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American Morning
Deadly Wildfires in Colorado; Ceremony for Pope Benedict; Obama Fights Back; President to Unveil Climate Change Proposals; John McCain's Plan; Senator Specter's Cancer Returns
Aired April 16, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Also a pretty confined area up there in the cockpit as well. A lot of things around you. Not a lot of room.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: 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. I'm sure they don't want to be handling it.
ROBERTS: Just crossing the top of the hour now and breaking news out of Colorado to tell you about this morning. Wildfires burning out of control in Ordway, Ft. Carson, and Carbondale up in the mountains. Three people killed, including a firefighting pilot. The largest fire is in Ordway, more than 4,000 acres have burned. Ordway is just a little bit southeast of Denver. All 1,200 residents there told to get out of the way. Officials think the fire started when firefighters lost their grip on a controlled burn. High winds and warm, dry conditions are fueling the flames.
Earlier this morning Chris Sorensen, who is with the Crowley County Emergency Management Director described how the fight will shape up this morning.
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.
ROBERTS: Right now much of the sate is under a red flag warning, meaning that the fire danger is high. That plane went down, by the way, just east of Ft. Carson, the military facility that's near Ft. Collins. Governor Bill Ritter has declared a state of emergency there.
Pope Benedict XVI will be officially welcomed to the United States this morning at a white house ceremony that happens to fall on the occasion of his 81st birthday. The pope was greeted by President and Mrs. Bush yesterday afternoon at Andrews Air Force Base. Thousands of people expected at the white house for the ceremony this morning. Only the second time that a pope has visited the white house, and of course there's that big mass coming up at Nationals Park in Washington as well. CNN's Jason Carroll is covering the pope's visit and joins us now this morning from Washington.
Good day to you, sir.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And to you, John. Pope Benedict is going to have a lot of challenges he's going to have to deal with here in the United States. Addressing the sex abuse scandal is just one of them.
In addition to that, the catholic flock here in the U.S. has changed. Many people moving away from traditional catholic teachings. Pope Benedict will try to bring those people back into the flock.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Pope Benedict XVI will greet a flock of millions in the United States, the adoring, the faithful. His challenge, to reach Catholics like Ed McCarthy and his granddaughter Kelly.
ED MCCARTHY: I don't really go to church every Sunday, but I believe in god.
KELLY MCCARTHY: If we have the right to get married, why can't a priest get married?
CARROLL: Married priests, not attending weekly mass? They're what some call cafeteria Catholics ,those who pick certain parts of the religion to follow.
JAVON ALEXANDER: I don't know too much about this pope. I hear a lot of things but the last pope I kind of liked him a little more.
CARROLL: Knowing Pope Benedict is realizing he's not like his predecessor.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: If John Paul had not been a pope, he would have been a movie star. If Benedict had not been a pope, he would have been a university professor.
CARROLL: He's the intellectual, the introvert.
REV. GERALD WALSH, AUXILIARY BISHOP OF NEW YORK: Those that have met him find him to be a very patient, kind, understanding man.
CARROLL: He's also conservative, nicknamed god's rottweiler. When he was Munich's Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger, he was not open to the idea of married breast or cafeteria Catholics but he's still considered by some to be a good listener.
FRANCIS CARDINAL GEORGE, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO: If you ask questions, he'll try to understand. He's a tremendous synthesizer.
CARROLL: But can he inspire Catholics who want reform in a country still hurting from the priests' sexual abuse scandal?
POPE BENEDICT XVI: We are deeply ashamed and we will do everything possible --
CARROLL: On Tuesday, Pope Benedict said he was deeply shamed at the pain that was caused. Some victims say words aren't enough.
BARBARA BLAINE, S.N.A.P.: One of the most significant things that we continually ask for is action. We look for tangible steps to be taken that protect children.
CARROLL: Father Joseph Fessio studied under Ratzinger when he was a theology professor and says the man he knows can reach anyone who chooses to listen.
REV. JOSEPH FESSIO, FMR. STUDENT OF POPE BENEDICT: They're going to find out more about who he really is and what he is, is someone who lives deeply his Christian faith and expresses it profoundly and beautifully and I think that will have an impact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: He's going to have a lot of opportunities to make some sort of an impact on those people who moved away from those traditional catholic teachings. Of course, he will be holding that very public mass here in Washington, D.C., the youth rally on Saturday, and then again, of course, that Sunday mass at Yankee Stadium.
John?
ROBERTS: What's the sense there in Washington? Could this visit together with the apology and all of that reenergize people and draw more of them into the catholic faith?
CARROLL: It might, it might. It would certainly be a step that I think a lot of Catholics here in the United States would appreciate.
John?
