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American Morning
McCain Calling for Series of Tax Breaks; Wildfires Still Burning Out of Control in Colorado; Pope Benedict Getting Big White House Welcome; Anniversary of Virginia Tech Massacre
Aired April 16, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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)
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: McCain is calling for a series of tax breaks including making President Bush's tax cuts permanent. But Senator McCain is backing away from his original goal of eliminating the federal deficit in his first term. All this can be so complicated, so stick around.
Ali Velshi will break it all down for us, coming up in the next couple of minutes -- John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, wildfires are still burning out of control in Colorado. Fires are in three southeastern Colorado -- two southeastern Colorado towns, rather, and one up in the mountains, Ordway and Fort Carson near Denver, and Carbondale which is out on the road very near Aspen.
Three people have been killed, including a fire fighting pilot, when his plane went down east of Fort Carson. The largest of the three fires is in Ordway.
Earlier this morning, we spoke with Chris Sorenson. He's with the Crowley County Emergency Management office. He told us more than 8,000 acres have already been charred there.
(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)
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.
A man falls to his death at New York's Shea Stadium. Police say it was an accident. The 36-year-old was sliding down an escalator after last night's MET nationals' game. He lost his balance and fell four stories. His children witnessed the whole thing. He died a short time later in a local hospital. He leaves behind a pregnant wife and two children. Wow.
It's been one year since the worst campus shooting in U.S. history. Today will be a day of reflection starting with the morning ceremony where the names of all 32 victims will be read on the campus of Virginia Tech University.
CNN's Brianna Keilar was among the first correspondents on the scene. She joins us now from the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Good morning, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
Some people here at Virginia Tech, they have been able to move on. They've said they don't want what happened here a year ago to define their college experience. But for others, there's been a big, lasting impact. And all you need to do is talk with someone who was in Norris Hall one year ago to understand that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.
ERIN SHEEHAN, VIRGINIA TECH SURVIVOR: This group of windows was my classroom. I remember we saw someone poke in the door twice.
KEILAR: It was Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech.
SHEENAH: 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.
SHEENAH: 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.
SHEENAH: I think people 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.
You just looked over your shoulder when you heard a noise.
SHEENAH: Yes. That was bothering me again.
KEILAR: 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.
SHEENAH: I wish that, 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've 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 is seriously considering taking part in a controversial pro-gun-control protest taking place here on the Virginia Tech campus later today, John.
ROBERTS: Tell us a little bit more about that protest that's coming up today, Brianna.
KEILAR: They're calling it a lie-in. And what's going to happen is there's going to be 32 people dressed in black -- many of them Virginia Tech students. They'll be lying on the ground for three minutes simulating the victims here at Virginia Tech but also the short amount of time they say it would have taken Cho to buy a weapon.
And it's very controversial, because while these folks who are protesting say they're trying to bring change and that's a good way to remember victims, others say this is a day of remembrance. Political statements should not be made today, John.
ROBERTS: Brianna Keilar for us this morning in Blacksburg, Virginia. Brianna, thanks.
And remember, if you'd like to follow the Virginia Tech day of remembrance ceremonies online, check us out at cnn.com/live. We will be streaming them all day long.
CHO: Bombshell accusations that the maker of the drug Vioxx deceived the public about the possible risk of death. The findings were published in today's issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association." The evidence apparently comes from company- sponsored trials. They showed that patients prone to Alzheimer's were three times more likely to die if they took that arthritis drug.
Twenty million Americans used Vioxx. Merck rang up more than $11 billion in Vioxx sales before it was taken off the market back in 2004. Merck says the article is misleading and false. Well, it's used in baby bottles along with several other plastic products. Now the government is warning that a chemical could be linked to a range of hormonal problems. The chemical is known as a Bisphenol A. And according to the Federal National Toxicology program, the chemical was found in 93 percent of children under 6 years old.
Rats that were given low doses of it developed pre-cancerous prostate tumors and went into early puberty. So far, the FDA hasn't moved to ban it. A group representing manufacturers says there aren't any serious human concerns.
A fireball on the interstate. Pieces of a tanker truck scattered everywhere. And wait until you see the blast that started it.
CHO: And John McCain on the money. The Republican presidential hopeful lays out his proposals for the economy from tax breaks to help for homeowners. Find out what they are and what they do for you. That's ahead, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Well, take a look at this. It look like shock and awe but it happened on the interstate in Virginia. Take a look. Looks like it's out of a movie set, doesn't it? But it really happened. An enormous tanker truck explosion caught on the dash dam on I-81 in Bristol, Virginia.
