've got to hand it to the ladies. They found some good stuff.
CHO: Yes, it's cool stuff. Very cool stuff.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, all we can guarantee, I don't know much about these things, but I can tell you that both Maya and the new one, by the time they're old enough to pay taxes, are going to be paying AMT because some of the reasons we're bleary-eyed is we've been preparing our taxes this weekend.
For some of you, you've just got until tomorrow night. And many of you will be waking up to fact that for the first time, you're paying the alternative minimum tax. So, stay with us. It's not as much fun as the baby shower, but I will tell you a little bit about the alternative minimum tax when AMERICAN MORNING comes back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi. Let's talk taxes for a second because tomorrow night is your deadline. And some of you may be paying the Alternative Minimum Tax -- the AMT. The stated purpose of the Alternative Minimum Tax is to prevent high- income tax payers from taking advantage of loopholes in the tax code and to make sure that they pay a minimum tax amount.
Now, there is no instant way to know whether you are going to be subject to AMT. But here's a rough guide, single filers who make over $44,350 a year or couples filing jointly who make $66,250 a year have to calculate their taxes twice.
Meaning you use two different sets of rules. The first calculation is the typical one with deductions. The second one is alternative minimum tax. Now, it offers fewer deductions and guess which one you have to pay, whichever is higher. Now, accountants and accounting software can figure this all out automatically for you.
But you might be surprised to find out that you're paying what was supposed to be a tax designed for the rich. When AMT was invented 40 years ago, no one thought to peg it to inflation. So back then, only a few hundred Americans had to pay it. Today, it has becoming a tax on the middle class. It's expected to hit -- are you sitting down for this -- 5.4 million taxpayers who are filing for 2007.
That number could go up six fold in the next few years if lawmakers do nothing about it. There is some point, by the way, in your income at which point you can emerge from having paid AMT. So there's like -- sort of middle area. It really is a bit of a tax on the middle class, because you pay it for a while, and then if you make enough money you can get out of it.
CHETRY: How was that? It's a system that needs to be fixed. It's very, very, very broken. And I'll come back later and tell you what some of the proposed fixes are. But just know if you get a surprise that you thought you were going to get a big, big refund back and you're not, thanks to AMT.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much.
CHETRY: All right. We'll still ahead. Are you ready for winter's last stand? I don't even know if you can call it a last stand. It's just sticking around and sticking around. We're in the 30s this morning along the East Coast. When is spring coming, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is a great question, Kiran. Many people across the southeast are waking up with temperatures (OFF-MIKE), days ago, but this morning it's a different world. And we certainly are in the deep chill. We'll let you know how long it's going to last. Coming up very soon right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: 60 minutes now to the top of the hour. We hit some really nice spring weather in Washington over the weekend. It got up almost to 80 degrees own Saturday, but not so much now. CHETRY: No, not at all. It's a shock when it's so nice and then you need to bring up a down coat again to leave the house.
ROBERTS: Just supporting (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Hey, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, Reynolds. And we'll check in with you in a couple of minutes.
Meanwhile crisis in Haiti. Starving Haitians now rioting. Price of food skyrocketing and global economic problems are mounting. So how badly are they affecting our problems here at home as well? We're going to have the latest on the crisis and how its ripple effect is affecting other countries in the world.
ROBERTS: Plus did the Dr. Phil Show go too far? Staffers for the show bail out a teen accused in that violent videotape attack in Florida so that she could be on the program. AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, weighs in on it, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Dr. Phil is in the hot seat again this time after staffers for his show bailed out one of the teenagers accused in these violent videotape beating in Florida. Executives for the show say that staffers cross the line by paying thousands of dollars to spring the teen from jail so that she could appear exclusively on the show. Friday, cameras caught one of the show employees actually leaving the jail with the teen -- the alleged ringleader. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey Mercedes, do you have anything to say to the girl you did this to? Anything to say to this girl?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say nothing. Say nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did Dr. Phil pay for the bond?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No comment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But that's not a no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No comment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not a no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not a yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, there you see it. AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, joins us now with more on this. First of all --
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Is this unbelievable, Kiran?