ROBERTS: One thing there's no question of, beautiful day for the pope's visit there in Washington. Jason Carroll for us there this morning. Jason, good to see you. Thanks.
CHO: The most politics in the morning. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will debate tonight in Philadelphia with just six days to go in the Pennsylvania primary, and we have new numbers in Pennsylvania. Take a look. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Clinton with a five- point lead over Obama, still very close and within the margin of error, as we say. According to a nationwide Washington Post/ABC News poll out today, 51 percent of democrats say they want Obama at the top of the ticket in November. 41 percent meanwhile prefer Clinton.
Barack Obama is fighting back in Pennsylvania. His new ad plays off an incident where Hillary Clinton got booed after she started to mention his quote, unquote, bitter comments at a rally.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that many of you, like me, were disappointed by recent remarks that he made.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a reason people are rejecting Hillary Clinton's attacks.
CHO: Well, 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 on the campaign trail. She took a shot at Obama's experience comparing him to President Bush when he took office.
CLINTON: 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.
CHO: Over on the Republican side, John McCain is in Milwaukee this morning again talking about issue number one, the economy. He's explaining that economic plan he laid out yesterday. Take a look. It includes making President Bush's tax cuts permanent, eliminating that alternative minimum tax. He wants to double the exemption for children to $7,000, and cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, but there's a catch. Senator McCain is backing away from his goal of eliminating the federal deficit in his first term.
ROBERTS: President Bush outlines his strategy for climate change this afternoon. In a speech at the White House rose garden, the president will announce his proposals for reducing the U.S.'s production of greenhouse gases. So far, he's opposed mandatory limits such as those proposed at the 1997 Kyoto treaty saying they hurt the U.S. economy. He is expected to propose realistic emission reduction targets and principles that he believes congress should follow in crafting global warming legislation. Not expected to hear any specifics in this plan though.
Senator Arlen Specter's cancer unfortunately has returned. The Pennsylvania senator diagnosed with an early recurrence of Hodgkin's disease. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" to tell us more about this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up on ten minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi here with us this morning to talk about John McCain and his plans for the economy.
ALI VELSHI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: He promised that on tax day he was coming out with a plan for the economy. And he did. It was a fairly extensive speech that was a lot more bread than meat in it. He talked about a lot of things that he would do. He made some very specific comments about legislation he would introduce. I'll give you some highlights.
One of the things is he's big on business producing jobs and small businesses are the biggest driver of jobs in this country. He wants to cut business taxes from 35 percent to 25 percent to encourage more hiring, particularly wants to cut some employer taxes. He also wants to give incentives for companies that engage in research and development so that he encourages ingenuity and innovation. Specifically, if you invest in things in your first year of business, he wants those to be able to be write-offs.
He hates the alternative minimum tax as do many ...
ROBERTS: Who doesn't?
VELSHI: Right, as do many people. He wants to phase it out entirely. He uses the word phase out because as we discussed, it brings in a lot of money for the government. So they've got to figure out a way to get that money but he wants to phase that out.
CHO: Who understands?
VELSHI: That's exactly it. But he -- he says that's a lot of frustration. He wants to bring in the simpler and I'm sure he'll change the name of it alternative income tax which means that you get to pay your normal tax if you want to exactly the way you do, but if you don't want to handle all those deductions, there's going to be a much simpler form you can fill out with a standard tax rate and a standard deduction. We'll see if that works. We're unclear as to what that's going to do.
He also wants to double the child tax exemption and things that he said in the past, he wants to eliminate taxes on cell phones and the Internet, things like that. You know it's interesting. Again, it needs to be a little bit tighter. I'm glad he's decided that the economy is issue number one. He does say that we're in a recession. He's definitely moving toward a space where a voter can say, OK, so I'm deciding between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton with very similar platforms in most cases and a very different one with John McCain. At least it will allow voters to get into a little bit of a debate about it.
ROBERTS: How dare he propose though that people actually have a down payment when they go to buy a house?
VELSHI: Yes, he wants a down payment, he wants fixed mortgages, and he says he wants a system where if you're in trouble, you go to the post office where there will be a form where you can outline the problems that you've got on your mortgage and you fill it out there and you send it in and they will somehow work you into a fixed rate 30-year mortgage as long as you have equity in your house. So there's a lot of stuff that's sensible. He's moving toward a policy that might make sense to people.
ROBERTS: Another plan out there. Ali, thanks.
CHO: We're following breaking news this morning. Wildfires burning out of control in Colorado fueled by hot, dry wind and high temperatures. Rob Marciano is watching all of the extreme weather for us. He'll be with us next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You are looking at pictures out of Ordway, Colorado. This is one of three fires burning across Colorado. 1,200 people evacuated from this area, three people killed, and over nine square miles of damage -- over 14 square miles of damage from this particular fire alone.
