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American Morning
Colorado Wildfires Burning Out of Control; Pope Benedict's White House Welcome; McCain Lays Out Economic Agenda; Virginia Tech: Healing on Campus One Year After
Aired April 16, 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: Good to have you with us this morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to be here.
ROBERTS: Meantime, breaking news out of Colorado to tell you about today. Wildfires burning out of control right now in Ordway, Fort Carson, and Carbondale, up there in the mountains on the way to Aspen. Three people killed, including a firefighting pilot. The largest fire is in Ordway. That's southeast of Denver.
The towns' 1,100 residents were told to get out of the way. Firefighters say they think that a controlled burn in the area got way out of hand. Way out of hand would be obvious. High winds and warm, dry conditions fueling the flames there in Colorado today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just has moved on such a huge front and so fast with these winds of being what -- 25, 30 miles an hour, and it being so dry, it's just out of control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Right now, much of the state is under a red flag warning, meaning that the fire danger is high. Governor Bill Ritter has declared a state of emergency.
Chris Sorensen is with the Crowley County Emergency Management Office. He has been out in the fire line all night. He joins us now via the telephone. Chris, thanks for being with us. Can you tell us what the situation there in Ordway is like and in that surrounding area? We're looking at some pictures right now that are pretty dramatic.
CHRIS SORENSEN, CROWLEY COUNTY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, as we understand it right now, about 8,900 acres have burned. We still have crews on this fire. They have been working through the night, and they'll be continuing on as long as necessary.
ROBERTS: Chris, we understand that there have been three fatalities as a result of the wildfires there in Colorado. One that we know of in the Ordway area involving a firefighting pilot. Can you tell us what happened?
SORENSEN: Actually I believe the pilot was associated with another fire in the area. In our area, we've had two confirmed fatalities in association with this fire, but we don't have additional information at this time.
ROBERTS: With those people, can you confirm whether or not they were firefighters?
SORENSEN: I don't have that information. The coroner is expecting to release that later this morning.
ROBERTS: All right. And what do you know about the crash of that firefighting aircraft? As you said it was a fire -- I thought it was near Ordway, I guess it was another one. Do you know any details on that?
SORENSEN: No, sir, not at this time. We've been very focused on addressing our situation here. We're a little out of the loop on that one.
ROBERTS: All right. In terms of containment and where you're going to go today as the sun comes up, can you give us some idea?
SORENSEN: The last estimate we had was 60 percent containment. That is a little bit fluid. We do have 20-mile-an-hour winds, so that can change the situation from moment to moment. Our weather forecasters are providing us with up-to-date information, and they'll help us work through in deciding where we need to plan our attack.
ROBERTS: The high winds again today, and how many evacuations there in the Ordway area?
SORENSEN: Ordway is a community of about 1,200 people, and we have asked that the entire community remain evacuated overnight mostly for safety purposes. If we had people coming in overnight, that would pose a risk to themselves as well as our responders.
ROBERTS: All right. That's Chris Sorensen with the Crowley County Emergency Management Office talking to us from the fire lines this morning. Chris, thanks very much. Good luck with your firefighting efforts today -- Alina.
CHO: All right. Pope Benedict XVI will be officially welcomed to the United States this morning at a White House ceremony that happens to fall on his 81st birthday. The Holy Father was greeted by President and Mrs. Bush yesterday afternoon at Andrews Air Force Base. More than 5,000 people will be at the White House for the ceremony this morning. It's only the second time a Pope has ever visited the White House.
During the flight from Rome, the pope addressed the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, and our CNN's Jason Carroll is in Washington covering the pope's visit. So Jason, good morning. What did the pope say about this?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is obviously going to be saying a lot about this. This is one of the issues, the sexual abuse scandal that Pope Benedict plans to deal with when he's here in the United States. You'll remember, Alina, that it was a study that found that between 1950 and 2002, some 4,000 priests were accused of sexually abusing some 10,000 victims here in the United States, most of them children. Pope Benedict is keenly aware of how much damage this caused to the church.
You remember that before he was Pope Benedict, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he headed the Vatican's congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. And in that capacity, Alina, he actually listened to all of the cases from all over the world about these priests who were accused of sexual abuse, and it was his call to decide whether or not many of these priests were actually punished. Again, reading cases from all over the world. Yesterday he expressed deep remorse and sorrow for all the pain that had been caused.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE BENEDICT XVI, LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: We are deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so that this cannot happen in the future. I will not speak at this moment about homosexuality but pedophilia, this other thing. We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: So again, it appears he's going to tackle this issue head on. But advocates for victims say that the church is still not doing enough. While a number of priests have been removed from the ministry, they question why the Vatican did not hold more bishops and more cardinals responsible. Those bishops and cardinals who knew about these abusive priests and yet still allowed them to stay in the ministry.
