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American Morning
Terror Arrest; Illinois Earthquake; Credit Card Concerns
Aired April 18, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We mentioned at the top of this that one of the significant events the pope will participate in is a visit to ground zero. You've of Catholic faith. A lot of the firefighters who died in the attack were Catholic as were a lot of the police officers. Beyond that as well, how significant is it that he is visiting?
COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY: I think it's important to all New Yorkers. It is sacred ground for New York. Several thousands people were killed there. Port authority police officers and firefighters and New York City police officers were killed. It's very important. Here you have this world religion figure visiting what is indeed sacred to all new Yorkers. It is an important event.
ROBERTS: Do you take heart that Washington has gone off without a hitch?
KELLY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Commissioner Kelly, good luck to you this weekend. Keep us safe. Good to see you again. You can watch the pope's mass at Yankee Stadium live on CNN on Sunday. Soledad O'Brien hosts the event, 2 pm Sunday on CNN and CNN.com.
Alina?
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: And John, we should mention that the pope has left for Andrews Air Force Base, he will arrive at JFK in the 9:00 hour. We are watching that story closely.
Also, we have some late breaking news on another front this morning. An earthquake in the Midwest. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit southern Illinois. It was centered about six miles from West Salem but felt as far as 450 miles away, as far north as Milwaukee, as far south as the Atlanta suburbs. There are no reports of injuries. But we are getting some new pictures of the damage, these pictures out of Louisville, Kentucky. This morning's quake, we should mention, one of the strongest to hit the region in decades.
Mark Glover is the news director at WEHT in Evansville, Indiana. He joins us by phone.
I understand you felt the quake 40 miles from the epicenter and your young daughter actually stayed asleep. How is that possible?
MARK GLOVER, WEHT: Wouldn't that be good to be able to do that, to sleep through that? It was about 4:30 this morning, I was absolutely dead asleep, and, you know, you start feeling the shaking and I woke up, my wife woke up. It takes a second to actually sort of, I guess, compute what's actually going on, if what we are actually feeling is going on.
CHO: Mark, what did you think? You're a news man. What went through your mind?
GLOVER: It took a second or two. I think that sort of instantaneous being woken up, then I think it was clear after a second or two that it actually was an earthquake. I think that's interesting about it is you feel the house shaking, but you also hear this sound. This foreign sound that your house is shaking around you, which is disturbing. So, we get up out of bed, again my 5-year-old Sydney is in the room next to us, she is asleep. We have to yell to her to wake her up, she was going to sleep right through it. We do get her up and start moving to a safer area of the house. It seemed like it went on forever. I mean it felt like it just wasn't going to stop.
CHO: I'm sure. Other people we spoke to said it was about 20 seconds, but I'm sure it felt like a lifetime.
GLOVER: I would say it felt like 30 seconds. I've heard reports that it only lasted about ten seconds, but it felt dramatically longer than that.
CHO: I'm sure it did. I'm sure it felt like a lifetime. We've been reading e-mails from viewers throughout the morning from several states. It is incredible. I understand you have been flooded with phone calls at your station. What are people saying to you?
GLOVER: Fortunately, there aren't any injuries we can tell you about. That is the good thing. Quite honestly we are not hearing a tremendous amount of damage reports. We are getting a ton of calls all over the place from our viewing area. The little damage that we've heard has been centered in the southeastern Illinois counties that we serve. There have been some cracks in walls and a little bit of stuff that has shaken off of walls. There have been some reports of some aftershocks particularly in those Illinois counties. We did have one of our southwestern Indiana counties whose 911 service went down for a short time. But that's now been restored thankfully.
CHO: As you continue to assess the damage this morning, I know one thing is for certain, it's going to be a very busy news day at WEHT in Evansville, Indiana.
GLOVER: We are rallying the troops pretty quickly.
CHO: I'm sure you are. We know how this happens. Mark Glover, the news director there. Thank you.
GLOVER: Absolutely.
CHO: We're following breaking news overseas; a 19-year-old in England has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. He was nabbed by authorities we understand in Bristol. Security officials carried out a controlled explosion at the suspect's home. So far police are only saying the arrest was "to prevent harm."
New report this morning of Iraqi troops refusing to fight this time in Sadr City. Iraqi police say the soldiers were treated overnight after coming under attack during a sandstorm. At least two people were killed during that attack.
John?
ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour. Got live pictures for you this morning from Andrews Air Force Base, that's Shepherd One on the runway getting set to come up to New York, will ferry the pope up to JFK in just a little while. The pope has left Washington. He is traveling via motorcade down to Andrews. He is expected to arrive in New York sometime about 9:45 this morning and then will take a helicopter from there to downtown. John Allen will be on the helicopter. He will have interesting stories to tell us.
CHO: And he will be greeted by the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Edward Egan and two very lucky kids, an eighth grade girl and a 10-year-old boy we spoke to. You will hear more from them too as well. At least the boy.
ROBERTS: Commissioner Ray Kelly was saying a few minutes ago, all kinds of security providing for the pope's visit, secret service, New York City Police Department as well as other agencies being brought in, and hopefully everything will go off without a hitch.
In an unprecedented move, Pope Benedict XVI is confronting the clergy sex abuse crisis in the church. He met in Washington with several people who were abused at the hands of the members of the clergy. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, three of the victims told me what their meeting with the pope was like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAITH JOHNSTON, MET WITH POPE: I had so much I wanted to say and I got up to him and I just burst into tears. But I think my tears spoke louder than words. In that moment, I almost felt like that 14, 15-year-old face, the victim's face, then the pope just started talking to me, just so kindly, so lovingly, congratulating me about my upcoming wedding.
OLAN HORNE, MET WITH POPE: I talked to him about my hate toward the church, my hate toward the administration and the bishops and all that need to be done. I asked him to forgive me for having such hate.
ROBERTS: How did he respond?
HORNE: He was amazed. He just couldn't believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A spokesman told the AP that Boston's Cardinal O'Malley presented the pope with a notebook listing 1,000 abuse victims from the Boston arch diocese alone. It's one thing to have the recognition, but then you need the institutional change to follow through on all of this.
CHO: 70 million Catholics in the United States. A lot of people excited about this trip.
Coming up, Citigroup stumbles again, the nation's largest bank by assets records another devastating quarterly loss. Why big bank woes matter to you, that's ahead.
ROBERTS: And a rare earthquake hits the Midwest and felt hundreds of miles away. An official says it was like ringing a big bell. We'll get the latest from Rob Marciano ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Citigroup one of the nation's largest banks records another big quarterly loss.
Ali Velshi here with more on that.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's got to be big for us to mention this making news. We mentioned we're in earnings season. I don't bring you them all. I bring you the ones that stand out.
What do you think about a $5.1 billion loss in a quarter? Does that stand out for you? And a $12 billion write-down? As I pointed out, a write down is something you thought had value and now it has $12.1 billion less value. Good example is if your property value has gone down, you had a $200,000, it's gone down to $100,000. It is not money you've lost, but it is the value of an asset that is lowered.
Citibank is saying $12 billion it thought it had on the books isn't going to be there. Revenue was down 48% from the same time last year. It was up a little more than some doom's day analysts thought it was going to be. Surprise, surprise, pre-market trading Citigroup is up. Wall Street likes this kind of news. It is like the whole house has been blown out. The windows are gone, the roof is gone. There's this one pillar is standing and it's a nice pillar. Citigroup is up.
Google came out with earnings last night. Fantastic. Blew the roof off. As a result, the Dow actually is triple digits higher right now in future's trading which means likely we will see a triple digit open on the document Wall Street can take anything and make it good or bad.
CHO: It's all about expectations, right?
VELSHI: It is entirely about that. It doesn't matter they wrote off $12 billion and there's a $5 billion loss, somebody thought it was going to be worse.
CHO: That is right. The silver lining.
VELSHI: Kind of like our gas prices, right now we know we are at $3.44. Can you margin the happiness if the gas were only $3.25 a gallon?
ROBERTS: We would be ecstatic.
VELSHI: Where is this going? I'm looking forward to your conversation with Jeffrey Sachs. I have no stock in his company. He just happened to be a very smart man.
ROBERTS: If you want to know where things are headed you talk to the smartest people in the universe. He will join us in a little while. So many people worried about where do gas prices go, how high do oil prices go, what do I do about my job.
VELSHI: What decision do I make based on this. The bottom line is, if you have a sense of where the trend is going, you can make decisions about your investment, car, job, where you live, whether you are buying, selling a house, refinancing or changing eating habits.
ROBERTS: He is stocked about this.