Here are some of the odds we are looking at this morning. We do have high winds happening now and will continue through this afternoon but then the weather is going to change. We have 20-mile-an-hour winds, but they're beginning to shift. All yesterday they were southwesterly all combined with a pretty complex weather system. A huge area of high pressure out here combined with a storm dropping in from the Pacific Northwest. That pressure gradient really cooking these winds along. We have wind damage in California, in Reno, Nevada, now the winds putting up those fires in Colorado. I think the red flag warnings most of the danger will shift later on today to the south. That's where we have the highest levels of critical fire danger, prolonged drought not helping here. This is where the pressure gradient will be the greatest.
We'll see the winds switch and also see some moisture. Starting to see it come down in Montana, in through parts of Wyoming. It will drop down to the Colorado Rockies and we will probably see significant snowfall at the higher elevations. But also some rain and snow likely where those fires are right now. So by this time tomorrow or at least tomorrow afternoon, we should have a better weather story to tell you. Off to the east we go. Part of that high pressure, that strong "h" we showed you on the map, that's cold air that sunk into this part of the country. These purples and blues indicate frost advisories and freeze warnings. 37 in Baltimore right now. 33 degrees in Charleston. Even across the Deep South, 37 in Mobile and 38 chilly degrees in Jacksonville, Florida.
Alina and John, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Why is it so much warmer in New York than it is there?
MARCIANO: Well, sometimes we get this cold air damming where the cold air slides east of the Appalachian Mountains, but are you going to get a suntan today?
ROBERTS: Supposed to be a beautiful day today. 65 degrees, 70 degrees tomorrow.
CHO: And a nice weekend, Rob.
ROBERTS: We're digging that.
MARCIANO: You have been complaining for weeks now, so enjoy.
ROBERTS: We complain every opportunity we get. All right, Rob. Thanks very much.
It's 17 minutes after the hour. Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter says his cancer has returned. We're paging Dr. Gupta about his prognosis. He's here with more.
Hey Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey John. This is so remarkable. He's 78 years old. He's had a recurrence of cancer. He's had other cancers as well. I'll tell what you this means for him and his prognosis in the long term. Hodgkin's lymphoma, straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter says his cancer has returned. It's a recurrence of Hodgkin's disease. After being cancer-free for the past three years. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from the CNN medical center.
And you're on this, I know. Senator specter was quick to point out this is just another bump in the road to recovery, but what's the reality?
GUPTA: For him he really had no symptoms. He got what's known as a pet scan. His is a remarkable story. There's no question. 78 years old, he's had had brain tumor, recurrence of brain tumor, he's had Hodgkin's, now a recurrence. Cardiac surgery and a cardiac arrest and he's done very well. Look at some of the pictures between 2005 and 2008. He's obviously changed to some extent during that time period as a result of the treatments and his therapy that he got for the Hodgkin's lymphoma. That's a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Now it's worth pointing out, Alina, that when he was first diagnosed, the grading or the staging, if you will, of this cancer was worse. He's had a recurrence now. But when they graded it this time, it actually had a more favorable prognosis.
He had to undergo a lot of punishing chemotherapy in the past. He'll have to undergo that again now, at least 12 weeks according to many of the cancer doctors we talked to. But besides fatigue that he had maybe as a result of the cancer itself, he really had no specific symptoms. This was found on a routine sort of scan.
CHO: You talked about the chemotherapy potentially 12 weeks, Sanjay. He's 78 years old. He expects to work through that treatment. But is age going to be a factor here? I mean, my grandmother was a little over 80 when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. They decided because of her age in part not to -- to forgo that treatment. Is it going to play a factor in this treatment as we go forward?
GUPTA: I think doctors always think about this, but as we've talked about before, every patient's a little bit different and the story of Arlen Specter I think is an uplifting one in the sense that he's rebounded so well.
Age is really not measured in years for the purposes of how someone will tolerate chemo but rather in their physiology. He's been through a lot but he still looks pretty good. He's been able to rebound pretty well from these things and even stay working through what I think a lot of people -- what would have put a lot of people in bed or at least put them out of commission for some time.
It's hard to say, but it sounds like from all indicators they're going to treat this at a lesser stage, so it will be about 12 weeks as opposed to the six months that he had before when he was 75 years old. So, you know, I think they're going to go ahead.
CHO: He says I've beaten some tough medical problems and some tough political opponents. I expect to beat this, too. We wish him the very best as he recovers from this. Sanjay, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
CHO: John?
