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American Morning
Delta-Northwest Deal Merger to be the World's Largest Airline; Oil Hits Above $112; A Look Inside the FLDS Compound; Candidates Gearing Up for Pennsylvania Primary
Aired April 15, 2008 - ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Of course -- of course, that's the wish of everybody that flies. And it seems like it's less and less likely these days. What about the airports being squeezed? I mean, is there any validity to that, that it's getting more expensive to do business? They're trying to maintain an aging fleet and that it's just getting tougher for them to be able to pay for it all?
CAPTAIN SAM MAYER, AMERICAN AIRLINES PILOT: Well, I think some of that is absolutely true. The frustrations that we experience as crew members are the same ones as our passengers do. I mean, we're strapped in that airplane with them. We're sitting in the terminals waiting for that late airplane to get in with them. While our managers, senior executives, they go home at 5:00, have weekends and holidays off.
We're out there in the field with our passengers 24/7, and we experience all those frustrations that they do. And that's part of the reason why we want it fixed just as much as they do.
CHETRY: American also tried to highlight in one of their statements that they've been able to avoid bankruptcy and because of that employees are far better off. It insinuates that some of this may be about contract negotiations. Any truth to that?
MAYER: This isn't about contract negotiations. We are trying to make a healthy airline. As I said at the beginning, American Airlines, my company, is broken and we need to get it fixed. That's going to benefit everyone in the long run. Our passengers, the employees, the shareholders and senior management in spite of themselves.
CHETRY: Captain Sam Mayer, the American Airlines pilot and the chairman of the New York Allied Pilots Association, thanks for joining us to talk about this today.
MAYER: Thank you. Have a great morning.
CHETRY: You too.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And there is other major news to report from the airline industry today. Delta and Northwest have agreed to join forces. It would create the world's largest airline if the deal goes through, but the $3 billion package is expected to encounter at least a little bit of political turbulence before the deal is sealed. The rising cost of fuel, one of the major factors behind the marriage.
Oil at a new high this morning, over $112 a barrel, and gas hit a record high at $3.38. A lot of heavy economic news to get through, and Ali Velshi joins us with this all this morning.
Good morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And since I last spoke to you when oil was around $112 and it hit $112.48, now $112.78 a barrel. And the reason, you know, a lot of people ask me. I can't go and buy a barrel of oil. Why do you tell me about the price of oil all the time?
Because the price of oil ends up resulting directly in the price you pay for gasoline and the price of truckers and farmers pay for diesel. And when truckers and farmers pay more for diesel, that affects the price you pay for milk and cheese and bread and anything that gets delivered.
Now, what does this do to gasoline? Well, according to AAA, we have a new record yesterday, $3.38 a gallon for gasoline. So when we talk about the airline mergers and we talk about inflation and we talk about all of these things we talk about, we have to keep it in the context of the fact that behind this, the lurking evil behind all of this, right now, happens to be oil prices.
When it comes to the airlines, everything has been a lurking evil over the years. I mean, it's been labor, it's been airplanes, it's been passengers, it's been oil, it's been management. But at this point, the price of oil and the fact that it had stayed as high as it stayed for so long is definitely putting pressure on these airlines to merge and do something about it.
Now, someone said to me yesterday, I don't understand. How do two airlines merging affect the price of oil? It's kind of a question you would ask me, isn't it? It doesn't make any sense.
It's true. They're not going to go pay less for oil because it's one airline, but they are going to be able to be more efficient on other levels, cut costs elsewhere.
ROBERTS: So maybe the demand will go down.
VELSHI: Right.
ROBERTS: And therefore, the price will drop.
VELSHI: That's what it's got to do with the price of oil. Working with you keeps me sharp.
ROBERTS: Working with you keeps me informed. Every day I come out of the show a little bit smarter than when I went into it.
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: Ali, thank you.
VELSHI: All right.
ROBERTS: Coming up at 7:25 Eastern, by the way, we're going to talk with the CEOs of Delta and Northwest about their mega merger, whether it will go through and what it would mean for the airline industry and the price of oil if it does.
CHETRY: Also, we're one week away from the Pennsylvania primary. This morning, Senator John McCain is taking on issue number one, the economy. He says America's in a recession. In a speech in Pittsburgh this morning, McCain will call for a gas tax holiday, suspending the 18 cents a gallon federal gas tax throughout the summer. Also doing the same for diesel, 24 cents per gallon federal tax on diesel, as well, and he wants that to also be suspended for the summer.
McCain also wants to ensure loans for college students, and he's calling for a change in Medicare. Increasing premiums for wealthier seniors.