CHO: Yeah. One thing we are not worried about is the stork has arrived. We have this just into CNN, the newest member of the AMERICAN MORNING family. Kiran Chetry gave birth to a healthy baby boy late last night, happened about 10:45. Christopher Chetry Knowles came in at an even seven pounds. Mom and dad doing fine.
ROBERTS: She was the thinnest pregnant woman I've ever seen in my life.
CHO: Absolutely.
VELSHI: In the business world we say Kiran now has a new tax deduction.
ROBERTS: In a John McCain presidency it would be worth $7,000 compared to 3500. Rob, what a blessed event last night.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It was. We are very happy. We are a little frustrated that we haven't seen I-report, hello, pictures, come on.
ROBERTS: Can I tell you something? The reason for that is because the first baby pictures of Christopher will be in OK magazine.
CHO: See it on the newsstand.
MARCIANO: They've got the exclusive.
VELSHI: Go to the stand.
ROBERTS: Take your five bucks and go buy it.
MARCIANO: I feel so excluded. Sound good, guys.
ROBERTS: Rob has an update on the earthquake right after this so stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to "AMERICAN MORNING." I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN Weather Center. Tracking this earthquake. 5.2 magnitude, about 120 miles east of St. Louis. That is a big one in the heart of the new Madrid fault there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHO: Hate to bring it up, but it's going to be beautiful in New York today. Take the dust off the bike and ride it.
ROBERTS: The weather is always beautiful wherever the pope goes.
CHO: You are absolutely right. Devine intervention. Thanks, Rob.
Coming up, fighting for consumers fired in credit card debt. Gerri Willis has more.
ROBERTS: Pope Benedict on this way to New York City. The level of security in the city is unprecedented. A live picture there of Shepherd One at Andrews Air Force Base all set to take off as soon as the pope arrives. He should be there in just a few minutes. And we've got all the latest on him for you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: The economy is issue #1 for Americans. Congress is considering a plan to fight abuses by the credit card companies. It calls for the creation of a cardholder's bill of rights.
CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis has been looking into this. I was reading this research last night, what the credit card companies are proposing, some of the proposals are outrageous.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: They are not proposals, it is what they are doing to you right now. Karen Malonia held the hearing yesterday. There were a cast of thousands in this hearing room, people testifying about the kind of practices that the credit card industry employs. I've got to tell you, here are the big problems. Increasing interest rates retroactively. You go out, you buy something, you think you are paying one rate, the credit card companies raise the rates and it applies to the things you bought in the past. High late fees as much as $40 for late fees these days. Lots of money there. Finally, raising interest rates on folks who pay on time. Interest rates are unconnected to your performance as a consumer.
CHO: That seems most offensive. You pay your bill on time, in effect you think at some point your interest rate will go down. In fact, it is doing the opposite.
WILLIS: No, no, it doesn't work that way. The credit card companies are allows to raise rates any time for any reason or no reason basically. You could have great performance as a consumer paying your bill on time, early, it doesn't matter. Listen, we heard from some consumer whose were fascinating. Here's what one woman had to say about her experience with her credit card company.
SUSAN WONES, DENVER: 30 years of credit history I've never defaulted. I pay on time. I'm a good customer. Why would I expect a rate to go up to that ridiculous amount when I'm following the rules that were set forth by them?
WILLIS: All right. So, this woman, she had three credit cards from the same issuer, the same issuer, was paying three different rates of interest. Why? It makes no sense.
CHO: Right. Congress is going to do something about this. But what do we do in the meantime?
WILLIS: There is pushback on this. To be fair, we wanted to give you a sound bite from somebody who says not all of this is crazy. Listen up.
REP. JEB HENSARLING (R), TEXAS: I fear that the legislation will help turn back the clock to an era where a third fewer Americans had credit cards than those that did, had little choice and paid the same high universal rate.
WILLIS: All right. So some fears out there that if there's too much pushback against the industry, maybe we won't have credit cards. Consumers for as much as we abuse them, we love them.
To get to your question about what do I do about it, I've done this many times myself. If you have a high rate of interest, the average is 14%, 15%. Call your credit card company, you are probably getting offers in the mail every day for zero percent interest, no interest. Ask for a lower rate of interest, I've done it myself. It is easy. Keep an eye, make sure you are paying on time. If you automate payments online, that is the easiest way to make sure you are not making a late payment. Of course, they don't want to go out and find new customers because it costs a lot of money.