So one of the spokeswomen for one of these groups basically saying we want to hear more action from the Vatican, not just words -- Alina.
CHO: Jason Carroll watching it all for us from Washington today for a very important six-day visit by the pope. Jason, thank you.
And you can follow the Pope's visit to America or send us your I- reports if you are one of the people at the papal events. Just head to CNN.com/Pope -- John.
ROBERTS: To the "Most Politics in the Morning" now at six minutes after the hour.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will debate tonight in Philadelphia with just six days to go now before the Pennsylvania primary. And we have new numbers in Pennsylvania to tell you about. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Clinton with a five-point lead over Obama. According to a nationwide "Washington Post"/ABC News poll that's out today, 51 percent of Democrats say they want Obama at the top of the ticket in November. Forty-one percent prefer Hillary Clinton.
Barack Obama is fighting back in Pennsylvania. His new advertisement plays off of an incident where Hillary Clinton got booed after she started to mention his bitter comments at a rally. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that many of you, like me, were disappointed by recent remarks that he made. And --
NARRATOR: There's a reason people are rejecting Hillary Clinton's attacks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The ad goes on to talk about getting past the politics of division, but it's not stopping Hillary Clinton from stepping up her attacks in the campaign trail. She took a shot at Obama's experience comparing him to President Bush when he took office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This campaign has gone on a long time, but elections do end. And when the campaigns conclude and the banners are torn down and the speeches are finally finished, all that's left is the choice we have made. We have seen the power of the presidency placed in hands unready or unwilling to address the tasks that lie ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: John McCain for his part is in Milwaukee this morning again talking about issue number one, the economy, explaining the economic plan that he laid out yesterday, which includes making President Bush's tax cuts permanent, eliminating the alternative minimum tax. He also wants to double the exemption for dependent children to $7,000, and cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Senator McCain is backing away from his goal of eliminating the federal deficit in his first term.
CHO: New photos and videos released showing the raid on that polygamist compound in Texas. They were taken by members of the sect and obtained by the "Associated Press." The pictures show police wore body armor and carried automatic weapons.
Now, Texas authorities say this is standard procedure for carrying out search warrants. Four hundred sixteen children were removed during that raid after a 16-year-old girl apparently called police to report she had been abused by her 50-year-old husband. But one sect member told CNN last night that report was a hoax.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA, FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH OF LATTER DAY SAINTS MEMBER: Someone that has once lived here and has been mad and turned traitor.
MARIE, FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH OF LATTER DAY SAINTS MEMBER: They've set this whole thing up to bring persecution against us. It's the worst insurrection that's happened in the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Police are still looking for the teenager who allegedly tipped them off. Stay with us.
Coming up, a fireball on the interstate. Pieces of a tanker truck scattered everywhere. Wait until you see the blast that started it all.
Plus, how Senator John McCain spells relief. He's laying out his economic plan from a gas tax break to new help for homeowners. But how is it playing out? Ali Velshi talks about whether it can work. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." John McCain lays out his economic agenda. The Republican presidential hopeful gives his most wide-reaching address on that topic. It's issue number one here on CNN. Of course, Ali Velshi joins us with more on that. So you say a lot of bread, not a lot of meat?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's like a stew that's flavorful, but there's little bits of meat in it. And the meat in it is good, but there's just not much. Let me point out some of the things that John McCain finally said.
We're appreciative to John McCain, by the way, that it's becoming issue number one to him because it is to most Americans. John McCain wants to cut taxes on businesses from 35 percent to 25 percent, recognizing that job creation in the United States depends on businesses and small businesses creating jobs. He wants an incentive for research and development so that in your first year of business if you're starting something innovative, you don't pay taxes on the equipment that you buy. You actually get a credit for that sort of thing.
He definitely wants to phase out the alternative minimum tax. He had been very, very clear on that. And he introduced something that Mike Huckabee was very popular for when he was running. A new simpler alternative income tax. So here's how he says it will work.
You pay your normal income tax if you want to, or you can sign up for this other system which is like two forms and two sort of income tax rates and a very hefty standard deduction. So if you just don't want to deal with all the income tax stuff, it's kind of misguided. It's been misguided since the beginning.
Most Americans don't like all the stuff that's involved in tax filing, but if you rate all these things that Americans don't like, it doesn't figure anywhere on the scale. It gets a lot of applause. So that's why I say a lot of bread, not enough meat.
He wants a simpler alternative to income tax, and he also wants to double the child tax exemption which actually is fairly significant. He has other proposals that are somewhat meaty, but he did discuss a lot of things that he would introduce as legislation or do as president. So it's not as immediate and current as some of the stuff. What he does want to do, and this one is interesting is that gas -- he wants to do a federal gas tax freeze for Memorial Day to Labor Day?
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Actually it's a holiday.