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is running a new ad in Pennsylvania trying to get some more mileage out of Barack Obama's comments calling frustrated small town voters bitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Barack Obama said that people in small towns "cling to guns or religion as a way to explain their frustrations."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very insulted by Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shows how out of touch Barack Obama is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not clinging to my faith out of frustration and bitterness. I find that my faith is very uplifting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Some people listening to Clinton's speak in Pittsburgh yesterday actually booed her when she even began to bring up Barack Obama's comments. She said, though, that she thinks it's important to give people the chance to really compare and contrast her and her competitor.
Well, Barack Obama is not walking away from the bitter controversy either. In fact, he came out swinging against both Clinton and John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Clinton and Senator McCain seem to be singing from the same hymn book, saying I'm out of touch. I'm an elitist because I said a lot of folks are bitter about their economic circumstances. But when I hear my opponents both of whom spent decades in Washington saying I'm out of touch, it's time to cut through the rhetoric and look at the reality. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Controversial comments making waves again, this time from the founder of Black Entertainment Television, BET. Robert Johnson says Obama probably wouldn't be a leading presidential contender if he was white, echoing comments made by Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro last month. Ferraro stepped down from her position in the Clinton camp after she virtually said the same thing. Johnson is a long-time friend of the Clintons.
ROBERTS: It is now one of the biggest child custody cases in U.S. history. Mothers of the 416 children taken from a Texas polygamist sect say the state tricked them into leaving their children behind. Reporters watched as the women returned to the compound by themselves.
One woman said officials separated them and read them a court order that said, "Your children are ours." Some of the children have been moved to the San Angelo Coliseum. A hearing on Thursday will help determine whether they will be placed in foster care or returned to their parents.
One mother told CNN the kids were wrongly wrenched from their arms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN, FUNDAMENTALIST LATTER DAY SAINTS MEMBER: My story is we have had our children taken from us on an allegation that has no foundation. Now, we will do whatever it takes to get the children reunited with their mothers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN was given rare access inside the compound. Sean Callebs was there. He spoke with members of the sect, and he joins us now live from San Angelo, Texas. Give us some more perspective on this story, particularly this idea that these women were, as they say, tricked into giving up their children.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think what the FLDS members did yesterday really put a face on what has been a mystery, a very secretive religious sect here in this area and other parts of the country as well. Clearly, they opened the gates in part because of Thursday's hearing. They'd like to find a way to counter the very damaging, punishing allegations coming from the state ahead of that hearing.
Really fascinating once we went inside that very large compound, 1,700 acres. If you look at the video, you see those large houses. Those are houses. They're almost as big as hotels. Several thousand square feet.
Those are individual homes. The people there also telling us that they make their own clothes. They have a cement industrial site on site. They make their own cement, grow their own food, make their own dairy products, very self-sufficient.
They also talked about the allegations that led to that police raid on April 3rd. A hushed phone call from an alleged 16-year-old girl named Sarah (ph) who said she had been physically and sexually abused by her husband. Well, to a person, the folks we spoke with yesterday, said that simply didn't happen. That this Sarah is a phantom. However, it is clear the FLDS is facing very serious allegations in court on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: The state is making very strong allegations that there were underage girls having sex with much older men and young women, 14, 15, 16 as parents. Did you see any of that out there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no force here. Everyone has their choice to do exactly what they would like. There is no force, and we want the children. And they want us. They are clean and pure and this is a -- the worst thing that's happened to them.
They are learning terrible things just from the questions that are being asked. Things that they have never been exposed to. They have been so protected here, so protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: This all came together very quickly, John. Some of the FLDS members were clearly uncomfortable but without question, this was something that was well orchestrated. They took us to one central area to speak to a handful of pre-selected women -- John.
ROBERTS: Obviously, a tremendous amount of emotion surrounding this case. Sean Callebs for us this morning from San Angelo, Texas, with the very latest on that. Sean, thanks very much.
CHETRY: Well, they're proven cholesterol fighters. Now, there's a new study saying that statin drugs could have another important health benefit. We're paging Dr. Gupta just ahead.
And we've been talking all morning about the Delta/Northwest merger. They're teaming up to make the world's biggest airline. But how will it affect your next flight? Ali Velshi breaks this down for us. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, Delta and Northwest Airlines announce plans to merge. It would create the world's largest airline, but what does it mean if you're going to buy a ticket one or the other? Delta gets -- Delta is one that gets to keep the name.
VELSHI: Delta gets to keep the name. They get to keep the CEO. They get to keep the headquarters. It's a bit more of a Delta deal than a Northwest deal, but you can ask the CEOs that. I think you're talking to them about 10 minutes or so. The bottom line is that it probably means higher fares for you, but it's meant higher fares anyway. In fact, anybody who has been traveling the last several months has noticed that these little fuel surcharges have been adding up. I spoke to the CEO of FareCompare. FareCompare is a site that tracks every single increase on every single flight across America.