ROBERTS: It is the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy today. As we mark that event, a growing number of college students across the country are demanding the right to carry guns to class. Most universities ban weapons, but these students say they do have the right to self-defense.
We're wondering do you agree with them or not? It brings us to this morning's Quick Vote question. Should properly licensed, that's the key here, should properly licensed students be allowed to carry concealed weapons to class. We're not just talking about anybody bringing a gun. We're talking about people who had the training, who have the permit, all of that. Right now 56 percent of you say yes. 44 percent say no. Cast your vote at CNN.com/AM. We'll continue to update votes throughout the morning. We'd also like your e-mails on this as well. Head to our Web site CNN.com/AM. Follow the links that say contact us. We're getting some good comments in. We'll read some of those a little later this morning.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
Supreme decision, the death penalty. Not for murder but the rape of a child. The high court hears whether the punishment fits the crime.
McCain's economy.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a responsibility to act.
ROBERTS: A gas tax holiday. Help for struggling homeowners.
MCCAIN: Direct and immediate help that can make all the difference.
ROBERTS: Whether the dollars make sense.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 25 minutes after the hour. The death penalty debate returns to the Supreme Court today. This time justices will decide whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute a death row inmate not for murder, but for the rape of his young stepdaughter.
Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena is live for us in Washington following this unusual case.
Good morning, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. That crime was most definitely horrible, but does it warrant the death penalty? That's the very question before the Supreme Court justices this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: He's not a killer, but Patrick Kennedy was sentenced to die for his crime. The New Orleans native sits here on death row at Louisiana's maximum security prison. Unlike the more than 3,000 inmates facing execution nationwide, Kennedy is unique. He is the first prisoner in decades to face death for a crime other than murder. Kennedy brutally raped a child in this house. The victim, his 8-year- old stepdaughter.
KATE BARTHOLOMEW, ORLEANS PARISH SEX CRIMES PROSECUTOR: In my opinion, the rape of a child is more heinous and more hideous than a homicide because the child survives with what has happened.
ARENA: But death penalty opponents argue a death sentence could give attackers a reason to murder their victims.
JODY BENITEZ, LOUISIANA FDN. AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULTS: If they're going to face the death penalty for raping the child, why would they leave a living witness?
ARENA: Louisiana is the only state actively pursuing lethal injection for raping children. In 1977, the Supreme Court banned execution for rape, but Louisiana lawmakers said the ruling only applied when the victims were adults. In 1995, passed a law allowing execution for the rape of children under 12.
BILLY SOTHERN, ATTORNEY FOR CONVICTED RAPIST: When we look at unusualness, what it means to be cruel and unusual, this is exactly the kind of unusualness that raises the serious concerns about the constitutionality of Mr. Kennedy's death sentence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: The justices are expected to rule on whether Louisiana's law is constitutional by late June, John.
ROBERTS: Any reason to believe, Kelli, they would overturn themselves?
ARENA: No. Most legal experts do expect them to stand firm. There are five other states, John, that do allow at least on the books for rapists to be executed, but they haven't actively pursued that kind of a prosecution in many, many years. So this is something that most states seem to agree on and legal experts believe that the Supreme Court will come down with the majority here.
ROBERTS: Kelli Arena outside the Supreme Court for us in Washington. Kelli, thanks.
Alina?
CHO: We're watching breaking news out of Colorado. Three wildfires are burning right now. We learned just this morning that 8,000 acres have burned around Ordway. That's about 125 miles southeast of Denver near Pueblo. KRDO TV reports that two firefighters were killed, then a pilot was killed when his firefighting plane crashes. Officials believe it may have all started when a controlled burn got out of hand. A public information officer from Crowley County, Colorado, told us this morning that the fire around Ordway is about 60 percent contained. All three fires are being fueled by high winds and temperatures today.
We also heard a dramatic story of survival following a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least 18 people were killed when a plane plowed into a busy market shortly after takeoff. Our I-reporter, Eiane Nzalenya, sent us this video of the aftermath. Police say it appears that most of the victims were people on the ground. United Nations peacekeepers helped the crew save a majority of the passengers, including four Americans, before the plane caught fire.
Minutes ago we spoke with one of those Americans. His name is Barry Mosier, and aid worker who was aboard that plane with his wife and two children. He says the plane's front tire blew and there wasn't enough time to stop on the shortened runway. He then described a chaotic moment after the crash.
BARRY MOSIER, SURVIVED CONGO PLANE CRASH: My daughter went ahead and I was helping my wife and 3-year-old son tried 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.
CHO: Investigators say there are more deadly plane crashes in the DRC than any other African country, but an amazing story of survival.