VELSHI: Holiday. Holiday. That's right. Listen to what he's got to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now paid by the American people from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year. The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus taking a few dollars off the price of a tank of gas every time a family, a farmer, or a trucker stops to fill up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: He's kind of right. The taxes haven't been the problem in the increase of gas in the last little while. So it would be about 18 cents on a gallon of gasoline, 24 cents on a gallon of diesel. Part of the problem, of course, is the fantastic idea if you like it if you happen to be the president of the United States. He wants that tax holiday this summer, but he's not the president of the United States this summer.
CHO: Right.
ROBERTS: It will be interesting to see if the White House picks up on that. It's a little teaser. What a McCain presidency could do.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: They virtually never do. They virtually never do. There's a lot of remedy to be gained from --
ROBERTS: 2000 -- Al Gore called for a strategic petroleum reserve release and Clinton did it.
VELSHI: And John McCain has called for the U.S. not buying any more oil for the strategic petroleum reserve while we're short of oil.
ROBERTS: Right.
VELSHI: So I'm going to come back and talk to you about oil. We have another record.
ROBERTS: But don't forget, you know, you repeal the gas tax for the summer, you add money to the deficit, $8 billion to $10 billion.
VELSHI: Well, that's -- yes. It's the same. ROBERTS: From one pocket to the other one.
CHO: Popular with voters.
VELSHI: Popular for voters.
ROBERTS: It is. Well, some voters yesterday -- we got a lot of e-mail. People said, hey, wait a minute. This is going to cost us a lot of money.
VELSHI: Right.
ROBERTS: So not a good idea. So we'll see.
We're following breaking news this morning. Wildfires burning out of control in Colorado fueled by hot, dry winds. Rob Marciano watching the extreme weather for us. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, John. Red flag warnings up again today, but big changes on the way for Colorado come tomorrow. We'll run down the details coming up after the break. Weather is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Big winds yesterday fanning these flames across southeastern Colorado, and the fires continue to burn today and the weather is not going to improve all that much today. Hopefully, we'll get to better weather tomorrow. But nonetheless, red flag warnings were posted. Winds gusting in some spots to 60 miles an hour, and all it takes is a spark.
Three fires in total in different parts of the state, and three fatalities reported at the moment. They continue to battle this. Good morning, everybody. I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Weather Center.
Big winds again is going to be an issue not only across southeastern Colorado, but across much of the west, and then changes on the way. Take a look at some of the current observations across this part of the state. These are winds, and notice that they are switching. Yesterday, they were pretty much entirely out of the southwest. Now they're going to start to move their way around this way and go northeasterly.
This particular fire just east of pueblo, that's where we're seeing the biggest issue. We also have one towards Fort Carson and then one back into the mountains as well. So red flag warnings actually have been shifted farther to the south today. Biggest culprit is this huge area of high pressure and then a pretty strong storm system coming in. And that difference right in through here is what's causing the wind. It caused wind damage across California, across Nevada, and now it's fanning flames across parts of New Mexico and Colorado especially.
But it looks like this is what's going to change things. This red "L" drops farther south today, and that will bring the red flag warning farther to the south with winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour, critically low relative humidity. In some spots, we've got single digits numbers now and a prolonged drought in this part of the country.
Meanwhile, we do have extreme cold across much of the east and part of the reason that we're seeing the big winds is that the difference in temperature, which is so often the case, John, this time of the year, the cause for extreme weather. Back up to you.
ROBERTS: Hey, Rob, those plains areas southeast of Denver around Ordway where we got a fire, they dry out very quickly. But back up in the mountains in Carbondale where that fire was, will the snow pack in the mountains help keep the danger of fire down there?
MARCIANO: It certainly should, and the system that's dropping south now is a pretty cold system. It will bring especially tonight and tomorrow a fair amount of snow not only through the mountains but will bring some moisture to the southeastern plains as well. So hopefully by this time tomorrow at least tomorrow afternoon we should have a better weather story to tell you.
ROBERTS: Excellent. Looking forward to that. Rob Marciano for us this morning. Rob, thanks. See you soon.
MARCIANO: You got it.
ROBERTS: Well, they don't call it a "Hot Shot" for nothing. Take a look at this.
Unbelievable. An enormous tanker truck explosion caught on the dash cam on I-81 in Bristol, Virginia. Police say the brakes in the truck caught on fire, and it wasn't long before the tire ignited and then that ignited the gas tank, and then that ignited the actual tank of the truck. The driver escaped.
No one was hurt thankfully. Part of the interstate though shut down for hours. Witnesses staying in a nearby hotel say the blast was so huge that cars in the parking lot were damaged.
CHO: That looks like it's straight out of a movie set. The fact that the driver escaped and made it out alive is incredible.
ROBERTS: Look at that.
CHO: Really remarkable.