Police say the brakes caught fire and it wasn't long before all that fuel ignited. The driver amazingly did get out. Everyone else was OK, but part of the interstate was shut down for a couple of hours. Witnesses staying at a nearby hotel say the blast was so huge that cars in the parking lot were damaged. Imagine that.
ROBERTS: Nine minutes after the hour. And now, it's issue number one, the economy. Ali Velshi knows all about that. He does the program every day at noon here on CNN. And John McCain jumps into the ring.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, thankfully. We've been waiting for John McCain to come out with something a little more specific. Yesterday, he did it, as promised on tax day.
You know, one that caught a lot of people's attention was this idea that he wants to get a gas tax holiday. Take the federal taxes off of gasoline for Memorial Day to Labor Day.
But let's talk about a few of the other things that he wanted to do. He wants to cut business taxes from 35 percent to 25 percent. He's a big believer in the fact that jobs are created in this country by businesses. And if he makes it easier for businesses to create jobs, he'll do that.
He also wants to foster innovation, ingenuity. So he wants an incentive for research and development. So if you start a company and you have to buy plant and equipment, you should be able to write that up in your first year of business. Very popular right now in the minds
So, he wants an incentive for research and development. So, if you start a company and you have to buy plant and equipment, you should be able to write that off in your first year of business. Very popular right now in the minds of people. He wants to phase out the alternative minimum tax, which is causing upward of 5 million Americans to pay a higher tax rate than they otherwise would have.
And he'd like to introduce a new simpler -- what he calls alternative, I'm sure the name will change, income tax system, which basically keeps the current income tax system in place if you don't mind that one. But if you just don't want to deal with receipts and deductions and all of that, it will be two standard tax rates with two generous deductions and then you can just do it that way. Interesting idea. Not sure how that's going to work.
He also wants to double the child care exemption. And a number of other proposals that he said he would implement as president. This is what he said about the gas tax holiday, though. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: 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, a trucker stops to fill up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. It's going to take $3.60 off the tank of gas. So let's put the whole thing in perspective. The problem in the rise of the price of oil and gas has not actually been federal taxes. For the first time, actually, the feds aren't to blame for this one.
So, interesting idea. He's not president, so he has to introduce legislation or the White House would have to do this. The federal government gets a lot of money off of gas taxes because we buy a lot of gas in the United States.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. $8 to 10 billion (INAUDIBLE), right? All right. Well, we'll see if it flies. Maybe, he's got to convince President Bush to do it.
VELSHI: He's got to convince President Bush to do it. We'll have to see, yes.
ROBERTS: And another shameless trauma here, the economy. Issue number one on the minds of voters. Join Ali, Gerri Willis, and the CNN money team for "ISSUE #1" at noon Eastern right here on CNN and also online at cnnmoney.com. Particularly shameless.
CHO: You Canadians stick together, boy, I tell you.
ROBERTS: We try. We do what we can. Hey, some terrible wildfires going on in the state of Colorado right now. Three people dead, thousands forced out of their homes. Thousands of acres up in smoke. Massive wildfires consuming southeastern Colorado at this hour.
Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center. He's tracking the extreme winds. He joins us.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, John.
Yes, big winds expected again today, but then, big changes on the way. This is the radar scope from Montana to Wyoming. Try to get that moisture down to those fires. Complete weather details coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much.
CHO: Well, lots of teenagers and their parents are learning, unfortunately, that getting into college was the easy part. Paying for it is much harder. We're going to have tips that you need to know to finance an education in a struggling economy.
ROBERTS: And if it comes in gallons, it's probably getting more expensive, whether it's gasoline or milk. And small businesses say they don't get to pocket all of that extra cash. How they're suffering just as much as you are. We'll show you, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: An exciting time. A lot of high school seniors just got their college admissions letters. Well, now it's time to figure out how to pay for it all. CNN's Personal Finance Editor and new author Gerri Willis joins us now with a look at that.
So, it's all tied to the mortgage mess, isn't it?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: It is absolutely tied to the mortgage mess. You know, if you are a high school senior this year trying to get money together for college, you're going to have to work really hard at it because lenders are getting stingier. And it's all because of the mortgage meltdown. Lots of problems there. 55 lenders have dropped out of college lending programs.