Mandatory service in a war zone. The State Department says some diplomats may be forced to serve at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad or somewhere else in that country if enough qualified candidates don't apply for the jobs. The warning went out for the second year in a row, but last year the department ended up finding enough volunteers to fill all of those posts.
President Bush is rolling out the red carpet at the white house to officially welcome Pope Benedict XVI and wish him a happy birthday. Today is the Pope's 81st birthday. The President, First Lady, and daughter Jena Bush 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'll head out in the new Pope mobile along Pennsylvania Avenue. It's a Mercedes, by the way. Pope Benedict is visiting Washington and New York during this six-day trip.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: 30 minutes past the hour. We're back with the most politics in the morning now. Republican John McCain in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, today pushing the economic plan that he laid out yesterday. Will big tax cuts save the economy and get McCain into the White House?
CNN's chief national correspondent John king is with us this morning in Milwaukee. John, there were questions as to whether or not John McCain would be able to play on the economic field, even Mitt Romney who now supports him was quite critical of his economic credentials back in the early part of the primary season. How did McCain do with this economic plan?
JOHN KING, CNN, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a great question John, because you're right, Mitt Romney back in the early days of the Republican primary said this guy doesn't get it. He's never run a business. He doesn't have a hands on in feel for the economy like I do. We'll get a better sense today. McCain is in a factory where they make trains, other heavy manufacturing. He'll be out meeting with blue collar workers, the kind of people he says will benefit from his approach. McCain's challenge is to say that the Democrats are going to raise your taxes and slow the economy and that he will lower taxes and keep it going.
The Democrats, of course, say their plan will only raise taxes on the rich but McCain's case is to say that any tax increases right now will hurt an already struggling economy. So, he is in the game now. He has a plan. Many for months have been saying what is your plan? The question is can he sell it in the face of some pretty stiff Democratic criticism, John.
ROBERTS: The one proposal that's getting a lot of attention is for this gas tax holiday, taking out the 18 cent a gallon tax for gasoline between Labor day and Memorial day, the 24.4 cent a gallon tax on diesel. Let's listen to how John McCain put that yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I proposed 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 trucker stops to fill up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, John, this is a very populist proposal, but is it practical? It would add $8 billion to $10 billion to the deficit.
KING: You're exactly right. And John McCain remembers someone who has said he wants to cut spending, he wants to balance the budget. So this will be part of the debate. What he's hoping for, John, is a psychological boost that Americans thinking about a summer vacation but thinking about how much it would cost and say, hey, this guy is trying to help me.
But you're exactly right, while McCain says it would stimulate the economy by getting American families in their cars, staying at hotels, going to amusement parks and the like, he said it would stimulate the economy. There are others, including skeptics, his own friends in Washington, saying wait a minute, that gas tax funds federal highway projects. So, we won't get to build new roads and bridges back home and not only will we not get to brag about new roads and bridges, we'll lose construction jobs back in our districts.
So, everything in this debate about the economy has trade offs. McCain is hoping that most families say that this guy is at least thinking about things that are trying to help me.
ROBERTS: Any chance the White House might pick up on that proposal as a little curtain raiser to what a McCain presidency would be like?
KING: That is certainly one of the big questions, and the White House says it will look at this. Again, President Bush has said in his final year in office, he is very much wants to be the fiscal conservative, draw the line and trying to balance the books as much as possible. Very interesting, McCain's own Senate leader in the Republican party Mitch McCullough said he would look at this proposal. He did not even embrace it right away because the tradition is the appropriators in Congress, while they like the candy, if you will, of suspending or having a gas tax holiday, they think the practical effect is actually a negative effect because of those construction jobs. Because you stole some government spending. So, this will be a big debate in Washington. McCain again hoping to at least come out as perceived to be on the side of the little guy, even if he doesn't get his way.
ROBERTS: Certainly plenty of criticism from the Democratic side of the fence. Let's listen to what Barack Obama said about the plan yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain used to oppose the Bush tax cuts. Now he wants to make those tax cuts permanent. So I respect Senator McCain. I honor his service to this nation, but I don't think America can afford four more years of the failed Bush policies, and that's what he's offering.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So he is proposing to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which Democratic candidates don't like. Let's look at some of the other proposals in his plan, John, like doubling the dependent deductions for your income taxes to $7,000, government=backed mortgages, repeal of the alternative minimum tax. Are there some things in there that the Democrats might find attractive? KING: Well, expanding the dependent, the credit for dependents is one thing that many middle of the road, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, many moderates think the goal of tax policy should be to help families. So, that's one thing that would have broad bi- partisan support in a vacuum. The question is what is the price tag to the government.