ROBERTS: Unbelievable.
CHO: Glad he's OK. Boy.
ROBERTS: The very definition of a "Hot Shot." If you've got one, send it to us. Head to our Web site at CNN.com/am and follow the "Hot Shot" link.
CHO: All right. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." It's a virtual strip search. A new tool for fighting terror. It can spot a bomb in a backpack and anything else under your clothes. We're going to show you how it works in a live report coming up.
And the anniversary of a massacre. It's one we watched unfold before our eyes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: According to our affiliate on the ground there in Virginia Tech area, WSLS saying one person has now been taken into custody. Once again, WSLS, our affiliate there, Virginia Tech area reporting that one person has been taken into custody. "The Associated Press" reporting one person has been killed and another wounded in the shooting that happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: How the campus of Virginia Tech has healed in this year since the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour. They remember the shots. They remember the screams, and they still feel the pain of losing their friends and the trauma of the worst school shooting in U.S. history. We're going back to the campus of Virginia Tech University one year later. Today, the one year anniversary.
CNN's Brianna Keilar was among the first reporters on the scene. She joins us again from the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. Good morning, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. And I think most of the people here at Virginia Tech have been able to put that day behind them. But there are still many people where it was very much a lasting impact for them that they're still dealing with. And you can't really understand it unless you talk to someone who was in Norris Hall one year ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN SHEEHAN, VIRGINIA TECH SURVIVOR: The main entrance --
KEILAR (voice-over): Erin Sheehan and 13 other Virginia Tech students were in their German class on the second floor of Norris Hall.
SHEEHAN: This group of windows is my classroom. I remember we saw someone poke in the door twice.
KEILAR: It was Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech.
SHEEHAN: I heard a hammering noise. The thing that bothered me was that the hammering was going up and down the hall.
KEILAR: Cho shot Erin's professor first, then 12 of the 14 students in the class. Erin played dead. SHEEHAN: I had to fight with myself to stop the instinct to scream.
KEILAR: Erin escaped without being shot. She and three other students barricading the door to stop Cho from returning. Moments later Cho killed himself. After a week or two, Erin was showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares and flashbacks. Unexpected noises now cause her heart to race.
SHEEHAN: I think you'll have no idea how much people running in flip-flops will actually sound like bullets to me.
KEILAR: Even the sound of boxes being stacked makes her nervous.
KEILAR (on camera): You just looked over your shoulder when you heard the noise. Is that --
SHEEHAN: Yes. That was bothering me again.
KEILAR (voice-over): Erin now has to take tests in a quiet room alone. Earplugs help her study. Sleeping medication helps at night, and she credits psychotherapy with making her PTSD more manageable. This April day, Erin heads to class mindful of what took place exactly one year ago.
SHEEHAN: I wish, you know, this hadn't happened to anyone. But now that it has, I would like to think about it as, you know, something that I have grown from. You know, hopefully become a better person, hopefully appreciate my life more and understand how easily it could have been taken away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And that is why Erin says she's thinking about participating in a controversial pro-gun control protest taking place here later today, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Brianna Keilar for us this morning from the campus of Virginia Tech there in Blacksburg. Brianna, thanks very much -- Alina.
CHO: And as we remember the Virginia Tech tragedy, a growing number of college students across the country are demanding the right to carry guns to class. It is incredibly controversial, and most universities ban weapons. These students say they have a right to self-defense.
Virginia Tech is now home to the biggest chapter of a new group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. The organization has 25,000 members, and they want the right to carry concealed weapons on university grounds.
And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Take a look. Should properly licensed students be allowed to carry concealed weapons to class? You can cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We're going to have the first tally of your votes later on this hour. And we also want your e-mails on this topic. Head to our Web site and follow the links that say contact us. We're going to read some of those e-mails a little later this morning.
ROBERTS: Tragic anniversary to remember today. I recall setting foot on that campus. And first thing I did was I looked up my son's best friend who was a student there.
CHO: I remember.
ROBERTS: He was a senior. He was supposed to have a class the next day in Norris Hall at that time, too. So --
CHO: You spent many days there on that campus. I know you arrived shortly there.
ROBERTS: Oh, God. I feel for all of the students and all of the families.
CHO: You can remember it like it happened yesterday, really.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Hillary s Clinton and Barack Obama walk a fine line with the voters when they square off in Pennsylvania tonight. How far can they go in their fight over who is more out of touch? That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, we're back with the "Most Politics in the Morning" now. Six days, just six days until the Pennsylvania primary. Remember when it was six weeks?
Hillary Clinton holds a slight poll edge over Barack Obama going into tonight's debate in Philadelphia. Ken Vogel is the senior reporter for the "Politico.com." He joins me now from Washington.