CHO: They are making money on your interest.
WILLIS: That is right.
CHO: Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, thanks.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHO: Join Gerri tomorrow for her show "Open House" Saturday morning 9:30 eastern here on CNN.
John?
ROBERTS: Americans getting increasingly anxious about the economy, oil and food prices. How to make the choices you need to weather the storm. Jeffrey Sachs joins us coming up.
And Pope Benedict making his way to New York City. His motorcade arriving there as we speak. Preparations being made in America's biggest city to host the pope coming right up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, there's a shot of the pope in the back of the limousine at Andrews Air Force Base about to make his way to New York City.
CHO: We are used to seeing him in the pope mobile.
ROBERTS: He in one of the presidential limousines this morning.
CHO: Security is extremely tight as he gets ready to get out of the car. There he is. He will be boarding Shepherd One, due to leave in about 20 minutes and will arrive at JFK in New York at 9:45. This is the first visit by the pope to the U.S. since 9/11. Security is unprecedented. He will be paying a visit to the United Nations, to a synagogue.
ROBERTS: Beyond that limousine and skull cap, there is a pope in there somewhere.
CHO: That's right. Just see him barely. An exciting day. You know, part of the reason why he is taking this trip is to try to reenergize the 76 million Catholics in the United States, a quarter of the population, by the way in the United States, a big voting block too. There he is Pope Benedict XVI about to board Shepherd One.
ROBERTS: The moment us to occasion yesterday when he met with several victim its of sexual abuse with a promise that he is going to make the changes necessary in the Catholic church to ensure it doesn't happen and those who were affected get the counseling they need.
CHO: That's right. Our CNN analyst John Allen who is traveling with the pope, by the way, said it's not often, he's been covering the Vatican for a long time, it is not often you use the word unprecedented, but that meeting was unprecedented. Just incredible to hear from those victims.
And right now we want to go to Richard Roth. He is at the United Nations where the pope will dress -- he will meet with the U.N. secretary general, I understand. So what can we expect out of this meeting this morning, Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a major address by this pope to the United Nations, 192 countries. Certainly the theme that is he will talk about, whether it is global warming, malnutrition, wars in the world, that is meat and potatoes to the diplomats from the nations. Whether they follow up on his appeals, that is a big open question. First time for this pope at the United Nations, fourth visit by a pope all time at the U.N. the pope will speak inside the general assembly hall he, will meet privately with the secretary general of the U.N. and the general assembly president with the U.N. staff. That is the highlight of this morning in New York.
CHO: It also falls on the one-year anniversary of the U.N. secretary general's visit to the Vatican interestingly enough. It will be an important day. He will also be visiting a synagogue as well only the second time he's done that as pope. The first time just after he was elected when he went to Germany.
ROTH: One of the most significant events is that he will be visiting ground zero and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says as the pope gives a final farewell and a blessing to those who have gathered at air force base, Ray Kelly was saying it is a very significant event that such a huge spiritual leader will be going down there to ground zero to pay his respects to all of the victims of 9/11.
CHO: You know, one thing that we've been remarking upon is that their styles between John Paul I and Pope Benedict XVI are different. John Paul often seen kissing the ground when arriving in a foreign country. Benedict did not do that. He is known as more of an introvert, more of an intellect actual. We want to bring in John Allen with more on that.
What is it like where you are, John?
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: We are aboard Shepherd One this morning, that's the pal plane that will carry Benedict from Andrews Air Force Base to JFK. I will be deplaning and hopping on the pope's chopper to make the short journey from JFK to midtown Manhattan. This is going to be the fifth pal conveyance. I have been on planes, trains, automobiles. Benedict is expected to be delivering a highly anticipated address at the United Nations and later at St. Joseph's church on the east side of Manhattan. By the way, that is a historically German church; it is kind of a taste of home for Pope Benedict XVI. Then we will have a brief stop at the park east synagogue before the day is done.
ROBERTS: Certainly a lot ahead on the pope's agenda HERE as he travels to New York City. John Allen on board the aircraft that you see there Shepherd One, the Alitalia 777 scheduled to depart in about 15 minutes' time. It should arrive in New York an hour from then. As they are just buttoning the Pope up inside and getting ready to go. We will keep you updated on all of this and a lot of coverage on the Pope's day here in New York City coming right up on CNN.