Fixing the alternative minimum tax problem is something that has been on the table in Washington for years now. John, the entire Bush presidency almost, again, it would help middle class families but it comes at a huge cost to the government where the trade-offs. McCain says he would make the difficult spending cuts to pay for all these proposals. Others say he's a bit naive thinking he could get that money out of Washington. But listen to what Obama said, the words Bush, Bush, Bush.
The Democrats will do all they can to try, to tie John McCain to George W. Bush at a time when the economy is struggling. Many believed it could be in a recession, and guess what, who takes the blame when that happens, you see the President of the United States. So, if the Democrats can tie John McCain to the Bush White House they hope and they believe they will win the economic debate.
ROBERTS: John King for us this morning from Milwaukee. John, thanks for joining us. Alina.
KING: Thank you, John.
CHO: Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with other stories making headlines. Hey, good morning.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning to you and to all of you. Good morning to you, out there.
Here's what's new this morning. New photos and videos have been released showing the raid on the polygamist compound in Texas. They were taken by members of the sect and obtained by the Associated Press. Pictures show police wore body armor and carried automatic weapons. Texas authorities say this is standard procedure for carrying out search warrants. 416 children were removed during the seven-day raid after a report of abuse at the compound. But one sect member told CNN last night that report was a hoax.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA: Someone that has once lived here and turned against, traitor.
MARIE: They've set this whole thing up to bring persecution against us, and it's the worst insurrection that's happened in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Police are still looking for the 16-year-old girl who allegedly tipped them off.
Questions today about the dangers of a common chemical found in plastics called bisphenol A. Early research links it to cancer. It's used to make water bottles, baby bottles, plastic containers and thousands of other everyday items. Researchers say it's been found in 93 percent of the population under the age of 6. And formula-fed infants are at the highest risk. Testing on lab animals linked it to breast cancer, prostate cancer, early puberty, and behavior changes.
Well, it looked like shock and awe, but it happened on the interstate in Virginia. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: My goodness, an enormous tanker truck explosion caught on the dash cam on i-81 in Bristol, Virginia. Police say the brakes caught fire and it wasn't long before all that fuel ignited. The driver did amazingly get out. Everyone else was OK, but part of the interstate was shut down for hours. Witnesses staying at a nearby hotel say the blast was so huge that cars in the parking lot were damaged. And that's what's new this morning. I'll send it back to John, Alina, and Ali. For exactly that reason that's why when I see those tanker trucks on the road, I stay away.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You stay away.
DE LA CRUZ: Stay away. I move away as far as possible.
ROBERTS: Extraordinary pictures. No one hurt, thankfully.
VELSHI: Yes, remarkably.
ROBERTS: But a little less fuel for us all this morning.
CHO: Imagine coming out of your hotel room and seeing your car melted.
VELSHI: Yes, that's quite something. And a little less fuel for us this morning. Exactly.
And cranking it over to business, we need that fuel.
ROBERTS: You got have a number with you.
VELSHI: I got a number with me. I'm going to have to change the barrel again. It is unbelievable how much the price of barrel is going. I won't show you until we come back. Where this three goes in the price of oil? That was the right way. But we are seeing the price of oil, it's unbelievable. Another record in oil and another record in gas and how much you're paying. It's also affecting the U.S. dollar for those of you planning your summer vacations. Stay with us. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back and I'll tell you all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We have a new record on the price of gasoline, price of oil as well. $114.53 is where it's trading right now. It's kind of - the point here, I know you don't follow these numbers necessarily every day, but the point here is that it keeps edging higher and higher. Now, today, about 10:30 we're going to get a report about how much oil there is in the United States, and that will affect the price of oil. But let me tell you what it's doing to the price of gasoline. We have a new record for the price. The national average for unleaded gasoline $3.40.
Remember a while ago people were saying $3.50 to $3.75 is where we'll be by memory day. Not long to go, if we're paying $3.40 right now. In Hawaii they're paying $4 in some places. The U.S. dollar weakens along with the price of oil. It's kind of an inverse relationship. It's unclear which happens first but the dollar has been weakening. It is now at a record low against the euro. It will cost you $1.59 to get a euro. $1.98 to get a pound. That's not as low as it has been against the pound, and $1.01 to get a Canadian dollar. So, the stay-cation is looking real good, because you can't really afford to drive and you can't really afford to fly. And once you fly to Europe you can't pay for anything anyway.
CHO: A lot of Americans not going to Europe.
VELSHI: So, get to know your house this summer.
ROBERTS: Get to know your motorcycle or your bicycle.
VELSHI: That's exactly right.
VELSHI: I'm saying I'm taking my motorcycle in this afternoon for a tune-up because it's going to be a lot cheaper than driving my SUV around.
ROBERTS: Use a Fred Flintstone car.