And Ken, even though Hillary Clinton continues to lead in Pennsylvania, the polls in that state pretty much haven't changed in the last few days. Nationwide, they're about the same as where they were. Barack Obama in the latest Gallup tracking poll 11 points ahead of Hillary Clinton. Is this an indication that he weathered this "Bitter-gate" controversy without significant damage?
KEN VOGEL, SENIOR REPORTER, "POLITICO.COM": Well, a couple things to remember, John, about this "Bitter-gate" here is that as these polls are being taken the controversy was really just breaking, so it's unclear to what extent if at all the controversy really sunk in and affected him. We'll find that out for sure on Tuesday when Pennsylvania voters go to the polls.
Another thing to remember here is that Senator Obama doesn't need to do as well as Senator Clinton in Pennsylvania. He just needs to keep it close. She really needs a big resounding win to continue to justify her presence in the race.
ROBERTS: Michelle Obama appeared on the "Colbert Report" last night. Of course, Hillary Clinton has been charging Obama with being elitist, out of touch. Let's take a listen to what Michelle Obama said on that program last evening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": Everybody knows you and your husband are elitists. Tell me about your elite upbringing on the south side of Chicago. How many silver spoons in your mouth?
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: We had four spoons.
COLBERT: But there were spoons?
OBAMA: There were spoons, four spoons.
COLBERT: OK. So that tag still sticks.
OBAMA: And then my father got a raise at the plant and we had five spoons.
COLBERT: That sounds posh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Ken, it's become a gag line. Is it over?
VOGEL: Well, look, clearly she's joking around here, but it's also a very good answer in that it plays into the Obama campaign's approach. Not just to this controversy but to all the controversies that he's seen in the course of the campaign this year from his associations with his controversial pastor, Reverend Wright, to his lifting lines from a political ally's speech.
He says the criticism about these things is really just politics as usual and it's laughable and he is the one to sort of take us beyond that. Michelle Obama's response to Stephen Colbert, sure it's funny, but it also is very effective and that it takes that same line.
ROBERTS: Right. Tonight's debate in Philadelphia, things have been so heated on the campaign trail in the last couple weeks, do you expect that will continue or will they put the knives away this evening?
VOGEL: Well, we'll see them play to two distinct audiences here. First of all, they're obviously playing to the voters of Pennsylvania because they both need good showings, though as we've talked about good is relative here. On Tuesday, and we'll hear them talk about issues important to Pennsylvania like the deterioration of the manufacturing base, global trade, perhaps even guns which is a big issue in Pennsylvania.
But we'll also see them play to the superdelegates whose votes and support, one of them will need to secure the nomination and the way that they will play to the superdelegates is that they'll talk about how they are the better candidate, each one is the better candidate to go against John McCain in the general election.
ROBERTS: So what do you expect the tone and the tenor to be this evening?
VOGEL: Well, Senator Clinton has to be very careful. She has clearly benefited from this bitter day as we call it. But she doesn't want to be seen as taking it too far. Her efforts in previous debates to really hammer Obama on some of the controversies that have swirled around him have backfired. So she is walking a fine line here.
ROBERTS: Ken Vogel from politico.com. Ken, good to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.
VOGEL: Great to be with you.
ROBERTS: Thanks.
Alina?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're watching breaking news out of Colorado this morning. Three wildfires are burning right now. The largest is in Ordway. That's about 125 miles southeast of Denver near Pueblo. KRDO TV reports that two firefighters were killed and then a pilot was killed when his fire-fighting plane crashed.
Officials believe it may have all started when firefighters lost their handle on a controlled burn. And just minutes ago we spoke with Chris Sorenson with Crowley County Emergency Management. He told us how the fight will shape up this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF CHRIS SORENSON, CROWLEY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: The last estimate we had was 60 percent containment. That is a little bit fluid. We do have 20-mile-an-hour winds, so that can change the situation from moment to moment. Our weather forecasters are providing us with up-to-date information, and they'll help us work through in deciding where we need to plan our attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Just incredible pictures. All three fires are being fuelled by high winds and temperatures.
Southwest Airlines is facing a lawsuit this morning over missed safety inspections. Four customers are suing Southwest for flying them on uninspected aircraft.
Their lawyer says the lawsuit could include anyone who flew on Southwest between January of 2002 and last month. The amount of damages was not specified. Southwest says it does not comment on lawsuits.
President Bush rolling out the red carpet today at the White House to officially welcome Pope Benedict XVI and wish him a happy birthday. Today happens to be the pope's 81st birthday.
The president, first lady, and daughter, Jena, greeted him at Andrews Air Force Base yesterday afternoon. He's going to spend most of the morning at the White House, and then he will head out in the pope mobile along Pennsylvania Avenue. It's a new one. Pope Benedict is visiting Washington and New York during his 6-day trip.