Here's what the CEO had to say about the amount that you're paying more because of oil prices. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SEANY, CEO, FARECOMPARE.COM: Passengers are paying up to $130 more than they did on January 2nd. We had 11 increases, seven of them now that are basically for the most part stuck. The other four got rolled back.
People are paying well over $100 more than they did earlier in the year, and I don't see it stopping for the foreseeable future. We're actually on pace right now for potentially 40 increases this year if it stays on pace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, one of the reasons -- these things have approvals to go through. Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, shareholders, in particularly on the Northwest side of things, the pilots who are not on board.
But take a look at the hub map of these two companies. Part of the reason that they're likely to gain approval is they don't overlap a lot. If you look at Delta, its hubs are in Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Cincinnati and it works out of JFK and LaGuardia. Northwest works out of Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis.
There are some people who think that Memphis and Atlanta are a little close together to have hubs, but both Delta and Northwest have said they will maintain all seven U.S. hubs, plus Tokyo, which is a Delta hub, and Amsterdam, which is a Northwest hub, because Northwest has this deal with KLM and Air France.
So, you know, it remains to be seen what happens. But lower prices, even though it's in the press release that it will result in good value, not quite sure how they're going to get good value out of this.
ROBERTS: Northwest Airlines pilots vow that they are going to oppose this deal.
VELSHI: Correct.
ROBERTS: They probably couldn't scuttle it. But how much trouble could it be in terms of this becoming a success?
(CROSSTALK) VELSHI: You know, unions can make a lot of trouble for airline deals. They can do something. I expect because Delta pilots have a deal, they'll probably try and work something out. That's why this deal has been delayed for several months, and one of the pilots still work it out.
Now, they're saying we're going ahead with the deal. I think you're probably see a deal, but it doesn't mean it's a done deal for the whole thing. Now, if this deal does go through, by the way, expect to hear from United and Continental about a possible merger.
ROBERTS: Some people have suggested that Delta CEO adopt a divide and conquer strategy for the pilot.
VELSHI: Right.
ROBERTS: So we'll ask him about it coming up.
VELSHI: Yes. OK.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks.
We've been telling you this morning about John McCain's proposal to give us a break at the gas pump. McCain wants to suspend the 18 cent federal tax on gas from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He also wants to suspend the tax on diesel as well. He claims that that would "help spread relief across the American economy."
The price of regular unleaded hit a new high this morning, $3.38 a gallon. Diesel is up over $4.
We want to know what you think. Our "Quick Vote" question to ask -- is McCain's gas tax holiday a good idea? Right now, 65 percent of you say it's a fantastic idea. Thirty-five percent say no, I don't like it.
Cast your vote for us this morning at CNN.com. We'll tally your votes throughout the morning. And we want your e-mails as well. Drop us a line at CNN.com and follow the e-mail link. Expand on your choices for us. We'll read those e-mails a little bit later on this morning.
CHETRY: We're also tracking weather for you. We have winds picking up in the plains and maybe some red flag warnings up, as well. Jacqui Jeras tracking extreme weather. Next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning and welcome back.
How many of you are waking up this morning and saying brr? Millions of you. That's who. Everybody from the northeast down to the southeast where temperatures are feeling around the freezing mark and below.
Look at that. Montreal 32 degrees. You've got 32 in Detroit. The temperature your body is feeling right now in Cleveland, only 20 degrees. That cold air spreads all the way through the south. Even Jacksonville, Florida, feeling like 30s this morning. Atlanta, 31 degrees. This is very late in the season to be seeing a frost and a freeze here across parts of the southeast.
We've got watches and warnings which are in place from Indianapolis all the way down to Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson, a record low there this morning of 32 degrees. So that is certainly on the nippy side. Montgomery, by the way, had a record low as well this morning at 37.
Don't worry about it. It's not going to last long. Today is going to be the coldest morning you'll see all week. Look at those temperatures, for example, in Nashville. You're in the 30s now, but look at those 70s on the way by tomorrow.
Very dry air is in place across parts of the east and also in the nation's midsection. We'll talk a little bit more about those winds in the Midwest and the critical fire danger coming up when I see you guys again. Did you guys wear your mittens and your scarves this morning?
ROBERTS: No. No mittens or scarves. Don't forget I was born in Canada. We've got anti-freeze in our veins.
JERAS: That's cold weather. Yes.
CHETRY: That's right. He didn't need it. He still comes in in a tank top. He's fine. It doesn't matter.
JERAS: There's a good one I didn't need this morning. All right.
ROBERTS: Even though I'm now American, they didn't thin my blood when I came in to pass.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jacqui.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Jacqui.