A live look right now that a Shell gas station in Doraville, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, a gallon of regular gas going for $3.38 there, which we should point out is slightly cheaper than the national average which jumped to $3.44 overnight. And believe me, the hits just keep on coming. You've seen Ali's oil barrel here. Oil prices above $115. Food prices are soaring. You got a lot of Americans worried about where the U.S. and world economy is headed.
Well, this morning we've got one of the finest economic minds on the planet here to help us out. Not to go with them too much. Jeffrey Sachs is the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is also a special adviser to the U.N. Secretary General, author of the famous book "The End of Poverty" and a new one just out "Common Wealth." Economics for a crowded planet. He has also worked extensively with U2 lead singer Bono, on global economic development. Gosh, that's an introduction. There's literally no time left to talk to you.
But Jeff, help us out here. Where is this headed? We've watched the price of oil go up a dollar a day. Is there a top here?
JEFFREY SACHS, DIRECTOR, EARTH INSTITUTE FOR COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: There will about top. But we are getting squeezed. And this will add to the slowdown of the U.S. economy, no doubt about it. The Fed is fighting a financial crisis and it's fighting inflation coming from these rising commodities prices. World demand has gone up for food, for fuels, but the supplies have not gone up, in some cases they've gone down because of turmoil and climate change. So, you have demand rising, you have supplies stagnant or falling, and you have the U.S. now with these two crises simultaneously, financial and commodity.
ROBERTS: You and I were e-mailing back and forth this week and you put a word in one of your e-mails which will cause shock to people who remembered what happened back in the 1970s, you mentioned the word stagflation. Are we looking at that?
SACHS: We have it right now. We definitely have at least a mild dose of it because we have a slowdown of the economy, we have a rise of inflation. Whether that gap widens like it did in the '70s, it still remains to be seen. But these are tough days ahead, no question about it.
ROBERTS: Allan Green, the White House has yet to say it, Ben Bernanke has yet to say it. Allan Greenspan believes that we are in a recession. John McCain said the other day he believes that we are in a recession. Robert Rice, former Labor Secretary raised the "r" word in an interview with our Ali Velshi the other day, saying he believes there could be a 20 percent chance of a depression. What do you think?
SACHS: I don't think we are going that far. I don't think we have a depression, but I do think we have this stag-flation, mild dose perhaps, but it could get worse definitely in the next year or two. Dollar is weak, that is also pushing up the prices of these internationally traded commodities.
ROBERTS: What about that dollar cycle? The value of the dollar, it keeps decreasing because we keep cutting interest rates, and therefore the price of oil keeps going up, our purchasing power over in Europe is declining, though our exports do become more attractive. Where do you see this whole dollar cycle going? The U.S. has a got a strong dollar policy but you would never know it by looking at it.
SACHS: Well, we don't really have a strong dollar policy. Right now, we have low interest rates and an expansionary monetary policy, trying to fight the financial crisis and recession. But there's a limit to it because inflation is definitely on the up tick. And that is why some members of the Fed already said wait a minute, we can't go further on lowering interest rates. That's the vice that the Fed is in right now. That is why we will go into recession. They can't fight it too aggressively on the monetary side without stoking up inflation right now. That is the trap.
ROBERTS: So, what are folks to do? They're looking at -- how do we weather this economic storm? What is going to happen with my job? What are the decisions that I should make so that when the economy does come back I'm in a good position to try and take advantage of it?
SACHS: Well, I think, be careful, because you're going to face higher prices at the pump. You're going to face higher prices in the supermarket. And I would just say, little bit hunker down because there's no way to go out there and wildly spend right now and hope for the best. That is pretty risky. Unfortunately, that is what a lot of people were doing for a number of years when it looked like it was boom, boom, boom, but it turned out to be bubble. And that's the problem. The bubble has burst and people are going to have to be careful, raise some saving for themselves and will go through this slow patch, and a difficult one.
ROBERTS: So, a lot of belt tightening for people. Don't increase credit card debt? Things like that, what do you suggest?
SACHS: I think that's absolutely right. People have to be careful about their personal finances because this is going to be a difficult period. Rising commodity prices, more difficulty in the labor market. That is the squeeze.
ROBERTS: Now, in the past, when we've seen the price spikes in energy, they've gone up and then they've come back down again. And we saw historic lows after historic highs back in the 1970s. But I get a sense, and I don't know if it's just me that the price of gas high as it is here to stay.