ROBERTS: Well, there was a new high-tech tool for fighting terror. It's a camera that can see right through your clothes without you even knowing it. It's already being used in and around London, England. And as you might imagine, not everyone is happy about it. CNN's Paula Newton joins us now from London's Piccadilly Circus to show us how it works.
Good morning to you.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, John. You know, Piccadilly Circus here in London already one of the most spied on corners in the world. I can tell you right now there could be as many as six CCTV cameras already taking a look at what we're doing.
The technology that they may add to it is this kind of a camera that could do a virtual strip search of all these people behind me as they're on the move. The question is, John, will it make us any safer?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: On the move and en masse, we are all soft targets, easy prey for terrorists. You can't slow down border crossings for days. You can't screen every one of us for hours. But what if you could see right through us? Looking for concealed weapons or explosives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are genuinely looking through clothing.
NEWTON: That's the claim of through vision and the T5000 camera. It works a bit like a telescope to strip search you from as far away as 80 feet even when you're moving.
That black hole there on the body image on the left, that's the camera picking up mock explosives, but without revealing detailed anatomy. You can cover the camera up and it will still work picking up on electromagnetic radiation that all of us and all objects give off naturally. They're called terahertz or T-rays. True vision claims the technology is completely safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not having to radiate people -- you know, with x-rays or any other types of radiation.
NEWTON: But some still find it a bit creepy.
(INAUDIBLE) let me show it to you, OK?
NEWTON: This is Piccadilly Circus, Central London. Already one of the most spied on corners in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, maybe, yes.
NEWTON: But when others caught a glimpse of the T5000 in action.
They can see right through them. You see that?
They were willing to put safety before privacy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The surveillance is everywhere anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care if they can see through me, because they can see me anyway.
NEWTON: Some experts say the intrusion isn't worth the benefit.
DAVID MURAKAMI WOOD, PRIVACY ADVOCATE: What we should consider is how much we want to lose aspects of our privacy in order to attain a sort of emotional security. In most cases this isn't a real security. It's a sense of safety. A sense of security which has very little real effect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: You know, a real bottom line here for everyone in this city, John, would it have stopped the London bombings from July 2005? It just wouldn't have. Those men were carrying backpacks. Even if that camera could have seen through the backpacks, it would take a very vigilant security person to try and stop them. That definitely wouldn't have happened.
Having said that, you know, the U.S. military is already looking at this kind of technology. It will be used here in and around London. Authorities convinced that sneak peek will make us safer. Certainly, important to think about on the first anniversary of those Virginia Tech shootings.
John?
ROBERTS: Absolutely. Fascinating stuff. Paula Newton for us this morning from Piccadilly Circus. Paula, thanks.
CHO: Meanwhile, Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business." If it's Wednesday, it's another oil high.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It must be an oil high. By the way, Wednesdays are particularly important because it's when we get that weekly inventory report. We're going to get that later on today. But regardless, while you were sleeping, oil surged to a brand new high.
Gasoline prices surged to a brand new high. And the U.S. dollar a brand new low. I will have all that for you when AMERICAN MORNING continues in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Breaking news we're following. Rescuers are still searching the wreckage of a plane in the Democratic Republic of Congo. CNN is reporting at least 18 people were killed when that plane plowed into a busy market shortly after takeoff. Amazingly, 66 passengers and crew members survived. And we're going to talk to one of them in just a minute.
Police say it appears most of the victims were on the ground. United Nations peacekeepers helped the crew save the majority of the passengers, including four Americans, before the plane caught fire.
Now, check out this I-report by UN pilot Anil Sreenivasan. And investigators say there are more deadly plane crashes in the DRC than any other African country.
As we alluded to just a moment ago, an American family was on board that flight and amazingly made it out alive. His name is Barry Mosier. He joins us now on the phone live from Goma in the Congo.
Barry, we thank you for joining us. I understand you, your wife, your 14-year-old daughter, and your 3-year-old son all made it out alive. Take me through what happened and when things started to go wrong.
VOICE OF BARRY MOSIER, SURVIVED CONGO PLANE CRASH: Well, we were taking off from Goma and the runway in Goma is only two-thirds of a runway because a volcano erupted in 2001, wiped out a third of the runway. So, we took off and just before we were going to get airborne, we heard the front tire blow out on the plane, and the pilot tried to stop the plane as best as he could, but it was impossible due to the short runway.
So, we crashed at the end of the runway into the market, and there was a fair amount -- we were just ahead of the wings, where we were sitting in the plane, and my daughter went ahead and I was helping my wife and 3-year-old son try to make it.
But the cabin was filled with smoke. There was fire on the outside of the plane. We could see the flames, and we knew there was a fair amount of fuel. So we knew we had to get out immediately. At that point we just kept trying to get ahead, but my son got stuck in the avalanche of people trying to push ahead, and as we pulled him out, it broke his leg.