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the most news in the morning. We have some new numbers out on the nation's housing crisis. Gerri Willis has those for us coming up.
ROBERTS: And they've been called wonder drugs. Cholesterol ...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We're learning more about the benefits of drugs known as statins. Not only can they reduce cholesterol but a new study is showing they may help drop blood pressure as well. We're paging Dr. Gupta on this.
And Sanjay, it seems like we're finding a new reason to take statins all the time. Does these change things? This new study? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I don't know that it necessarily changes things but it does help explain a few things. If you look at statins, this is the first study overall to look at the relationship between statins and blood pressure specifically, and what they find is that there is a little bit of a drop. It's not a huge drop but about 2.5 to three-point drop in your blood pressure, specifically, the upper number of your blood pressure if you're taking statin medications.
So if you're someone who has a high cholesterol, high enough to start taking your medication according to your doctor, and your blood pressure has been sort of borderline, this may sort of help tip you back into the normal range as far as blood pressure goes. So it's sort of beneficial for that pre-hypertensive range of people.
I think what's more interesting is that if you look at heart disease, you can pretty much link that to having bad levels of cholesterol. As far as stroke goes, that's more related to blood pressure. What doctors have known for sometime is that statins did seem to reduce your risk of stroke and now they may understand why. It's this blood pressure effect more than a cholesterol effect.
You know, statins are not for everybody, to your point, Kiran. Now, people have sort of taut it as the wonder drug but there are side effects that can occur here. You know, people can have nausea sort of as a more minor side effect, but more major side effects include muscle pains and even liver problems. You know, it's really something you have to sort of measure. But if you're looking for that blood pressure effect, you might get a little benefit with the statins now.
CHETRY: Very interesting. Our viewers are also always asking about health tips, and we have one from Edward from Jupiter, Florida, about today's topic.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD, JUPITER, FLORIDA: I was wondering, is there a way to lower your cholesterol and high blood pressure without taking statins?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: That's a great question. You know, and obviously there are some people who probably are not good candidates for statins. You know, there's probably three things.
I think one of the big ones is just salt intake. We just eat way too much salt. The most you should really take is about two grams a day, and that's just one teaspoon of salt. We usually eat a lot more of that, sometimes unwittingly in a lot of our foods.
Also, you know, your waist size. We know that waist size is directly related to cholesterol. We talked about that a lot on AMERICAN MORNING. You're just having that big waist can oftentimes increase some of the bad effects of cholesterol. So really try and get your waist size down specifically.
And finally, stress levels. You know, easier said than done again. But lowering your stress levels, there's enough scientific evidence to say this is more of an association. There is some causative effect between stress and heart disease in the long run.
CHETRY: I think that was a hint. I'm getting my waist size down in a day or two. Don't worry.
GUPTA: Yes, congratulations on that, by the way.
CHETRY: Well, I'll miss your advice. I'll probably be BlackBerrying you to ask you some question.
GUPTA: You can still watch AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Absolutely. We'll never leave the TV, all night and day. Thanks, Sanjay. Great to see you.
GUPTA: Thank you. All right.
ROBERTS: Are you kidding? The mail bag, and I'll be Kiran in New York wants to know ...
CHETRY: Well, I know. Because I think that Edward from Jupiter, Florida, sounded surprisingly like Petey (ph), our stage manager, but I know he's not from Jupiter, Florida.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning. Delta and Northwest announcing they're teaming up to create the world's largest airline. So what will it mean the next time you travel? We'll have the CEOs of Delta and Northwest when they join us coming up next.
And caught on tape. Take a look at this. A wild liquor store shootout. The thief comes back with a gun after the cashier came out with a bat. And what's up with the woman in the green jacket? See what happened next ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour now. Delta and Northwest Airlines have put the finishing touches on a $3 billion deal to create the world's largest airline. If approved by regulators, the new airline based in Atlanta would fly under the Delta name and service more than 400 destinations. But what does it mean for you?
We're going to -- will you see higher fares? Fewer seats? We're going to be talking with the CEO of Delta and Northwest Airlines coming in just a couple of minutes. But first of all, let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. We have some brand new numbers on the mortgage meltdown this morning. Foreclosures on the rise again. Gerri Willis joins us now. And when we talk about foreclosures, it's a long process, right? So there are some people that are actually in foreclosure and then there's people in the pipeline unfortunately that are probably moving toward that direction.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. We're talking about all of those folks today. The numbers they're in. They're not good for March. As a matter of fact, they're the second highest ever, up 57 percent since a year ago. Up 5.6 percent since February.
This is bad news because in February we saw those numbers get a little bit better, and people were hopeful. But we were coming to the end of the mortgage meltdown, no such luck.