SACHS: Well, in the 1970s it did come down but after a strong stretch and after slowing the global economy. And the question is how much pain will come from these prices before they subside a bit. And I think the question is how much will we invest in alternative energy sources and in more efficient energy used.
ROBERTS: Do we need a Manhattan project style of project to try to wean ourselves off of oil?
SACHS: I think that would be smart. We won't wean ourselves off entirely but we could do a lot to open up alternative energy sources like solar or automobiles that get a lot more mileage than they do right now. We could do a great many things that we haven't been doing for years.
ROBERTS: Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University. It's great to talk to you.
SACHS: Always great to be here, John
ROBERTS: Because you make a lot of sense and say it so well. Jeffrey, thanks very much.
SACHS: Thanks a lot.
CHO: We've been following breaking news all morning long. Folks in the Midwest woke up to an earthquake, a rare one. We'll have the latest on the damage in Rob's report right after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: We've been following breaking news this morning, an earthquake in the mid west. Here's the very latest, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 5.2 magnitude earthquake was centered in southern Illinois. Minor damage is being reported. That damage there from Louisville, Kentucky. But thankfully no injuries. It may be the strongest earthquake to hit the region in 40 years. We spoke to a news director from Evansville, Indiana, about 40 miles away from the epicenter of the quake. He was sleeping when it hit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOICE OF MARK GLOVER, NEWS DIRECTOR, WEHT: You feel the house shaking, but you also hear this sound, this foreign sound that your house is shaking around you, which is, you know, disturbing. So, we get up out of bed, again my 5-year-old Sydney is in the room next to us. She is asleep. We have to yell to her to wake her up. She was going to sleep right through it.
CHO: Oh, my god.
GLOVER: So, we actually do get her up and start moving to a safer area of the house. And it seemed, Alina, like it went on forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: An amazing video just in from another TV station in Evansville. They were on the air as the quake hit. And check out the weather cams in the background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Well, we're in for another warm day in the tri-state. But it sound like some rain is on the way. Byron.
Yes, we are hearing some shaking here. Sounds like we have an earthquake here. So I have to check that out here. I'm just guessing or maybe we have some brief gusting winds. Is it an earthquake? OK, seeing a little shake here. Not uncommon, we live here along the New Madrid fault here. We are at 73 and 50, 68 and 44 here. 87 and 26 and the sun is up here at 6:10. Sometimes they cycle through some of the trains and they have extra cars there as well. Sometimes, some pretty good shaking here. We will continue to check that out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: But in the meantime, let's give you the forecast.
ROBERTS: Never mind there is still and earthquake. We want to talk about the weather.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: How about that, huh? Just barreling through his weathercast.
CHO: Boy, you got to get it right.
ROBERTS: There's -- grace under pressure is one thing, but ignoring the news is another one.
MARCIANO: Well, you know, when you're in it, guys, it's tough to figure it out for a few seconds and then.
CHO: Yes, especially it doesn't happen that often.
ROBERTS: If it was in California, it wouldn't be tough to figure it out. But you're right, being in the middle of the country, you don't normally experience that.
CHO: But felt as far north as Chicago, as far south as the Atlanta suburbs. I mean it was 450 mile radius, I'm told, Rob. It's pretty big.
MARCIANO: Yes, big. And this isn't even in the real concentrated part of where we would expect these larger earthquakes to happen in the New Madrid fault, which is right through here. A lot of people don't think about this part of the country as having earthquakes. But it certainly does happen. As a matter of fact, the worst earthquakes that the U.S. has ever seen has happened right here back in the 1800s. So, do not rule this area out for a little shaking and a little rough and tumble morning, certainly for those folks who live close to it.
Some rough weather moving through Houston last night with some damaging hail rolling across i-10, now crossing the border into Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish heading towards Lake Charles, Welsh and Jennings. This will bring gusty winds, heavy rain and maybe some hail as well and rains heading across parts of Nebraska, eastward into Ohio, actually right over where our earthquake happens today. Crazy morning. No doubt. Thank goodness it's Friday.
ROBERTS: Rob, I trust if there's ever an earthquake while you are on the air, You will talk about the earthquake, right?
CHO: Of course, he would.
MARCIANO: I will, but you know, here at CNN in Atlanta, we have tornadoes roll through. So, hopefully we won't have an earthquake happen as well.