CHETRY: The whole thing is strange. Do you buy that staffers just took it upon themselves without the higher ups in the show knowing that they were going to get through this bailing out the girl?
HOSTIN: You know, certainly, it's possible. And Kiran, under the law, anyone can post bail. You can post bail for yourself. You can have a friend post bail. Anyone over 18 years of age and typically there's a bail bondsmen involved.
But in this case, a producer or apparently a staffer posted bail and that is unusual. And I have to tell you at bail hearings, typically a judge will ask questions of the person posting bail. They'll ask about the relationship. They'll ask about the finances of that person. And so I'm just -- I don't want to guess here but it is odd that a judge would allow this to happen if the judge, in fact, knew that this was a Dr. Phil producer. That is odd in my view.
CHETRY: All right. Well, here's what Dr. Phil spokesman said in response. They said in this case certain staff members went beyond our guidelines. These staff members have been spoken to in our policies reiterated. In addition, we've decided not to go forward with the story as our guidelines have been compromised.
The other curious thing is that there's been an extensive gag order put into place. Did this happen before a judge said no one is supposed to be talking of this?
HOSTIN: Apparently, this happened after Kiran. And for what I have learned is that the gag order is expansive. No one can talk here, and it's never a good idea for a defendant to talk anyway, because as we know, anything that you say will be held against you in a court of law. Or it can be held against you. So this happen afterwards.
I don't -- it was sort of a badly cooked idea and I'm just not sure what is going to happen after this. Is the judge going to re- evaluate bail? Because now that the Dr. Phil Show and the staffer is responsible for this teen's appearance in court. And if she doesn't appear, they have lost the money. So there's a very odd situation that something that we should follow, Kiran, because I would imagine that there's going to be a renewed bail hearing in this case.
CHETRY: That's very interesting. You know, Dr. Phil also got some criticism last year -- earlier in the year when he confronted or made his way to the hospital room of pop star Britney Spears when she was there, and then talked about it later. And apparently, he claims he was invited by the family but she didn't ask him to appear or talk about it.
HOSTIN: That's right. It's all ill-advised. I'm not sure who's advising him. Maybe he needs a lawyer to advise him. Something is going on there. And we'll follow up.
CHETRY: All right. Meanwhile, in the actual case itself, all of them tried as adults.
HOSTIN: That's right.
CHETRY: All of them facing adult charges, rather, and I think everybody has posted bail except for one other person.
HOSTIN: One of the lookouts.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
HOSTIN: And one of the boys. He is 18 years old and he is out there in prison. Quite a serious case, so we'll follow it with you. Thanks, Sunny.
ROBERTS: Approaching 8 minutes to the top of the hour now. And here's the story that you're going to be hearing a lot more about in the weeks and months ahead. A shortage of food around the world and a global call for help. We're taking a look at what's behind it and what can be done to ease the crisis.
Holding pattern. Fearing more flight delays well into the summer. Today the president hears from the FAA.
God.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My faith has given me confidence to make decisions that were right for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Guns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton's out there. You know, like she's on the dust flying every Sunday. She's packing a 6 shooter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And small town voters. A week away from PA, how Obama's bitter comments could play out at the polls.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Gasoline prices are at record highs, unemployment is up, and the U.S. economy is facing a recession. Meanwhile, mounting food prices have caused hunger and deadly violence in Haiti and other countries.
Joining me now to talk more about this, the root causes and what can be done about it. How it's going to affect us here in the United States is Jeffrey Sachs. He's the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He's also a special adviser to United Nation's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
He's also the author of "Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet."
Jeffrey, it's great to see you. Economic ministers from around the world, over the weekend, said that this growing food crisis presents a greater problem to economic security, political stability in the world and than the current crisis on Wall Street. Do you see it that way?