I talked to Rick Sharga (ph) who runs the company that puts out these numbers, Realty Track, yesterday. He says bank repossessions -- bank repossessions are up 129 percent in March. That's very bad sign. It means people are throwing in the towel. It means that a lot of these folks are so underwater in their mortgages that the banks are just slamming them right into repossession, not even considering any kind of negotiation because there is no way these people can afford the houses.
This follows on the heels of a better month of February as I was saying. But again, Rick Sharga looking at his crystal ball down the road a little ways. He says that he thinks these levels will continue for the remainder of the year and then spike in the third quarter, as we see some of these resets happen again.
We'll have another spike in resets at the end of the year, so he expects foreclosures to rise as we come into the third quarter. Not good news there.
CHETRY: You're saying people who have an adjustable rate are going to see a tick up yet again in the third quarter.
WILLIS: There's another group -- adjustable rate mortgages that you will see come to the end of that reset period and folk will get in trouble.
CHETRY: Can you head that off? I mean, can you do anything to avoid foreclosure?
WILLIS: You can get a new loan. You can get a new loan. That is if the value of your home hasn't fallen. And if you've seen the value of your home fall a great deal, the problem is you can't get that new loan because you owe so much more money than the house is actually worth. So that's the problem for those folks.
If you can't -- if you're in a market where that's not the problem and there are few markets across the country where prices haven't fallen, it's a great idea actually to try to get that new loan. Rates are great.
You know, lenders are looking for people with great credit scores to give loans to. But if you were trying to avoid foreclosure right now, one thing to think about is getting that new loan obviously, and calling for help. Go to hud.gov if you want to counselor. There's counselors all over the country. It's a great place to go.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Those are counselors out there who can really help you, give you some great advice. They also are great at negotiating with lenders because they have contacts in those communities. And don't forget Hope Now. These are -- you know, this all hooks you up with counselors who've been dealing with this issue for a long time.
CHETRY: We have those links to our homepage in AMERICAN MORNING too, because a lot of people ask, Gerri, about those numbers. Thank you.
WILLIS: Thank you, Kiran.
CHETRY: And, by the way, join Gerri and Ali Velshi, the whole CNN money team, of course, 12:00 noon Eastern every single day for "ISSUE #1."
ROBERTS: It's a fantastic program and a great way to be informed on the economy. Gerri, thanks very much.
WILLIS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: We should mention here while we're sitting at the gate waiting for the CEOs of Northwest and Delta, that we have a little bit of a mechanical problem. But don't worry because apparently the mechanic is on his way and over to the gate. Coming from the other side of the airport, though, so it may take a few minutes here. But we hope to get this straightened out in just a couple of minutes.
CHETRY: What number are we in line for takeoff?
ROBERTS: Right now, we're number one in line for takeoff but we got this little mechanical problem we're trying to work out. Don't go away. We'll have them coming right up here.
Meanwhile, the politics, one week until the Pennsylvania primary and the economy is dominating the presidential campaign today. Barack Obama makes several campaign stops in Pennsylvania. He's trying to repair damage from his comments that small town America clings to guns and religion because people are bitter over the economy.
Both Hillary Clinton and John McCain have called Obama's remarks "elitist." Obama says Clinton's criticism is right out of the Republican playbook and that McCain is out of touch.
Hillary Clinton says when she is president she'll fix quote mistakes her husband made on NAFTA. Clinton said she might go so far as to pull out of the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. Obama blasted Clinton, saying you can't support free trade for the better part of two decades and then tell Pennsylvania steelworkers, "You've been with them all along."
John McCain will be in Pennsylvania today, as well. He says the U.S. economy is in a recession and will unveil his plan to fix it today. One eye-catching part of his proposal is a call for a gas tax holiday. He wants the federal government to suspend its 18 cent a gallon tax on gas and its 24 cent tax on diesel for the summer between Memorial and Labor Day.
We'll hear more about McCain's plans in just a few minutes when we speak to Mitt Romney live. That's coming up at 7:50 Eastern.
We're also asking you this morning to ring in on the quick vote whether you think McCain's gas tax holiday is a good idea or not -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Meanwhile new this morning, word that Pakistan's parliament has OKed a resolution seeking a United Nations' investigation into Benazir Bhutto's murder. The former prime minister was assassinated in December. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has blamed a Taliban leader for Bhutto's death. These are the pictures and the moments before the killing. Pakistan's new government and parliament are dominated by a coalition led by Bhutto's Pakistan's Peoples' Party.