ROBERTS: Tornadoes are enough with some substantial damage there as well. Rob, thanks very much.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
At over 400 pounds, she believed that her days were numbered until she had an operation, one that changed her life. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the "Fit Nation" success story. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Live picture there of Shepherd One, just taking off from Andrews Air force base, the pope on his way to New York City where he will spend the next two and a half days. And a lot of events planned. CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. And I imagine that papal coverage will take up a lot of your morning, sir.
TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: Front and center, John. Good Friday to you, good morning, everybody.
A jolt in the Midwest on the NEWSROOM rundown for you. Midwesterners are rattled awake this morning by an earthquake.
And there is damage to show you as John mentioned, that Pope's address at the U.N. live. It come s a day after his emotional meeting with priests, sex abuse victims and talk about life on the edge. A snowmobiler tumbles into Mt. St. Helen's crater. He is telling and amazing story. We checked in on the presidential candidates as well and watch for breaking news. NEWSROOM gets started in just a couple of minutes at the top of the hour. Right here on CNN. Have a great weekend, John.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Tony. You too, have a great show this morning. And looking forward to all that papal coverage.
Now, a story of a woman who went the extra mile to help the hungry. She cooked thousands of meals personally crossing into Mexico each time to do it. Meet Maria Ruiz. She is today's CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RUIZ, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: I was born and raised in El Paso. El Paso and Juarez, Mexico - they are known as the twin cities. But you cross over the border and you notice the difference. In 1996, I came to the outskirts of this Juarez. When I saw the poverty level that they were living in with no water, no electricity, my world changed completely.
I am Maria Ruiz, and I cross the border to help people in Juarez. I decided to start the food program. I cooked every day and brought it over here. I fed approximately 1,200 kids on a daily basis for 3 1/2 years. Now, we collect the donation, we take furniture, food, toys, almost about anything. We are ready to go.
Crossing the border involves a lot of work and time. I have crossed thousands of times. We give out whatever we have. Good morning. It is like distribution center. [speaking Spanish ] all of the work we do is part of a family's ministry. It is a team effort, but regardless of whether they are Christian, it is equal for everybody.
The kids are the ones that keep me going, but I don't consider myself a hero. I know I can do much more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: At just 28 years old, Brandy Howell worried each day could be her last, that is until she had surgery that she says changed her life. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this "Fit Nation" report.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT; Two years ago, Brandy Howell refused to look in the mirror. She hated being in pictures and often she wouldn't even leave the house. She was more than 400 pounds, unhappy and truly believed her days were numbered.
BRANDY HOWELL: I was 28, 29 years old at the time. And I felt like every day was going to be my last. I had high blood pressure. I was border line diabetic.
GUPTA: Concerned about her health and her morbid obesity, her doctors strongly recommended she'd have gastric bypass surgery.
HOWELL: I was nervous but I was more scared of dying from a heart attack at a young age or not waking up because I had sleep apnea in the middle of the night than going in for surgery.
GUPTA: After two months of planning, testing, counseling and doctor's visits, Brandy had surgery at Hurley Medical Center in Michigan.
HOWELL: And absolutely, the best decision I've ever made without question.
GUPTA: Now, two years later, and more than 200 pounds lighter, Brandy says she's a new person, but she still has difficult days.
HOWELL: I have some days where I feel miserable and I feel fat. It is almost like phantom fat pains, I guess. I feel horrible. And I have to stop and pull out clothes that I used to wear, look at them, crawl into them, and realize somebody else can crawl into them too and put myself back in that place mentally.
GUPTA: Brandy says her journey was long, but it has taught her to be confident and enjoy life.
HOWELL: I want to go bungee jumping. I mean, I want to water ski, I want to roller blade, and horseback-riding, something I've always wanted to do and I never could. My name is Brandy Howell and I've lost approximately 247 pounds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Out of all the people we've profiled, she may have lost the most weight obviously with the help of surgery. A couple of things she's probably going to need another operation to remove a lot of the excess skin. That is something that people that have this operation often need. But Alina, one of the things that she said was the most interesting was mentally she still thinks of herself as an overweight person. She still thinks about food as is used for comfort. There's a concern that sometimes people swap addictions, not food but something else. These are the things she has to deal with mentally. Alina.