VELSHI: Yes. You know what exactly I'm getting? I'm getting a new rack installed on my motorcycle so I can actually carry stuff around. So, I can go shopping.
ROBERTS: That's a good idea.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: I saw a smart car on the road the other day and I thought, wow, that looks like a great idea.
VELSHI: With these gas prices, it certainly does.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Ali. High winds, dry weather, the perfect fuel for raging wild fires tearing through Colorado. Three people dead as firefighters struggle to get control. Rob Marciano is watching the weather for us. He's got the forecast next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHO: We're watching breaking news in southeastern Colorado. Deadly wildfires burning right now east and west of Pueblo. The entire down of Ordway has been evacuated. About 1,200 people are out of their homes there. Rob Marciano tracking the fire danger from the weather update desk. Hey, Rob, good morning. So, what's the headline? When are we going to see relief there?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: We're going to see changes today and then even more changes tonight and tomorrow, Alina. That's the good news. Here's the radar scope, you're looking at Montana and Wyoming. Some snow showing up on the scope and it's beginning to drop southward into Colorado where we now have winter storm warnings posted for the mountains. We still have windy conditions across the high plains here in the high prairie east of Pueblo where the most dangerous fire is at the moment. There are (inaudible) farther to the west.
You notice how winds are beginning to switch around. They were mostly southwesterly in association with this pressure gradient. Huge high pressure here, by the way, but now this low will drop southward. That will begin to change things up just a little bit. It will shift the fire danger more so to the south today but still winds cranking 50 plus. Critically low levels of humidity down across parts of New Mexico and that prolonged drought not certainly helping matters at all.
That high pressure has a lot to do with cold air that's in effect across parts of the southeast. Look at that, Paducah, Kentucky, 29 yesterday. Greenwood, Mississippi, 30 degrees. Jackson, Mississippi, 32 degrees. We're seeing similar numbers this morning, but things will begin to warm up. Frost and freeze warnings from Philadelphia south to D.C. down across parts of the i-95 corridor.
40 right now in Richmond. 41 degrees in Atlanta, and 40 degrees in Jacksonville. So a little bit of a chill in the air to start things off. But things will change not only in Colorado but across the east coast as well. We'll start to see things warm up here dramatically here, too. Alina and John, back up to you.
CHO: Rob, we want to thank you in advance for the wonderful weather that we're going to have in New York City over the next couple days. So.
MARCIANO: It's my pleasure.
ROBERTS: Do you think he had anything to do with it?
CHO: Of course, he does.
MARCIANO: Hey, easy now. Just be grateful.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you.
ROBERTS: Hey, we learned overnight that Tiger Woods is being sidelined by knee surgery. How long is it going to keep him off the course? We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Just two days after finishing second in the Masters tournament, Tiger Woods had knee surgery. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now. Sanjay, this is the third operation that he's had on the same knee. What's going on?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's had two in the last five years. Back in 1994, he had a benign tumor removed from his knee, and in 2002 he did have arthroscopic surgery that was to drain a cyst and remove some fluid from his knee. You know, what he says he's been having a lot of pain in his knee, and have some of the arthritis-type symptoms that are typically associated with people who have older knees.
John, you along with a lot of people I'm sure watched him golf quite a bit. Watch his left knee specifically there. You see someone as they go through his swing, as he's going through there, he keeps that left knee straight and puts a lot of pressure on that knee, especially as you carry through the swing. That's what the orthopedic surgeon say that they're particularly worried about, that the sort of swing that could cause some damage to the knee.
So what they do basically in an operation like this is put in some scopes into the knee and remove a lot of the damaged cartilage that can sometimes be causing pain. But again as you point out, three operations for him at a pretty young age.
ROBERTS: Yes. No question about that. I played a lot of golf, and never had any knee problems, had some back problems.
GUPTA: you're no Tiger Woods though, John. That's for sure. Comparing yourself to Tiger Woods here.
ROBERTS: Not saying that, Sanjay. I said I played a lot of golf, never had any knee problems, it's always been with the back. You know, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus. I'm comparing myself to them. What about this arthroscopic surgery though? Is it very effective at treating this condition?
GUPTA: Well, you know. it's interesting that you ask that because certainly arthroscopic knee surgery is very popular and a lot of surgeons will say look for specific ligament damage, an anterior cruciate ligament or a meniscus or something like that. It is very effective. Interestingly, John, there was a study that came out a few years ago that said for arthritis-type damage, it actually doesn't show as much benefit. That study was specifically done on people who were older than Tiger Woods, but they showed in fact doing sort of just conventional therapy, medications and rehab, was just as effective as doing surgery. So it's a little bit hard to say. Clearly, I don't know his specifics. I don't know exactly how much cartilage damage he had. His doctors felt it would certainly improve his pain.