Now, the good news is that only represents 13 percent of all the lenders out there who do this kind of work. But it's tough for people out there who are looking for money in the marketplace. And I should say, Congress didn't help the situation because they passed a law recently that means that these lenders are even less likely to participate because they got rid of subsidies or some subsidies.
CHO: Well, it's sad. You want these kids to go to college, you know, especially if they're smart enough to get in, right?
WILLIS: Right.
CHO: So, what's your advice? I mean, how do students and their parents, more importantly, go about getting these loans then in these tough times?
WILLIS: You've really got to shop around. You really have to think about where can I get a loan. A great place to go is finaid.org. It's a great Web site. Give you a lot of information about the kinds of loans that are out there and the kinds of people that are actually lending.
You might also want to think about doing federal loans instead of private loans because private loans are far, far, far more expensive. The interest rates are far higher and the fees are higher. So, you really want to protect yourself and make sure that you're shopping around.
You know, I mentioned finaid.org. It's a great place to go. Parents who really want to get on this early because you have more and more lenders dropping out. But don't worry. If the lender that your school uses has dropped out, you're going to be able to find somebody else.
CHO: Whether it's real state or loans, and shop around is the key, right?
WILLIS: That's right. That's right.
CHO: All right. Our Personal Finance Editor, Gerri Willis. Gerri, thanks.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHO: Well, you're watching the most news in the morning. Your summer travel plans are getting more expensive by the day. Another record for gas prices and why some gas stations may not be there next time you need to fill up.
And Pope Benedict is getting a big White House welcome today. Happening on his 81st birthday. Thousands will be on hand as President Bush rolls out the red carpet. A 21-gun salute will be in play, too. A live report. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grass is always greener at the old ballpark, isn't it? But at this new one, that's not all that is green. Environmentalists say National Parks, the new home to baseball in Washington, D.C. is a big hit. Let's start with the power stingy lights that are ...
SUSAN KLUMP, PROJECT MANAGER, POK: Projected to save 21 percent in energy consumption during the course of the year.
O'BRIEN: The stadium sits right on the Anacostia River. So designers focus much attention on filtering things like peanut shells out of the water runoff. They even plan a greenery on the roof of the concession and restroom facility. And inside, they installed some dual-flush toilets. And there are water stingy faucets.
KLUMP: Estimating 3.6 million gallons a year in water savings.
O'BRIEN: Security and utility vehicles are electric. There's valet parking for bicycle riders. And the stadium, built with a lot of recycled materials, sits right near a metro rail station. So, even if the Nationals can't turn things around on the field, their home is surely a diamond in the rough.
Miles O'Brien, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour. Pope Benedict XVI will be officially welcomed to the U.S. this morning about two hours from now 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 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.
CNN's Jason Carroll is covering the visit and joins us now from Washington with his perch there, overlooking the White House and the Washington Monument.
Expected to be a very big day there. And glad to see we've got some good weather for it, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Big day and big challenges. You know, addressing the sex abuse scandals just one of the challenges that Pope Benedict is going to have to deal with here in the United States. There are a number of Catholics who are not satisfied with Church teachings. And what he's going to try to do is try to bring those people back into the fold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): 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 really 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, he's 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 the pope, he would have been a university professor.
CARROLL: He's the intellectual, the introvert.
REV. GERALD WALSH, AUXILIARY BISHOP OF NEW YORK: Those who 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 Josef Ratzinger, he was not open to the idea of married priests or cafeteria Catholics. But he's still considered by some to be a good listener.
CARDINAL FRANCIS GEORGE, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO: He'll ask question, 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?
On Tuesday, Pope Benedict said he was deeply ashamed of 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 in his Christian faith and expresses it profoundly and beautifully. And I think that will have an impact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And he'll have plenty of opportunities to make an impact on people who are still trying to figure out who this pope is really all about. Of course, there will be that public mass here in Washington, D.C. He'll have the youth rally on Saturday in New York. Also on Sunday, he'll have that huge mass at Yankee Stadium -- John? ROBERTS: You know, he's somewhat different than Pope John Paul II. He doesn't have that natural charisma and connection that that pope did. But most of the people who've ever had an audience with Benedict XVI come away from that saying this is a very good guy and a guy that I feel I can communicate with.
Do you think that will translate in the broader sense here in these large venues that he's going to be in the next few days?