JEFFREY SACHS, DIRECTOR, EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: This is the world's big story and the finance ministers were just in shock. Almost in panic this weekend. There are riots all over the world right now in the poor countries over these soaring food prices. And of course, our own poor feeling it in the United States.
ROBERTS: Yes. Food prices are up, I believe, 40 percent worldwide. The government of Haiti fell over the weekend. They've got to find a new prime minister now after food riots there. So we see this crisis in Haiti, is that just the beginning of what could spread rapidly across the world?
SACHS: Well, we have seen riots across west Africa, East Africa, Egypt, Bangladesh. It's really spreading right now and that's because rice, wheat, corn have gone up by more than twice in the last year. It's extraordinary.
ROBERTS: So what's driving up food prices?
SACHS: First, there's been a lot of world demand because of the demand for food in Asia, in China and in India. Fast growing and huge countries has been rising. Then we have been putting our food into the gas tank. This corn to ethanol subsidy which our government is doing really makes little sense.
So we're taking this valuable food. We're putting it in the gas tank with the big subsidy. That's also driving up world food prices. Then climate shocks -- for instance, the drought in Australia hit hard their exports. You add it all together, demand is soaring, supply has been cut back, food has been diverted into the gas tank, it's added up to a price explosion.
ROBERTS: You and our Ali Velshi agree on this idea of growing corn for ethanol. Of course, I guess, the end goal is to make ethanol out of things like switch grass and other non-food sources. It went through a cellulosic process it's called.
SACHS: Exactly. But the technology isn't there yet. So instead we're putting our food into the gas tank. And this is just an incredible waste of money but it's also having this worldwide repercussions. Finance ministers all over the world were pointing their finger at the United States saying what are you doing, putting the food there when it's needed all over the world?
ROBERTS: But how does what we're doing with corn and ethanol affect the price of rice halfway across the world? SACHS: Because once one commodity starts rising, then consumers switch to the next commodity that dries up the demand for that commodity. We plant for ethanol so we don't plant for soybeans or we don't plant for other things. So there's a repercussion effect. It's only one of the factors.
There's rising world demand and there's this diversion of supply and these supply shots. But it's all adding up to quite a mess and what really needs to be done is help for, especially the developing countries to grow more food. It's not a matter of shifting around the scare quantities so much that we should take down that subsidy for ethanol. But we have to help places like Africa to grow more food.
ROBERTS: Of course, we're not experiencing food riots or anything to that degree. But people here in the United States having a problem putting food on the table and then the mortgage crisis and how it's affecting people here. What do you expect to see happen, Jeffrey, in terms of food prices here in the U.S. in the next few months to a year?
SACHS: Oh, I think anyone that's in the supermarket knows that food prices are already rising stiffly. And since food is a larger part of the budget for poor people, they're really feeling it. And I think there will be more attention what is going on with that corn policy right now.
Also what's going to make the fed have an even tougher problem right now, they want to lower interest rates because of the financial crisis, but with inflation rising that really ties their hands. This is going to contribute to the deepening recession this year.
ROBERTS: Well, some serious problems ahead. Jeffrey Sachs at the Earth Institute of Columbia. Thanks for coming in. We'll get you back. We'll stay on top of this story because it's very important. But good to have this morning.
SACHS: Thanks. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, the "Most Politics in the Morning." Now, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama engaged in a bitter battle heading into the Pennsylvania primary a week from tomorrow. The candidates slugging it out over Obama's recent remarks that small town working class Americans are bitter over economic conditions and cling to guns and religion.
Clinton accused Obama of being, quote, "elitist and out of touch." And Obama fired back saying she should know better.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Shame on her. She knows better. She's running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen. How she values the Second Amendment. She's talking like she's Annie Oakley. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Hillary Clinton addressed the issue again during last night's "COMPASSION FORUM" right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I do think it raises a lot of concerns because it did seem so much in line with what often we are charged with. Someone goes to a closed door fundraiser in San Francisco and makes comments that do seem elitist, out of touch, and frankly patronizing.
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