President Bush is approving $200 million in emergency aid to countries suffering from rising food prices. Riots over skyrocketing food costs are raging in Haiti as well as Bangladesh and Egypt. President of the World Bank has called for $500 million in international aid. He says rising costs could have long-lasting effects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT ZOELLICK, PRESIDENT, WORLD BANK GROUP: Based on a very rough analysis, we estimate that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low income countries deeper into poverty. This is not just a question of short term needs as important as those are. This is insuring that future generations don't pay a price, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The U.S. is the world's largest provider of food aid, 2.1 billion given to 78 countries alone last year.
Well, Alina Cho joins us now with other stories making headlines including some breaking news out of the Iraq today.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. More violence there, guys. Good morning. Good morning, everybody.
We are following that breaking news out of Iraq where two car bombs have exploded killing at least 50 people. One of those blasts happened in Baqubah. That's north of Baghdad. Police say the explosion near a restaurant killed at least 20 people and injured more than 42. And in a second attack, a car packed with explosives exploded near a restaurant in Ramadi. At least 14 people were killed in that blast. We're also following a developing story out of Colombia this morning. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes following a volcanic eruption. Up to 15,000 people are headed for safer ground. Smoke and ash were seen rising from the volcano which is Colombia's tallest. So far, though, there are no reports of any damage or injuries.
And more breaking news out of Zimbabwe to tell you about this morning. Police there are bracing for more violence today in the midst of that disputed presidential election. We've been following that story very closely.
The opposition party has called for a strike until the election results are released but so far the government of President Robert Mugabe, who opposition members say lost the election, is refusing to release those results and this morning a bus was set on fire by supporters of the strike. The movement for Democratic change says the massive stay-in will continue until Mugabe's government makes public the results of that March 29th election.
Wal-Mart, the nation's largest seller of firearms, wants to keep the guns from getting into the wrong hands. The retail giant is out with tougher rules for gun purchases. Listen to this. The changes include filming all gun sales and creating a computerized log of guns sold that are later used in crimes. Wal-Mart will expand background checks on employees who handle guns. The National Rifle Association isn't impressed by all of this. It calls Wal-Mart's action a PR stunt.
Caught on tape. A wild liquor store shootout during an attempted armed robbery in Milwaukee. Take a look at this. It starts with a suspect brawling with a couple of store employees. Well, they pull out a baseball bat. Comes in handy during these times. They hit him a few times. He takes off, comes back, pulls out a gun. The clerk picks up his own gun. And as the suspect takes off, he fires a shot. The clerk isn't taking it. He shoots back and check out the guy in the green jacket there. Walking through the store as if nothing's going on.
CHETRY: A woman.
CHO: A woman. You're right. With a skirt, that's a woman. Nobody was hurt.
CHETRY: Green is a unisex color.
CHO: It is. Police, by the way, still looking for that suspect and hoping to use that surveillance video to find him.
Finally, if you are looking for someone or something to blame for all of the recent economic woes, look no further than the male sex hormone testosterone. Researchers say it's testosterone that makes financial traders more successful and there's a catch. Only in the short term.
The University of Cambridge in England study says elevated levels of the male sex hormone over several days could lead to irrational risk taking. According to the lead author of the study, the financial system would be more stable if more women and older men were in the markets.
So there you have it. You know, another reason to blame men, as we were saying earlier.
ROBERTS: We are solely responsible for all the problems of the world.
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: Ladies and gentlemen, we were hoping to be under way with our interview of the CEOs of Delta and Northwest but unfortunately, we have that persistent mechanical problem. Everybody altogether now, ahh. We have a light that should be showing green. Unfortunately, it's showing red.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: But we're still working on it.
VELSHI: Free drinks for everybody while you're waiting.
ROBERTS: Pull out the cell phones and contact people if you need. We'll ask you to keep those close at hand.
VELSHI: Very anxious to hear the interview. In the meantime, what I'm going to do to kill some time is I'm going to take the numbers nine and seven.
CHETRY: That's the year he graduated high school.
VELSHI: I wish.
CHETRY: Keep going. Hold on. There we go.
VELSHI: The last ...
CHETRY: All right.
VELSHI: The last year I had hair. Sadly, that's -- I wish that was what it is but 97. These are the two numbers in which the price are oil ending. I'm going to find my barrel, $112.97. Oil is up almost $1 overnight. I'll come back and tell you more about it on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Oil prices hitting record levels in electronic trading this morning. Ali Velshi here now with more on that.
VELSHI: Always trouble when we mess with the barrel. Whenever this starts to happen, I was up here earlier. It was 112.48. It was substantially higher than it was last night. Look at this. $112.97. It won't stick. The barrel doesn't know what that looks like. $112.97 for a barrel of oil. That is the highest it's ever, ever been.
Gasoline prices also the highest they've ever been, $3.38 for a gallon of self served unleaded. That's a national average, of course. There are some of you who are paying more than $4 and have been for sometime. We have had the estimates and as long as oil is above $100 a barrel, there are some people say $3.50 to $3.75 and more by Memorial Day. That's a big deal.