CARROLL: Well, you know, John, everyone that we talked to who has met the Pope, who has had private meetings with the Pope, tell us that he is incredibly engaging, and all of those people say that once he's on a large stage, as long as people realize this is not a man who talks really in sound bites but in paragraphs, they believe that anyone who has an opportunity to sit down and really listen to this man will in some ways feel touched by him -- John?
ROBERTS: Jason Carroll for us this morning in Washington. Jason, thanks very much -- Alina?
CHO: Well, you've heard this from us many times in the past couple of weeks and it's happened again. AAA reports this morning that the average price for regular, unleaded gas has risen to a record high, again. Nearly $3.40 a gallon. That's up 12 cents from just last month and 53 cents from a year ago.
President Bush outlined his strategy for climate change this afternoon in a speech in the White House Rose Garden. The President will announce his plan for reducing U.S. production of greenhouse gases. He's expected to propose, quote, "Realistic emission reduction targets and principles." He believes Congress should follow in crafting global warming legislation.
Some startling numbers about pollution on beaches around the world. Listen to this. It's just incredible when you hear it. The Ocean Conservancy report says 6 million pounds of trash were removed from the world's beaches and shorelines in just one day. 378,000 volunteers collected an average of 182 pounds of litter for every mile of shoreline.
Today marks one year since the Virginia Tech massacre. And as we remember the tragedy today, more and more college students across the country are demanding the right to carry guns to class. Now, while 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 that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Should properly licensed students be allowed to carry concealed weapons to class?
Hundreds of people weighing in on this this morning. Really controversial right now, really close. 55 percent say yes. 45 percent say no. You still have time. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. And of course, we'll continue to update the votes throughout the morning. We want your e-mails on this as well. Head to our Web site and follow the links that say contact us. We'll read some of those e- mails a little later on this hour.
ROBERTS: We are still watching that breaking news in Colorado. A state of emergency in effect as wildfires burn out of control in three southeastern towns. Ordway and Ft. Carson around Denver and Carbondale, which actually is not a southeastern town, it's up in the mountains. Sorry about that.
Three people have been killed, including a firefighting pilot when his plane went down east of Ft. Carson. The largest of the three fires is in Ordway. Right now, much of the state under a red flag warning, meaning the fire danger there is high.
Rob Marciano in the CNN Weather Center. He is tracking extreme winds for us this morning.
Hey, Rob.
MARCIANO: Hi, John.
It's all in anticipation of a storm that's been gathering from the northwest now shifting across the Colorado Rockies kind of aggravating that wind that's been happening. We're looking at Montana and Wyoming. There's some moisture now in the air. Some of this is trying to sneak a little bit farther to the south and the areas that need it.
Highlighting a fire just to the east of Pueblo, there you go, in Ordway. Notice the winds beginning to go westerly north, trying to get around to the northeast. It indicates that storm is coming out of the Rockies now, beginning to eject and develop a little bit.
The problem today is we're still going to have winds. That's going to be an ongoing issue with the situation that we've got. High- low between a lot of pressure gradients. So, that's why we've had the winds really the past couple of days from California across the Nevada desert and in through parts of Colorado and New Mexico.
The good news today with this low coming south that will shift the extreme fire danger to the south as well. Winds will gust today, again, in spots, 50-plus miles per hour. We've got critically low levels of relative humidity, and especially across parts of New Mexico and western Texas we've got this prolonged drought.
So, that's where the areas to watch today, which means that it's slightly better weather today for Colorado. Then tonight and tomorrow, probably going to get some moisture, maybe some rain, maybe some snow in those areas, too. That's the good news. A little purple on the map, can you believe it's the middle of April. We've got freeze warnings and frost advisories posted.
Temperatures now begin to warm as the sun comes up, so we're into the 40s. But earlier today, we were down into the 30s and we'll likely see some record low temperatures and we'll wrap those up for you a little later on today. I want to show you one other thing that's of interest. This area of low pressure just off the coastline of Florida.
If this was a month or two later, we certainly would be concerned about it turning into something tropical. Right now, the waters here in the gulf stream are right around 70 degrees and we need 80 for that to happen.
Nonetheless, we're going to see a heavy surf across parts of the beaches here, Palm Bay, down to Port St. Lucie, so I supposed the surfers will grab their boards and head out to the beach today. Elsewhere, it should be pretty nice, it actually got to warm up into the lower 60s across much of the northeast. Enjoy that.
ROBERTS: Liking that. Rob, thanks very much.
MARCIANO: You got it.