But by God's grace and thanks to the many prayers of those who support us as missionaries over here in Africa, we made it to the front of the plane, where my daughter and another person who had started punching a hole in the side of the plane where there was a crack.
And by that time, they had opened the hole big enough that many of the passengers were able to escape the plane, which was on fire and filled with smoke.
CHO: Oh, Barry, that is just incredible that your entire family survived all of this. We hope your son will recover very quickly. Again, he broke his leg, just 3 years old. I know you were on a church aid mission. So, I'm sure you believe there was some sort of divine intervention in all of this.
You gave us a great description of what was going on inside the plane. Were you able to see outside because this plane crashed into a busy market? What was going on outside? What did you see?
MOSIER: As we got off the plane, we were rather focused on looking for our children because we gotten separated a little bit. But we could hear people screaming and wailing. And we knew that we saw people had been trapped when the plane landed on them and some were dead.
And as the police took us to the hospital, we saw stretcher after stretcher of people who came in and had been burned in the flames from the plane. Most of them that were in the market. By God's grace and thanks to answered prayers, most of the people were actually -- were able to escape the plane itself.
CHO: Very quickly, Barry, when do you expect to be able to go back to the United States?
MOSIER: We're going back for a visit in the States in June, and it will be a welcome visit. But we're thankful that the Lord has cared for us here and we just praise His name that we're alive, even though all of our things are gone that we were travelling with.
CHO: OK. Yes, I'm sure you don't care about those things, Barry Mosier.
MOSIER: No.
CHO: Your entire family survived the crash in the Congo. We thank you so much for joining us from the Congo by phone this morning. Best of luck in the coming weeks.
MOSIER: Thank you so much.
CHO: John?
ROBERTS: Wow. What an extraordinary story. You know, when you fly -- particularly when you fly with your family, you wonder if anything ever happened, would the situation be so chaotic that you would lose everybody in the crash.
CHO: A lot of family members, actually husbands and wives will, for that reason, for that fear, travel separately.
ROBERTS: No, but what I was --
CHO: But I know what you mean. Absolutely. Sure.
ROBERTS: If you were able to escape, would you still be able to grab your children and go. And in this case, they were. Just extraordinary.
CHO: Took a little while to find them, but thank goodness. VELSHI: But it makes it to so much real because we hear about these things and report them. But when you actually hear how somebody went through them, it's not a news story anymore, it just becomes a very real tragedy for somebody.
CHO: And a 3-year-old son broke his leg, but I think that's the least of their worries this morning.
ROBERTS: Just incredible. Wow.
Well, we're following breaking news this morning. Wildfires burning out of control in Colorado, fuelled by hot, dry winds. Rob Marciano is watching the extreme weather for us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I live in this barrel. This is our light sweet crude oil barrel. Actually, just bringing it out when we have records. And there you go -- $114.50. I'm scared to go to sleep these nights because I wake up and this is what happens. It's happening overnight a lot. $114.50. Yesterday, we were on $111, went to $112, then it went to $113. Now this.
And of course, you do have another increase in the price that you pay for gasoline. Take a look at this. $3.40 now according to AAA. $3.28 a month ago. $2.87 a year ago. Keep this in mind because people have been saying that if gas is above $100 a barrel -- if oil is above $100 a barrel, you're going to see $3.50 to $3.75 by Memorial Day.
So, these are important numbers to sort of keep around when it comes to your own planning. Now, part of this is the U.S. dollar, which has again taken another hit. The U.S. dollar against the euro now trading at $1.59. It's been around. You know, it always moves sort of within around a cent of that.
But this is the highest the euro has been against the dollar. $1.98 against the pound, and $1.01 against the Canadian dollar. So, we are looking at low dollar high oil prices. Those two work hand in hand. And nothing in sight that's going to change that.
Today in about 10:30, we'll get a report on how much oil there is stored in the United States. It's a weekly report and depending on what that says, oil will move once again.
ROBERTS: You know, ever since you got this new barrel --
VELSHI: Things have not been going well, right?
ROBERTS: Which isn't really even a real barrel.
VELSHI: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: You know, not very many people ship oil in barrels anymore. They're shipped by pipes. This is a representation.
ROBERTS: I think you need to get rid of this thing. It's bad luck.
VELSHI: It's bad for the economy. Might be true. Maybe, if I just hide the barrel, oil will settle down to a lower price.
CHO: $100 a barrel, I think, is like a distant memory.
VELSHI: I got this barrel well before $100 a barrel. I think while it was at $60 or $70 a barrel when I got it. See?
ROBERTS: I remember you touting your new barrel and nothing but misery and woe since then. Be gone, barrel, be gone.
Guns in the cockpit. Could armed pilots be putting your lives at risk? Details of a CNN special investigation coming up.