John McCain promised proposals, calling for a gas tax holiday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 18 cents for gasoline, 24 cents for diesel. For those of you who don't drive diesel, it doesn't matter because the diesel is what goes into trucks and farm equipment and costs you more on the food side. So very interesting proposals.
We'll keep you posted on this. I hope we don't see 113 this morning but almost seems inevitable.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali Velshi with that. Thanks very much.
Not trying to string you along here with the CEOs of Delta and Northwest. We're still having some technical difficulties. We'll get them up just as soon as we can.
Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI on his way to the United States for his very first time since becoming pope. He left Rome this morning. He's going to be greeted this afternoon by President Bush at Andrews' Air Force Base in Maryland. That's the first time that the president has ever gone out to Andrews to meet anyone other than himself, of course. They're going to have a formal meeting at the White House tomorrow. On Thursday, a big mass at Washington's National Park, the new baseball stadium there, and then on Friday the pope's going to be heading to New York.
John Allen is the CNN senior Vatican analyst, also senior correspondent for the "National Catholic Reporter." He is on board the pope's plane and joins us now on the phone on route to the United States.
John, good to have you with us. This pope is still a bit of a mystery to many American Catholics. How important is this trip for him?
VOICE OF JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, John.
Yes, I'm speaking to you from aboard Shepherd One with Pope Benedict XVI. I think this trip is enormously important for the pope. For one thing, as you say, he is something of an unknown quantity among many American Catholics. A recent poll found two thirds of American Catholics still know almost nothing about this pope so in that sense, he is coming here to introduce himself.
He took a first step in that regard this morning aboard the papal plane coming back to speak with reporters. Taking one question in English and responding in English on the sex abuse crisis and in dealing with it I think quite forcefully indicating he is personally -- he is aware of the suffering of this crisis has caused. Saying that it's difficult for him to understand how priests could have betrayed their mission to bring healing and God's love to children and finally indicating in forceful language that the Catholic Church is committed to the exclusion of pedophiles from the priesthood. So I think as the day goes, that's certainly a big question many Catholics had. What will the pope say about the sex abuse crisis and before he even arrives in American air space, he dealt with it.
ROBERTS: John, this is the first papal visit since 1999 when John Paul was here. How excited are American Catholics to see the pope and how eager is he to make an impact?
ALLEN: Well, I think Pope Benedict himself clearly this morning seemed animated in his conversation with the press corps and also was quite willing even though the program was, to take a -- entertain a question in English for the benefit of the American audience and speaks to the fact he is looking forward to this trip.
In terms of the attitudes of American Catholics, you know my sense is Benedict is a bit more of an acquired taste. He's the more shy, cerebral figure out the towering charisma of John Paul II. I think American Catholics are curious and very eager to hear what Benedict will have to say. And that will be much of the drama the next few days, John, is to see how this sort of figure does in this sound byte culture that we ...
ROBERTS: Certainly, John Paul II was beloved here in the United States. We'll see how Benedict XVI does when he touches down. Again, he's meeting the president and then holding a mass at National Park in Washington and coming to New York speaking at the United Nations and holding a mass at Yankee stadium.
John Allen on board the aircraft there with the pope and on the helicopter with the pope when he travels from JFK airport to downtown New York for a U.N. address and getting good insight then.
CHETRY: All right. We will. Thanks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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CHETRY: Well, he had a long and successful NFL career but Herschel Walker says he was coping with mental illness throughout his playing days. He actually talked about his struggles with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and how he survived. We're going to hear his story coming up.
Also, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney once Senator McCain's biggest rival and now one of his biggest supporters, he's going to join us live today as John McCain unveils his an economic plan. He's set to give a major economic speech when this morning and talking to Governor Romney coming up in just a couple minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: He was a Georgia football icon and one of the most productive pro running backs of all time but Herschel Walker's life was nearly derailed by his battle with multiple personalities. He's talking about the struggle that led him to several suicide attempts in the new book titled "Breaking Free."
We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. He's in Atlanta this morning.
Were you surprised about this condition that Walker has?
GUPTA: Yeah. I was very surprised by it, multiple personality disorder, I think in part because it's confusing and because I think any time someone talks about mental illness so publicly it's, you think, such a stigma attached to it and surprising when people come out and he is a likable, charming guy.
When you hear some of the things he says, you listen to the words specifically about what DID caused him to do it is stunning. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERSCHEL WALKER, AUTHOR, "BREAKING FREE": I've tried to hurt myself many times.
GUPTA: Like what?