CHO: This just in to CNN. New inflation numbers. The economy, of course, issue number one for Americans. Ali Velshi joins us with more on that. So, a mixed bag we're hearing which is actually good news...
VELSHI: Could be.
CHO: Considering all the bad news.
VELSHI: Could be good news. Inflation -- The good news is it came in exactly where it was expected to come in for March, 0.3 percent, which is the main number for inflation, 0.2 percent if you take food and energy out of it, but I don't like doing that because most people I know consume both food and energy.
If you look at it on a year to year basis, inflation now running, according to the government's calculation at 4 percent, but we are getting increasing, you know, skepticism about whether that measure is exactly what people needed to measure. But four percent is our inflation rate. That is higher of course than most targets would like. If you take the food and energy out of the year over year rate, it's 2.4 percent. But, again, who doesn't live with food and energy?
We also got a couple of other numbers, one is housing start, that's the number of construction projects that were started in March. That number is down 11.9 percent. Again, it was expected to be down, down a little more than we expected. And permits, which are, you know, people who are applying for permits to build -- to do construction later, that number also down 5.8 percent.
Now, why is that a mixed bag? That all sounds like bad news. Well, it's a mixed bag because the inflation number came in where it was expected to, so that doesn't mean it's good. It just means we're not surprised. On the housing starts issue, there are a lot of people who say we still have too many houses out there. That's why the prices are so low.
So while we're not happy to see people are not building new ones but we're kind of happy to see that they're not building new ones that aren't going to get sold. So, the housing starts slowing down. It means that some of the inventories that's out there might actually get sold over the next few months.
That's why it's a mixed bag and that's why we're seeing the stock market futures reflecting that this isn't all negative news. It sort of just stuff to take in. It would be interesting in hearing from people out there whether they think their inflation is 4 percent year over year, but that's what the government says it is.
CHO: Ali, we'll take what we can get. Ali Velshi, thanks so much. John.
ROBERTS: His incomparable style has been spoofed by "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons," a testament to his star power. You're not famous unless you've been interviewed by Bravo's James Lipton.
Coming up, our Lola Ogunnaike trades places and asks the questions of Mr. Lipton next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 37 minutes after the hour. Whether you're buying or selling, record-high gasoline and food prices are putting the squeeze on small business owners who say that they're having trouble keeping their doors open. Have to raise prices, pass it along to their customers as well, which is bad for business.
Steve Tarpin is the owner of Steve's Authentic key lime pies. He's in Brooklyn, New York. He says rising prices are causing him to suffer the dairy equivalent of what's going on with fuel prices.
Steve, it's good to see you this morning. Recently, you had to raise the price of your famous key lime pies. What were they, where did they go to and why?
STEVE TARPIN, STEVE'S AUTHENTIC KEY LIME PIES: Well, the increases of dairy prices have just shot up tremendously in the last couple years, and, you know, we have to pass it on. Unfortunately, we can't absorb those kind of increases.
ROBERTS: So, you were selling pies for $20. You've not increased the price to $25. What do you say to your customers who say, Steve, you're killing us here with these prices?
TARPIN: Well, I don't hear that very much. We have a good product, and our people like what we're doing. And our retail business is just a small part of what we do anyway. But I also have to pass the price on to the bulk of our business, the restaurant, and it's difficult to do. But everyone is pretty much in the same boat.
They shop at the grocery store. They know where dairy prices are going, so everyone's pretty understandable about it. And I've tried to explain as well as I understand, as well as I can get it about the whole dairy industry and food prices, try to understand what's going on, but it seems rather complex. It's kind of difficult for a layman to understand.
ROBERTS: So, you're suffering there in Brooklyn, and other people are suffering, as well.
Leah McKane is the manager of a BP station in St. Paul, Minnesota. She joins us now. Leah, I guess a lot of people would say with the price of gasoline these days you're making money hand over fist. What's the reality?
LEAH MCKANE, MANAGER, BP GAS STATION: That would be very inaccurate information. We are not making a profit.
ROBERTS: So, what is the reality, then?
MCKANE: The reality is we have to draw the customer in store in hopes that they purchase products that we offer where we can increase the mark-up and hopefully make a profit off of that.
ROBERTS: I mean, you've got a lot of products behind you, food stuffs. We see that all the time in gas stations across the nation. You make far more money on the food, do you, than you do on gasoline?