ROBERTS: So are you up for a $2 Nassau there, Dr. Gupta? GUPTA: I m going to eat those words, I know it.
ROBERTS: Remember what happened to Hillary Clinton when she bad- mouthed Barack Obama in bowling.
GUPTA: That's right. Hey, no gutter balls here. Come on, John.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks very much.
GUPTA: All right. Sure, thanks.
CHO: Well, today is a day to remember Virginia Tech University, one year after 32 people were killed in the deadliest school shooting in history. Today more college students across the country are demanding the right to carry guns to class. Most universities ban weapons on campus. These students say they have a right to self- defense, and that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Should properly licensed students be allowed to carry concealed weapons to class? A lot of people weighing in on this, upwards of 700 votes. Right now, 57 percent say yes, 43 percent say no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. Of course, we'll update you throughout the morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Red alert, breaking news right now. A deadly wildfire and a town on the run.
Record high, gas prices pop again overnight. Food costs soar as well. How business owners are getting squeezed just as badly as you. And just where does your money go?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. A new wave of violence is undermining efforts towards a peace deal between Israel and Palestinian authorities. Israeli helicopters launching rockets on Gaza City overnight damaging a mosque. The Israeli Army says it was in retaliation after three soldiers were killed near the Israeli border. Hamas says four of its fighters were skilled in a separate fight in northern Gaza.
New fighting between Turkey's military and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Turkish warplanes striking a group of rebels as they try to infiltrate Turkey from bases in Iraq. The Turkish military says a rebel was killed in separate fighting inside Turkey.
We're hearing dramatic stories of survival from a plane crash in the Democratic republic of the Congo. At least 18 people were killed when a plane plowed into a busy market, just after take off. Police say it appears that most of the victims were people on the ground. U.N. peacekeepers helped the crew save 66 passengers, including four Americans before the plane caught fire. And check out this i-report. It comes to us courtesy of U.N. pilot, Anil Sreenivasan. Earlier this morning, we spoke with one of those Americans who survived. Barry Mosier, an aid worker who was aboard the plane with his wife and two young children. He said the plane's front tire blew and there wasn't enough time to stop on the shortened runway. He then described the chaotic moments after the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF BARRY MOSIER: 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, he broke his leg.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Just incredible that that family of four survived. Investigators say there are more deadly plane crashes in the DRC than any other African country.
The Olympic torch is in Islamabad, Pakistan amid tight security. Torch bearers will not travel through the streets of the city as originally planned. Instead, they'll each run a lap with the flame at a heavily guarded sports complex that will be closed to the public. It is the first time that relay has been done in that way.
And Pope Benedict XVI gets an official welcome the White House this morning. Lots of pomp and circumstance and certainly a lot of security. The elaborate ceremony on the South Lawn will include a 21 gun salute. And today happens to be the Holy Father's 81st birthday. Happy birthday to the Pope. He's going to visit Washington and New York during his six-day trip and celebrate mass in both cities.
ROBERTS: Two minutes to the top of the hour. The most politics in the hour now. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton debate tonight in Philadelphia with just six days to go now before the Pennsylvania primary. We've got some poll numbers for you in Pennsylvania. CNN's latest poll of polls, that's a survey of surveys from the "L.A. Times," Bloomberg, Quinnipiac and (Zagby) shows Clinton with a five- point lead over Obama.
According to a new poll out today. This one from the "Washington Post" and "ABC News," 51 percent of Democrats say they want Obama at the top of the ticket in November. 41 percent prefer Hillary Clinton. Meantime, Barack Obama is fighting back in Pennsylvania with a new add that plays off an incident in which Hillary Clinton got booed. After she started to mention his bitter comments at a really.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that many of you, who like me, were disappointed by recent remarks that he made.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a reason people are rejecting Hillary Clinton's attacks because the same old Washington politics won't lower the price of gas or help our struggling economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The advertisement goes on to talk about getting passed the politics of division. Alina.
CHO: Well, but it's not stopping Hillary Clinton from stepping up her attacks on the campaign trail. She took a shot at Obama's experience comparing him to President Bush when he took office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: 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 finishes, all that's left is the choice we have made. We have seen the power of the presidency plays and hands I'm ready or unwilling to address the task that lie ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Over on the Republican side, John McCain is campaigning on issue number one today. of course, we're talking about the economy and McCain has an economic summit in Milwaukee today. He's stumping for the economic plan. He's going to try and put in action if he gets to the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Economic policy is not just some academic exercise. And we in Washington are not just passive spectators, we have a responsibility to act and if I'm elected president, I intend to act quickly and decisively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