WALKER: I've tried suicide. But, you know, I asked my doctor, why would I do something like that? He said, Herschel, you're so competitive. You have a drive. This -- I don't know what you call it but it's like, you know, I would try anything. I would try almost ...
GUPTA: Did you try to take pills?
WALKER: No. I played Russian roulette before.
GUPTA: You played Russian roulette.
WALKER: Yeah, I played Russian roulette and stuff and more than once. I played it more than once.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: One of the things about the dissociative identity disorder is a person actually flips back and forth between these alters with no recollection of what just happened. I think that's the distinguishing factor between this and just rage issues, for example or depression. And often times those alters appear when somebody specific is around such as his wife. We talked to her, as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY WALKER, HERSCHEL WALKER'S WIFE: I remember being in bed. I didn't have my contacts on because I remember I couldn't see. He got upset and you know those barber knots -- he had it to my throat. And kept saying he was going to kill me, kill me. I think he choked me because I think I passed out. When I came to, there was somebody else there. Cindy, Cindy, Cindy, wake up. Wake up. It must have scared him and he switched.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: You know, one way to piece it together and I thought about this, John, thinking about everybody, most people have different penalties in different times of their lives and remarkable of DID, dissociative identity disorder, is that there really is no single cohesive personality. There are sort of fragments of different personalities. People sort of think of Cybil in that movie. There was never sort of one identifying personality which is how Herschel was sort of diagnosed as well, John.
ROBERTS: Any idea how you can treat this effectively?
GUPTA: It's very hard. I mean there's not a specific medication. The diagnosis is a clinical one. Often times it is a result of significant psychological and physical abuse as a child. It is a childhood disorder but often diagnosed as an adult. So he's going through counseling now. A lot of it is trying to in effect sort of teach all the alter personalities to get to know one another, if you will. I'm not saying that tritely. That is the focus of this, to create that sort of cohesive personality.
ROBERTS: Wow. Extraordinary stuff. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning; Sanjay thanks. You can see Sanjay's full report on Herschel Walker tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
CHETRY: He wants this house. What's his plan to help you keep yours? John McCain and your money. Mitt Romney joins us live.
Protecting the Holy Father and the faithful, a look at the all- new pope-mobile ready to roll down Pennsylvania Avenue and the secret security you will never see.
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CHETRY: Turning to politics now, we're a little less than two hours away from Senator John McCain's speech on the number one issue for Americans, the economy. So what can we expect to hear from the Arizona senator and presumptive GOP nominee? Well, former Republican presidential candidate and McCain supporter former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney joins us now live from Boston this morning.
Great to see you. Thank you for being with us.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, Kiran. Good to be with you.
CHETRY: Well, we've heard Senator McCain now say he believes the U.S. is in a recession and that the president and congress do share some of the blame. When he talks today in his major economic speech, what is he going to be saying about how we can move closer to a solution to solve what we're going through economically right now? ROMNEY: Well, what I think you are going to hear is that Senator McCain is going to propose a new outlook in Washington that, frankly, will turn Washington on its head. It will say instead of growing government year after year after year and taking the tax revenue from the people to do that, he'll say enough. We're going to stop growing federal government. We're going to put a freeze on discretionary spending and give people back more of their money.
So he's going to double the exemption for dependents that taxpayers file with. He's going to stop the creep of the alternative minimum tax by eliminating it altogether. He's going to eliminate the gas tax over the summer. He is going to put in place a tax program that simplifies dramatically the number of rates as well as the standard deduction for people that on tax day like this, people will know what a difference that would make.
So it's a program that says, look, the people come first and the government comes after that. We're going to let the people keep more of their money and we're going to shrink the size of the growth of federal government and by virtue of doing that, help the American people at a very critical time.
CHETRY: There's a lot to chew over. In fact, our political analyst Mark Halperin even said you can use all 180 minutes of AMERICAN MORNING and not get to everything. The challenge will be for John McCain to help explain that to people.
But let's talk a little bit about the flat funding, as they call it, or this freeze on discretionary spending. Some of the departments, homeland security, food inspection, education. Some of these federal programs would really actually end up seeing a cut when you count in inflation. How are you going to get voters to think that that's a good idea, especially as we've been hearing concerns about food safety as well as other things like national security?
ROMNEY: I think the American people understand that there is massive waste and inefficiency and in some cases abuse in the federal government and it's spending and Senator McCain is saying you know what? For this coming year, we're going to freeze spending on government programs in these discretionary accounts and then we're going to evaluate each of these programs one by one and see which of those should be grown and which of them should be eliminated or cut back and there are going to be a lot of cut backs.
There are going to be a number of programs which over years have been evaluated as being not very effective, not doing the job they were designed to do. It's interesting. In Washington, you pass a bill to create a program and it stays there for decades.
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