MCKANE: We do. You can mark up the product, especially if you offer an item that we make in store, which would be our sandwiches, and then you can increase the mark-up there and compensate for the loss of product in fuel.
ROBERTS: You know, we got a couple of graphics that we made up here. In fact, I mean, your profit on gasoline is pretty fixed regardless of what the price is, whether it's $2 or whether it's $4 a gallon. Let's take a look, at $2 a gallon, you made a profit of about $14. That's pretty much what the profit has been.
But these credit card fees, and most people, I think 70 percent of people pay for gasoline with the credit card, they're 1.75 percent, which at $2 a gallon would be three cents. So, that would leave you with a profit 11 cents.
But take a look here, as the price of gasoline goes up, at $3.35 a gallon which is what you're selling at for there, the profit is still 14 cents, but that credit card fee increases to about six cents, which leaves you with eight cents.
And now, let's take a look at the difference you make in gasoline versus foodstuffs. If you sell a sandwich for $3, you're making a profit of 90 cents, gasoline at $3.35 a gallon, you're only making there profit of eight cents. So, I mean, your profit margin is actually going down as the price of gas goes up.
MCKANE: This is true. You just have to remain competitive and reinvent the product in the store and hope the customer will come in and purchase items that we offer here since obviously we're not making it off of our fuel sales.
ROBERTS: Right. Let's go back to Steve, for a second. Steve, I mean, obviously you make a great product there. Your key lime pies are world famous. But as the price begins to go up, do you think that that might hurt your business?
TARPIN: I'm sorry? Is it bad for my business?
ROBERTS: I said yes, increasing the price. Might you lose business because the pies are more expensive now?
TARPIN: We might. We've had some people that balk at the price, but, again, like I've said before, we have a very solid product and people appreciate what we're doing. So they know the value is there. I haven't changed any of my ingredients to maximize my profits. We still use the best ingredients we can. And I think my customers understand that and they appreciate that. So they see the value in what we're doing. I think one of the things that impacts both of us, I think, is that, you know, we're in the middle.
ROBERTS: Right.
TARPIN: Like with the dairy industry, you know, there is - you know, we've been thinking about farmers. These are big, big interests. And there's big -- there's a huge lobby. I don't know what the farm bill has to do with this, but we're in the middle. And there's huge interests at the top.
ROBERTS: Small businesses owners getting squeezed just like everybody else. So, Steve Tarpin from Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies and Leah McKane from the BP station out there in St. Paul, thanks for being with us this morning. Good luck, folks now that this economy is tough on us.
TARPIN: Thank you.
MCKANE: Thank you.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care -- Alina.
CHO: I'd still pay 25 bucks for that key lime pie.
All right, coming up for 14 years he's clinched interviews with some of the brightest stars in Hollywood. Now, it's James Lipton's turn to be in the hot seat. Coming up, our Lola Ogunnaike trades places and asks him the questions. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. For 14 years, James Lipton has examined the craft of acting, going one-on-one with the best actors of our time, including Dustin Hoffman, Christopher Reeve, on his Bravo series "Inside the Actor's Studio." Lipton's serious approach has made for some classic, comic moment, and our Lola Ogunnaike switched seats with him and put him on the spot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: We will conclude our evening as we conclude each of our evenings with a question of the great Bernard.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Lipton loved Will Ferrell's impersonation of him on "Saturday Night live." Though he did have one minor criticism.
JAMES LIPTON, HOST, "INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO": I said to him, you make me too English. I'm not English. I'm from the middle west. I'm from Michigan. And I have a rather ordinary American accent.
OGUNNAIKE: Ordinary. Hardly. Lipton's booming baritone and his sprawling vocabulary have helped make him both a punch line and a pop culture icon.
LIPTON: Welcome back to "Inside the Actor's Studio."
OGUNNAIKE: He's appeared on "The Simpsons."
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "THE LATE NIGHT SHOW": Conan O'Brien and even a Geico commercial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were so helpful and grash.
LIPTON: I've heard they were also quite beneficent and magnanimous.
OGUNNAIKE: Lipton doesn't dish the dirt during his interviews.
No gossips, no scandals, no juicy tidbits. None of that. None on this stage.
LIPTON: And everybody said to me your show will last five minutes. I said, OK, we'll have a wonderful five minutes talking about craft.
OGUNNAIKE: Over the years, there had been laughs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at me, look at me.
OGUNNAIKE: And tears.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say I wrote the check. And says, Mike, make the film you want to make.