Plus, the fire line forecast. Wild fires burning out of control in Colorado, fuelled by hot, dry winds. We've got the weather watch coming up for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're looking at video of debris out of Ordway, Colorado. One of three fires that struck up yesterday in high winds across that state. 11 square miles burned in some spots. And the town of Ordway had 1,200 residents. They've been forced to evacuate. And there you see what's left over from that fire.
Still continues to burn. 50 percent to 60 percent containment, but winds continue to blow this morning and will continue to blow this afternoon. But the weather, she isn't changing. Certainly dramatic pictures there and we hope to get a hand on those fires before too long.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Let's hope that they can hold the line for the next few hours. Rob Marciano, thanks. We'll see you again soon.
The ceremonies of the papal visit begin this morning at the White House. Thousands of people will welcome Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of his 81st birthday. We're live in Washington this morning.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, they're carrying them to protect us. But are guns in the cockpit more a danger than a deterrent?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, my holster is unsnapped. And then in order to snap it...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misfired the gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just fired the gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It has happened once. It could happen again. How safety rules might actually be putting you at risk. A special investigation ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Four minutes now to the top of the hour. As we remember the Virginia Tech tragedy today, a year ago today. A growing number of college students across the country are demanding the right to carry guns to class.
While most universities ban weapons, these students say that they have a right to self-defense. Virginia Tech, by the way, is now home to the biggest chapter of a new group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
The organization boasts 25,000 members and they want the right to carry concealed weapons on university grounds. Which brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question.
Should properly licensed, key in here, properly licensed students be allowed to carry concealed weapons to class? Right now, 55 percent of you say yes. 45 percent say no.
Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. We'll continue to update your votes throughout the morning.
We also want to hear from you on this. Send us an e-mail if you would. Go to www.cnn.com/am. Follow the links to contact us, and give us your thoughts. We'll read some of those e-mails a little bit later on this morning.
Alina?
CHO: Very close votes.
Well, could armed pilots be at risk because of TSA rules on how they handle weapons? Well, some pilots say yes and they want changes.
A pilot on a U.S. Airways flight last month, you may recall, accidentally fired his gun while preparing to land in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Now, while that investigation is on going, pilots groups say federal rules could be adding to the risk of guns going off in the cockpit. Our Drew Griffin with CNN special investigations unit has been talking with pilots.
So Drew, what are they saying?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Alina, these armed pilots, this federal flight deck officers have been carrying their guns aboard flights since September 11th. They say they're handling the guns far too much.
Federal rules require them to lock and unlock their guns in a specific holster whenever they enter or exit the cockpit. The pilots are now saying that is what caused the gun to go off in a cockpit last month.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): This is the holster that the pilots are complaining about. It's designed to be locked. Only according to the pilots, locking the gun into the holster while it is loaded can be dangerous. When you get into the cockpit, the lock comes off. Anytime you leave the cockpit, the lock goes on. The lock goes through the trigger guard.
PAUL HUEBL, FIREARMS TRAINER/FORMER POLICE OFFICER: You can't see that trigger through there.
GRIFFIN: And weapons instructor and former police officer, Paul Huebl, showed us just how easy it would be to get the lock in the wrong place of a loaded gun.
HUEBL: What happens is the flight deck officer, he has to string this padlock through it again, but then he discovers, wait a minute, my holster is unsnapped. And then in order to snap it --
GRIFFIN: You just fired the gun.
HUEBL: I just fired a gun and anything to my left, hopefully it's pointed in a safe direction. But in a cockpit, I think that's pretty dangerous no matter where it's pointed.
GRIFFIN: That is the scenario the pilots group says happened on a U.S. air flight when the pilot was preparing to land. Stowing the gun, the gun went off leaving a hole in the cockpit and the side of the plane. The pilot has been placed on administrative leave.
The Federal Air Marshal Service overseas the armed pilots program and it's spokesman, Greg Alter, told us the incident that occurred aboard an in-flight aircraft on March 22nd, 2008, was a one of a kind occurrence.
He said the TSA's current gun policy is consistent with long- standing law enforcement practices and while not releasing any details of the investigation due to security reasons, Alter said any lessons learned will be implemented.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Alina, a lot of weapons instructors I have talked to say the safest way to handle a gun is not to handle it at all. The pilots say that's what they want. They just want to have a gun in a holster that they don't have to pull out and put back in every time they leave or go into the cockpit. They say handling the gun too much is what's causing this problem. CHO: Yes, makes sense. I mean, you leave it alone, less chance of it actually firing. Drew Griffin of our special investigations unit. Drew, thank you for that report.
ROBERTS: Also, a pretty confined area up there in the cockpit as well. You know, not a lot of things to ran in, not a lot of rooms.
CHO: Yes. And they're not exactly experts. I know they get training in how to handle a gun, but, you know, they're not experts in it either. So I'm sure they don't want to be handling it.
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