CHO: Especially when you keep your old clothes and you see that dramatic picture of her holding up her old pants, losing 247 pounds, just incredible. Sanjay, and you touched on this the mental challenges that she faces. Is this common?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, in fact, most hospitals, including Hurley Medical Center in Michigan, in most places, they require psychological evaluation before the operation as well. I mean they are about to undergo a major change in their live, they ARE about to have an operation that is generally not reversible. This is a psychological thing as well. I think beforehand, during and afterwards, people really needed to think about that. And you know, pay attention to it, because they focus on the physical, the mental is important as well.
CHO: Nonetheless, an incredible story, Sanjay. We thank you. You are one of the hardest working men in television. Catch Sanjay on his own show "House Call" Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: How do you think he stays in such good shape.
CHO: I know.
ROBERTS: Quick look now at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on at the top of the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM. See the damage from an early morning quake in the Midwest.
Pope Benedict XVI on the world stage. His address to the United Nations.
Church sex abuse victims, their emotional meeting with the Pope.
Sexist, polygamists return to court today fighting for custody of 416 children.
Dallas pounded by hail.
And the men who fell into Mt. St. Helen's. NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: You're watching the most news in the morning. Get it? No one has ever publicly accused Vice President Dick Cheney as being a comedian. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: No, certainly not. This week he came out of the cave to illuminate his keen sense of irony. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on Dick Cheney's funny factor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Dick Cheney, not a guy you associate with causing tears of laughter. But without even opening his mouth, he had folks cracking up. The Vice President dressed to go hunting for laughs, returning fire after being the butt of so many hunting jokes. Even noncomedians were making wisecracks. Would you go hunting with Dick Cheney?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hunting for Dick Cheney.
MOOS: The hunt is over. We found funny Dick Cheney. OK. So we had more than a little help from two speech writers poking fun at his environmentalism.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Every time I'm rushed to the hospital, I insist on a hybrid ambulance.
MOOS: Poking fun at Hillary's sniper fire story.
CHENEY: She made an honest mistake. She confused the Bosnia trip with a time that I took her hunting.
MOOS: Cheney was substituting for Pres. Bush at this week's radio and TV Correspondents Dinner.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I told the Vice President if he didn't fill in you all would be very disappointed. And he said -- so.
MOOS: A flashback to the Dick Cheney we all know being questioned by ABC about the Iraq war.
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There's Americans who say it's not worth fighting.
CHENEY: So?
MOOS: So, here he is clowning around in the very same sunglasses that had bloggers atwitter the other day, imagining they saw a naked woman reflected in the Cheney's shades. It turns out it was just his hand holding a fishing rod. And you know how Barack Obama is always mocking the discovery that he and Dick Cheney are very distant relatives.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My cousin Dick Cheney.
CHENEY: He is Senator Obama to you, but he is cousin Barack to me.
MOOS: The VP even had to take a joke or two from the featured comedian, Mo Rocca.
MO ROCCA, COMEDIAN: I'm sorry this is sheer torture for you, I mean sheer enhanced interrogation. OK.
MOOS: Remember how Hillary once referred to the vice president?
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Darth Vader emerges.
MOOS: Well, Cheney told the crowd he asked his wife if it bugs her hearing people call him Darth Vader.
CHENEY: She said not at all. It humanizes you.
MOOS: After being endlessly mocked.
JOHN STEWART, HOST: How dare you.
MOOS: Whoever thought they would see laughter reflected in Dick Cheney's glasses. You'll be amazed. Jeannie Moos, CNN, New York.
CHO: Well, he can stay light. He is moving out soon.
ROBERTS: Love the way Jeanne puts her perspective on things.
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: Final check now of this morning's "Quick Vote" question. We asked what should happen to the children that were taken from that Texas polygamist ranch. 57 percent of you say, they should remain in state custody. 43 percent said that they should be returned to their parents and we'll be covering this case all day today as well. Because more on this child custody hearing.
CHO: That's right. We're also watching the Pope who is going to arrive in New York within the hour. Have a great weekend.
ROBERTS: Thank you. You, too. Get on that bicycle...
CHO: I'm going to.
ROBERTS: ... of yours because the fitness benefits do not accrue when it's in the storage room and you're in the bed sleeping.
CHO: You are correct.
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. See you again on Monday. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Fredricka Whitfield begins right now.
HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN, ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
HARRIS: You will see events come into the NEWSROOM live on Friday, April 18. Here's what's on the rundown.