OGUNNAIKE: And he's made nearly all exclaim.
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: Oh, my god.
OGUNNAIKE: Lipton does his research. He spends two weeks studying his subjects and brings in more than 500 questions to an interview. Some of which have lasted as long as six hours. You have to push them out the door sometimes, you have to say go home, go home.
LIPTON: Literally.
OGUNNAIKE: He's dedicated his life to the art.
Lipton speaks Latin and French. He's acted, dance ballets, written plays and book and he can even hold a note.
LIPTON: You have good pitch. OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
His charm could be disarming. Even I fell under the Lipton spell.
You're going to make me cry.
LIPTON: No.
OGUNNAIKE: You're going to me cry.
LIPTON: No, I'm not.
OGUNNAIKE: On this stage today, aren't you, James Lipton?
LIPTON: No, no I'm not.
OGUNNAIKE: I didn't shed any tears, but Mr. Unflappable looked rather uncomfortable when I took his seat. Oh, I like this chair. I could get used to this thing.
LIPTON: I don't know why anybody ever dares to sit in this one. Now I'm nervous.
OGUNNAIKE: What is your favorite curse word?
LIPTON: You can tell when I'm upset, I say "Jesus Christ."
OGUNNAIKE: If heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates, James Lipton?
LIPTON: You see, Jim, you were wrong. I exist. But you may come in anyway.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: You don't do a bad James Lipton, Lola.
OGUNNAIKE: Pretty good. Pretty good. I practice in the mirror a lot. And I got Alina Cho, what is your favorite color?
CHO: He really ranks in the big stars. A lot of them who don't normally talk. You know, and he's best known for the show, obviously. But this guy has had a lot of jobs including working for an ex- president.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, he produced the Jimmy Carter inauguration special. Also, he used to produce the Bob Hope Specials for well over decade. He had a really interesting job in his 20s, Alina. There were all these rumors swirling about him being a pimp in Paris. And funny, it turns out he wasn't exactly a pimp, he was a mek. He made the difference in his book. And I'm here to explain the difference to you. A mek is actually the person who helps the woman solicit her clients.
CHO: Oh, I see. OK. Technical difference there. OGUNNAIKE: Very important. Well, just in case you're ever in Paris and wonder what a mek is, now you know.
CHO: Now, I know but best known for "Inside the Actor's Studio" and certainly a great guest for you. Lola Ogunnaike, thanks so much.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you -- John.
ROBERTS: Forty-nine minutes after the hour. Time to check in what's going on with "NEWSROOM" at the top of the hour. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John, good morning to you.
A grand welcome for the Pope on the NEWSROOM rundown for you this morning. Benedict XVI, at the White House this morning. We will take you to the ceremony live.
The death penalty for child rapist. The Supreme Court hears the case today. He's executing a rapist cruel and unusual punishment?
Mergers, delays, cancellations, navigating air travel during turbulent times. Personal finance editor, Gerri Willis is here and a somber day at Virginia Tech one year after shooting incident.
Coverage in the NEWSROOM, top of the hour on CNN.
John, back up to you.
ROBERTS: See you then soon. Thanks very much, Tony.
John McCain says he has a plan to save billions of dollars but it would mean that some people are going to have to pay more for prescription drugs. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta coming up to break down McCain's plan. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: As part of his economic plan, Senator John McCain proposed solutions to the crisis in Medicare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, don't need their prescriptions underwritten by taxpayers. Those who can afford to buy their own prescription drugs should be expected to do so. This reform alone, this reform alone will save billions of dollars that could be returned to taxpayers or put to better use.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now. Sanjay, of course what people want to know is what's the income threshold that he's talking about. I'm not exactly Bill Gates.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. It's a lot lower than that. I think a lot of people would be surprised. Overall, I think the target income that he's focused on is about $80,000 for individuals, $160,000 per couple. So you know, a lot of people are going to fall into this category. Over a million Medicare beneficiaries, as the way things stand right now, John.
Now, what we're specifically talking about here is something that a lot of people may be paying attention to, which is call Medicare part "d." This is a voluntary supplement to help defray some of the costs of prescription drugs. It's sort of a public-private partnership. You pay a premium and the government helps pay for your prescription drugs.
Typically, the ratio is about 75 percent to 25 percent, but again he's saying that the premiums should go up for people who sort of meet that income threshold, John.
ROBERTS: All right. So when you talk act a rise in premiums, how much money are we talking about here?
GUPTA: Well, you know, so we did some home work on this specifically. If you look overall, these are average numbers, about $35 per month is going to be the average premium. Again, for someone who's using part "d" of Medicare, additional costs are going to vary, dependent on your income. So, up to $15 to $80 a month, more total costs $50 to $115.
Again, so, you know, in some cases about three times what people are paying. The sort of counterpoint of that, of course, John, is if you don't have part "d" you'd be paying tens of thousands of dollars a year depending overall on prescription and drug cost, depending on how many prescriptions you take.
ROBERTS: At this point, these are all just proposals. Of course, they could be reality if John McCain actually wins the White House. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning. Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
CHO: Well, it looks like one of those celebrity mash-ups. Brangelina, Tomkat, but this one has to do with politics. Hillary Clinton's new nickname for John McCain. Jeanne Moos has more on McBush. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Well, it had to happen sometime, huh? Hillary Clinton has a new nickname for John McCain, and it involves President Bush.
ROBERTS: CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on a new Democratic buzzword. It is the most news in the morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They may have rubbed heads and patted hands, but that doesn't make them one and the same man. Does it?
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Bush and John McCain I'm taking to calling them McBush.
MOOS: So have a lot of other critics, in cartoons, in web videos, trying to tie McCain to an unpopular president. Get out the sarcasm detector when you see McBush for president. Four more is as great as the last eight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mix them as McBush.
MOOS: Adding Mc can mean you're a hunk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's still McDreamy.
MOOS: On "Grey's Anatomy," they try to come up with new Mc nicknames.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's yummy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. McSteamy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, there it is.
MOOS: But forget actors. Even a certain left-leaning news anchor is combining McCain and bush.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McBush versus the truth.
MOOS: There's a Web site called Johnmcbush2008. There are no McBush t-shirts.
Thinking even a McNugget of information, we called McDonald's to see if the company had any reaction to the McBush nickname. Alas, no response. Critics are having a field day, making these two seem like a couple.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If he wants my pretty face standing by his side at one of these rallies, I'd be glad to show up.
MOOS: McBush meet Obillary, described in the urban dictionary as the trifecta of Obama, Bill, and Hillary or just Obama and Hillary, seen here in a disturbing match up of their facial features. Or this political freak of nature caption -- why choose if you can combine? To uncouple himself from an unpopular president, maybe John McCain should dig up some of the exchanges when they were rivals.
MCCAIN: It's not the Washington mentality. It's the grown-up mentality.
BUSH: Grown up or not grown up. You should be ashamed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not.
MOOS: Make a McCain commercial out of that, separate the Mc from the Bush, but worse things could happen to your name as Barack Obama's is constantly reminded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the Taliban who is gaining strength and Obama Bin Laden is still at large.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that was Osama Bin Laden.
MOOS: How about when former attorney general John Ashcroft is talking to college students --
JOHN ASHCROFT, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: The elected representatives of this country, including Osama -- you know, not -- Obama -- I did not mean that. I'm sorry about that. I apologize publicly.
MOOS: Compared to that, McBush is down right McDreamy.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: I've heard Bush III but McBush has a better ring to is, I think.
ROBERTS: Jeanne's got this great way of putting this all together so we can understand it.
CHO: Yes, she does.
ROBERTS: Hey, it's and just about a minute before the top of the hour. Final check of this morning's "Quick Vote" question on this anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting.
We asked whether properly licensed students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons to class as a means of self protection. Fifty-six percent of you said, yes, they should, 44 percent said no.
CHO: We've also been asking you for your e-mails on this as well.
And Mike from Quincy, Illinois writes, "If just one student had a gun during the shooting a year ago. How many lives could have been saved! Guns aren't bad, bad people do bad things with guns. When good people are armed, we are all safer!"
ROBERTS: And Mac from Californian says "Students should not be given the right to carry concealed guns of any weapons for that matter on the campus. As a senior in high school, I would never even consider going to a college that finds this acceptable. If a mistake happens, whose hands will the blood be on?
Hundreds of you weighed in. And it was a topic that attracted an awful lot of response. And to all of you who either wrote us or voted, a big thanks and we'll do it all again.
CHO: Lots of articulate e-mails, too.
ROBERTS: Yes, absolutely. It was great. Good response this morning. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you again tomorrow.
CHO: Try CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Fredricka Whitfield rather, begins right now.
